December Paper Pumpkin

The December Paper Pumpkin kit gives you everything you need to create a fun journal that you can use for all kinds of things - a brag book for a grandparent, an autograph book for a school-aged child, a memories book for an event or holiday, an address book... the list goes on & on!

I chose to create a little family memories book. Because I have all boys, I needed to substitute the tabbed dividers (none of my boys would've been too keen on having their section represented by Strawberry Slush!). It was easy to create new tabs in the colors I wanted using my Envelope Punch Board.

Here are some photos of how mine turned out:

I shortened my cover and used an extra piece of cardboard in my kit to create the next layer.

I kept the same color scheme, but omitted the Strawberry Slush. My tabs are Naturals White, Basic Gray, Summer Starfruit, and Coastal Cabana.

I have photos of each member of our family behind their tab and then plenty of room to write all sorts of memories! This is the first page after mine & Michael's tab:

I think that's it for me this year - Happy New Year to everyone!! Be safe!
Michele

Merry Christmas!

I know it has been ALL month since I've posted... that's just how it goes this time of year! I hope that you and your families have all had a wonderful holiday (we sure did!) and are enjoying some time off this week (we sure are!).

Here is the Christmas card I sent to each of my team members this year. I thought I'd share it with you before we close out this month.

I used the immensely popular Photopolymer set called Endless Wishes along with some Pool Party, Island Indigo, and the sparkly Silver Encore ink. It was simple to make and easy to duplicate.

I can't stay to chat - must get back to game-playing and movie-watching with my family! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each and every one of you!

Michele

Gift Card Holders

What a wonderful Thanksgiving! I hope you had as wonderful a time as I did! I hosted this year and our table was surrounded by some of my favorite people - my husband, sons, mom, dad, brother, and his girlfriend. I am truly blessed...

Now onto Christmas preparations! I am having just one class this month to help with all of your gift-card-holder-making needs. Here are some samples I've made recently:

These cards use the new Envelope Punch Board to create the "file folder" look. I love this new tool - it is so simple to use, and so affordable too! (item #133774, $19.95)

 When you slide the belly band off and open the card, it looks like this:

Instead of using a belly band, you could also just tie a ribbon around the card:

Here's another sample:

 ...and let us not forget that the Envelope Punch Board can ALSO make custom-sized envelopes - which you need for this particular card!

 Here's one last one I made for a friend's 40th birthday...

Such a fun and simple card - with a wonderful purpose! I do believe every one of my nieces and nephews will be receiving one this year!

Hugs,
Michele

November Paper Pumpkin!

Wow! What a kit we got this month! I absolutely loved the sample as-is, but I did come up with several alternate ideas for my Paper Pumpkin subscribers (let me know if you'd like to join)! Here are just a few...

This next idea is actually an altered Altoid tin... I used to make these all the time. It was fun to pull one out again!

Next is my favorite style of gift card holder. It's held closed with a belly band, but when you slide that off...

 ...a gift card is revealed inside!

Stay tuned to my blog, as I have made several of these. I'll be showing the rest of them over the coming days.

I have family arriving this weekend for the holiday, so if I don't get back to you before Thanksgiving, I hope you have a WONDERFUL time eating turkey with those you love. :)

Michele

Thanksgiving!

Here's a fun autumn card that could be used for Thanksgiving - or change the sentiment and use it for your fall birthdays. Best part - it's fun to make! I used sponge daubers to color the leaves from Gently Falling... makes them look watercolored!

Colors are Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, and Very Vanilla.

Michele

Pretty Pumpkins!

I made a bunch of these adorable pumpkins and placed them at the table for my MOPS ladies yesterday (I'm a Mentor Mom this year - how did that happen?!). They turned out so cute!

I did use some retired Designer Series Paper - you can just use whatever orange and gold colors you have! The Antique Brads on the top are also retired. (EDITED: Antique Brads are NOT retired!! Don't know why I thought they were! #117273, $5.95) But I felt this was a perfect way to use them up! (I just used regular brads on the bottoms).

