A Very Important Birthday

Can you believe that December is almost over? What a whirlwind month it was for us! We had many wonderful holiday related things to do and partake of but we also lost one of our family members in mid-December. A tragic loss of a 20-year old nephew made us all pause and reflect on the specialness of family and the true meaning of the holiday season. Along side that tragedy, we celebrated the milestone birthday of my son who turned 18 on December 13. Having just experienced the loss of someone so close to his age made us realize how precious it was to be celebrating his special birthday. I must say that I am so very proud of him and all that he has accomplished in his 18 years. He is such a talented young man and was just accepted to the college of his choice to study music. I'm thrilled for him and even though I know I will miss him terribly when he heads off to school next fall, I am so happy he will be following his dream.

Here is the card I made for my son's birthday. The trees and train are stamps from the gorgeous Life is Good set by the very talented Theresa Momber. I stamped them using Memento "London Fog" onto Pure Luxury Ivory paper. I colored the train with Copics and sponged around it with Vivid "Tuscan Tan". The sky is sponged very lightly with Vivid "Cobblestone" ink. I didn't quite like the way the trees turned out when I stamped them with the London Fog. They were a bit too bluish looking or something so I decided to use a glue pen and some glitter to make them look frosty. The focal image is layered onto a piece of Basic Grey Granola paper and that is layered onto Pure Luxury "Tan Leather" and Pure Luxury "Smoky Slate" papers. The word "Son" and the "Explore. Dream. Discover." sentiment are stamped in "Cobblestone." This was a fairly simple and quick card to create but it seemed fitting for a young man's birthday, especially one who was a huge train fan when he was younger!

Life is good and I am thankful for being able to celebrate my son's 18th birthday and to know that he is becoming a very special young adult with dreams to explore and many new things to discover.

Thanks for visiting my blog tonight. I wish a very happy, joy-filled New Year for each of you!