What a gorgeous set Paper Pumpkin sent us this month with their February kit, “Bouquet of Hope.” I was concerned that this would be a more “somber” card-making experience since the theme was comforting friends and loved ones during tough times. But I ended up with some beautiful cards that can be used for birthdays, Mother’s Day, or just to tell someone special that you’re thinking of them.
These first three cards were the cards designed for this month’s kit. We had enough supplies to make three of each. But of course, I only made one of each so that I could then make my own creations… the alternates!
I always like to make at least one of my alternates using only what comes in the box and that’s what this next card is.
The green striped paper was the inside lining of one of the envelopes. I like how the triangle shape of the envelope flap works with the stripes in the green paper, so I left it as-is and built the rest of the card around it. The black strip was cut from the leftover negative part of the word stickers. (You can use everything in that box, baby!)
The “Thinking of You” die cut sticker was one of three sayings on the sheet. The other two were similar phrases in French and German. (“Jepense a toi” and “Ganz liebe grübe”) I was determined to use them… somehow… but the only coherent English word I could come up with was “Be”…
Not bad, huh? I also cut the gold doily in half for this card, and used the pink lining from one of the other envelopes to die cut the label. (Tasteful Labels Dies)
Then I started coloring. Oh boy… that’s when the fun began! I used the floral bouquet stamp that came with the kit, and Stampin’ Blend alcohol markers, which make even a fool like me look like they know what they’re doing. And voila!
I used Blending Brushes and ink to color the label on this card, mixing the Calypso Coral (red) and Pumpkin Pie (orange) colors I used in the flowers with the same Rococo Rose (pink) from the envelope liner. (Stampin’ Up!’s color coordination is a godsend. Everything matches!)
For this, I used patterned paper with daisies that matched the stamp. (“Flower and Field DSP” from Sale-a-Bration.) I couldn’t choose between numerous sentiments that all worked so well… and finally decided to leave it blank so I could use it for “any of the above.” Ha! I think I may do that more often.
For the above card, I used another sheet from the “Flower and Field” DSP. I fussy cut the blue flowers and carried them over onto the green stripe paper to tie the two sides together.
I made a shaker card! You can’t see the sequins through the vellum as clearly as you can with the clear window sheets normally used. But the haziness works well on this card with the subdued colors, I think.
And my last card is just opulence at its gaudy finest. Tons of gold; gold embossing, gold laser cuts, gold foil die cut frame, and of course the gold in the vellum… they all add up to make a beautiful card that is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE TO PHOTOGRAPH! (If I wasn’t already bald, I’d have pulled my hair out trying to get a picture of this.) But, hopefully you can see it clearly enough to appreciate it. It’s my favorite of the bunch.
Ah, and so ends another month of Paper Pumpkin. Click on the dropdown menu at the top of this page to see the latest kit available to order, as well as posts from previous months. Until next time, my lovelies… take care of yourself, take care of each other, and keep on crafting!
