We're having a Retirement Party!!

Stampin' Up! staff and demonstrators around the world are partying today... 

To celebrate the longest lasting stamp set in the catalogue before it officially retires on 4th June...

But before I start! Stampin Up! have announced that there will be no Last Chance List discounts after all... and retiring product stocks are low... so please go here and order sooner rather than later if there is something retiring that you don't want to be without after all!

Yes you guessed it... we are celebrating the life of ... Lovely as a Tree...

Which has been with us in Europe since Stampin' Up! began!

So I thought I would do a round up post and share some of my Lovely as a Tree makes over the years...

Just click on the photo to go straight to the blog post for more details... some with tutorials...

So I did a quick blog search... and realised that there are 65 posts using Lovely as a Tree...

And that is only since 2016... I am not sure where the previous 8 years worth of projects are hiding!!

So I am not going to share them all... or you would be here all day!

And finally... and I am sad to report... all stocks have gone in Europe... so it is no longer available to purchase...

And an admittance... I didn't buy the set for a while... as one of my lovely very local customers had bought the set and kept lending me it! 

Needless to say the minute I used it in a class I finally bought it! And no regrets...

On Stage Card Swaps Part 5 - The Bluey Blues

And so to the penultimate trio...

Starting off with a beautiful Enjoy Life & Butterfly Gala fancy fold card by the lovely Gill Moore...

A stunning Tropical Chic beauty by Lynn Cheesmur...

And finishing off with a super Lovely As a Tree & Hardwood creation by (sadly) unknown... and even more sadly... I still can't believe that the Lovely as a Tree set is finally retiring! It has been with us in Europe since the beginning of Stampin Up!... and it has certainly had a lot of use around here... but more of that on another day! And note... both these stamp sets are now discontinued in Europe... so sadly no more!

Thank you for swapping with me ladies...

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Current Catalogues & Products

Everything is Rosy...available May only... and only while supplies last

Skater Snowman on Saturday!

 I just couldn't resist... got to love a happy skater boy snowman card...

Care of Spirited Snowmen, Winter Woods & Rooted in Nature mainly... with a touch of white embossed Lovely as A Tree trees and Hearts Come Home to finish off...

5 amazing stamp sets to create the greatest of scenes!! And not just for Christmas... well, apart from the Spirited Snowmen and some of Hearts Come Home... and I think that the last 3 of these sets might just be in the Extravaganza come tomorrow!

Rest of the card details as per this card shared earlier here...

And talking of the Extravaganza... 

Don't forget 10% off lots of card, paper and embellishments today... and click here to see my "free postage" offer for online orders if you are in the UK...

Spirited Snowmen in the Snow...

Just sharing the slightly tweaked version of Joanne's card made by my ladies in classes this week...

As the colours had to change based on what I already had out...

And I used the lovely sentiment from the Spirited Snowmen set...

The "snow banks" are just hand torn pieces of Thin Whisper White sponged along the edge with Pool Party ink... and then Tombow and Dazzling Diamonds Stampin Glitter added to finish... with more glitter being added to the trees too...

And you can actually get away with less white card for those hand torn snowbanks... but I cut the panel the same size as the panel for stamping and sponging the night sky for 2 reasons...
(1) gave my ladies another bank if needed in an emergency (though only one lady re-did a bank as she wasn't happy with one)
(2) easier to prep that way!

SU! Products used
Stamps - Spirited Snowmen, Lovely as a Tree, Hearts Come Home
Card - Night of Navy (A6 Card Blank), (Thin) Whisper White (14. 2 x 9.9cm x 2)
Inks - Night of Navy, Pool Party, Memento Black
Stampin Blends - Light Black, Dark Smoky Slate, Night of Navy combo, Real Red combo, Shaded Spruce combo, Light Pool Party
Other - Stampin Glitter, Stampin Sponges, 3/4" Circle Punch (to punch moon mask)

Lovely as A Tree Beginners Class

Today I am going back to part of a class I ran in August... One of my lovely class ladies, Sarah treated her sister to a private Craft Spa card making session... and she did ever so well! We all had a really lovely time...

