Category Archives: 3-D, Gifts & Things

Easy Easter and Spring Treat Bag

Here’s one last Easter project for you if you need something last minute, maybe to put some candy or a small gift inside! Or make it and keep it for your own Easter decor! You can even leave it out for Spring and really, summer. Leave off the Easter Bunny! To make this Easy Easter and Spring Treat Bag, I used the Flowering Zinnias Designer Series Paper. I used the sheet that has flowers at the top and bottom with a white space in between. You can vary the height of this project if you want to make it a little shorter or cut the paper in half at 6″, right in the middle of the white portion.

I cut the designer paper at 12″ x 6 3/4″. Of course, you can use any kind of designer paper or even cardstock. I like the idea of the beautiful flowers right there on all sides of the bag. The piece of designer series paper is scored at 1 3/4″, 5 1/2″, 7 1/4″ and 11″. Make sure your pattern is going the correct direction, then score the bottom flaps at 1 3/4″. Optional: If you like the pattern on the other side of the bag, score at the top of the paper about 1/2″ so you can fold that down for a nice pattern on the front of the bag at the top. Or, you can glue an extra strip around the outside of the top of the bag if you prefer.

Cut the score lines for the flaps, up to the horizontal score line. Cut off that little corner piece as you see in the photo. Then crease and fold on all the score lines and see how your bag will go together.

Here’s what the other side of the paper looks like which will be the front of the bag.

Easter Treat Bag Scoring and Cutting Front

Pay attention to what will be the front of the bag. If possible, keep the side seam that you glue together to form the bag in the back and also fold in the flaps so the last flap you fold and adhere will have the fold line on the front of the bag and not the edge of the back flap. That doesn’t sound very clear, but if you look as you make your bag you will see what I mean. You want the front to look as smooth and professional as possible.

If you want to, cut a strip of cardstock or designer paper for a handle. You don’t need to do this. I used a strip of Lemon Lime Twist cardstock that was about 3/4″ wide and I covered it with a narrower strip of the “other side” of the paper I used for the bag. That way it matches the front lip that I folded over on the bag. I just adhered it to the inside sides of the bag with Stampin’ Seal but you could use brads or staples if you wanted to.

I wanted my treat bag to have an Easter look so I stamped a bunny in the Easter Bunny Stamp Set and cut him out with the Easter Bunny Punch. I colored in his ear and his nose with a Flirty Flamingo Stampin’ Write Marker just for a little color. For a little sparkle, I added some Iridescent Rhinestones Basic Jewels. These will be retiring so make sure you stock up because I use them all the time!

Just in case you would also need one last Easter card to go with this treat bag if you were giving it as a gift, I used another piece of the Flowering Zinnias DSP for a card front, layered on Lemon Lime Twist Cardstock to match the bag. I wanted to keep it simple so I just added a ribbon about the Zinnia paper and adhered it to the card base. This is the 3/4″ Herringbone Ribbon, retiring soon! I also tied a bow with it around the handle of the gift bag!

For a greeting, I stamped “Happy Easter” in Lemon Lime Twist ink on Basic White and cut out with a label die in the Something Fancy Dies. These were a good choice for the size and opportunity to cut out a layering die in Lemon Lime Twist. I popped up the greeting with Stampin’ Dimensionals. I added two Lemon Lime Twist gems on each side of the greeting in the Tinsel Gems Four Pack.

Now all you have left to do is maybe put a little tissue paper or shred in the bottom of the bag and add some Easter candy or a small gift! You are all set with a card and gift! Or put some candy in the bag and set it out for your own Easter decoration or maybe at your Easter place setting!

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

Diorama Excellent Eggs Easter Card

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This diorama card is one that I have made for many years. It looks pretty dramatic, right, being a 3D kind of display for a card? Of course, with most projects in stamping, it is pretty easy once you know the basics! The basis of this Diorama Excellent Eggs Easter Card is that you score the ends of two pieces of cardstock that are the same size, cut some kind of hole in the top piece of cardstock, make some kind of scene on the back piece of cardstock that will show through the opening on the front, then crease the score lines and adhere the end sections together. This type of card can be folded flat for mailing so that is not a problem!

