September 2018 Paper Pumpkin Samples - Frights and Delights

Sometimes we just get behind and October seems to be when I have the most classes and most obligations and I end up ignoring one of my favorite holidays - Halloween!  Today I'm sharing the ideas for the September 2018 Paper Pumpkin kit - Frights and Delights.  

Paper Pumpkin a kit you get in the mail.  It contains all the supplies you need to make great cards or 3D options.  You get a kit, instructions, stamp set, and ink for $19.95 plus tax.  When you subscribe with me for one month or multiples, you get a project idea sheet with alternative ideas.  For September's kit, we traditionally get a Halloween kit that makes great treats for neighbors, classrooms, and more.  Here are the ideas I sent to my subscribers - I hope you enjoy!

This alternative treat holder was inspired by a project from Angie Juda that utilized a paper bag and I modified it to work with our printed cello bags in this kit!

If you are interested in getting the project sheet, just sign up below to be a subscriber and you will have access to all my past sheets!

Sign up by November 10th to get this holiday kit.  Creating for the holidays has never been easier and this kit with 10 cards (5 each of 2 designs) will help you put the homemade into your holidays for only $19.95 plus tax.  New subscribers get a free clear block in their first kit as well!  That is a great deal any time of year.  The colors for this kit are Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Gold, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Whisper White.  Don't delay - the holiday kits have run out in the past so sign up today!  

Sign up here:   https://mypaperpumpkin.com/en/?demoid=80380

Have a craftastic day,
Stacy

October 2018 Paper Pumpkin Samples - Friends of a Feather

I love it when Paper Pumpkin arrives at my door.  It helps me create cute projects for the holidays or for events that I need.  And sometimes, it just gives me an excuse to play around with supplies and work on techniques.

The October 2018 Paper Pumpkin kit may not have been the fall kit I was expecting but it does have some interesting color combinations with the Grapefruit Grove, Cajun Craze, Night of Navy, Pool Party, Fresh Fig, White, and Vanilla.  The kit comes with an exclusive stamp set, Night of Navy ink spot, and all the supplies and adhesives you need to make 8 cards with instructions.  Even if you don't make the cards directly from the kit, you can use the pieces to make some pretty and unique creations.

Now subscribers with me get a project sheet with alternative ideas and tips for the kits each month.  For this kit, I thought I would share the tips with any reading this post so you can get the most out of your projects.  However, to get the step by step instructions for my projects, you need to be a subscriber with me.

A few tips I saw with this kit.

• Cut apart the white card so you can use the feather rectangle on another card and the patterned paper with your framelits to make interesting background shapes.
• Use the white side of the feathers if you don’t like the colors.  You can also ink them up with the ink spots or sponges.
• You can color the twine with the ink spot as well – just let it dry before working with it.
• Color your block with your ink spot and swirl it around – then stamp on a notecard.  It gives a “grunge” or textured backdrop to a flower.
• Cut off the scalloped end of your Crumb Cake cards – it will still make them too long for a standard envelop but works well with the feathers.
• Pull the metallic thread out of your baker’s twine if it won’t tie well for you.
• Cut up the envelopes – but beware, the Crumb Cake cards are larger than our usual cards so if you cut the Grapefruit envelopes, you won’t have an envelope for your card.
• Change out the ink for a fall color in your stash.  Crumb Cake looks great with the kit, as would the Blackberry Bliss spot from the August kit or another neutrals color.
• If you don’t have an aquapainter for your cards, you can use a paint brush or even something like a q-tip.

Additionally, I think the idea of the friends of a feather stick together would be great with bird stamps and the little lines and flourishes in the stamp set versatile as well.  If only I new where that Chick set was from Sale-a-Bration a while back.

Subscribers are getting instructions for these card projects.  By adding just a few extra supplies from my stash and past kits, I was able to play and create something I'm happy to send out.  I think the gable box that would work great for a place setting for a fall or Thanksgiving event.  I hope you enjoy them!

Thank you for looking at my samples.  If you are on the hunt for a demonstrator for the November 2018 kit, look no further.  My subscribers also have access to all my past project sheets!

