Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Tag Buffet Stocking Christmas Card

Leave a reply
Tag Buffet Stocking Christmas Card

If you need to make a lot of Christmas cards, you might want to consider a simpler card design, like this Tag Buffet Stocking Christmas Card, because not every card has to be elaborate to be beautiful. This card was not the result of a lot of planning and thinking. I had in mind making a simple Christmas card, pulled out the designer paper and then thought of using this stamp set. An already diecut Whisper White piece in my cardstock package inspired me to use it for the focal point. One thing just followed another.

The card base is Real Red and the designer paper I used is ‘Tis the Season 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper, which I just purchased. Originally I wasn’t too crazy about the paper designs and I was already buying other holiday papers so I didn’t think I needed it. But of course, eventually, I wanted it! The 6″ x 6″ size is very handy for cardmaking and you don’t feel so bad cutting up a 12″ x 12″ piece of DSP!

I also decided to use the Tag Buffet Stamp Set, which goes with the Tag Buffet Project Kit to make tags. I already made the tags in the kit, but the stamp set is very Christmas-y and good to use making cards or other projects for the holidays.

I found a die-cut Whisper White piece in my bag of cardstock and that gave me the idea to use the big “Merry Christmas” greeting stamped on it with the stamped and cut out Christmas stocking off to the side. The piece was die cut with the Rectangle Stitched Die. It has a really pretty edge on it which is why I like those dies so much. But when I stamped the Merry Christmas greeting across the rectangle, there really was no space for the stocking! I thought my original idea was ruined, but no fear! It occurred to me to cut the two words of the stamp apart! I know it is like heresy to cut stamps apart, but in this case, I could see no downside. I could still stamp the words side by side easily, but if I separated them I could stamp one on top of another in smaller areas. All it took was one snip of the scissors! Then there was room for the stocking!

I stamped the stocking on Whisper White in Memento Ink because I knew I would color with my Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. I used the Light and Dark Real Red markers. I also could have used Cherry Cobbler since that is a coordinating color with the designer paper. I found the Real Red markers a little light but I just added some more coloring to the stocking.

After stamping and coloring the stocking, I cut it out by hand with my Paper Snips. Before adhering it to the greeting, I couldn’t resist stamping some greenery and holly on the cardstock. It was all in the stamp set and I wanted to play with more stamps! Then I popped up the stocking with Stampin’ Dimensionals®. For some bling, I added some Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels. And for just a little bit of glimmer, I used Clear Wink of Stella on the white areas of the stocking with the glitter brush.

On the inside of the card, I added a layer of Whisper White on top of the Real Red and stamped the long sentiment that is in the stamp set in Real Red Ink. The I also added two stamped pieces of the same greenery I used on the front of the card.

If you are interested in the Tag Buffet Stamp Set, you might enjoy the Tag Buffet Project Kit for making some tags (or even using the tags to make cards!). I loved working on these tags! The only stamping was the greeting, everything else was supplied and I just had to assemble. They are very pretty. Check out my post about the tags HERE.

I like to make a variety of Christmas cards to send out. Some I might make easy and some fancier. This Tag Buffet Stocking Christmas Card is a simpler one that you might enjoy and still would impress the recipient!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online HERE!

Arrange a Wreath Floral Wreath Give Thanks Card

Leave a reply
Arrange a Wreath Floral Wreath Give Thanks Card

After seeing a lot of cute samples of wreath cards and receiving a birthday card from my friend using the wreath die cut, I decided I had to have this set! Finally, I got around to trying it out, and here is my fallish Arrange a Wreath Floral Wreath Give Thanks Card.

I didn’t even realize how much is included in both the Arrange a Wreath Stamp Set and Wreath Builder Dies. Of course, you can get the Arrange a Wreath Bundle and save 10% off the price of both. There are two different dies for wreaths, giving you two different looks or just two different wreaths to use separately. You get all kinds of different little items for decorating the wreaths to cover several occasions or just any occasion. The stamp set has five different greetings to use. So you are covered for just about anything with this Bundle!

For my card I chose Terracotta Tile for the card base. I seldom use these In Colors from last year but I thought Terracotta Tile might be a nice color for a fall card.

The Whisper White embossed layer I found on the table that I had made a while back just testing my new Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine with embossing folders! I thought it would work just fine as a background behind my wreath. The background is made with the Ornate Floral 3D Embossing Folder. It just adds a little bit of subtle prettiness I think!