This card base is Bubble Bath cardstock. Cut two pieces of cardstock at 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″. Of course, you can vary your measurements if you want a similar card in a larger or smaller size. Score each end of each piece of cardstock at 1/2″ and 1″. See the photo below for the side score lines and then whatever type of opening you want in the center.

Score those ends first and then you can more easily place the opening on just the top piece of cardstock so that it is centered. Crease and fold those score lines back and forth so that when you hold them together they will make the card into the diorama shape. You can see from the top view on this photo below. Don’t glue them together yet so you can more easily make the scene in the center of the back piece.

Decide if you want another piece of cardstock or designer paper for the background. I chose Boho Blue. Measure your space and see what size you want to cut the background paper. You may have to trim tiny bits off the sides to accommodate the score lines. Mine is 4 1/4″ tall and just a “smidge” less than 3 1/2″ wide.

I stamped three of the Excellent Eggs with Memento ink and colored in with Stampin’ Blends markers. They are easy to cut out by hand if you don’t have the dies, which is what I did. The one farthest back is glued flat to the card, the other two are popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The front opening for the diorama card is cut out with one of the Scalloped Contours Dies. You can use any shape or size.

The greeting is stamped in Boho Blue ink from the Excellent Eggs Stamp Set and then diecut with one of the banner shapes in the Stylish Shapes Dies. Since that cute little bunny was also in the Excellent Eggs Stamp Set, I stamped, colored, and cut him out also in hopes I could use him somehow. Luckily, he seemed to fit just fine at the end of the banner in the corner of the card!

For some sparkle and to fill in the empty space in the background, I added three Pastel Adhesive-Backed Sequins in gold, Balmy Blue, and Petal Pink. Remember, a lot of these embellishments can be used even if the colors are not exactly the same. My background is Boho Blue but the one sequin I used is Balmy Blue. The recipient is never going to notice or be critical of that! We are often too hard on ourselves trying to make everything perfect when we make a card!

Here’s another Diorama card I made for Easter a few years ago.

This Diorama card will fold flat to mail and fits in a regular size Stampin’ Up! envelope, but you may want to make one and use it for your Easter decor!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Diorama Excellent Eggs Easter Card Full View

Two Little Easter Baskets For You

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Next weekend is Easter, believe it or not! If you need some little Easter baskets for a little treat for someone, a dinner table favor, or just a little home decor, try this basic easy basket patterns! Decorate however you like once you know the way to make the basket!

I used the same pattern for both baskets. Just start with a 6″ x 6″ square piece of paper and score like a tic tac toe. Score at 2″ and 4″, then turn and score at 2″ and 4″. Cut on the two vertical score lines up to the horizontal score line. Do the same on the opposite side. See the diagram below. Cut a handle of about 8 1/2″ x 1/2″.

Crease and fold all score lines. If you like, round all four corners. Or you can leave them as is. Form the paper into a basket and use brads or glue to hold the sides and handle together. The handle goes in between the two side flaps and the center flap. That hides it a little bit on the inside. (If you think of it ahead of time! Or it can just be glued to the inside of the basket.)

Decorate the basket with designer series paper or stamping or whatever you like.

For the basket in the photo at the top I cut a 6″ x 6″ piece of Daffodil Delight cardstock and the plaid pattern in the Bee Mine Designer Series Paper. I glued them together so the whole front of the basket would have the yellow plaid design.

After assembling the basket, I stamped a bunny in the Easter Bunny Stamp Set (retiring soon!) and colored in with Stampin’ Blends. For the bunny, I used Light Pecan Pie and Petal Pink for the ears. I cut out the bunny and layered him on a diecut from the Thoughtful Expressions Dies. It’s cute-shaped label with a stitched look around the edge. It will retire soon also. I also added two of the Adhesive-Backed Hearts & Flowers Embellishments.

Excellent Eggs Sweet Sorbet Easter Basket

For this basket I used Sweet Sorbet cardstock, but added the cute little flowered paper in the Bee Mine Designer Series Paper cut in squares to decorate each side, front and back. Since each square is 2″ x 2″, I cut the DSP at 1 7/8″ x 1 7/8″ .

