I wish I were "By the Sea or Ocean"

Ever have a stamp that is great to color? This is mine. I saw this stamp at a "gently used" sale two years ago and it came home with me. I painted this image with a new watercolor set my husband gave me for Christmas in 2009 (shhh if he realizes I never used what he gave me that Christmas, I may never get another present). When Sweet Stampin' announced the challenge topic of "By the Sea or Ocean" for this week, I ran to my notebook of ocean/sea stamps and knew this was the perfect stamp for the challenge!

The seashells on this card are from San Diego, California and I picked them up at the beaches we visited on our vacation in 2008. The little sand dollar in the middle of the bow is plastic, however, and is a button! I used the Martha Stewart lacy border punch and that's the only punch on this card. Now, if you ask me who made the stamp and the sentiment, I have to confess to not knowing...two more of my stamps I unmounted a couple of years ago and didn't write down who made them (hanging my head in shame).  Good news: I've researched on-line and found this image is made by Stamps Happen, but I still don't know who made the sentiment. I put a touch of Stickles on the seashells, but not anywhere else since I didn't want anything to detract from the main image.

This week our sponsor is Sir Stampalot who has donated two stamps to the winner and our monthly sponsor is the Ribbon Girl who has donated a £10 voucher! Over here at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog are some great DT cards for you to view and perhaps inspire you to join this challenge. No matter where you live, is there anyone who doesn't have a stamp that would fit this challenge?! 

Is it possible to call a card an "antique" if all the supplies used are aged? Is the card worth more if you use old supplies or is it worth less? Is it like art...the older it is, the more valuable? If so, this card could be my retirement fund. Hahaha! Thanks for visiting and I'm looking forward to seeing your cards!

                                                                          Hugs,
                                                                          Gail

This card is entered in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, Twist Of Faith Cards, Crafty Sentiments, City Crafter, Inky Impressions, Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, Crazy Challenge, Sassy Studio Designs, Dream Valley, The Squirrel and the Fox, Hobby Cutz, The Paper Girls, Polly Craft, Paula Holifield Crafts (A Little Bit Crafty), Cards Galore (Sentiment, Summer, Ribbon), Crafty Catz