The Adventure Begins

 

The July Paper Pumpkin has arrived & it's perfect for celebrating summer fun! The camping/outdoor theme makes for great memory keeping pages & the timing is perfect for celebrating an adventure or life changing event.

The kit is designed to make 12 cards, 4 each of 3 designs & is great fun made as is. It coordinates, as usual, with current Stampin' Up! colours & the sentiments are big & bold. The cards themselves are a tri-fold design but by cutting apart the card sections I managed to create some simple cards with a Christmas theme.

My first alternative is a shaker card. I cut the three card sections apart & added an acetate window sheet behind the card front opening using Seal.

Next came some foam strips creating and star sequins for a sparkly shaker. I backed the "window" with vellum to add a subtle touch to the background which is adhered to the vellum. The card front is then adhered to a Basic White card base. The lantern & fireflies are perfect for the card front & inspirational message.

The stamp set has an evergreen tree that can be stamped & fussy cut for more cards.

A star embellishment from a previous kit tops this Evening Evergreen tree with a coating of Wink of Stella.

There are tree die-cuts (the same size as the stamped image) that can be popped on a card base for a quick holiday card. Even the envelopes are colourful & perfect for cutting up for mats for the trees!

The die-cuts are large enough to use on a 12 x 12" scrapbook page & are perfect for recording vacation memories.

Subscribers to my Paper Pumpkin Club, receive along with their subscription, a PDF of instructions for alternative project designs as well as extra materials to stretch their kit. The stamp sets provide a grand collection of themed images & sentiment so make card making & memory keeping quick & easy.

Be sure to check out this fun monthly idea box in my online store:

https://www.paperpumpkin.com/en-ca/sign-up/?demoid=2174147

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers,

Arlene

Gilded Seashells

 All this lovely summer weather has inspired me to play with the Friends Are Like Seashells stamp set. This versatile set has a matching embossing folder as well as matching dies. The large die-cut seascape can be embossed for extra texture & detail. Stunning!

Here I die-cut the large die using the  Soft Succulent Shimmer Vellum. Then I added texture by embossing the die-cut with the matching 3D Embossing Folder. A few flakes of Gold Gilding add the golden touch. The flakes are easy to apply. I smudged some VersaMark ink over the embossed die-cut, then sprinkled the Heat & Stick powder over the ink, then melted the powder with a heat tool. The Gilding Flakes were then rubbed over these raised areas to create this golden effect.

By matting the die-cut onto Gold Foil cardstock, the highlights really pop! A simple gold embossed sentiment & a Soft Succulent card base finish things off. This card would be perfect for a beach wedding or golden wedding anniversary or any other special occasion.

And speaking of special occasions...

Stampin' Up! is having a paper sale! Select DSP patterns are 15% off for the month of July. The selection is fabulous from tailored to trendy, floral to funky so be sure to check them out & re-stock.

Click the SHOP button to shop my online store or contact me for help placing an order.

Stay tuned for samples & sneak peaks of the new June-December mini catty going live August 1st

Cheers,

Arlene

June 2021 Paper Pumpkin Kit

The stunning Expressions in Color Paper Pumpkin kit for June is ah-mazing! It comes at the perfect time of year to celebrate weddings, anniversaries & graduations. Its elegant components were beautiful (I say were because the kit is pretty much gone) & I just love every card produced by this kit.

The cards as designed are lovely but the goal of our monthly gathering with the P.P. Peeps is to create alternatives using all of the materials in the kit. This kit came with vellum floral dies-cuts that we brushed with colour & leafy patterned die-cuts that became the focal point of some of our designs.

The card bases had a watercolour  look that tied in beautifully with the Expressions in Ink DSP.

The stamp set included both line images & a "splotch" stamp that added to the artistic look.

Even the leftover die-cuts combined with a sweet message from the Many Happenings stamp set produced a stunning wedding card for a lucky couple.

Creating with my Paper Pumpkin Peeps is the highlight of my month! If you'd like to join the fun, subscribe to this monthly box of fun & receive free classes, tutorials & alternative materials with your kit. Click HERE to check out subscriptions in my online store or contact me for details.

Thanks for stopping by,

Arlene

Free!

