Paper Pumpkin Bonus Stamp Set

Last month Paper Pumpkin celebrated it's birthday and milestone subscriber count by including an extra stamp set "All About Everything"- and I like 'everything' about it ;) It has some beautiful watercolored flowers in it, and lots of fun sayings centered around the word 'everything'. So much fun!

I pulled it out to make a quick Mother's Day card for my mother-in-law (you'll see my mother's card here very soon...). I am just ticked pink with how it turned out!

I stuck with a spring pastel color palette, and then added a pop of color with a piece of ruffled ribbon I had left-over. I love the butterfly texture folder in the background too- I think it adds just the perfect amount of dressiness.

Instead of using a sentiment from the 'everything' kit, I opted for a something a little more traditional for the mother's day purpose. I found the perfect saying in the Garden in Bloom stamp set. "Hope You're Feeling Special Today...". Isn't that just cute for the occasion?!

Flutterby again soon! The next Creative Inking Blog Hop is just around the corner.

Paper Pumpkin Calendar

As long as I'm getting you caught up on what I've made with recent paper pumpkin boxes I may as well keep going :) Besides, by the end of the week we will have a new fun kit to play with so I'll be busy with that soon!

Flashback to the December Paper Pumpkin. This seemed to be a love it, or hate it box for people. Some absolutely loved it- and they were the ones who helped the refills sell out in less than a day!! Then there were other's who just didn't like the idea of a calendar... although most I believe are now happily turning them into cards.

I personally stuck with the calendar idea. Since I couldn't make one 'as per the instructions' and still have more to play with I kinda half followed directions and half strayed off-path on the whole thing :) Here is what my final project looked like:

As you can see I turned all my cards on their side. I just liked the landscape view better- and besides, then they are perfect to slip into project life albums as the monthly title slots! Double purpose :)

As for the designs on the calendars themselves, I mostly stuck to the themes from the directions. I did swap around a couple of the backgrounds just for what made more sense seasonally to me. Also, I had to change the direction of some of the embellishments so that they would fit on the landscape cards. Otherwise, I mostly kept things in the same groupings as suggested.

I did, however, stick to stamping the month right on top of the numbers for every card. I really liked how that looked, and was didn't want to loose it with the banners that you could put over the top on some of the designs. So now I've got some left over pieces to play with too!

Hope you enjoy my alternative designs. If you haven't gotten your kit together yet, there is no time like the present!! Don't wait to long or those calendar designs will no longer be current!!

Flutterby again soon!

More Paper Pumpkin Valentine Inspiration

Alright, you've got a couple days left before Valentine's day. It is time to clear out the rest of that Paper Pumpkin box from last month! Besides, a new one will be here before you know it, so it really is time to finish up :)

Here is what I created with the rest of my box (click the image to see it larger)

I just love having banners on my fireplace. It really dresses up our front room, and is such an easy decoration to make (not to mention fun!).

Pretty much everything here came from the Paper Pumpkin box. The only thing I added were two heart punches to make the smaller hearts (sweetheart punch and itty bitty heart punch). I didn't even have to sacrifice any of my big hearts to make the little ones (wow- that could sound creepy if you read it wrong). I punched all the little bits out of the scratch paper left after the precut pieces were removed. There is ALOT there to play with!

Here are a couple close ups of the designs I came up with. I pretty much just played with throwing things together until I got visuals I liked ;)

So, now, go grab your red box and finish up those Valentine projects too. Happy Heart Day!

Flutterby again soon!

Paper Pumpkin Inspiration

I know I mentioned that I've been busy with My Paper Pumpkin lately. I don't think I have any supplies left in my last three boxes... except maybe a few scraps here and there. :) I have just been loving what they send to us, even if I don't stick to 'the plan' perfectly ;)

Here are the valentines I made my family with the most recent january kit:

You can see that for the kiddos two pouches I stuck pretty close to the directions. Stamp, stick together, decorate, and done! But the more I looked at these heart shapes, the less I saw 'conversation hearts' and the more I saw an old fashioned doily heart :) Which brought me to the special one I made for the hubby.

