Introducing Paper Pumpkin Club & Giveaway

Stampin' Up has been coming out with some great stamps in the Paper Pumpkin kits lately.  Have you seen the ikat-styled stamps in February's kit?  I can't wait to play with those!  But, before that, I wanted to play along with the My Pumpkin Challenge.  This month's challenge is Love is in the Air.

This box isn't necessarily for Valentine's.  Who doesn't love a cute, tiny box filled with chocolates anytime?  I took Poodles triangular box and altered the dimensions to make it a little smaller.

And I've got news!  I'm starting a Paper Pumpkin Club.  Keep reading for all the details...

What is Paper Pumpkin? It is a monthly kit subscription with a fun surprise in the mail every month! $14.95 plus $5 shipping gets you a cute project, stamps, ink, embellishments, and instructions. You only need to add adhesive.

These kits are just as fun for experienced stampers, but are absolutely perfect for new and young stampers! If you don't have a lot of supplies, this is a great way to start.

What are the benefits of a Paper Pumpkin subscription?

• Monthly fun in a box! No designing or measuring; just a fun project ready to go. Instant satisfaction... like video games for the crafting world.
• Exclusive stamps you can only get by being a subscriber.
• Through March 31, save $5 and earn a free Sale-a-Bration item with a 3-month prepaid subscription (see prepaid subscription table below). 
• A subscriber also has the opportunity to purchase offered past kits.

Item	Paper Pumpkin Prepaid Subscription	Price (Shipping Included)
137858	1 month	$19.95
137859	3 months	$59.85 $54.85 (through March 31)
137860	6 months	$113.70 -- save $1 per month
137861	12 months	$215.40 -- save $2 per month

You will receive a subscription code which you will redeem at www.mypaperpumpkin.com.

What is Paper Pumpkin Club? For all my Paper Pumpkin subscribers, I will provide additional perks and resources: 

• An additional project PDF, including color photos and directions, using current or past Paper Pumpkin supplies, to help make your investment go further.
• After you've been with us a couple months, I'll send you a stamp case like the one shown above, to help you organize your Paper Pumpkin stamp collection. 
• Additional Paper Pumpkin ideas, like this organizing solution, which keeps all your stamps easily visible and accessible once your collection starts to grow.
• If you are local, come over for girls' night out while assembling your Paper Pumpkin kits. The kick-off event is Thursday, March 5 at 6:30pm.  Thereafter, we will meet the last Thursday of each month.  Please contact me for more information.  
• Not a Paper Pumpkin subscriber yet? No problem! Come over to try a Paper Pumpkin kit and additional project for a small $5 class fee. 
• And a GIVEAWAY!!  I have one past Paper Pumpkin kit waiting to be sent out to a random winner who either signs up for a subscription or purchases any prepaid subscription through me through March 31, 2015.

Technique Tuesday: Iron-Off Embossing

I participated in a technique page swap at the recent Binghamton Shoebox Swap, which is my way of getting my butt in gear for holding a technique class.  I love playing with watercoloring.  The iron-off embossing technique takes watercoloring and emboss resist an extra step - so fun!

To illustrate how crisp this technique will leave the embossed image when complete, here is the watercolored image before the iron-off step.

Notice how some of the watercolor will cover and fade the embossed sentiment.  And here is the finished product for comparison.

This is the greeting card we made using the same technique.

Stamps: Bravo; Paper: Bermuda Bay, Very Vanilla, Watercolor paper, Copy paper; Ink: Pool Party, Lost Lagoon, Bermuda Bay, Versamark; Accessories: Bermuda Bay sequin trim, Clear EP, Watercolor brush, Heat gun, Iron, Painter's tape.

Here are this week's Weekly Deals:

2013-2015 In Color Sequin Assortment Price: $4.95 $3.71	Basic Black Baker's Twine Price: $2.95 $2.21	Celebrate Easter Ensemble - Digital Download Price: $12.95 $7.77	Crisp Cantaloupe Thick Baker's Twine Price: $3.50 $2.63
Night Of Navy 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon Price: $6.95 $5.21	Simply Created Banner Price: $9.95 $7.46	Tangerine Tango Baker's Twine Price: $2.95 $2.21	Whisper White 5/8" Satin Ribbon Price: $6.95 $5.21

MDSM102 Daily Pages

Are you familiar with a daily or weekly scrap page, a page that documents a day- or week-in-the-life?  One specific example is December Daily by Ali Edwards.  In December, there are so many activities going on in that month, creating daily pages help document these busy times.  More generically, I think daily or weekly pages sprung out of Project 365, in which you take a photo every day.  Taking a daily photo frees you from having to frame the perfect scene, or document only important or exciting activities, and rather just photograph everyday life.  Society has embraced this type of photo-taking with the social media and selfie evolution.