I die cut both wreaths using two different greens – Granny Apple Green and Old Olive. I played around with which one looked better on top and finally settled on this combination. Then I stamped some flowers from the stamp set and cut them out with the dies. I chose Terracotta Tile, Pumpkin Pie, and Crushed Curry ink for the flowers. There is a die to cut a ribbon for the wreath but I decided to use a real ribbon, the Terracotta ribbon in the Ornate Garden Ribbon Combo Pack. For a little bit more embellishment I used some Holiday Rhinestones for each flower center.

The greeting is in the Arrange a Wreath Stamp Set and I stamped it in Terra Cotta Ink on Whisper White. It was die cut with a small Stitched So Sweetly Die and layered on a die-cut piece of Terracotta Cardstock in the Tasteful Labels Dies.

That’s all there is to this card! Take a peek again at the card my friend sent to me for my birthday. It’s really pretty easy and simple, but lots to play with in this stamp set and dies as I said! You will get a lot of use out of this Bundle because you can use a card with a wreath for lots of occasions.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Mini Curvy Keepsake Box Halloween Witch

Leave a reply
Mini Curvy Keepsake Box Halloween Witch

I think with all the shiny new products, which are great, we have forgotten about products we already have which are perfect for this upcoming holiday season, fall, and Halloween like this Mini Curvy Keepsake Box Halloween Witch. You can make all kinds of little gift boxes and even characters using this Mini Curvy Keepsakes Box Dies. So much opportunity for creativity!

This little Mini Curvy Keepsake Box is so easy to make, no matter what else you are going to do to it! Just die cut the one piece and fold on the score lines. Your box will come together quite well! After scoring and creasing the fold lines, it might be good to kind of press down on the sides to kind of get that curve going a little bit. Then hold the two handles together and slip the two sides with slots right over the handles. Then decorate the box however you like.

For the Halloween witch, I used a piece of Granny Apple Green Cardstock. I assembled the box and then added the witch features. I had a bag of googlie eyes so I opted to use two of those. You could just use circles of black and white cardstock. The witch’s nose is from the 1/2″ Circle Punch (retired, sadly) but if you don’t have the punch you can just cut one by hand or find a punch in your stash that will work. I had some black dots so I put one on her nose for a wart! I just drew in the mouth and freckles with the Basic Black Stampin’ Blend using the tip end, not the brush end.

For the hair, I just grabbed some twine I had, thinking it was Linen Thread but I think it was some natural colored twine I had from something. I just cut a few strands, tied them together in the middle with another piece and adhered them to the witch’s head! You could do cardstock strips, yarn, shredded paper, other ribbon or string you have.

The witch’s hat I sort of copied from one I’d seen on Pinterest or somewhere. You could use the old Tree Punch we used to have but I used the Pine Tree Punch which is current. I punched out two trees. I didn’t want the shaggy edges that make it look like a tree so I just cut along the two sides and cut those edges off so that I had a perfect triangle. I used Black Glimmer Paper because I had some scraps which the punch fit, but not the hat base. For that, I just happened to find this large scalloped circle already cut out and just went with that. Cut a slit in the center of the hat base in which you will insert the triangle top of the hat. I took the two trees and adhered them together with Glue Dots near the top. You want to keep most of the bottom open so you can slide it over the box handles. Then fold the tree trunk up facing the tree, on each side, and use Mini Glue Dots to adhere those trunks to the hat base after inserting through that slit. That way the tree is attached to the hat base but it can still be placed over the box handles.

For a little embellishment, I tied on a Terracotta Tile ribbon and stuck on a little plastic Halloween blackbird sticker I had in my stash. You can just barely see it against the black witch’s hat.

That’s all there is to it! You could make a ghost out of white paper, a scarecrow, Frankenstein, some other monster, or a pumpkin! All with this one die and that’s just for Halloween! Have fun playing with the Mini Curvy Keepsake Die and see what you can make with it!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Trimming the Town Christmas Wishes Card

Leave a reply
Trimming the Town Christmas Wishes Card

If you would like to have some fun with designer paper and card design like this Trimming the Town Christmas Wishes Card, this designer paper is for you! If you like, you can feel like a kid playing with paper and scissors and building a little town or landscape!