To get the ruffled edge I grabbed two doilies and cut off the edge. Then I added some fast fuse along the whole back edge of my heart. Starting at the bottom point I attached the doily edging to the heart, adding a little ruffling here and there to keep the paper straight along the edge. Then when I got to the rounded part it followed the curve of the doily quite nicely on its own (although I still ruffled it a little, just to keep it consistent). I repeated the process on the other side with the second doily edge and it was complete :)

I did also add a couple of rhinestones to this one- just to give it a little extra sparkle :) Now, I've got to find some fun candy to fill these hearts up with for my three sweethearts!

Flutterby again soon to see what I did with the rest of my kit!

Fall Paper Pumpkin

In the words of Piglet "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" I'm so behind in sharing my Paper Pumpkin alternate projects! The October kits are already arriving and I still need to show you September! So hold on, here we go. Whee!

I always try to use elements from the kit with little else, that way you can achieve the same looks :) This month I added some Very Vanilla cardstock, and pulled in some ink spots from prior months, but that is it.

I found the easiest way to add the fringe to the card was to put adhesive on the back of the purple strip (cut from the label leftovers) and lay that down on the fringe. Then I cut the fringe to the length I wanted.

Hope you enjoy these extra ideas today! Now finish up last months kit so you can start on the beautiful pink boxes arriving in mailboxes this week :)

Flutterby again soon!

June Paper Pumpkin: Xtra Ideas for the Pennants

I was really excited to play around with the pennant pieces and see what other ideas I could come up with. Hope you like the inspiration too!

For the first alternate sample I made the smaller pennant per the directions. However, I used a half sheet of Tip Top Taupe cardstock for the base instead. I really like how it turned out with the darker background- I think it made the flags pop out even more than on the original (which I already loved!).

And of course when given pennants who can resist making a banner for a card :) This one was super simple- I used part of the envelope liner for a base (attached to some white cardstock). Then I placed my pennants in the curve I wanted. After that all I had to do was glue down a little twine, add some knots on top to the joints, and stamp the little flag. I cut the points of the flag by hand, but was wishing I had the new Triple Flag Punch to make the job even easier!

Did you love this month's Paper Pumpkin as much as I did? I'm for sure ordering extras!!

Flutterby again soon!

June Paper Pumpkin: Xtra Ideas for the Flowers

After making two sets of the cards as per directions (one with my kiddos and one on my own) I was inspired by the pieces to play around and try out other designs.

My first alternate is very similar to the original for the sticker layout. However, this time instead of using the square they provided I cut the tip off of one of the pennant shaped cards to use for my layer. Also, instead of using the twine bunching idea I decided to use it wrapped around the layer.

Also, I was inspired by some of the samples I saw popping up on Pinterest to add a little punched butterfly to my card. I thought it was fun to use the twine for the body and antenna too :)

For this second sample I used one of the little pennants for the top layer. I cut out one of the border pieces left on the sticker sheet to use as a frame for the flower. Also, instead of the button I put the white circle on top of the flower- stamped with the dots from the center of the big flower stamp- and then placed the circle that punches out of the center of the flower on the very top. I thought the dimension of it turned out real nice :)

I also used some of the paper from the envelope liners in the background. I find that you don't really need it to go all the way into the envelope, so it is fun to use the extra length to play with!

I've got more ideas for the pennant card layout coming up.

Flutterby again soon!

June Paper Pumpkin

I was so very excited when my little red box of happiness arrived this month. I had seen the video on YouTube of what was coming and couldn't wait for it to get here! So much cuteness this month :)

This month we got to make two different card designs (enough supplies to make four of each). The first one was cutsie and girly- and I absolutely loved it! The flowers are just so adorable and the color scheme is bright and cheery. And I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this bunch of string technique that is so popular right now :)

The second card was much more manly and I could see it making a good guy birthday card. And heaven knows I always need more of those! After seeing this design I now 'may' have to get the petite pennant punch. Oh, and do you see those fun wooden pieces? The kit even came with an extra set, so I'm gonna have leftovers to play with. Yippee!

Flutterby again soon to see some of the other cards I made with this month's kit!

Paper Pumpkin and Chocolate- Yum!

