I made this card for my dad. He was 86 this month, and I'll be seeing him in just a few weeks now (which is why I didn't fuss too much about missing his birthday). I haven't seen him since January 2008, and Simon hasn't seen him since July 2007. We had thought Simon travelling to Australia was too dangerous, but as he has been seizure free for almost 10 months now (touch wood) we decided to risk it. I wanted to surprise my dad, but mum just couldn't keep the secret (she was so excited when I told her we had decided to make the trip).

I created some background paper by using alcohol inks (Salmon, Willow, Sandal and Gold), then stamped the 2 images using black archival ink. I was much happier with the alcohol inks this time. The colours are lighter and I think the gold helped to lighten it even more. The images aren't lost in the background here. The 1st image is from Crafty Individuals (love their stamps), and the 2nd from Stampers Anonymous (borrowed from my good friend Lena). The quote was created on the computer. All three were mounted on black card and then on a K & Co Mat sheet, then on a black 5x7 card.