Celebrating Again and a New Card

Fourteen years ago today I had a baby boy. He was named after his paternal great-grandfathers, "Mike" and Bill. That boy weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz. and was 21" long. Today, Michael William is 5' 6" tall, weighs over 100 lbs. and wears a men's small shirt and size 12 shoes! AAAAACKKK!! Where has the time gone?

He is absolutely fabulous, and a delight to have around--I'm not kidding! He even tolerated having his mug shot and the moments of his special day preserved for posterity. My day started early because I forgot that he wanted an ice cream dessert for his "cake" (not a big fan of the stuff for some reason), so I trotted off to Kroger before taking him to school to get the supplies I needed. Ice cream sandwiches with a fabulous "glue" or "frosting" of Cool Whip, hot fudge, and peanut butter. While I was there, I picked up powdered doughnuts, one of his favorites. He's not much of a breakfast guy, as you can see by the photo.

He went to school, but it was early release today--the perfect gift from the school system--so he was home by 2:15 instead of 5:00. For his birthday meal from Mom's Restaurant, he ordered parmesan chicken, rice orzo pilaf, and the aforementioned dessert. Note the glaring absence of a fruit or vegetable to balance the meal. He's a typical guy! The best meals contain meat and starch and end with sugar! I couldn't stand it; I steamed some broccoli for me and Bob.

He chatted on the phone with his friend and birthmate, Emily, and is enjoying some time online playing a computer game that he has been on a leave of absence from so as not to be distracted during this first month of school. The special dispensation to play brought a big smile to his face.

Okay, thanks for tolerating that bit of family news. Here's the card I made this evening while Michael's online and Bob's at a meeting. The design is called a pop up card, and I tried it because I saw Mary Jo Albright's tutorial at SCS today. I chose Sage Shadow, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, and Very Vanilla as the color scheme for this card because of a car seat pattern I saw at Target this afternoon. Inspiration is everywhere, so keep an eye out for it!

I know that in the first picture it doesn't look like a pop-up at all, but I wanted you to see what it looks like for mailing. It's great that it folds up and fits in a regular A2 envelope!

I'm really happy with how this turned out--the Always set never fails me--and I enjoyed adding little details, like the border and CTC 1/4" grosgrain ribbon around the base. It doesn't show in the photo, but it's on both sides. I like the idea of this card. It can sit around and serve as a reminder for someone in need of encouragement. It could even hold a photo, although it would have to be pretty tightly cropped. (Hmmmm...an idea for Christmas cards?) I'm going to write out a message on a separate piece of VV and attach it to the back before I send it.

Well, tomorrow's another day off for me, so I hope to make another card, this time featuring another new product from the SU! F-W Catalog--Power Flower Card Elements. Come on back and see me then!