cardmaking

Monthly Paper Pumpkin Tip: A Little Product Supplement Goes a Long Way

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I received a shipping notice yesterday that this month’s Paper Pumpkin kit is on its way to my house, so I have Paper Pumpkin on the brain. Because Paper Pumpkin is an all-inclusive monthly subscription paper-crafting kit perfect for beginning stampers, I’ve decided to start a series of posts giving tips and tricks on how to expand the possibilities of what you can create with your monthly kit.

This months tip: A Little Product Supplement Goes a Long Way

You don’t have to have a a storehouse of paper-crafting supplies to make alternative projects from your Paper Pumpkin. You can supplement with a few basic supplies and unlock a plethora of possibilities.

  • Purchase extra cardstock & envelopes
    When I say to purchase extra cardstock, I don’t mean that you have to have every color of the Stampin’ Up rainbow. Invest in a stash of Basic White and/or Very Vanilla cardstock. You can also buy thick versions of white and vanilla which are sturdier and make better card bases. A pack of Neutrals cardstock will further expand your creative opportunities. The Neutrals color family includes Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Gray Granite, Merry Merlot, Mossy Meadow, Night of Navy, Sahara Sand, Smoky Slate, and Soft Suede, and you’ll receive two sheets of every color in the package.
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock
$8.25
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$9.75
Basic White Medium Envelopes
$7.50
Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$9.75
Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock
$8.25
Very Vanilla Medium Envelopes
$7.50
Neutrals 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$9.00
  • Invest in a black ink pad
    For a beginning stamper, I recommend Memento Tuxedo Black. Memento is a great all-around basic ink. Also, it won’t smear when you color with alcohol-based markers such as Stampin’ Blends or Copics.
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
$6.00
  • Acquire basic cutting tools
    Not only is a paper trimmer a must-have for a paper-crafter, it’s a great tool to have around the house anyway. My daughter frequently pulls it out for school projects and to trim photos. Paper snips give you the ability to precisely cut out small stamped images.
Paper Trimmer
$25.00
Paper Snips
$10.00

By investing in these basic supplies, you can “cannibalize” the materials in your Paper Pumpkin and create extra cards. Subscribe to my blog and check back at the end of the month to see what I create with the January 2021 kit, Sending Hearts. Happy stamping!

Subscribe today!

New Year, New Catalog: Ice Cream Corner

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So far, one of the few good things about the onset of 2021 is the launch of Stampin’ Up’s January-June Mini Catalog, which features charming new stamp sets and products. I’ll be introducing some of these sets to you over the next few weeks. I’m starting with the Ice Cream Corner Product Suite. I know, it’s strange that it’s still January and I’m pulling out the ice cream set, but I live in the Pacific Northwest and we get a lot of rain and gray skies, especially during the winter, and the colors in this suite are bright and cheerful and everyone needs some bright and cheerful in life right now. Yes, at the moment I’m more inclined to want a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream on top than a a popsicle or ice cream cone (especially since my husband keeps opening the window to his office because he wants fresh air), but it gives me something to look forward to.

One of the great things about the January-June Mini Catalog is that while some of the product suites are in the usual $100-150 rage, there are a few in the $50-$100 rage. This is one of them. Without further ado, I present to you Ice Cream Corner! The suite consists of the items pictured below. (Of course, you can always buy the items a la carte.)

Product List
Sweet Ice Cream Photopolymer Stamp Set
$17.00
Ice Cream Cone Builder Punch
$18.00
Blackberry Bliss Striped Ribbon
$7.00
Ice Cream Corner Sprinkles
$6.00
Ice Cream Corner Designer Series Paper
$11.50

The color palette for the Designer Series Paper is Terracotta Tile, Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, Blackberry Bliss, and Cinnamon Cider.

When I was a kid and my family would go to Baskin Robins for ice cream, I always fantasized about ordering a cone with at least three scoops of ice cream on top. Of course, my parents would never let me, which now that I’m a parent myself I completely understand why. This stamp set helped me fulfill my fantasy of having multiple scoops of ice cream without all the calories and sugar. Here are my cards:

Thanks for reading and I’ll be featuring other stamps sets and products from the new catalog over the course of the next few weeks.

