Paper Pumpkin February 2020, Lovely Day

 My first "official" paper Pumpkin kit arrived last week. I dived in almost immediately. My kit was sent on the second wave and because of that, I saw LOTS of inspiration in the Paper Pumpkin Facebook Group from mid-month on. All nine of these are what is supposed to come out of the kit. I did cut all card bases in half so, there are potentially nine more I can make. THEY will be "alternatives" since I've used up all the die-cuts and foil stickers...

 I did this one first, adding the strip of razzleberry between the two pink background papers. I also cut the pieces down so there would be a white border all the way around...

This one had a slightly colored background that we stamped the flower over. I added more color with a paint brush and the enclosed Rococo Rose ink spot. I colored in the center with a yellow colored pencil and then added Glossy Accents to that same center and added glittery Nuvo drops to the berries...

 This one I colored in the cake with my Prismacolor Pencils, doing my best to match the card base. I maybe, did it ok? It's not a perfect match but it'll work. :)

What a BEAUTIFUL and fun kit this was! I can't wait to work on alternatives...

Update: 3-29-20 A couple alternatives using the stamp set and altering the enclosed envelope...

Update 4-6-20 Completed these alternatives this past weekend. More of the stamp set, Copic colored, inserts from envelopes as background paper, vellum, LOTS of bling and a layered "smile" die-cut. NICE!!

Paper Pumpkin Kit...

All these cards were made from the February 2019 Paper Pumpkin kit called "Grown With Kindness". It is one of three I purchased from my mentor on my last visit to her in mid-January out in California...

As soon as I returned home to New Jersey, I made one each of the three card designs that were intended to come from the kit.

 These three are "alternatives". Fortunately, there are many examples of alternatives on both Instagram AND Pinterest...

 Two more alternatives. The "friend" die is from Simon Says Stamp...

When I finished the cards, I got out my Gelli-plate, acrylic paints and stencils and used the envelopes from the kit to make them as matchy matchy as possible to send with the cards... not too bad, eh?

I've heard about Paper Pumpkin for years but had never seen and felt one in person. Now that I have, I'm sold!! This kit was wicked awesome! Total # of cards made is eleven. In the first picture, all that is left from the kit is shown in the bottom left corner. Two card backs and some miscellaneous pieces. I cut card backs, when used, down to two pieces and mounted them on my own 110# card back. I also signed up to receive more Paper Pumpkin kits in the future, the first coming in THIS month. I CANNOT wait... :)

New Year's Day Virtual Cardmaking Challenges...

 One of the cardmaking groups I am in, had a Virtual Cardmaking Day yesterday. Every two hours, starting at 8am and ending at 6pm EST, two new challenges were posted. Since I was actually HOME... and ALONE... I joined in!

 The first 8am challenge was to stamp a background for a Valentine card. Since this may be the only Valentine's I make this year, I made three. I used Stampin' Up's Gorgeous Grunge and Touches of Texture for the background.  I added die-cut hearts, washi tape, twine and bling... done! I called this "the one with the stamped background for Valentine's Day...."

 This challenge was at 12pm and was to make a card featuring a bird. I made one prior to this, entered it, then ripped it apart because I didn't like it. I named this "the one with the better bird..."

 One of the challenges at 2pm was to pick a card (either fellow cardmaker or Pinterest) and remake it. I chose one by a fellow cardmaker in the group, Renee. I called this "the one where I took someone else's idea and ran with it..." I can't seem to upload her card so I'll have to figure out why and add it later. I used three different washi tapes, a die-cut I received in a swap a long, long time ago, an embossing folder and bling...

This was one of the last two challenges at 6pm. It was to use anything floral on the card. I got out My Favorite Things "Stitched Blooms" and ran several colors through the Big Shot. The background is from a class I took at an LSS a couple months ago, relearning my Geli-plate. I called this "the one with anything floral on the card..."

SOOOO, a fun day! I only did four of the twelve challenges but it was great to add to my severely depleted stash... HAPPY NEW YEAR peeps!!

Watercolor cards...

So, the Monday before Thanksgiving, I spent the day with Susan Hiles, who lives north of me here in New Jersey. She taught me some free hand water-coloring. THIS was the first thing we did. It was so fun! I was amazed at how pretty it turned out. But wait, look below...

This week, I turned it into THIS card. OMG! I am SOOOOOO blown away!

This one had a slight learning curve. I kept wanting to go the wrong way with the points of the holly. I'm sure that makes absolutely no sense... LOL. But, look below for what happened with this...

DA BOMB!! Those Taylored Expressions strip sentiments work wonders to make magic. And, of course, a stitched die-cut and extra colored layers, sequins and Nuvo drops...

This one, as doing it, reminded me of something my grandmother had painted on porcelain. When I got home, I took a picture of my work next to hers, which btw, has a date of 1950 on the back. All her porcelain I had just acquired when my mother downsized this past April. NOW, look what I did with this piece...

OH MY GOD!!! This is so damn pretty! These three cards will dwell in my Studio for the next year. At that time, I may be tired of looking at them and I'll find an appropriate recepient. It would definitely have to be someone who would hold on to and cherish it... :)

Update: 12-5-20 Another piece I did with Susan but didn't like. However, in a challenge in Seongsook's in August, this worked!

