I always love running into old friends. Mike & I have a joke about that, of course.  He’ll say, “I ran into an old friend today.”  And I answer, “Oh, no!  Did it hurt him?”

Yeah – really bad joke.  But as I was leaving the house today, an old friend of ours pulled into the driveway.  We haven’t seen him in years, and it was great to chat for a minute.

It’s also fun to pull out old “stamp friends.”  This one, of course, is one of the oldest stamps in the Stampin’ Up! catalog – Lovely as a Tree.  I think it’s been in the catalog for 10 years or more, and it’s still a big seller.  It’s so versatile and “real” looking, and it’s my “go to” set when I’m stumped for a card for a man.

Click on photo to view larger image.I

I inked the tree stamp with More Mustard, then added ink in other colors with sponge daubers.  I colored the branches and trunk with a Chocolate Chip stampin’ write marker.

I had a little Summer Starfruit/alcohol mixture left in a stampin’ spritzer, so I used it to spritz the 7/8″ cotton ribbon (Holiday Catalog – p. 20, 127844, $7.95/10 yds).  When it dried – and, yes, I used the heat tool to speed up the drying time – I stamped little leaves on the ribbon with Cajun Craze ink.

I used an aqua painter on the tree and the larger leaves to blend the ink a bit.  I had intended to use this as a birthday card for my father-in-law, but I think it may be a bit too frilly with the ribbon and banner.  Jon says it’s fine; Mike thinks it’s a little girly.  Next time Wes stops by, I’ll get his vote, although I think I know what it will be.

Have a wonderful day – and thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy!

Supplies – Stamps:  Lovely as a Tree, Create a Cupcake; Ink:  Chocolate Chip stampin’ write marker; Cajun Craze, Old Olive, More Mustard classic; Summer Starfruit classic ink refill; Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Cajun Craze, Naturals Ivory card stock; Other:  Big Shot; Labels and Bitty Banners framelits; 7/8″ cotton ribbon; stampin’ dimensionals; stampin’ spritzer; sponge daubers; alcohol