My second card… Throwback Thursday

It’s Throwback Thursday…

Throwback Thursday is the when we look at past creations and reminisce on our favourite cards, layouts or stamps.

Do you remember the very first card you made?  Perhaps you still have it? Or maybe you have an updated version of it?

I still have the very first card I made with Stampin’ Up! products and my mum still has my very first card made at pre-school! (We might be a little sentimental or some might say, hoarders but I prefer sentimental. Sounds more positive.)

But it’s the second card that I created that I go back to repeatedly. I tweak it, change the sentiment and somtimes add ribbon or bling but It still uses the same layout, colours and stamp set over 10 years later.

Would you like to see it?

Of course you would… Here it is:

It’s clean simple and classic, does a marvelous job of showcasing the  Lovely As A Tree stamp set and it’s so simple to make.

Making this card

Here’s what you need to make this card:

• Lovely As A Tree Wood-Mount Stamp Set [128655] $49.00 OR
• Lovely As A Tree Clear-Mount Stamp Set [127793] $39.00
• Night Of Navy Classic Stampin’ Pad [147110] $13.00
• Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock [106577] $14.75 Size: 14.9cm x 21.7cm or half an A4 sheet.
• Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] $17.00 Size: 3¾” x 5½” or 9.5cm x 14cm (two pieces)
• Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate [131291] $14.75 OR Silver Foil Sheets [132178] $7.00 Size: 4″ x 5¾” or 10cm x 14.5cm
• Sponge Daubers [133773] $9.00 OR Stamping Sponges [141337] $6.00
• Layering Ovals Framelits Dies [141706] $58.00
• Big Shot [143263] $159.00
• Window Sheets [142314] $8.75 OR Post-It note Sheet 14.9cmx10.5cm (¼ of an A4 sheet)
• A stamp with words of your choice
• Adhesive

Make it – Step by Step:

1. Score and fold the Night of Navy cardstock to make a card base measuring 10.cm x 14.9cm.
2. Stick the Smokey Slate card mat to the card base
3. Using the big shot and oval framelits cut a oval measuring approximately 9cm x 6.5cm or 3½ x 2½” from the centre of the window sheet or post-it note sheet.  This is a “mask”.  If you use the window sheet so you can use it over and over again.
4. Place the mask in the centre of the of the Whisper white card stock and very lightly sponge the oval with Night of Navy ink.  Don’t be too heavy handed because you want to be able to see the stamped image.
5. Keeping the mask in place stamp the group of trees in the centre of the oval using the night of navy ink. Part of the trees will be cut off
6. Remove the mask from the card and put it aside – you are using acteate wipe off any excess ink with your Simply Shammy – I recommend washing your hands to make sure you don’t have any wayward ink on your fingers.
7. Stamp the large pine tree in Night of Navy ink on the card so it is just overlapping the oval on the left hand side.
8. Stamp the words / sentiment on the bottom right of your whisper white card in Night of Navy Ink.
9. Adhere the the stamped whisper white piece to the front of the card.
10. Adhere the second piece of whisper white to the inside of your card.

Voila! It’s done in 10 easy steps! It’s an easy layout if you want to do lots of cards fast.

Throwback Thursday – Step it Up!

There are so many ways you can “step up” or improve this card to increase it’s “wow” factor.  Here’s a few suggestions:

• Change the sentiment to use it for birthdays, thinking of you or even hello.
• Step it up with dazzling diamonds glitter, rhinestones or even, twine
• Add shimmery white embossing paste to the base of the trees or on the branches to make it look like snow.
• Stamp the words on a strip of white instead of on the white base card and attach it with dimensionals to give it more depth as different height layers always add interest.
• Swap the Smoky Slate Card with some Silver Foil sheets or replace the Whisper White with Shimmery White to make it fancier or more “upmarket”.
• You could even change the colours but I love the Night of Navy as navy and white is always elegant and timeless.

Throwback Thursday – feeling sentimental

I’m feeling somewhat sentimental today as the wonderful versatile Lovely As A Tree stamp set is retiring on 3rd June 2019.  It has had an excellent run and been around for years and was available in the USA long before Stampin’ Up! even dreamed of coming to Australia.  ALMOST all of my customers and friends own this set. Sadly, when I check the retiring list this morning, I discovered Lovely As A Tree has sold out in the South Pacific!

Why was Lovely As A Tree so popular?

Apparently stampers love trees and versatility.  Lovely As A Tree has really great trees and ticks the versatility box too, as it can be used for all occasions…. birthday, thank you, hello, sympathy, just for you, Thanksgiving, thinking of you and of course, Christmas.  Just look at the wonderful leaf stamps that can be used for backgrounds:

What can I use instead of Lovely As a Tree?

As I mentioned Lovely As A Tree is sold out in the South Pacific but there are two stamp sets that are continuing in the 2019-2020 Annual Catalogue that you may like. These are Winter Woods and Rooted in Nature – A beautiful thing about these sets is they have matching dies so you don’t have to “fussy cut” them. (BONUS) Let’s take a look at these stamps:

Both have have great trees and can be used for all occassions.  So although I’ll miss Lovely As A Tree, we have some great tree stamps that might become new favourites. Only time will tell!

Hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane on Throwback Thursday. If you want more Lovely As A Tree ideas click here

Until next time… Happy creating!

Chrissy

P.S. Here are all the products used again.

Just click the picture to go to my online Stampin’ Up! Store.