April Paper Pumpkin Alternatives - Customer Thank You Cards

April's Paper Pumpkin cards were lovely ways to reconnect with our families during this time when we can't be together physically, but there were a lot of leftover bits and some nice stamps to use, particularly the tree stamps. I needed some more customer thank you cards, so I commandeered the leftovers of the kit, turned the tree stamps into blossoms and hydrangeas, and created some nice spring-themed full sized cards for my lovely customers, who are still supporting me even though they can't attend live classes at this time.

• For the first sample, Pear Pizzazz was used for the card base and a piece of Bird Ballad DSP, which will be retiring June 2 or while supplies last,  formed the background.
• On a piece of Whisper White, I used Sahara Sand ink with the tree trunk stamp from the April '20 Paper Pumpkin kit for the tree trunk and then stamped the tree top stamp twice using Petal Pink ink. It was a little trickier getting the two sides to meld properly without the guides from the kit paper to help, but I got better the more I did. 
• With plenty of die cut birds and butterflies to spare, I added a whole bird and either a whole or a half butterfly (a half butterfly looks like a resting butterfly with its wings up) to the blossoms.
• Then a bow made with some retired Silver & Petal Pink Baker's Twine was added.
• The sentiment, from Woven Heirlooms stamp set is stamped in Pear Pizzazz ink and punched with the Classic Label Punch and added using Mini Stampin' Dimensionals.

• For the second sample, the Pear Pizzazz base has a Soft Sea Foam layer embossed with the retiring Tufted 3D Embossing Folder. 
• I stamped the tree top stamp inked with Flirty Flamingo onto some Blushing Bride cardstock and fussy cut it.
• It was mounted on the card front using Stampin' Dimensionals. The leaf die cut from the Paper Pumpkin kit was added using Liquid Multipurpose Glue with a bow from Braided Linen Trim added using a Glue Dot.
• The sentiment, from Timeless Tropical, was stamped onto one of the labels from the Paper Pumpkin kit in Flirty Flamingo, and a flag, cut from some retiring Birthday Bonanza Designer Series Paper is added to the sentiment label using Glue Dots. 
• Then the whole thing is added to the project using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Here are the links to the last chance products again. Remember to put in your orders early before things sell out, because once they are gone, they are gone for good, even if it's before June 2nd.

To View the Annual Catalogue Last Chance Products Click Here.

To View the Mini Catalogue Last Chance Products Click Here.

If you live in Canada, and don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the right side bar at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in Canada by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the top menu or clicking on any of products below from my Online Store.

Product List

*Timeless Tropical Cling Stamp Set (English) [151497] $31.00	*Timeless Tropical Bundle (English) [153811] $71.00	*Woven Heirlooms Cling Stamp Set [149306] $33.00	*Woven Heirlooms Bundle [151093] $64.75	*Bird Ballad Designer Series Paper [149592] $15.75
*Birthday Bonanza Designer Series Paper [151313] $15.75	Pear Pizzazz 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [131201] $12.00	Blushing Bride 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [131198] $12.00	Soft Sea Foam 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146988] $12.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730] $13.25
Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad [147104] $10.25	Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad [147117] $10.25	Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad [147052] $10.25	Petal Pink Classic Stampin' Pad [147108] $10.25	**Silver & Petal Pink Baker's Twine [146288] $5.50
3/16" (1 Cm) Braided Linen Trim [147808] $9.50	*Tufted 3D Embossing Folder [151785] $12.25	Classic Label Punch [141491] $24.00	Paper Snips [103579] $13.50	Multipurpose Liquid Glue [110755] $5.50
*Snail Adhesive [104332] $9.50	Mini Glue Dots [103683] $7.25	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $5.50	Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [144108] $5.50

*Product will be retiring after the 2019 -2020 Annual Catalogue, June 2

**Product has already retired and is not available for sale.

The Gang's All Meer for Freshly Made Sketches

A funny thing happened on the way to the Craft Retreat! As you may know I was planning a fund raising 1 day crop this past Saturday - right about when the whole COVID-19 virus issue heated up! We had been advised that gatherings of less than 250 people were still okay, and as we were only 32, well below the target number set by the Center for Disease Control, we decided to go ahead, with precautions. We gave an out for anyone who felt uncomfortable attending and also asked that anyone who felt unwell not attend. I was able to offer a partial refund plus all the treats, Swag Bags and make & takes. There were a few who felt more comfortable staying home, but here is the amazing part: Not one of them wanted a refund. To a person, they all donated it to the cause, so we weren't out a dime! Crafters are the coolest people!

