Past Paper Pumpkin Alternates - May 2020 - A Kit in Color

I don't know about you, but sometimes I have stamps and such sitting on my desk for a long time, just waiting for some inspiration to hit. Currently, I have had the May 2020 Paper Pumpkin Kit (A Kit in Color) sitting there, just waiting for something to come to me and give me some inspiration. 

Well, my patience has paid off! I have 3 cards to show you that use the "A Kit in Color" May 2020 Paper Pumpkin Kit.

Let me show you:

Using a few supplies that were not included in the Paper Pumpkin kit itself, I made these three cards. The card bases were from my own personal supplies, plus the rhinestones, the flower punch and the small circle punch, the Misty Moonlight card stock, and the white embossing powder and Versamark Ink. Also the greeting on the Magenta Madness striped card is from the "Here's A Card" stamp set. I think everything else is from the original kit. I love how these three cards turned out!

I hope that you like these cards as much as I do. If you have this kit, maybe you can try CASE-ing one, two, or all three cards.

Thanks for stopping by,

Kathryn

#akitincolor

#paperpumpkin

#paperpumpkinmay2020

#paperpumpkinakitincolor

#paperpumpkinalternatecards

An In-Color Friendship Card

I have been taking an online class this month that has been focusing on the Stampin' Up! bundle "Forever Fern" (Item #154094). We have been using the stamp set "Forever Fern" and the die set "Forever Flourishing". When you purchase the two of them together, as a "bundle" you save 10%! Such a great bargain.

Anyway, after watching one of the tutorials the other night, I made the following card:

All supplies available from Stampin' Up!:

Stamp set: Forever Fern (Item #152559)

Ink Pads: Just Jade (Item #153115)

Bumblebee (Item #153116)

Magenta Madness (Item #153117)

Versamark (Item #102283)

Card stock: Whisper White Thick (Item #140272)

Cinnamon Cider (Item #153078)

Misty Moonlight (Item #153081)

Whisper White (Item #100730)

Accessories: Forever Flourishing Dies (Item #152714)

Stitched Shapes Dies (Item #152323)

Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper (Item #152492)

White Stampin' Emboss Powder (Item #109132)

Heat Tool (Item #129053)

Linen Thread (Item #104199)

Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Item #144108)

It's such a pretty card. But I can't take all the credit for it. I was inspired by Jenn Frost, and The Crafty Carrot Collective group. Next month (August 2020) they will be offering their program for free! And the Stampin' Up! bundle that they will be working with is the "Beautiful World" bundle. If you feel so inspired, go check it out (craftycarrotcollective.blogspot.com). 

Well, thanks for stopping by. I always appreciate it when you do. And I hope to see you again soon,

Kathryn

Positive Thoughts Silhouette Card - #TGIFC273

I have felt inspired by the TGIF Challenge Blog lately. This week it was to create a project with a fun silhouette effect on it. I looked through my stamp sets, looking for an image that would make a good silhouette. I found a beautiful fern image in the "Positive Thoughts" stamp set that I thought would do quite nicely. Take a look:

All supplies available from Stampin' Up!:

Stamp set: Positive Thoughts (Item #151490)

Ink Pads and Refills: Night of Navy Ink Refill(Item #103033)

Gorgeous Grape Ink Refill(Item #147164)

Versamark Ink Pad(Item #102283)

Stazon Jet Black Ink Pad (Item #101406)

Cardstock: Gorgeous Grape (Item #146987)

Night of Navy (Item #100867)

Pretty Peacock (Item #150880)

Basic Black (Item #121045)

Accessories: Water color paper (What I used is retired, but Stampin' Up! has some "Fluid 100" watercolor paper -Item # 149612, that would be just right!) 

Die-cutting and Embossing Machine (Coming soon!)

Greenery Embossing Folder (Item #152716)

Nature's Thoughts Dies ((Item #153586)

White Stamp and Emboss Powder (Item #109132)

Heat Tool (Item #129053)

Water Painters (Item #151298)

Rhinestone Basic Jewels (Item #144220)

Stampin' Dimensionals (Item #104430)

On the watercolor paper, I used the Night of Navy Ink Refill on one end and the Gorgeous Grape Ink Refill on the other end, and brought them together in the center to blend the colors together. I also used the Stazon Jet Black Ink to stamp the fern to give it the silhouette effect. I was trying to make a sunrise-sort of background for it. I also used white embossing powder and a heat tool to stamp and emboss my greeting, and then hand-cut around it and mounted it on my card using Stampin' Dimensionals. 

I hope you like my card, and are inspired to create your own silhouette-effect card. Maybe you could even participate in the challenge (#tgifc273).

Hope you are having a wonderful day, and keep on stamping!

