Why do I love Birthdays?  When I was growing up with my siblings, seven in the home, my mother would celebrate each birthday by buying the honoree a cake and a half-gallon of ice cream.  Usually, the Neapolitan flavor that had chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.  She would place the cake on the kitchen table and have us all gather around to sing happy birthday and watch the birthday boy or girl blow out the candles.  She would then let the birthday boy or girl cut the first slice and get the first ice cream cone.  I remember the ice cream melting faster than I could eat it, and the stickiness that clung to your hands until it was time to clean up.  We would all try to eat our cake slices slowly because we knew that we would not have cake again until the next birthday, so we tried to savor every bite until it was finally gone.  No presents were given for birthdays.  We understood that it was too many of us for her to try and buy a present for each birthday, so we appreciated the ice cream and the cake she bought and the sweet joy they gave us every month.

Today, I’m older, but I still look forward to ice cream and cake.  Blowing out the candles and hearing my loved ones singing happy birthday.  Birthdays are about life and second chances.  Birthdays remind me that life is to be celebrated every chance you get. Life is purposeful and should not be taken for granted.

The card that is on display was designed for a young lady at the church I attend.  She saw a picture of a set of cards I made using the Delightful Daisy stamp set from Stampin’ Up and commented that her birthday was coming up and she loved the color yellow.  For the base and layer, I used  Daffodil Delight(119683) and Old Olive(100702) cardstock.  I made the background layer using the Daisy Delight stamp set(143669) with Daffodil Delight(147095) and Pineapple Punch(147141) ink pads. The sentiment comes from the Happy Birthday Thinlits Die(143700).  To complete the card, I used the Daisy punch(143713) and a piece of the 5/8″ Burlap Ribbon(141487).

All these supplies can be purchased at my Stampin’ Up site.  Join me in the Celebration of life!