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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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 toadd 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!
(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.)
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!
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!
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 theSnowman 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!)
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.
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.
This Monster Bash Spooktacular Haunted House Halloween Card is certainly an easy card to make! And I love the paper! I had actually overlooked this pattern in the designer papers so I wanted to use it. The designer paper seemed interesting enough that all I needed on the card was a greeting…..and just a couple of easy embellishments!
The card base is Basic Black but of course, you could use any of the several coordinating colors with the Monster Bash Designer Series Paper. I chose this pattern with the haunted houses, not quite sure what else I would do with it.
Just for a little easy embellishment, I added two dots and a bird from the Monster Bash Enamel Shapes to the greeting.
Be sure to adhere a Very Vanilla layer inside the card with a stamped greeting and maybe a little Halloween stamping or strip of designer series paper since the cardstock is black. Then you can write a Halloween note or just decorate the inside of the card a little bit.
If you are making some Halloween cards, try this design that I did with my Monster Bash Spooktacular Haunted House Halloween Card and be sure to mail them to friends and family to wish them a Happy Halloween!
The ghouls are beginning to come out now that Halloween is getting closer as in this Monster Bash Mummy Halloween Card! It’s a monochromatic card, easy for you to copy now that I figured out the design and it’s just stamping, die-cutting and a tiny bit of coloring to make it.
I essentially made my own designer paper by stamping the front of this card with a mummy stamp from the Spooktacular Bash Stamp Set. It is just random stamping with Gray Granite Ink. I used the Whisper White Thick Cardstock so the card would not feel flimsy with no other layers or designer paper.
Next, I stamped the mummy by itself and die-cut it with the die from the Ornate Frames Dies. When I first started making this card, at this point I had some difficulty deciding on the layering of this stamped mummy. I was trying to keep the card monochromatic. Eventually, I got the idea to color the background around the mummy and with theLight Gray Granite Stampin’ Blend marker which helped it stand out. I chose the frilly frame in the Ornate Frames Dies for the background layer. Then I played around with whether or not to have something horizontal behind this frame.
In the end, I decided to use a horizontal die cut with a die-cut greeting lower on the card. Both dies are in the Ornate Frames, but after die-cutting the horizontal piece, I placed the die on it again and cut it shorter to fit the greeting better. The greeting, of course, is from the Spooktacular Bash Stamp Set.
Once I had all those elements and placed them on the card, I was pleased with the result. Sometimes, many times, you just have to play around with your card if you don’t feel it is quite right. Eventually, you will come up with something that you know is how the card design is supposed to be! Sometimes you have to change colors or stamps or layout, whatever, but it WILL come to you!
Have fun this month making some Halloween cards and treats and be sure to mail out those Halloween cards early so your recipient can enjoy them awhile before Halloween! If a friend isn’t “into” Halloween, then make them a card with pumpkins or something not “spooky” and hopefully they will like that, especially just the idea of getting a card in the mail! You never know what effect your card, that one day at that one time, will have on a person. And it will have an effect on you, just enjoying making the card, thinking of that person, and being happy that you sent them a reminder of your friendship, thoughts, or love.
Get the Spooktacular Bash Bundle and save 10%! You get the Spooktacular Bash Stamp Set together with the Ornate Frames Dies so you can make all kinds of fun Halloween cards, treats, and projects like this Monster Bash Mummy Halloween Card! Order soon because as I write this the inventory is low. Hurry!
We can do so many things with all our Stampin’ Up! products and supplies and papercrafting skills, like making a piece of home decor such as this Gather Together Fall Votive Holder. I think the colors and items of fall just inspire us so much, like pumpkins, leaves, gourds, mums, scarecrows, and more. That’s what makes it so fun, especially getting relief from the heat of summer!
You can easily make something like this, probably with something you already have in your house, or you can make it for a gift for someone. All you have to do is add a candle inside or one of the flameless ones to be extra safe. If you are using a real candle, make sure the paper is nowhere near the top of the votive holder.
