Remember the olden days of recording a mixtape for your favourite person? Well this is the modern day equivalent of sending a mix tape, but without the faff. Imagine being able to gift someone access all their favourite songs in one place, and no need to wait for the song to come on the radio to press record (I'm showing my age, now!)
One of the most thoughtful gifts I ever received, and one of my most treasured possessions is a mix-CD that my housemate made for me in our university days for my long drive home one weekend. He filled it will our favourite driving tunes and songs to keep me awake (thanks, Adam!). It's long since become un-playable because of over-use, but I still have it because it serves as a reminder of that time in my life.
I love the idea of creating a playlist to pop inside a card and extend the celebration. Giving someone a playlist that they can come back to again and again is just such a lovely, thoughtful gift, especially if they are going travelling, moving home or starting a new adventure. You could create a birthday playlist, a house-warming playlist, a wedding anniversary playlist, the (play)list goes on...
And the best bit, it's free!
Following on from last week's blog post about ways to add gifts to a greetings card, this week we're showing you how to add a playlist to any card. This is possibly my favourite way to send someone a playlist. In fact, it's so good it deserves a whole blog post of its own!
All you need is a Spotify account, a printer, some glue and a greeting card. Let's go!
Step 1- create a playlist on Spotify. Fill it with songs that have significance for your loved one or evoke memories of fun times. You can rename the playlist (we suggest giving it a name that includes their name, eg 'Music for Bob's New Home', 'Leo's American Adventure Playlist', or 'Delilah's Birthday Playlist'. You can also change the main image to any photo by clicking on the three dots and then Edit (below the image, above where it says "add to this playlist"). Again, I suggest choosing a relevant photo, perhaps of you and them together.
Step 2- Click on the 3 dots (as per instructions above), and then click on the main image and 'save to photos'. The important bit is the strip with all the lines that looks a bit like a barcode. Print this image. I printed this on coloured paper, but normal copy paper is just fine.
Step 3- Trim your image to fit inside the card. You can keep the photo and the barcode, or just trim it to the barcode.
Step 4- Test it! Make sure the barcode works BEFORE you stick it inside your greeting card. To do this, open Spotify, go to search. In the top right corner is a camera icon. Click on this and it will open your camera in the Spotify app. You can then scan your printed barcode and your playlist should (as if by magic) open.
Step 5- As long as step 4 worked perfectly, glue your barcode inside your card and write a message to tell your recipient that you made them a playlist and here is the link. If you think they might need further help, just copy out the instructions from step 4.
Step 6- Send them their card with added playlist and feel smug because you just levelled-up the greetings card game. This unique greeting card idea is fun to make and even more fun to give.
