Today’s project began with the CAS(E) this Sketch challenge.

After thinking about what I could use with that upward motion, I decided on a forest of trees made with a stamp from the Waterfront stamp set.

I painted (stamped) my trees in Always Artichoke, Old Olive and Pear Pizzazz ink on a panel of Whisper White cardstock.

Sunshine Wishes For You

I kept thinking about the idiom, “can’t see the forest for the trees.” But, that thought didn’t bring about an appropriate sentiment.

More thoughts about a forest took be back years ago to our family trip to Glacier National Park. What a beautiful place that is! I remember one especially warm day when we were hiking through the forest, and came upon a clearing. The sun was shining, wildflowers were blooming, and I was giddy with happiness. Sunshine, that was it!

I stamped the sun, also in the Waterfront stamp set, in Daffodil Delight, and placed it over the trees. And, what could be better than the word “sunshine” from the Sunshine Wishes die set!

I chose Lemon Lime Twist cardstock for the background, because it’s a nice, cheery color. I embossed it with the Simple Stripes embossing folder, because I liked the stripes with the trees, and it’s my new favorite embossing folder.

Before embossing, though, I wanted to add something to the sentiment. It was my first time for using the new Sale-A-Bration stamp set, Happy Wishes. I love the script of the words, and thought “for you” was perfect. I stamped it in Always Artichoke (matching three of the trees), rather than Basic Black. 

Can we talk about Always Artichoke? I’m going out on a limb here, because I know what most of you think about this color. I have to say, I really like it. It’s a great neutral color to use instead of black, and it blends with most colors. I never met a green I didn’t like, so I’ll defend it until Stampin’ Up! removes it. Besides, I had a fabulous corduroy jumper in high school, the color of Always Artichoke that I wore with an aqua blouse, so my partiality developed at an early age. Enough said.

The final touch was to dot the “i” in “sunshine,” and I used a Daffodil Delight Enamel Shape for that. 

Someday I will send this card to someone who could use a little sunshine in their life. 

Thanks for visiting my blog. Have a great weekend!