If you have been around Stampin'Up! for any length of time, you will recognize their longest lasting stamp set, "Lovely as a Tree". It's has been in the catalog since the early 2000's and is a perennial bestseller. Well, we all got quite the shock to discover it is not in the upcoming new Annual Catalog, releasing on June 4th. That means it is officially retiring after a long life of inspiration and tree imagery. I couldn't resist playing with it and remembering why it's such a great set.
Trees are such a perfect theme for so many projects involving life. They work for birthdays, sympathy, wedding, travel, graduation and just because cards. I wanted to pair it with another fun set that is retiring called "Suite Sayings". They were naturals together! Here are some ideas for you:
For this card, I used my Block H and inked the block itself up with ink, with no stamp attached. This is a great technique if you just need some color in your background and want it somewhat random and muted. I used Soft Seafoam, Petal Pink and So Saffron for my colors. I then stamped the largest tree stamp from Lovely as a Tree and added the sentiment.
For this card, I grabbed the oak leaves stamp and stamped in a circle with Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze and Cherry Cobbler. I actually just freehanded my stamping but the Stamparatus could help you with placement if you wanted that. I topped the whole thing off with a light layer of the Crackle Paint background stamp, stamped off first with Sahara Sand ink.
This card features the pine tree in the stamp set. I inked the stamp set up with markers so I could use both Soft Suede and Shaded Spruce. I also used the markers to ink up the pine bough and pine cone sprig. Merry Merlot is the perfect red to go with these colors! The oval frame was on my desk as a left over piece from another project so it got repurposed!
The final card uses the remaining stamps in this set. It's a big sturdy tree that you can imagine has been growing for decades. I inked up the stamp with Early Espresso and then stamped three times, each time moving a little bit up and to the left. That gives the image of three trees and some dimension. I wanted to add just a touch of color so I used my Garden Green watercolor pencil and a blender pen to add a little grass. I thought this would make a great graduation card for just about anyone. If you look closely, you can see that I embossed after I stamped with the Subtle Embossing Folder. I love the texture it adds to anything!
This is a must have set and after all these years if you still don't have it, you should get it while you can! The supply list below contains the link to the online store! There are more favorites that are going away so be sure to look over the "Last Chance Products" category and see what you are missing and need to get before they are gone for good!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend! We are looking forward to a Bozeman Symphonic Choir and orchestra production tonight of Faure's Requiem and other pieces. It helps to have two family members participating in the concert! If I remember, I'll share some details this weekend!
Have a great Friday and fun weekend!
Sarah
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