Ode to Burt & Carolyn-47 years strong!

I hope everyone's been having a good weekend. I actually got some things done and am still working on getting back to better health. Fun, fun, fun laundry and all that other mindbending stuff. I'm teaching the local stamp club at their stampathon this weekend and have to get my act together, but hey!-I've still got 5 days (but I'll probably get it together tomorrow night).

Tomorrow is my Mom and Dad's 47th Wedding Anniversary. I just think that is so awesome. They are one another's best friends. They bicker, tease and work together as a team. We've all had our ups and downs on things, but that's what life is all about. In the end, I just love them as all get out and think they did a pretty damn good job with us (I'm the oldest of 3 sisters). It's hard to get anything for them, so that's when spending the afternoon putting a fun and different card together is so worth it. I thought I'd share it with you!

As I have indicated previously, I've got a bag 'o Bandanna Technique and Wrinkle Free Distress Technique watercolor paper. Luckily I had some blank ones and in digging in this bag of tricks it hit me what to do. I've got a bunch of the word stamps from Magnetic Poetry http://wordsandcrafts.com/. They are so much fun and look great when stamped with Jet Black Archival Ink over Tim Holtz' Wrinkle Free Distress Backgrounds. So stamp, stamp, stamp, cut, cut, cut. Now, glue time!

My glue of choice is Pioneer Photo Album's Glue Stick; all I can say is that-IT WORKS! My other favorite, favorite, favorite tool is QuicKutz' QuickStik(tm) http://quickutz.com/. I think I've used this thing for everything BUT what they sell it for-it's great to pick up pieces of paper and to run then across the glue stick, which is what I show in the following picture. It is the BOMB for picking up flat back Swarovski(r) Crystals http://swarovski.com/. The trick is that on the opposite side of where the "sticky" stuff is that there is a plastic wedge type end and a "pokey-outey" end that you use instead of your fingers to push what you picked up down. When I was at Bead & Button this year I went on and on about it to the beaders and bead stores. (I absolutely love figuring out things from one "part" of the industry to use for another!)

So I had a lot of fun putting the words down; some with specific meaning, such as their wedding date, family total (3 daughters, 2 granddaughters, 1 grandson) and just other cool words that are (or sometimes aren't) fitting.

I glued all of these down on folded Black Linen Cardstock, justified right. To the left I placed a piece of watercolor paper that I had created previously using Mini Misters(tm) filled with water, Perfect Pearls(tm) and Distress Ink(tm) reinkers and sprayed over Heidi Swapp's Mini Heart Masks http://heidiswapp.com. As always, the inky stuff is all Ranger http://rangerink.com! It creates a subtle, but sparkly effect.

My parent's picture had been previously scanned and I sized and printed it out on my Epson printer, cut out and added the extra "47 Great Years", but outlined these words with a white, opaque pen so it would pop. Needless to say, when Brian and I dropped by with the card and their "gift" certificates for Vesuvios (best pizza EVER!), they loved it and Mom is going to bring it to the beach to show their "wedding" days. Here's the finished product. Simple, whimsical, but most importantly, meaningful. That's what counts! Love you, Mom & Dad!