Well Written

I made this card for a good friend who will be turning 70 this week.  She is feeling about 70 the way I felt in October when I hit that milestone!  Not me!!  I can't be that old.  Even my mom told me she thought there was a mix up - she couldn't have a daughter that was 70 years old .... thanks, mom!  But it is what it is.  You're only as old as you feel ... it's just a number ... 70 is the new 50 (is dead the new 80 or 90???) 

There is a plus side to aging.  We septuagenarians have reached a sweet spot.  If we've been lucky, we have plenty of time, enough money and the ability and inclination to use both.  Within limits, we can do whatever we want - travel (Hawaii!!), read, play games, bike, go to concerts, take a ride in your boat on Lake Norman, etc.  The window may be narrow - you know what comes next - but it's a nice window!

The story of our generation is linked with the rise of American pop culture.  We baby boomers (odd term for senior citizens!) were raised on transistor radios, TV, rock and roll (Elvis, Beatles), Flower Power, moon walks, Vietnam and Watergate.  We have a common cultural memory, one that's infinitely more cohesive and much easier to share than the environment of today.  Like all generations, we've seen a lot and what we've seen has helped us weather the storms of the recent past.  There is no substitute for time, no stand-in for experience. 

Aging, like birthing, is a largely involuntary irreversible process!  It's a condition you can't help catching.  There is no vaccine, dietary supplement or elixir that can halt the years.  Just don't take the process too personally.  The young become old and the old leave the scene, as inevitably as the sun sets and the moon rises.

Ok - so on the card after those little bits of wisdom!

I can't tell you how long this card took to make!  But I love it.  The friend I am sending it to has thanked me for the Christmas card I made for her and her husband 2-3 times so I felt like I had to do something "over the top."  The card itself is Gray Granite.  I then layered a white piece of Wood Textures 6x6 DSP.  Next is a piece of 3 3/4" square using the darker Wood Textures DSP.  I die cut a Gray Granite frame and adhered it next with dimensionals.  Adhere a piece of Burlap Ribbon.  Next I die cut a circle with a lighter Wood Textures DSP and adhered it with dimensionals.  I die cut "friend" from the new Well Written dies (page 27 in Occasions catalog) and adhered it to the DSP inside the circle.  I stamped "hello" (from a retired stamp set) and cut it out with the Classic Label Punch.  The swirls were die cut from the Well Written set of framelits.  The final touch was adding the pearls to the card and a sentiment inside.