Paper Pumpkin February 2016: Hello Sunshine

Hello Sunshine INDEED! Don't hate me, but the weather here has been GORGEOUS!!! I'm DEFINITELY in the mood for a little springtime creating. I'm even this close to breaking out my shorts, but first I need some self-tanner on these glow-in-the-dark legs of mine! (Redhead curse) 

I was so excited to get my Paper Pumpkin kit on Friday! This kit is SO fun! The stamps are so versatile. Such a cute font with some GREAT sentiments! I think almost every occasion is covered with this one!

My plan was to put all the cards together following the instructions. But, my sheet of leaf stickers wasn't working. :( (It's ok, I called Stampin' Up! and they're sending me a new kit!!! Best customer service EVAH!!!) So I settled for stamping all the sentiments on the precut banners and made 2 fun birthday cards! (P.S. I LOVE the fun envelopes that came in the kit! I'm going to start making ALL my envelopes that pretty!!!)

 I just added a bit of sponging around the banners with Watermelon Wonder and Mint Macaron.

The sentiments from the new Grateful Bunch stamp set coordinate PERFECTLY for the inside of the card! I also used the flower stamps from the Paper Pumpkin set to dress up the inside.

Maybe while I'm waiting for my replacement kit to arrive, I'll play around with the pieces I have and get a little creative. Sometimes you're in the mood to just MAKE something without having to use your brain (a.k.a. follow the instructions) and sometimes you're in the mood to mix it up a little. I love Paper Pumpkin for both those reasons! It's perfect for whatever kind of creative fix you need.

Paper Pumpkin December 2015: One Great Year - January 2016: Cute Conversations

December is always a crazy month, so why did I make it crazier by planning a 1500 mile roadtrip??? Cuz I'm crazy. That's why. I still have projects to catch up on, and decorations to put away. Yep. They're sitting in a corner in the disaster area otherwise known as the playroom, which SHOULD be called the "storage room" since there is no room to play and the toys of choice usually end up downstairs where there's room to play. It's always my last room to clean in the house, because let's be honest...A) the effort is in vain and B) PRIORITIES.

Yes, priorities.

Spending Christmas and New Year's with Anya & Bampa. THIS is why we spent a week driving. (4 days there, 2 or 3 back) And yes, I realize flying would have been less exhausting, but waaaay more expensive (especially when you take into account that we would have had to pay for about a million suitcases. Christmas = STUFF). Anyway,  more on that trip in a later post once I get that mini project life album done! (Hopefully sometime before next Christmas!!!)

Alas, with all the festivities, my Paper Pumpkin has taken a backseat. In fact, I think I did bring it along in the backseat... and never got around to playing with it. Until now. Well, I still haven't put December's kit together, but the kids had fun making their own creative Valentine's with January's kit.

It was so much fun watching them grin as they made special Valentine's for each person in our family. Normally, I would have been cringing as they smudged that ink or glued that embellishment in the "wrong" spot, but this time I let go and enjoyed the memories being made. Because, hey, priorities. There's also the fact that my yearly theme happens to be Let Go...well it's more than that. It can only be explained by a picture:

 or two.

I'm pretty sure I gasped so loud that I stopped breathing for a minute when I first saw this. Love it. It represents so much. It reminds me that I'm not just letting go, I'm putting my faith in God. The creator of mountains and oceans created me and is aware of me. He will work wonders if I will stand back and LET him take control. I can't wait to see where we will go.

Bonjour Birthday Girl!

Remember that one time I said I was going to make a big stack of birthday cards from the It's My Party DSP stack so I'd never send a late card again? Yeah...it hasn't happened yet, so this card is late! But it's CLOSE! I'm sending it to my awesome Mom ON her birthday. (And she loves me just the way I am, so she won't mind that it's late. Anyway, it'll still be her birthday week, so technically it's not late. Right?)

Oh Sale-a-Bration how we LOVE you!!!! The beautiful Wildflower Fields paper (AND the stamps were free products from this years Sale-a-Bration! Technically, it's two different stamp sets because I got it in both English and French. Even my non-French speaking friends and family understand a few words like bonjour or merci, so I like to get both languages just for fun. :) 

I stamped in Versamark and embossed in gold. (Yes I'm obsessed.) I thought the vellum was perfect for highlighting "bonjour" and not hiding all that beautiful paper! Cuz if I'm gonna cut into that gorgeous stuff, I am NOT hiding it! haha!

I added a few fun flowers with the new blossom bunch punch to soften it just a little and added a metal rimmed pearl to the center of each one.

The inside is also embossed with a great sentiment from the Watercolor Wishes set. (What else do you say to the best Mom in the world???) I love that script/brush lettering! And even better that it's not EXACTLY like the lettering on the front. Definitely gives it more of a handmade feel. :)

Maybe I'll make a stack of these without the birthday sentiments to have on hand for every occasion. (After I get that stack of birthday cards ready...of course.) It's a great layout to use with all different kinds of DSP!

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What's a Birthday Without CAKE???

I love, love, LOVE the new It's My Party collection from Stampin' Up! My goal is to use it all up and make a STASH of birthday cards so I'll never send one late again! The colors work for anyone. You can make it super girly with the melon mambo, or use the mint macaron or delightful dijon for a more masculine touch. I made this one for my younger brother who was turning 35. Dang. That sounds so old!

I FINALLY got to use that cute party hat in the hostess set Silhouettes and Scripts from the annual catalog. The new bakers twine makes a cute pom-pom topper.

The front was pretty simple, so I made sure to carry the design to the inside of the card.

