Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Gather Together Fall Leaves Card

This Gather Together Fall Leaves Card is a fairly easy one to make to show off the beautiful colors of autumn. I’m pretty sure I got this idea from another Demonstrator but I think I changed it up a little bit. I don’t remember where I saw the idea, but of course, the internet is full of ideas if you don’t have your own!

Fall is such a great season with all the beautiful colors and symbols such as colored leaves, pumpkins, scarecrows, fall flowers, etc. For this card, I made colored leaves by stamping with Stazon Ink in Black and then coloring in with various colors of Stampin’ Write Markers. I believe I used a little bit of yellow, a couple of greens, and some orange. If you start with the lightest color then you can color over with increasingly darker colors without picking up dark ink on a light marker.

The leaves are stamped with the Gather Together Stamp Set. I don’t own the Gathered Leaves Dies so I just cut out the leaves by hand. The greeting is also in the stamp set. It is stamped in Early Espresso Ink and layered on a scalloped circle of Early Espresso. The Crushed Curry Crinkled Seam Binding ribbon is placed in a fun way. Just go back and forth behind the greeting and hold it down either with Snail Adhesive or put Stampin’ Dimensionals on the back.

The card base is Early Espresso and the cardstock layer is (I think, cuz I already mailed it!) Garden Green. You could use any green that you like. It is embossed with the very pretty Stylish Scroll Embossing Folder. This folder can provide a beautiful background for many cards.

On the inside of the card, you may need to put a Whisper White or Very Vanilla layer so you can stamp a greeting or especially write a personal note with the dark cardstock. Stamp a leaf or something from the stamp set inside or add a matching strip of cardstock to decorate the inside a little bit.

Here is a closeup of the card so you can see the nice embossing design.

Gather Together Fall Leaves Card Closeup

Have fun coloring some fall leaves and decorating your cards or projects with them. If you want to use Stampin’ Blends for coloring, stamp with Memento Ink. We are in the thick of autumn right now so you can make cards like this Gather Together Fall Leaves Card for birthdays or even the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Just change the greeting for whatever occasion you need.

Are You Getting My “12 Weeks of Christmas” Holiday Emails?

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Every week for the past four weeks I have been sending my mailing list subscribers a free holiday project that you can use to make your holiday preparations easier! This is a thank you for my mailing list subscribers that I like to do every year. Just like in my regular weekly email, I send a photo of a project, a list of supplies needed, and all the directions to make it.

In the first 4-5 weeks, I send card ideas since it’s likely that is the first thing most of us will work on at this point. Next, come a few weeks of gift ideas and finally, as we are doing Christmas shopping, some ideas for gift wrap, bags, and gift tags.

These are exclusive projects that I won’t be posting on my blog or anywhere else. You may copy directly, take inspiration from the idea and come up with your own project, or simply enjoy seeing another stamping idea! I know I am all about seeing as many ideas as possible.

However, the only way you can get these special 12 Week of Christmas emails is to be on my Stamping With Karen Mailing List! You have already missed the first 4 weeks, but you can get the rest, beginning Wednesday! All you have to do is sign up in the red box in the upper right of my blog or in the form below.

Subscribe to My Mailing List!

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Snowman Stamped Christmas Card

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On this Snowman Stamped Christmas Card, I made my own snowman designer paper! This stamp set is so fun to play with and will make many wonderful Christmas cards for you to send to family and friends.

I love that I am finally using Real Red again on Christmas cards after Real Red got demoted to the Regals color family! I liked it better in the Brights family where it had always been. LOL! But nobody asked me! Anyway, the card base is Real Red Cardstock and instead of designer paper layered on the card, I made my own designer paper! I simply stamped the snowman throwing snowballs up in the air from the Snowman Season Stamp Set in black ink randomly on a layer of Whisper White Cardstock. I think it gives the card a subtle fun feeling!

