Beauty of Friendship

Welcome back, my crafting friends! And welcome to another BS&J Stamp Off. Today’s challenge is to use a new stamp set from the 2021-2022 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog. I chose the Beauty of Friendship Bundle. I grew up in the country in an apple growing family, so trees were a vital part of our livelihood.

I love this bundle! There are so many fun die-cuts and stamps. This card actually uses only the sentiment from the stamp set; everything else is die-cut.

First – I used the Epsom Salt Technique for the background on the Seaside Spray Cardstock. This is a super simple technique. Simply add 1/4 cup of Epsom Salt to 1/4 cup of boiling water and mix until the salt has dissolved. Then, using a retired Aqua Painter or a current Water Painter or a paintbrush, paint the salt/water solution over card stock. (If you use an aqua painter or Water Painter, be sure to clean it thoroughly so it doesn’t gum up. I take mine apart and run it through the dishwasher.) For this card, I used a swirling motion with my paint brush to kind of simulate clouds.

I die-cut the trunk and branches of the tree from Early Espresso Cardstock using the Beautiful Trees Dies. Then I die-cut the open leaves from Old Olive Cardstock and the background leaves from Mossy Mead0w Cardstock.

To put the card together, I tore a piece of Old Olive Cardstock for the ground, then layered it to the 5-1/4″ x 4″ Seaside Spray Epsom Salt background. I wanted a full, leafy tree, but I also wanted to see some of the branches, so I added the Mossy Meadow die-cut leaves to the card first. Next I added the Early Espresso trunk and branches, and last came the Old Olive leaves. The dies also have cute little birds, so I die-cut three of them, then added them to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.  The sentiment, stamped in Early Espresso Classic Ink, is from the Beauty of Friendship Stamp Set. I added everything to a Misty Moonlight card base.

Since the Beauty of Friendship Bundle isn’t available until May 4, I won’t add a product list. Seaside Spray is a retiring In Color, so the 8-1/2″ x 11″ Cardstock is already sold out. You can still order the Old Olive, Misty Moonlight, Early Espresso, and Mossy Meadow Cardstock, as well as the Early Espresso Classic Stampin’ Pad.

Next week, I’ll show you another one of my Epsom Salt Background cards. In the meantime, please check out Susan’s and Jackie’s creations for today’s challenge.  I can’t wait until Tuesday to order from the new catalog!

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!