The Easter egg is in the Excellent Eggs Stamp Set (retiring) and to keep it all simple, I stamped it with Sweet Sorbet ink, then colored in just parts of the egg with the Light Sweet Sorbet Stampin’ Blend marker. I cut out the egg by hand, although there are dies if you like. After adhering it to the basket, I added some Iridescent Pearl Basic Jewels in two different sizes. Very easy!

If you want to check out some other baskets I have made, look HERE and HERE.

You will be surprised at how easy these little baskets are to make. You can make them for other occasions, not just Easter or spring!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP!

Oldies But Goodies For St. Patrick’s Day!

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This is an oldie but goodie for St. Patrick’s Day! I thought maybe you’d enjoy seeing some past projects for St. Patrick’s Day that you can make with something you already have in your stash or substitute something new to update it!

This first card at the top is made with the fabulously popular Owl Punch from at least seven years ago! If you were around then and have the Owl Punch you know how many things creative people came up with to make with it, such as this little leprechaun! Click the photo or click HERE to go to that blog post.

This little gift bag and tag would be easy to duplicate with current products. Just make a little 2-4-6-8 bag and then a tag. Make a black pot with whatever you have and add some gold sequins for gold coins!

St. Patrick's Day Bloomin' Love Heart Card

This card I made with the beautiful Bloomin’ Heart Thinlit Die back in 2016! That’s going back aways to when we had “thinlit” dies! I loved this die, though, and it was great for wedding cards and other occasions, especially if we made it with glimmer paper. This one I colored with green ink (Cucumber Crush! Remember that?) and an Aqua Painter. If you don’t have this thinlit, cut out your own paper heart in green and decorate with a few flowers for a nice St. Pat’s card.

St. Patrick's Day Glittery Shamrocks Card

This is an easy St. Patrick’s Day card to duplicate! Just cut out or punch out some hearts and a stem to make shamrocks and put a happy greeting on it. Do a little splattering with ink or markers.

If you are Irish or just celebrating anyway,

have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Cute February Paper Pumpkin Kit!

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Paper Pumpkin February 2024 Kit Sweet Springtime

My Sweet Springtime Paper Pumpkin Kit finally arrived the other day and I was thrilled to see the box itself in person! I can’t wait to dive into this kit as soon as I get time to relax and stamp!

If you are a subscriber and received your kit, here is the unboxing video. Every Paper Pumpkin Kit comes with a video to see how to assemble the project. You also get directions, but I think it is fun to watch the video!

Yes, it is past time to get this kit as part of your subscription, but if you subscribe now, you can go to the Online Store, under Kits-Paper Pumpkin, and then look under Refills, Past Kits, & More. You can purchase the REFILL kit, which does not include the stampin’ ink spot or the stamp set but has all the pieces otherwise to make the project. You can choose a stamp set you already have to stamp any greetings. You might even want more than one refill kit!

Refill includes:
* 9 projects: 3 each of 3 designs
* Projects include printed cards and gift boxes
* Folded standard card size: 5-1/2″ x 4-1/4″ (14 x 10.8 cm)
* Folded slimline card size: 3-1/4″ x 6-1/4″ (8.3 x 15.9 cm)
* Gift box size: 2-1/2″ x 2-1/2″ x 4″ (6.4 x 6.4 x 10.2 cm)
* 6 printed envelopes
* Precut paper pieces
* Crumb Cake Baker’s Twine
* White Classic Matte Dots
* Adhesive

Product colors: Berry Burst, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Garden Green, Granny Apple Green, Pecan Pie, Petal Pink, Very Vanilla

You must be a subscriber to purchase any extra full kits that are still available or the Refill Kit if that is available, while supplies last. Since it is Sale-A-Bration for about one more week, put a Paper Pumpkin Prepaid Subscription on your order and earn Sale-A-Bration rewards! Even if you already have a monthly subscription, you can purchase a Prepaid one and put the code in your account that Stampin’ Up! will email to you. Your account will use that subscription until it runs out and then revert to your monthly subscription.