It’s funny how I can start a project with one idea in mind and then come up with something totally unplanned. I almost don’t need to tell you how to make this exactly because I’m sure you have something very similar in your stash and can use what you have.
I started with a checked strip of the Come To Gather Designer Series Paper. When you are using glass, it would be nice if you can to use something that also looks good on the inside since it will be able to be seen. Although unplanned, this strip happens to have the same pumpkins on the opposite side which you can see through the inside of the glass that I used on the decoration.
I started out thinking I was just going to do something with colored leaves but it’s hard to resist the siren call of the beautiful Come To Gather Designer Series Paper. I cut out some of the pumpkins from the paper and I also found some stamped pumpkins from the Gather Together Stamp Set in my stash that I had already colored with Stampin’ Blends. I thought they still fit in with the other pumpkins even though they are more colorful. Next, I stuck in some stamped and die-cut or punched leaves I had just done or already had in my stash. The larger leaves are from the Rooted In Nature Stamp Set.
Once I decided my pumpkins and leaves needed a little background, I die cut a piece from the Ornate Frames Dies. You should really check out these dies because they are pictured in the Halloween section but they CERTAINLY can be used for other things. There is nothing “Halloween” about them. I think they will be very useful well past Halloween. I die cut a large one out of Pretty Peacock Cardstock, even though it is barely visible.
Play around with your elements before adhering and see what layout you like the best. Some of the pumpkins are popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals® and some are flat. Then I stuck in the leaves and sprigs of greenery wherever I thought they would look good.
Votive holders like this one are fun to decorate for any holiday or occasion so stock up a few at the dollar store or wherever you find them! Here is a Christmas one I made a few years ago. You could also decorate all the way around the holder. So many possibilities!
The Everything Is Rosy Product Medley is now available for 15% off through the Clearance Rack. Everything Is Rosy was the first Stampin’ Up! product medley and sold May 1–31, 2019. After the sales period ended, they found enough remaining inventory to bring this limited-time product offering back—but this is the last opportunity you will have to purchase it.
The Everything Is Rosy Product Medley includes these exclusive products:
Everything Is Rosy Photopolymer Stamp Set—18 stamps; suggested blocks: a, b, c,
Everything Is Rosy Dies—10 dies; largest die 2-7/8″ x 1″ (7.3 x 2.5 cm)
6″ x 6″ (15.2 x 15.2 cm) Designer Series Paper Stack—48 sheets; 8 each of 6 double-sided designs
6″ x 6″ (15.2 x 15.2 cm) rose gold foil paper—8 sheets
Printed die cuts—2 sheets
Rose gold die cuts—4 sheets; 2 each of 2 designs
Rose gold adhesive backed mirror embellishments—60 embellishments; 1/4″ (6.4 mm)
Melon Mambo 1/4″ (6.4 mm) Ruched Ribbon—10 yards (9.1 m)
Night of Navy/Rose Gold 3/8″ (1 cm) Metallic –Edge Ribbon—10 yards (9.1 m)
Rose Gold Shimmer Paint—1/2 oz. (15 ml)
This Medley is available beginning October 8, 2019. It is priced at 15% off the original price. Available WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!
150059 Everything Is Rosy Medley Orig. $80.00 USD. Sale $68.00
If you missed out on this Product Medley the first time, you might want to pick it up at a discount! I know the Rose Gold Shimmer Paint was a hit, but the whole group of products is beautiful!
The advantage of a Product Medley is you get a whole BUNCH of coordinating products, from stamps to dies to papers to embellishments and more. No picking and choosing what you really need and what you might be able to do without. It’s just all there for you and ready to begin creating!
These Mini Curvy Keepsake Halloween Boxes are so easy and fun to make! We’re already through the first week in October so Halloween is approaching! It’s time to make some fun treat boxes or use them just as Halloween decorations!