In other news, the subscription period for the February Paper Pumpkin will be open from January 11-February 10. Click the picture below for more information and to subscribe. Then, check my blog toward the end of the month to see what creative ways you can make alternate projects from the kit.

December 2020 Paper Pumpkin: Beary Comforting

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Happy New Year! For my first blog post of 2021 I’m featuring the December 2020 Paper Pumpkin kit called Beary Comforting, an all-inclusive paper-crafting subscription box from Stampin’ Up. This kit contains all the supplies you need to create twelve cards with coordinating envelopes. It also includes a Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Spot and a photopolymer stamp set with the images pictured below.

The fun thing about this kit is that the animals were designed to be holding items. In addition to the single koala bears, the kit includes cutouts of a zany raccoon. You have your choice of several items for the animals to hold–a cupcake, a gift, a heart, and a bouquet of flowers. Although the cards look great in their own right, I wanted to add a little extra embellishment and I found that the Gold Glitter Enamel Dots and the 1/4″ Gold Shimmer Ribbon were perfectly suited to the job. My favorite modification to the kit was cutting the bow off the top of the gift cutout, flipped it over, added a tiny square of Kleenex and made it into a box of tissues for get well soon cards.

I always like to feature at least one card that doesn’t include any elements from the kit other than the stamp set. I call it my “stamps only” card. I copied an idea from another Stampin’ Up demonstrator, April Jensen, to create the the patterned panel on the left. The panel on the left is from the Oh So Hombre designer series paper featured in the upcoming Sale-a-Bration catalog, which will go live on January 4th. The picture doesn’t show it well, but the Rich Razzleberry paper behind the koala bear is embossed with the Greenery Embossing Folder so there’s some raised foliage behind the bear.

Product List
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$9.75
Rich Razzleberry 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.75
Gray Granite 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.75
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
$6.00
Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad
$7.50
Gray Granite Classic Stampin' Pad
$7.50
Gray Granite Stampin' Blends Combo Pack
$9.00
Greenery Embossing Folders
$8.00
Gold Glitter Enamel Dots
$8.00
Gold 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Shimmer Ribbon
$7.00

If you send out cards for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, other celebrations of love the January 2021 kit, Sending Hearts is for you. The kit makes eight cards and comes with oodles of heart-shaped elements and paper pieces in red and pink. For those who share treats at Valentines Day, an add-on containing 20 tiny, printed boxes and 24 die-cut, heart-shelled snails and sentiment labels is also available to Paper Pumpkin subscribers beginning on January 1st. Subscribe to Paper Pumpkin by January 10th to get this box.

October 2020 Paper Pumpkin: Joy to the World

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Most years, Stampin’ Up reserves the October and November Paper Pumpkin kits for the Christmas Holidays. The October kit is usually cards and the November kit usually has something to do with gift giving. Next month’s kit will make gift card holders, but if you don’t need gift card holders, I’ll feature oodles of alternate projects here on my blog. The October 2020 Paper Pumpkin kit, Joy to the World, includes all the supplies required to make a total of eight cards, four of each design, pictured above, a Just Jade mini ink pad, and the photopolymer stamp set pictured below.

This month, I made a lot of alternate card designs that for the most part reworked the contents of the kit without many additional supplies. I cannot gush enough about how much I love the color Cherry Cobbler and it pairs well with the Just Jade leaves on the wreath and flowers. I wouldn’t have thought to include gold accents, but they look lovely against the Crumb Cake background.

Here are my alternate designs:

I always say don’t be afraid to sacrifice an envelope for the greater good of your card design. The envelope liner made a great background paper. On the original card design, the majority of the roses are hidden behind the tag, so I reworked the placement so you can see them better. Since Cherry Cobbler was the dominant color, I switched out the red thread for some gold I had leftover from a past Paper Pumpkin kit.

On this card, I cut down the front of one of the card bases and mounted it on a piece of Whisper White cardstock. I also sponge-rolled Cherry Cobbler ink on the cable-knit sweater embossed swatch of paper. Sponging on a different color of ink made the embossed pattern more prominent. Once again, I used gold thread instead of Cherry Cobbler.