Enjoy the Paper Pumpkin video! Sign up below to join Paper Pumpkin so you don’t miss out again!

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN TODAY!

Square Pillow Treat Box For Valentine’s Day

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Here’s another way to decorate one of the Square Pillow Boxes in the Spring Mini Catalog! Decorating this Square Pillow Treat Box For Valentine’s Day was the first time I tried this method of decorating the box. You can stamp on these boxes, leave them plain, color them with ink, or cover them with designer series paper! Just remember to put your treat inside! It’s a little bit of a different shape for a gift box or treat box so it will definitely grab someone’s attention when they see it!

I covered this Square Pillow Box with one of the bees-patterned papers in the Bee Mine Designer Series Paper. How did I do that? I cut a full sheet in half at 6″. That leaves just a sliver of one of the sides not covered but no one will notice. I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue to adhere the paper to the box while it is flat, not assembled, of course. Be sure NOT to adhere it to the side of the box that has the adhesive already applied. You want to be able to use that adhesive on those sides, not have it covered up with designer paper. After you adhere the designer paper, trim around the edge of the box to cut off the excess designer paper.

Now you are ready to fold along the score lines to form the box. It is a little more difficult with the paper on it, but just keep working with it. I used my Bone Folder just to rub along the creases to help it all come together.

To decorate the box, I stamped the greeting in Sweet Sorbet ink on Basic White and cut out with one of the circle dies in the Stylish Shapes Dies. The Bee is stamped in Daffodil Delight ink on Basic White and then the stripes are stamped in Memento Black ink for his body. I used the Bee Builder Punch to cut his body and then added wings and antennae.

The greeting is popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals as is the bee. I put the Dimensionals only at the top and bottom of the greeting so I could run the Sweet Sorbet ribbon around the box underneath the greeting. I added one of the tiny punched-out hearts and a few Iridescent Rhinestones Jewels.

If you have the box with the opening at the top, then the ribbon or bellyband doesn’t have to be removed to open the box and get out the treats inside. It holds together really well so you don’t have to use adhesive on the top flaps.

You might like having some of these Square Pillow Boxes on hand because you can decorate them for any occasion!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Sour Cream Container Birds

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Here’s a fun idea you might like to try for a Valentine treat or a fun little bird! The other day I saw a reel on Instagram of someone using short toilet paper rolls and forming them into a little bird shape. I thought it was very cute, but then I realized it looked like what most of us in stamping have made before, a sour cream container! I don’t know if real sour cream containers exist in this shape but I think they used to. It was kind of a twisted container, crimped at both ends. For years, we have made “sour cream containers” to hold candy for a holiday or party favor. After watching this reel of making this bird with a toilet paper roll, I thought why not use designer paper instead? Of course, you could also use cardstock and decorate that.

You can vary the size of your bird. Cut a paper rectangle about 4 1/2″ x 6″ or maybe a little smaller at 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″. You can experiment with the size you want in the end. Apply Tear & Tape or Stampin’ Seal on one short side and one long size.

It’s a little easier to roll the paper up if you have a curved surface or edge of a table or something just to get it loosened up to roll up easier. Remove the liner on the tape on both sides and make a roll to adhere to the other short side. You can overlap the edges however much you want. Then squeeze together the end that has the adhesive on it. Fold that adhered end up to make the bird’s tail feathers!

Then squeeze the other end together but going in the opposite direction of the tail. If you are putting candy inside, put it in there now. When we made these as just a candy holder, we would adhere and/or crimp the edge. But for the bird, we still have some work to do. In the photo above, instead of squeezing the top and bottom of the open end together, you will push the sides together so that the end is going in a different direction than the top.

Before you adhere that end, cut along the edge in a curve. Then cut a little beak out of scrap paper. Cut a triangle out of Daffodil Delight and then fold in half to make a beak. Glue the inside and then glue the beak into that curved edge.

Punch out some black dots for eyes or just draw them on with a black marker. If you have a white gel pen, put a dot for the “whites of his eyes”.

For the wings, just punch out, diecut, or cut out by hand two hearts. Fold those in half and glue a folded wing onto each side of the bird. Don’t adhere the two sides together as you did for the beak.

