Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

New Paper Pumpkin Monthly Kit 50% Off Offer

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Paper Pumpkin Logo 2017

Stampin’ Up! has a brand new offer out today for their monthly papercrafting kit called Paper Pumpkin! It’s fun to wait eagerly for that box to appear in your mail around the middle of the month and spend some crafting time without having to design something yourself or get out your supplies!

Inside the cute red box you will find:

  • an exclusive stamp set
  • an acrylic block for new subscribers on which to mount the stamps
  • a 1″ ink spot for stamping
  • all the supplies plus directions to make whatever the project is, even adhesives are usually included!
  • a link to a video to watch for assembling the project

If you are a new subscriber and join Paper Pumpkin today through May 10, you will get 50% off one kit per month  for the first two months of your new subscription! 

USE PROMO CODE:  SAVEFIFTY0418

This discount is not available for Prepaid subscriptions.

Once you are a subscriber, you are able to go to the Paper Pumpkin page in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store and purchase any past kits or refills  (no stamp set, no ink spot, only materials in the refills) that are available, while supplies last.  Not every kit will have extras in the Online Store. But you might find something you missed in the past kits!

Here are some Stampin’ Up! videos of past kits to give you an idea if you are not familiar with Paper Pumpkin!

As you can see, each month is a surprise and a little bit different! I would say the majority of the kits are cards, but sometimes there is something different like a mini album, a framed piece, or a type of treat holder like the Christmas stockings above! Part of the fun is the surprise each month!

No risk, no obligation! You can cancel Paper Pumpkin at any time or simply skip a month now and then if you are having a busy month. Order an extra kit ahead of time whenever you want if you want a gift for someone or want to make a kit with a friend!  It’s always more fun to stamp with someone else! Great gift for college students, grandkids, grandmothers, sisters, nieces and nephews, anyone!  Treat yourself!  You deserve it!  Especially at 50% off right now!

Join Paper Pumpkin today at 50% off the first two months of your new subscription and get started with the fun!

Join Paper Pumpkin

Animal Critters Celebrate With We Must Celebrate Stamp Set

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Animal Critters Celebrate With We Just Celebrate Stamp Set

These Animal Critters Celebrate With the We Must Celebrate Stamp Set in the Occasions Catalog!  Aren’t they so cute?!  Actually I passed this stamp set up at first until I saw so many cute samples with these cute animals!  Then I had to have it!

The animals all come attached on one stamp, but, if you want, and if you are very careful, you can cut the animals apart. Actually if you are very careful, you can line the stamps back up on one block and stamp them all together, which is what I did on this card!  Then you can have it both ways, but it is very hard to alter your stamp like this! And the bunny is perfect to use right now for Easter and spring.

We Just Celebrate Animals Cut Apart

I happened to have a scrap already-folded square card so I stamped it and colored everything in with Stampin’ Blends markers. Of course the color shows through on the other side of the paper, so it was showing on the inside of the card.  I decided to just cut that front of the card off and layer it on a card base of Marina Mist Cardstock.

Next, for a greeting, I used my new Celebrate You Thinlit Dies.  You can earn it free during Sale-A-Bration with a $100 purchase.  I die cut the word “Celebrate” from Crumb Cake cardstock.  I like the word and the color on the card to complement the animals and critters. Very simple card, really, but cute!

Whatever you are are celebrating, I think you can use the We Must Celebrate Stamp Set to celebrate with these animals and critters!

Easter Basket and Bunny Easter Card

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Easter Basket and Bunny Easter Card

There’s a lot to talk about on this Easter Basket and Bunny Easter Card. Such a fun time to make cards, for Easter and for spring.  You can use bunnies, baskets, and flowers! Easter is coming soon, April 1st!

The bunny is from the We Just Celebrate Stamp Set.  Yes, the animals in that stamp set are all attached, but I……cut them apart!!!!  It was a nerve-wracking decision, but I did it and I think I managed to do it perfectly. Some parts of the stamps are pretty close together so you have to be very, very careful.  I wanted to be able to use the animals separately, not always all in a line. The stamp is very cute either way, but I did cut them apart!  Yikes!  So the Easter bunny is stamped separately and then cut out with my Paper Snips.  Actually, I cut the animals apart with my Paper Snips. I figured they were narrow enough to cut in between the animals.

The basket is made with the Basket Weave Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  This folder is available FREE during Sale-A-Bration in a Bundle along with the Blossoming Basket Stamp.  This embossing folder is fantastic in the bold way it embosses that basket weave look.  It’s best to spritz the cardstock with water to moisten the fibers and make them easier to be pressed into the embossing folder.

