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