Forest bathing with In The Pines

In The Pines is a bundle with my name all over it. There are few places I’d rather be than among trees.

In Japan, shinrin yoku is the art of forest bathing and recognised for its benefits on people’s physical and mental health. This isn't new-age nonsense; far from it. There are very good reasons behind it, so are you ready for some science?

Studies have shown that being among trees can not only improve your concentration and memory, but reduce your blood pressure and lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. On top of this, trees and plants emit phytoncides, which have antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, helping us to fight disease.

If those aren’t good enough reasons to get out into the woods, then I don’t know what is. I love to go for countryside walks but am always drawn to the trees; in lockdown, when we weren't supposed to drive anywhere for leisure, I managed to work out a four-mile walk which took me through little woodlands, although they were no substitute for ancient woodlands and my favourite Scottish pine forests. 

The pine forests of Scotland – particularly Abernethy Forest in the Cairngorms – were the inspiration for these projects using In The Pines stamp set and the Pine Woods Dies. Expect more where these came from...

This project uses the Beautiful Boughs dies, too. As you can imagine, I have a whole section of craft room dedicated to tree-themed products! The back pine cone was sponged in Soft Suede before the top layer was stuck on. I’d already made the first one so went with it. I like how only some of the “bits” have come out; I like the look of some still remaining so left them there. Easier, too!

I stamped the main tree image in Whisper White Craft ink onto Crumb Cake and cut it out using the Pine Woods Dies. To make the label, I cut it using the Beautiful Boughs dies then trimmed it down to make it slimmer. The gold trim is from the Forever Greenery Suite.

This is a simpler card which uses just the In The Pines stamp set, along with the Tasteful Labels dies, although any label dies or a punch would do a similar job.  The trees felt a little lost on the stark white background, so I gave it some depth by sponging around the top and bottom using Mint Macaron and just a hint of Pretty Peacock. 

This card is actually not inspired by Scotland but by Lea Wood nature reserve near Cromford. There's a little patch of Scots Pines at the top; if you stand in the centre and look up, you see this effect. This is a fascinating phenomenon called ‘crown shyness’ where trees avoid their branches touching each other. Not all trees do it and nobody really knows why. But don’t say I never tell you anything!