Birthday Whimsy for Weston

I just got home from church and I'm so excited about the morning's events that I had to share them with you! I love it when a plan comes together, and we pulled off a surprise for Weston, who I serve with in the 2nd and 3rd grade room. He's 18 today, and he's the host of our large group time. The kids ADORE him, and he shows them each and every week how much he cares for them by helping them understand who God is and modeling how to follow Him as they go through everyday life. He does this despite the fact that he's a busy busy senior in high school with the lead in the musical that opens in about a month.

So, when our director told me that this is his day, I made a card for all the members of the production team that serve with him to sign, and I whipped up my sister's excellentamundo chocolate chip cookies to share with the rest of those who volunteer. All the kids started yelling "Happy Birthday, Weston!" when he came out on stage, and they serenaded him in song too. He was embarrassed (his face turned red), but he loved it, just the same.

The card was really simple. It needed to be, as I didn't get to it until 6:30 this morning! I started with an OLD OLD OLD background stamp called Happy Birthday Greetings. I inked that up with my brayer and Brilliant Blue ink. The piece is mounted on Tempting Turquoise and is larger than the base, but it still worked out well. I stamped three presents in Real Red, Yo Yo Yellow, and Only Orange--can't go wrong with the Bold Brights color family for a guy card--and cut them out. Stamped the cake in Green Galore and cut it out as well. I wasn't going to put the balloons on, but I felt the card was a little lacking without them. I stayed as far away from the pinks as I could get, but did used Orchid Opulence and Lovely Lilac for the floaters. It's hard to tell in the photo (click on it to see it in LARGER THAN LIFE detail), but there's a string tied on each balloon! I didn't want to draw them on the background. The thread's a little too lightweight, but it was all I had and I was running out of time.

People are special and not often enough to do we do things that demonstrate how much they are valued. It only takes a little time, and it communicates so much. Find someone to bless this week!