
Change is beautiful especially when winter finally changes to spring. So the April Paper Pumpkin kit was well named with it’s caterpillar to butterfly, seedling to flower, and night to day cards. For this month’s A Paper Pumpkin Thing blog hop I decided to change one card base into two unique projects. Oh and of course I couldn’t resist throwing in a little new catalogue sneak peek too.

First up I have this card which uses parts from the kit and a little extra card.
I began with the flower card base from the Change is Beautiful kit and cut the larger back section from the folded front. I set the front piece aside for my second project while I worked on this first one. Meanwhile I trimmed the back section to 4-1/8″ x 5-3/8″. However I made sure to trim a little off each of the four sides so as not to lose too much of the dotty border.
Next I used my Paper Trimmer to cut and score some Thick Basic White Card. After folding it along the scored line I sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create a new card base. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I mounted the trimmed dotty border layer on the front.
Now I was ready to break out my favourite colour from the new 2022-2024 In Colors; Starry Sky. I cut a piece of Starry Sky card at 3-5/8″ x 4-7/8″, then using Starry Sky ink I stamped the small decorative image from the kit randomly over the area. With that done I glued the piece at an angle onto the dotty background, placing to hide the white area in the middle.
Then from the Change Is Beautiful kit I chose the “I am so proud of who you’ve become” sentiment. Using the new Starry Sky ink again I stamped the sentiment onto a 5/8″ x 4-7/8″ strip of Basic White Card. This fitted perfectly across the Starry Sky card layer and was fixed in place with liquid glue.
CHANGE WITH STAMPIN’ BLENDS
By this point I had decided how to really change the look of the kit pieces and for that I needed some Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers.

All I did was colour the pink sections of the flower all over with the dark Flirty Flamingo Stampin’ Blends. However I made sure to leave some white areas to define the edges of the petals. Then using the dark Melon Mambo I added some dark shadows at the base of the petals. Finally I blended out the dark areas with some lines going up each petal using the light Melon Mambo marker. For the leaves I simply added a little dark Granny Apple Green extending outwards from the printed veins.

With the colouring complete I added the flower to my card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then I scattered a few of the iridescent sea glass embellishments from the kit around the flower.
To complete the project I kept it really simple starting with a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card. Going back to the decorative image and Starry Sky ink I stamped it a few times in the corners. Then I glued this layer inside the card base. Finally with a little decorative stamping on the front of the envelope from the kit, my first project was done.
ANOTHER CHANGE
Of course I still had the small folded section I’d cut off the original card base from the kit. I had a really simple idea for this, but first I needed to score an additional line across the top of the “bud” side of the card.

Taking the folded piece I opened it up and placed it dotty side up on my Paper Trimmer with the top right corner pointing to the right. I lined up this corner with the 1″ mark to the right of the groove in the trimmer, while the bottom right corner was lined up on the 2-1/2″ mark to the left of the groove. Then remembering to use the scoring blade I scored the card. With that done the rest of the project came together really quickly.

First I folded over the small triangle section onto the bud side of the card. Then I put a line of Tear & Tape Adhesive on the inside of the card, along the bottom and up the right hand edge, and folded the card on top to create a pocket.
Going back to the kit I took the banner sentiment piece and once again stamped the “I am so proud of who you’ve become” sentiment. This time I used the Basic Gray ink spot received with the kit.
Using some more Tear & Tape Adhesive I tucked the end of the sentiment up under the triangle flap and stuck the triangle down. All I needed then was to add a gift card to the pocket and my second project was complete.
I have to say that I wasn’t sure about this kit when I first received it, but as always I’m glad I didn’t skip this one. There are always so many possibilities if you decide you don’t like the ‘as designed’ projects. I have a feeling this won’t be an issue next month…
CELEBRATING IN COLOR
If you haven’t already done it, you still have time to subscribe to Paper Pumpkin and get the Celebrating In Color card kit.

The kit has everything you need to make TEN full-size cards with envelopes and optional gift card holder inserts. Everything comes cut and prepared and as well as the card bases and envelopes you’ll get printed and gold-foiled pieces, exclusive 2022-2024 In Color embellishments, a mini ink spot AND an exclusive Celebrating In Color Stamp Set. If you’re new to Paper Pumpkin there’ll even be an acrylic block so you can get creating straight away. Contact me for more information or subscribe to Paper Pumpkin by May 10th. And if you don’t like the kit when it arrives contact Stampin’ Up! and they guarantee to make it right for you. Also included in 200 of the kits will be a special Golden Voucher worth $25US/$34CDN to spend on Stampin’ Up! products of your choice.
By the way, did you spot the exclusive ‘2022-2024 In Color embellishments’ in the photo? Exclusive products is one of the perks of being a Paper Pumpkin Subscriber.
Talking of perks… the Change is Beautiful Refill Kit is now available for Paper Pumpkin subscribers to purchase while stocks last. The refill kit contains a full set of the consumable supplies to make 9 cards, but not the stamp set or ink spot (hence the lower price).
MORE CHANGE IS BEAUTIFUL IDEAS
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves… make sure you check out the other Change is Beautiful alternate projects from the rest of the A Paper Pumpkin Thing team. You’re currently at number 1 – Tracy Elsom
Make sure you also visit the official Paper Pumpkin blog for lots more information and ideas for this kit, the coming kit, and past kit and refill kit releases.
PRODUCT LISTS
NEW PRODUCTS
CONTINUING PRODUCTS
Leave a Reply