The main thing you need is the Mini Curvy Keepsake Box Die to make these treat boxes. There is the one main die to make these boxes and then quite a few smaller dies for miscellaneous things plus tags. Just lay the die diagonally on a 6″ x 6″ piece of cardstock and it will fit. This die scores the lines where you need to fold.
If you want to make some Halloween treat boxes like mine, do the decorating first before you assemble the box. You might partially assemble the box by creasing all the score lines and see how the box will go together and decide which side you want to be the front of your project. The first time I used this die I had trouble getting the sides to fit over the handles. I found it useful to crease those handles on the score line first, then push down on them as you fit the side slits over them.
To make the Pumpkin Mini Curvy Keepsake Box, I just drew Pumpkin Pie Stampin’ Write Marker lines on all four sides of the box. For the nose, I just snipped a piece of Basic Black cardstock. The mouth, as you can tell, I just drew on myself with a Stampin’ Write Basic Black Marker. It is not a good mouth AT ALL, but I thought I would leave it so you can see a Demonstrator doesn’t do things perfectly either!
If you have the Harvest Hellos Stamp Set, you could stamp the pumpkin face on the box instead. However, you might like adding Googly eyes to your pumpkin. I just used some retired Stampin’ Up! eyes I already had, but you can purchase the cute colored Assorted Googly Eyes in the Holiday Catalog. I also just die cut a leaf and adhered it to the top of the pumpkin box. Any kind of leaf will do and you could also add a greeting if you liked.
For the Frankenstein Mini Curvy Keepsake Box, you can draw or make the face however you like. Look through your dies and see what little pieces you could use to embellish the face. I also added googly eyes to Frankie. You can’t see it, but I cut a piece of Basic Black Cardstock to resemble his bangs, but I made it too short and you can’t really see it on the box tucked up under the top. I just added a greeting that I made into a tag and tied it on with a double piece of the Mossy Meadow Linen Thread in the Magnolia Lane Ribbon Combo Pack. The greeting is stamped from the Itty Bitty Greetings Stamp Set (a must-have, I think!).
There are SO many creatures and critters and boxes and things you can make with these Mini Curvy Keepsake Box Dies, even ideas from back in the day when we had the larger ones. Use them for treats or small gifts for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays (like this one), Valentine’s Day…..well, all the holidays and most occasions that you can think of! But I really like these Mini Curvy Keepsake Halloween Boxes!
Today is the annual World Card Making Day 2019 which those of us in the cardmaking business like to celebrate! Take some time today to make a card, any kind you want! Then, the real trick is to mail the card next week! Lots of times we make cards for fun or because we saw a cute idea and then we don’t get around to mailing our cards to someone! Don’t let your beautiful artwork go to waste! Send those cards!
Next week Stampin’ Up! has a goal of sending 50,000 cards from Demonstrators and Customers, so if you send a card let me know and I will put it in the count with Stampin’ Up! Apparently, it will be the first annual World Card Sending Week! (Isn’t every day and every week some “holiday”?!)
If you are ever stumped for a card idea, copy yourself! That’s right! Just look back at some of the cards you have made and make another version! Change the paper, the colors, the embellishments or the greeting! Use one of your own good ideas!
Here is a card I made for my niece’s birthday. I realized I hadn’t used my Magnolia Lane Designer Paper in awhile. Instead of coming up with a new design, I just made another card like one I’d made before. I just changed the greeting and the embellishments a little bit.
This card uses Petal Pink Cardstock for the card base with a striped layer from the Magnolia Lane Designer Series Paper. I think this paper is one of the most beautiful Stampin’ Up! has ever had. Even the large flower and leaves are cut out from one of the sheets in the package! The flower is layered on a circle of Vellum Cardstock.
I just thought I would remind all of us, myself included, that it is okay to copy ourselves! Sometimes we search and search for an idea and the best one might be one right under our noses!
Take some time on World Card Making Day to make a card for someone or anyone and then send it next week during World Card SENDING Week!
