Thursday, April 30, 2020

A Paper Pumpkin Thing: My Wonderful Family


Welcome Paper Pumpkin fans to another "A Paper Pumpkin Thing" Blog Hop.  For this fabulous family themed kit, while there were two card designs, there was an abundance of elements to mix and match to make all kinds of alternative projects.


While crafting with this kit I added a few extra items to complete my varied cards.  First, when I create with any PP kit I pull out the full size ink pads in all or most of the colors in the kit.  For this past kit I grabbed Pear Pizzazz, Mint Macaron, Early Espresso, Shaded Spruce, and Melon Mambo Ink Pads.  I also used: Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Mosaic Mood Designer Series Paper, Perennial Essence 12" x 12" Vellum Cardstock, Leaf Punch, Nature's Twine Combo Pack, and So Saffron, Mint Macaron, and Melon Mambo Cardstocks. 

For this first card I cut the pale green blossom section and the bottom Shaded Spruce Pattern panel off the pre-printed card base.  I cut the Shaded Spruce into two pieces.  One as a narrow strip and the second as a wide flag cut.  Both were added to frame the blossom panel.  All of that was mounted on a side fold Mint Macaron card base.


This card is super sweet in real life.  I simply turned the Z fold style card to a portrait orientation and then had fun adding stamped and pre-printed images to the card.



Of all the cards I made with this kit, this next one is my favorite.  I used the Leaf Punch and the Perennial Essence 12" 12" Vellum to create the foliage for the tree trunk.  That pack of vellum is a perfect match for this kit.



Okay this card is super cute and all I did was cut off one section of the pre-printed Z fold card base to make a pocket style card.  Just glue up the sides and use the portion cut off to decorate and tuck into the pocket.  I will note that the Melon Mambo scallop edge is glued tight to the top part of the pocket.



Here's another pocket style card using the second style pre-printed card base.



I have one last project to share with you and that's my top fold "pizza" style box.  For the bottom I used a 7" x 7.25" rectangle of Mosaic Mood Specialty DSP which I scored at 1.5" on all four sides.
Cut tabs and fold on the scorelines to form the box bottom and attach to the blossom panel to make the entire box.  You can see I also added three Mint Macaron labels from the Stitched So Sweetly Dies to give heft and structure to the box.



My family is wonderful!  That includes my immediate, distant, church, work, and stamp family members--I love them all.  This month's kit is filled with a full array of imagery, cut outs, and greetings that when combined are perfect for anybody in my family.  Join the A Paper Pumpkin Thing family and stop along for this month's hop--you will love it.


Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Right Sided Sketch for Hand Stamped Sentiments


Are you in need of a sketch to get your creative juices flowing?  Or, is your head spinning with so many ideas that you need a bit of direction to stamp your next project?  If so, this sketch is really cool.  If you check out what's happening over at Hand Stamped Sentiments you will find our latest challenge AND I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did.


To make this card I used stamps, bits and pieces, and leftovers from the latest Paper Pumpkin Kit My Wonderful Family.  I started with a Thick Whisper White top fold card base.  Then I added a layer of Whisper White cut with one of the Rectangle Stitched Dies.  On a separate sheet of Whisper White I sponged the tree trunk with Early Espresso Ink and stamped the leaf image twice to create the tree top  of leaves.  My ink colors for the leaves include Pear Pizzazz, Mint Macaron, and Blushing Bride.


For the sponged tree trunk I used the remnant from the kit as a stencil.  I taped off the sides so I wouldn't get any over sponging on my project.


The birds and pearls are leftovers from the My Wonderful Family Paper Pumpkin Kit.


Sunday, April 26, 2020

Monday Montage Makin' Old Kits


What have you been stamping lately?  With this pesky Rona virus I have been spending time putting together lots of older Paper Pumpkin kits that I hadn't completed when they arrived.  I have finished all my kits except two Halloween boxes and it feels good to have a beautiful abundant stash of cards.

These cards I'm sharing here were made with two kits.  All of the paper products were from the Wildflower Wishes Paper Pumpkin Kit from February of 2018.  Since I couldn't find the stamps or the instructions for the kit I used stamps from the Soft Sayings All Inclusive Kit.