Next, another snowman is stamped with Memento Ink and then die-cut with one of the Layering Circles Dies and layered on a larger scalloped circle die in the same set. That snowman piece I colored in with Stampin’ Blends Markers. For some embellishment, I used the Multipurpose Liquid Glue and sprinkled on some Ice Stampin’ Glitter. You could also use the Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. This snowman centerpiece is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The greeting is stamped on a Real Red banner with a “Merry Christmas” from the Snowman Season Stamp Set also. This card is one that just makes me happy! Sometimes you make a card that gives you that feeling. And, I have to say, it is always a good feeling to repeatedly stamp an image randomly on cardstock. There is something about holding that block and stamp in your hand and stamping over and over! I always like it when I do it!

You CAN stamp a greeting on the inside of the card in black ink and have it show up on the Real Red, but you might want to consider adding a Whisper White inside layer with a greeting stamped and maybe another little coordinating image. For this card, I stamped the other greeting in the Snowman Season set, “Hoping this season builds heartwarming memories” and then stamped the same snowman tossing snowballs in the air down in the corner. I just colored in the orange carrot nose and added a tiny bit of blue as shading on the snowman. The inside of the card looks almost as creative as the outside of the card! You can also stamp the envelope before you send the card with one of the snowmen. How cute would that be?!

Remember to try this technique of stamping an image randomly on a piece of cardstock to make your own designer paper as I did on this Snowman Stamped Christmas Card.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Halloween Witch Boot Candy Favor

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This Halloween witch is ready with her Halloween Witch Boot Candy Favor! I’ve made these for several years now and they are very simple to make. The witch isn’t simple, just the candy treat! The witch I made (lots of them!) back in my crafting and craft show days from a pattern I probably bought at the International Quilt Show held annually in Houston back before I ever heard of Stampin’ Up!

The Witch’s Boot is easy to make. Just grab an empty toilet paper roll or cut down a paper towel roll or whatever roll you have. Wrap some designer paper around that you think looks like a sock. Then make a boot collar for the base. It just wraps around and meets in the middle. Then fold back the corners. The only thing to watch for is to make it wide enough so you can add a buckle. Then add a long strip for the base of the boot that is only as wide as the toilet paper roll. Narrow it down diagonally on each side and curl the tip if you like. No measurements, you can just do it for your size roll.

To make an easy buckle, just cut a square of some kind of foil (I used Copper on this one) and then make a smaller black piece for the center to look like it is going through the buckle.

Here is my witch’s boot with a purple striped sock and here is one with handmade stripes with cardstock! That gives you more ideas!

That’s all there is to it. Fill a cello bag with Halloween candy and put it into your Halloween Witch Boot Candy Favor!

Halloween Witch Boot Candy Favor Closeup

Nature’s Beauty Deer in the Fall

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Sometimes you feel a little bit pleased with yourself when you make a card that turns out better than you expected and this card is one of those! I wasn’t really exactly sure what I was going to do with this stamp and probably expected to make a less colorful card. When I saw this paper I decided it would be a card for fall with the autumn colors.

This stamp is from the Nature’s Beauty Stamp Set, found on the inside of the last page of the Holiday Catalog. You might not have even noticed it way back there, but there is something important about this stamp set! Stampin’ Up! is donating $3 of every sale to mental health organizations. So while you can have fun stamping and using this set, you will know you are making a difference in the lives of others.

I stamped the deer in Memento Black Ink because I knew I would color him in with my Stampin’ Blends markers. That led to coloring in the sky a little bit with about three different colors. When you do this, when you start out it looks like you are making a scribbly mess! But just keep going and as the colors blend together it will likely turn out fine. I started with just kind of scribbling in with Balmy Blue Light, then some Pumpkin Pie Light, and some Gray Granite Light. As I said, it looks like the sky is going to not turn out, but then it does. I really like the way it looks now! You can experiment with whatever colors you have or you like.

The deer is colored with the Crumb Cake markers and maybe I added a bit of Soft Suede. After I stamped the deer on the Whisper White piece of cardstock, I stamped again on a piece of scrap paper, then cut it out just inside the stamped lines. This gave me a “mask” to place directly over the deer to I could stamp the trees on each side of him without stamping over the deer. To stamp the trees, I used my Stampin’ Write Markers, two colors of green on the leaves and then a dark brown for the trunk and a few branches. I colored directly on the stamp so I could have the greens on the leaves and the brown on the tree trunk. The grass I colored the same way as the sky with just a couple of green shades.