During the Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper Sale this month, I couldn’t resist purchasing this Trimming the Town Designer Series Paper. I also purchased the stamp set, but for this card, I only used the paper except for the greeting. I simply took one of the papers that had the larger houses and buildings printed on it and cut out some of the images with Paper Snips.

The large house on the front of my card I actually “remodeled”! The basic house was printed on the paper but as I tried to conserve as much of the paper as I could while cutting into it, I noticed that at the very bottom of the paper was a partial building and it was this roof piece with the round window, so I cut that roof piece out and adhered it to the top of my large house! The other little building on my card was also at the bottom of the page so I cut that out and stuck it behind the snow as it looked like the lower part of the image could have been cut off being placed at the bottom edge of the paper.

The card base is Real Red. The actual coordinating color with the paper is Poppy Parade, but I think the Real Red worked just fine on this card. Besides, I love Real Red! I put a layer of Whisper White underneath the Trimming the Town DSP with the snowy sky pattern. What a perfect paper to use as a background on a card or project! I covered the bottom portion of this designer paper with a piece of Whisper White to look like snow. I cut this the size I wanted to fit and then just added a little curviness to the top, just freehand although there are some dies that could do the same for you.

I just placed the two buildings and trees where I wanted them on the card and popped up the larger house with Stampin’ Dimensionals® as well as the large tree. If I had cut out some smaller buildings, I could have played a little more with the landscape. There is so much design potential with this designer paper as well as if you used the Coming Home Bundle (stamp set and dies).

One of the papers in the Trimming the Town package, is a full sheet of a winter scene that you could actually frame as is for a home decor piece, or use as a scrapbook page background or cut out various sections. It’s really a fun package of designer paper for the holidays!

The greeting I used on this card is from the Banner Year Stamp Set. I stamped it in Real Red ink and die cut with one of the Rectangle Stitched Dies. I think it is a perfect fit on this card.

Don’t miss out on the Designer Series Paper Sale going on until October 31 in the Stampin’ Up! Store! There is a good choice of select papers and Trimming the Town is one of them 15% off! I think you will enjoy using this paper as I did on this Trimming the Town Christmas Wishes Card.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Can’t Miss THIS November Paper Pumpkin!

Leave a reply

Paper Pumpkin is our monthly subscription service that offers unique papercrafting projects for crafters of any skill level! In these all-inclusive kits, subscribers receive pre-cut paper pieces, embellishments, ink, and an exclusive stamp set designed to encourage them to explore their creativity. As their subscription continues, subscribers will have a collection of cards—and other creations—for a variety of occasions, in addition to a stockpile of supplies!

So, what’s in store for this month’s Paper Pumpkin kit? November’s cute, gingerbread-themed kit contains enough supplies to create one-of-a-kind Christmas crafts! Whether it’s a gift card carrier, traditional card, or tasty-looking tag, this sweet and seasonal kit is the key to heartfelt holiday gifting. With curly cutouts, sugary stickers, and delicious die-cut designs in a special-edition box, a jolly holiday will be on its way with this kit!

ABOUT THE NOVEMBER KIT

Name: Jolly Gingerbread

  • Kit contains enough supplies to create 15 gift card carriers and coordinating envelopes.
  • Kit contents can also be used to design traditional holiday cards, gift tags, and other paper projects.
  • Contents arrive in a collectible, special-edition box!
  • Project size: 2-1/4″ x 4″
  • Envelope size: 2-3/4″ x 4-3/8″
  • Coordinating colors: Cinnamon Cider, Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral, Mint Macaron, Shaded Spruce, Blushing Bride, and Whisper White
Paper Pumpkin Jolly Gingerbread Kit Nov 2020

Join Paper Pumpkin Today Here!

Deadline to get this November Paper Pumpkin Kit is November 10th

(while supplies last).

Halloween Spooky Ghosts Card

2 Replies
Halloween Spooky Ghosts Card

A Halloween card that I saw years ago much like this Halloween Spooky Ghosts Card is one of the things that inspired me to become a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator! I was visiting my friend who first introduced me to Stampin’ Up! and we went to what was a team meeting, I guess, or some kind of gathering. I was so taken with a creative Halloween card made like this one with a ghost on it that I fell in love with stamping and eventually signed up to be a Demonstrator.

Can you guess how I made these ghosts?? They are die-cut hearts, cut in half! Sometimes it doesn’t take too much to thrill me! That card from years ago will always be one of my favorites, maybe because I like Halloween so much, too!

