The September Paper Pumpkin kit offered some great Halloween treat boxes. I’m not usually much for making Halloween cards and we get too many trick or treaters to use these for handing out candy, but this kit was so cute. I had a lot of fun creating with it!

Once I’d made the treat boxes following the Paper Pumpkin instructions, I set out to make a couple of alternative projects.

The first was an alternative tag for one of the treat boxes. I used the “Eat If You Dare” stamp and stamped a few Gorgeous Grape skulls onto one of the vellum circles.

Then I created a Halloween card. I used one of the sides from each of the treat boxes and then cut them in half to create these squares. The skeletons in the background are simply stamped using Whisper White ink and the one on the tag, as well as “Happy Halloween”, I heat embossed with White Stampin’ Emboss powder.

I haven’t gotten to making the Haunted House using this kit (including the box it came in), but I’m hoping that I’ll be able to soon. Once I do I’ll post it here.

Happy Halloween everyone!

This past weekend was my daughter’s birthday party and she’s really gotten into Harry Potter (we’re currently working our way through The Deathly Hallows), so I knew that it was only a matter of time until she wanted a Harry Potter themed birthday party. So when she said that’s what she wanted this year, my Pintrest boards and I were totally prepared!

Over the summer she and I went through my pins and she chose what activities she wanted to have (table top Quidditch), food (sorting cupcakes and a Honeydukes candy shop) and a few other things. Of course I kept a few things to myself to surprise her!

With the party on it’s way to planned, the next thing was the invitations. The inkspiration for the invitation came from some thank you cards created by a fellow Stampin’ Up! demo Wendy Cranford (https://luvinstampin.com/harry-potter-party-thank-you-cards) and I used a combination of current and retired products for this card.

To create the Hogwarts House colours on the outside of the card I used Cherry Cobbler and Crushed Curry for Gryfindor, Daffodil Delight and Basic Black for Hufflepuff, Emerald Envy (retired) and Smoky Slate for Slytherin and Dapper Denim (retired) and again Smoky Slate for Ravenclaw. To have a different shade of grey for one of the last two houses you could use Grey Granite (I didn’t have any in my stash).

Then I heat embossed “you’re invited” using White Stampin’ Emboss powder. On the inside I used some images from the retired stamp set Spooky Cat. The owl, hat and outline of the potion bottles are stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento ink and the potions themselves are stamped using Bermuda Bay, Lemon Lime Twist (retired) and Pumpkin Pie ink.

For the party itself, I recreated Platform 9 3/4 by simply sponging paint onto a shower curtain and hot glued and then painted wands for the girls to “choose”. It took a lot of gold paint to create this version of table top Quidditch and I almost ended up looking like a golden snitch.

Then there is the card for the birthday girl herself! She is a Hufflepuff so I used the same idea for her birthday card that I used for the invitations; only using Daffodil Delight and Basic Black. This time I used the Broadway Birthday photopolymer stamp set and the Stitched Nested Labels dies.

For both the invitation and the birthday card I used a Gatefold and then popped up the phrase on one side using Stampin’ Dimensionals. The dimensions that I used for these cards are as follows….

• 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″
• Scored at 2 2/16″ and 6 6/16″
• The strips with a small border around the edge measured 2″ x 5 6/16″ for the full size and 2″ x 10/16″ for the half size.
• The stripes for all the cards were 1/2″ wide and about 2 3/4″ long (I just cut off the edges once I had them all adhered into place)

I hope you enjoyed these as much as my daughter did!

I’ve had the Snowman Season bundle for a little while now, but with my oldest munchkin’s birthday party this coming weekend I haven’t had a chance to create with it yet. Finally some of the ideas that have been floating around in my head are starting to be able to get out. This card is the first of many to come.

The idea for this card originally came from a sketch challenge that I was hoping to participate in, but wasn’t able to pull together in time. Some elements have changed from the initial sketch but the original colour combination I chose stayed the same; Pool Party and Pretty Peacock.

I used Pool Party cardstock for my card base and Pretty Peacock cardstock my card mat. The card front is Whisper White cardstock, which is what I also used to stamp the phrase and snowman on. The strip of Designer Series Paper is from the Feels Like Frost 6×6 specialty pack. I’ve had a few strips left over from projects using the other photograph side and have been just waiting for an opportunity to use it!

On the card front I stamped the larger snowflakes using Pool Party ink and the smaller snowflakes using Pretty Peacock ink. The “Merry Christmas” was also stamped using Pool Party and the snowman with Tuxedo Black Memento ink.