I figured this embossing folder would be great for making Easter baskets or just any baskets on cards and projects, and I assumed I would need to cut out a basket shape by hand.  But then I saw a tip from another Demonstrator about using the Coffee Cups Framelits Dies to cut out a basket shape!  I used the one that looks like the bottom of a cupcake or muffin.  For the handle, I used two oval dies to cut out the handle shape and trimmed it down a tiny sliver at the bottom to make it fit the basket.

For another tip, I cut the Easter eggs out of the Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper, using some scraps I had.  I wondered if there was any chance there was a very small oval die in all of my Big Shot dies……and there was!  In the Coffee Cups Framelits Dies!  It is in there to fit one of the stamps in the Coffee Cafe Stamp Set.  I cut a bunch of Easter eggs since I had the scraps and I’ll use them on other cards as well.

The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to put it on the card so it ended up being like a tag on the basket! The designer paper layer is also Sweet Soiree.  The card colors I used were Soft Sky and Old Olive.

Get out some paper, ink and stamps and make some Easter cards and be sure to mail them! Easter is right around the corner.  I hope this Easter Basket and Bunny Easter Card gets you in the mood!

Petal Palette Stampin’ Blends Stamped Birthday Card

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Petal Palette Stampin' Blends Stamped Birthday Card

In the midst of stamping Easter cards yesterday, I came up with this birthday card stamped with the Petal Palette Stamp Set and colored in with the Stampin’ Blends markers. At first glance, you might not be all that impressed with the Petal Palette Stamp Set (I wasn’t!), but as usual, once I started seeing samples made with this set I was convinced I had to have it!  Besides the images, which are so pretty, there are some very nice words to use in the set.

The card base is Cherry Cobbler Cardstock with a layer of Basic Black.  The flowers are stamped on Whisper White in Memento Black ink and colored in with the Stampin’ Blends markers.  Some of the markers are backordered right now, but I suggest ordering the single markers, even if you want the whole collection, because then you will receive all of the markers that are available now and Stampin’ Up! will ship the backordered ones when they are resupplied. Even if they are backordered, I would suggest putting them in your Shopping Bag now so you will be first in line to get them when they come in stock.

I chose a greeting from Picture Perfect Birthday and die cut with the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies.  Then that is layered on a scalloped oval die cut from Layering Ovals from Gold Foil. For some extra pizzazz I wound up some Gold Metallic Thread adhered to the back of the greeting.  This thread is only $3.00 so a great thing to have on hand or add to your order when you need a little bit more!

On the inside I put a piece of Whisper White cardstock since the Cherry Cobbler is so dark, and stamped one other flower from Petal Palette.

There you have it!  An easy birthday card made with stamping Petal Palette flowers and coloring in with Stampin’ Blends markers!

Shop Online at Stampin’ Up!

Easy Elegant Mini Treat Bag with Springtime Foils Paper

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Elegant Mini Treat Bag with Springtime Foils Paper

I’ve said many times before how much I love the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies, so today I made this easy elegant Mini Treat Bag with the beautiful Springtime Foils Paper. You can earn this gorgeous paper FREE with a Sale-A-Bration order of $50 or more. Now’s the time to get it before Sale-A-Bration ends March 31.

The Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies have always been one of my favorites! I think the bags turn out so cute and are easy to make, plus you can vary the look of the bag by folding the top over or cutting it down, adding a belly band or tying with a ribbon…..so many options! They are perfect for just a greeting on a card inside or inserting a gift card, candy treat or small gift! Very easy and simple.  All you need is a Big Shot and these dies which come with lots of pieces to use for many different projects!

When you use the Springtime Foils Designer Series Paper, you will automatically have an elegant project, no matter what you do with it!  And the best part…..it’s FREE!  Just spend $50 on Stampin’ Up! products and choose a free Sale-A-Bration product! This paper should be one of your top choices (although they are all wonderful choices this year!).

Here is another Mini Treat Bag I made with the Birthday Memories Designer Series Paper and put some punched balloons at the top of the card inside. So many occasions you can use these dies for!

To accent the bag, I colored a flower from another pattern of the Springtime Foils Paper with my Stampin’ Blends markers and cut it out with my Paper Snips.  To color the flower I used the Pink PIrouette Blends plus the Light Rich Razzleberry marker.  Honestly the Light Pink Pirouette colors so lightly on this glossy paper that you can barely see it.  I just thought it would be fun to add some other color, the Rich Razzleberry, so see what the blended flower would look like.  The leaves are colored with the Old Olive markers.