Sign up by November 10th to get this holiday kit.  Creating for the holidays has never been easier and this kit with 10 cards (5 each of 2 designs) will help you put the homemade into your holidays for only $19.95 plus tax.  New subscribers get a free clear block in their first kit as well!  That is a great deal any time of year.  The colors for this kit are Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Gold, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Whisper White.  Don't delay - the holiday kits have run out in the past so sign up today!  

• Sign up here:   https://mypaperpumpkin.com/en/?demoid=80380

Have a craftastic day,
Stacy

2 Types of Ink - Dear Santa

I'm a sucker for Christmas.  While I just got out my Halloween decorations last night with the kids, I'm deep in prepping for all my Christmas in October classes and hearing Jingle Bells everywhere I go.

When it comes to the holidays, I'm not just about the crafty creations and the photography.  I also love holiday books.  Like LOVE them.  I'll read an adaptation each year of A Christmas Carol and I read holiday books non-stop to the kiddos.

When sent a link to Dear Santa by St. Martin's Press to read and provide feedback on, I was excited.  When things get stressful prepping, I love being able to turn to a good story that allows me to escape for a bit and find the magic of the season.

Dear Santa by Nancy Naigle follows the plotline of You've Got Mail only in a holiday sense.  We have Geoff, the owner of the Big Bad Christmas store called Christmas Galore, and Angela, the shopkeeper for the Heart of Christmas that is in danger of closing it's doors.  The books transpires after a Dear Santa letter is sent asking to save her shop.

The story is romantic, with all the butterflies and none of the graphic imagery, and you want them to find each other and be happy.  The author does a great job capturing the personalities of all the townspeople and describes the scenery very well.

I really enjoyed this read and it definitely helped provide some smiles when I needed a break from prepping.

In honor of this book, I'm posting one of my favorite Santa projects that I've been teaching this season.  This project uses the Santa's Workshop Memories and More cards and envelopes from the holiday catalog.  They are the best buy in my opinion (10 cards and envelopes of each size for $8.50) and they work perfect for sending 4 x 6 photos or making gift cards like I did below.

This gift card holder features the Signs of Santa stamp set and is colored with the Poppy Parade and Mango Melody Blends.  Once colored, I cut him out with the coordinating Santa's Signpost framelits and mounted him on the 3 x 4 flocked candy cane striped paper.

On the inside is a 4 1/4 x 1 piece of designer paper that is adhered on the left, right, and bottom.  You just slide in the gift card to that pocket and put it into the little envelope.  Quick, easy, and sure to delight for the holidays!

Supplies:

• Cardstock/DSP: Santa's Workshop DSP (3x4, 4 1/4 x 1), Poppy Parade (4 1/4 x 1/2) 
• Stamp Set: Signs of Santa
• Ink: Memento Black
• Big Shot: Santa's Signpost Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Big Shot, Cutting Mats
• Embellishments: Santa's Workshop Memories and More card and envelope, adhesive, dimensionals, Dark and Light Poppy Parade Blends, Dark Mango Melody Blends.

Come back and visit tomorrow for another new release and some spooky Halloween creations!

Take care and have a craftastic day,

Stacy

August 2018 Paper Pumpkin Alternative Ideas - Blissful Blooms

So it's the end of August and the beginning of a new school year.  I have been focusing my creativity energies on resetting for the new year through a great program called Camp Reset 2018.  Like most moms and dads I know, we exert a majority of our energies to making sure our kids not only thrive and survive but also get everywhere they need to be.  Then we try to use the little bit of time that is left to keep our houses in order, possibly our relationships with spouses in check, and maybe a tiny bit of sleep.  We don't spend much time on ourselves, making sure our buckets are being filled by things that don't wake up in the night and aren't sticky like spilled juice.  We all need to make time to find the best way to restore our emotional balance and health.  That is what this program is doing for me and I'm very grateful to think more about self-care.

As we head into Week 5, focusing on creativity, I decided to finally sit down and do my alternative ideas for this month's Paper Pumpkin.  I've struggled to stay on top of my subscriber thank yous but am accepting that I am not perfect and am trying hard to get caught up.  This month's kit was pretty and simple and honestly, because I liked it so much, I wasn't really motivated to do alternatives.  But because I wanted to get some of my outstanding projects list accomplished as part of Camp Reset, I took a stab at it this morning.

