Every year at Retirement List time, we all hold our breath and wonder if the Lovely As a Tree Stamp Set will finally meet its demise! Thankfully, not yet this year!! I’m not sure I know of another stamp set as well-loved as this one.  Even Shelli Gardner, at the Stampin’ Up! Convention one year, on stage, said “Isn’t Lovely As a Tree retired yet??”  Everyone gasped because we dare not consider that possibility. It just is such a useful set, often for a masculine card, but not necessarily. The images are beautiful and the cards and projects you can make come out with a special beauty and elegance about them.

Yesterday was Earth Day and it made me think of Lovely As a Tree. I found a piece of Very Vanilla already die-cut with the Labels Collection Framelit and thought this single tree would be perfect on it.  I colored the stamp with Stampin’ Write Markers rather than an ink pad (Early Espresso and Wild Wasabi). It needed something so I punched an oval with the Scallop Oval Punch and used that to sponge onto my tree piece for sky!  I even used Soft Sky ink.  I LOVE the way that turned out! And at the bottom I just sponged a little Wild Wasabi ink for a suggestion of green grass. The Thinking of You greeting is from Four You. The background paper is embossed with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

If you don’t already own this Lovely As a Tree stamp set, you might want to put it on your list for this week! Remember, the retiring stamp sets and products are going fast AND Stampin’ Up! is offering FREE SHIPPING through Friday! Free Shipping doesn’t come around too often so be sure not to miss it!