Once the snowman was dry I used Stampin’ Blends to colour his nose (Pumpkin Pie) and add a little colour to his scarf (Pool Party).

I framed the snowman using the largest oval from the Stitched Shapes dies and attached him using SNAIL Adhesive. Once I adhered the phrase and DSP together I popped it up with a couple of Stampin’ Dimensionals.

To finish it off I added a few of the smallest Rhinestone Basic Jewels randomly to the card front.

I’m hoping that once my oldest’s birthday party is over I’ll be able to post the odd template/project sheet.

In the meantime if you’re missing the project sheets make sure to add yourself to my email list! (contact me page) We’re in week 3 of my 12 Weeks of Christmas, which means a different holiday themed project sheet is emailed right to you, complete with a supply list and step by step instructions. I hope to see you in your inbox!

This week’s Paper Craft Crew Challenge was a horizontal sketch challenge and when I was thinking of what stamp set to use I took advantage of this opportunity to create a birthday card for my mom using the Beautiful You cling stamp set!

For colour combination, I went with one that I haven’t used before but sparked a little something in me as I wanted bright colours; Grapefruit Grove, Mint Macaron and a splash of Smoky Slate cardstock. For stamping I used Grapefruit Grove for the squiggles of colour, Mint Macaron for the phrase and Tuxedo Black Memento ink for the woman dancing. These were all stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock.

For the bow I used some Mint Macaron thick twine from the Nature’s twine pack and then added a bow using Gold Metallic thread (retired) on top.

I really enjoy participating in these challenges as the often spark different ideas than I might have thought of usually. I hope my mom likes it!

This month Stampin’ Up!s #simplestamping challenge was to create a thank you card using only stamps, ink, paper and punches. When thinking of which stamp set to use for this challenge I decided to go with the Beauty Abounds cling stamp set. I love butterflies so I create with this stamp set whenever I can, but I also like this one because of the number of different images in this set and because it can create nice effects on your projects simply by stamping!

Colour wise I was initially thinking of doing something with purples and greens (a favourite colour combo of mine), but once I got to pulling out supplies my inkspiration was pulled towards Pool Party and Pretty Peacock (one of the newest In Colours).

For the card base I used Pretty Peacock cardstock and then Pool Party cardstock for the card mat. I stamped the phrase and images on Very Vanilla cardstock. For the “thanks” and smaller bubbles I used Pretty Peacock ink and for the butterflies and larger bubbles I used Pool Party ink.

Then to tie in with all the stamped bubbles I used the 2 1/4″ Circle Punch to punch out the phrase and butterflies as well as another piece of Pretty Peacock cardstock.

Things didn’t stop there though… I also created a more simple version without using a punch (just stamps, ink and paper, on the left) as well as a stepped up version (on the right).

To step up this card even more I used the Stitched Shapes dies to cut out the phrase as well as to create a Pretty Peacock border behind it. I popped these squares up using Stampin’ Dimensionals and then added a little bit of bling with a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels. I thought of also adding some Silver Metallic Thread, but I didn’t have any in my craft stash 🙁   (I will have to fix that asap!).

When thinking of Christmas/Holiday colours there’s the standard red, green and gold or sometimes you’ll see blue and silver. I’ve seen some interesting combinations when people have created cards using unconventional colours and for this week’s project this combination is a favourite of mine!

I used Smoky Slate cardstock for my card base and Mint Macaron cardstock for the card mat. I stamped on Whisper White cardstock using the First Frost cling stamp set. For the leaves and buds I used Mint Macaron ink and stamped off first for the leaves before stamping on the Whisper White card front. Then I embossed the card front using the Softly Falling Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

For the phrase I stamped in Versamark ink and then heat embossed Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder. I then used the Delightful Tag Topper Punch and popped it up using Stampin’ Dimensionals. I also stamped 3 flowers with Smoky Slate ink which I then cut out and used some Puff Paint in the centre of the flowers. The Heat Tool helped raise and set the Puff Paint nicely and I like how the Rhinestone Basic Jewels add a little something extra but also pull in the silver from the embossing powder.

Over the next few weeks there are not going to be as many project sheets here on the blog as there’s a lot going on right now. I’m in the midst of putting together my oldest’s 10th birthday party (how did that happen?!) and my 12 Weeks of Christmas has started. This is something just for my email subscribers and offers ideas for cards, tags, gift wrap and more. If you would like to join my mailing list and get in on my 12 Weeks of Christmas simply send me your information (Contact Me).