I wanted to have some little thank you treats on hand, and April's paper pumpkin kit seemed up to the task :)

I was able to make 4 of these cute little ghiradelli chocolate holders from one yellow and one blue card piece. I first cut them both in half at the scored line. Then the yellow I cut again the short way and the blue the long way (that left a little bit of a tail of the blue to fold around to the back and secure the staple). Then, the stamped portion is just one of the white pieces cut into 4 strips.

I stamped it up using the inks from the April kit and stamps from both the April and March kit (hey Thanks and the stripe along the bottom are April; A Lot and the little star are from March). Then I tied some little bows using left over string from the April kit and attached to the chocolate using a staple. Super cute right?!

Now any time I need to give a quick 'Thanks!' I've got just the treat ready :)

Flutterby again soon!

Special Paper Pumpkin Announcement!

Did you tune in Friday night for the Paper Pumpkin livestream?!? Until 6:50pm (MT) tomorrow, May 9th, new subscribers can get their first month of Paper Pumpkin for only $5! What!!! That is amazing! And they even show the kit that they will be getting (It is AMAZING- have I said amazing enough yet!). Check it out on the replay :)

Isn't that a beautiful kit! And even if you only want just this one month you can try it for just $5. If you decide you don't like it then cancel it before the June kit is sent out. But as my daughter says, "if you try it I bet you'll like it" :)

But in all seriousness, why not give it a try for a month? For only $5 it is a steal and would be fun for birthday gifts for all the kiddos in your life. You can't even buy cards or gift bags at the store for that price :)

So if you want to give it a try, just click this button below and sign up. And if you need any help be sure to drop me a line. Don't forget to use the promo code 24HOURS.

Flutterby again soon!

April Paper Pumpkin

Have you seen this month's Paper Pumpkin yet? It is so cute!

The day it arrived my mini crafter helped me make up a set of the tags. Aren't they just cute! She was so excited- I even let her ink up her own stamps and scatter it about the card to her hearts content. She has been carrying our projects around with her and hanging them all over the house :)

Here is an shot of my card out of it's hanger. So sweet looking right :)

Just a little over a week ago I attended the Creative Connections event for MN demos and it was a blast! They showed how to make a pop-up card for one of the demonstrations, and I thought the idea would work perfectly with this kit. Here is how it turned out (with the help of my tiniest crafter- less than 2!)

Closed all you can see is the little hey message poking out. But then you pull up on the message and TA DA!

It can stand on it's own :) Isn't that adorable!

To recreate this look score your card ever 1 1/4" from the center fold. In the center cut all but the outside 1/4"- then slide your stamped sheet through this slit.

Proceed to fold at all the scoremarks inward- then glue the outermost two panels together with the bottom edge of your stamped sheet between them. Then all you have to do is embellish as desired! I found that the belly band from the tag was just the right length to decorate the three front panels (the middle strip is much shorter, but you can't tell with the bow over the end).

Hope you enjoyed this new idea for your PP this month. Flutterby again soon!

Layers of Gratitude Paper Pumpkin

I've been wanting to share this creation with you FOREVER... afterall, I made it the day my Paper Pumpkin kit arrived this month. But, you know how it is when life gets busy. I finally got some good pictures though, so here goes!

When this month's Paper Pumpkin arrived I was IN LOVE with the cute stamps. And two inks- WOW. The felt letters were also very cool :) But the layout just wasn't quite me. I had fun making them 'per the directions' with my kiddos... but I wanted to try out something else too.

So, I cut up one of the cards into 4 smaller pieces to make a set of thank you cards to give as a gift. I also grabbed some Tangelo Twist ink to replace the felt letters on these smaller cards. What do you think of the final product?

This was my favorite of the cards, along with the box. I love how the yellow stamp gives a watercolor look if you stamp it off multiple times.

And here are the rest of the cards to go with it:

And of course the insides:

It was so much fun to play with these stamps! Just layer them up and it is hard to go wrong :)

So what did you do with your kit last month? Not to much longer until another orange box is on its way- Excitement!

Flutterby again soon!