In addition, I decided to make this one of those new-fangled Slim-Line cards everyone is talking about. I have made others HERE and HERE. They can be made in various sizes, so you can make one longer and/or wider than mine. Just make sure it is going to fit in an envelope!

To make this card, I started with a card base of Gorgeous Grape cut at 6″ x 6″. When you fold that square piece of cardstock in half, you have a card that is 3″ x 6″. It will fit into one of those regular, but small, envelopes you likely have at home. If you make it longer and wider, then it has to fit into one of those regular longer envelopes.

I made the layer Basic Black so the ghosts would show up really well in Whisper White! I die cut several small, medium and large heart shapes with the Be Mine Stitched Dies. You could use heart punches if you don’t have the dies or even just cut out hearts by hand. Then just cut each heart you are going to use in half with scissors, from the point at the bottom right up through the middle of the heart. Then just add some eyes with a black marker. Place the heart halves along the edge of the card as if they are peeking in.

As I was looking for a greeting, I wanted to use this one from the Ghoulish Goodies Stamp Set and decided to emboss it right on the black cardstock with white embossing powder. I also noticed the tiny little “Boo” in the stamp set and thought that would be perfect also embossed on the card. I used my retired Embossing Buddy to remove some of the static on the card before stamping with Versamark Ink. Then I dumped on White Stampin’ Embossing Powder, dumped it back off, and heated the powder with my Heat Tool. I did all the embossing before I adhered the ghosts to the edges of the card. Then I adhered the black layer on to the Gorgeous Grape card base.

So there you have one of my favorite cards for Halloween! It’s so easy and fun, even if you don’t do the heat embossing. You can stamp and adhere a greeting the regular way if you like.

Have fun making a card like this Halloween Spooky Ghosts Card!

Forever Fern Fall Leaves Thank You Card

Leave a reply
Forever Fern Fall Leaves Thank You Card

While we mostly think about “green” when we think about the Forever Fern Bundle, I wondered if I could use fall colors instead, and I ended up with this Forever Fern Fall Leaves Thank You Card. I really like it!

The card base is Garden Green with what was going to be a full Whisper White stamped layer. There is nothing difficult about the technique I used, but placing the stamps resulted in too much of a hodgepodge at the bottom of the Whisper White that I did not like. Luckily I thought of just cutting off that bottom portion and using a piece of Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper instead. I wanted a rather plain piece of designer paper so it wouldn’t look distracting and busy against my stamped leaves.

After I cut off the bottom mess of leaves, there were a few sticking up, but there seemed to be too much white space in the middle, even with the greeting stamped in Cajun Craze. The greeting didn’t look right stamped lower. So, what to do? I chose one of the long tamps in the Forever Fern Stamp Set and stamped it so it went up into the center of the card a little bit. I got lucky and really liked how it turned out!

After adhering the two papers, I wrapped the Whisper White Faux Linen Ribbon in the Flowers For Every Season Combo Pack (you get 3 ribbons!) around the seam. I tied the bow separately and adhered it with Mini Glue Dots. One tip I could have done would have been to tie a piece of white twine around the ribbon where I would place the bow to cinch that ribbon going across the card just to make it look more like I tied the bow on that ribbon going across!

Let’s talk about the stamping technique! I just used my Stampin’ Write Markers (not Stampin’ Blends) to color directly on the stamp. I pulled out various green markers, yellow, orange, darker yellow, even Cherry Cobbler for a dark reddish. It’s best if you start with the lightest colors, but even if you don’t, just scribble the darker color off your marker on scrap paper. You don’t have to be precise, just use the side of the brush tip of the marker to randomly color on the leaves all around, then use another color and another, whatever look you are going for. Don’t forget to “huff” (breathe) on the stamp to moisten the ink that might be drying, and then stamp. Each time you stamp it’s a surprise!

You can see on my card that the top bunch of leaves have a little more Cherry Cobbler ink on them, which I loved. The other ones have more green with a little yellow and orange. Each time you use this technique and stamp it will be different because while you can see the wet marker ink on the stamp, you can’t really see the colors until you stamp! In the end, I loved how this card turned out!

