Surprise, Maria!!! Happy Birthday!!!

Someone, actually Someone Special, has a birthday today. You all know her, it's Maria from reislingmama. (How's that for a fun blog name?!!) And it's one of those 'ending-in-zeros' birthdays... Shirley Bampton, from shirley-bee's stamping stuff has organized a wonderful surprise party for her, including a link so that we can put the cards we make to help celebrate Maria all in one place! So sweet of Shirley to do that! Be sure to stop on over at Shirley's blog to see more of this party! Dang!, I just love parties!!!

Our 'birthday girl' is pretty awesome. Maria is a talented cardmaker, she's been published, and since I "met" her, I've found that she's about one of the sweetest ladies out in blogland! As a newbie blogger, Maria welcomed me with open arms, encouraged me with kind comments and passed on the Leibster Award to me. Can I just say that she made me cry with that wonderful gesture?!! A girl originally from the Midwest, she's warm, funny, caring, and adventuresome. I love her card making style. Very cool. Eclectic, whimsical, modern, soft, sweet, and fearless (and lest I forget, Maria is the undisputed Queen of Bokeh)! If you're reading this blog, and haven't clicked on her link either in the paragraph above, or in my right sidebar, you really must. See how she puts her soul into the cards she makes. I think that's what I like most about Maria's work. You can see her soul there.

I so wanted to CASE this gorgeous bokeh card, but all I ended up doing was staring at it on my computer monitor for what felt like hours. But now, it's time to get this party started! Have a stroll beneath a series of bokeh arches, and come on along as we celebrate Maria. Happy Birthday my friend.

The card below is one I chanced upon when I knew I wanted to attempt to CASE one of her cards as a little birthday tribute. I studied it. Loved the colors, the whimsy, and wonderful textures found here. After a bit, I actually read the post which accompanied it. And about fell out of my chair. In it, she speaks of "pings," a word which I use when an idea literally pings into my brain! You can read that post here. And as a coincidence, one of Maria's friends was celebrating a banner birthday too, hence, her card!

And this is the card I made for Maria. Happy birthday, my friend. It's mighty, awfully good to have to join my decade! Hope your day year is as wonderful as you are!