Saturday, August 23, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ACHA! 3 Challenges in One

Hi Everyone, 

Today is my father's birthday!!! Happy Birthday Acha!! (Acha means dad in my language - Malayalam). I wish I could be there to celebrate - but hopefully soon we can all be together  :) I had already made a card for my dad - but felt like that wasn't the card for him - so I started from again.
I loved Julee's awesome sketch design for Meet the Divas challenge, so I used the sketch for the color challenge for TCP Tuesday this week, which was to make a card using the colors Blue and Orange. I love using bright contrasting colors, so I couldn't wait to play. And I also loved the  challenge from the Dirty Dozen/Dirty Dozen Alumni Challenge to only use numbers in making a birthday card (the restricted element was to NOT have "happy birthday on the card"). So since my dad is turing 70 - which is awesome and amazing - and I can't believe it, I thought I would honor this leap into a new decade by featuring the number on my card for him. 


I had a lot of fun making this card. I was trying to make the #70 look like frosting by using a little paint on top of the Alpha Cut Out letters (the #70 is actually the Letter L (upside down) and the Letter O because I didn't have any chipboard numbers that size. My favorite part was creating the door that opens to reveal Sprinkles holding a present :) The sign on the door says: We love you Acha, and was created in Photoshop. 

Since it is my dad's birthday today - I thought I would share a few favorite memories. My dad is one of my bestest friends - I adore him. I feel so blessed to be his daughter and wish I could do everything to help take care of my parent's - they are truly amazing.

One of my favorite things I love about my dad is watching him tell a joke. He is the best joke teller I know - because as he is telling the joke you can see the twinkle of laughter in his eyes and in the corner of his smile and then part way through he is cracking up and his laughter is so infectious that it makes everyone laugh also - even though we still haven't heard the whole joke :)  

I love holding my father's hands - he has amazing earth hands - strong and sweet. I love talking to him about philosophy - I used to call him way late at night when I was in college and ask him questions about what I was learning and we would talk into the night. My dad has an amazing book collection. Any book that is related to religion and spirituality he has got it - He lives in a little library at homeand not only that, he can remember these amazing quotes from all these amazing writers and so in the middle of a conversation he will suddenly offer me a different perspective by quoting someone verbatim. My dad was the one who inspired my love of reading and my love of philosophy - I love sitting on the couch with him while he is reading something and I am reading something else. 
 
He makes a wonderful Chai - and I love sitting out in the patio at my parent's back yard, drinking a hot cup of chai with my father as we look out at the fields in silence. I love that I can talk to my dad about the deepest subjects and also that we can just sit in silence and enjoy each other's company. I adore him - he has always felt more like my brother than my father :) He is one of the best letter writers I know - he has got amazing literary style. I loved getting letters from him when I was in Kenya - they always started: "My dearest friend, ...." Each of those letters are a treasure. 

I am an only child - so my parents doubled as my best friends and my parents and I have learned so much from my mother and father - they teach me about life because of they live it with integrity, nobility and truth. I hope that I can be even a quarter of the person that they are.  I missing living closer to them - they are all the way in Baltimore... and can't wait till our next visit! 

Happy Birthday Acha!!! You are the bestest!!!  

Hope all of you are having a wonderful Saturday!
Thanks for coming over for a visit :)
Ciao for now,
Sankari

Card Recipe:
Paper - DCVW for the cardstock and I think the patterned paper also from DCVW
Ink - Staz-on
Stamps -  I used my new FAVE stamps - from The Cat's Pajamas! (you have to get some - they stamp like a dream!) and Almas is awesome! and the cake is from all Night Media
Accessories: Alpha Cut out letters, Orange stickles, metallic brad not sure from where, Red Paint, Edge Punch from Martha
Shows watched: Deserving Design on Hulu

11 comments:

toners said...

I love it! And I also love how you merged 3 challenges into one! Wow! Thank you so much for playing along :)

Anonymous said...

My CD SHANKARI!

I love it all!
You are the best CD ever.
The cards are the so sweet,ready to eat...:) I know we cannot... beautiful.
Radha

Curt in Indy said...

What a wonderful tribute to your Dad! He sounds like a fabulous human being and he certainly is blessed to have a daughter like you. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about your wonderful father. He sounds amazing! Best, Curt

Kisa Peters said...

Great card! Happy Birthday to your Dad - I love all that you had to say about him - sounds like a wonderful person!

Ophthalmologist said...

Oh Sankari, what a wonderful card and what a wonderful story. I'm sure that not only you are proud of your father but he is also proud for you. It is an unpayable gift when parents and children love and understand each other so well. I know what I'm talking about as I am blessed with wonderful, loving and understanding parents, too.
So congrats to your Dad for his birthday, but also for having such an amazing daughter!

Anonymous said...

First, Sankari, I love your wonderful card. Love all the dimension, the sketch and the little surprise opening on the front. I also want to say how much I enjoyed your sharing your father with us. Truthfully, I felt a little choked up, but in a good way. What a wonderful man with a kind and nurturing soul. You have been very fortunate, indeed.

Heather said...

Oh what a sweet card and such a touching tribute post to your dad. <3 <3 <3

Sherri said...

Great card! ...and what a great tribute to your Dad! ...and who doesn't love a good Chai?!! You're a lucky girl!

Brooke S said...

What an amazing tribute to your dad. I can feel the love that he has for you through the love you express in him. How could a daughter not feel so blessed.... I know that my daughter feels the same way about her dad as well. I wish you could be with him right know.. We are keeping you all in our prayers...

Hugs
Brooke

Savitri said...

This is just adorable!! I love how it opens like that. Cute cute stamps!!!

Savitri said...

Just reading more today... this is so awesome, you and your dad. I wish mine was like yours. I'm close to my grandpa. My relationship with my grandpa is like yours with your dad. I love to read because of my grandpa and like your dad, he's so wise. He passed away last year, two weeks before my trip to Indonesia -- the main reason I went. So that was depressing. But this is going to sound odd but he came to me before he passed in my dreams and told me that he had to go. So even though I was disappointed I was ok when my family told me he passed away. It was odd to tell them I know, he told me last night.