
#181 Small Cheer & Great Welcome
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Shakespeare said it best
Small cheer & great welcome make a merry feast.
This quote from William Shakespeare seems to be a perfect AmperArt phrase for Thanksgiving. I’m not so sure it has such a relevant meaning in its original context (“The Comedy of Errors”, Act 3 scene 1) but it sure does fit nicely as a piece of typographic art with the ampersand turkey as part of the quote.
Colorful words inspire colorful illustration

As for “great welcome,” that term inspired the colorful feathers on the “amperturkey.” The original illustration (of which I used only the feathers) had a subdued palette of browns and grays. I started adding colors to the feathers, then realized “great welcome” should be just that: great! Inclusive of everyone — all colors, all sexes, all shapes & sizes. All religions as well, as Thanksgiving is non-denominational; that’s one reason I like this holiday (besides the food). So I did a little research & started over with the colors, including as many of the world’s skin tones as I could find & hopefully all the various sexual orientation flag colors. Feathers are all different sizes to begin with, so that part was easy.
“Small cheer” in the play’s dialogue refers to the food & beverage being served at the gathering, only to be upstaged by the camaraderie of the people present. But let’s be honest: there’s no small spread & lack of libation at Thanksgiving!
Thankfulness cards for your table & other uses

My friend Jo has told me several times that she enjoys printing & making AmperArt place setting cards for the dinner table. That inspired me to create a new design this year (previous cards were issued in 2011 & 2015), & it’s one where you can write your own AmperArt phrase (see ideas below).
These can be placed as traditional dinner table settings & made into other things such as greeting cards (with some creative cutting & gluing) & gift tags.
There are two styles you can download: one bright & colorful, symbolizing the inclusion of all colors & orientations of the world’s peoples; & a subtle color scheme closer to a wild turkey. (I prefer the bright & colorful version.) There’s an instruction sheet you can download as well, detailing how to cut & fold the cards.
Choose your style & download
There are four cards to a sheet. Print on standard letter-size or A4 sheets of cardstock (or regular heavy paper).
Instructions
- Download the pdf file in your choice of design: full spectrum color or subtle color.
- You can also download the cutting & folding guide or just refer to image below.
- Cut along the red dashed lines. The vertical & horizontal lines separate the sheet into 4 cards. The curved cut lines allow the turkey feathers to pop out above the fold. You can cut along the arc as shown below, or for more detail, cut along the feather shapes, as shown in the photo above. An X‑acto knife works best.
- Score to make folding easy & clean. Score along the blue dotted lines as shown in the guide. This is where the solid purple meets the solid white on the printed cards. Do not score through the turkey feathers — you don’t want to fold these. A blunt instrument works best for scoring, such as a wooden stir stick or paper clip. You can use anything that is not sharp enough to cut through the card.
- Fold the card over only along the blue dotted lines. Do not fold the feathers; leave them flat to extend above the fold.
- Pinch the fold to keep it in place. Additionally, you can use tape or string underneath to keep the card from unfolding.
- Write your text to the left & right of the ampersand. See some ideas below.
You can use these cards for other things too, besides seating place holders. Place them around your living & work spaces to remind yourself and others of what we can be thankful for. Place one on your boss’s or co-worker’s desk. Or on your teacher’s desk. Use them as note cards (write something inside), or use just the front to paste onto a larger folded card as a greeting card. Use them as gift tags. Carry some with you to fill in & hand out.

Thankful for ampersands & more ampersands
Here are some ideas for your ampersand “Thankful for…” phrases:
- People’s names & their outstanding virtues: Uncle Gil & always willing to help out
- Couple’s names: Mike & Viola
- Things that make you happy: my dog & cats, books & dancing, flowers & butterflies
- The necessities: food & shelter, friends & family, love & light
- I personally am thankful for: artistic talent & loyal subscribers

Have a very happy Thanksgiving
full of small magnificent cheer
& great welcome.
(Sorry for the edit, Bill.)
Production notes for #181 Small Cheer & Great Welcome:
Original size: 20x30 inches
Program: Adobe Illustrator
Font: Garamond
Ampersand: Garamond
Credits:
Illustration: depositphotos.com (modified by Chaz DeSimone)
Background: depositphotos.com
Quote: Shakespeare
Other credits as noted
Note: “&” replaces “and” in most or all text, including quotations, headlines & titles.
You may repost the image & article. Please credit AmperArt.com.
To download a full-size high-resolution 11x17-inch poster suitable for printing & framing, click on the image.

Chaz DeSimone is the creator of AmperArt and owner of Desimone Design. He was adding serifs to letters when he was just a little brat scribbling on walls. Now he’s a big brat and his entire career is design, so long as each project requires the most sophisticated, logical, captivating results. Contact him at chaz@desimonedesign.com to discuss your project, pick his brain, or just talk shop.

Who banned the ampersand?
Whoever thought up the syntax for Universal Resource Locators (URLs) was 100% coder & 0% copywriter. No foresight whatsoever. We can’t even use common punctuation in a URL except for the hyphen & underscore. It sure makes all the AmperArt URLs ugly & hard to understand—no ampersands allowed!
This is just one of the rants on my blog, chaz sez.
Rants & raves mostly about design, sometimes about the universe.
An occasional bit of useful advice.
Read the blog:
desimonedesign.com/chaz-sez