This flower is then layered on a piece of Blushing Bride Cardstock, die cut with the Stitched Shapes Framelits oval die and then layered on a piece of Silver Foil die cut with one of the scalloped Layering Ovals Framelits Dies. For a tiny bit more bling, I added a piece of the Silver Mini Sequin Trim.

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online HERE and earn your Sale-A-Bration rewards with every qualifying order!  No limits! Choose a free Sale-A-Bration product with every $50 increment on your order, and if you reach $100 or more, you can either choose two $50 rewards or one $100 higher-value reward!

Browse the Sale-A-Bration Brochure HERE!

Browse the 2nd Release of Sale-A-Bration products HERE!

You can use any kind of cardstock or designer series paper to make a mini treat bag such as this one, of course. But if you can earn this Springtime Foils Designer Series Paper during Sale-A-Bration, I think you will find it to be beautiful paper and worth your choice! Then go ahead and make some elegant cards and projects like this Easy Elegant Mini Treat Bag with Springtime Foils Paper.

 

Spring Card With Basket Weave and Blossoming Basket

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Spring Card With Basket Weave and Blossoming Basket

I used a couple of new Stampin’ Up! products to make this Spring Card With Basket Weave and Blossoming Basket. This stamp set, available during Sale-A-Bration, will be so useful for many different kinds of cards and occasions.

My Stamparatus arrived and finally yesterday I got to play with it! I think it is going to be a fantastic tool in many ways to make your stamping easier and better! We’ll talk about the Stamparatus another day, but I did use it to stamp this basket. You wouldn’t exactly “need” the Stamparatus to stamp just this basket, but since I’d cut my paper pretty much to fit the basket and since I wanted the basket centered and fully stamped, I used the Stamparatus. This way I could place the stamp where I wanted it on the paper, pick it up with the Stamparatus, and if it didn’t stamp beautifully (which it did!), I could have stamped it again with the Stamparatus with the paper and stamp in exactly the same position.

This Blossoming Basket was beautiful just stamped in the Memento Ink! It’s very finely detailed and lovely! I was eager to color it in with my Stampin’ Blends markers! Coloring with these markers is very relaxing and therapeutic! Some of the Stampin’ Blends markers are going on backorder because of their popularity, so I suggest ordering them if you want some as soon as possible. I believe it is better to order them individually or in the combos so that Stampin’ Up! will send out what they have right away and then send you the backordered ones when they are re-supplied.  If you order the Collection of all the markers, they may hold that whole set of markers until they have all of them back in stock.  It takes longer to order the markers individually, inputting all those numbers, but at least you will get them.

The Blossoming Basket Stamp Set is part of a Bundle with the Basket Weave Dynamic Embossing Folder. Let me tell you, this Basket Weave embossing is fantastic!!  You will really be impressed the first time you take your embossed cardstock out of the folder!  It is a WOW! You are supposed to spritz the paper lightly with some water to loosen the paper fibers and then emboss, and it works wonderfully!  I used the Basket Weave piece as a background over part of the card, then layered the Blossoming basket over it. I cut out the basket and sponged a tiny bit of Soft Sky Ink over the background Whisper White paper and in the little part I did not cut out under the basket handle.

The Blossoming Basket Bundle includes the Blossoming Basket Stamp Set and the Basket Weave Embossing Folder.  You can earn it FREE with a $100 qualifying order during Sale-A-Bration.  It is well worth the $100 order to get this Bundle, much less FREE!  You can use it for Easter, for Mother’s Day, for a bridal shower, for an engagement, for a sympathy card, for a birthday, for a Thinking of You card…..really an all-occasion stamp set!

The traditional Sale-a-Bration has always been that for every $50 a customer spent, they would earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration product.  This year Stampin’ Up! has also introduced a few products that could be chosen with a $100 purchase. So that gives you even more choices! And remember, with a $150 or more order, you also receive Stampin’ Rewards! And during Sale-A-Bration, with a $250 order you would IN ADDITION earn $25 more in products in addition to regular Stampin’ Rewards.

Sale-A-Bration ends March 31, and although that sounds like a long way off, it will come up sooner than we think. Don’t wait until the last minute! If you like this stamp set and embossing folder to make a card and other projects like this Spring Card With Basket Weave and Blossoming Basket for Easter and other occasions, stock up on your stamping supplies, like paper and adhesives, to reach a $100 order.