Valentine's Paper Pumpkin

I was SO EXCITED to get the January edition of Paper Pumpkin. I was in need of something cute for my kiddos Valentine's and boy did Paper Pumpkin deliver! We created a ton of different variations with this kit, and I can't wait to share them all with you!

First off, I made a couple per the directions. Aren't they adorable!!

And a little close-up of all the shiny beauty :)

But my daughter is only 4 and my son 1... so I didn't want to use all those clips for kids so young. In addition, my daughter and hubby had picked out some cute 'Frozen' hearts for her Valentine candy, and they didn't fit in the bags that came with. So this is what we came up with for her:

First off, I used some of the bigger cello bags I had. Then I cut the banners in half and stapled them on the bags sideways. We also added the little flags from the hearts sideways too. Elli had a blast helping me out with these :)

Then for my li'l man I had a bunch of the bags left over. I love the size of these bags- they are perfect for filling with candy (minus the hearts that my daughter had to have of course). I really hope they put these in the catalog next year!

So, back to my son's valentine. I pulled out some of the leftover DSP from my stack last year, added the matching stamp and punch, and it turned out great! I especially love the little label punch sticking out the sides of the sentiment :)

   Last, but not least, I had some extra pieces left still. So I decided to treat my class this month to a little grown-up chocolate. Yum :)

Now go and finish up your Valentine's! Flutterby again soon :)

Paper Pumpkin is on SALE!

Have you heard the great news yet? During Sale-a-bration the 3 month Paper Pumpkin Subscription is on SALE!!

That means you can make all the cute stuff I've been showing you each month for less- and you even get to pick out one of the Sale-a-bration products for FREE too :)  What's not to like!

Hurry, offer only goes until March 31st!

Wish Big Birthday

Ever since Stampin' Up! improved the contents of the monthly Paper Pumpkin kit I have been in love! They are just so fun to do and I love that they come with everything I need (read- I don't have to dig around in my craft room to decide on supplies why my kids get antsy).

And now that they offer refill kits it is WONDERFUL because it means I can experiment with more projects to make with the kit and then share them in a class setting :) This month I used the Wish Big kit for a Birthday card class and had so much fun creating with it. Just check out all we did.

First everyone got to make one card and box per the instructions (or at least really close):

Then this is where it got fun. I gathered up some ideas from pinterest and mashed them all together to come up with extras to make. Like this adorable full size card:

And we also made a set of gift tag size cards in a cute little box. The one with the dangling star is my absolute favorite!

Want to create along with me? The only supplies I needed outside the kit for this class where:
Whisper White Paper
Blackberry Bliss Paper
2 1/2" Circle Punch
Lucky Stars Texture Folder
Dimensionals

Flutterby again son!

Boo!!

When I saw the Frightful Wreath in the Holiday mini catalog I KNEW I wanted to make one, and I ordered it right away. Then of course I hid it from Elli 'cause I knew she would want to make it right away... and I didn't want a Halloween wreath hanging on my door in August :)

Apparently out of sight is out of mind for me too :P It just dawned on me this past weekend that I still hadn't made it with her! So we had us some fun today during naptime yesterday.

I love how easy this kit comes together. Elli didn't actually end up helping much (she was in more of a wild mood- not the best for projects :)  ) but after she went down for her nap too I had it done in a little over half an hour.

And it gave me an excuse to use my September Paper Pumpkin stamps again, as well as some of the extra stickers from that kit. Didn't it turn out adorable!

I know it is too late to order and make for Halloween this year- but you could always delight Trick-or-Treaters with it next time around. If you love it make sure to order it soon- it will be gone with the Holiday catalog.

Flutterby again soon!

There was a Pumpkin in my Mailbox!

And no, it wasn't the orange round kind :) As much as I LOVE those types of pumpkins (in fact there are 4 on my porch right now- I love fall decor!) THIS pumpkin was much more fun.

This pumpkin meant playtime for me and my girly on Saturday afternoon. I think it is awesome that these projects are designed with a beginner in mind- which makes them great for kids to help out. And yet even though they are simple, they are also super cute! And with pinterest there are so many other ideas for what you can do with your kit if you want to step it up even more.