The designer paper is from the Come To Gather Designer Series Paper. When I saw this orangish paper with the colored and outlined leaves I knew it would be perfect with the deer. The greeting is stamped in Early Espresso Ink on Whisper White that is sponged a little bit around the edges with Crumb Cake Ink and layered on a piece of Crumb Cake Cardstock. Both the die-cut shapes are from the Ornate Frames Dies. The greeting is in the Gather Together Stamp Set.

The card base is Crumb Cake with layers of Pumpkin Pie Cardstock. Even though Pumpkin Pie is not one of the coordinating colors with this designer paper, I thought it looked good on the card and brought out some of the lighter orange colors.

You could send this card to someone any time from now on through Thanksgiving. It would make a great masculine birthday card or just a card with a note inside, also.

Consider putting this stamp set, Nature’s Beauty, on your order and know that you and your stamping may be a part of helping someone.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP!

24-Hour Stamp Sale TODAY!

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Take advantage of this 24-Hour Stamp Sale, already underway! Select stamp sets, in the Annual Stampin’ Up! Catalog, are 15% off TODAY ONLY!

View or Print the List HERE.

(or go back to yesterday’s post HERE if you want to see the list in my post)

Here are Christmas stamp sets from the Annual Catalog that are on sale!

Merry Christmas To All Photopolymer Stamp Set
$27.00

Lots Of Cheer Cling Stamp Set
$20.00

Making Christmas Bright Photopolymer Stamp Set
$21.00

Winter Woods Cling-Mount Stamp Set
$23.00

Dashing Deer Cling-Mount Stamp Set
$22.00

There are many stamp sets to choose from, but here are some of my favorites!

Tea Together Cling Stamp Set
$22.00

Beautiful You Cling-Mount Stamp Set
$28.00

Beautiful Friendship Photopolymer Stamp Set
$22.00

Waterfront Photopolymer Stamp Set
$17.00

Painted Harvest Photopolymer Stamp Set
$21.00

Beautiful Day Cling-Mount Stamp Set
$21.00

First Frost Cling-Mount Stamp Set
$22.00

Love What You Do Photopolymer Stamp Set
$21.00

Buffalo Check Wood-Mount Stamp Set
$20.00

I think once the Holiday Catalog comes out, we put the Annual Catalog aside and we forget how many great stamp sets and products are in there! This is a chance to pick up that catalog again and review the stamp sets in there and see if there are any you have taken off your Wish List in the past….but maybe now you can put them back on your list at 15% off!

All selected stamp sets can be applied to Starter Kits.
Discount applies to select stamp sets only when purchased individually during the 24-hour promotion period.
Bundles featuring stamp sets from the promotion will not be discounted.
If you purchased a stamp set prior to the sale, we will not be offering exchanges or credits.
In the event that we run out of any item offered, promotional pricing will be honored on items backordered, up to the point it reaches the backorder limit. Once an item reaches the backorder limit and is not orderable, it will no longer be available during the promotion and will not be available to order until additional inventory arrives in your market.
SALE ENDS October 23, 2019; 11:50 pm (MT)

Now Go Shop the Stamp Sale!

Stamp Sale Wed. Oct. 23 – Save 15% on Select Stamps

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Wednesday, October 23 is the big day!

For 24-HOURS ONLY, you can save 15% on select stamp sets. This sale will be over at midnight, so don’t delay! Even some Christmas stamp sets included from the Annual Catalog!

(Stampin’ Up! rarely puts stamps on sale!)

All selected stamp sets can be applied to Starter Kits.
Discount applies to select stamp sets only when purchased individually during the 24-hour promotion period.
Bundles featuring stamp sets from the promotion will not be discounted.
If you purchased a stamp set prior to the sale, we will not be offering exchanges or credits.
In the event that we run out of any item offered, promotional pricing will be honored on items backordered, up to the point it reaches the backorder limit. Once an item reaches the backorder limit and is not orderable, it will no longer be available during the promotion and will not be available to order until additional inventory arrives in your market.
SALE ENDS October 23, 2019; 11:50 pm (MT)

SHOP THE STAMP SALE TOMORROW!