But there's more: Friday morning around 4:30 am, I woke up coughing, with a slight fever and my chest feeling a bit tight! Major dilemma! I'm running the retreat, but by my own criteria, I shouldn't be there! Do I cancel? But then the cause I'm raising the funds for would go without the badly needed money! Luckily, I was working closely with a friend from the organization, who also happened to be one of my former downlines, and she stepped up and ran the retreat beautifully, with extensive directions from me. I kept in touch by text, phone and Messenger.

BUT: all those cards I was going to get done didn't happen, because all my stamps and equipment was down at the retreat site so I had nothing to work with. I scrambled on Sunday, after getting my craft room put back together again, to get a card made for my post today.

I decided to use the layout from last week's Freshly Made Sketches' Challenge:

I wanted to make thank you cards for our caterer and for Kim, who took over for me. And I wanted to use "The Gang's All Meer" which is kind of ironic, I guess, since we are all now practicing "Social Distancing"!

Here's my entry:

• It's a fairly simple card to fit the layout. I used Sahara Sand for a card base to match the desert-like feel of this stamp set. I paired that with Old Olive that I would use for a cactus in the desert, and added a strip of Tropical Oasis Designer Series Paper for some texture and a good base for those cute little meerkats to stand on!
• I stamped the meerkats in Soft Suede ink and coloured them in with the Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Marker Combo, with a little Light Pink Pirouette (retired) for their cheeks. I keep the Light Pink Pirouette around for just that purpose, as Flirty Flamingo is too bright to be subtle enough. After outlining them all with Light Smoky Slate, I fussy cut them out  and mounted them on the card front using Dimensionals.
• The top sentiment is from the Woven Heirlooms stamp set in the Annual Catalogue, while the bottom one, tucked under the DSP on Old Olive paper, is from the Gang's All Meer itself.

• This is the version I made for Kim, who ran the Retreat for me at the last minute when I got sick. The same information applies to this one, except that the sentiment at the top is a masked version of one of the ones in The Gang's All Meer. I covered Happy Birthday at the top of it with tape when I inked it up and then removed the tape before I stamped it.

              


I don't know about you, but I've been thinking a lot about my family in the last few days as the COVID-19 crises consumes the media and changes our way of life! I love that the next Paper Pumpkin box focuses on family and telling them how much we care! As many demonstrators feel the need to cancel classes for the safety of our customers and to slow the spread of the virus, and many of our customers are self-isolating or practising social distancing, we need things to do - often with our kids or grandkids- to keep everyone busy and happy. A Paper Pumpkin subscription is the perfect solution! It has an affordable price point - $30 a month which includes shipping, it is all inclusive with everything you need right in the box, it's easy enough for you to do with your kids, but there's lots of alternative ideas to give you more of a challenge if you want it, it's delivered right to your door every month, and it's easy to stop and start your subscription when you want, if money gets tight!

Sound like something that could solve your crafting problems in the next few weeks? Here's where you can find out more and subscribe: Paper Pumpkin

If you live in Canada, and don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the right side bar at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in Canada by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the top menu or clicking on any of products below from my OnLine Store.

Product List

The Gang's All Meer Cling Stamp Set (English) [152294] $0.00	Woven Heirlooms Cling Stamp Set [149306] $33.00	Tropical Oasis Designer Series Paper [151252] $15.75	Sahara Sand 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [121043] $12.00	Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100702] $12.00
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730] $13.25	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [147115] $10.25	Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad [147090] $10.25	Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [144601] $12.00	Old Olive Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [144597] $12.00
Smoky Slate Light Stampin' Blends Marker [145054] $6.00	Pink Pirouette Light Stampin' Blends Marker [144593] $6.00	Paper Snips [103579] $13.50	Multipurpose Liquid Glue [110755] $5.50	Snail Adhesive [104332] $9.50
Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $5.50	Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [144108] $5.50