For those of us in Canada this coming weekend is Thanksgiving. A time to share what you are grateful/thankful for, get together with those you love and of course eat way too much food! And just like many of you whenever we go over to someone’s house for Thanksgiving dinner we always bring something with us as a thank you (usually a bottle of wine). I also add a little something extra like a card or a tag for the bottle.

In the past I’ve used stamp sets from the Annual Catalogue, but this past August’s Paper Pumpkin kit, A Gift of Love, was perfect! The kit itself helps you create 8 gift bags and here are the two projects that came straight from the kit instructions.

I also used the same stamp set and embellishments to make some tags that could then be attached to a bottle of wine or a gift bag. I only added some Crushed Curry and Very Vanilla cardstock (though you could easily use one of the tags from the kit and flip it over) as well I used the Delightful Tag Topper Punch.

In terms of cards, Stampin’ Up! made it super easy with the add on bundle that included 24 card bases and envelopes. I had a lot of fun using the embellishments from the Gift of Love kit to create these cards. The two on the right I designed for those who attended my World Card Making Day event this past weekend.

I still have some supplies left so we’ll see what other inkspiration pops into my head!

Hopefully our family will enjoy the cards and tags when we see them this weekend and hopefully I don’t stuff myself TOO much. I hope you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving whether you are celebrating this weekend or next month!

So what is World Card Making Day anyway?! It’s a day to celebrate the making of hand made cards of course! Store bought cards just don’t have the same feeling behind them and World Card Making Day reminds us that the best gifts come from the heart, and the hands of the people we love.

World Card Making Day started out as just something special for subscribers to Paper Crafts magazine back in October 2006, but it was so popular that it became a holiday for all card makers after that.

So where did greeting cards come from?! The greeting card as we know it actually came from ancient China as a way to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Then around the 15th century Europe started to give greeting cards as well for all different kinds of occasions; birthdays, thank yous, Christmas, special occasions, etc.

No matter what you use them for, cards are a great way to let someone know that you’re thinking about them. And what better way to celebrate World Card Making Day by making a card for someone you know, even if it’s just because!

Happy World Card Making Day everyone!!

I was running low on thank you cards which is something I use a lot of, as I’m sure you can imagine, and so I needed to make some more. I really like how these turned out so I thought I would share them with you all.

The idea for this batch of cards came from a set I just recently picked up. It’s Magnolia Blooms and comes from the Beginners Brochure which is like it’s own separate Stampin’ Up! catalogue for those just starting out and has some great stamp sets and kits that you can’t find in any of their other catalogues.

Beginner Brochure

So with this being the stamp set, I of course was wanting to incorporate the Magnolia Lane DSP, which I’m still loving so much! I also decided to keep this card clean and simple and used Whisper White cardstock for my card base.

I stamped “thank you” in Mossy Meadow to draw from the colours in the DSP and for the magnolia bloom I stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento ink. The reason behind the switch in ink colour was because I wanted to colour the image using the Watercolour Pencils (assortment 2). Although neither pack has Petal Pink or Mossy Meadow, I really like how the Flirty Flamingo and Garden Green worked out.

To highlight the DSP and stamped image/phrase even more I used two of the circles from the Stitched Shapes dies. Then to finish it off I added a few Pearl Basic Jewels.

Make sure to check out the project sheet for the full list of supplies and step by step instructions.

2019 Magnolia Thank You Project Sheet

Things have been pretty busy lately and so it’s been a while since I participated in a sketch challenge. Now with things settling down a little bit I thought I’d join this week’s Paper Craft Crew Challenge. This week’s challenge was a vertical sketch challenge and had a few different elements to incorporate.

In terms of the colours for this challenge I decided to use Flirty Flamingo cardstock as my base along with Whisper White cardstock for most of my stamping. Flirty Flamingo was the main ink colour I used for this project, but I also added some Crumb Cake ink onto some Crumb Cake cardstock for a tone on tone effect. For the phrase I used one from the Strong & Beautiful cling stamp set and stamped it using Tuxedo Black Memento ink. The other stamp set I used for this project was the Butterfly Wishes cling stamp set.

I also used the Stitched Shapes Dies to create the oval and circle shapes for this challenge. For the other elements I used 1/4″ Copper Trim, which is what sparked the colour combinations for this project, and a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

This project definitely took me outside of my usual creative box so I’d love to hear what you think about this project!

If you’d like to check out the other projects for this week’s Paper Craft Crew Challenge head over to their website…

papercraftcrew.com/pcc352