Perfect Plaid Birthday

Here's a fun card using the Plaid Builder Dies from the new Annual Catalogue. There are 2 dies included in this set, one cuts out the Navy background design, the other cuts the Crumb Cake overlay. Together they "build" a cool plaid design for this card.

I then used the Playful Alphabet Dies to cut the letters but before I did I adhered the Crumb Cake cardstock to a Foam Adhesive sheet. My die cutting machine cut through all the layers to create these fun puffy letters! A final bow of linen thread gives an understated embellishment to this card - perfect for a teen/tween boy/girl.

This next card uses the same dies but with a bold boisterous sentiment from the Ridiculously Awesome stamp set.

The red/white/blue colour scheme made for a fun card for my American friends celebrating the 4th of July. The stars were cut from the Stitched Stars Dies from Real Red cardstock. The great sentiment just seems to shout out a happy wish for a happy day. Once again this makes for a great teen card & with 8 teen grandkids I'm always on the lookout for suitable sentiments!

The new catty has some stunning new suites of products so I am gradually working my way through as my orders arrive. 

Stay tuned for more samples plus cards made with "carrying over" favourites combined with new papers & embellishments. If you need a copy of the catalogue contact me & I'll see that you get one. If you have a copy, take a look through & make a wish list that we can work toward. I am happy to answer any questions or show you how to use the products. 

If you or your friends would like a virtual demonstration let me know & we'll set up a Zoom party. Until we can meet again safely that's the best way to party - & you can still wear those yoga pants!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers,
Arlene

Share Some Sunshine

The June Paper Pumpkin kit was designed by Sara Douglas, CEO of Stampin' Up! with the idea that the cards and the box could be passed on to #sharesunshine during this stressful time. The kit comes with materials for 8 cards PLUS extra die-cuts to decorate the cheery yellow box for re-gifting. Ideas for filling the box are all things yellow - from candies to post-it notes, fill it with sunny yellow fun things & send it off to cheer a friend. You could even create the cards & send them to a friend to share - all wrapped up with yellow tissue in a yellow box. Now that's sharing sunshine for sure!

The cards as presented are charming but I like to create my own designs, using the products in the kit, along with other Stampin' Up! materials from my stash. Each kit comes with a list of coordinating colours so adding a bright mat or card base in a matching colour really stretches these kits. Lots of bang for the buck - that's how we P.P. Peeps roll!

Here then is a parade of this month's alternatives.

This monthly kit is a wonderful way to collect some amazing stamps & crafting products. Pre-order for one. three or six months or subscribe to receive a kit every month. You can stop or take a break at any time & it's such a treat to look forward to a happy box of fun every month. Subscribe through me & get free tutorials every month (& in-person classes if you're local!)

Click here to subscribe.

Stay safe everyone & keep on creating!

Arlene

Glorious Green

The new catty is here & oh what fun! Nothing like a bit of forced isolation to give one lots of time to browse (& buy).

There are glorious suites of products in this lovely book,  all coordinated in colours you'll love. There are five new In-colours that are bright & cheerful but hey - they'll be around for two more years so today I'm going to focus on the drama!

The Forever Greenery Suite is stunning. Full disclosure - I'm actually not a green person (hence the proliferation of blue cards in my classes) but this back-to-nature collection is a classic. There is a beautiful array of green shades from warm to cool & products for every aspect of paper crafting. There are even gold hoop embellishments & a large collection of gold foil die cuts to add a touch of elegance to the simplest of cards.  Here I started with a super simple card which can be created by a beginner but has the look of an artist. The "Distinktive" images in the stamp set look hand painted. The Soft Seafoam card base & the added gold die-cut looks so classy!

The next card is geared for a casual stamper with a simple paper piecing technique under the gold laser cut specialty paper. Half inch strips of all shades of green cardstock are adhered to a Very Vanilla mat forming the front of this simple Z-fold card. Simple but snazzy don't you think?

This last card gave my die-cutting machine a workout! I die cut leaves in Whisper White & vellum the stamped & die-cut more leaves using Garden Green ink. The matching stamps & dies made this pretty easy but no one needs to know! I'm awaiting delivery of some lovely soft white ribbon from the suite so I just used up some bits of white ribbon from my stash. This card was designed by Dawn Griffith - so pretty I just had to CASE it.

If you are Canadian & in need of a catalogue let me know & I'll see that you get one. In the meantime  you can download a copy from the picture on the sidebar.

I hope that you are getting a good balance of crafting & playing outdoors. 

Stay well & stay in touch.

Arlene

Psychedelic Paper Pumpkin

This month's Paper Pumpkin kit is all about colour - In-Colours to be precise. It has a bit of a hippie vibe with happy bright pinks & yellows against the staple denim blue. What's not to love?

Although the kit was cute as-is, I really couldn't leave well enough alone. After all - that's the fun of gathering with the P.P. Peeps - to see how far we can go with the amazing products in the kit. Hence, the pineapple...