Update: 12-13-21 I think this is the last piece from this event that was turned into a card. Funny story though, again another challenge in Seongsook's in August of this year and I got SOOO excited that I could create a WATERCOLOR card with this that I didn't notice that the rest of the challenge was for it to be a BIRTHDAY card. Oh well, my bad. BUT, off it went to Susan for her Christmas card this year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS PEEPS!! And thank you for following me this past year...

Ink Pad Class...

 I drove into New York City last night to take a class at the Ink Pad. I know what you're thinking, "YOU DROVE INTO NEW YORK CITY?!!!!" Yeah, I'm nuts...

 All of the cards we made were using Mama Elephant stamps and dies...

 Cute little penguins... and when I say "little", I mean LITTLE! 

 This was cute! The little characters making snow angels...

 A very apropos card for NYC... so damn cute! 

 This was the last one we did and the only one I had to finish at home. I love. love, love this die! Definitely on my wish list for Black Friday! And BTW... that makes my five Christmas cards for November COMPLETE!! Of course, there will be a LOT more as now it's crunch time for the personal cards to be done. The Ernman is home at Thanksgiving and the personal ones will need to be signed before he heads back to California... :)

And this is me and the instructor, Cheiron Brandon. I met her a few years ago when I took her Holiday Extravaganza class. She is one creative soul and a really neat lady...

Playing Catch-up with Christmas Cards...

I've missed four months of the last ten on my challenge to make five Christmas cards a month... my bad!! So, October was catch-up month! Here's twenty... :)

Starting with mid-month when Ann Ullery stayed the night after her cruise and we did these. A Rubber Cafe stamp set colored with Prismacolors. Following a technique I learned at the first Junkie Fest, we made a faux fence. The flame and the wax drip have Glossy Accents and stickles are on the berries for dimension.

Since I have so much Christmas patterned paper, I watched a couple Kristie Marcotte videos (the 6"x 6" queen of cardmaking) to see if I could use up paper...

  

I also caught a Kristina Warner video where she gold embossed the background paper. So, I did that on the red piece. The Noel is from a 12"x 12" pad with extra pieces. Gold glitter paper and bling from my stash...

More like the above...

I used the same layout I used when crafting with my mentor, Barb, at the beginning of October at her home in California. It worked perfect for the extra pieces from another 12"x 12" pad.

I've been cleaning up files on my computer all week and came across a card I made in a Craftsy class back in 2017. I decided to CASE it with Christmas papers. Not bad!

And these two? Just corners of a 12" x 12" pad using a stitched die and Taylored Expressions sentiment strips...

But, the bad part of all these is that with ALL the paper I used, it barely made a dent... ugh! BUT, twenty more Christmas cards for my stash. :)

A week of Autumn Cards...

 Over the past week, I've been rather successful in my Studio and I wanted to share...

 Last week, Ann Ullery stopped by for a "crafty" day before she took a cruise out of Newark up to the Fall Foliage of New England... and beyond. This stamp is from Simon Says Stamp called "Sketched Flowers". We heat embossed with Rose Gold embossing powder and then colored with Zigs. The die-cut is triple layered with the top layer out of gold cardstock. There were two of these but one has already gone postal...

 This card was actually made when visiting my friend and mentor, Barb, while visiting my hubby who's now working in California... wait, what?! Yup, California! The stamp set was from Stampin' Up and I learned a new technique that makes this look so elegant. I made two. On my return, I wanted to add a sentiment. I was soooooo nervous about adding it right on the paper because the paper is textured. I was afraid I wouldn't get a good impression. And if I ruined it, then what? Anyway, lots of practice on other textured paper and my trusty MISTI, it was a SCORE!!! I absolutely love how perfect this is! Barb, you're da best!!

Before heading to California, I had die-cut several leaves from the Tim Holtz "Fall Foliage" set from some paper I had colored with Distress Oxides. They were monopolizing my table. Following a very well written tutorial from Annie Frazer, I made the background paper using the "Gesso Resist" technique. What a fabulous, fabulous result! Thank you Annie! AND, home to some of those leaves all over my desk. The sentiment is from a Laurel Burch set, the bling is Gina Marie Designs and the twine from my stash. I made two and like above, one is already postal...

 Still a lot of leaves on the table so, I CASEd this from something I saw on Pinterest. Sentiment is Gina K Designs, bling Gina Marie Designs, background paper from a 6" x 6" pad and twine from my stash. I made two and like above, one is already postal...

 This set is Stampin' Up's "Sheltering Tree". It's been ages since I used it and I was determined to do something different from what I did last time. At first, because there are sooo many different layers of stamping, it was kicking my butt. You know the game, ink in the wrong places, lopsided stamping, things not lining up... but, I kept with it and the result? Fantastic!! I made three... and now ALL the rest of these cards need to make their way to the post office. After all, the fall is fast receding.

I made these a top folding card which is a rarity for me, so added an inside piece. Well, TWO inside pieces. That teeny, tiny brown? It's the same paper I used on top...

So, HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!!!