Lorain County, Ohio's One-Stop-Shop
For "All Occasion" Lawn Greetings!!!

Putting s on People's Faces is Our Business!!!

Serving ONLY the Lorain County, Ohio Area!!!

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Yard Card Surprise! In The News

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Please contact Yard Card Surprise! by: email at info@YardCardSurprise.com

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October 14, 2009
Yard Card Surprise Buzzard Theme Sign Stolen in Lorain
NewsNet5 Interview with Tom Livingston

October 15, 2009
Elyria Chronicle Telegram Article by Rona Proudfoot

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June 15, 2009
Yard Card Surprise Flamingo Display In Sandusky
Article in Sandusky Register - front yard flock

A Special "Thank-You" to Caroline Wilsey of Florida for alertng us to this

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June 23, 2008 - Celebrating Pink Flamingo Day

A Special "Thank-You" to Elizabeth A. Concar of the Amherst Realty One Office
for loaning us the use of their lawn to make this event happen!!!

The purpose behind "Pink Flamingo Day" 2008 was too:

To Set a World Record for the Most Pink Flamingo Displays Across the US & Canada

Pay tribute to Don Featherstone the Creator of the Pink Plastic Flamingo

Celebrate the 51st Anniversary of the Pink Plastic Flamingo

Increase Public Awareness of the Lawn Greetings Industry

Promote our own Local Lawn Greetings Business - Yard Card Surprise!

And in this day and age when we pick up a newspaper
or turn on the news, there is so much reported that is negative...
For this day, for a minute or split second, we were able to put a smile
on many local resident faces and got many chuckles,
so we believe it was a HUGE success...

Thanks Elizabeth!!!

Our picture also made the WTVG Channel 13 News in Toledo, Ohio
WTVG Channel 13 Toledo Ohio News

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April 1, 2008 - April Is Lawn Greetings Month

Amherst, OH - April 1, 2008 - Yard Card Surprise, LLC, Lorain County’s One-Stop-Shop for All Occasion Lawn Greetings announced today that President/Executor Michelle Reed of the Lawn Greetings Association, Inc. (LGA) has declared that April be considered as "Lawn Greetings Month". The purpose of Lawn Greetings Month is not only to promote awareness of the industry to the general public, but to help bring smiles to those who are celebrating a special occasion or event.

The lawn greetings industry can be defined as small local businesses which help their customers celebrate various special occasions and events by renting displays that are set up in a recipient's yard. The displays vary greatly from giant wooden character signs and small "critter" signs, as they are referred to in the industry, to a wide array of elements for decorating a front yard such as 3 dimensional plastic or 2 dimensional characters and shapes.

Every business is independently owned and operated, unless a company is part of a franchise or dealership. Therefore, terms, prices and inventory vary greatly. However, they all have one common goal in their businesses, to create pleasant surprises by decorating lawns with out-of-the-ordinary items for everyone to enjoy. These items could include anything from a yard full of plastic pink flamingos, smiley faces, cows, ducks, to buzzards, or even hearts, stars or other funny characters.

Reed states that she and members of the industry are very excited to declare their first holiday. "This is a stepping stone in gaining national exposure and awareness of the industry. We all love to help people celebrate the special moments in their life, and a lawn greetings display is a unique and fun way to do it." As a part of this celebration, lawn greetings companies across the nation will be putting out displays in honor of this milestone event, most are guaranteed to make you smile.

Association members are also planning on celebrating another important event based on the creator of the original Plastic Pink Flamingo, Mr. Don Featherstone. In the birthplace and hometown of Featherstone, (Leominster, MA) Mayor Dean Mazzarella declared June 23 as Pink Flamingo Day. On this day, lawn greetings company owners across the country plan on setting out pink flamingo displays in honor of the pink lawn ornament.

"I just love the idea that all across the states, people will randomly see yards full of pink flamingos, all in tribute to Don Featherstone. It will be a hoot!" Reed states.

The LGA is the leading authority and only non-profit trade association of the lawn greetings industry which consists of members from across the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, England, and New Zealand. For more information, visit the Lawn Greetings Association, Inc. on the web at http://www.Lawn-Greetings.org or to find your local Lawn Greetings Company visit The Flamingoed Lawn Greetings Directory at http://www.flamingoed.com/. Information about Lawn Greetings month can be found at http://www.lawngreetingsmonth.com. For more information about Yard Card Surprise, LLC, visit http://www.YardCardSurprise.com and remember - "Don't Send A Card - Say It In Their Yard!"

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November 28, 2007
Marlene Osborne and Yard Card Surprise, LLC

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September 13, 2007 - Yard Card Surprise! is pleased
to announce that it is the Nation's FIRST "Lawn Greetings" Company
to offer the NEW Skel-A-Flamingos to our Customers!!!

