All About Love - & Honey Bees...

The January Paper Pumpkin kit is all about love. With Valentines Day coming up this kit is geared to sharing wishes with your Valentine or anyone else! The kit contains materials to create 20 sweet gift bags - perfect for Valentine's Day treats, gift cards, wedding shower favours or just random acts of appreciation.

Since my personal preference is cards, I created a slew of card alternatives to share with my monthly Paper Pumpkin Peeps. We made cards for all occasions & loved the versatile stamp set that came with this kit. The honeybee stamp is adorable & I couldn't stop adding wee bees in every colour to match my greetings.

This card uses the floral stamp embossed with white embossing powder as a see-through window through the punched out heart. In this case I used the tiny card front from the kit for my heart & added sequins & an inside sentiment from previous kits. This monthly subscription is a fab way to build up a versatile stash of card making stamps & inks. The kits come with a stamp set & ink spot - this month's ink colour is Mint Macaron - & coordinate with other Stampin' Up! products that you may have. Each month those who subscribe through me get together to create alternatives & stretch our imagination (& our kits!). If you are not local you will receive PDF instructions for at least 4 alternative cards every month that you can create from materials in the kit.

Here are a few more designs that we made. You can see that the background stamp was very popular!

Each kit comes with basic instructions plus a list of all the coordinating colours with links to coordinating products from the Stampin' Up! catalogs. It's fun to use what you have to create Paper Pumpkin originals.

During Sale-A-Bration, you can earn free stamps & products by subscribing to a pre-paid Paper Pumpkin subscription. Click on the Sale-A-Bration picture or check the Shop Now tab for all the details.

Contact me to subscribe & join my P. P. Peeps to share the creativity every month!

That Poppy Suite

The front page of the new mini-catalogue is an eye catching riot of colour. When you get to the description of the featured suite on page 24 you see that it is named Peaceful Poppies. I love the suite but part of it's appeal to me are those vivid, bright colours - perhaps not peaceful to some!

Here's a collection of cards that I created using Brights & Subtles, & black & white illustrating all the stamps in the Painted Poppies set.

The bright colours of the DSP are fabulous. The paper is great as an accent or even as a stand alone card front as in this next card.

The imagery in the stamp set is beautiful. The Painted Poppies set is images only, then there is another stamp set in the suite, Peaceful Poppies that is sentiments only. It makes for an endless selection of images & sentiments for all sorts of occasions.

There are dies to match & they too create simple cards in a variety of styles.

The images are designed to be coloured or used as a two step stamp but the gorgeous outlines create stunning backgrounds as well. Here the monochromatic & black & white images add a more subtle background.

This is a suite of products that will serve you well. It has been my go-to collection of products for all the February birthdays in our family.

We'll be "playing" with this suite of products at this month's techniques class, using stamps as backgrounds & even to create a water colour look. Along with the stamps dies & paper there are embellishments & ribbon all coordinated & available to order all together. Check out the details in my Online Store.

New Year, New Decade, New Catty!

Happy New Year Friends!

With the new year comes the new Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue (formerly known as the Occasions catty). The beautiful products in this book are offered from January - June 2020 & my oh my what gorgeous imagery! As a demonstrator we are able to pre-order the products before the catty goes "live" so I have been playing with these goodies for that last month. The stamps & matching dies are beautiful & of course the colour coordination that Stampin' Up! is known for just makes creating with these products both easy & elegant project. If you ordered from me in the last year you have already received your catalogue but if you'd like one of your own just contact me & I'll send one out. In the meantime check it out here.

Along with this catalogue comes the Sale-A-Bration brochure. This is Stampin' Up!'s biggest promotion of the year & there is a brochure full of products available free with a $60 or $120 purchase. This promotion runs from January 2 to March 31 so there's plenty of time to stock up on supplies & get free product! Download the brochure

Check out all the details & info in my online store under the Shop Now tab.

Of course the very best deal of all is to join my team as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator during Sale-A-Bration. For $135 you will receive:

• $165 worth of product of your choice
• The new mini-cutter + DSP sample pack
• Start up business supplies
• Your choice of any stamp set from any catalogue as a bonus extra
• Free shipping & tax free

As a demonstrator you will receive a minimum 20% discount off every purchase as long as you remain active. There is no need to give classes or sell to others - you can carry on as "your own best customer".  If you join now you have until June 30 to meet the sales requirement to remain active. If you are unable to meet the sales goal of approx. $400 by then  there is no penalty. You can either increase sales to remain active or even re-join at a later date. How sweet is that! As a member of my team I will offer any support that you would like plus a regular get-together to brainstorm & create. Feel free to contact me if this appeals to you. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Happy New Year to you all & as always I am grateful for your continued support.