Playing With a Box: A Paper Pumpkin Haunted House

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You know how they say little kids have the most fun playing with the box a gift came in? In this case, I had a lot of fun playing with the Paper Pumpkin box to make a Haunted House! I also had a lot of fun making the cute treat boxes in the Paper Pumpkin Kit! The first haunted house idea came from a Stampin’ Up! employee who then did a Facebook Live explaining his tips on making your own haunted house out of the Paper Pumpkin September Kit box. It was a special edition box in Gorgeous Grape instead of the usual red so that really lent itself to making a haunted house!

I followed the same pattern that the Stampin’ Up! employee found online. It needed to be enlarged and then printed and then placed on the opened box. A couple of pieces had to be reversed so that the outside of the box was on the outside of the house. I found a video online of a lady who made the house and showed exactly how she laid out her pieces. However, I wanted the outside of my house to have the pattern going in the correct direction so I laid my main pieces out a little differently. It all worked. You might want to make a practice house out of other cardboard or cardstock to see how it all goes together but I jumped right in!

Be sure to label the pieces as you trace them and cut them out. Use a heavy-duty scissors or utility knife of some kind. Hot glue is recommended for assembling the house. The thing is, since it is a “haunted” house, you don’t have to worry about strings of hot glue or glue that shows or house pieces that aren’t perfectly straight because any pieces that are “off” just make the house look even spookier!

After assembling the house, use whatever embellishments or pieces from the Paper Pumpkin Kit to decorate the outside of the house. I also used images from the Monster Bash Designer Paper. I didn’t decorate the roof of the house because I like the “Paper Pumpkin” showing on the top!

To get the mailing label off the outside of the box, use your heat gun and then peel it off. I don’t think you will get all the adhesive off so just pounce the Embossing Buddy all over it, which will still show the powdery effect but that’s okay because it is a haunted house! And I put that piece on the back of the house anyway!

For the base, just cut a piece of any other cardboard according to the pattern and cover with Mossy Meadow Cardstock if you like. I cut a door in mine but you could also just adhere something to look like a door. I cut out the UPC number from the box, planning to use it as the “address” on the house, but I lost it because it was so small!

This was really fun to make and easier than I thought to assemble. If you don’t have a Paper Pumpkin box, just use other cardboard and decorate. As I write this post, you CAN purchase the same Bone Appetit Kit and refill in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store but you must be a subscriber to access this category. Sign up now for Paper Pumpkin and get the Holiday Kit coming in November and possibly the past October kit for holiday cards!

Here are photos of the other sides of the house!

Here is a link to the Stampin’ Up! directions and tips.

Have fun turning your Paper Pumpkin box into a haunted house after you make the fun treat boxes that are inside!

How to Decorate Candy Bars For Halloween Treats

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Here are some ideas on how to decorate candy bars for Halloween treats. If you happen to have a box of chocolate candy bars (I mean, craft supplies) in your pantry, you can have a good time decorating some of them (not all of them, of course!) with Halloween designer paper and embellishments. Maybe you don’t want to give out these regular size candy bars out to the trick-or-treaters but maybe it would be fun to make them for family, friends, office mates or neighbors. You could also do this with the little snack candy bars if you wanted to make a lot.

Just wrap a piece of cardstock or designer paper around the candy bar. I found that a piece of 5″ x 5″ Monster Bash Designer Series Paper worked fine. To make sure I had a good adhesive to hold the paper together after I wrapped it around, I used Tear & Tape. If you use Snail Adhesive, I would put it on both ends so the tape sticks to itself and makes the hold stronger. I do this a lot.

Decorate the candy bar however you like. On these Halloween candy bars, I used one character face from the Monster Bash Designer Paper layered on a 1 3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch. The other two have stamped greetings from the Spooktacular Bash Stamp Set. I layered each on a die-cut from the Ornate Frames Dies. Each die-cut was too big so I just cut them down in the middle and matched up the two ends underneath the greeting. It worked well enough for candy bars!