These crazy colours somehow reminded me of pineapples so I used the dies from the In The Tropics set to boost the tropical theme. The splash of Magenta Madness just makes the whole thing pop don't you think?

I toned things down with some serene clouds showing off the Misty Moonlight, a fab denim blue.

The rainbow card front from the kit added striped pizzazz to a simple card. The oh happy day just says it all!

This next one has a psychedelic look - so fun during these crazy times. The sunburst effect is achieved by cutting strips from the card fronts & die cuts from the kit. I even used the inside of the snazzy pink envelope.

This last card matched a sentiment from the Covid-19 Giveback pdf adding a colourful background to this heartfelt message. The card base is the new Bumblebee colour - a rich warm yellow that shares sunshine.

We had a great time playing with this kit & although it was a "virtual" get-together it was wonderful to see all those smiling faces.

You could be part of this fun group of P.P. Peeps - just subscribe with me as your demonstrator & you're in. Every month you'll get a free tutorial with at least 4 alternative card ideas & a free class if you're local. What fun!

Next month's kit was designed by Sara Douglas & is designed for sharing. Sign up before June 10th & you'll be all set to #sharesunhine!

Check it out in my online store under Paper Pumpkin.

Drowning in DSP?

Are you buried in a pile of Designer Series Paper? Are you admiring those luscious 12 x 12" patterns but hesitant to cut them up?  Well I found a solution. Actually - I found someone else's solution. Shannon West from Stampin' Up! has designed a template that she shared with demonstrators that creates 11 cards using two 6" x 12" sheets of DSP. I chose the Magnolia DSP (because I bought so much of it) & used a tutorial created by Julie Davison to make 11 cards to send to friends. For many of them I used the Covid-19 sentiment PDF.

Here is the template with thanks to Shannon & Julie.

Choose your double sided paper so that all four sides coordinate pleasingly. Using, the template cut both 1/2 sheets at once using your trimmer. You will get 5 cards from each 1/2 sheet Plus a bonus card made from the pieces marked "extra pieces".

I kept my pieces in piles adding the strips to each card mixing & matching patterns as I made each card. You will need 11 card bases so just select cardstock to match or stick with Whisper White. After all the DSP strips were attached as shown, I stamped sentiments on Whisper White cardstock then punched them out using the Everyday Label punch. The sentiments from the Covid-19 PDF can be trimmed & added to each card . Embellish with ribbon, twine & rhinestones as desired.

Here are Julie's instructions.

I hope that you are all staying safe & sane during this difficult time. 

Please note that all of my in-person classes are cancelled until further notice. The correction does not appear on my website!

Stay tuned for more "virtual" classes.

Cheers,

Arlene

#sharesunshine

Stampin' Up! has come up with a novel idea to spread sunshine during this Covid-19 pandemic. They have designed a collection of sentiments suitable for cards to share with friends & family to help us all keep in touch. This is actually a pdf downloadable collection that can be printed out, cropped & used on cards or scrapbook pages.  They even print in Stampin' Up! colours! Some are silly, some are touching but all express a sincere message that we'd all like to share. An added bonus is that 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the file goes to either the World Health Organization or the United Way to help local communities. The choice for support is yours & can be made when you purchase. The cost is 12 USD. Here is the link to purchase.

Because I wanted to make use of these fabulous sentiments & share them - pronto, I decided to keep it simple, gather up all of my DSP & stamp sets that were suitable & CREATE - fast! Here is a selection of the cards that I made, showing off all these cute sentiments (all 15 pages of them)!

Some of the stamp sets are retired, like the cute penguins but just because they retire doesn't mean that they leave my studio! The same goes for the reams of beautiful paper that I have collected over the years. I cut it all down to card making size & have it all ready to go for mass producing.

Here are a couple more that are set to send. Remember folks - this is the perfect time to share the joy of creating. With all this social distancing what could be better than a handmade card to make your day!

Don't obsess over your designs. Pick some pretty paper to match the colours of the sentiments, dig into your embellishment stash & go to town. We all miss each other & we all have time - lots & lots of time - to create some cheer. 

Let's go everyone - #sharesunshine!

Family First

My April Paper Pumpkin kit arrived last week & it's all about family. How perfect in this time of isolation that we get to celebrate those so dear to us. I loved the stamps but to be honest the colours in the kit were not my favourites. So....I decided to redesign the cards using materials in the kit plus ink spots & stamps from previous kits. 

Here's a parade of alternatives.

With the current pandemic situation, my P.P. Peeps & I were unable to meet in person so we did a virtual part via Zoom. It was so good to see everyone & share my designs with them We all worked together & made the four cards above.

Here are a couple more cards for inspiration - designs by Mary Fish & Shel Anderson.

Next month's kit promises a sneak peak at some new 2020-2022 In-colours - I cannot wait.  

Subscribe to Paper Pumpkin with me as your demonstrator & get free classes! Check it out here.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to sign up by May 11 to receive this colourful kit!