Kathryn

Hello Friend!

I was telling you recently about the beautiful designer series paper that Stampin' Up! has available currently. Now, I know that the paper on these cards is no longer available as it was one of the offerings during Sale-A-Bration, but you could always choose some of the other paper collections  that are in one of the current catalogs and still come up with something that is equally amazing.

Here are my cards that I wanted to share with you today:

All supplies available from Stampin' Up!:

Stamp set: Seriously the Best (Item #151712)

Card stock: Highland Heather (Item #146986)

Blackberry Bliss (Item #133675)

Balmy Blue (Item #146982)

Ink pad: Versamark Pad (Item #102283)

Accessories: Lily Impressions Designer Series Paper (retired)

White Stampin' Emboss Powder (Item #109132)

Heat Tool (Item #129053)

Scalloped Lace Trim (Item #149593)

Linen Thread (Item #104199)

Stampin' Dimensionals (Item #104430)

Paper Snips (Item #103579)

As you can see, I used white embossing powder on the greeting, and then I fussy-cut (or hand-cut) the greeting out using my Paper Snips, leaving about a 1/16" border around it.  (Paper Snips are my super sharp, micro tip scissors that are available from Stampin' Up!, in case you didn't know.) I also used some retired sequins that coordinate with the paper, but you could use any sort of sequins or rhinestones that you have.

As you can see, on the sheet of paper that I used, it has many colors that coordinate with it. It is such beautiful paper, and it made some gorgeous cards in a snap! I made a whole set of these cute cards and then I delivered them to special friends in my area, just to let them know we were thinking of them at this tough time. My husband even used some of them to give to some families that he visits. (He liked the darker colored parts of the DSP, and I used the lighter shades of purple.)

I know that right now might be hard to get to the craft store, but I just want to let you know that Stampin' Up! is still shipping orders directly to your home. And if you need to order some paper crafting supplies, just contact me and I can help you get your order placed and coming right to your home! Just leave me a comment and I can get right back to you in a timely manner. I will even send you a handmade thank you card in appreciation for your order! I hope to be able to help you soon!

Thanks for stopping by,

Kathryn

Hello Birthday Blooms - #tgifc158

What a beautiful morning! So happy to be here with all of you today!

I had some time to craft on Saturday, and so I decided to see if there was a blog challenge that I might want to participate in...and there was! Over on TGIF Challenges blog, they are celebrating their 3rd "blog"-iversary (blog anniversary, if your not familiar with that term), and it is a wonderful color challenge. I have participated in several of their challenges over the past three years, so I thought I would have a go at it this time.

Here is my card for challenge #tgifc158 :

All supplies are from Stampin' Up!:

Stamp sets: Birthday Blooms, Hello Friend

Inks: Archival Basic Black, Berry Burst, Lemon-Lime Twist, Versamark

Card stocks: Whisper White Thick, Basic Black

Accessories: Aqua Painter, Stampin' Emboss Powder (White), Heat Tool, Linen Thread, 

Wink of Stella (Clear), Dimensionals

Did you notice the flower image and the greeting is cut out? That is not from a die. I had to fussy cut them with my paper snips. I usually use my Big Shot to cut out images, but not everything has a die to go with it. That's okay though. I don't mind fussy cutting sometimes, if I've got the time.

I used my Aqua Painter to watercolor the floral image. I love to watercolor! I also heat embossed the "hello" greeting, and used clear Wink of Stella on the little center pistils of the flower for a touch of bling!

Here is the challenge graphic from the TGIF Challenges blog:

I hope you enjoy my blog challenge card, and please go check out their website: tgifchallenges.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by to visit, and I hope to see you again soon,

Kathryn

A Magical Day is One of a Kind

I have been wanting to make a card using the unicorn from the "Magical Day" set ever since I bought it. I happen to know some young people who love unicorns, and pegasus (or is it "pegasi"?), and I wanted to make something with them in mind. Plus, I got to do a little coloring on it. (I love to color!)

This is one of my favorite kinds of folds to use. It is called a Z-fold card. You fold it in half, just like you would a regular card, and then the front half you fold in half again, back on itself. If you look at it from the bottom cut end, it looks like a Z, but with a long foot on the bottom. Take a look:

All supplies are from Stampin' Up!:

Stamp set: Magical Day

Card stock: Pink Pirouette, Daffodil Delight, Lemon-Lime Twist, Whisper White

Inks: Archival Basic Black, Versamark

Accessories: Myths and Magic Specialty Designer Series Paper,

Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Magical Mates Framelits, Petal Pair Textured Impressions Embossing Folder,

Stampin' Write Markers: Berry Burst, Pink Pirouette, Daffodil Delight, Lemon-Lime Twist, 

Pool Party,

Iridescent Sequin Assortment, Fine-Tip Glue Pen, Stampin' Emboss Powder (White), Heat Gun, Wink of Stella (Clear), Dimensionals

I hope you all remember that YOU are one of a kind, and that I wouldn't be doing this little blog without all of you. I appreciate all of you so much, and hope you continue to visit me here. Have a wonderful day!

