Tuesday, September 11, 2012

MMTPT215 - Happy 110th

This week's Teapot Challenge destination is none other than Mrs. Eula Cousins.  Mrs. Cousins is a very good friend of my friend Jackie and Eula is celebrating her 110th birthday this week.

She has had "An Extraordinary Life - Well Lived".  In addition to our teapot challenge, Mrs. Cousins is having a special b'day complete with a visit from the Philadelphia mayor and possibly a call from Mrs. Obama.

Our party is a traditional birthday party this week and our cards are to depict a birthday or our memory(ies) of a memorable birthday.  We were also asked to include a note, if possible, sharing our memories with Mrs. Cousins.


In my card I wrote - 

Dear Mrs. Cousins,

Happy 110th Birthday!

We asked the ladies to share their most memorable birthdays with you and I have combined two of mine in the creation of this card.

On my 21st birthday I was still living in my parents' house.  It was a two-story red brick building and we lived upstairs from my grandparents.  I remember waiting and waiting for my then boyfriend to come and take me to dinner. He was late and I was anxious and kept going to the window to watch for his car coming down the street.  Finally he arrived and I ran down the stairs and jumped into the car.  I was a bit annoyed that he was so late and asked him what took him so long.  He smiled, fumbled around for something and pulled out a tiny box.  I don't even think it was wrapped.  My annoyance quickly gave way to joy as he proposed to me.  The date was March 31, 1976.  We will be celebrating our 35th anniversary on Sept. 24th.

The second most memorable birthday was when I turned 50, seven years ago.  I gave myself a "tea party" - a real tea party and invited 12 of my lady friends (mother & sister too!) to celebrate with me.  The theme was "I'm not an old bag!" and we ate finger sandwiches, scones, pastries, etc.   We drank hot and cold tea and then we sat at my dining room table and did a couple of "craft" projects I had planned.  We were having so much fun that no one wanted to leave. 

I hope you will be having fun reading the birthday memories from my stamping friends.  You are an inspiration to all of us!  Happy Birthday!


So here is my brick house (though we did not have shutters) and you can see through the window the tea service all set up and waiting for guests.  

The image in the window comes from a Stamps Happen stamp - Tea Party Teddy.  I used my Memory Box Grand Madison Window and shutters dies.  The brick background was embossed onto a piece of Naturals White cs using a Tim Holtz embossing folder.  Then I brayered Riding Hood Red ink across it to pop the bricks.  The curtain inside the window is a small piece of Twitterpated fabric just folded in half and given a quick little running stitch to gather it.  Red line tape was used to adhere the curtain to the inside of the window.  The window itself uses a small piece of acetate.  

I colored my image with markers and Prismacolor pencils.  

If you'd like to help celebrate "An Extraordinary Life ~ Well Lived" leave a comment and I'll share Mrs. Cousins' address with you.  I'm sure she'd love to hear from you too!  And it doesn't have to be a handmade card either.

If you'd like to see the written story that goes along with the challenge, click here.  Cindy did such a wonderful job with this challenge!

2 comments:

  1. I love your window scene, Lorraine. We don't have shutters here - they always make me think of France :D. I always use them in our hotel there, to muffle the sound of the traffic. The little scene inside looks perfect for a birthday tea-party. I used one of the background stamps you sent me on my card :D.

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  2. Very cute! . . . and I got a little teared up reading your first birthday story. Wonderful memory - and happy anniversary a little early.

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