If you haven’t done this technique before, you can practice a few times, but it is plenty easy and I’m sure you will be happy with your efforts! Remember that the Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper is on the Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper Sale during the month of October.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Paper Pumpkin Halloween Cards

Leave a reply
Paper Pumpkin Halloween Cards

The September 2020 Paper Pumpkin Kit may have been designed to make a bunch of Halloween or fall treat holders, but I don’t need that many this year so I used some of the supplies to make Paper Pumpkin Halloween Cards!

This kit really has a ton of pieces to use on the treat holders or however you like so it was really easy and fun to make these three cards. And I plan to go back and make some more cards and use up more of the pieces in various card designs.

The top card has a Basic Black card base with a layer of Cajun Craze. I used the Dainty Diamonds Embossing Folder to give the Cajun Craze paper a little texture. The little diamond shapes on the side are the scrap pieces from the treat holders! I stamped the faces on the pumpkins from the exclusive stamp set that came in the kit. The black cat and flowers are all die cuts in the kit as well as the two lacy yellow pieces. The greeting is stamped from a stamp in the kit on a die-cut piece in the kit. It’s just that easy!

The second card uses a piece of the Plaid Tidings Designer Paper for a layer on the Cajun Craze cardstock, layered on the Black card base. The pumpkins are stamped with faces and popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals with a die-cut witch’s hat in the kit and some flowers and a swirly piece that looks like a vine with the pumpkins. I had a scrap strip of Cajun Craze so I slid that underneath the black lacy piece. Another fun, easy card!

The third card has a Basic Black card base with a Cajun Craze layer on which I stamped a few of the tiny leaves in the kit stamp set using Cajun Craze Ink. I could also have used Versamark Ink but I already had the Cajun Craze out and it gives almost the same look. I just cut up one of the treat holders to get the orange diagonally striped pieces underneath all the pumpkins and leaves. All of these die-cut pumpkin pieces and leaves come in the Paper Pumpkin Kit.

These Halloween cards were fun to make and I’m looking forward to making some more! In yesterday’s post I showed you the treat holders I had already made from the kit. A lot of times I like to make some of the cards or projects in the Paper Pumpkin Kit exactly as designed. But then I might like to use the rest of the supplies to make some alternate ideas. You will always find alternative ideas for any of the Paper Pumpkin kits online after people receive theirs and start making them!

You can’t get this fall pumpkin kit any longer but the next one comes out in just a few days! It’s a holiday kit called Joy To the World with international greetings if you’d like to send cards to other countries! You can even join a special Facebook group to connect with other Paper Pumpkin subscribers about this kit! Today, October 10th, is the last day to sign up to get this holiday kit so don’t delay!

Here is my personalized link for you to sign up to subscribe to Paper Pumpkin so you won’t have to add my name:

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN!

Paper Pumpkin Halloween Treat Holders

Leave a reply
Paper Pumpkin Halloween Treat Holders

These Paper Pumpkin Halloween Treat Holders aren’t finished yet, but I thought I would show you how cute they are! Actually, they ARE finished, I just would have to put treats inside and then tie a piece of twine around the other end of the treat holder and it’s done!

This is the September 2020 “Hello Pumpkin” Paper Pumpkin kit! Paper Pumpkin is a monthly subscription for a papercrafting kit to be mailed to you around the middle of each month. There is no risk or obligation and you can skip a month if you need to!

Rather than make all the treat holders I could possibly make with this kit when I don’t know if I will have any trick-or-treaters this year, I made these and I’m going to make “alternate” projects with the rest of the supplies! And that’s perfectly okay with any of the kits! Every month there are alternate ideas posted online that you can get inspired by if you prefer to make something different with your kit. I plan to make Halloween cards with these supplies Or maybe I will make cards and a few more treat holders and save them for next year when we won’t have the pandemic and kids can trick-or-treat again safely.

October 10th is the last day this month to get signed up in order to get the NEXT Paper Pumpkin kit, which will be mailed out mid-October. It is a holiday kit which you can read all about HERE.

It’s time to be making Halloween treats and cards, whatever you like! Maybe some Halloween home decor!

Check out the Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper Sale going on now in the Online Store! In there you will find the Magic In This Night Designer Paper which is perfect for Halloween! Not that you have to have official Halloween paper! If you look through your other papers you may find other patterns that you can use for fall and Halloween.

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN by OCTOBER 10th!

