Hello Friends!
Today’s card features the “Life Is Beautiful” stamp set which can be seasonally appropriate throughout the entire year, depending on how you choose to adorn your tree. Since it’s Fall, I chose to stamp my leaves in bright Fall colors. I also used some preserved Madrone tree bark, as I’ve used in previous posts. Directions for how to preserve the bark can be found here.
I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment on this card, also from the “Life Is Beautiful” stamp set. Despite the havoc coming at us from every direction throughout 2020, if we stop and take stock of how beautiful and precious life is, it becomes quite easy to focus with 20-20 vision – Life-Is-Beautiful!
This year has required many adjustments, but despite the inconveniences and angst, life goes on and we have so much to be thankful for! I guess it all comes down to “looking at the glass half empty, or half full”. I choose “half-full”.
I have to admit that I haven’t always had that “half-full” attitude. I had some life circumstances in years gone by which were “trying” (to put it mildly), and I felt quite justified in my negativity. I began down a very slippery slope of unhappiness and the “blame game” secondary to somebody else’s choices, and circumstances that were out of my control.
A very dear friend, who also happened to be my doctor and employer, recognized this and on a particularly bad afternoon, simply said to me, “You know, Jan, happiness is a choice. You can choose to be happy even during tough times.”
Whoa! Wait a minute! I wanted to argue and justify that this, this and this were why I couldn’t be happy (it wasn’t my fault…)! But that small voice inside me told me to keep my mouth shut and think about what he’d just said. After much deliberation, I had to admit, he was right! While I couldn’t control many of the circumstances around me, I could control my attitude and make a choice to be happy despite my circumstances.
Light-bulb moment: My happiness didn’t have to hinge on what someone else did or didn’t do.
That revelation changed everything for me and I set about very purposely being happy, seeing the glass half full instead of half empty you might say. It wasn’t easy, as my circumstances and challenges were still there. But I awoke every morning with a determination that I would be happy today, regardless of the actions of others.
It took many months of very purposely choosing happiness, not allowing someone else’s actions to dictate my emotions and attitude. I learned during that time what it was to really lean on my faith – to let go and let God! Trust me my friends, God still works miracles. I’ve been on the receiving end a couple of times which I can identify with all certainty, and probably more that I’m not even aware of. I’ll share those miracles given me in due time. But let me just reaffirm… Life Is BEAUTIFUL! (And, happiness is a choice!)
LET’S GET INKY!
Stamp sets used:
- Life Is Beautiful
- Gather Together
Metal Dies:
- Gathered Leaves
Paper:
- Very Vanilla CS – card base 5 1/2″ x 8 1/4″ – fold at 4 1/4″ (Card front will be 1/4″ smaller than card back)
- Early Espresso CS (mat 2) – 5 1/8″ x 3 3/4″
- Soft Suede CS (mat 2) – 5″ x 3 5/8″
- Very Vanilla CS – image panel – 4 7/8″ x 3 1/2″
- Gilded Autumn DSP – inside edge strip – 1/2″ x 5 1/2″
Ink:
- Early Espresso
- Cajun Craze
- Pumpkin Pie
- So Saffron
- Balmy Blue
- Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories:
- Preserved Madrone Tree Bark
- Linen Thread
- In Good Taste Elements
- Light Soft Suede Stampin’ Blends
- Stampin’ Sponges
Putting It Together:
- On the Very Vanilla Image Panel, starting at the top, lightly sponge So Saffron across top and about three-fourths down the panel until it fades out.
- Next lightly sponge Balmy Blue ink in sort of an arch across the top.
- Stamp the tree trunk image in Early Espresso. Color in with Light Soft Suede Stampin’ Blend.
- Stamp the leaves in Cajun Craze, stamping first below the tree, and then with the second generation ink (stamped off once below the tree), the leaves in the tree.
- Repeat with Pumpkin Pie ink, stamping below the tree with fresh (1st generation) ink, and then with second generation in the tree.
- Stamp the “Life Is Beautiful” sentiment above the tree.
- Stamp the pumpkins from “Gather Together” stamp set on preserved Madrone tree bark, or Cajun Craze CS, using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink.
- Crop out the pumpkins using the corresponding die from “Gathered Leaves Dies”.
- Adhere pumpkins beside tree trunk.
- Lightly sponge Early Espresso ink around edges of image panel.
- Wrap Linen Thread around the left edge of the panel x 3, attaching ends to back of image panel.
- Using a short piece of the Linen Thread, tie a small bow around the 3 vertical threads.
- Use Early Espresso ink to lightly “grunge-up” the wood leaf from In Good Taste Elements. Use a glue dot to adhere the wooden leaf just below the bow.
- Adhere the Early Espresso mat to the card base, followed by the Soft Suede mat.
- Adhere a length of tree bark, (or a piece of Cajun Craze cardstock 5 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ – moisten top and bottom edges and carefully tear edges away) to mid-left side of card front.
- Adhere image panel over all.
- On the inside of the card, adhere the DSP strip along the right edge, even with the card base edge.
- Stamp the leaf image from Gather Together in Pumpkin Pie ink.
- Stamp the sentiment from Gather Together in Early Espresso, slightly overlapping the bottom of the stamped leaf.
DONE!
Thank you for stopping by my blog today! Spend some time looking around; I hope you find some inspiration here and may you GET INKY TODAY!
OH, OH, OH!!! Don’t forget that the Stampin’ Up Designer Series Paper is ON SALE through the month of October!! Now’s the perfect time to stock up on all the gorgeous papers you’ve had your eye on!
Click here for the flier of all the DSP on sale!
Or, simply go to my online store and click on Designer Series Paper Sale!
Janet
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