Thanks for stopping by,

Kathryn

Garden Girl Emboss Resist Challenge (#tgifc118)

Boy this was a tough challenge for me. My collection of stamps did not lend itself well to what I wanted to do for this TGIF Challenge. Nothing like taking it almost right down to the wire either! LOL!

I am really glad that Stampin' Up! decided to bring back their Glossy Card Stock too. You can do some really cool ink blending with this stuff! My card is a Z-Fold card, with a background made using the emboss resist technique, which is what the challenge was. So many cute samples over on the TGIF Challenge blog! Take a look at my card:

All supplies from Stampin' Up!:

Stamp sets: Garden Girl, Better Together

Cardstock: Peekaboo Peach, Flirty Flamingo, Whisper White, Glossy Cardstock

Inks: Peekaboo Peach, Flirty Flamingo, Sweet Sugarplum, Archival Basic Black

Accessories: Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Lots of Labels Framelits Dies, Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Sponge Daubers, Stampin' Write Markers (Sweet Sugarplum and Flirty Flamingo) Clear Wink of Stella Brush, Delicate White Doilies, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Dimensionals

It is hard to tell in the big picture, but in the close-up you can see that I painted over the little butterfly with the Clear Wink of Stella Brush to give it a little touch of sparkle.

And here is the challenge graphic from the TGIF blog:

I hope you enjoyed my card! Thanks for stopping by,

Kathryn

Balloon Celebration Birthday Card

Back in May, I had started working on a card for a challenge over on....I forget which challenge blog it was so long ago! Then the ugly illness bug bit me, and I was down and out for a good two weeks. Blah! So my card sat. And sat. And SAT!

When I was finally feeling well enough to sit down to my crafting desk, there was my unfinished card, just waiting to have some loving attention paid to it. Here is how it came together:

All items used are from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

Stamp set: Balloon Celebration

Inks: Archival Basic Black, VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad

Cardstock: Whisper White Thick, Pool Party, Tip Top Taupe

Accessories: White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Triple Banner Punch, Tear & Tape Adhesive, Metallics Sequin Assortment, Linen Thread, Dimensionals

I love the dandelion fluff images in this card set. Usually a person might notice the balloons and the cloud images, but then there are these adorable little dandelion seed parachutes and the round dotty images that are so cute! I heat-embossed these little cuties with white embossing powder to add a nice touch of texture, and added a little birthday banner across the center.

I love to put a strip of sequins on my cards sometimes. I just picked out a bunch of the white sequins from the Metallics Sequin Assortment and stuck them to a strip of the Tear & Tape Adhesive, making sure I had covered all the sticky adhesive. My husband told me he thought it looked like seashells. He really liked it. He said "You could even give this card to a guy!" Imagine that. I made a masculine card and didn't even know it! Then I finished everything off with some linen thread wrapped around and tied in a little knot. Cute stuff!

Well, I hope you like my card today. Thanks for stopping by!

Kathryn

Moroccan Nights Lantern card - #tgifc59

Can you believe it?! Two posts in the same week?!! What is up with THAT!!!?

Okay, I have been feeling inspired by the Moroccan Nights stamp set. So many beautiful inspiration pieces on my inspiration board on Pinterest that I just had to make something else! I was inspired...but it did take me three tries to get my focal piece to where I liked it. I really like the Bokeh technique on it. The colors are much more brilliant in person. I was also inspired with the sketch challenge over at the TGIF Challenge blog, #tgifc59.

All supplies are from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

Stamp sets: Moroccan Nights, Thoughtful Banners

Ink: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Whisper White Craft, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad

Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Very Vanilla, Basic Black

Accessories: Big Shot, Large Polka Dot Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Sponge Daubers, Window Sheets, Circle Punches: 1/4", 1/2", 3/4", Metallics Sequin Assortment, Dimensionals, Simply Scored Scoring Board

Here is the sketch from TGIF Challenges:

Check out their blog, and leave some love for them in the form of comments. Better yet, play along if you can!

If you have any questions, or want to order any of the supplies I used, please leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as I can!

Thanks for visiting!

Kathryn

Moroccan Nights Thank You Card

I know it has been  awhile since I posted. Sometimes I just feel like it is so hard to put myself "out there". I really do try to do better. I feel I shouldn't post things that have retired from the "Stampin' Up!" world. I would probably post more often if I did, but, oh well. What do you think about posting stuff that has been retired?

