Whether or not you are a Star Wars fan, apparently May 4th is Star Wars Day to celebrate all things Star Wars! The date was chosen because, well, how fun is it to say, “May the 4th be with you!” (I didn’t even get it when my husband said he was disappointed it wasn’t a work day so he could say that to his co-workers.) Of course it is a pun on the real Star Wars famous saying, “May the Force be with you!”

If you are looking for things to do on Star Wars Day you can watch any of the Star Wars movies, have a Star Wars party, get special deals on Star Wars merchandise, play with Lightsabers, dress up as your favorite Star Wars character, build a Star Wars model with Legos, or read all the Star Wars posts on Facebook and Twitter.

But what better way to celebrate Star Wars Day than to try your hand at making one or more of the famous Star Wars characters for a card or scrapbook page?! I found this Yoda made by a UK Demonstrator, Sarah-Jane Rae with punches, the Labels Collection Framelits Dies, and the Lattice Embossing Folder. I followed her tutorial for making Yoda ,and then I designed the rest of the card myself. Here is the link to her blog post because she explains so well how to make the Yoda. It really is simple.

I remembered that sometime in the past I had found a website that would “translate” something you said in English into “Yoda-Speak”. Not sure if this is the same one or not, and there is more than one, but here is a link to the Yoda-Speak Generator! Have fun with it!  I just printed out my greeting on the computer. I even found that I had a font called “Star Jedi Rounded”. Then I cut it out with a Word Bubbles Framelits Die which was perfect! Almost forgot I had those! The little stars are punched with the star punch in the Merry Minis Punch Pack and Champagne Glimmer Paper.

How will you be celebrating Star Wars Day?

Owl Punch

$16.95

1-3/8 Inch Circle Punch

$15.95

Word Window Punch

$15.95

Merry Minis Punch Pack

$16.95

Labels Collection Framelits Dies

$26.95

Word Bubbles Framelits Dies

$24.95

Bird Punch

$16.95

Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Die

$7.95

Boho Blossoms Punch

$16.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

If you wonder how we get inspiration to make cards and other projects, sometimes it doesn’t take any more than going out in the front yard!  Our Carolina Jasmine is blooming right now and oh my, I wish this blog had “Smell-O-Vision”! That flowering vine has the most amazing fragrance! The scent must waft into the air easily because often we can smell it better being away from it, like back in the driveway, than standing right next to it. Those beautiful little white flowers really smell GOOD!

Here’s one bunch of it. It used to be a ground cover around a pine tree, which was diseased and we finally had to cut it down.  No more worrying that the tree could come crashing into the dining room during a bad storm! We love it when the jasmine blooms and smells so sensational!

On my card, I used the vine in Everything Eleanor. This is a stamp set that is NOT retiring so you should be able to order it easily. The vine is stamped in Pear Pizzazz ink on Whisper White card stock.  The little piece of designer paper at the bottom is from Gingham Garden. I loved that pack of designer paper and it is on the Retiring List so be sure and get it if you want it. The little flowers were punched with the one little punch in the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack. This is also on the retirement list. I’ve used those little punches a lot. The greeting is from Happy Watercolor in the Occasions Catalog. The punch I used is the versatile Decorative Label Punch.

Here’s how to make the little flowers pop up a bit to look like the jasmine on my vine. Use the Paper- Piercing Tool and Stampin’ Pierce Mat. Just use the opposite end that you would use for piercing and push down in the center of the little flower on the mat. Color in the center with a marker or use a little jewel or Candy Dot in the center.

For any of these great stamp sets or supplies, please visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!  Be sure you check the Weekly Deals, the Clearance Rack, the Retiring List, and more!

Every year at Retirement List time, we all hold our breath and wonder if the Lovely As a Tree Stamp Set will finally meet its demise! Thankfully, not yet this year!! I’m not sure I know of another stamp set as well-loved as this one.  Even Shelli Gardner, at the Stampin’ Up! Convention one year, on stage, said “Isn’t Lovely As a Tree retired yet??”  Everyone gasped because we dare not consider that possibility. It just is such a useful set, often for a masculine card, but not necessarily. The images are beautiful and the cards and projects you can make come out with a special beauty and elegance about them.

Yesterday was Earth Day and it made me think of Lovely As a Tree. I found a piece of Very Vanilla already die-cut with the Labels Collection Framelit and thought this single tree would be perfect on it.  I colored the stamp with Stampin’ Write Markers rather than an ink pad (Early Espresso and Wild Wasabi). It needed something so I punched an oval with the Scallop Oval Punch and used that to sponge onto my tree piece for sky!  I even used Soft Sky ink.  I LOVE the way that turned out! And at the bottom I just sponged a little Wild Wasabi ink for a suggestion of green grass. The Thinking of You greeting is from Four You. The background paper is embossed with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

If you don’t already own this Lovely As a Tree stamp set, you might want to put it on your list for this week! Remember, the retiring stamp sets and products are going fast AND Stampin’ Up! is offering FREE SHIPPING through Friday! Free Shipping doesn’t come around too often so be sure not to miss it!