Cheers,

Arlene

Gift Card Holders

As the g'kids get older the gift of choice seems to be gift cards - or cash. While I love to pick out gifts just for them I understand that Nana's taste does not always parallel their wish list. So I go with the flow - but of course it wouldn't be Christmas if I weren't creating something. While searching for cards to hold gift cards I came across these beauties created by Su Mohr. Su is a super artistic American demonstrator who I have been following for ages. Since I have 8+ grandkids (it's complicated) I wanted to make them a little different for each family. Here is my take on Su's design.

Here are the instructions:

• Each card holder uses a piece of cardstock cut 5" x 7 3/4". (You can get 2 cards out of one piece of cardstock). Save the 1" piece trimmed from the bottom for the "belly band"
• Score the long side at 6" & 2 1/2"
• Cut 2 pieces of DSP: one -  4 3/4" x 2 1/4", the second 4 3/4" x 1 1/2"
• Cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock (for a sentiment or message)
• Adhere DSP & white cardstock to the front & upper inside flap as shown
• Using a 1" punch cut a finger slot in the bottom flap
• Add Tear & Tape to the side edges only of the bottom flap. This forms the pocket for the gift card or cash.
• Score the belly band at 6 1/8" & 2 1/2" - this allows it to slide easily over the folded card
• Decorate as desired with die cuts or stamps. 

I used the Dashing Deer stamp set & dies for these masculine cards. Here are some others that I made for the rest of the gang.

Hope that you enjoy creating these fun card holders for the teens on your list. Be sure to leave a comment if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by.

Arlene

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Paper Pumpkin Preview

Paper Pumpkin has started to post previews of upcoming kits which is very helpful if you were maybe thing of jumping into the P.P. party! The October & November kits have provided materials for Christmas cards & tags with tons of inspiration for expanding your projects with coordinating cardstock & supplies from your stash. The December kit promises materials for 12 cards, a variety for every occasion. This is a terrific way to start off the year with a head start on greetings for everyone. Here are some samples from the Christmas collection.

Here's a beauty created from this month's kit, meant to be tags but providing lots of goodies for cards.

All those who subscribe to this monthly kit through my online store receive free classes - either in person or via email - your choice! Classes are the 4th Monday evening & the 4th Thursday afternoon in my home. If you are unable to attend in person I'll send you instructions & materials to create alternative cards.

Today marks the start of the Stampin' Up! Online Extravaganza. Think of it as an early Black Friday sale - without the crowds! There is a selection of ink, cardstock & bundles marked down 15%. It's a great time to get your hands on some fab dies & stamps (maybe the Bird Ballad bundle has been on your wish list) not to mention all that coordinating ink & cardstock. Find the list of goodies here. Place your order in my online store or contact me to place your order for you. Hurry though, the sale ends Friday!

Heirloom Silhouettes

The Woven Heirloom Bundle is the perfect touch for my favourite stamp set, Silhouette Scenes. The magnificent embossed frame, brushed with a touch of Delicata Golden Glitz ink creates a vintage cameo effect. This bundle comes with a stamp set, two dies for cutting the frames and two embossing folders to add the intricate carved texture. The stamp set comes with wonderful sentiments in an elegant font plus stamps for adding more texture to the backgrounds & stamped images on your cards. This frames enhance this simple image don't you think?

For this card I used a Whisper White Thick card base to start. Next a layer of Grey Granite cardstock. Using Grey Granite ink for a tone on tone look I used the long texture image from the stamp set to create the look of antique fabric. Next I stamped a branch image from the Colorful Seasons stamp set creating a tree for my sweet silhouette girl to swing from. This carefree image sends a message to my young-at-heart friend who, to me, will always be forever young.

The November Techniques class will be featuring this fab Woven Heirlooms Bundle. It is so versatile - I cannot wait to share the fun with the gang! 

Be sure to check out all these products in my online store. You can download the catalogues there or contact me to receive a copy.

Much Ado About Dies

While I consider my dies a wise investment for my crafting needs I am always looking for ways to get maximum mileage out of them. At class yesterday we tried all kinds of techniques for enhancing our cards using dies in different ways. Here Mr. Cool from the Playful Penguin stamp set is highlighted by an embossed frame. By using the Stitched Rectangle dies to give this guy a platform he is able to show off his Mango Melody scarf to the max!

Here the same dies were used to create a stitched card front with layers. Again an embossed oval die highlights the lovely iris image from the Inspiring Iris stamp set featured in the Annual catty on page 111.

Using delicate Petal Pink vellum to die cut our beautiful butterflies from the Butterfly Beauty dies creates a lovely vignette - the butterflies seem to be floating across the card. The background panel uses the Scripty 3D Embossing Folder to add a subtle touch of texture & interest.

These are just a few ways to use your supplies to the max. Look for ways to die cut vellum & DSP - not just cardstock. Use your dies to cut or emboss. Add loads of texture & interest & be sure to use all those fab new products.

Browse the catalogues in my online store or contact me if you live in Canada & would like copies of your very own.