It's a Retirement Party Blog Hop!

As hard as it is to believe, it is already the May 15th, which means it's time for another Stamping Symphony Blog Hop! This month our theme is favourite retiring items, so I chose my very favourite, oldest stamp set: Lovely as a Tree. This set was the very first stamp set I ever bought, so it will live in my collection forever. My set is the last remaining wood mount stamp set I own and it has seen its share of use and abuse over the years.

Today's card is one I demonstrated on my Tuesday Live @ Five video this week...

One of the things that I love most about this stamp set is its versatility. Here, I've used it to make a sympathy card using the spotlighting technique. This simple technique requires very few tools, but creates a real wow on this simple design. I stamped the tree image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then used sticky notes with circles punched in them as masks to create the coloured circles. I used the 1-1/2" and 1" circle punches. My colour scheme was Mango Melody, Pumpkin Pie and Rich Razzleberry...so pretty!

To add extra texture and interest, I scored some lines along the bottom edge of the stamped panel using the scoring blade of my paper trimmer. This quick and easy trick adds so much to a simple design.

Because I wanted to keep this clean and simple, the only embellishment I added was a bit of black baker's twine with a bow underneath the sentiment to highlight it.

On the inside I stamped a simple sympathy sentiment from the Itty Bitty Greetings stamp set  and the little leaf from Lovely as A Tree.

Thanks for stopping by...check out my video tutorial for this card, and two others below.

Time to hop on over to Sandy's blog to see what awesomeness she has for us.

1. Leena (You are here)

2. Sandy

3. Barb

4. Jennifer

5. Steph

Product List

Lovely As A Tree Clear-Mount Stamp Set [127793] $27.00	Rooted In Nature Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146482] $57.00	Itty Bitty Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146667] $49.00	Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Pad [147093] $10.25
Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad [147086] $10.25	Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad [147091] $10.25	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $8.25	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $13.25
Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $11.50	Stampin' Trimmer [126889] $41.00	Sponge Daubers [133773] $7.00	1-1/2" Circle Punch [138299] $22.00
1" Circle Punch [119868] $18.00	Basic Black Solid Baker's Twine [141682] $4.00

Farewell Lovely As A Tree

Happy Monday...I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was jam-packed with stamping...but I checked TONS of things off my To-Do List, which means a relatively relaxed week ahead. As we head closer to the launch of the new 2019/20 Annual Catalogue and the end of the school year, time is in short supply!

One of the sad things about a new catalogue is that we have to say goodbye to some of our most beloved products, as they retire to make room for the new. Lovely As a Tree is one of the sets that is going away, which has come as a shock to many of us. It is the longest running stamp set EVER...18 years! With longevity like that it MUST be an awesome set! It was actually the very first stamp set I ever bought when I discovered Stampin' Up! 10+ years ago. It has held a place of honour in my studio thanks to its versatility and the beauty of its images.

This week I am sending Lovely As a Tree off to retirement in style. I am featuring it as my product of the week! Check out this pretty, #simplestamping card I made...

I saw a similar card on Pinterest that used another stamp set and thought it would be perfect to showcase the beautiful images in this set. I masked off the Whisper White card front using sticky notes and then sponged on Blackberry Bliss, Rich Razzleberry, Highland Heather, Mango Melody and Pumpkin Pie. I love the way these colours work together!

After stamping the pine tree and the sentiment from Rooted in Nature in black ink, I added some texture by scoring lines to the left of the sponged area using my paper trimmer. I love the subtle interest it adds to the design.

On the inside I stamped a sentiment and the little pine branch image in black ink. So simple, but so, so pretty! The beautiful images in this set lend themselves so well to simple cards. It was fun to showcase them and allow them to be the star of my design!

Be sure to check out my Tuesday Live @ Five video this week for all of the details on this and two additional cards using this set. I stuck to the same colour scheme for all three to show that one doesn't need to have a whole craft room full of supplies to make pretty cards! Be sure to check it out over on my Facebook page or on the Video Tutorials tab at the top of this page later in the week.

Have a "lovely" week!


Product List

Lovely As A Tree Clear-Mount Stamp Set [127793] $27.00	Rooted In Nature Clear-Mount Stamp Set [146482] $57.00	Mango Melody Classic Stampin' Pad [147093] $10.25	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad [147086] $10.25
Highland Heather Classic Stampin' Pad [147103] $10.25	Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad [147091] $10.25	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [147092] $10.25	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $8.25
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $13.25	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $11.50	Stampin' Trimmer [126889] $41.00	Sponge Daubers [133773] $7.00

Farwell 2014...

Its hard to believe that a brand new year begins tomorrow!  I still haven't adjusted to writing 2014 on my cheques and now I have to remember 2015?!?  I hope 2014 has been good to you.  I know many for whom it has not and who are looking forward to seeing a bright new year dawn tomorrow morning.  I hope that, whatever 2014 has brought you, your new year is filled with blessings and happiness.
Today is also the last day of my walk down memory lane as I look back at projects I've shared over the past 1000 posts.  Here goes...