 

 

Easy Easter Card With Lots of Lavender

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Easy Lavender Easter Card

It’s time! Easter is just a month away so here is an easy Easter card with the Lots of Lavender Set, available FREE during Sale-A-Bration. This card uses two-step stamping and a little bit of watercoloring.

I chose Wisteria Wonder Cardstock for the card base, a color I’d practically forgotten I had!  Maybe it has been winter for too long! The lavender bouquet is stamped on Shimmery White Cardstock.  If you don’t have this paper in your collection be sure to order some.  It is so pretty on its own with just a barely-there glimmer.  It also is good to use for some watercoloring, if you aren’t using Watercolor Paper.  Whisper White Cardstock just does not hold up to very much water if you are trying to watercolor.

To use this stamp set as two-step stamping, I started with the “blob” stamp that doesn’t look like anything and stamped that with Wisteria Wonder Ink which becomes the coloring for the flowers.  Then stamp over the “blob” with the bouquet outline image.  I used Memento Ink, but you could use Wisteria Wonder to overstamp as well.

I was planning to color the leaves with markers when I realized there were leaf stamps in the stamp set. Here is a good technique for stamping the leaves. Lay the leaf stamps over where you want them stamped on the bouquet, facing down, then lay the acrylic block over them to pick them up.  They will be on the block in the perfect position for stamping!

Lots of Lavender Stamping Technique

This is what the stamps look like on the block, but you couldn’t place them randomly on the block and get them placed properly on the image.

Lots of Lavender Stamping Technique Block

Now if you want quicker and faster, I would just color in the leaves with a marker, whether the Stampin’ Write Marker or preferably the Stampin’ Blends.  Those colors are a little less intense than the Stampin’ Write Markers.

For the greeting I just stamped the “Happy Easter” from Teeny Tiny Wishes, one of my favorite stamp sets!  To keep it easy, I just stamped it right on the card front, not on a banner or other piece. This stamp set has greetings for almost any occasion you can imagine, and I prefer having this set in the wood-mount since they are all small stamps.

After I stamped and colored the lavender bouquet, I felt the card still needed something, so I used my Aqua Painter and some Wisteria Wonder Ink to just add some very light watercoloring around the bouquet. Here is another card with Swirly Scribbles where I put a slight watercolored background behind the flowers.

And for a final embellishment, I tied a very small little bow over the stamped bow. It’s probably a little too large for this card, but that’s okay!

Don’t forget!  Sale-A-Bration is going on through the end of the this month, March 31. Sale-A-Bration is the Stampin’ Up! promotion where for every $50 you spend on products, you earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration gift.  No limit!  And this year, if you have a $100 increment, you can choose one higher-value item instead of two $50 choices. Time will fly this month, so be sure you get your order in!

Flowers are always great for making an Easter card or spring card. If you choose the Lots of Lavender Stamp Set as your Sale-A-Bration free item, you can try your hand at this easy Easter card with Lots of Lavender.

Join the Stamping With Karen Mailing List!

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Join the Stamping With Karen Mailing List

Join the Stamping With Karen Mailing List today! 

We’d love to have you!

  • Keep up with the latest Stampin’ Up! news and offers.

  • Get FREE card and project ideas and directions  with every newsletter.

  • Get a FREE WELCOME GIFT when you sign up.

  • Be part of the “12 Weeks of Christmas” emails for holiday papercrafting ideas!

  • Keep up with news and offers about Paper Pumpkin.

  • And more!

    Just sign up HERE  for the Stamping With Karen Mailing List ……or in the red box in the top right-hand corner of my blog!

Stampin’ Blends Springtime Foils Coloring On a Card

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Stampin' Blends Springtime Foils Coloring

Today I am playing with two WONDERFUL Stampin’ Up! products, coloring on the Springtime Foils Paper with the Stampin’ Blends markers to make an all-occasion card. I was just experimenting with the actual coloring and trying different colors of makers, not trying to make the perfect card.

I love coloring with the Stampin’ Blends markers. There is just a certain feel to them that I like and that feels calming while you color! LOTS of people have loved the Stampin’ Blends, especially in recent months, which is causing a backorder situation at Stampin’ Up!, coupled with Chinese New Year in China where factories shut down for a period of time and causes delays in getting products to the market.