Gilded Autumn Fall Acorn Card

Leave a reply
Gilded Autumn Fall Acorn Card

I absolutely love the Gilded Autumn Designer Paper for fall cards and I noticed there was one pretty, but kind of odd patterned paper that I hadn’t used. It is actually the opposite side of this acorn and leaf paper and I had planned to use both sides on this card. But then I didn’t! I liked just the acorn and leaf print on this paper so I only used this one side on my Gilded Autumn Fall Acorn Card.

This card is just a simple, basic design we can all make very easily. You can keep it very simple or add some embellishments. It’s just a layer of designer paper on top of the card base and a greeting. That’s really all you would have to do.

The card base is Mint Macaron, one of the coordinating colors with the Gilded Autumn Specialty Designer Series Paper. This paper with its fall colors also has some papers with Gold Foil or Copper Foil accents. That’s what makes it so beautiful. It’s one of my favorites this season!

The greeting is stamped on Very Vanilla from the Gather Together Stamp Set. Then it was die cut with a circle in the Stitched Shapes Dies and layered on a Mint Macaron scalloped circle that I already had in my package of paper! I popped up the greeting on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Running underneath the greeting is a Just Jade ribbon in the Flowers For Every Season Ribbon Combo Pack. It’s not a perfect match but I think it is close enough and I like the gingham ribbon.

I couldn’t finish the card without doing a little more embellishing! I had a piece of the Forever Gold Laser-Cut Specialty Paper laying out on my desk and thought I’d see if some gold leaves would look okay behind the greeting. Then on the bottom of the greeting, I added three of the smallest Gilded Gems.

So if you are looking for an easy card to make for fall, just follow this simple design!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Sign Up Now For the October 2020 Paper Pumpkin Kit!

Leave a reply
Paper Pumpkin October 2020 Kit

Only a few days left to get signed up for this October 2020 Paper Pumpkin Kit! Paper Pumpkin is a papercrafting kit sent to you in the mail once a month with all the materials you need to complete the project inside! So easy for you whether you are a novice or an expert! Even experts sometimes like to just sit down and make something without thinking up a design and gathering the supplies!

The Joy to the World Paper Pumpkin Kit has been thoughtfully released in preparation for the season of spreading joy. October’s Paper Pumpkin kit was designed to bring people together—connecting them with one another and spreading joy with each other around the world! With die-cut sentiments in English, French, and German, subscribers can send holiday cheer to their friends across the globe—in their language.

To connect and spread joy with international customers and demonstrators through the Joy to the World Paper Pumpkin Kit, join our Facebook group: Joy of Paper Pumpkin! When connecting with your new friends, don’t forget to share your experience with the #joyofpaperpumpkin hashtag.

Be sure to get signed up for Paper Pumpkin by this Saturday, October 10th.

Here is my personalized link to go directly to my page to sign up!

OR

If you are placing a Stampin’ Up! order by October 10th, you can add a Prepaid subscription to your order, particularly if you are trying to reach $150 or more in Stampin’ Rewards. The Paper Pumpkin subscription of whatever length you choose will count toward your total Stampin’ Up! order.

Go to Prepaid Paper Pumpkin!

Once you submit your Stampin’ Up! order, you will receive an email telling you how to set up your Paper Pumpkin account. Be sure to do this by October 10th so you will receive this October Kit. If you need help, let me know.

Paper Pumpkin is a present you give yourself every month! Have fun making the project inside the box or use the supplies to make something to your own liking! There are always a multitude of alternative projects posted online, even on the Paper Pumpkin directions, if you prefer to make something a little different. Have fun! Be creative!

Join Paper Pumpkin TODAY!

Celebrate Sunflowers Celebrate You Card

Leave a reply
Celebrate Sunflowers Celebrate You Card

If you want to send a card to someone who maybe had something special happen to them or just to send someone a happy thought, make them a card something like this Celebrate Sunflowers Celebrate You Card with these pretty sunflowers!

I felt drawn to make a floral card and the sunflowers won out, hopefully with a bit of a fall look. I actually thought I would use the coordinating Sunflower Dies, but once I stamped and colored the sunflowers in the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set, that was all I wanted to do.

The sunflowers are stamped in Memento Ink because I was going to use our Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers to color in the flowers. I saw that someone had colored in sunflowers with Light Daffodil Delight, Dark Pumpkin Pie, and Dark Mango Melody so I just went with those colors. You could easily choose some other similar colors or a different color scheme entirely. For the leaves, I just used some lighter and some darker greens, probably Granny Apple Green, Old Olive, and maybe some Mossy Meadow. The flower centers are colored with Soft Suede Stampin’ Blends (light and dark) and parts were just kind of dotted, following the stamped image.

