An Anniversary Card ~ and a trip to Alaska!

As you are reading this, my dh, son , and I are starting our Alaskan cruise!

Attention robbers!  Someone is staying in our home watching our kitties so don't get any ideas!

This is his college graduation present and our last big family trip before our son starts working!

I will have no internet access so I will come visit when we get back in two weeks.

 

Today I am posting on the eclectic Paperie blog.  I made an anniversary card for my DH early because I just received some new products from eclectic Paperie in the mail and I was itching to try them out! I'll just save it until our anniversary in November! LOL!

Here's My card:

What I WANTED to do was have a starfish in the center cut out with text underneath. It would have been easier if the Tim Holtz alterations sand and sea die cuts had been separate but the weren't. So I improvised! I ended up stacking fat chipboard over the images I didn't want to cut out and running it through my die cut machine. They cut out anyway but there was so much texture and color and product on my Tim Holtz distress watercolor cardstock top page that when I pieced it back together like a puzzle, you really couldn't see it! And I got the look I wanted!

I also wanted the seahorse floating in the water surrounded by bubbles (Tim Holtz texture fades - bubbles and waves) with it's tail wrapped around a plant. That's how they REALLY look when you dive, hiding in plants and blending in to the surroundings. For the plant I die cut a branch from the Tim Holtz spring greenery decorative strip. I put wet glue on it and sprinkled Tim Holtz Distress Glitter on top. LOVE the glimmer it adds!

 

I LOVE this seahorse and I puposely had the word MEMORY show through. (I wanted to remind my DH of all of the FAB memories we have together.) The text is Tim Holtz melange tissue wrap stained with tea dye Distress ink.

Here you can see the Wendy Vecchi translucent embossing paste. I LOVE that it dries clear and looks wet on your project!

 

Here you can see the Prima seaweed flower and the Prima resin shells I added. The idea-ology word band sentiment was perfect since this IS an anniversary card and we are living the life we have imagined! Literally! I tied it on with idea-ology jute.

The kraft paper behind the watercolor and text layers is my new FAB Tim Holtz idea-ology resist paper. It is so cool with a design embossed on it so when you add ink, the embossing shows through. This one I used has mini distressed dots ~ going with the bubble theme!

 

And on the inside, I put a photograph of last year when we renewed our vows for our 25th anniversary. It was a dream! Look at the color of that water and how it is mimicked by the distress paint colors on the outside of my card.

 

If you want to see the process photos, check out my post on the eP blog!

 

UPDATE!

Do you remember the memory book I made for my friend Lisa who is moving to St. Louis?  You can see it here.  I wanted to share a couple of photos about how I finished it:

 

I added some CUTE charms to the binding strings to remind her of Florida - a palm tree, a flip flop, and umbrella drink, and an angel wing (to protect her).

 

And I think I was a genius when I figured out all by myself how to close the book.  It got rather fat with all of the photos and messages inside so:

 

I punched two holes and added eyelets on the outside so there is a pretty hot pink bow of seam binding.

 

 

But the genius part is, I tied it in such a way that when you untie the bow, the seam binding is attached so all you have to do is pull it and drape it over the back of the book so you can open it up!

 

This way, the seam binding is always attached.  I hope this make sense?!!!

 

I won't have anything posting until September 5th for a 3 day FAB blog hop with prizes!  Until then...fore he starts working.