Here are the markers that are on backorder:

  • Bermuda Bay (Light and Dark)
  • Bronze
  • Calypso Coral (Dark)
  • Crumb Cake (Light and Dark)
  • Ivory
  • Pink Pirouette (Light and Dark)
  • Pool Party (Light and Dark – currently on backorder)
  • Pumpkin Pie (Dark)
  • Smoky Slate (Light and Dark)

I was told by Stampin’ Up! that if a customer ordered the whole Stampin’ Blends Collection, they would go ahead and ship the colors that are available now and send the backordered ones as soon as they are available. Now there is no price break for ordering the entire batch of markers, so if you only want individual markers, you aren’t missing out on anything. I would suggest ordering whatever markers you want as soon as possible because there might be more of rush on the markers when people find out they are getting scarce! It may be the end of April before Stampin’ Up! is re-supplied. If you want to take advantage of Sale-A-Bration, go ahead and order the Collection or any backordered markers so you can get your FREE Sale-A-Bration products!  That will put you at the front of the line when the backordered ones come in rather than waiting until they are back in stock to order.

Stampin' Blends Springtime Foils Coloring Closeup

Here is a closeup of the coloring with the Stampin’ Blends markers. Since the Springtime Foils Specialty Designer Series Paper (FREE during Sale-A-Bration with a $50 order!!) has a glossy finish as well as the foil outlines, the markers color a little differently than on other paper. They do blend but I would say the colors maybe almost pool at times, sort of like watercoloring. So I’m seeing that they give a little bit different variation in blending and I’m not sure you can totally control it. So just go with it and enjoy the different look!  You can also use regular Stampin’ Write Markers or sponge or brayer on ink.  Lots of different techniques to try with this beautiful paper!  Be sure to consider choosing it for your Sale-A-Bration gift.

Stampin' Blends Springtime Foils Coloring For a Card

And here I have assembled the card on a base of Pool Party with strips of the Copper Foil along the sides.  This card has the fold at the top to the panel goes all the way from the top to the bottom.

The greeting is from Petal Palette Stamp Set and then layered on a die cut piece of Copper Foil with a die from the Petals & More Thinlits Dies.  For the copper piece underneath, I simply cut it in half so just the ends would look layered.

Order your markers soon! And earn your FREE Sale-A-Bration products with every $50 purchase.  I know you will enjoy coloring on various papers with the new Stampin’ Blends like I did on this Stampin’ Blends coloring on the Springtime Foils Designer Paper to make this any-occasion card.

Sweet Soiree Monochromatic All-Occasion Card

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Sweet Soiree Paper Back of Card

The Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper can be used to make any kind of card, like a monochromatic all-occasion card.  I would say MANY occasions! The paper is simply beautiful!  One side has silver foil accents and the other side is regular designer paper. So the question is, can you actually NOT use the silver foil side and use the “plainer” side??!  How can we possibly hide this beautiful floral paper enhanced with silver accents?!  It’s almost like Stampin’ Up! has wasted time printing something on the opposite side because who is going to use that side!

Sweet Soiree Monochromatic All-Occasion Card

Well, when I flipped through the papers in the package, this side of the accented paper caught my eye!  But why would I use THIS side and cover up the really gorgeous side? Because in that moment, I liked this side and wanted to make a card with it.  So what’s a girl to do?  Make a monochromatic card using this Calypso Coral colored paper, ink and ribbon!  Yes, I did it!  As you can see in the top picture, I adhered the ribbon to the back of the paper and put lots of Fast Fuse on that beautiful design so that I could use this Calypso Coral floral print side! Does it kill you to do that?? Yes, it’s difficult, but I think the other pretty papers deserve a chance to make a pretty card!

I decided to just keep this card simple and monochromatic (one color).  The card base is Calypso Coral and the ribbon is the Calypso Coral 1/4″ Ombre RIbbon.  I did use a thin border of Whisper White under the designer paper just to make it stand out a bit more.

The greeting is from the Petal Palette Stamp Set and stamped in Calypso Coral Ink. I die-cut it with the Big Shot and the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies.  Then I die-cut a scalloped oval shape on which to layer the greeting with the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies.

This simple layout is one of the best to use for new stampers learning to make cards and even for us experienced stampers who could just use a simple design sometimes instead of going overboard! Sometimes we think we can’t just make a simple card when we have all these supplies!

If you want to see another idea, THIS CARD uses almost the same layout with just a little more embellishing, uses the silver-foil accented side of paper, and uses the same Calypso Coral paper and ribbon! Maybe it will give you more ideas!

