Life is Beautiful: Cards for Every Season

7/31/2020

I love the new Life is Beautiful stamp set from Stampin' Up! This set is available in the 2020 August - December Mini Catalog. You can begin ordering from this catalog on Tuesday, August 4. Whether you want snow showers, spring flowers, or autumn leaves, you can do it all with this stamp set. So, on y go! Let's get stamping.

First, a little technical information. The stamp of the tree trunk in this stamp set is quite large, so to stamp the whole thing you will need Clear Block F. If you don't have this very large block, you can use Clear Block D and stamp most of the tree with the parts that won't fit on the clear block off the side of the paper. This is also a great stamp to use with the Stamparatus where you don't need to have a super-sized clear block.

For my first card, I stamped the tree with Cinnamon Cider, the leaves and ground with Soft Sea Foam, and the stars/flowers with Flirty Flamingo. I stamped the greeting twice using Cinnamon Cider and Flirty Flamingo and then cut it out.

The polka dot tulle ribbon is knotted under the cardstock circle with the sentiment. I decided for this card, I didn't want to see the knot or bow, but I liked the look of the ribbon across the card and then the ends poking out from under the sentiment. I cut the Flirty Flamingo and Vellum cardstock with the Stitched circle dies. To glue the vellum, I used multipurpose glue and then used a sponge to sponge it on more evenly across the shape.

I love the way the little stars stamp represents flowers on this tree. It's so soft and springlike.

My summer card has the tree stamped with Cinnamon Cider again. Then, I stamped the leaves in Granny Apple Green and Garden Green. I decided that I really didn't want the little birds that are on either side of the birdhouse. So, I carefully snipped them apart from the rest of the stamp. I can still put them on the block in the same place, but now it's easy to stamp the birdhouse without them. I stamped three birdhouses using Bumblebee, Pacific Point, and Cherry Cobbler ink. I carefully inked the strings with Jet Black Stazon ink. This card is so simple and easy to create!

For my winter card, I started by stamping a snow storm with the dots in Pool Party and the stars/snowflakes in Coastal Cabana. I didn't fully cover the card front, but left some white areas near the edges. I think this helps add movement to the snow and suggests swirling snow showers.

Once the snow was in place, I stamped the tree trunk with Jet Black Stazon ink, once in the center and then parts of the branches on the sides.

I tied sheer Pool Party ribbon around the front and mounted it on pieces of Pool Party and Coastal Cabana cardstock. I stamped the greeting with Jet Black Stazon ink on Coastal Cabana cardstock and trimmed one side as a banner end. For a little bling, I added a few of my favorite Artistry Blooms Sequins. These self-adhesive sequins easily add touches of shimmer, but since they are Pool Party in color, they don't show well in this photo.

You'll notice I'm not sharing an autumn card with you today. You can find a great autumn example with the Life is Beautiful Stamp set in my blog post on Wednesday. Instead, I wanted to share this simple, treeless card.

I simply stamped the dots with Coastal Cabana and the stars with Granny apple green in one area of my card front. I stamped the greeting with Coastal Cabana ink and mounted it over my stamped area. Once again, for a little bling, I added some Artistry Blooms sequins. This card is so quick, easy, and striking.