LOVE the new Wink of Stella brushes! Just brush it directly on your stamp and you've got some sparkle! (This was the gold pen.)

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2016 Occasions & SAB SNEAK PEEK!!!

Oh my goodness!!!! This is one of the reasons I LOVE being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator! Not only do we get to see new products coming out, we get to buy them before they're available AND we can even get them free!!! More than half of the products shown in this post I got for free! (But of course, I want it all, so I had to buy more! HAHA!) You want in on the free stuff and fun? Click here.

Now, on to the goodies.

So, I'm still figuring out the video thing, and I realize now I should have zoomed in closer to the product. I'll do better next time I promise. The good news is I'll post pictures here so you can stare at them/drool over them/print them out to hang on your fridge as a not so subtle hint to your favorite gift giver. (You're welcome.)

Remember, unless you're a demonstrator, these products are available starting January 5th. Contact me to place your order! (Or if you happen upon this post after January 5th, just click here.) Also, check back often to see samples made with these products!

Paper Pumpkin November 2015: Mistletoe & Holly

Thank goodness it's finally December!!! For the last few weeks I have not wanted to TOUCH my Christmas card-making supplies! (It's not as bad as it sounds actually... it's because I've been completely GIDDY over the upcoming Occasions catalog and, of course, Sale-a-Bration!!!) (The most wonderful time of the stampin' year!)  Well, pre-order for demos started TODAY and you better believe my order was placed by 4AM thanks to a little mosquito. It sounds weird, but I'm serious. An actual mosquito was buzzing in my ear. I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I'd make the best of it!) Stay tuned for a fun little box opening video next week! I'm so excited!!!

While I'm off topic, I might as well mention that if you're NOT a demo yet, there IS a way to see (and better yet ORDER, and best yet GET FOR FREE) products from the upcoming catalogs! Starting today, when you buy the starter kit you can choose items from these catalogs! Oh yeah, TOTALLY worth it! Click here for more info on that.

Anyway, so with new products finally making their way to my hands, my Christmas card making has once again taken priority. Luckily, I made a BUNCH of Christmas cards throughout the year (including 18 shaker cards from the To You & Yours Kit) so I'm not too far behind. AND luckily, last month's Paper Pumpkin has all kinds of Christmas cuteness inside, INCLUDING a NOEL stamp!!!! It was love at first sight for sure.

As usual, the cards made following the included instructions are super cute! I might even finish the box up as designed so I can get my cards mailed out in the next week! But, it WAS super fun to play with other Christmas supplies.

Like the Snow Place set:

and the stars confetti punch:

Ooooh and a tip on these block images! I love the white ink, but it was a little....juicy. So I inked up the stamp and then used a push pin to quickly wipe out the excess ink of each letter so they were readable. You'll also notice a little scrap of fun Christmas paper from the Home For Christmas Designer Series Paper. Love that stuff! It's scattered all over my desk with other fun Christmas goodies.  Speaking of goodies, here's a little treat to make life a little easier: your monthly printable case insert. Don't forget to subscribe by email (top right) to get notified at the exact time I post next month's insert! That will ALSO make your life a little easier. We take what we can get, right?

As always, make sure to right click and save as a photo, that will make your printing process so much easier. I can't tell you the specifics of your printer, but you'll just print it as you would a regular full page photo.

Feel free to share with your Paper Pumpkin subscribing friends by referring them back to my website as the source for the printable case insert. Thank you! (And if by some strange reason you yourself have not yet subscribed to Paper Pumpkin, subscribe here!) Thanks again for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the magic of December!

Beautiful Fall Color Inspiration

Nothing like a little color challenge to get the creativity flowing! Today's inspiration comes from my friend Olivia. Follow her here on Instagram: https://instagram.com/carre_sucre/ She's an amazing person. One of the nicest, sweetest people I know, and so talented!!! Go look at her pictures and be amazed! I saw this picture of hers and was seriously blown away. BEAUTIFUL colors and so unusual for fall!!! I LOVE IT!!!

Photo by carre_sucre on Instagram

Surprising colors for fall leaves right? Do you SEE that Watermelon Wonder in there??? Have you noticed how amazing Watermelon Wonder is yet??? It goes with SO many other colors! You just have to play around with it and try some unusual combos. I promise you will be amazed! It's surprisingly versatile! Here is a card I made using these beautiful colors and fall theme AND last month's Paper Pumpkin! Still dying over the beauty of those sentiment stamps, while I'm impatiently waiting for this month's box of wonder! (Today might be the day! Fingers crossed!)

I totally, on ACCIDENT, switched the Elegant Eggplant to Blackberry Bliss. Shhhh. I bet the card would have been even better with the Eggplant though. It's just a tad brighter, which is what I was blown away with in the inspiration photo! (I know! I feel like I just cheated on my Blackberry Bliss!!! Don't tell!!!) Now go try this unusual Fall combo and let me see what you come up with! I loved the combo so much I immediately stamped it in my planner. Ohhhhhh don't even get me started on stamping in my planner!!! TOTALLY ADDICTED. (I'll have to post more later, but just know that I use the Project Life Stamps ALL. THE. TIME. in my planner! (And yes, I realize that punctuation didn't make any sense, but we do what we can to get the point across. Am I right?)

Here are all the products I used to make this card (except for the fact that the Blissful Bouquet Refill Kit does NOT include the stamps, I just wanted to show you which kit I used! That's the thing with Paper Pumpkin! You can buy refills or sometimes the whole kit you missed out on if you're a subscriber, but it's no guarantee which ones will be available or for how long!) (You should probably just sign up right now so you don't miss out! Just sayin'!)