Our anniversary and a new deck

Last weekend, Eric and I celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary.

I really don’t know what the traditional gift (if there is one) for 39 years is… but we bought each other a new deck. LOL

I also made him a card (I always do) and we had a lovely lunch at Flemings, a local steakhouse.

Three smiling adults sit at a restaurant table with plates of steak, lobster, vegetables, and dipping sauces. The text “yummy lunch at Flemings” is displayed above them. The lower part of the image shows a closeup of their food with the watermark “Patty Bennett PattyStamps.com.”. To read more, visit Patty Stamps (pattystamps.com)

I’m “that person” who loves really well done steaks, so, I always hesitate to order an expensive steak in a really nice place and then basically tell them to burn it to oblivion… so.. when our sweet waitress said one of the specials was tempura battered lobster tails, I jumped on that for my lunch option!! It was AMAZING! Eric and Jason both had steaks… they wouldn’t let me see the “inside”. 🙂 Smart men.

A funny story about this card

So… I had an anniversary card design in mind for a few weeks for Eric. I was going to make a card like this with the numbers 39 on it. Well… when I opened the Party Alphabet dies, I discovered it’s only letters and symbols, no numbers. Darn, so.. Plan B was to die cut US instead of 39.

Party Alphabet anniversary card. A hand holds a homemade card featuring a photo of an older man and a woman smiling outdoors. The card says "TIME TO celebrate!" Cutout letters "EB" in silver and red are on the card and table. The surface has a cutting mat and the website "PattyStamps.com. To read more, visit Patty Stamps (pattystamps.com)

I think this Eclipse style card turned out great and he loved it, too! I couldn’t quite decide which greeting I wanted to use.. these were the ones I stamped and contemplated using..

A handmade card with a photo of an older smiling couple is placed on a grid table, beside acrylic stamps, a block, and four greeting strips: “TIME TO celebrate!”, “it’s always been you,” “lots of love,” and “you make my heart smile.” Text reads, “Deciding on the greeting..”. To read more, visit Patty Stamps (pattystamps.com)

I did end up using one on the inside. (oh darn.. just noticed that the “it’s always been you” from Enduring Beauty is now sold out).

A hand with pink nail polish holds open a white card. Inside, red text reads “Happy Anniversary,” and below, a strip says “you make my heart smile.” Decorative heart stickers and craft materials are visible on a grid-patterned table beneath. To read more, visit Patty Stamps (pattystamps.com)

Eclipse style card

For this card, I die cut 6 layers of Party Alphabet Dies white letters, plus the letters from the photo. Glued all the layers together, then put them “back inside” the die cut openings.

The last time I made an eclipse card was 8 years ago.. you can see it here.

Photo of a crafting workspace with large die-cut "U" and "S" letters, a black-and-white sheet with die-cut letters, a grid background, and a photo of two people, where the "US" letters are cut from the photo. The watermark "Patty Bennett" is visible. To read more, visit Patty Stamps (pattystamps.com)

A hand holds a greeting card featuring a photo of a smiling woman and a man near a car. Large die-cut letters are layered and stacked onto the photo, creating a raised "Eclipse" card effect. Text above reads: “Stacking layers of letters for an ‘Eclipse’ style card.”. To read more, visit Patty Stamps (pattystamps.com)

I store all of my dies on Stamp-n-Storage magnet cards, (6×7 size) but these Party Alphabet dies called for a larger size. I had some of these 9.5 x 7 magnet cards and storage pockets in my stash so I used those. Shop all magnet cards here, and storage pockets here.

A set of Party Alphabet Dies labeled #165263 is shown organized on black Stamp-n-Storage magnet cards in clear plastic sleeves. A green 9.5x7 storage pocket label and craft grid paper are also visible in the background. To read more, visit Patty Stamps (pattystamps.com)

Is a Deck a traditional 39th anniversary gift?

Not sure if there really is a traditional gift for a 39th wedding anniversary, but for about the last 2 years we’ve been putting off replacing our 35+ year old deck, and we decided to finally hire some fabulous contractors to replace it. They also took out all the old bark in our garden and replaced that too.

A sunlit backyard patio with weathered wooden decking and some missing boards. Shadows from nearby plants are visible, and a covered grill sits on the deck. The word "Before" is written in white text, with colorful flowers framing the edge. To read more, visit Patty Stamps (pattystamps.com)

It was so unsafe that the boards were flipping up when we stepped on one end of them, and others were so dry rotted our foot would break them in half.

Two workers are building a structure outdoors. One holds a level on top of wooden beams, and tools like shovels and a tape measure are scattered on the ground. Plants with pink flowers grow along a fence behind them. The word "During" appears in white text. To read more, visit Patty Stamps (pattystamps.com)

A clean, newly built wooden deck in a garden with lush green plants and red flowers along the left and back edges. The deck sits next to a section of brick patio. The word "After!" is overlaid on the image near the bottom center. To read more, visit Patty Stamps (pattystamps.com)

A clean wooden deck with a smooth surface is surrounded by lush green plants and colorful flowers. Several potted plants sit at the far end. The word “After!” is written in white letters on the deck in the foreground. To read more, visit Patty Stamps (pattystamps.com)

Several wood samples stained in different shades are laid out on cardboard along with four small cans of wood stain. A large white check mark highlights one sample. A color chart and deck boards are visible, with text reading, "who knew it was so difficult to pick the perfect stain!. To read more, visit Patty Stamps (pattystamps.com)

Who knew that is was such a job to select the perfect stain. I told the contractor from the start, I do not want the finished deck to look like a brand new RED redwood deck. I love the more weathered look.. so I was on a mission to find something that toned down the red. I succeeded! We love it!

(in case you love it too, the stain is called Boot Hill Grey Semi-Transparent, by Behr)

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