Paper Pumpkin

I am happy to announce a new monthly in the mail kit from Stampin' Up!  It's called Paper Pumpkin!  Each month a new box will arrive at your door with everything you need for a creative break from you week.  You get a new project each month (with the option to skip a month or cancel at any time-no worries) and all the ink, stamps, buttons, whatever is needed to make it - except the adhesive.  This is perfect for those who want a fun creative break, but don't want to own a whole stamp room or paper and ink.   Sounds fun to me!  And you will build up a little collection of ink spots and stamps as you go along. 

There is a picture of the first kit and it makes 4 cute cards with envelopes. The first kit comes with a clear block in case you don't have one.   The kit also comes with complete instructions and photos so you know exactly what to do.  Each month will cost $19.95 and that includes the shipping! You don't get billed till it ships, so that's nice too.   Check the Paper Pumpkin website for details.    The subscription to Paper Pumpkin does not go through my Stampin' Up store, you need to subscribe to it at the Paper Pumkin site, but it will ask you if you have a demo, so be sure to say you do, me! Elizabeth Rush :) 
The first kits ship in march, but  you can sign up today!  Then you will get a fun gift in the mail before you know it.

There is also a one month trial kit that comes out in march that makes two cute journals.  Keep one and give one as a gift.  This trial kit is a bit different in that it is not part of the "Subscription" so you need to order it from a demo party or workshop, or on a demo website, such as mine.  As mentioned above, the subscription needs to be ordered through the paper pumpkin website.




Please let me know if you have any questions!

Digital Valentines

I made some Valentines with My Digital Studio this week and I posted them on my digital blog.  I thought I would post a quick picture here as well, to show some more of what you can do with My Digital Studio software from Stampin' Up!  This Digital Download is called Officially Awesome Valentines (item #133009 $3.95) It comes with these valentines to print out and cute envelope templates to cut out and fold.   The digital kit also comes with all the elements in  the Valentines as digital stamps as well, so I used the mustache stamp by itself to make these cute sucker mustaches.

check out my digital blog for more information.








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Sweet Valentines

My Valentine's Day order came today! So of course I had to use it right away.  I stamped a bunch of hearts and punched them out, then got out all the different candies I had bought just for the cute little cello bags that came with the heart stamp. What fits in those skinny little cellophane bags you ask?  Well, I have used M&M's in the past, but I also found some pink, red and white candy corns, some cinnamon heats, and Valentine's pencils.  I used various shades of pink and red ink, and some pink and red ribbon.

These tags were made in Pretty in Pink.  I wrapped a candy bar in Pretty and Pink paper too. 

The stamp set fits in the Heart punch from Stampin' Up! too.  I love that they make stamps and punches that work together.  The second smallest framelit from the Hearts Collection Framelits also fits the stamp perfectly.  You can use the other sizes to layer with the stamp.  I also like the scalloped heart from the new Hearts A Flutter Framelits collection that is in the new Spring Season Mini Catalog.

I used markers in different shades to ink up the stamp this time.





Still waiting to get your Valentine's Day stamps?  It will be her before you know it.  Here are the details.

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With Love and Sympathy

I participated in a Sympathy Swap last month.  This is the card I made for the swap.  I used a background of River Rock and Wisteria Wonder and Lucky Limeade on my flower.  The dotted paper and ribbon are also Wisteria Wonder.  I cut the main image and the accent paper out with my Labels Collection Framelits.  And, I added some paper piercing detail with the paper piercing template, a nice and easy detail. 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Valentine's Day Specials

Stampin' Up! has two great specials just in time for Valentine's Day.  Check them out!

Swallowtail take two!

 

I decided to get a little more colorful with the butterfly today! I still embossed the main image in basic black embossing powder just like I did yesterday.  I used a background of First Edition specialty paper.  I then used my blender pens and ink pads to color in the butterfly.  I feel that you can get more tones with the blender pens than regular markers if you are doing large areas.  For example I made the areas in the center darker than the outer edges.  The yellow I choose is Summer Starfruit, and the other colors are Gumball Green and Midnight Muse.

I used Basic Grey as a background layer to my main image, I love how it looks with Summer Starfruit.  Some scalloped edges and ribbon scraps finished the card. 

On this version I added some ribbon scraps in Midnight Muse and Summer starfruit to the grey ribbon. 

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

 

Swallowtail

Today starts the new catalog!!  It is the Spring Seasonal catalog and since we are still waiting for our first fun snow day, it seems a bit odd to shelve the Winter Seasonal Catalog.   The first stamp from the catalog to see ink was the Swallowtail (page 18 #129216).   It is just beautiful, and so big!!  I decided to try embossing the Butterfly with Black and then going from there.  The first one I made was on Crumb Cake.  I guess I was not quite ready for bright yet.  I went with a distressed background and vintage elements of ribbon and

brads.  The ribbon I used are basic black taffeta, very vanilla seem binding, and the new "Natural Trim" ribbon from the Seasonal catalog, (page 20 #129287).  This ribbon is cotton and flax and has a really nice texture and feel to it.  I really like the dimension it brings to the project.  I distressed the Natural ribbon a bit by fraying the end of the ribbon to expose a middle thread, then pulling on the middle thread to make the ribbon ruffle just slightly.  The Tag was also made from a stamp in the new catalog called "A little Greeting".  A nice price at $7.95 (page 25 #129111) it gives you a thinking of you, and a just for you, as well as "Hi", in perfect sizes for adding little touches to your projects.

 

With my second Swallowtail card I decided to embrace the coming spring and give it a bit more color, although I guess it is still sort of dark :)  baby steps!  I also used black embossing powder on Elegant Eggplant paper.  I them added some bleach to the image with a cheap paintbrush.  Do this lightly and give the paper a few minutes to dry before you decide to add more, the color change is not immediate.  I use a really cheap paint brush so that I don't ruin any good ones, the bleach eats away at the bristles.  

Here is the finished bleaching step.

Embossing and bleaching tend to curl the paper so I like to then layer my bigger embossed pieces on another piece of paper.  I do this with a glue stick, I like the fuller coverage it gets and it really helps the embossed paper lay flat and not buckle. 

I added some glitter and some ribbon and a little tag that reads "Hi"  from the same stamp set I mentioned earlier in this post.  The white organza ribbon goes all the way around the embossed layer, and then I added some Scalloped Elegant Eggplant and black taffeta strips to the middle before tying the knot tightly around it all. 

 

I hope that you enjoyed todays post, thanks for stopping by!