The greeting is in the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set but I only wanted to use the “Celebrate You” part of the stamp due to space. I inked up only those words with Old Olive Ink and die cut with one of the Ornate Frames Dies. I felt like it needed something to set it off from the background but I didn’t have much space so I just used the Dark Old Olive Stampin’ Blend marker along the edge of the die cut. Luckily I had a stead enough hand and it worked out well! It might not have, but it did! Then I added some ribbon behind the greeting but I’m not necessarily in love with that on this card. I think I should have used some gems or sequins or something in a few places on the card for that bit of bling.

The coloring might look overwhelming, but really it is not. I just kept the darker colors at the base of the petals and the rest was colored lighter. It’s mostly a solid image so I just colored all of the petals with my lightest color first and then went in and added the two darker colors. Then I went back over some of it with the lightest color to help it all blend. Just put on some music or something and enjoy yourself while you color! It’s great for relaxation!

The card base is Soft Suede and I will need to put a Whisper White layer inside the card since it is a dark cardstock. I’ll stamp one of the little sunflowers somewhere on that piece, maybe coloring it in or maybe just stamping in Soft Suede or a yellow shade and just leaving that as is.

Here’s another card I made by just stamping the small sunflower and some leaves randomly over the front of the card. You can see I didn’t use as much color on the flowers as I did on this card.

Take some time to do some stamping and coloring with whatever coloring technique you like to use!

Celebrate Sunflowers Celebrate You Card Closeup

Ghoulish Goodies Spooktacular Halloween Card

Leave a reply
Ghoulish Goodies Spooktacular Halloween Card

It’s October and that means it’s time to be making Halloween cards like this Ghoulish Goodies Spooktacular Halloween Card. This is one of those cards that just came about as I worked on it. Sometimes you have to know when to stop and sometimes you have to know when to keep going until you get the card you want!

The card base is Basic Black with a Pumpkin Pie Cardstock layer. I stamped the tiny little pumpkin in the Ghoulish Goodies Stamp Set randomly on the Pumpkin Pie layer with Versamark Ink. Later I also stamped the “EEK” in the stamp set to fill in some more of the spaces.

I stamped the image of the witch, the cauldron and the black cat on Highland Heather Cardstock and die cut it with a die in the Stitched So Sweetly Dies. Then I layered this piece on another die cut piece from the same die set. The greeting is also in the stamp set and the die in the same die set.

The card was coming together but still needed some jazzing up! I chose the Blue Adhesive-Backed Gems to put on each end of the black layer. Even though these say “blue” they are sparkly and iridescent so they kind of look purple and I thought went okay on this card. I also added some of the yellowish Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels around the witch and the black cat.

And for a final touch, I just tied a knot in a small piece of the Black Glittered Organdy Ribbon. Sometimes you just have to keep working on a card and this was one of those!

Here’s another project I made using the Ghoulish Goodies Stamp Set for a Halloween treat. It’s a fun stamp set to have for making Halloween cards but also Halloween goodies and treats.

Be sure to check out the Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper Sale going on during the month of October on select designer papers! Stock up or get the ones you missed before!

Make & Send a Card on World Cardmaking Day 2020

Leave a reply
World Cardmaking Day 2020

Today is World Cardmaking Day! Almost everyday is Cardmaking Day for a lot of us avid stampers and papercrafters, but today we should make a card and MAIL ONE to someone…..or even better, make and mail several cards! It’s good for us to take some time for being creative and getting our mind off the news and it will also be good for the recipient to know that you were thinking of them!

Here are two cards I made with the Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper. As it happens, this paper is on sale 15% off during the month of October in the Designer Series Paper Sale! Be sure to check out the list of papers on sale so you can order your choices soon.

Forever Greenery Friend Card

This card was made with a Whisper White card base (you could use the Thick Whisper White Cardstock also) and larger margins than usual. I cut Shaded Spruce Cardstock a little smaller than usual, 5″ x 3 3/4′”. Then I chose three of the designer paper patterns and cut them into smaller pieces to make the card panels. They measured 1 1/2″ x 3 1/2″. The greeting is from the Peaceful Moments Stamp Set. I cut it out with the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch and a wider strip of Shaded Spruce for a layer. I wanted a little embellishment on each end of the punched greeting so I chose the Elegant Faceted Gems. I didn’t feel like they stood out enough so I colored them with the Dark Shaded Spruce Stampin’ Blend Marker. It worked! I think they add just a little something in the right color. The Forever Greenery Paper uses several colors of greens so you can have your choice of greens that you have available.