For these two cards below I added wide packing tape to the back side of the die cut tags sticky side up.  I coated the tape with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and then backed them with colorful cardstock. I love the look.  They are soft and shimmery and super sophisticated.



Coming up is the lovely Julie Warnick.  Or, if you work backwards like I tend to you'll be visiting with Dani.  Enjoy the hop and be stamp happy!

to Dani
to Julie








Monday Montage Hoppers

Friday, April 24, 2020

#TGIF261 Use Your Words

This is a challenge I haven't seen before... "Use your words" to express, enhance, and embellish your cards.  Okay, I can do that because I love die cut words.  Join us at #TGIF261 and use your die cut words then link up with us.



I started with the die cut word "love" from the Well Written Dies which I cut a dozen from a piece of Sparkle Shimmer Paper.  My plan was to glue them on a piece of Whisper White, but I can never keep it simple and that scrap of Sparkle Paper from the die cuts was laying there begging to be used as a stencil.  So, I grabbed some ink pads and sponges and I created my own custom piece of background paper.  To complete my background paper I glued the Sparkle "love" die cuts to random sponged loves.




Friday, April 17, 2020

#TGIF260 Belly Bands

Belly bands around a card or package is a technique that I use regularly.  I love being able to create a  little something extra to make opening that much more fun and even suspenseful for the receiver.  Check out our latest challenge at #TGIF260 for lots more inspiration for whipping up belly bands.







Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Big Time Birthday Balloons


There could not be a more perfect inspiration challenge for stampers that one for birthdays!  And that is just what we have for you at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I drew two bits of inspiration from this challenge's style board.  One, the big bouquets of balloons and two, the teal and coral tones with vellum.




Sunday, April 12, 2020

Monday Montage "Hello Friend"


Happy Easter stamp friends!  Have you added Seriously the Best Stamp Set to your stash of images?  It really is a super cool set that I have totally enjoyed.  This card is all about a sponge brayered background enhanced with some lacy floral die cuts and Red Rhinestones.


I used the Poppy Moments Dies to cut the Poppy Parade, Coastal Cabana, and Daffodil Delight floral pieces.  And for the label I used the Stitched So Sweetly Dies.  I think the Gold Embossing Powder was a perfect tie to the gold embossed Flowering Foils SAB Specialty Paper.

to Dani
to Melissa

Monday Montage Hoppers

Friday, April 10, 2020

#TGIF259 Pigments and Pineapple

Our latest sketch challenge at #TGIF259 is super cool.  Check it out.



Have you ever made a card that stands out to you and seems to have the extra something that just makes it super awesome?  For me, this is one of those cards.  It came together very organically and with such ease.  I love the bright and crisp color palette and how the die cuts give the card such spunk and style.  To give the card both visual and actual texture I used Pigment Sprinkles for the pineapple, the Coastal Weave EF for the background, and 5/16" Braided Burlap Trim with a Linen Thread bow.




Sunday, April 5, 2020

Stampin' Fancy Friday & Fancy Folds


The challenge theme this month for anyone who would like to stamp along with the Stampin' Fancy Friday Team is "fancy folds."  I thought it would be fun to fold a strip of DSP into a series of box pleats to add some flair and dimension to my card.


I started with a Soft Seafoam card base with a top fold and then layered a panel of textured vellum. For the box pleated detail I used two strips, glued end to end, of 2"x 6" 2019-2021 In Color DSP. First, I scored and pleated my paper then trimmed it to fit across the bottom of my card.

My favorite part of the card is the bunny and floral focal point and how they have been showcased with tall blades of grass.  I used images from Wildly Happy and Painted Poppies which I stamped with Basic Grey and then watercolored them with an Aquapainter and Bashful Blue, Soft Seafoam, and Highland Heather Inks.  For the tall grass I used the Friendly Silhouettes Dies.

To pull it all together I used the Painted Label Dies, Mint Macaron 1/8" Sheer Ribbon, the Classic Label Punch, and a strip of Silver Glimmer Paper.