My mum and dad celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary today. What an incredible feat of love and endurance! As is their style they opted for a no fuss approach, eschewing a party or any such public hoo-ha.

So what to give a beloved couple who have everything as a gift for their diamond wedding anniversary?

Well, apart from each other (and me), the most precious thing in their lives is their delightful little dog Sam. I decided to make them a four panel fold out greetings card with Sam as the star.

Materials: I worked from photos using pencil, water resistant pen and watercolour paints on handmade 300g watercolour paper with a deckled edge.

My dad often wonders what Sam is thinking…

He is a clever little chap but mental arithmetic probably doesn’t take up much of his time!

Apparently, multiplying by seven is no longer a valid way to convert human years into dog years. Dogs age more rapidly in the first few years of their lives so it’s necessary to apply the above equation.

As a confirmed spinster, my parents’ long and successful marriage has been a source of admiration and incredulity to me for me ages. I’ve previously written ‘Happy 100th Wedding Anniversary’ in their cards as a joke so the dog years conversion is just an exaggeration of that. That Sam is my only sibling is also a family joke.

And it just so happens that Sam does have a heart-shaped hairstyle on his bottom, my mum recently mentioned how beautiful it is…

How romantic and appropriate!

Happy Wedding Anniversary Mum & Dad!