As you can see, I think you can make a card for just about any occasion in the world, even a card for National Taco Day, October 4! When I heard about National Taco Day, I wondered what kind of card I could make. Our family is a big fan of Mexican food or Tex-Mex as it is mostly known here in Houston, Texas.
We’ve had a favorite Mexican restaurant here for almost 40 years! When we came here on our house-hunting trip, some friends who had already been transferred here took us to this little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant nearby. I was not thrilled, admittedly, because we were on an expense account and could have been eating at a finer restaurant! I really don’t remember if I liked the food or not or how that came about. I remember the friend telling us that people stood in line for a table to eat here. This was proven another night later as we drove past and saw, indeed, a line of people out the door IN THE RAIN waiting for a table! Crazy, I thought! After we moved here though, we became addicted to Mexican food, especially at this place and still can barely go a few weeks without eating Mexican somewhere. There are more choices now, more expensive ones, and we go to those places but we always return to our first Mexican restaurant, which has in recent years built a much larger restaurant that is still always packed. And 99.9% of the time I get the Cheese Enchiladas!
This card may make you hungry! It was really pretty easy to make. The card base is Real Red with a layer of Crushed Curry Cardstock, some bright Mexican colors. To make the tacos, I started with two Crumb Cake large die-cut circles, each folded in half, one not quite in half so it would look larger. I stamped the outsides with a stamp from Abstract Impressions Stamp Set (an odd choice, right?). I just wanted something that would look like a little texture.
For the taco “ingredients”, I just cut some Early Espresso curvy pieces to look like taco meat, some Real Red circles cut into smaller pieces for tomato pieces and yellow and orange strips for shredded cheese. For the lettuce, I cut strips of Granny Apple Green Cardstock crimped with my Crimper, but you can also just smoosh them up in your hands so make them look like lettuce. I put Stampin’ Dimensionals inside each taco to pop up the outer shell a little bit.
The greeting, strangely enough, is also from the Abstract Impressions Stamp Set. After wondering what I would put for a greeting on the card, this greeting in this stamp set popped out at me and I thought I could just omit the words “About You”. I stamped and layered it on die-cut pieces from the Stitched Nested Labels Dies.
Now it is time to go have some tacos! Here is a list I came across of where you can get free tacos or some special offer. Or you can make this easy, crazy, fun card for National Taco Day!
While I thought I could do without this beautiful wintery designer paper, I found that I could not and started working on a card. Just layering the designer paper I chose on the card base I thought looked simple and beautiful enough, especially if you were just sending a personal note. Since the card was so pretty as is, I thought about taking it step by step from a plain Christmas card to an embellished Christmas card and showing you the steps.
As you can see, the first card was just a card base of Seaside Spray Cardstock with a layer of Whisper White under the Feels Like Frost Specialty 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper. I think the white helps the designer paper stand out even better. I just thought the card looked so elegant enough with just the designer paper that it barely needed anything else! I could see this paper being used to make a series of note cards or regular size cards for Christmas cards, holiday cards, or just cards for winter. Often when we have someone of a different religion who is not celebrating Christmas, we like to have a more generic card to send them during our holiday.
To step up the first card, I added a holiday greeting to this plain card. Since there was kind of an open area on the designer paper, I put the greeting in the upper corner. The greeting is in the Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set and is stamped with Seaside Spray Ink, one of the newest In Colors. I die cut it with one of the small circle dies in the Layering Circles Dies. I looked through my dies a little bit and decided to use this cute circle layer in the Stitched Labels Dies.
Next, to step up the card, even more, I added the Silver 3/8″ Metallic-Edge Ribbon. I moved the greeting down to the lower corner of the card And for a little bling, I added the teeny tiny Snowflake Sequins to the card, three of the tiny silver ones and three of the snowflake ones. I just used the tiniest dot of Multipurpose Liquid Glue to adhere the sequins with the help (and I do mean HELP) of the Take Your Pick Tool. This is a great tool, no matter which end of the tool you use. I have used the pokey end and also the spatula for scooping up jewels off the sheet and applying to the project and today the sticky end for picking up and placing the sequins. Otherwise, you would go crazy without it, so put one on your next order!