This simple little Valentine's card is one of my favourite designs of all time.  I love the simplicity of it and that cute little hanger. 

This was a project I did during my stint on the Technique Twist Design Team.  It was my first attempt at a Building Block card and I love the way it turned out...so much so that I CASE'd myself a few weeks ago when making a First Birthday card for my niece!

This one was a project for one of my techniques classes that featured the Shaving Cream technique.  I love the marbled background and all the gold...so rich and yummy!

This was another project for The Technique Twist where I did a twist on Triple Time stamping.  I love the way it turned out.  The different-sized panels were just scraps of card stock I had laying on my stamp table at the time!

If this one looks familiar it is because I just posted it a few weeks ago.  I simply love everything about this project...especially the use of the coral stamp image to get the frosted-looking background!

This project isn't overly special or different, but I chose it because it was my first attempt at the Northern Lights Background technique and it uses my very first stamp set purchase:  Lovely as a Tree.

Well, there you have it:  eighteen of my favourite projects from 1000 posts-worth of them!  I hope you've enjoyed this little retrospective and that these projects provide you with a little inspiration heading into a brand-new year!  Happy New Year, everyone!!

My 1000th Post!!

Can you believe today  marks my 1000th blog post??  It's hard to believe I've been able to come up with that many projects and something to say about each one!  I've known this day was coming for a while and thought long and hard about what to do to mark the occasion.  I decided to take a look back through the 1000's of photos I've taken of my work over the years.  It is hard to believe I actually put some of it out there for anyone to see!  Wowzers...it's bad!!  Along the way I also found several projects I had forgotten all about and really love, so I decided to share those favourites with you over the next couple of days.  There are 18 in all, so I will share six a day, which will take us into the new year.  So, here goes...the first round of my blog's version of "This is Your Life"...

This was my Dad's birthday card several years ago.  I like that I cut up the Lovely as a Tree image into three different-sized panels.  I also like the use of the natural jute twine.  Not crazy about the overuse of metal embellishments ;)

This was one of the projects we made at my very first workshop!  It's hard to believe I did something that ambitious with a bunch of rookie stampers (me included!).  I've come a long way since then!  I still love the Artistic Etchings stamp set!

This was my brother's birthday card several years ago.  He is a wannabe rocker at heart.  I like the grungy look with all the distressed edges and sponging.

This is still one of my all-time favourite Christmas cards.  I just love the composition of this one, as well as the images and colours.  I sure did do lots of layering on this one!!

This is a Z-fold card from one of my first Christmas Stamp-a-Stacks.  It uses some of my all-time favourite DSP (Mocha Morning) as well as the beautiful Bright Hopes stamp set, which is one I will always regret letting go.

This card earned me the nod for one of the first online sketch challenges I ever entered.  It is a super-simple layout that is actually quite involved, as I paper-pieced the umbrella and added drops of Crystal Effects to the raindrops and puddle for dimension.  Pretty advanced for me at the time!

I hope you've enjoyed this little blast from my past...check back tomorrow for another round of oldies but goodies!

Lovely as a Snowy Tree

Today I have another one of the projects we did at my monthly techniques club.  I wanted to showcase the off-set stamping technique and a couple of different ways it can be used to achieve different looks.  Today's project uses the technique to create the look of snow on a stamped image.

Christmas card featuring the Lovely as a Tree and Gorgeous Grunge stamp sets with sentiment from Greetings of the Season (retired).

To start, I masked the bottom portion of the Whisper White card stock using a torn post-it note.  Then I stamped the tree using Memento black ink.  After rubbing the embossing buddy all over the stamped tree, I stamped the tree a second time using Versamark ink, using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to position my image slightly higher than the black image.  I also stamped the spatter image from the Gorgeous Grunge set several times all over the top portion of the card stock.  I heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  Then I sponged the entire area with Lost Lagoon ink...this makes the "snow" magically appear.  To add more depth I sponged the edges of the card stock using Island Indigo ink.

To finish the card front I removed the mask and stamped the sentiment from the Greetings of the Season set in Versamark and then heat embossed in pewter (retired) embossing powder.

On the inside I stamped a greeting from the long-retired Many Merry Messages set in Island Indigo ink and the tree using Lost Lagoon ink.

Now for this week's Weekly Deals.  Don't forget, prices are good until Monday at midnight :)

	Bits And Pieces Wood-Mount Stamp Set Price: $29.95  Sale: $22.46 Documented This And That Designer Stickers Price: $5.95   Sale: $4.46 Envelope Liners Framelits Die Price: $32.95  Sale: $24.71 Hexagon Punch Price: $21.95  Sale: $16.46 Home For The Holidays Ensemble - Digital Download Price: $10.95  Sale:  $6.57 Modern Mosaic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Price: $9.95  Sale:  $7.46 Natural 7/8" Cotton Ribbon Price: $9.95  Sale:  $7.46 Wooden Elements Embellishments Price: $6.50   Sale: $4.88