Add a little glue to the inside edge after getting the bird all made, although it will be adhered at the point where the beak is.

That’s all there is to it to make these cute little birds! Just kind of a silly little project you can try on a Saturday afternoon!

Bee Mine Square Pillow Box Valentine Treat

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Wondering what to do with the Square Pillow Boxes in the Spring Mini Catalog? You can do many things with them, including decorating one for specific holidays such as this Bee Mine Square Pillow Box Valentine Treat. It is a little bit differently shaped box but holds a fair amount of candy or a small gift. These are easy to put together and already come with the adhesive on the sides. All you have to do is crease on all the score lines, and then in more of a squeezing kind of way, push it into the pillow shape, and then remove the adhesive covers making sure the sides are lined up properly.

Before assembling this box, you may want to color it with ink using Blending Brushes or stamp on it, as I did on this box. You do want to make sure the ink is dry. I found that mine dried very quickly, but immediately you don’t want to smear it. I think this is applicable if your ink pad is very juicy and the layer of ink is wetter and thicker.

I used the Bee My Valentine Stamp Set to stamp various images over the front and sides of the box. I didn’t do the back side of the pillow box but you could. Also, if you wrap around a belly band, it will cover some of the stamping. I stamped the honeycomb in Daffodil Delight, the hearts in Sweet Sorbet, and the flowers in Pool Party, Petal Pink, and Fresh Freesia. You can see in the photo below how I chose to stamp so as not to stamp on the sides that would be hidden on the inside of the box or the back of the box which I did not want to stamp.

Bee Mine Square Pillow Box Valentine Treat Stamping

The strip of Bee Mine Designer Series Paper I chose for the belly band is 9 1/2″ long. Originally I cut the one in the photo at 2″ wide but later cut it narrower at 1 1/4″. You don’t even have to have a belly band to decorate the box.

When I watched a Facebook Live with Sara Douglass, CEO of Stampin’ Up! the other day when she made some Valentine pillow boxes, she placed her belly band around the box so that the opening was at the top of the box and not blocked by the belly band. This way the box can be opened without removing the belly band. However, you can run the belly band the other way if you feel you want the opening of the box to have that extra security to keep it closed.

For the belly band, I used this pattern with the tiny white flowers at 9 1/2″ x 1 1/4″. You can just cut the whole strip across the 12″ width of the designer paper and then shorten it after you see how much you want on your box. But 9 1/2″ seems to have plenty of overlap. Rather than scoring it ahead of time, just wrap it around the box and crease the band with your fingers at each edge. It won’t be a “perfect” fit since there are curves but it is very close.

To decorate my box and belly band, I stamped a greeting in the Bee My Valentine Stamp Set and die cut with a stitched circle in the Stylish Shapes Dies. I made the bee by using the Bee Builder Punch, punching out the bee body shape out of Daffodil Delight, and stamping the stripes and face with Memento ink. The wings were stamped on Petal Pink cardstock and with Petal Pink ink. The antennae are stamped in Memento black on Basic White. Then I used the Bee Builder Punch for the antennae (the heart shape), the wings, and some Sweet Sorbet and Petal Pink hearts.

There are lots of ways to decorate these boxes! Just play with them and see what you come up with. The boxes feel very sturdy. In my January stamping newsletter, I made a box that was embossed with the new Layered Florals 3D Embossing Folder first and then decorated with stamps and die cuts in the Painted Lavender Bundle in the Spring Mini.

Hopefully, you already own some of these Pillow Boxes so you can make some Valentine’s treat boxes, but you will have plenty of opportunities to use them in your papercrafting and gift-giving in the future if you order them now.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Nature’s Sweetness Easy Explosion Box

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Nature's Sweetness Explosion Box with Lid

This Nature’s Sweetness Easy Explosion Box is something fun and easy to make and makes a cute little gift or favor for someone. There are variations of this little project but I came across this idea while cleaning out some old computer files! You never know what you might find!

Some explosion boxes have sides that fall open when you remove the lid. I’ve made that kind too which can be used well as kind of a folding scrapbook or photo album. This one I made has sides that just fold in. Put a greeting on the inside, maybe a little treat or gift. You could write messages on the sides inside or adhere some small photos.