Check out this beautiful paper in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog and in the Online Store. Even though the photographic wintery images are beautiful, wait until you flip the paper over to the other side with the silver foil images! (As I write this, I see this paper and matching ribbon are backordered. The Feels Like Frost will be back in stock next week and the ribbon at the end of October.) (I must have gotten the last ones!)
If you are unsure about making a card, just start with something very simple like I did with just the designer paper. Then see what greeting you might want to add. Next see if you have some ribbon or jewels you want to add or a layer for the greeting, whatever it is. Sometimes it is good to stop before you overdo it! And sometimes it is good to jazz it up a bit! Anyway, check out the steps I took to take this plain Christmas card to an embellished Christmas card.
I had so much fun making up this Paper Pumpkin September 2019 Kit with Halloween Treat Boxes yesterday while watching the Houston Texans lose another football game that they didn’t need to lose. It was good I had a distraction! I really enjoyed making this kit and not just because it was a Halloween theme!
Paper Pumpkin is a monthly papercrafting kit made by Stampin’ Up! that comes to you in the mail when you subscribe. You may think you do not want to be committed to a “subscription” but there really is no pressure or risk to a Paper Pumpkin subscription. You can go into your account at any time before the 10th of any month and “skip” a month or two if you like. If you want to cancel, just cancel. I consider it a gift to myself each month to receive this special box in my mailbox!
The presentation of the kit is wonderful, too! They don’t just throw all the materials in the box. All the materials are packaged up and wrapped in tissue paper just like a gift. There is also an exclusive stamp set and small ink spot. I think one of my favorite parts about the Paper Pumpkin Kit is opening it up and laying out all the materials provided in the kit! I love to see all the pieces I have been given!
In this September Kit you can see the pamphlet with directions (there is also a helpful video online for each kit), the stamp set, the treat boxes, the various tags, the embellishments for the boxes, the bag of little black clothespins, the adhesive dots and even some black mini dimensionals to pop up some of the pieces.
I didn’t close up all my boxes yet, just some to see what they would look like and to show you in this blog post. I don’t want to have to undo all of them when I actually put candy or treats inside closer to Halloween! I got 20 boxes to make in this kit. I made 16 and am deciding if I want to make some alternative projects instead of all the boxes! Obviously it is your kit so you can use the materials however you like in any month! Sometimes I do half and half….make half as designed and make some other projects that I see online for something different!
Here is a closeup of some of the boxes so you can see the decorated Halloween tags that are then clipped onto the handle of the box with a small black clothespin! The skeleton hand is adhered to the front of the clothespin with the glue dots. Such a cute project! Maybe you can see the clothespin clipped to the top of the box in this side view below.
If you are interested in trying Paper Pumpkin, it is just the right time because the next two month’s kits will coordinate for the holidays! The October 2019 Kit will be 10 cards and the November Kit will be 24 holiday-themed gift tags of 4 various sizes and designs. Sounds like fun to me! I can guarantee you will be glad to have 10 extra cards, even if you are making some on your own, just in case! I know I always have a few more people I want to send cards to. And we all will need gift tags!
The cost of each monthly kit is $22 plus tax but that includes shipping. In your first kit, you will receive an acrylic block made for Paper Pumpkin with which to mount the stamps. In all the kits you will receive an exclusive stamp set, an ink spot, adhesives, and all the materials to make the project, whatever it is! No need to design something yourself or order supplies you don’t have……it’s all in the box! Just open and craft! And of course, you will have the stamp set and ink spot to use in the future. In fact, the ink spots are great to use with the Stamparatus!
October is coming up tomorrow and the important date to remember is October 10th! And then November 10th, if you don’t subscribe in October! But I suggest subscribing by October 10th so you receive both kits and will be ready for Christmas! Do it today so you don’t forget!
