This past week I received an e-mail from the daughter of my first cousin (so, she would be my second cousin) that his 75th birthday was right around the corner, and she wanted family, friends, and church members to send him a birthday card. By the way, it took me several years as a child to get down the concept of first, second, third cousin. I still don’t quite get the concept, yet, of second cousin twice removed, etc., it’s just too mind boggling. LOL
I would visit his mom and dad (his mother was my dad’s sister) every summer. I really looked forward to going to Allene’s and Ernest’s house. We didn’t do “young people” things when I visited them. Ernest owned a Piggly Wiggly store near St. Elmo’s Park in Columbus, Georgia, and Allene would take me with her to pick up some groceries. The store was located in an old, quaint strip of stores. I loved the musty smell of the store, and visiting with the employees who had worked there for many, many years. When we arrived at the store, we would go through the back door (I felt really privileged because, to my child’s mind, we went in the “secret” way), and we had to ring a bell for the door to be opened from the inside. I can remember eating oatmeal from a bowl while sitting in front of the t.v. and playing with a 4′ – 5′ tall Jolly Green Giant doll a sales rep had given Ernest. When I was very little, Allene’s mom, my paternal grandmother “Mama Storey,” lived with them and I remember going into the bathroom where her teeth were in a GLASS!!! Wow, I didn’t know anyone who could take their teeth out and put them in a glass. My second cousins, Allene’s other son – Larry’s children, would visit and play with me. We had such fun! We would visit with Allene’s best friend, Edith whose couch I wet after falling asleep on it (the things we remember from childhood), I almost forgot, they owned a small cottage a block from the beach in Panama City Beach, Florida off of Thomas Drive. I really looked forward to going to the beach for a week during the summer as a family. There are so many more great childhood memories from my summers with them, but I shall move on.
When I was really little my cousin, David – the birthday boy/man, lived with his parents. He is twenty something years older than me (my dad got a late start). He married Vicki when I was about 8 years old, and my sister and I were flower girls at his wedding. Once David and Vicki had their own home, I would go and spend a night or two with them. They were so much fun. Eventually, they purchased a house and built a POOL. Pool to a kid means fun times!!! They had two children John and Barbara. I helped out with John when he was a baby and then, I “grew-up” and had other things to occupy my time and the summer visits ended around my 16th birthday.
When my uncle died, Allene moved into a mother-in-law suite attached to their house. By this time, I was grown and had children of my own. And, every summer we would visit and swim and go to the beach. Those were some relaxing times. This was a also a season of my life where I got to know Barbara well. She and I would go to a scrapbooking store that had a weekly scrap night and we would sit there for hours making scrapbook pages.
Anyway, I made a card that reflects a beach/ocean theme. David has a boat he takes out to go deep-sea fishing,and when Barbara asked for us to send him a birthday greeting, I immediately thought of By The Tide stamp set. I made this card to send to him:
 HAPPY BIRTHDAY – DAVID!
I created a spin-off from this card. It was one of my cards that made featured artisan card with Fab Friday Card Challenge website. I had the coral stamped background (rectangular piece) and the shell left over from the card mentioned previously. I took the coral background panel and stamped some more coral on top of the Bermuda Bay coral with VersaMark and then embossed the coral with bronze embossing powder (purchased at Hobby Lobby). I stamped the lobster with Staz-On and watercolored it with Watermelon Wonder and after it dried went back with the Watermelon Wonder Stampin’ Write marker and made the shadowed areas pop and I cut the lobster out with SU! paper snips. I watercolored the background oval and adhered Delightful Dijon Envelope paper (torn and stippled with a Delightful Dijon ink). I stamped the birthday sentiment onto Coastal Cabana card stock with Bermuda Bay ink. Then I adhered all the pieces.
 Supplies:
