Anniversary card for my parents

Saturday is my parents' 39th wedding anniversary, and I wanted to send them a special card. [Yes, they married on Halloween. Don't ask me why they chose the date because I still haven't gotten a satisfactory answer on that one! ;) ]



Supplies: digital image (Super Coloring); paper (Serendipity by ATD, Recollections); Vintage Corners die (Cuttlebug); satin ribbon, rhinestones, image coloring with oil pastels and blended with baby oil.

Now you're probably wondering why on earth I chose this image for this card. Every couple seems to have "their song." My husband and I have "Only God Could Love You More," and my parents have "Like A Bridge Over Troubled Water" (by Simon & Garfunkel). I wanted a bridge image, and this was the nicest one I found as a digital image. I really wouldn't have minded buying a digital image for this card, but there are no bridge digital stamps that I could find.

I had fun coloring this image! I bought a small set of oil pastels at Ollie's last week for $0.49 because I had been told they created a lovely effect. I was not disappointed! I put the boldest strokes on by using the sticks directly on the paper, and then I blended that out to the edges to create that nice, soft effect you see. It looks really "artsy," but it's incredibly easy!

I couldn't think of a perfect sentiment for the outside, so I decided to save the words for inside.



Supplies: digital image (Leaves of Time) colored with oil pastels and blended with baby oil.

This is one of those graduation announcement cards, so I "had" to decorate both sides of the inside. On the left, I used this digital image and printed the words to the song underneath. I had to cut out a line or two of the song to make it even, but I chose the words that will mean the most to them right now.

They've gone through some hard times the last five years. Dad lost his good-paying job right about the same time Mom developed health problems that cost a great deal of money. That would be enough to send a lot of couples to divorce court, but not my parents. They're committed, and they love each other. They've been through hard times before, and they're in it for the long haul.

So I continued the last few lines of the song onto the other side of the card and finished with the traditional "Happy Anniversary" sentiment:

Oh, when you need a friend

I'm sailing right behind.

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will ease your mind.

I really like how it turned out, and I think they will, too. I like making cards that are meaningful on many levels, and this is probably the most "meaningful" one I've created to date.