Once again, I sponge-rolled the white embossed paper with Cherry Cobbler ink. I also added gold metallic pearls.

Can you tell I really liked sponge-rolling the cable-knit sweater pieces? This time I used Just Jade instead of Cherry Cobbler. I cut down the Crumb Cake card base and mounted it on a Just Jade card base. If you’ve ever made cards with me, you know that tying bows is not high on my list of paper-crafting skills. I wrapped the embossed paper with the Cherry Cobbler thread instead. I also added gold metallic pearls.

My final card is my stamps only card. It doesn’t use any other supplies from the kit. I saw a lot of people using their Stamparatus to evenly space a column using the Joy stamp and I had to do it too. This card is a short slimline card and fits in a small letter envelope.

Additional Project Supplies
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$9.75
Just Jade 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.75
Cherry Cobbler 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.75
Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.75
Just Jade Classic Stampin' Pad
$7.50
Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad
$7.50
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
$7.50
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad
$6.00
Metallic Pearls
$7.00
Stitched Nested Labels Dies
$35.00
Gold Foil Sheets
$5.00

As I mentioned earlier, next month’s kit will make gift card holders. Here’s a little sneak peak of what to expect. The kit will contain fifteen gift card carriers with coordinating envelopes. Featured colors are Cinnamon Cider, Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral, Mint Macaron, Shaded Spruce, Blushing Bride, and Whisper White.

Sucker for Snowflakes: Blues Edition

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That’s right, I’m a sucker for a good snowflake stamp set. Every year, I tell myself not to buy another one because I have so many. Then I go and get another one anyway. I’ve already vowed to have more control next year, but this year, I couldn’t resist Stampin’ Up’s Snowflake Splendor Product Suite. The suite consists of:

Product List
Snowflake Splendor Designer Series Paper
$11.50
Snowflake Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set
$26.00
So Many Snowflakes Dies
$36.00
Winter Snow Embossing Folder
$7.50
Balmy Blue Glimmer Paper
$5.00
Blue Adhesive-Backed Gems
$8.00
Snowflake Splendor 1/4" (6.4 Mm) Ribbon
$7.00

One of my favorite things from this suite is the Winter Snow embossing folder. Not only does it work well with the other products in this suite, it elevates any other holiday card/project you might be designing.

I also love the “reverse” dies from the So Many Snowflakes set, and I’m featuring one of them in today’s post.

Sometimes when I design cards, I get hooked on one color. For this series of cards the color was Night of Navy.

This is the first card I made:

I embossed a piece of the blue watercolor-looking paper from the Snowflake Splendor designer series paper pack with the Winter Snow embossing folder. I just love the texture it provides! I used white glitter paper from my stash of retired products and placed it behind the snowflake cutout. The card was fairly simple and very satisfying to make.

My next two cards are meant to be opposites of one another. The insides of the cards use the “Thank You Snow Much” sentiment from Snowflake Wishes stamp set. We always think about sending cards before the holidays begin, which isn’t a bad thing per say. These cards however, are perfect thank you cards for the gifts and acts of kindness you receive over the holidays.

Side note: I used to leave the insides of my cards blank so that I could stamp a sentiment tailored to the recipient. However, I seem to pick cards for people at the last minute (I mean heading out the door kind of last minute) and never have the time to dig out an appropriate stamp for the interior of the card. Now, I stamp the sentiment beforehand, and if you’re the last-minute card selector that I am, I encourage you to do the same. I’ve made so many cards that I now seem to have one for most occasions and if I want to make the card truly personal, I can always handwrite it.

Additional supplies:


Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$9.75
Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.75
Seaside Spray 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.75
Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad
$7.50
Seaside Spray Classic Stampin’ Pad
$7.50
Snowflake Sequins
$6.00
Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets
$9.00
Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels
$6.00
Playing With Patterns Ribbon Combo Pack
$10.50
Essential Tag Punch
$18.00

Purchase either the Snowflake Splendor Suite or the Snowflake Wishes Bundle (the stamp set and the dies) and I’ll send you a PDF tutorial on how to make the three cards in this blog post.

Happy Stamping! (That sounds cheesy, I know, but I’m going with it.)