May's Paper Pumpkin

So, to be perfectly honest, after April's kit being possibly the very best Paper Pumpkin EVER, I was a little bit let down by the May kit when I first opened it.
However, I try hard to make these kits work for me and my life so after thinking about a minute I realized, hahaha....my husband's birthday was coming up and he once told the kids that donuts are his "weakness". Well, I can sure find a use for this kit!

I decided to let the kids personalize their donut cards one evening a head of time. My daughter stamped extra sprinkles onto the pink, and my son stamped some of the words inside his card.

And then my son and I ran to buy him his favorite donuts at 715 on a Saturday morning for a surprise!

Honestly, I can see this being used in scrapbook pages, because that kinda means that eating donuts around here is kind of a big deal, haha. But I think it would also be a cute card to include with a little gift of donuts. You could get a snack pack as a teacher thank you, or go grab a favorite donut for a friend's birthday! Don't worry, this kit won't end up shelved at my house!

If you didn't get this kit, sign up with Paper Pumpkin today, by clicking on the pumpkin icon on my side bar. Then you can order this and any other available past kits and refills! They're so much fun!

Check out the whole set with the little how-to video:

Cards In The Mail!

Happy Monday to you! Yesterday was Mother's Day and this is who I spent it with:

*those cards were made entirely on their own, using my retired supplies!

Today I have a post FULL of inspiration to get you going this week! These fabulous cards are form my Cards In The Mail swap with other Stampin' Up! demonstrators. I love getting these in the mail! Credit has been given to each creator.

(and I'll tell you a little secret... I got something else delivered: a big box from UPS on Friday that I cannot wait to play with...!!!)

 Above is closed, and below is pulled open!

April's Paper Pumpkin!

A third post for this month and it's only the 11th! Yeay!!

I took some time yesterday to make the cards in the latest Paper Pumpkin kit. WOW. This is my favorite kit. hands down! And it was super popular! The refill kit was sold out in FOUR HOURS. Yes, that means that if you missed this kit, you definitely missed out. However, read on for some tips on re-creating similar projects!

*and as a side note, this was absolutely not a 30 minute project box. This is a watercolored project, which obviously includes drying time. Life distractions included, it took me four shifts to complete all twelve cards. And that's another difference from the 30 minute kits- this one included 12 cards! I would also note that the only un-included supplies were me wanting thinner strips of black stripe DP. Everything you need is included!

First of all, LOOK how pretty!!!

Eight of the card designs included a pre-embossed piece of watercolor paper. The kit included four mini watercolor pencils, and a watercolor brush. For some, I just scribbled the pencil across the whole thing. For others, I just added color inside each section. And then the last four were free-handed watercoloring, which added a fun punch of color.

 The stamps use a great mixed font, and the little ink drips are a very cool touch.

If you do have this kit and haven't yet assembled it, you should know that the black stripe "DP" is actually a sticker. I used adhesive to attach more than one before making that realization. *grin

There are two shades of green leaf stickers, and then the 3D plastic flowers are a really fun addition to the black and white cards.

Honestly, the hardest part was choosing what greeting to use!! Seriously, that took a ridiculous amount of time, haha! 

Some cards have the striped Washi tape, some don't, and really that was because I "lost" it on my table and forgot all about adding it!

You can see how thick the 3D flowers are. I do think this means they can't just be stuck in the mail, so be aware of that.

I almost forgot to show the cute, coordinating envelopes!

And after making all 12 cards, I have this much left from this kit! Plenty of glue dots for future projects, a little DP, more than half that roll of Washi tape, watercolor pencils, brush, and as always the stamps and ink! For $19.95, that cannot be beat! 

So. How would I recreate these for later?
Start by ordering

• Watercolor Paper
• Watercolor Pencils 
• Archival Black ink 
• a black Washi Tape
• Basic Black card stock

We don't sell a watercolor brush, but we do have Aquapainters and Blender Pens! And that leaves you all set to do the freehand style!
If you want embossed images to color in, you'll want to order Clear Embossing Powder, a Versamark ink pad, and a Heat Tool and you can try any "line" stamp sets!
Need some suggestions?

• Flower Shop
• Marquee Messages 
• Birthday Blooms
• Vintage Leaves

Or just any time you could color in the stamped image! It's a fun, easy way to color in your images and make absolutely beautiful cards!

Catalog preview!

Did you know the new catalog is going to be released in less than a month?! June 1st as a matter of fact! My regular customers should have a new catalog arrive in their mailbox in the next couple weeks...! (let me know if it doesn't arrive!!)

But during the month of May, Stampin' Up! is offering two sneaky peeky bundles that you can order from the new catalog! Want to see??

I spy new stamps!
I spy new In Colors!
I spy new DP!
AND
I even spy new stickers!!

These are the bundle options:

Bundle #1: Eastern Palace Starter Bundle $60.50

Bundle #2: Eastern Palace Premier Bundle $103.50

And if you notice, both bundles include a free gift! That is the benefit of ordering these bundles now- getting the whole coordinating suite, AND the free card bases. That, and the fun of getting new products before the catalog is even released!

Contact me if you want to order either bundle, or any other stamping supplies! You can also do an online order at any time, and if your total is less than $150, you may use Hostess Code 3VGDEX2G to combine shipping costs.

Blog Hop: Stepped over

And another month has flown on by...! But this time I got a tiny bit of stamp time in, and I even blogged more than once. But just barely more than once...!

Today's projects are pretty quick but they're cute! I used the Mojo Monday sketch from last week for the design.
I wanted to play with my soon-to-be-retired things, but I also discovered I have an extremely empty display board. I do have people interested in events, which means I'm going to have to get prepared for them- and that includes having a full display board. So!
Here is my card using retiring stuff.... the stamps, the card stock and the ribbon are all but gone!

Supplies:
Stamps: Kinda Eclectic
Ink: Delightful Dijon, Mint Macaron, Tip Top Taupe, Watermelon Wonder
Paper: Top Top Taupe, Watermelon Wonder, Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Watermelon Wonder striped ribbon, Dimensionals

And here is my card for my display board, using all things that are sticking around another catalog year!

Supplies:
Stamps: Work of Art
Ink: So Saffron, Pear Pizazz, Melon Mambo, Memento Black
Paper: So Saffron, Pear Pizazz, Very Vanilla card stocks

I made a collage for each, and used some fun, spring colors, (sort of similar colors too!) even tho the day I stamped them we had hail and rain and two streets up from me had snowy roofs...!

Anyway, it was fun to stamp and I told my family I need to do that at least once a week, haha. We'll see how well that goes...and I wouldn't hold my breath, ha.
Now, hop along to Cheryl's blog and see what she's made for your stampy inspiration. Leave us your thoughts too- we all love hearing what you think of our work!
Then, take a half hour to yourself this coming week and see what YOU can create too!