This month's kit was geared towards Thanksgiving next month. Check out the super cute stamp set. My favorite is the one on the right :) If only it were true!

And the project was.... Pie Boxes! Complete with a pom-pom puff for the 'whipped cream'. Here are our completed boxes. Adorbs right?

And I just couldn't resist a selfie. Elli LOVES taking selfies (actually both of my kids do- and if they get their hands on my phone will take them 50+ at a time... Yikes!). Can't you just tell this girl loves craft time with her Mommy. Thank you Paper Pumpkin for making that possible :)

Flutterby again soon!

My Very First Paper Pumpkin

I told you awhile back that I was a convert- Paper Pumpkin is awesome! So I signed up and received my first kit last month. Yippee!!!

I was ready to tear into this pretty paper right away, but as I came in from the mailbox my darling daughter was being reprimanded by her daddy... Hmm, probably not the best time to reward her with our little monthly treat.

After she went to bed I at least had to peek inside to see what awaited us. I wasn't disappointed. This stamp set is so AWESOME for Halloween. You can bet I'll be using it a bunch!

Finally, while my son was napping the other day I had a chance to sit down with my daughter and make our project. I think they turned out adorable :) I can't wait to see what next month brings!

Flutterby again soon!

Paper Pumpkin Scraps Banner

Another lake weekend, and another Paper Pumpkin project ;)

Over Labor Day weekend those tags were just begging me to create a banner. I had it all figured out in my head- I would use the left over tags from the April kit and the leftover letters and starbursts from the February bag kit. But now what to write on it...

Well, the colors looked so cool and snowy to me that I figured a winter saying would fit perfectly. And we had just enough spots for "Baby it's Cold" (this left me singing the Sinatra song all weekend of course, LOL!).

Don't you just love it! It is hard to get a long picture of it all at once, so here it is folded up a bit:

I just love the way the chevron stamp from the April kit looks with the stripes from February.

I 'sponged' the edges of the tag using a cotton ball. Although I was able to achieve the look, I must warn you- DON'T sponge with a cotton ball! It was not an easy process and my fingers turned all blue :)  After that endeavor I was going to leave the edges of the circles alone, but my mom managed to find a bit of sponge to use 'for real.' Then she helped me out by finishing off the circles while I assembled.

Of course we couldn't leave all the little hearts unused, so we scattered them across the banner too. I love how the color accents the blues and greens, and it gives it a good lovey dovey feel to go with the song lyrics :)

Hope you enjoyed the banner today. Flutterby again soon!

April Paper Pumpkin (Part 2)

As I showed you last time, the April Paper Pumpkin kit (which I borrowed from my Mom when I was in need of some "Mommy Time" at the lake) made this adorable picture frame (complete with a wrapping sleeve).

But once I finished it I still had TONS of leftovers. There was still another heart and flag die-cut, as well as another button and tons of the twine left; not to mention 11 more tags! So I grabbed some white cardstock and got my creative juices flowing.

First, I created a card to match the frame. I loved making the 'For You' sentiment on the bottom have depth by stamping it twice and then cutting out the flag to mount on dimentionals.

But I couldn't stop there. The heart die-cut still had both the inside heart and the outside frame just begging to be created with. First I used the 'frame' to make a negative space card. Same basic layout, with just a touch of twine tied around the side to make it cutsie :)

And then I altered the layout slightly once again for the inside heart. This time I layered one of the smaller hearts and some twine ontop of it. I love how that turned out.

And here is the sweet little heart just a little bit closer:

That makes 1 frame and 5 cards with this kit already (only extra needed was white cardstock) and I still haven't even used the remaining 11 tags. I left those for my mom to play with, it being her kit and all ;) Although... if she doesn't use it I 'may' just have to make an adorable little banner with it.

Did you know that right now this kit is even available to order? So if you missed it you can still get it too! Yay! But you do have to be a Paper Pumpkin subscriber- so sign up today (remember the first two kits are even half off) and let me know you want this past kit ordered as well. I'll get you hooked up :)

To check out Paper pumpkin just click here:

Have a wonderful day, and flutterby again soon!