My strips are 3/4" wide by 6", so you get a LOT out of one sheet of 12x12 paper. I used 12 strips for each pumpkin.

Since these brads were a bit top heavy, I decided to tuck a little surprise inside to help hold the pumpkin upright. Who doesn't love chocolate?! They're easy to get to - just spread the strips apart a little bit and you can easily get the treats in or out.

I've seen a lot of these made with fancy leaves, but I used what I had... mine came from the Label Bracket Punch (#132153) found on page 37 of the Holiday catalog. I sponged the edges with some Soft Suede, snipped it in the four corners, and then used a bone folder to curl up the corners. Easy-peasy!

I think I may make some more to put on my Thanksgiving table this year. I am blessed to be having my parents, my brother, and his girlfriend all coming from Texas to celebrate with us!

Michele

Festive Flurry Ornament Kit

Check out this gorgeous (and EASY) kit to add some sparkle to your holiday decorations - the Festive Flurry Ornament Kit! Gorgeous! Use them to string a beautiful garland for your mantle, decorate your holiday gifts, hang them on the tree... lots of uses!

The kit comes with all the supplies you need (except adhesive - they recommend hot glue) to create 10 of these beautiful 3-dimensional snowflakes. The pieces are printed, cut, and even scored so they go together in a snap. Click below to see a video of how simple they are to make!

The kit is only $14.95, item #135813 - get yours now!
Michele

Christmas Card Buffet Option #4

The final choice for my upcoming Christmas Card Buffet is my personal favorite:

This one was also inspired by the Stampin' Success magazine (lots of GOOD stuff in there!). I love the postcard look and the big ole' Santa fits beautifully! Colors here are Early Espresso, Real Red, and Very Vanilla.

That's it for this month's buffet! Again, if you are local, give me a holler and I'll get you hooked up!
Michele

Christmas Card Buffet Option #3

My third Christmas Card Buffet choice features a VERY popular Photopolymer stamp set called Endless Wishes. It was so popular that it sold out shortly after being introduced! No worries... Stampin' Up! has replenished their supply and it is available once again. Whew!

This set comes with several different words that you can mix & match to suit your needs. One brilliant thing about the Photopolymer stamps is that you can arrange more than one word on an acrylic block and stamp them all at once! Colors here are Island Indigo, Whisper White and a touch of Silver Glimmer paper. I made the smaller snowflakes POP by using the Sliver Metallic Encore stamp pad.

Final card choice coming tomorrow!
Michele

Christmas Card Buffet Option #2

Here is the second card choice for the Christmas Card Buffet:

This one was inspired by an article in Stampin' Success - a fabulous publication that Demonstrators receive. I had a lot of fun creating this one... I made two separate templates (one for the Pool Party and one for the Smoky Slate) and used a snowflake stamp from Festive Flurries to make the patterns. Then I bling-ed it up a bit with some Dazzling Diamonds! Gotta love sparkle!

Card #3 comes tomorrow!
Michele

Christmas Card Buffet Option #1

We had so much fun at my Christmas Card Buffet last month that we're doing it again! If you're local, give me a holler and I'll get the information to you so you can join us!

Here is the first card choice (I'll show the other 3 over the next 3 days):

I actually CASEd this from my Upline, Amy Taylor, who CASEd it from a swap card she got at convention made by Tara Bazata. The colors here are Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, and a bit of Early Espresso (behind the sentiment - looks black in the photo, but it's actually a very warm brown).

It's beginning to feel a [bit] like Christmas!
Michele

October Paper Pumpkin Ideas

Here are a few of the ideas I made using the stamps in the October Paper Pumpkin kit!

This first one sits on my desk to remind me of the things I'm running out of so I can include them in my next order! Handy-dandy! (and that Quatrefancy DSP matches a LOT of Sticky Note colors!)

This next one is made from a mini composition notebook and is well suited for use in a purse or car.

The last one I will share here is a beautiful note board that can sit on your counter to delight you through the holidays!