I think monochromatic cards often have a simple beauty to them being the one color so try a card like this Sweet Soiree Monochromatic All-Occasion Card.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE FOR THE BEST IN PAPERCRAFTING PRODUCTS!

Thank You Card in Paper Pumpkin Kit February 2018

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Thank You Card Paper Pumpkin Kit Feb 2018

Here is the Thank You Card in the Paper Pumpkin February 2018 Kit, Wildflower Wishes, that I received last week. There are two other designs as well, one saying “Friend” and one saying “Celebrate”. Paper Pumpkin is the papercrafting kit that comes to you in the mail once a month with a new project each time. Most months are cards but there can be other surprise projects for a variety.

I usually like to make some of the cards exactly as designed in the Paper Pumpkin Kit, but then I think about alternative ideas or look online for other ideas.  Once you get the kit it is yours, and you can make whatever you like out of the supplies!  Believe me, there are plenty of ideas out there for your kit contents and maybe a few extra of your usual stamping supplies.

This Wildflower Wishes kit has a plain card base, then a printed layer on which you can stamp the flowers in the exclusive stamp set that comes with each kit. After stamping, I tied some of the linen thread around the card layer then adhered it to the card front. Adhesives are usually even included in the kit, a sheet of glue dots and maybe dimensionals if needed! Some pieces are adhesive backed as well!  This kit has so many pieces to play with!

Next the die cut piece with the word is adhered over the printed piece of wildflowers. This is then popped up on dimensionals. After assembling the card, you can add the vellum greeting, the vellum leaves and some tiny pearls! Another day I will see what pieces I have left and see what I can make out of them.  Other of the cards use the adhesive backed flower stickers.

While every kit is a fun surprise to receive each month, you will want to be signed up by March 10 in order to receive the March 2018 Paper Pumpkin Kit, which will have a FREE GIFT inside to celebrate Paper Pumpkin’s 5th Anniversary!  Who doesn’t love a free surprise gift?!

Promotion Details

  • The free gift complements the kit but is not needed to complete the kit.
  • The free gift is exclusive to the March Paper Pumpkin kit and cannot be found anywhere else.
  • The free gift is a crafting product with a wide range of use that can be used on a variety of papercrafting projects.
  • The free gift holds an approximate retail value of $6-$8 USD/$8-$10 CAD when compared to similar products offered by Stampin’ Up!.
  • Subscribe between February 11–March 10 at 11:50 PM (MT).

Join Paper PumpkinOnce you subscribe to Paper Pumpkin, you are able to go back in to the Online Store and purchase any past kits or refills that are still available.  Maybe there is something you would like to have a quantity of for class or office treats or party favors but you need more than the 8 or so that came in the kit.  You can buy the Refill Kit if it is still available, which includes supplies but not another stamp set and ink spot, so the price is less.

If you think the Thank You Card in the Paper Pumpkin Kit February 2018 looks like something you might enjoy making, please consider signing up for Paper Pumpkin at least for one month, March, to get the free gift (not to mention a specially designed box!) and try it out!

 

Make Your Own Soda Pop Bottle Greeting Cards and Projects

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Make your own soda pop bottle greeting cards and projects with the fun Bubble Over Photopolymer Bundle from Stampin’ Up! This Bundle comes with the Bubble Over Stamp Set and the Bottles & Bubbles Framelits Dies together saving you 10%! Add a little more to your order and you can earn the Bubbles & Fizz Designer Series Paper FREE during Sale-A-Bration!

If you are new to Stampin’ Up!, Sale-A-Bration is the annual promotion, a favorite of everyone’s, where you can earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration product with every $50 purchase! This year Stampin’ Up! has added a $100 choice or two as well! And there are other benefits as well, like an extra $25 in Stampin’ Rewards with a $250 or more order, and a chance to earn two FREE stamp sets if you decide to join Stampin’ Up! as a Demonstrator!

This Bubble Over Bundle is of particular interest to me because I’d always heard my dad talk about when his father owned a “soda factory” in the small Illinois town where he grew up. They would deliver “sodie” (as I sometimes heard it called) to various school picnics, homecomings, etc. around the area. I’m not really sure how else it was sold. My dad enjoyed sometimes getting to drive the delivery truck (even though he was underage to be licensed at the time, but back in those days I doubt it mattered!). It turns out it was my great-grandfather who started this soda bottling works. I’d always heard my grandpa invented a certain flavor soda that everyone liked, although I don’t recall ever having any.