This explosion box uses the Nature’s Sweetness Specialty Designer Series Paper. For my box, I used a very gold pattern for the box and a white and gold pattern for the lid. These papers have another design on the other side. You do want to pay attention to the direction of any patterns on your paper choice.

Start with a 7 1/2″ x 7 1/2″ square of paper for the box. Score at 2 1/2″ on all sides, like a tic tac toe board. Or think of it as scoring at 2 1/2″ and 5″. After you have done the scoring, cut off all four corners on a diagonal. You can use your Paper Trimmer, just lay the two points on that cutting groove.

Nature's Sweetness Explosion Box Scoring

Fold and crease all the score lines and by hand, fold the corners to the inside to form a box. Give those fold lines a good crease with your fingers or lay on the table and use your Bone Folder.

For the box lid, cut a square 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″. Score on all four sides at 7/8″. Then make four snips as shown in red below to make the flaps. Cut toward the outside of the scoreline a tiny bit. I think this gives just that tiny bit of extra room for the lid to fit over the top of the box without pinching in the sides. I didn’t do mine as perfectly as I should have but it turned out all right.

Fold and crease all the score lines and then fold in the flaps and adhere to make a lid.

On the inside of the box, you can put a little greeting of any kind. I cut another square of one of the designer papers and then layer a greeting or message on top of that. I stamped a greeting from the Lovely & Sweet Stamp Set.

You can decorate the top of the lid, or if you prefer tie a ribbon around the box with a bow on top. For mine, I roughly cut out this flower and leaves from the gold embossed sheet in the Nature’s Sweetness DSP. The image is colored with Stampin’ Blends and then cut out with one of the dies in the Lovely & Sweet Dies. I layered the diecut on a circle punched out with the 2″ Circle Punch.

This is an easy little project so give it a try! Some designer papers are heavier than others or you might want to try using cardstock which you can stamp on or add layers of designer paper to decorate. The sky is the limit! Have fun!

Stay In Touch With the Stamping With Karen Mailing List!

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Have you signed up for my Stamping With Karen Mailing List yet? If you like visiting my blog or if this is your first time here, please join us by signing up in the Mailing List Sign Up Box!

You will receive an email newsletter each Tuesday with the latest Stampin’ Up! news and any special offers, plus at least one tutorial for a card or another project or tip. Stampin’ Up! updates us on Tuesdays so that is a good day to get in touch with you!

If you like getting new stamping ideas, this is for you! These projects are exclusive to my newsletter.

As a special gift for signing up, you will receive a PDF called “A Dozen Creative Gift Wrap Ideas”.

Keep on top of all things Stampin’ Up! and learn how to use those great products in papercrafting! Sign up in the Mailing List sign-up box in the upper right corner of my blog or the pop-up box! If you are on your phone, the red signup box may be at the bottom of this post.

Here is a link to sign up also!

February 2024 Paper Pumpkin Kit

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The February Paper Pumpkin Kit, Sweet Springtime, is ready for you to subscribe to! I know some(?) of us have just put away our Christmas decorations (okay, me!), but do you realize Easter is March 31? So with springtime and Easter coming up rather soon, it is time for us crafters to begin our springtime cards and projects. And what would be more fun than bunnies, chicks, flowers, and everything spring?!

Get this Sweet Springtime Kit in the mail in mid-February if you join Paper Pumpkin by February 10th. Even if you are not sure about Paper Pumpkin, try this kit, which looks to be very cute and fun, and then you can decide. Each month you can skip a kit if you need to or get the one that is automatically coming with your subscription. Certainly, there is no obligation, and you can cancel at any time. Just make your choice known by the 10th of any month when Stampin’ Up! bills the kit and sends it out. Stampin’ Up! guarantees all Paper Pumpkin kits.