Once you have these everyday photos, you need a format to tell the story.  Project Life layouts can be a great way to complete day-in-the-life or week-in-the-life pages.  In fun examples by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, you can see how she uses the date of the week or month to help tell the story.  One digital kit specifically designed for these type of pages is Daily December Memories Photobook Template, not just for December, and it was from this kit I took this week's example layout.  When building pages from scratch, Project Life downloads such as Hello December, Seasonal Snapshot, or any other pocket card download and Day to Day Stamp Brush Set are perfect.

My challenge to you is to create a daily or weekly page.  Make sure you use actual dates as part of the embellishments or pocket cards.  They can be in Project Life format or any other layout.  Don't feel you need to stick to the example layout here; I've included the link to the Daily December kit for more ideas.  The charm of the page is to just use daily photos of what you ate, where you went, what you did.  Nothing fancy, but just a fun way to tell the story of everyday life.  Can't wait to see what you create!

Here's my page -

I actually showed this page first, since it follows the layout, but this next page really shows off the every day feature of the daily page.

Our last day in Acadia National Park for the year, first snow, and I went for a quick run before hitting the road.  This page just brings back nice feelings!

MDS Elements: Daily December Memories, Watercolored Winter, This Makes Me Happy; Font: Arial, Capsies.

I started with the Daily December Memories kit for my pages right after our trip to Acadia, in fact on the drive home.  It was fun to fill in the daily memories.  But I wasn't quite capturing the generic daily or weekly page idea I had in mind to show you.  I happened to be poking around Ali Edwards's blog today and found an example page I wanted to use immediately.

Now, this is what I meant for the challenge!  I finally got this out; I feel better.  :)  I really love these kind of daily or weekly pages, and I would like to make more.  It is best to make them when the memory of the week is still fresh in your mind.  Ooh, that sounds like a daunting task!

MDS Elements: Love Story Project Life, Day in the Life, Days to Remember, Chillin Out Pocket Cards, Bookstagram; Font: Bodoni MT Condensed, Arial Narrow, The Skinny, 1942 Report.

Bright Little Houses

I've been wanting to play with the little house image from the Sale-a-Bration set You Brighten My Day.  And it coordinates with the What's Up arrow punch; how cool is that?  And hey, did you notice the What's Up punch is on the Weekly Deals through Monday?

I tried a bit, and just couldn't find a layout I liked, so I am CASE-ing Heather's fun card.  I may have another go at it another day.

Stamps: You Brighten My Day, Simply Wonderful; Paper: Blackberry Bliss, Real Red, Hello Honey, Whisper White; Ink: Lost Lagoon, Old Olive, Blackberry Bliss, Versamark; Accessories: Pearl jewels, Island Indigo baker's twine, White EP, What's Up punch, Itty Bitty punch pack, Confetti Heart border punch.

FM198 Snow Anger

I have snow anger.  There is snow everywhere.  The sidewalks aren't clear, which annoys me when my son doesn't drive and walks everywhere.  It is hard-to-impossible to see to pull out onto the street, and there have been untold number of school delays and cancellations, which also impacts my swimming.  But first and foremost, this makes biking tremendously difficult, nearly impossible.  More on that in a minute.

Often crafting is an outlet for whatever is on my mind lately.  Lisa has a sketch and "take flight" challenge for us on the Friday Mashup.

This is an ATC I created for the Binghamton shoebox swap this weekend.  You can kinda see the sketch lines in this one, if you squint.

I couldn't take it anymore. It was getting all like the Shining in here. I busted out and biked the only place available, a 5-mile stretch of the rail trail that goes over the Hudson River.

This is my fat bike, a snow bike. The snow is deep enough that even this bike doesn't work in most places at the moment.

I purposely didn't look at the "feels like" temperature until I got back, 4 F!  Good Lord, spring better come soon before we all, ok I, go nuts!  Or you can argue I'm already too far gone.

• Create a project with "the Sketch". 
• Create a project using items that "Take Flight".
• or Mash it Up! and create a project with items that "Take Flight using the Sketch".

Stamps: Greetings From, Calling All Heroes, Alphabet rotary; Paper: Pool Party, Garden Green, Very Vanilla, Whisper White; Ink: Soft Sky, Smoky Slate, Memento Tuxedo Black, Whisper White craft, Basic Black marker, Real Red, Smokey Slate, Daffodil Delight Blendabilities, Color Lifter; Accessories: 3/4" Circle punch, 7/8" Scallop Circle punch, Brayer, Aquapainter.