Luckily I decided to focus on 2 stamp sets... Dandelion Wishes and Lovely as a Tree... as these were the 2 sets that most attracted the eye of my complete beginner... so I really couldn't have planned that better if I had tried!! Especially as I was supposed to be using Varied Vases!!

But Lovely as a Tree is such a perfect set to teach complete newbies how to stamp... and then how to colour... etc etc etc... whilst also getting to create a lot of cards to take away...

Now this is the last of my posts that I am purposefully not sharing the cards that we are doing in our class today!!

So lots and lots of new makes to share with you for the next couple of weeks!!

And just in case you were wondering... the little additional details for the 4 cards shown are as follows... in the order that the individual cards appear! And I used either Shimmery White card or Watercolor Paper for the watercolouring

(1) Just as it comes...
(2) Add a bit of Watercolor Pencil [blue scribbled over trees.. and green just on horizon) and blend out around the trees and horizon using an Aquapainter..
(3) Add more Watercolor Pencil and more water... and blot out light clouds using a scrumpled up tissue...
(4) As (2) but with grey Watercolor Pencil on the horizon to create the wintery scene... along with the finishing touch of Wink of Stella for the (masked) glittery moon...

Spooky Starry Bokeh Dots & Trees

Quick share of a Super CAS card featuring the Bokeh Dots stars in Night of Navy with black Lovely as A Tree trees...

But before I start on more details for this card... Please don't forget to order your Watercolor Pencils Set 2 and the Blended Seasons bundle... now only available for about 36 hours ie until 10.30pm UK time tomorrow, 31 August... and yes you still get your £4.50 free Bonus Days coupon ... for every £45 ordered... to spend in September... Click here for more details... 

Moon added care of a 3/4" circle punched post it note... placed prior to masking the horizon... and then stamping that Bokeh Dots sky... and then all the masks removed...Oh and (coming very soon!) Frost White Shimmer Paint added with a Sponge Dauber to the moon... lovely shiny moon!

Could have added snow to my trees using Shimmery White Embossing Paste... or stamped and embossed white trees on the centre section... but thought it all looked spooky enough to pass as a card for Halloween instead... greeting care of Itty Bitty Greetings

Love this starry sky in Night of Navy... so reckon there will be a christmas version before September is out!

Tuesday Tips - with Bokeh Dots...

Following quickly on from yesterday's post with a few added extras and a few Tips as we go along...

Here are a couple more variants of this simple little christmas seasonal card featuring the long term favourite Lovely as a Tree along with the new favourites Bokeh Dots and Itty Bitty Greetings...

And first up... an essential tip for you... make sure you stamp your trees far enough up so that the sky area is completely filled in with the Bokeh Dots stamps... you don't want a white gap at the top!!!

Or at the bottom... Or else you will have to do this...

Though I do rather like the add of a Blueberry Bushel glittery lake!! In fact it will probably get repeated... The subtle glitter on the lake being care of the clear Wink of Stella brush pen... and do check out the textural effect of the starry Bokeh Dots stamp

And here is the same base card but with a punched 3/4" circle mask over a tree before Bokeh Dots stamping ... and finished off with Wink of Stella for the silvery moon as well as on the snowline...

Card Blank = 10.5cm Square ( US Letter 4 1/4") with Black Mat 7.9cm (3 1/8") Square and White panel 3" Square

Merry Monday - Bokeh Dots & Lovely as a Tree

So it has taken me a while to decide on my first christmas season pre-purchases from the lovely new Autumn Winter Catalogue... and I have finally ordered this weekend... so no box has arrived as yet...

But in the meantime I have some new christmassy makes with my lovely new Bokeh Dots stamps for you in any case...

So these may be simple...but effective... and they are what you get when you just mix something OLD (Lovely as a Tree) with something NEW (Bokeh Dots)... a BORROWED card layout design from earlier days... click here to see the full all-year-round range!.. and (last but not least!) with something BLUE (Balmy Blue)...

Greeting from the wonderful workhorse of a greetings stamp set, Itty Bitty Greetings...and snowlines finished off with a subtle but sparkly layer of Wink of Stella glittering... 

Oh christmas cards could be very quick & easy this year!