Here is the information about this Kit:

Celebrate Easter and Spring with adorable cards and treat boxes!
• Makes 9 projects: 3 each of 3 designs
• Projects include printed cards, coordinating envelopes, and gift boxes (not food-safe)
• Precut paper pieces, baker’s twine, and embellishments
• Coordinating colors: Petal Pink, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green,
Berry Burst, Early Espresso (Classic Stampin’ Spot), Crumb Cake

PLUS: Stampin’ Up! is doing something different this quarter! The first three months’ kits all coordinate with a set of dies you can purchase separately! They will be in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store while supplies last!

—Add dimension to your crafting projects with The Love of Spring Dies! Choose from a leaf sprig, daffodil, “Love” sentiment, or label to give your cards or tags that extra special touch. The best thing about this add-on is that it coordinates with not just one but three kits (Lovely Lavender, Sweet Springtime, and Memorable Meadows). (Please note that the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine is not included and can be purchased separately.)

The Add-on details:
· Item number: 164396
· Name: The Love of Spring Dies
· Price: $12.00 USD
· Availability: Available in the Online Store while supplies last.
· Includes: 4 dies

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get this kit! The box already sets the tone and it looks like a very cute and useful kit. Even if you don’t celebrate Easter or send out cards, you can use the contents for baby cards, springtime cards, or any-time cards! Plus, you will have variety in the projects with regular size cards, slimline cards, and milk box treat boxes! So fun!

Join Paper Pumpkin TODAY so you won’t forget and miss out!

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN TODAY!

Last-Minute Christmas Ideas

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Here are some Christmas ideas from years past in case you need some! Use whatever paper and materials you have!

Wrapped Christmas Candy Bars

Just wrap up some regular-size chocolate bars with cardstock or designer paper and decorate a little! Keep it simple!

Christmas Votive Home Decor

You most likely have a plain glass votive holder somewhere in your house. Take it out and decorate it for a Christmas home decor item or give it as a gift.

Santa Suite Christmas Gift Bag

Need a fun gift bag? Cover a plain gift bag with red cardstock and turn it into a Santa Suit!

Reindeer Candy Cane Treat

You can use the retired Tag Topper Punch if you have it to make the reindeer face, but if you don’t have it, just cut a little chin for the reindeer and it will be fine.

Santa Treats

Just follow the directions in my blog post to make one of these! They are made much like a 2-4-6-8 box. Then just wrap a belt and buckle around! Fill with candy or a small gift!

Snowman Gift Bag

This is such an easy gift bag to make and so much fun! Use what you have to make any kind of snowman you like!

Gingerbread Gift Bag

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I’ve been seeing gingerbread designs all over the internet in various forms and I don’t mean cookies! Finally, it dawned on me that I could get a pen and play, too, so here is one of my Gingerbread Gift Bags! It is not stamping but it is papercrafting and something quick and easy you might like to do!

Crafty people have been buying any little 3D house or building they could find anywhere, especially the dollar stores, spray painting them a gingerbread brown color, and then using some white paint pen to add the “gingerbread” design! Maybe Pottery Barn started it with expensive decorations and people came up with their cheap knockoffs as we all like to do!

But then I started seeing this technique used on paper and cards or building their own houses out of cardboard! And when I found a stash of plain kraft gift bags in the closet, the lightbulb went off for what I could make! I ordered a set of 8 paint pens on Amazon! I wasn’t sure exactly what people online were using (and I always want to know ‘exactly’), but I found this package of 8 white acrylic paint pens (White Paint Pen for Art – 8Pack Acrylic White Paint Marker) for a good price, even though I only needed one. And I could get them the next day which was fantastic! You could also use a chalk pen or even real chalk or a white gel pen. I loved watching short videos on Instagram of people drawing designs like this on cards or paper decorations, etc. It was mesmerizing! One person said not to be too exact, she liked the wonky look better!

With that, I got out a kraft bag, primed my paint pen (shake it and press the tip down on a piece of scrap paper to get the ink flowing), and started drawing on the bag! The first one I made I completely copied from someone and it only took a few minutes! Then I got out another two bags for gifts and drew on those! The photo above is one of them. My table was so heaped with craft stuff and wrapping paper that there was no decent place in my dark house to take a good photo….so I just placed it on the carpet which didn’t produce a good background! But you get the idea!