Here's a peek at this week's deals -

2014-2016 In Color Backgrounds Designer Series Paper Stack Price: $21.95 $16.46	Amped Up Ampersands Kit - Digital Download Price: $9.95 $5.97	Celebration Basics Kit Price: $14.95 $11.21	Daffodil Delight 1/4" Cotton Ribbon Price: $5.95 $4.46
Mosaic Punch Price: $15.95 $11.96	Pansy Punch Price: $15.95 $11.96	Pumpkin Pie 1/4" Cotton Ribbon Price: $5.95 $4.46	What's Up Punch Price: $16.95 $12.71

Control Freaks Let's Sale-a-Brate! Blog Tour

Welcome... It's time to hop along with the over-the-top fabulous Control Freaks!  This month's theme is Sale-a-Bration!

  ♪ It's sale-a-bration time... ♪  

You know how this goes... for every $50 you spend (US), you get to choose a free Sale-a-Bration item.  This really is the best stampin' time of the year, and not only because it is freakin' cold outside and everyone is hunkered down.  We're focusing on some of the free items you can choose from, so hold onto your hats!

You've probably arrived here from Debbie Henderson's blog.  Her projects are always so gorgeous and creative!

Have you seen the Lotus Blossom set yet?  Oh my, you freakin' NEED this!  It is a 3-step photopolymer set, no alignment tools necessary, and a few short minutes later, you have a gorgeous work of art!  

I used Crumb Cake Blendabilities (alcohol markers) to color the rhinestones, which also happens to be a Sale-a-Bration option.  Wham, bam, card done lickety-split.  This card uses CAS(E) this Sketch #109.

Stamps: Lotus Blossom, And Many More; Paper: Whisper White, Gold Foils sheets, Stacked with Love DSP; Ink: Perfect Plum, Old Olive, Crumb Cake Blendabilities; Accessories: Rhinestone jewels.

I had a fun idea that fellow demonstrators or close followers of Stampin' Up! events might recognize.

How cute is this little bag pocket card?  I created a pull-out notecard to bring in all the fun and happy colors from Sale-a-Bration.

Does it looks like the Leadership conference bag?

Stamps: Best Day Ever; Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Best Year Ever DSP; Ink: Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, Memento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Best Year Ever buttons & ribbon, White baker's twine, Mini stapler, Sewing machine, Thread.

And finally, today is the start of the Chinese New Year.  Tangerines and oranges are one of these auspicious Chinese New Year symbols. Tangerines in Chinese sounds similar to the word "luck" and orange sounds like the Chinese word for "wealth". Through the play of words, the Chinese is associating the gift of orange and tangerine as having an abundance of happiness and prosperity.^ref

Though a clean & simple card, I wanted to show you an alternative to the lemon stamp in A Happy Thing.  Here I used my Basic Black marker to round the end of the image and create an orange.  Fun, huh?

Where did that fruit bowl come from, you ask?  I hand-drew it.  Great when you can easily improvise.

Stamps: A Happy Thing (SAB); Paper: Whisper White, Brushed Gold; Ink: Real Red, Baked Brown Sugar, Memento Tuxedo Black, Basic Black marker, Old Olive & Pumpkin Pie Blendabilities, Color Lifter; Accessories: Sponge, Zig Zag EF, Big Shot.

Jump over to Justin Krieger's super cool blog to check out what fabulous ideas he has for us.  Love his style!

MDSM101 Not the Cake!

Hi Everyone, This week Tami has a fun MDS Monday sketch for us.  Before we get into it, I want to discuss my results from recent printed items.

During Christmas, I had cards printed, and more recently, I had a photobook printed through Stampin' Up.  I was pleased with the quality of both items.  The colors were good, some photos and Perfect Plum were a bit lighter than expected, but perfectly acceptable.  The paper had a nice, silky feeling.  In the past, I've added ribbon to my cards, and the adhesive could remove the print, but that was not the case for the cards from the new printer.  One word of warning is that the margins are not as wide as the current version of the software implies.  They are about 1/8" on all sides for pages and 3/8" for the cover.  Keep that in mind when designing.  Overall I am very satisfied and will be printing more items in the future.

Now, onto this week's page -

This is a sequel to my birthday page from a few weeks ago.

And here is the sketch -

MDS Elements: A Split Second - journaling lines; Keep This Memory Photobook Template; Font: The Skinny, Arial Narrow.