You could make these as fancy or as simple as you like, depending on who you are giving them to. Most likely you want to make them fairly simple. You could also use stamped or plain cardstock with some kind of embellishment. Here are some little candy bars I decorated several years ago! It really is fun once you get started. You may not want to stop!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online HERE!

Beautiful Bouquet Floral Anniversary Card

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For a change from Halloween and Christmas ideas, here is the Beautiful Bouquet Floral Anniversary Card I made for my daughter and son-in-law. I can’t believe they are starting to rack up quite a few anniversaries now.

I started with one card idea and as I began putting the card together I didn’t like it. What to do?? Sometimes I can keep playing with something and it will turn out, but this time I turned to the Stampin’ Up! catalog for inspiration. I found it on page 85 up in the top corner. I already had stamped and die cut some of the Beautiful Bouquet flowers for the original card idea so that’s why I immediately went to the Beautiful Bouquet Stamp Set in the catalog.

Often you may not have the same products they used on a card or project in the catalog. It is highly likely that you can substitute something you DO have at that moment. Then if you really want that product, you can put it on your next order. But if you need something right away, just choose something in your stash!

For example, on the catalog sample on page 85, behind the bouquet of flowers is a die-cut made with the Stitched Lace Thinlits. I don’t own that so instead, I chose to emboss the entire background with the Stylish Scroll Embossing Folder. I think that works out fine even though I didn’t have the lace background.

For all the leaves, I just chose several colors of green cardstock and punched or die-cut sprigs and stems of leaves.

The flowers can either just be stamped or you can play a little in the way the sample was made and do some “faux watercoloring”. In this technique, the stamp is inked up and then spritzed with water before stamping. Just spritz lightly to barely moisten the ink and then stamp on Watercolor Paper. You probably want to make extras and then decide which ones came out the best or which ones maybe have an edge that didn’t come out well but you can stick underneath another flower! There is even a Whisper White die-cut scroll of flowers and leaves die-cut with the Flourish Dies.

For the suggestion of a vase, I die-cut a piece with the Stitched Rectangles Dies. The bow is tied with a piece of Braided Linen Trim and adhered with Mini Glue Dots. The tag in the sample is made from a punch in a kit, but I just used a die from the Ornate Frames Dies. The greeting stamped on the tag is from the Itty Bitty Greetings Stamp Set. This is a great stamp set to own! Then the tag is tied on to the bow with Linen Thread.

For some extra sparkle, I colored the flowers with some Wink of Stella and added a Gold Faceted Gem to one flower. Some of the flowers are popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Beautiful Bouquet Floral Anniversary Card Closeup

I made this card for an anniversary, but of course, a bouquet of flowers whether real or on a card can be given for many occasions. This exact same card with a different greeting could be for a birthday, sympathy, congratulations, even a wedding. That’s what makes the Beautiful Bouquet Stamp Set so useful and versatile.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

A Geometric Card For Fall With the Tailored Tag Punch

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I’ve made and seen cards like this Geometric Card For Fall With the Tailored Tag Punch and saw one recently online. I changed the kind of paper to make it look like fall, added the greeting, a little stamping and of course, a pumpkin! What says fall more than a pumpkin?! You could make and send this card now just for fall, a card for someone who doesn’t celebrate Halloween, or save it for closer to Thanksgiving. You can also make this same card with different paper and a different greeting for a birthday or lots of other occasions.

The card base is Whisper White Thick Cardstock to give it a little heft. The paper is the Come To Gather Designer Series Paper, the pattern with little groupings of pumpkins. You might think this card would be difficult to make, fitting in all those pieces like a puzzle! But no, you just start somewhere and space out the punched pieces, allowing them to hang out over the edge of the cardstock underneath. After you have them placed how you like, glue them down. Turn the paper over and trim off the excess hanging off the edges. Check out the photos below to see how I did this layout and then trimmed off the pieces hanging over on the other side.