 

Free shipping that is! Today, June 24 until midnight tonight all orders over $65 CAD will ship free. This is a wonderful saving especially if you are in the market for a a larger item - perhaps a Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine? Maybe the matching mini? What fun to get these items at a 10% savings!

If you need a small order, contact me & I will add it to my group order so that you can still enjoy the savings.

Pre-paid Paper Pumpkin purchases apply as well so it's a great time to join my P.P. Peeps club for free classes each & every month! Sorry, month to month subscriptions do NOT qualify for the sale. 

Shop now in my online store or contact me with your order.

Cheers,

Arlene

Expressions in Ink

 June is a popular month for weddings & with our area finally coming out of a months long lockdown we are all looking forward to some happy celebrations with friends & family. Since June is such a popular wedding month, I find that this month there are lots of anniversaries as well. Here's an elegant card that is just perfect for a classy congratulations message.

The star of the show for this card is the stunning Expressions In Ink DSP. It is part of  the Expressions In Ink suite of products in the Annual Catalogue that is absolutely stunning! The paper has a watercolour look - similar to the alcohol/ink technique - with strands of gold foil highlights. Here I have mounted a 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" piece of the DSP onto a mat of gold foil which sits regally on a card base of Evening Evergreen cardstock (my new fave colour).

The leafy die-cut is from the Artistic Dies, included in this fabulous suite. This is cut from gold foil as well. The sentiment is heat embossed using gold embossing powder & popped up on a gold foil mat. A tiny bow of gold twine completes this elegant card.

This is such a lovely artistic look & so on trend! So much so that the June Paper Pumpkin kit has the same ethereal theme. I cannot wait to gather with my Paper Pumpkin Peeps to create cards with this artistic look.

And speaking of Paper Pumpkin - a reminder that all those who subscribe through me will have access to free classes & materials for alternatives to stretch your Paper Pumpkin kit. 

Be sure to check back next week to see our creations from this month's kit.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers,

Arlene

For the Graduate

 Grade 8 graduations have always been a conundrum for me. While I am happy to laud academic accomplishments, I find many graduation messages a little inappropriate for a young teen. It's not like the 14 year old is embarking on a new career or defending a post graduate thesis. True, they are heading to 9th grade, usually at a new school but I prefer to have some fun with it.

Here are a couple of cards for the young grads that congratulate  on a lighter note.

This card was inspired by Julie Gilson - I loved the colours of Granny Apple Green & Pacific Point & the sentiment says it all. The Snailed It Bundle is retiring soon & the dies are discounted by 50%. This is a fun bundle with adorable images & snail mail references perfect for card making. Check it out HERE before it disappears forever.

Here's another from the May Paper Pumpkin kit that I think is a perfect send-off to the baseball fan heading to high school.

Here in Ontario we have been in lockdown for months with the kids learning virtually, without the sports & extra curricular activities to lighten the load. Here's hoping that out graduating g'son will get an outdoor, socially distanced celebration to mark his accomplishments & share some fun with friends.

I hope that your graduates get to celebrate safely & carry on to the next phase of their lives.

Cheers,

Arlene

Batter up!

Even though we are in the midst of hockey play-offs here in Ontario, I must say I enjoyed playing with the baseball themed May Paper Pumpkin kit. It was great fun to create cards for the baseball fans in my life, boys & girls, moms or dads.

The kit came with card bases to create nine cards but by adding some white & coloured cardstock & cutting the card bases in half, we went to town creating some fun alternatives.

This first card is based on a design by Leena Girsa, a fellow Canadian demonstrator. The baseball card front mimics a vintage baseball trading card then opens up to showcase a fun fold full of baseball images What fun!

                                        

The stamp set includes a cute cap that was stamped, then fussy-cut to decorate the pin-striped mat.

Next up - a card for the Boy-Moms in the family. They're both baseball players/fans so the Polished Pink was perfect for these sporty gals.

The die-cuts in the kit are perfect for a scrapbook page so with some pics on hand of one of my all-star g'sons.

Here are a couple more alternatives for inspiration.

Here's one last card, turning the sunburst red & white card base into a celebration for Canada Day!

If you'd like to join the fun with my Paper Pumpkin Peeps group subscribe with me as your demonstrator & enjoy free classes, free pdf tutorials & extra materials to keep on creating.

Click here to subscribe in my online store under Paper Pumpkin.

Thanks for visiting!

Cheers,

Arlene