Here is the result of 90 minutes of me time.  My subscribers will get a project sheet this afternoon with step by step instructions on how to make these projects with their kits.  They also will be getting a card in the mail with this set and finally the other two cards from the last two months.  It's going to be like Christmas in the mail!

For those not familiar with this program, Paper Pumpkin a kit in the mail subscription.  Kits come in a cool box with ink, stamps, adhesive, and a card or 3D kit with detailed instructions.  They also do videos on how to put them together so you can be successful whether a new crafter or experienced!  My favorite part is the surprise - you don't know what you will get until it gets here.  You have to sign up by the 10th of the month to get the kit and it costs 19.95 plus tax.  You can defer a month or cancel any time but once you make time for yourself to do these projects, you'll look forward to it every month.  You can sign up here if you are interested in trying it out!

Sometimes they do teasers like for next month.  For all my Halloween fans out there, the next kit is Halloween Treats and it looks like a frightfully fun way to craft for the holiday!  See more info on that at the bottom of the post.

So back to this month's kit (when I blog so infrequently, I always have a lot to say!)  This month's kit came with supplies to make 10 cards with envelopes in a floral pattern.  The envelopes have silver lining and patterns inside.  The ink was Blackberry Bliss, one of my top 3 ink colors, and the stamp set had sayings for thanks, congrats, just because, and a great saying for sympathy cards that said "The loss is immeasurable but so is the love left behind."  Plus some cute flower images.

These are the two cards directly from the kit.  Aren't they beautiful?  They are photographed on a piece of our Festive Farmhouse DSP that I haven't had the heart to cut for Christmas classes yet!

Here are the rest of my alternative designs.

I'd love to hear which one is your favorite.  And if you want to sign up to get these project sheets for future kits, sign up HERE by the 10th of September!

Sign up by September 10th to get this spooky treat kit in time for Halloween.  Subscribers not only get a project sheet of alternative ideas from me (like how to turn them into cards using our notecards) but they are also invited to an exclusive Fright Night Frights Paper Pumpkin party to assemble the kit and stuff those bags with goodies.  Not local?  No issue - I have another tasty treat for you that will come in the mail.

Sign up here:   https://mypaperpumpkin.com/en/?demoid=80380

Have a craftastic day,
Stacy

July 2018 Paper Pumpkin Alternative Ideas - Picnic Paradise

It's summer and with that comes fruit season!  I love it when my garden explodes with strawberries and blueberries, almost as much as my kids do!

This month's Paper Pumpkin kit had new colors and old favorites.  The kit had our favorite fruits and leaves in Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green, and Blueberry Bushel.  It had versatile sayings and a fun summer theme with the 3D picnic baskets that would be perfect for placesettings or neighbor gifts or hostess gifts for summer events.

The kit itself came with Soft Suede ink spot, an 8 piece photopolymer stamp set, instructions, and pieces for 12 love notes and 4 3D baskets.  Aren't they adorable?  And while cute, they are just fun to make for experienced crafters or new ones.

In addition to the great projects SU! designs, subscribers with me also get an tip and tricks sheet along with step by step instructions for alternative ideas each month and a card in the mail using the stamp set from the kit.

Below is the first round of projects I created for them this month.

Tip: Use the fruit sheets as templates to stamp or sponge in!

Tip: Keep the things you punch out from the berries to embellish your cards like you would sequins or gems!

Tip: Cut apart the baskets and mount them on cards.  And cut strips from the die cut fruit and leaf sheets to embellish your cards!

Tip: Don't be afraid to cut up your tissue paper.  If you are afraid it will tear, layer a piece of cardstock under it when you cut!  Or cover any torn edges with photos like in these 12 x 12 layouts!

To get future kits, you need to sign up by the 10th of the month.  And once you are a subscriber, you are able to purchase past refills and sometimes full kits while supplies last!

Sign up here: https://mypaperpumpkin.com/en/?demoid=80380

If you sign up by August 10th using the promo code BLOOM0818, you can try out Paper Pumpkin for 50% off as a new subscriber!  Based on the graphic, I'm guessing we have something beautiful in store to finish out the summer!

The time has come to stock up on your favorite Designer Series Paper Products.  When you purchase three packs from the special, you get to select an additional pack for free.  Check out the video below for all the images included in this promotion!

To purchase these products, visit MY ONLINE STORE and use hostess code 7E3PSSEC upon checkout!