A Geometric Card For Fall With the Tailored Tag Punch Layout

A Geometric Card For Fall With the Tailored Tag Punch Back

The greeting is stamped with the Gather Together Stamp Set in Cajun Craze Ink and then punched out with the Tailored Tag Punch. I thought it looked a little too stark so I stamped the wheat stamp in Granny Apple Green Ink, stamped off once or twice. I just wanted it fairly light.

I also stamped and colored in a pumpkin from the Gather Together Stamp Set. It is colored with Stampin’ Blends Markers in various colors. You can choose whatever look you want for your pumpkin. I started with a bit of Daffodil Delight with Pumpkin Pie and then added some Cajun Craze to match the paper better with the darker shade.

The designer paper pieces are all adhered directly to the card front, but the greeting is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals®, as is the pumpkin. Here is a similar card made with the Wood Textures Designer Paper last year so you can see a different idea and occasion.

There are infinite possibilities for making a card like this using different papers and greetings! Try it and see what you think!

SHOP ONLINE FOR STAMPIN’ UP!

Quick and Easy Ghost Card For Halloween

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I made this Quick and Easy Ghost Card For Halloween almost in seconds! Well, a little die-cutting was involved so maybe it was a few minutes but it was very fast. And I like the card so much I plan to make more to send out!

The way I made these ghosts is a creative idea that I saw when I was first introduced to Stampin’ Up! and helped propel me to sign up as a Demonstrator. I found out that “rubber stamping” was WAY more than a stamp and ink and I was blown away by the creativity I saw with stamping and Stampin’ Up! at a little event I went to with my friend and future upline. When we started doing some stamping at this gathering, I actually had to ask what I was supposed to do with this stamp and ink pad! When I saw a ghost card similar to this one on a display board, I was hooked!

The card base is Basic Black with a layer of the spider web design in the Monster Bash Designer Series Paper. I’ll get to the ghosts in a minute. The greeting is stamped in Smoky Slate Ink from the Spooktacular Bash Stamp Set. It was then die-cut with the Ornate Frames Dies. You can get the stamp set and dies together in a Spooktacular Bash Bundle and save 10%. To dress up the greeting, I added a bit of the Black 5/8″ Glittered Organdy Ribbon. Then it is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

Here’s the big secret of how to make ghosts that are hanging out and peering around corners…..cut out a heart and then cut it in half! You have a ghost! You could cut out a heart by hand because, after all, a ghost doesn’t have to be made perfectly. But I used the Stitched Be Mine Dies to cut out a heart. I used one die that was large but not with the stitching. Then I simply cut the heart in half lengthwise. The eyes are just colored in by hand but you could use some kind of punch. Isn’t that clever to use a heart shape to make a ghost??! I love it!

For a little more bling on the card, I colored some Rhinestones with the Black Stampin’ Blend marker and then added three to the card. I like that touch.

Since the inside of the card is black, unless you emboss a greeting in white on the inside, you won’t be able to write a message or note. Just add a layer of Whisper White inside and stamp a greeting. I used another greeting in the Spooktacular Bash Stamp Set and stamped it in Smoky Slate Ink. I also added a strip of the spider web designer paper inside.

Quick and Easy Ghost Card For Halloween Inside

That’s how easy this card is to make and it’s fun to make ghosts out of hearts! Here is another card I made with ghosts and glimmer stars. Get out your Halloween or other designer paper and make some ghosts cut from hearts! Decorate your Halloween card with ghosts and scary greetings and other things and see what you come up with, maybe something like my Quick and Easy Ghost Card For Halloween.

SHOP HALLOWEEN AT STAMPIN’ UP!

Need Christmas Tags For Gifts? Make Them With Paper Pumpkin!

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If you would like to do at least “a little” crafting for the holidays, the Paper Pumpkin Kit for November is your answer! Maybe you are new to crafting and stamping or maybe you only like to stamp and make things occasionally. Paper Pumpkin is for you! And for those of us who have oodles of stamps, paper, and craft supplies Paper Pumpkin is fun to have an already designed project with all supplies included that we can just sit down and make!

