The Beauty of Trees

Hey friends! I’m excited to be hosting this week’s challenge at Addicted to CAS and I’ve chosen the word ‘trees’. I find trees to be so magnificent and majestic. They provide shade, oxygen, food, and so much more. I find it fascinating how they communicate with each other through fungi. I recently learned that acacia trees in Africa can communicate through gases they emit into the air when animals like giraffes eat their leaves. The wind carries the scent and trees that pick up that scent start pumping bad tasting tannins into their leaves to discourage animals from eating them. I kind of fell in love with these trees while in South Africa a few years ago.

My card today features acacia tree stamps which I purchased shortly after my trip to Cape Town. They are from a set called Safari by Crafty Individuals and it came in a Creative Stamping magazine that I purchased at a local grocery store. This set has all kinds of African flora and fauna as well as designs and sentiments.

For my card, I started by stamping two trees using VersaFine Clair nocturne ink and heat setting them with clear embossing powder. I then used a few Distress Oxide inks to ink blend an African night sky. I used mustard seed, dried marigold, spiced marmalade, and a touch of candied apple.

I used the stitched circles dies by Prism Studio to die cut the image. I used the next size up to die cut a black mat layer.

I stamped the sentiment with the same black ink, then glued the two circles together and glued them onto the card.

If you’re a fellow card maker, please play along with us for this challenge using ‘trees’ as your theme. I’d love to see what you create! I’d also love to hear what you love about trees!