SWEET SUNFLOWERS . . . AUGUST PAPER PUMPKIN KIT

 

This month's Paper Pumpkin kit from Stampin' Up! is so pretty, and I love the cards!  The kit components were gorgeous and, while I could have used them in a multitude of alternate ways, I decided to just make the cards as they were intended.  On one of the designs, I used "Hang in there" on the outside of the card and "even when you don't understand" on the inside.  These sentiments are in the "Wisteria Wishes" stamp set.  From the recently retired "Here's a Card" stamp set, I used "May your heart find the peace it needs" on one of the other cards.

I thought the cards in the above picture would be handy when a sympathy card is needed.  Thinking that they needed just a little something, it turned out that a neatly tied twine bow behind the sentiment was the perfect addition.

Aren't those tiny bees adorable????  There were actually a lot of extra bees in the kit, and I will enjoy adding them to other cards.

Another lovely design from the kit is pictured above.  It, too, needed a little something, so I tied more twine bows for them.

The cards pictured above were my favorite!  The subtle watercolored background and the gorgeous assorted flowers are just . . . well . . . sweet!  All that I added to these cards were the sparkly rhinestones because why not?

And that vellum die-cut honeycomb . . . just the perfect touch!  The sunflower and the pretty bouquet in the bottom left corner were adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals, as was the die-cut sentiment label.

The back of each card was also really pretty, and it occurred to me to cut the cards apart and make extra cards.  I decided to not do that because I figured it would be an extra treat for the recipient of these cards to discover that there was more to the card than just a pretty front.  😊  But wait . . . check out the envelopes:

Whoever designed the August kit for Stampin' Up! really went the extra mile!  Can you believe how gorgeous the envelopes are?!?!?!

After the nine cards were made, I used a couple of the extra components to make an extra card.  The scalloped rectangles were cut using Stitched So Sweetly (retired) and Scalloped Contours dies.  My cardstock colors are White, Early Espresso, and Soft Succulent.

Are you a Paper Pumpkin subscriber?  If you haven't tried the monthly kits lately, you really should!  I think Stampin' Up! is doing an excellent job of bringing creative designs that are as much fun to make as they are to mail.  Get your subscription started!!!

FLORAL SYMPATHY CARD

Last March, I enjoyed using Stampin' Blends markers to color flower images from the "True Love" designer paper collection (see that post HERE), and I recently had the opportunity to use some of those bouquets on a sympathy card.

I think the flowers are sooooo pretty, and it was very nice to have them already colored, cut out, and ready to use because I was really short on time when I needed to get the sympathy card in the mail.  The silver embossed sentiment was also left (unused) from another project, so all I really needed to do was put pieces together.  If you're like me, you sometimes question whether it's worth saving elements because you probably won't know where they are when you need them, but I knew exactly where these components were.  For the past 16 months, the ready-to-use flowers have been kept in a stamp case, which made it very easy to find the flowers because I can see in the case.

In the above photo, you see some of the shimmer from the Wink of Stella brush.  I didn't color the entire flowers--just a few areas.

This card is proof that when we store prepped-but-not-used card components in a see-through container, we might be more likely to actually use those items in the future.  :-)

A NON-WINTRY/HOLIDAY CARD FEATURING "GINGERBREAD HOUSE" DIES

 

So it finally happened . . . I was able to make the die-cut gingerbread house not look at all like a wintry/holiday gingerbread house, and I love this card!  This is a birthday card that I made for a really sweet lady that I used to work with, and I hope that it will make her special day a happy one.

I die-cut the house three times--twice from watercolor paper and once from white cardstock--and then adhered the three cuts together.  The heart was cut from Evening Evergreen cardstock, as was the decorative fence, and the distressed layer is Soft Succulent cardstock.

One of the leafy images from Art Impression's "Greenery Invites" stamp set was used to create a wreath (of sorts) using Early Espresso ink on the Soft Succulent cardstock, and then I added a few Soft Succulent berry sprig images here and there on the wreath.  I couldn't resist adding a die-cut bird to the bottom left corner of the house--isn't he adorable?!?!  

Indeed, some of the "Gingerbread House" dies are going to be used year-round!  I love the size of the die-cut house because it seems to be just perfect for just about any project . . . cards, tags, banners, gift packages, etc.  And that fence . . . it's just so pretty!

Product Information

"SWEET GINGERBREAD" THANK YOU CARD

 

The "Sweet Gingerbread" bundle in Stampin' Up!'s current mini catalog was one of those products that I really liked and wanted, but I just didn't think I'd use it all that much.  As a matter of fact, I'd already chosen another bundle that I would (most likely) use for my Christmas cards this year, so I couldn't justify purchasing this adorable set.  At least not right away.  But . . . it finally landed on one of my orders, and I was determined to create a non-Christmas/Winter card with the products.

Although I failed at making these cards not look Christmas-y, I still put them in the mail in July.  I shouldn't have used the die-cut trees and . . . really????? . . . what was I thinking when I used that pretty plaid paper with red and green???  What can I say . . . that paper is just too pretty to resist.  The little house is just adorable, isn't it?  And that fence is so pretty with its tiny detailing.  I'm pretty sure there will be no buyer's remorse for these products.

The sentiment is from the "Flowers of Friendship" stamp set, and I used one of the Tailor Made Tags dies to cut it after it was stamped.  I love those dies.  I actually love them a little more than before now that I know they can be used to add a little detail to a stamped sentiment when a tag isn't really needed for my project.

Happy stampin' until the next post!