Forever Greenery Easy Thank You Card

This card is really easy to make! Again, it uses a Whisper White card base with wider margins than usual. The layer under the Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper is Shaded Spruce. The greeting is stamped with Shaded Spruce Ink from the Peaceful Moments Stamp Set also. I used the Stitched So Sweetly Dies to cut out the greeting and for size considerations, just cut a rectangle to layer underneath. For something a little extra, I used some Just Jade Ribbon back and forth under the greeting. You could make either of these cards with any designer paper that you have so you have no excuses! Try something!

Let’s all celebrate World Cardmaking Day by sending one of our handmade cards to at least one person or stick one in your neighbor’s mailbox!

Happy World Cardmaking Day 2020!

(one of the good things about 2020!)

Forever Greenery Easy Cards

Forever Fern Card For a Friend

Leave a reply

This Forever Fern Card For a Friend is one that I copied from a sample in the Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog on page 5. The other day I was browsing through the catalog and it was one of those times that samples in the catalog were jumping out at me right and left! Some days you can’t think of any idea for a card and nothing inspires you and then other times everything you see you want to make!

Since I haven’t used this Forever Fern Bundle as much as I would have liked yet, I decided to just use a sample in the catalog to get more of a feel for the stamp set and dies. This Forever Fern Stamp Set is a Distinktive** stamp set; it has a special texture that gives added depth and dimension in a single step, creating photo-realistic images. **Patent pending. To me, that means that when I stamp with it, I am impressed and marvel at the beautiful image!

This card sample is beautiful and looks pretty fancy and involved to me, but really, when I made it, it is pretty basic. There are only two stamped ferns and the greeting. The other two ferns are die cuts.

The card base is Just Jade, one of the new In Colors, and the layered designer paper is the 2020-2022 In Color 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper. The catalog sample uses one of the other patterns of the paper. I made several cards at once so I used different paper patterns. This one has the small circles or polka dots. When you copy a sample, you can still change some of the elements. In fact, a lot of time when I think I am going to copy something, I end up with something completely different.

The designer paper is cut smaller than usual. I cut mine at 3 3/4″ x 4 3/4″ and it is pushed over to the edge of the card rather than centered. I used my Bone Folder to curl up the opposite corners a little bit. You could do that or not do that. You could center the designer paper if you chose to.

The large fern in the background is die cut from Shaded Spruce Cardstock. If you have the Adhesive Sheets and think ahead to use them, this would be a good time on this large fern with small leaves. I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue to put small dots of glue onto the back of the large fern. The next die-cut fern I changed up a bit. In the catalog sample, it is Smoky Gray I think. I didn’t want to use gray so I used Gold Foil. I also adhered this piece with the Multipurpose Liquid Glue. You could also pop it up with Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

The two other pieces are stamped, one in Just Jade ink (stamped off once) and one in Granny Apple Green. Then they are die cut with the new Stampin’ Emboss & Cut Machine and the Magnetic Plate using the Forever Flourishing Dies. The greeting, in the stamp set, is stamped in Shaded Spruce Ink and die cut with the second smallest square in the Stitched Shapes Dies. I popped up the two stamped ferns with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

As to the greeting, the ribbon is layered back and forth behind it before being adhered to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals. The ribbon is in the Ornate Garden Ribbon Combo Pack. The color is Terracotta Tile. If you don’t have this particular ribbon, you could use white or whatever color you have that you think will work. I ended up using two pieces of ribbon – one straight just laid across the back on a diagonal and the second piece looped on each side. I first added some Stampin’ Seal to the back of the greeting to hold the ribbon in place and then placed Dimensionals to adhere it to the card.

All in all, like I said, this is a simple card to make. Here is a card I previously made with just stamping. You can get a better idea of the look of the Distinktive stamps.

Look through the Stampin’ Up! catalogs and see what samples jump out at you. Either try your hand at copying directly, or just use them as a starting point and see where your creativity takes you. I made a few simple changes to my Forever Fern Card For a Friend so see what you choose to do!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Forever Fern Card For a Friend Closeup