Turn my scrawl into something good

October 22, 2008 11:23 AM

Help! I urgently need ideas for a birthday card cover-up.

It's noon on press day, nothing's good to go yet, and my head's all over the place. In the middle of this, a circulating birthday card crossed my desk, and I just had a complete idiot moment and congratulated the wrong person on it. I managed to fit in the correct name on the first line, so at least it now says "Happy, happy birthday, CorrectName!" as it should, and it doesn't look bad, but the second line still says "Debbie!" before my name. What can I turn the Debbie into? It's scrawled, but clearly readable. There is not much more room between the Debbie and my name, perhaps room for a couple more letters. If I squint, it could potentially be "Bubbles" or "Rabbit" or "Coffee"- the most limiting factor is the long extenders at the tops of the bs, the capital letter, and the exclamation point.

Options:

-Some sort of congratulatory exclamation? The best I can come up with so far is Bubbly! As in, have a glass, maybe I could draw a little flute next to it.
-some kind of drawing, but it would need to be very heavy to fix it and would look fairly shitty.

NOT options:

-not fixing it, leaving it as a joke, or starting over with a new card. I was like the last person of 30 to sign this thing and the b-day celebration is this afternoon. I don't normally work in this office and don't know this person very well at all (and she's a very reserved older woman, who I constantly think I've offended in some way), so I'm pretty sure it would make me look like a giant asshole.

Help! I will try to take a photo, but any ideas in the meantime would be VERY helpful.

posted by peachfuzz to human relations (23 comments total)

Why not just scratch it out? People make mistakes. Write "Cheers" instead, or something, and pretend it's a misspelling. If she is a reserved older woman, I hardly think writing "Bubbly" in her birthday card will endear her any more than a scratched out line.
posted by Phire at 11:37 AM on October 22, 2008

Draw a box around what you wrote- a very thick box that completely covers the wrong name on the second line.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:38 AM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Draw a big, black box over it. Draw a ribbon on top of the box, and you have a drawing of a birthday present. Draw another one if there is room, maybe at the end of your signature. It's weird, but not so weird that someone would really focus on it.

You could also turn a big, black box into a piece of cake with a candle in it.
posted by millipede at 11:39 AM on October 22, 2008 [7 favorites has favorites]

Doesn't your office have any white out? White it out and leave it, or white it out and draw something or write "and many more!" It's ok that the card will have a whited out mistake, no one sane will care.
posted by zarah at 11:47 AM on October 22, 2008

photo here: ugh
posted by peachfuzz at 11:49 AM on October 22, 2008

Cross it out with a different type of pen than the one you wrote the message with. It'll look like someone else wrote it and crossed it out.

Or, write a small "Happy Birthday!" next to it and it'll look like someone named Debbie signed it. They'll just think Debbie is the temp.
posted by bondcliff at 11:50 AM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Underneath your signature, write "Please cross off your name and give this to Debbie on her birthday."
posted by kitty teeth at 11:51 AM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I think the placement is such that you could just draw a scribbly crazy box all around your message, like "this corner is mine!" and make sure that when you get to 'Debbie', it's appropriately squiggly and erases all trace of the name.

Good luck!
posted by amicamentis at 11:57 AM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I think Bubbly is the best idea.
posted by sondrialiac at 11:57 AM on October 22, 2008

Draw a cigar and turn Debbie! into Fattie!
posted by thirteenkiller at 11:58 AM on October 22, 2008

Make it "Dabble!" and pretend it's new slang, if asked.
posted by 23skidoo at 11:59 AM on October 22, 2008

Can you fit the word (or sign) "and"... so it reads, "Happy Birthday (person!), Debbie & peachfuzz
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:59 AM on October 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Say it's slang for "dobro veče".
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:59 AM on October 22, 2008

Cross off the correct name as well as "Debbie," add several more wrong names, then cross off each, then write, "Nope, had it right the first time," and then put her name.
posted by cjorgensen at 12:04 PM on October 22, 2008

Little Debbies?
posted by milarepa at 12:07 PM on October 22, 2008

Doobie? Nahhh . . . can you find a sticker to put over it? Crayons to make a colorful doodle? Or, what I used to do when I messed something up in ink . . . find an eraser. Lick the eraser, and then rub it on your mistake. It will rub the ink off (and yes, sometimes some of the paper as well), so you'll have an empty spot there or else a small whole where you rubbed too hard with your licked eraser.

Let us know what you do!!
posted by Sassyfras at 12:11 PM on October 22, 2008

Turn it into "Bubbly", then make a little arrow pointing to a cute drawing of birthday champagne?
posted by arianell at 12:24 PM on October 22, 2008

Draw a circle around the word Debbie. Fill it in heavily and completely, obliterating the writing. Draw a small triangle underneath and a string trailing down past the lower greeting.

A few more identical balloons in other areas of the card and your tracks will be totally covered.
posted by the latin mouse at 12:43 PM on October 22, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Seconding latin_mouse's balloons.
posted by spec80 at 1:12 PM on October 22, 2008

Cross out your name.
Let that be Debbie's greeting and write your one (in a completely different handwriting and pen) somewhere else on the card.
Then it becomes Debbie's embarrassment why she wrote your name then crossed it out.
Nothing to do with you.
posted by Xhris at 1:33 PM on October 22, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

After. Thanks, everyone! I have no idea why that paralyzed me so much; my brain is completely fried today. I went with the balloons because I thought they'd be fast...but then they looked kind of ink-blottish by themselves, so I needed a party hat...and then that looked more like a dunce cap so I needed some festive streamers.

Thanks for all the ideas! The hive mind is always excellent in a tight spot.
posted by peachfuzz at 1:49 PM on October 22, 2008

Aw! that actually looks really good, peachfuzz!
posted by Phire at 2:12 PM on October 22, 2008

Wow, you really give good card.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:19 PM on October 22, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]