NEW Skel-A-Mingos

Yard Card Surprise Owner Marlene Osborne With a Small Flock of Skel-A-Mingos

Lorain County “Lawn Greetings” Company First in Nation to Offer Skel-A-Mingos to Customers

Fake Watches

Amherst, OH -- September 13, 2007 – Yard Card Surprise, LLC, Lorain County’s One-Stop-Shop for All Occasion Lawn Greetings announced today the arrival of the Skel-A-Mingo. The Skel-A- Mingo, manufactured and sold by Pink Inc. of Lake Forest, IL, is the first change in the plastic flamingo technology in the last 50 years. The Skel-A-Mingo has a black plastic body and is painted with a skeletal design. His cousin, the traditional pink plastic flamingo was created in 1957 by Don Featherstone in Leominster, MA, manufactured, and distributed by Union Products, Inc., which closed its doors in November 2006.

Marlene Osborne, Owner of Yard Card Surprise, LLC states that the Skel-A-Mingo is a very welcomed addition to her inventory and should be very popular alone in a “flock”, as an addition to her already favored “Over The Hill” displays for milestone birthdays, and arrives just in time for Halloween, with its associated festivities.

Yard Card Surprise, LLC offers Storks for baby showers/birth announcements and a wide variety of 3D plastic characters or “critters” as they are referred to in the industry. These include bats, cows, crows, dinosaurs, donkeys, ice cream cones, penguins, pigs, pink elephants, pink flamingos, roosters, rubber ducks, sheep, swans and 2D collections of beer mugs, cutesy cows, flowers and bugs, frogs, hearts, biker hogs, smiley faces, and sports balls.

Osborne is currently working on adding 2D displays of cupcakes, a clown for children’s birthdays, which will include circus animals, skunks, trophies, a mouse on a wedge of cheese, and a barrel of monkeys.

Osborne, 39, a Lorain County native, was previously employed as an IT Security Administrator in the local data center of a national retailer. That retailer merged with another national retailer and her job was eliminated as a part of that merger. Osborne was offered the opportunity to relocate to the Atlanta, GA area, but declined due to not wanting to leave family and friends. She was given a severance package for her 17 years of service. Osborne decided that she wanted to give entrepreneurship a try as she has always wanted to start her own business and several years ago had a very small business making and selling “Yard Art” via eBay. In researching possible business opportunities, Osborne came across the “Lawn Greetings” Industry and thought it would go hand-in-hand with her talents in wood crafting and painting.

This past January, armed with a portion of her severance in hand, Osborne was able to realize her dream of owning her own company. Osborne was able to purchase the business assets of her local competitor, Creative Cutouts, whose name has been around the area for approximately 20 years and has already laid the groundwork in educating the public in “Lawn Greetings”.

Osborne then found and became a member of the International Lawn Greetings Association. A Trade Association for “Lawn Greetings” Business Owners across the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and the UK whose purpose is to network and share ideas with others interested in this growing industry. The ILGA has 600+ active members, is growing on a daily basis as more Lawn Greetings companies pop up around the country, and is based in Fremont, OH with President Michelle Reed at the helm.

On any given early morning between midnight and 6am, under the cover of darkness, you can usually find Osborne in her van or in a local yard sneaking around and setting up displays to make someone’s special occasion even more memorable. It could be a Birthday, Birth, Anniversary, Graduation, Retirement, Marriage Proposal, Good Luck, Thank You, an Apology, or Welcoming One of Our Fine Soldiers Home. Osborne does it all.

“Putting smiles on people’s faces is our business”, Osborne states. “It is a very heart warming feeling to get a phone call, email, or note stating how much the recipient loved their display and how it made their day, it’s just great to be able to make a living at making people happy.” Yard Card Surprise, LLC delivers free to anywhere in Lorain County and delivers to adjacent counties for a delivery charge based upon mileage. Osborne has recently traveled as far West as Port Clinton and as far East as Lyndhurst on her nightly “flockings”.

Prices for displays range from $65 - $85 and include 25-30 “critters” and a larger theme sign or standard message board with a personalized message for the recipient. Birth Announcement Storks come with a personalized bundle that includes the Baby’s Name, Date of Birth, Weight, and Length. Osborne adds, “Many people don’t realize it, but this is a year round business, although during the winter months when the ground is frozen solid, we limit our displays to 3D “critters” that sit on top of the ground rather than being staked.”

When asked how business was, Osborne stated “Booming and continuing to grow. Since opening in June 2006, Yard Card Surprise, LLC has helped 305 area residents with celebrating their special occasions. Everyone has a birthday and many other special days to commemorate. With the recent announcements of more jobs coming to Lorain County, thus improving our local economy, and the already estimated population of 1.9 million in Lorain and its adjacent counties, Lorain County is a great place to live, raise a family, and work.”

For more information, visit Yard Card Surprise, LLC on the web at http://www.yardcardsurprise.com and remember – “Don’t Send A Card – Say It In Their Yard!”