fait a la main : happy 4th of july + father's day card

happy 4th of july! the day of independence for the united states. a day to remember how this country became a place where one is free to voice their thoughts, be who they truly want to be and is supported for their individuality. well, maybe not completely, but these days looking at other countries, i realized that with every country, there are pros/cons, but with the united states, the one great thing about it is that one is able to pursue what they want if they want it bad enough. as they say, it's the 'land of opportunity'.

that thought alone brings me to think about my own parents and how much they sacrificed so that i can be where i am today. to simply put, they had a choice between living a life of comfort, but instead chose to stay in the states so that their child could be bilingual and in hopes that it would allow her to have more opportunities in life. if someone were to tell me right now to go live in a different country where i couldn't speak the language, had no clue what my next job would be and had no secure income, i'm not sure if i would be able to do it. i am thankful for their decision to stay in the states. if it wasn't for this decision, my life would be completely different. who knows if i would be able to speak english? or to have met my fiance who only speaks english? or have been able to attend college or be practicing design right now? it makes me ponder about our decisions in life and how they can make a monumental difference in how things turn out in the long run.

in the spirit of 4th of july, i wanted to make a card for my dad for father's day (yes, yes. it's a bit late, but we have been waiting for his gift to arrive and it finally has!). i was thinking about making a card that was a business suit with a tie as that is the image of father's day, but i thought about what my image of a dad was and it has always been a white chef outfit with a chef's hat. so instead, i crafted a chef uniform card for my dad for father's day. i hope he likes it.

thank you dad + mom for giving me my independence to dream and tell me that the sky is the limit. that anything is possible. looking at the both of you, i believe that anything is truly possible.