I absolutely loved this month’s Paper Pumpkin kit. (Pun intended, wink, wink.) This was the first time in years I made Valentines, and this kit gave me so many great supplies and ideas to create some really cool cards.
Below are the two cards that were this month’s design. I adore the color choices, Poppy Parade (red) and Petal Pink. When combined with black, the cards have both a classic look and a modern one. It just depends on which embellishments are featured.
The cluster of hearts is gorgeous, especially when the pink epoxy hearts are added to it. And the small cluster of flowers is a stamp that can be used on a variety of things when you need a little “extra” something.
But it’s a stamp we didn’t use that I fell for. That little snail… oh my goodness, he is so freakin’ cute!! I stamped and fussy cut out four of him and colored them with Stampin’ Blends, and they all turned out great! So I used them on my alternates and, well, that little snail just became a little star in my book. The first one is featured on this next card, which is made only with supplies from the kit. (Except for the Stampin’ Blends I used to color the snail; Smoky Slate and Cajun Craze.)
The font of the sentiment is also playful and fun, which makes this a great kit for creating valentines for friends without all that gooey “romantic” stuff.
A moment of serendipity happened with a scrap of black-and-white paper that happened to be lying on my desk. It was from the True Love Designer Series Paper pack and the stripes lined up perfectly with the stripes on the pink card. So I made a couple of cards that played on that.
I also had a scrap of the Golden Garden Designer Specialty Acetate left lying on my desk, so I thought, “What the heck, let’s see if I can use this on a card.” And voila!
And then, I don’t know what made me think to do it, I flipped the cluster hearts stamp upside down and ended up with this super cool wavy heart thing that just blew my mind.
I used the Versamark Watercolor Ink to stamp the background. (Something I do often… it works with just about any color.) I did the same thing on this next card with the hearts cluster. (Oh, and there’s George again!)
I’m not sure I love the “snail trail of sequins.” I wasn’t planning on putting so many on, but you know how it is sometimes with sequins… you just can’t stop. So, I’m not entirely sure I don’t love it either.
But my favorite card is this next one. Naturally, it features our friend George, and a whole lot of Wink of Stella. (What did we ever do before Wink of Stella?) The die cut is from the Dandy Laser-Cut Paper and the background was created using Stampin’ Up!’s new Blending Brushes. (Oh, they’re amazing!!) For the sentiment strip, I brushed some Wink of Stella over Soft Sea Foam cardstock, then stamped the sentiment and die cut it using one of the Floral Gallery Dies. Isn’t it just gorgeous?!
Well, I hope you enjoyed these cards and if you’re not a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, you should try it out. It’s so much fun and a great way for beginner card makers to start. You can read more about it here on my blog, or just click on “Paper Pumpkin” in the main menu. Also, if you love George as much as I do, I suggest checking out the Snail Mail Suite from the 2021 Jan-Jun Mini Catalog.
Until next time, my lovelies, stay safe, keep the peace… and happy crafting!
-Steve
