Don't Miss Paper Pumpkin!

It's a magical paper escape every month!  Sweep away the mundane - your creativity carriage awaits!

I'm Paper Pumpkin . . . I come to your door each month (a fully decked-out creativity carriage).  I'll help you to escape your life with some paper fun.  I come in a sweet box, but you'll really love what you find on the inside: All the stamps, ink, paper, and accessories to create pinable projects.  Create stuff like cards, journals, décor, and more!

Paper Pumpkin by Stampin' Up! is a new monthly kit program that anyone (even you) can enjoy!  It's so easy to get started.  Simply sign up for the program by visiting www.mypaperpumpkin.com and click GET IT. Every month a new, surprise project kit arrives at your doorstep.  Just think of the anticipation of creating a fun project to pin, showoff, and share with your friends and family - every month!

The very first Paper Pumpkin will arrive on your doorstep starting in March, if you sign up by March 10 (this Sunday!).

Of course, you'll want to know more.  So here's the nitty gritty:

• Each month we send you a unique, surprise kit with a project - cards, journals, décor, and more! (We've even color-coordinated, measured, and cut everything for you!) 
• Each kit includes stamps, ink, paper, and accessories - everything but adhesive. 
• Each kit gives you a 30-minute creativity escape. We will ship your Paper Pumpkin on or around the 15th of the month.   You need to sign up for a kit by the 10th of the month to get that month's kit.  If you sign up on the 11th of the month, your first kit will come the next month. 
• A Paper Pumpkin membership is $19.95 per month, including shipping!  
• There's no commitment, you can cancel your monthly Paper Pumpkin at anytime. You can also skip a month if you want. 
• Starting in early March, we'll offer a Try-It kit if you'd like to try Paper Pumpkin for one month. 
• And a free gift in your very first kit!  The Welcome Kit is the very first Paper Pumpkin you will receive in your first month of membership, and it includes a free gift - a clear acrylic block!

These exclusive projects are so adorable and only available for one month each.  You won't want to miss any... sign up today!

FM100 Let's Celebrate!

Today is the Friday Mashup's 100th challenge!  Yay!  This week will be fun.  Go back through the last challenges,  pick your favorite, and play!

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:

1. Make a project using "Your Favorite Challenge 1-99".
2. Tell us what you like about the Challenge You picked!
3. Link up for a Chance to win a "$25 Stampin' Up! Gift Certificate".

I went back to FM61, It's All About Scraps!:

1. Make a project using " Scraps of Pattern Paper or Ribbons ".
2. Or Make a " Scrapling ".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a " Scrapling using Scraps or Pattern Paper or Ribbons. ".

What's a scrapling, you ask?  It's a little card, notecard, or tag that you would make out of the scraps that are left from your card stock after making a square card.  If you started with an A2 card base, 4-1/4 x 5-1/2", and then cut it down to make a 4-1/4" square card, there would be a 1-1/4 x 4-1/4" base left.  That's the starting point for your scrapling.  It could also be 1-1/2 x 4-1/4", if you had made a 4 x 4" square card previously. It is lots of fun to decorate this small space!

Here's what I made.

It is actually a CASE from Stampinsilvia on Splitcoaststampers.  So fun to use cute little, yummy images and use up scraps!  LOVE IT!!

Stamps: You're Cherished; Paper: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Bella Rose DSP; Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip;  Accessories: White baker's twine, Button, Scallop edge punch, Curly Label punch, Cupcake builder punch, Sponges, Elegant Lines EF, Perfect Polka Dot EF, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

I'll share a couple other fun scraplings I have made. 

Super quite and fun, and great for sticking in bags for little thank you cards or into lunches for love notes.  Thanks for stopping by!

Sent with Love

When I saw a recent sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch, I knew it was meant for the new set, Sent with Love.  But it took several tries to manage a card with it.

This is the CAS(E) this Sketch sketch I used.

Don't forget, the Sent with Love stamp set and paper is available through April 30.  Even better, the Pretty Bundle is 20% off, including the stamp set, Designer Series Paper, and Calypso Coral twine.

Stamps: Sent with Love; Paper: Whisper White, Sent with Love DSP; Ink: Island Indigo, Calypso Coral; Accessories: Calypso Coral baker's twine, Rhinestone jewel, Small Heart punch, Hearts A Flutter framelits, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mixed Media Challenges

Hi Everyone, I've been playing along with the Mixed Media Challenges on Splitcoaststampers.  It uses a lot of techniques we stampers are already familar with, but I love playing with media I haven't tried yet, such as acrylic paint, and I love getting messy!  :)

 

Actually Missy and I have made this a regular weekend event; we make pages in our Creativity Journals together.  She actually asked me a couple weeks ago if we were going to do a challenge again.  LOVE!

The first two challenges were posted here and here.  But since I moved from cards to journal pages, I've posted most on my SCS gallery.  I thought I'd share a few here to catch you up.

MIX3 - Text paper and red

For reds, I used brick red acrylic paint, Cherry Cobbler ink (splatter and sponging), red card stock, and red washi tape. Mediums include acrylic paint, stamping, and My Digital Studio.

MIX4 - Make water-soluble color move

Watch Dina's video for lots of fun color-moving tricks.  How fun is this drippy water scene?

MIX5 - Masking

Here I used My Digital Studio to add some Project Life-type elements.  I used downloads Box of Chocolates (free) February Wallpaper,  Hello There kit, and Candid Frames, added photos, and printed.

Edit to add: I forgot about this half-page I made a few weeks ago.  My first stab at the Sent with Love set.

Thanks for stopping by!