Finding so many things you want that you can't make up your mind?  There is a great path for you to take in this case - join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator!  When you sign up for $99 plus tax, you can pick out $125 worth of merchandise to get yourself started or to supplement your existing supplies!  Plus, during the month of July, you can pick out an ENTIRE color family for free to add to your kit!  That's a great value for a limited time only!  

Sign up here or contact me today to see if this a good option for you.  I know it's been a life-changer for me!

New Blends are Finally Here!

Your wait is over - the new Stampin' Blends colors are available for purchase!  Stampin' Blends offer more shading possibilities and they blend into each other, leaving you with no lines like when you color using pencils or Write markers.   You can see how to use them below.

Click the captions below to add these new colors to your carts and use hostess code 7E3PSSEC when checking out!

Call Me Clover Blends Combo Pack - 147282 - $9.00

Flirty Flamingo Blends Combo Pack - 147278 - $9.00

Granny Apple Green Blends Combo Pack - 147274 - $9.00

Highland Heather Blends Combo Pack - 147276 - $9.00

Lovely Lipstick Blends Combo Pack - 147281 - $9.00

Mint Macaron Blends Combo Pack - 147283 - $9.00

Petal Pink Blends Combo Pack - 147272 - $9.00

Pineapple Punch Blends Combo Pack - 147280 - $9.00

Poppy Parade Blends Combo Pack - 147275 - $9.00

Soft Sea Foam Blends Combo Pack - 148059 - $9.00

Soft Suede Blends Combo Pack - 147273 - $9.00

You can also get these Blends in light and dark singles separately on my site as well.

Take care,
Stacy

Introducing Notes of Kindness Card Kit

Summer is busy.  If you have children, you are trying to get them to stay as busy as they did while in school.  If you don't, you are busy traveling and grateful you don't have little kids anymore to keep busy all summer long.  Either way, people struggle to find time for themselves to craft in the summer because they are on the go.

Stampin' Up! has two solutions to the "I am not home" or "I don't have time" to craft dilemma.  The first is the Paper Pumpkin program that allows you to receive a kit in the mail that you can take with you to craft anywhere.  Whether sitting in the bleachers witnessing splash, I mean, swim lessons or enjoying a little cozy patio overlooking the lake, the Paper Pumpkin kits come with everything you need to make beautiful projects!  You can find more info on that program and sign up at the bottom of this post.

The second are our all-inclusive card kits.  These kits come with the card bases and pieces, decorative envelopes, stamps, adhesive, and ink to make beautiful projects.

These are the samples in the kit.  I did not use the copper twine that came in the box as it's not something I like to add to projects but you have it in there if you like it.

I also made a few alternative samples.  I didn't add any paper to the kits but I did use the Soft Sea Foam ink pad on a few and our returning Blackberry Bliss ink.

Grab your scissors, your kit, and your peace of mind and enjoy these great projects today.

To purchase the supplies featured in these projects, please visit my Online store or click the images below.  Please use hostess code 7E3PSSEC when checking out.

Notes of Kindness Card Kit - 148266 - $35.00

Soft Sea Foam Ink Pad - 147102 - $7.50

Blackberry Bliss Ink Pad - 147902 - $7.50

Paper Snips - 103579 - $10.00

Sign up for Paper Pumpkin by the 10th of the month to try this great program over the summer.  Paper Pumpkin offers a kit in the mail to help your creative juices flow!  The cost is $19.95 per month plus tax and includes a kit of pre-cut pieces, instructions, ink spots, and adhesive.  The projects are usually cards but sometimes there are 3D or décor items.  As a subscriber with me, you get a project sheet with at least 3 alternative ideas and invitations to free Paper Pumpkin Parties where you can bring your kit to assemble with other stamping friends and make those alternative projects.  Make time for yourself and make room for your creativity to blossom with Paper Pumpkin!  Sign up HERE! 

Finding so many things you want that you can't make up your mind?  There is a great path for you to take in this case - join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator!  When you sign up for $99 plus tax, you can pick out $125 worth of merchandise to get yourself started or to supplement your existing supplies!  Sign up here or contact me today to see if this a good option for you.  I know it's been a life-changer for me!

Have a craftastic day,

Stacy