Remember that I give each of my personal Paper Pumpkin subscribers an Inspiration Sheet each month full of ideas on how to make the most out of their kits. It includes photos, instructions, and supply lists. If you are interested in signing up for your own Paper Pumpkin subscription, just give me a holler! ...and then you, too, can begin receiving monthly inspiration from me!

Happy Pumpkin-ing!
Michele

Halloween Treat Bag

I think this is my last Halloween post... which is a good thing seeing as how it is Halloween TODAY! This was a simple treat bag tag we made at an earlier workshop. It uses the Chalk Talk framelit, some Washi tape, and the Chalk Marker.

I put my youngest son's name on it... and I'm telling you he bugged me ALL MONTH about how it was obviously HIS candy and why wouldn't I let him eat it! Alas, I finally allowed him to bust into it just a couple days ago. ...but I saved the tag, of course!

Happy Halloween everyone!
Michele

Spooky Banner

Need a Halloween decoration? This one is fun and easy to make!

In order to create this banner, you simply need:

• Build a Banner Simply Created Kit (#133507, $19.95)
• Halloween Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit (#132698, $9.95)
• Hot glue gun
• Ink pads (recommended colors: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, & Summer Starfruit)
• Sponge Daubers

I created this banner using the instructions found below. Here are some closer looks:

Click on the thumbnail below for the full instructions! (you're welcome)

Happy Spooky Halloween!

Michele

Trick Or Treat!

Here's a fun Halloween card we made at a recent workshop! I am going to be sending these to a few nieces & nephews this year...

All of these images come from the Best of Halloween stamp set - I love that spooky tree! I liked the card so much in Eggplant that I decided to do one in Old Olive!

And, to get the full use of my Best Of set, I put the haunted house on the inside!

...and on the envelopes, too!

I hope you're gearing up for a fun Trick or Treat night yourself!
Michele

Witches Brooms!

Here's another cute and fun Halloween treat idea - witches brooms! They are super simple to make... I'll tell you how below!

The each contain a strip of black licorice - not everyone's favorite candy, I know, but then who in their right mind would want to disassemble these cuties to eat it anyway?!

Here's how to make them:

1) Cut a 12" x 2-1/2" strip of Designer Series Paper (an excellent use for all of your retired paper that I KNOW you still have lying around!).

2) Score the 12" side at 1-1/2" and then run a strip of Sticky Strip along this score line. (The score line simply serves as a guide for your Sticky Strip.)

3) Make small snips from the edge up to the Sticky Strip (do this on the larger half of the strip, so your snips are about 1-1/2" long). Do this along the full 12"... takes a wee bit of time, but it's perfect for when you're catching up on your favorite TV shows. ;)

4) Place a piece of black licorice inside of a 1"x8" cellophane bag and seal shut (Note: I've even seen chocolate licorice now - so you could get a brown handle for your broom if you wanted to).

5) Pull the adhesive backing off of the Sticky Strip. Lay the sealed end of the licorice onto one end of the fringed paper all the way to the bottom of the broom so it will be sturdy enough to stand up. Roll TIGHTLY all the way across.

6) Make a tag and decorate as desired!

I hope that made sense... leave a comment with your e-mail address if you have any questions! Have fun!
Michele

Cut & Ready Card Bases!

Check this out! Want some help making cards this holiday season! Stampin' Up!'s got you covered... introducing Cut & Ready Card Bases! These card bases are already cut and scored and ready for you to decorate. They come in a wide variety of colors, so you're sure to find a color that fits your style!

Click on the image above for full details, then ORDER YOURS TODAY to get started on your holiday cards!

Michele

25% Off 25 Stamp Sets - ONE Week Only!

Stampin' Up!'s birthday celebration keeps getting better! For one week only - now thru October 28th - you can take advantage of 25% off of 25 different stamp sets! There are several holiday sets as well as some regular favorites on the list... click on the thumbnail below to see the list, or to see pictures of these sets, visit the online store!

E-mail me to place your order, or Shop Online Now!
Michele