Okay! Well, here is a new card, using all current product, of course. I hope you like it.

All supplies are from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

Stamp set: Moroccan Nights

Ink: Versamark Watermark Ink Pad

Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum

Accessories: Big Shot, Hello You Thinlits Dies, Lucky Stars Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Gold 1/8" Ribbon, Metallics Sequin Assortment, Tombow Mono Liquid Glue

Here is another view of my card. I die-cut 4 of the greeting and then layered them one on top of the other to give it more of a dimensional look. The medallion image in the Moroccan Nights stamp set, I  heat embossed with gold embossing powder. I think it makes a beautiful background.

I kind of struggled with this set a bit, so I went on to Pinterest and created a visual inspiration board, and then I did a search for all things Moroccan, such as lanterns, tiles and color combinations. From there I felt the inspiration I needed to create something I think is beautiful. I hope you do too!

Thanks for visiting!
Kathryn

#tgifc30 - White Christmas

So, I saw that the theme for the current challenge over at TGIF Challenges Blog was "White Christmas, and I just happened to have made this card recently, so I thought, "Perfect! Until I went to write this post and realized that the "Bright and Beautiful" stamp set was retired last year! (What!!?) Oh well.  I still think it turned out really pretty.

So the challenge is themed "White Christmas". I think it fits. Here it is:

All supplies are from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

Stamp set: Bright and Beautiful (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White Thick

Ink: VersaMark Watermark Ink Pad

Accessories: Gold Glimmer Paper, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Big Shot, Stars Framelits Dies, Lucky Stars Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Whisper White 1/4" Cotton Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

It embossed up nicely, don't you think?

Here is the badge for the challenge theme (#tgifc30):

Check out the design team inspiration pieces and the other entries, and maybe play along too!

Thanks for visiting!

Kathryn 

#TGIFC18 August Remix FAIL!- Kinda Eclectic

OMGosh! Two posts in one week! I don't believe it! I was trying to get my post done and  downloaded to the TGIF Challenge blog, but I didn't make it in time.  So much to do, so little time! Oh well, I guess I can still post it here and hopefully you can still enjoy it.

So here is my card:

All Supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

Stamp set: Kinda Eclectic

Inks: Daffodil Delight, Pool Party, Basic Gray, VersaMark Embossing Ink

Card Stock: Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray, Whisper White

Accessories: Elegant Butterfly Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Stampin' Emboss Powder: Clear, Stampin' Sponges, Tea Lace Paper Doilies, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Dimensionals, Tombow Liquid Glue

As you can see I embossed the sunburst image! I love heat embossing! Then I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the stamp with the Pool Party dots all the way down the same piece of card stock. I didn't want the dots to cover the sunburst, and that is why I embossed it first. It is a technique called "Emboss Resist". I also stamped off some of the Pool Party ink each time I stamped it on the bottom layer so that they got lighter and lighter as it went from the bottom of the piece to the top. I wanted it to look like it was fading out.

Well, I hope you liked my card. Thanks for stopping in and looking!
Kathryn

A Bokeh Birthday Card

Okay, okay...I know it has been a while...again. I seriously need to get a new camera so it doesn't take me so long to get pictures for this blog.

Well, I have a pretty card to show you today. I recently learned a new technique called "Bokeh". Bokeh is defined as the out of focus area in a photograph esp. as rendered by a particular lens. It is a wonderful technique to use for a background, but I bet you could use it for other shapes or die-cuts as well.

I participate with a small group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators that meet about every other month and we do a themed card swap. Earlier this year we met with the intent of sharing "Birthday" cards. This was my card that I shared with my friends.

All Supplies are Stampin' Up!:

Stamp Set - Remembering Your Birthday

Paper - Cardstock: Calypso Coral, Whisper White; White Vellum Cardstock

Inks - Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Hello Honey, Whisper White Craft Ink, VersaMark

Accessories - Punches: Elegant Butterfly, Bitty Butterfly, 2" Circle, 3/4" Circle; White Embossing Powder; Heat Tool; Rhinestone Basic Jewels; Calypso Coral 3/4" Chevron Ribbon; Big Shot; Oval Collection Framelits; Window Sheets; Circles Collection Framelits; Sponge Daubers; Stamping Sponges; Stampin' Dimensionals; Multipurpose Liquid Glue

I looked on YouTube at several videos on how to do the Bokeh Technique. Just search "Bokeh card technique" and I am sure several will show up.

I hope you like my card!

Kathryn

P.S. I have another card to show you using this same technique. I hope I can remember to post it sooner than later! (Giggle!)

K