This November Paper Pumpkin Kit from Stampin’ Up! makes 24 holiday-themed gift tags of 4 various sizes and designs. The coordinating colors are Early Espresso, Pool Party, Poppy Parade, and Shaded Spruce.

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN TODAY TO GET YOUR NOVEMBER KIT!

I would hazard a guess that even if you didn’t want or need that many tags, you could make cards with the tag on the front as the focal point. Every month creative people make alternate projects with the supplies in the kit and post them on the internet so you will be able to find other ideas if that is what you want. Sometimes I do a little of both…..make the project as designed and also save some pieces to make other cards or projects.

Our family likes to have LOTS of packages under the tree and I have often found myself running out to the store to buy more tags, especially after the kids arrive and want to wrap their gifts. These are usually cheap tags to slap on in a hurry on the gift. Wouldn’t a handmade, pretty tag look a lot better on your gift?

Everything you need for the project comes in the kit! If you are a new subscriber, you will also get a clear acrylic block on which to mount your stamps. That’s why these Paper Pumpkin Kits are so good for new stampers and crafters or those who do not have many supplies….or don’t WANT many supplies!

In each Paper Pumpkin Kit you will receive an exclusive stamp set, an ink spot (1″ x 1″) (great to use on the Stamparatus to ink up stamps!), and a package of materials to make the project! And the presentation is everything of course!

Treat yourself to a present in the mail once a month! And if some months you are too busy or traveling or don’t care for that upcoming kit, just skip a month! If Paper Pumpkin really is not for you, there is no obligation to continue. Simply go into your account and cancel or ask me to take care of it for you.

Now if you missed the coordinating October Kit that had to be signed up for by Oct. 10th, if you subscribe NOW to Paper Pumpkin, there is a chance in a few days that Stampin’ Up! will have extra kits that they will put in the Online Store, only available to Paper Pumpkin subscribers. You can order whatever is in the Paper Pumpkin Past Kits category with your regular Stampin’ Up! order.

In fact, if you want to add a Paper Pumpkin subscription to your Stampin’ Up! order (maybe to reach Hostess Rewards??), just choose which length of time is good for you and add it to your order. Stampin’ Up! will send you an email with directions on how to set up your Paper Pumpkin account and put in the special code showing that you ordered a series of kits in the Online Store. Even if you already have a monthly subscription to Paper Pumpkin, you can purchase a Paper Pumpkin subscription in the Online Store and your account will use those first and then go back to your monthly subscription. Just ask if you have any questions.

The deadline for signing up for the November kit with materials for making holiday tags is November 10, 2019. Supplies may be limited near the end of the subscription period. You may think you will remember, but it’s easier to just do it today and then look forward to mid-November when those kits go out!

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN TODAY!

(This is my personal link so you don’t have to put in my name as your Demonstrator. You can also sign up at www.paperpumpkin.com and choose me, Karen Fontinelle, as your Demonstrator.)

Spooktacular Bash Terracotta Tile Halloween Card

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In between watching several baseball games and one Texans football game, I’ve spent some time making Halloween cards with the Monster Bash paper like this Spooktacular Bash Terracotta Tile Halloween Card. The Houston Astros have made their way to the American League Championship Series as have the St. Louis Cardinals (our hometown team) so we have been watching a LOT of baseball including the division games they got these two teams here. So it was fun to have some breaks stamping and making Halloween cards!

One of the coordinating colors for the Monster Bash Designer Series Paper is Terracotta Tile, one of the current In Colors. Since I haven’t used this color very much and the matching ribbon, I chose this color for the card base. The designer paper pattern is a cute one with little haunted houses and Halloween characters! I layered it on a piece of Basic Black to help it stand out.

The ribbon is wrapped around the designer paper and adhered on the back. It is the very nice Terracotta Tile 1/2″ Scalloped Linen Ribbon. You can use it to dress up a fun card like this one or use it on a fancier card. I’ve even cut it down the middle to use just the scalloped edge to decorate a card.

