Well today is an exiting day for me, it’s my first time on A Paper Pumpkin Thing Blog Hop. I’ve done blog hops from time to time in the past, but this one came out of the blue. If you follow me on Facebook you’ll know that for the past few months I’ve been providing alternate project ideas for Paper Pumpkin kits. These have been featured in the monthly Facebook Live presentation over on the official Paper Pumpkin Facebook Page. Well after the last Facebook Live I was contacted by the team at A Paper Pumpkin Thing and asked if I’d like to join their them. This means that I’ll produce at least one additional sample each month that you’ll get to see here on my blog as part of their blog hop. Today we’re featuring the Paper Pumpkin kit for April – Sentimental Rose.

My first project is a vintage-inspired card using the rose and leaf stamps from the Sentimental Rose kit.

I began with an over-sized layer of Soft Sea Foam Card and stamped the rose randomly over it using Flirty Flamingo ink. Then I stamped the leaf in the gaps using Mint Macaron ink.

While I had the stamps and ink pads out I stamped a similar design over the flap of a Whisper White Medium Envelope.

Finally I used Mint Macaron ink to stamp the Thank You sentiment from the kit onto some Whisper White Card.

To complete the background design I used a light Flirty Flamingo Stampin’ Blends alcohol marker to colour in the roses on the Soft Sea Foam piece.

SIMPLE LAYERS

Now it was time to use my retiring Big Shot to cut out the layers for my card. But first I wanted to add some texture to my stamped background. So I placed the stamped layer inside the Subtle 3D embossing folder and put it directly into the Multipurpose Platform. Then I added a cutting pad on top and ran it through the Big Shot. Before going any further I cut a 1″ x 5-1/4″ strip off the embossed piece.

Next, using the #C7 die from the Rectangle Stitched Dies (the large set of nesting dies in the set) I cut the remaining Soft Sea Foam piece. Then using the #C8 Rectangle Stitched Dies I cut a layer of Whisper White Card. Finally I cut out the sentiment using the #2 circle from the Stitched Shapes Dies. (With nesting dies I number mine from the smallest up).

Using my retiring Stampin’ Trimmer I cut and scored some Soft Sea Foam Card, folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. This would be my card base.

I used liquid glue to fix the 1″ embossed strip to the right side of a layer of Whisper White Card. Then I added the layers to the inside of the card base.

Before assembling the front of the card I first needed to trim off some of the right side of the sentiment piece to create a straight edge. Then I attached it to the white side of a Flirty Flamingo Colored Doily. Now I could see exactly where to glue the doily on the background layer, folding the excess doily round the the edge.

With that done, all that was left was to use liquid glue to attach the background to the die-cut Whisper White piece, then fix it to the card base with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I finished off the card by colouring a piece of White Baker’s Twine from the kit with the light Flirty Flamingo Stampin’ Blends. Then I tied it in a simple bow and added it to the sentiment with a Mini Glue Dot.

MOTHER’S DAY TAG

For my second project I want to show you a quick Mother’s Day gift tag created using one of the printed card bases from the Sentimental Rose kit.

I began by cutting the notecard-sized card across the folded line at 2″. This gave me a folded piece that was 2″ x 7″ (folded at 3-1/2″). Next, using the Tailored Tag Punch I punched the end of the front to create a a wide V shape. Then I put the tag back in the punch about 1/4″ and punched again. This shortened the front of the tag further but more importantly gave me a small V-shaped piece. Then I repeated this process once more.

Using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I attached the V-shaped pieces white side up onto the front of the tag. Then I added one of the large Flirty Flamingo Enamel Dots from the kit to the centre of each V.

For my sentiment I stamped ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ from the Sentimental Rose Stamp Set below the V, using the Gray Granite ink spot from the kit.

Finally I used the oval hole option on the Detailed Trio Punch to add a hole at the top of the tag. I cut two pieces of Whisper White twine from the kit and folded them in half. Then I threaded the loops through the hole and passed the cut ends through the loops to secure them. Job done.

This tag is quite simple to make and you could start with any pre-prepared card base, or cut and score some card from scratch. There’s so many possibilities with this design.

SENTIMENTAL ROSE INSPIRATION

For more inspiring alternate projects using the Sentimental Rose Paper Pumpkin kit, hop on through the list.

PAPER PUMPKIN KITS

Paper Pumpkin kits are fully designed craft projects in a box, with everything prepared for you. Each month the project is different and we never know what it’s going to be. Sometimes we get sneak peeks and that only adds to the fun.

There are two ways to get the monthly kit:

Month to month subscription – with this method you set up your subscription at Paper Pumpkin with your credit card details. Then on or shortly after the 11th of the month you’re charged for that month’s kit. Shipping is already included in the subscription price so all that’s added will be the appropriate taxes for your province. The kit is then shipped to you in the following day or two. If you don’t want to get a kit that month, simply access your Paper Pumpkin account by the 10th of the month and click ‘skip this month’.

Pre-Paid subscription – with this method you purchase a pre-paid code with shipping and taxes added (just like any other Stampin’ Up! order). There are options for 1 month, 3 month, 6 month and 12 months . You set up your Paper Pumpkin account in the usual way but this time you enter the pre-paid code that’s been e-mailed to you. You still have the option to skip a month (by the 10th), but you’ll be paying for them all in advance.

Personally I love the element of surprise, not knowing exactly what will be in the box each month. I do know that each box contains an exclusive Stampin’ Up! photopolymer stamp set that will not be available anywhere else. I’ll also get at least one mini ink spot in a Stampin’ Up! colour. The kit includes full instructions and photographs for making up the project (a video is also posted on YouTube a few days after the kits ship). Finally all the materials in the box are the same high quality you’ve come to expect from Stampin’ Up! and even adhesives are included.

PAPER PUMPKIN SATISFACTION GUARANTEE

For me the best part about Paper Pumpkin is their satisfaction guarantee. If you’re not happy with a kit you’ve received they promise to make it right. If you’ve subscribed and chosen me as your Demonstrator, just let me know and I’ll deal with it for you.

The May kit promises to be amazing and we already know it will contain everything to make 12 cards (3 each of 4 designs). The box often gives a clue to what’s inside. I suspect that this kit will sell out well before the deadline so don’t wait until May 10th to sign up. Subscribe now and give Paper Pumpkin a test drive.

Well that’s it from me for today. I do hope you’ll pop back tomorrow when I’ll have another new project for you. I promise there’ll be less to read too!