Technique Tuesday: Faux Paper Lantern & Snake Skin

Do you remember this Chinese New Year card from a few weeks back?

It involved two techniques, faux paper lantern and faux snake skin.  I thought this would be a perfect choice for a recent technique class, as the attendees would get a double-whammy on the technique pages.

I did a faux paper lantern for a technique swap long ago, and I reworked the page here.

There's a pictorial tutorial on this post, in case you missed it.

And here is the faux snake skin technique page, which was also my recent swap at the Binghamton shoebox swap.

I took an angle shot as well so you can see the color variation and the shiny faux surface.  Cool, huh?

Thanks for stopping by!

Step-by-Step MDS Page and a Video

The blog posts have been a bit thinner than usual.  What have I been up to?  Well, on Friday I mentioned the e-cutter I recently obtained.  I've been playing with that for about a week... fun, fun!  But even more time consuming has been the learning curve on creating videos.  Holy Baloney, Tony!  Without the proper software, this is very painful!  I'm currently on a 30-day free trial.  I sure hope Hubby agrees to let me purchase this software which has made my life easier.

Meanwhile, I've had a request to do some step-by-step tutorials of MDS Monday pages to get some beginners going.  I'd be happy to help out, when I have the time.  Warning though, triathlon training season is about a week away, so time will be dwindling very quickly in the near future.

Since I made a video tutorial to accompany by Friday Mashup page, why not start there?  There was a sketch to start with, so I add some sketch elements to my page first.  I'm pretty literal; I add the sketch to the background and start adding punches (Labels Collection 2, flag, circle) directly over the sketch.

From there I pick some patterned papers and draw my color combo from the papers.  I knew I wanted the Spring Fever kit, so I just played with patterns until I found a combo I liked.  This could end up taking a loooong time.

• Delete the sketch from your workspace.
• Add Spring Fever paper to Labels Collection punch (hint: double-click the punch shape to be able to zoom in or out on the pattern in a pop-up window)
• Add Twitterpated paper to flag punch
• Add photo to circle punch
• Adjust the flag size to your liking.  Add a standard drop shadow and change the offset to x=2, y=2.  Copy and paste a second flag.  Angle the flags at 7 and -7 degrees.

• Add Textured Whisper White card stock to the background.
• Add honeycomb stamp from Lemonade Stand kit, Basic Gray, opacity 20%, and send to back.  I had also added a drop shadow, offset x=2, y=2, to make the pattern stand out a little more.
• Add Spring Fever borders and layer behind the Label Collection punch.  Drop shadow offset x=2, y=3.
• Add little bunny and chick graphics.  I had mirrored the chick.  No drop shadow.

 

• Add Very Vanilla designer rosette, recolored Basic Black.  Add drop shadow at opacity ~52%, blur medium, offset x=1, y=1.  (hint: use the align button on top tool bar for quick centering)
• Copy and paste Twitterpated flag punches, resize, and fill with striped Spring Fever paper. (hint: use align button)
• Add "fishtailed" Certainly Celery satin ribbon following the video tutorial below.
• Add a text box.  I actually used a couple text boxes to get the spacing right.  Font: Bodoni MT Conde, Beautiful ES.
  

• Now some tweaking.  I added a white mat to my circular photo, drop shadow offset x=2, y=2, and adjusted the size.
• The Labels background was a bit bright for me.  I changed the opacity to 80%.
• Copy and paste in place the Labels Collection punch.  Edit to 100% opacity, fill with Whisper White color, add Basic Gray mat, size=1.  Add a drop shadow opacity 35%, blur medium, offset x=1, y=1.  Send the white punch behind the Labels punch filled with Spring Fever paper.

Let me know if this tutorial was helpful.  If I get good feedback, I may be brave enough to try it again.  :)

Here is the video for the custom punch trick and filling a custom punch with an embellishment.  If you prefer photos, I have a few on my previous post.  First edited video ever... be gentle, please!  :)

Make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel.  I'll be creating more videos very soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

FM99 Bright Colors for Baby

Time for another Friday Mashup!  Today we are playing with bright colors for baby.

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:

1. Make a project for a "Baby Shower or a Baby".
2. Or Make a project using the Colors "Pool Party, Real Red, So Saffron & a Neutral".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project for a "Baby/Shower using the Colors listed above".

I didn't manage to mash it up.  I am soooo not in baby mode.  I wish I was, but we are all pink and purple glitter around here.

As soon as I saw the Million-Dollar Moments hostess set in the Spring catalog, I thought, "AFLAC".  You know, the insurance commercials?  I couldn't resist!

Ok, confession time - I finally broke down and bought an e-cutter.  Stampin' Up is coming out with such cute digital downloads in .svg format, and I just want to cut them!  Little Missy and I have been making some Project Life/Creative Journal pages together, and some downloads are just perfect!  I can't wait to delve in.  So this card was a bit of a learning curve.  The polaroid cut-out was easy; it is just drawn in the e-cutter software.  But I wanted to figure out how to print and cut the speech bubble. Four tries later, I had it.  Hubby was so kind to point out everything I did wrong, after it didn't work.  :/

This week I'm also playing along with Retro Sketches #52, which is a "pick your favorite past sketch" challenge, i.e., Retro Sketches #41.

Stamps: Million-Dollar Moments; Paper: So Saffron, Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Sunshine & Sprinkles DSP; Ink: Pool Party, So Saffron marker, Pumpkin Pie marker, Real Red marker, Basic Black marker; Accessories: Spring Fever MDS download (speech bubble), Cloudy Day EF, Big Shot, Printer, e-cutter, Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!