The greeting is stamped with the Spooktacular Bash Stamp Set. I really like this greeting and used it on a lot of cards! It is stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock which I think goes better with this card than Whisper White. Then it is die-cut with one of the Ornate Frames Dies. I love this particular shape that goes with this greeting so well!

Then I took a long time to decide how to layer the die-cut greeting on something! I just couldn’t find the right thing. Finally, I looked at my punches and chose the Starburst Punch. The greeting seemed to fit fine over the Starburst shape with a little room left for one of the blackbirds in the Monster Bash Enamel Shapes. I think the bird gives an appropriately spooky look to the card, right?! It’s fun to stick it on, anyway! A cute embellishment for a Halloween card!

Spooktacular Bash Terracotta Tile Halloween Card Closeup

All you have to do is change the designer paper pattern and the greeting if you want for another design for a Halloween card. It is fun making cards and treats with this Halloween paper and all the spooky, whimsical characters! The backside of some of the papers will also make very nice non-Halloween cards!

Make some Halloween cards this week and give them to your family or send them to friends who enjoy Halloween!

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Holiday Catalog Let It Snow Snowman Christmas Card

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We always say if you need some inspiration, use the Stampin’ Up! catalogs, so that is what I have done with this Holiday Catalog Let It Snow Snowman Christmas Card. You will find a card on the cover of the Holiday catalog that I mostly copied except for the snow.

The Let It Snow Specialty Designer Series Paper is beautiful to use for Christmas cards and projects. This paper is 12″ x 12″ so you have plenty to use. One side has images with bits of glimmer and the other side has more generic images that you can use for non-Christmas projects or after Christmas (if you have any left after using the glimmery sides!).

This card has a Real Red base and is stamped with some Real Red snowflakes with the Snowman Season Stamp Set. Next, there is a piece of the non-glimmer side of the designer paper with the snowmen that I used for the background to look like snowflakes. On the bottom, instead of the way Stampin’ Up! did their card on the catalog cover, I cut a piece of Sparkle Glimmer Paper for the snow. Stampin’ Up! used the new Snowfall Accents Puff Paint on their card but I didn’t own that yet. (As I write this, the Puff Paint had been unorderable but it is back in stock right now so go order it while you can!) On the sides of this layer are strips of the Real Red Glimmer Paper to set off the layer.

The snowman is punched with the Snowman Builder Punch and the trees are all cut by hand with Paper Snips from the Let It Snow DSP. This is the kind of paper that you hate to cut into for any reason, even for making a great card! But it is made to be used so don’t hoard it! Except for one tree adhered directly to the layer, the rest and the snowman are all popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals and Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals. The Minis save you from cutting the regular size Dimensionals into smaller pieces! (Did you know there are also Black Stampin’ Dimensionals Combo Packs which have both regular size and mini dimensionals in black, which for some projects “hides” them a little more on your project!)

The greeting is stamped with Versamark Ink and then heat embossed with White Stampin’ Embossing Powder. The greeting is also from the Snowman Season Stamp Set. The cardstock is Shaded Spruce. The Stampin’ Up! samples on the catalog cover also used some Red Rhinestones on the hat.

When you use dark cardstock for the card base, you may need to put a layer of Whisper White or Very Vanilla or some coordinating lighter color inside the card so that you can stamp a greeting or write a personal note. In addition, you can also add some decorative stamping. See the inside of this card below.

Holiday Catalog Let It Snow Snowman Christmas Card Inside

It’s time to get an early start making Christmas cards so we won’t be rushed when it gets down to the wire! If you need Christmas card ideas, be sure you are signed up for my Mailing List because I will be sending out Week 3 of my 12 Weeks of Christmas holiday emails. You still have time to get another few weeks of card ideas, then we move on to gift ideas and finally gift-wrapping ideas with tags, bags, etc. Of course, I will also have Christmas card ideas on my blog and Facebook page.

As I said, one of the many places you can get ideas and inspiration for holiday cards is to look in the Stampin’ Up! Catalogs. You can copy or you can just take part of the idea and add your own elements. Lots of times, just having some idea in front of you gives you your own idea as you begin working! Be sure to order your supplies early so something you want is not out of stock.

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