Advance Notice

This beautiful suite of products will be available to pre-order from the brand new 2020-21 catalogue! It is a gorgeous collection of coordinating products including two stamp & die bundles an embossing folder & matching DSP, ribbon & embellishments. As a demonstrator I got to order it all & it arrived on Friday.

Over the next week I will be featuring cards made from this suite. Here's my first.

I love the look of Mint Macaron & copper embossing. It gives a vintage look that looks pretty classy with not too much effort! The Ornate Style stamp set has beautiful daisy (or maybe aster) images & the dies are well - to die for. There are border dies & tiny flower dies as well as rectangular layers & frames . The embossed background is made using the Ornate Floral 3D embossing folder which is then embossed in a random fashion with copper embossing powder. The sentiment is from the gorgeous scripty stamp set Ornate Thanks, an all sentiment set.

Stay tuned for more cards using this suite - I just can't stop creating with it!

Thanks for popping by!

So Appropriate

The March Paper Pumpkin kit is so appropriate for these trying times. With it's message that "we're in this together" it has provided a creative way to reach out to all my family & friends.

The kit comes with materials for 12 note cards with matching envelopes. Made as-is they're perfect - well almost perfect! It wouldn't be Paper Pumpkin if it didn't inspire my P.P. Peeps & me to take these designs & run with them!

With all this time on my hands I set to creating alternatives with all the products in the kit. Usually my Paper Pumpkin subscribers & I get together to assemble our kits  & create alternative designs by thinking outside the (Paper Pumpkin) box. Well these are not usual times. I am posting pictures of my alternatives here & tonight my P.P. Peeps & I will connect "virtually" to share the fun.

This month's kit marks the seventh birthday of Paper Pumpkin so we all got a present! There's a bonus stamp set (so TWO stamp sets) in the box & it's a beauty. It has images of boots & bunnies, flowers & grasses & a welcoming door adorned with greenery.

Since I prefer full size A2 cards I got busy cutting up some of the cards & envelopes to create matted images with wonderful sentiments. Here's a couple that I made with the bonus stamp.

I was in need of "happy new home" cards so these were perfect!

This awful world-wide Covid-19 virus is heartbreaking & sad. I really wanted to spread a little joy so I was delighted to have a perfect message for my friends & family.

The cute Miss Your Face sentiment is from the Tags in Bloom stamp set available free with a $120 order here in Canada. It arrived the same day as my P.P. kit so I took that as a message - these stamps were meant for each other! The cute green card was designed by Debbie Henderson, an American demonstrator & Paper Pumpkin Designer Extraordinaire. The sentiment from the kit just says it all, don't you think? It uses Call Me Clover cardstock - a lovely vivid green - along with the yellow striped envelope liner cut as an accent mat. Some Happiness Blooms Enamel dots add an embellishment.

Here are a few more alternatives using the kit materials with cardstock & sentiments from previous kits. It's such fun to build a supply of stamps, die-cuts & embellishments to keep the happiness going with more creations.

I hope that you are all staying in & staying safe. For me, creative endeavors ease the boredom of isolation. It also gives me an opportunity to send some cheer to those around me. Send those cards, people & share the joy!

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check out Paper Pumpkin in my online store. 

Cheers,

Arlene

"Custom" Vellum

While checking out the new Sale-A-Bration freebies as well as the current "social distancing" protocols I decided to dig through my stash & customize my Perennial Vellum cardstock from the Annual catty. I absolutely love the embossed vellum featured in the SAB brochure (free with a $60 purchase here in Canada) but decided to emboss the vellum that I had on hand. I rounded up my embossing folder collection...

and went to town with my leftover vellum.

I started on some Easter cards using the Inspiring Iris stamp set using Easter colours like Petal Pink. Highland Heather & So saffron. I love how the two-step stamping makes me look like a water colour expert (which I am NOT).

I used the Ornate Frames dies to crop the sentiment (from a retired stamp set) & trimmed with white Baker's Twine & Gingham Gala adhesive backed sequins.

Check out my creations then choose your embossing folders & away you go!

Since we'll all be limiting social contact in the coming weeks why not use the time to do some crafting. make some cards & send them off to cheer those around you. In these difficult times we could all use some cheer!

Stay well my friends & share your creative joy!

It's been a while....

Hello Friends,

It has been a while hasn't it? The truth is, I much prefer making cards to talking about them, so hence my silence here on the blog. Let's fix that omission right now with some chat about this month's Paper Pumpkin kit. Here is the kit provided. It provides unique materials to create 9 cards, 3 of each design. Card bases, die-cuts, embellishments - & lots of them - are all included. Each kit comes with a clear stamp set & an ink spot in one of Stampin' Up!'s signature colours. It's a wonderful way to build your collection of stamps & inks!

Our Paper Pumpkin group, affectionately known as the P.P. Peeps, meet monthly & we really go to town creating alternatives.

The die cuts provided are stunning so we supplemented with past kit stamps & some new dies from the January-June Mini catty, the Stitched So Sweetly dies.

Many in the group were in need of more masculine or gender-neutral cards so we cut up the pin-striped Pretty Peacock card bases & had a go!

The shaker card version adds a fun touch for the man in your life.

 These next cards were created by cutting up the envelopes from the kit. The "clippings" from one envelope along with a couple of Whisper White card bases gave us a couple more bonus cards!

I love that the monthly card kits coordinate so smoothly with current Stampin' Up! products & colours.

If you live in Canada & would like to subscribe to the Paper Pumpkin fun, check out Paper Pumpkin in my online store. All my subscribers get free tutorials - in person or online - your choice.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to leave a comment with any questions or concerns. I love to hear from you!

Cheers,

Arlene

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