This is like drawing when you were a kid and drawing houses all the time! Remember? You didn’t worry if it was perfect or even or crooked, you just drew the house, the windows, the door, and then maybe spiffed it up a bit with curtains or bricks or shingles or plants. That’s all you have to do here, just add the gingerbread features.

I can’t wait to make more real Christmas gift bags. You could draw a small version on a card or a tag if you need some last-minute things! Have fun making a gingerbread gift bag!

Candy Bar Homemade Christmas Fudge

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I’m bringing back an oldie but goodie! This Candy Bar Homemade Christmas Fudge poem and idea has been around probably as long as I have been a Demonstrator, which is a long time! But no matter how old it is, it will look updated with current designer paper and is always a funny gift to give!

You can modify this idea to whatever size candy bar you have, but my chocolate candy bar is 4.4 ounces and says “XL” on the label. You might even find a gigantic candy bar you could use!

I wrapped a piece of Real Red cardstock around the candy bar, and cut the correct length to cover the candy bar, without scoring. Since the candy bar has some thickness it probably works better to wrap, unless you want to figure out the score lines. The measurements all depend on the size of your candy bar. I think I used a piece about 7″ x 7 1/4″. Then I measured just the top of the bar and cut a piece of designer series paper almost like a card, leaving a slight red margin around the edges. I used the Merry Bold & Bright Designer Series Paper with the cute little light bulbs.

After typing and printing out the poem (you can do it on computer paper or Basic White cardstock if that works in your printer) I cut it down to a narrow size and layered it on a slightly larger piece of Real Red cardstock so it would stand out from the designer paper. I even stamped a few little ornaments in Real Red ink from the Merriest Trees Stamp Set. For the finishing touch, I added a Real Red & Gold Dotted Ribbon bow to the top of the poem.

You will find a few different versions of this poem online, but they are basically the same. Feel free to change it up for your personalization if you are good at poetry!

If I knew how to share a link to the poem I would, but you can type it up and make it whatever size and font you like.

Have fun with this project! I hope you find some giant chocolate bars!

Last Minute Thanksgiving Ideas!

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We’re almost out of time because tomorrow is Thanksgiving! If you are still looking for some inspiration for a treat to take to someone, table decorations or favors, a card, or something else, here are some of my past ideas from the archives! You can update with the paper or stamps you have now or dig around in your stash and find something you have that will work! Just click the title below each photo to go to the blog post!

Thanksgiving Wine Bottle Label

Maybe you are taking a bottle of wine or some other drink to a Thanksgiving dinner or just want to decorate your own bottled beverage. Make a simple decoration to hang over the neck of the bottle. It’s almost like a giant tag with a hole in the top! Check out my blog post for the measurements and details to get your started making your own!

Blackberry Beauty Thanksgiving Card

This card really caught my eye as I was looking back for past projects! It certainly is the gold foil accents that makes the card so beautiful! You don’t need to use this exact same paper, just use some other paper you love with a Thanksgiving greeting (or something generic) across the front with a little glimmery embellishment.

Hello Harvest Pumpkins Card

Oh, how I loved this Hello Harvest Stamp Set from last year! You can make a similar card with the Pick of the Patch Stamp Set we have currently, or go look for the Hello Harvest Stamp Set from last year’s Holiday Mini Catalog! I loved coloring in the pumpkins with Stampin’ Blends.

Turkey Sour Cream Treat Holder Side View

Turkey Sour Cream Treat Holder For Thanksgiving

This is one of those “sour cream holders” that we have probably all learned to make from the time we learned about stamping! Put some candies inside and put one by everyone’s place at the table! Read the blog post for the directions if you aren’t sure! Then decorate your turkey with whatever punches or dies you have for feathers!

Little Thanksgiving Turkeys

I can’t resist! You may not have the ingredients on hand but maybe you’ll remember for next year! I learned how to make these from a friend back when my kids were little and in preschool! I made them lots of years to take to school for treats or to simply have as place setting decorations at our Thanksgiving table at dinner. I don’t know why, but I love them! Just soften a few caramels at a time in the microwave, stick the cookie on the back end, then smoosh in a candy corn on its side!

Enjoy Your Thanksgiving!