I'm Moving On Like Lovely as a Tree

As they say..."all good things must come to an end". The time has come for Stampin' Up! to retire their oldest stamp set, the iconic Lovely As A Tree.

Like Lovely as a Tree, the time has also come for me to say goodbye to Stampin' Up! as well.

I thought it was fitting to share a card made with this stamp set today as I tell you of my decision to leave Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator. The past couple of years I have been finding less and less time to stamp as my passion for portrait photography has grown.

While I love SU! products and sharing stamping time as well as my creations with family and friends, I feel it best to devote my time and energy into fulfilling my dream of launching my photography business. I'm still in the process, but hope to be officially in business later this year.

Over the years I have loved spending time being creative with such an amazing array of products, but the thing I loved most about Stampin' Up! was all the wonderful people I have met along the way. Several women who came into my life as casual acquaintances or even complete strangers, solely because of our common interest in paper crafting, have become dear friends.

Some I met when they came to my classes or invited me into their home for a workshop and others I met through my blog. Many of you have left encouraging comments, some have purchased SU! products or bought my tutorials...to all of you I say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! I don't honestly think I would have stayed at this for almost 15 years if it weren't for all of you!

OK...onto the card! :-)

Lovely as a Tree was first introduced in 2001 and it was one of the first stamp sets I purchased after signing up as a SU! Demonstrator in 2004. I have used it a lot! I've also used Hardwood and Thoughtful Banners quite a bit and those are retiring as well.

This set has always been so versatile and timeless. It is great for any season or occasion and perfect for a variety of techniques. I've used one of my favorite techniques...the Watercolor Background Technique to easily create a colorful blended background for the trees.

A photo I recently took in my backyard was the inspiration for my card. I love the beautiful colors of sunset...and on this evening the sky was absolutely spectacular with so many different hues and the clouds had created such an interesting pattern.

I still plan to post my occasional projects here, but if you would like to stay in touch I do have a Facebook page dedicated to my photography. I'd love for you to like my page and follow me on my new journey. You can also find me on Instagram. I have been re-organizing my studio space and plan to have some SU! products to sell...so check back here soon for updates.

Thanks again for being part of my Stampin' Up! journey!