A Monumental Birthday Wish!!

Today I made a very fun, satisfying project: A big ol' birthday card for someone I've never met.

Yup. Total stranger. Sort of.

Why? There's a story there. Isn't there always a story?

But, the story comes later. For now, check out MEGA CARD:

This card had to be BIG, so I started with Club Scrap 12x12" cardstock from their Equestrian collection. I hinged two pieces of plain cardstock to make the card base 11 3/4" wide x 12" tall.

The card front is made in layers separated by foam tape. The first layer is that rust colored paper at the top, which is actually a beautiful copper foil. Shiny, reflective but not too bling-y.

If you look very closely at the tan paneled paper you can see the shadows of a pair of running horses on the left. I wanted to echo that silhouette with my diecuts.  I fired up my trusty Silhouette Cameo and with a quick drive-by the internet for some free clip art, I created cut files for the running horses.

Layer two is the tan paneled border paper. I cut the tooled faux leather border along the top curve and reserved it to use later; then adhered the remaining paper to the card with foam tape.

For layer three I pop dotted a single running horse cut from the last scrap of a beautiful coffee brown shimmer paper from Wausau. The border from top of the main sheet was flipped and applied with foam tape over the identical border at the bottom.

I added a birthday sentiment stamp with rope border from CTMH (D1525, Casual Expressions Sally's Close To My Heart Site ), more copper foil and a silver concho with twill. Ta-daaaa!!! BIG CARD!

What? You want to hear the story? OK...

Anyone who spends a bit of time with me knows I'm crazy - CRAZY - for just about any movie with men on horseback. Cowboys, knights, the occasional fantasy character - put that guy on a horse and I'll watch!!

I trace this fixation back to my teen years when my father ruled the TV and as far as he was concerned, TV meant WESTERNS. Gunsmoke. Bonanza. The Rifleman. The Virginian. The Big Valley. Death Valley Days. Wagon Train. All of those were about as exciting as watching paint dry, as far as I was concerned, so I spent my time upstairs attempting to watch sci-fi on our old black & white set - the one with no aerial and tinfoil on the rabbit ears, that got maybe three channels IF you liked watching through a grainy snowstorm.

On the frequent evenings when the signal was just not cooperating, I retired to my room to read a book or thumb through the latest copy of Tiger Beat or 16 magazine. On one memorable evening in 1967, however, the reception was crummy, all my books were boring and there was nothing to do. Dad, however, had something to do: tune in to his new favorite western, the one with that "pretty Mexican girl", The High Chaparral. Oh, great. Another horse opera.

I sat down, preparing to be bored as usual.

I was not bored.

Thanks to intelligent writing, authentic looking sets and great acting, I was not bored. I also attribute my lack of boredom and continued devotion to men on horseback to this man - Henry Darrow:

Oh. My.

By 1968, women all over America were watching this western, and NOT for the horses. Besides being not too bad to look at, Henry Darrow is a great actor. He created a complex, fully realized character and had wonderful chemistry with the show's other actors, including my Dad's "pretty Mexican girl", Linda Cristal. More importantly, he, with his fellow cast members, accomplished the seemingly impossible: my dad and I finally had a TV show we could agree on! We never missed an episode.

That was a long time ago. The High Chaparral was canceled in 1971. Henry Darrow went on to act in countless TV shows, daytime TV, stage and movies. He won several awards, including an Emmy and an ALMA. Currently he lives in North Carolina with his wife, Lauren Levian. On September 15, he will celebrate his 82nd birthday.

Hence the BIG CARD. I have never written a "fan letter" to anyone, but I have enjoyed watching Henry Darrow's performances for so many years, and I want to thank him for sharing his talent with his audience. I also owe him a debt of gratitude because thanks to Henry, I pay attention to those other men on horseback. You know the ones - Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck, Ed Harris - but there will never be another Henry Darrow!

So, in the spirit of "thank people for the little things", I'm writing a letter to enclose in the big ol' birthday card. According to his friend Jan Pippins, he reads everything he gets, so I hope he reads it and understands how fondly and affectionately he is regarded by one he has never met.

Feliz Cumpleanos, Henry!!