Amazingly, through a Facebook group about this town, I discovered that people were collecting and selling these bottles on Ebay!  In fact, there are plenty of bottle collectors and bottle cap collectors out there! Since I have discovered this, I have purchased several different glass soda bottles on Ebay, some with my great-grandfather’s name on them, some with my grandfather’s name.  I even found a photo of the inside of the bottling works and several of decorated cars in homecoming parades advertising the company! It is just so amazing to me that I have found these treasures that are part of my family history! If only I could tell my dad and grandparents!!!

You can make lots of cute cards and other projects with this Bubble Over Bundle and the FREE Sale-A-Bration paper, Bubbles & Fizz! Wouldn’t these be fun card ideas for teenagers?  And certainly the bottles might hold something other than soda!!  The bottles can be embossed with clear embossing powder to look like shiny glass.  The bottles can be die cut out of vellum cardstock to look like glass or frosted bottles.  These products would also make great birthday, congratulations, and celebratory cards and gifts!  Lots of creative ideas!

Watch and enjoy the Stampin’ Up! video above, and be inspired to make your own soda pop bottle greeting cards and other projects!

Easter Small Gift Card With Bunny

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Easter Small Gift Card With Bunny

Here is a quick and easy Easter Small Gift Card With Bunny to kind of go along with my little Easter basket from the other day!  Maybe you will have a little gift or bouquet of flowers for a hostess and you will want just a little card to go along with the gift. Something like this will be perfect, easy for you to make, and suits the holiday!

For some reason I was in the mood for just a little card and a little Easter bunny!  The card base starts out at 3 1/4″ x 6 1/2″, folded in half.  This is Powder Pink Cardstock. The top layer is the Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper, the same pattern I used on the Easter basket except the opposite side without the foil accents.

Just to make the designer paper stand out a tiny bit from the card base, I added a layer of Whisper White under the designer paper.  The designer paper is cut at 3″ x 3″, so the Whisper White layer is 3 1/8″ x 3 1/8″.  If you don’t do fractions, you just want it to fit in between the card base and the designer paper!

The punch art Easter bunny is almost the same as the one I made on the Easter basket, just smaller.  For the body I used the 1 1/4″ Circle Punch and the 1″ Circle Punch for the head. The ears are punched with the Classic Label Punch, but I just rounded the pointy ends with my Paper Snips.  If you own the retired Word Window Punch that would be perfect!  Since these ears are so short, I just cut the Label in half for the two ears.

Just for a little definition, I sponged Powder Pink Ink around the edges of the bunny body parts and then glued the bunny together.  The facial features are sketched out freehand with a black marker. (I did a better job the other day!). I popped up the bunny on the front of the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For the greeting, until my next order gets here with some new Easter greetings, I used the Happy Easter from the Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set.  This is one of my favorite stamp sets of all time because it has greetings for everything!  I use it all the time.  It is just glued across the bunny.

As I look at the photo later, I wish I would have put a little bow on the bunny and maybe some Rhinestones or Pearls on the ends of the greeting!  But I took the photo in a hurry before I thought of embellishing it. And yet, if you gave this card to someone, they wouldn’t think or know it was missing anything!  They would love it just the way it is because you made it!

Bunnies aren’t just for Easter either!  Could you see this with a different greeting for a baby card instead??  It would be adorable with your baby gift!

Get out your punches and paper and see what bunnies you can come up with.  Make a small card like this Easter Small Gift Card With Bunny or make a full-size card with a larger bunny, but just have fun!

How to Make an Easy Paper Easter Basket With Punch Art Bunny

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Sweet Soiree Easter Basket With Punch Art Bunny

Easter is on its way, so let’s learn how to make an easy paper Easter basket with a punch art bunny using the Sweet Soiree Designer Paper.  When I saw this paper, I knew it would make a beautiful gift box, but somewhere along the way it turned into an Easter basket!  And what better decoration for an Easter basket than a cute punch art bunny!

You can decide what size you want your basket to be, but I chose 3″ wide on each side, which meant I needed to start with a 9″ x 9″ piece of the Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper.  I just scored it at 3″ and 6″ on each of the two sides so that it looks like a tic-tac-toe board.

Sweet Soiree Designer Paper Scored For Basket

At this point, you can cut on the vertical score lines from the bottom up to the horizontal score line and down the same way from the top.  Then you can crease all the score lines, fold in all the tabs, and make your basket.

