Lovely Oak 100th Birthday Card

Today, on Memorial Day as we remember those in who have sacrificed so much for our freedom I thought I would share a story about a WWII Veteran who will be celebrating his 100th birthday very soon. 

For his 100th birthday on June 6th...which comes 74 years after he was miraculously pulled off a Normandy-bound boat on D-Day, Michigan WWII veteran Isaac "Ike" Fabela has just one wish, his family said...Mr. Fabela will be anxiously checking his mail, as the happy and humble vet hopes to rack up 100 birthday cards from well-wishers across the country.

Today I am sharing the card I made for him, and I'm hoping that maybe you will also take a little time to send him a card as well. (address and link is at the end of this post)

I thought it was fitting to use Stampin' Up!'s oldest and one of the most beloved stamp sets- Lovely As A Tree for his card. I used the Tailored Tag Punch to create the border on the left side of the card. Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and soon to be retired Dapper Denim were stamped using the Hardwood stamp inked in Whisper White. The Mossy Meadow main panel was stamped using the oak leaf image from the Lovely As A Tree set. The oak tree image was watercolored using an Aqua Painter.

To embellish the card I used Linen Thread and one of those wooden shapes that were offered in the Holiday Catalog a couple of seasons ago. The sentiment is computer generated since I didn't have a suitable sized sentiment to use.

I am sure that Mr. Fabela will be surprised with all the wonderful birthday greetings he is sure to receive in honor of his special day. He sounds like a kind-hearted and wonderful man...can you imagine all the stories he has lived to tell? If you would like to read more about his story please visit this link.

Thanks to all who send him a card:

Ike Fabela
C/O Nick Rodgers
PO Box 3112 Montrose, MI 48457

Lastly, I would like to say thank you to all of our service men and women and their families for the selfless life they've pursued.

You've Got This Collage

You've Got This is such a pretty set, but I haven't used it in a while. Since it is on the retiring list, I figured I would get it out and play. I only knew that I wanted to use a couple of my favorite colors that will be returning to the Stampin' Up! palette in the upcoming new catalog. Here's what I came up with.

I started by stamping the large peony onto Whisper White card stock using Black Archival Ink because I planned to watercolor the image. I masked the flower and used the large crosshatch background that is included in this set inked in So Saffron with a bit of Soft Suede on the edges. I stamped it over the flower not worrying about the leaves because I knew I was painting those using Mossy Meadow (a returning favorite) and the yellow would add a nice compliment to the green of the leaves. Using my Aqua Painter I painted the petals using my favorite returning color...Blackberry Bliss and with a bit of Fresh Fig as well.

Using the Timeless Textures and Butterfly Basics sets I added a collage look to my background with several of the stamps from these sets. The butterfly is from a really old retired set called Natural Beauty. I just kept adding elements until I was happy with it. When I was done stamping, I felt it still needed something so I used a Tim Holtz stencil and applied some Blackberry Bliss ink with a Sponge Dauber. I think this added the perfect touch!

Now that I had my stamped panel all water colored and stenciled it was time to finish the card. I used some retired Blackberry Bliss Stitched Satin Ribbon layered over some Lace Trim. I planned to make a bow, but didn't like the way that looked so after searching for some ribbon charms that I thought I still had in my stash and coming up empty handed, I decided to die cut and embellishment using the Flourish Thinlit Dies.

I cut out Blackberry Bliss and Gold Foil and finished it off with a pretty Gold Faceted Gem. This card was a series of trial and error, that I almost gave up on...but I love the way it turned out! I bet I probably couldn't duplicate it if I tried!

If you don't already have the You've Got This stamp set, be sure to order before the end of the month. As of yesterday, there are now many discounted items on the Retiring List as well...check them out!