To eliminate the bulk of all that paper, after I cut up to the score lines as above,  I cut in from the sides as you see below in the photo.  This makes “tabs” to adhere to the sides.  The tabs do not have to be cut exactly straight. I just eyeballed that part. Then you can use Fast Fuse, or I used Tear & Tape Adhesive on the tabs.

Sweet Soiree Designer Paper Scoring and Cutting For Basket

Just for an extra tip, I cut the little angles on the tabs, just to keep them out of the way on the edges. Nothing special, just eyeballed it.

Sweet Soiree Designer Paper Cut For Basket

The handle for the basket is just a 3/4″ strip of paper, adhered inside the basket again with Tear & Tape. You could use brads or staples if you wanted to, or ribbon. For a little embellishment, I punched strips of Powder Pink Cardstock with the Decorative Ribbon Border Punch to decorate the top edge of the basket.  I also made this 3/4″ wide but if I did it over I probably would make it wider.

Punch Art Easter Bunny For Paper Basket

The punch art Easter Bunny is fun to make!  You can experiment with whatever punches you have.  For this bunny I used the 1 3/4″ Circle Punch for the body, the 1 1/4″ Circle Punch for his head, and a small oval from the Stitched Shapes Framelit Dies for his ears.  If you have a retired Oval Punch you can use that. I only needed one die cut because I just cut it in half for the ears. For the face, I just drew it in.  Before adhering the bunny, I sponged the edges of the pieces lightly with Powder Pink Ink. I meant to color the inside of the ears with Stampin’ Blends in pink but I forgot!  The bunny is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals on the front of the Easter basket.  He/She still needed a bit of something so I tied a bow with Powder Pink 3/8″ Shimmer Ribbon.

The Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper is so pretty by itself you can make bags, baskets, or boxes easily without having to do much else!  The silver foil and colorful handpainted design of the flowers don’t require much embellishment.  If you learn how to make an easy paper Easter basket with a punch art bunny with the Sweet Soiree paper, you will have a beautiful little gift or treat for someone special.

An Elegant Handmade Birthday Card For Someone Special

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Elegant Birthday Card

You can make an elegant birthday card for someone special using the Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper. I think anything you would make with this fancy foiled paper with handpainted designs would look beautiful and elegant! Even this simple background has silver foil dots, plus the outlines of the flowers and leaves are silver foil.

To make this card, I started with a card base of Calypso Coral, one of the coordinating colors of the designer paper. I liked this dotted paper layered on Silver Foil.  I looked through the papers and decided on the flowered paper with the Marina Mist background and cut out some of the flowers to adhere to the front of the card.  If you have the Paper Snips scissors, it makes cutting out a little easier and you can just do it while you are watching TV!  After I cut out the bigger group of flowers, I also cut some of the smaller ones out of the scraps.

Before I glued down the flowers, I thought a little ribbon might be nice on the card.  The Calypso Coral 1/4″ Ombre Ribbon was perfect! I just adhered one strip across the card and then tied the bow on later.

With the ribbon on, I popped the large group of flowers up on Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals mostly, with a few of the regular size dimensionals. The smaller flowers I fit in alongside the large group and adhered with some Fast Fuse. (Only the Fast Fuse refills are available from now on.)

For the greeting, I chose the “Happy Birthday” from the Beautiful Bouquet Stamp Set. Not only is this stamp set wonderful for all the flowers, but it has a great selection of greetings! I stamped it on a piece of Powder Pink Cardstock with Powder Pink ink, not quite knowing what I was going to do with it!  I ended up die-cutting with the Lots of Labels Framelits Dies but cut off the top of the diecut with the top edge of the card layer. For a little more pizzazz I added a Silver Foil diecut underneath.

I thought the greeting looked a bit plain so I stamped some small flowers on from the Beautiful Bouquet Stamp Set. It’s one of those things where perhaps I should have stopped before doing that! I nearly messed it up and I’m not sure I’m happy with it now.  I thought adding some of the teeniest pearls would help it, but I’m not sure.

As my friend and I used to say back in the day when we were painting t-shirts and wine glasses together, sometimes you have to know when to stop!  I should have stopped with just the stamped greeting on this card! But I doubt the recipient will be so critical!

If you want to make some beautiful, elegant cards and other projects, you might want to consider purchasing this Sweet Soiree Specialty Designer Series Paper.  Now there is also a stamp set and framelit dies in the Cake Soiree Bundle, if you want to get the whole works! If you want to make an elegant card for someone special, this paper will make your job easy!