My Paper Pumpkin Butterflies!!!

Have you checked out Paper Pumpkin by Stampin' Up! yet?  Even the logo and packaging are so much fun (not all the boxes have this style yet . . . my understanding is that they eventually all will, though):

I'm very excited to see what will come in the box this month! Just thinking about it gives me butterflies in my stomach because this is the first month it is a big surprise!  And, just received my shipping notice that it's on the way this morning!  Whoo Hoo!  You can bet I'll be anxiously checking the mailbox everyday now until it comes!!!

In the meantime, though, I finally have photos (and lots of them!!!  Big blog post alert!!!) to share with you of the projects I've created so far with the very first Paper Pumpkin kit I received last month!  Here's a little peek at them, hiding back inside the box (it makes great storage for finished projects as well!):

The first kit (which is the Welcome Kit everyone will receive their first month, regardless when they join), comes with supplies to create four of the same card (if you follow the instructions Stampin' Up! provides).  I created one of the cards following the instructions, then decided to come up with my own designs for the rest.   I have a Pinterest Board for Paper Pumpkin ideas, so drew inspiration from some of the amazing ideas others have come up with using this kit as well.   

 

I was able to make six cards by adding an 8.5 x 11 piece of Whisper White card stock from my supplies to what was provided.  I also used some scraps of Whisper White and Tempting Turquoise to create some embellishments for my cards.  Other supplies I added were the Papillon Potpourri Stamp Set; Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder; Tempting Turqoise and So Saffron Classic Ink; and the Elegant Butterfly, Bitty Butterfly, and Decorative Label Punches.  Here's a group photo of my cards:

First up for the individual photos is my card made using Stampin' Up!'s basic kit instructions:



 

 

 

I love the color combo with that bold pop of turquoise!  So, for the next card I created, I decided to create a landscape-oriented design with turquoise butterflies from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set:

 



 

Using the splatter stamp that comes with the Welcome Kit, I stamped once full strength in Basic Gray, then stamped next to that a second time without reinking (a technique known as stamping off).  Here's a close up so you can see that a little better:

 

Then, I decided to cut apart the gray cards that come in the kit, I randomly stamped the splatter image in Basic Gray ink all over half of the card, doing some stamping off again, then ran that through the Honeycomb embossing folder in my Big Shot.  I used the Decorative Label Punch to shape a piece of the designer paper that comes with the kit into the piece for the greeting:

I punched the designer paper carefully, so I was able to use what was left to create this card (which has a white card stock base -- this was created from half the piece of Whisper White I added to the supplies that came with the kit):

I added two pieces created with the Decorative Label punch in place of the one I'd taken out:  one Basic Gray piece (you'll see where I got that in the next card) and one Whisper White piece, which I'd stamped with the greeting that comes with the kit (love it!!!) and popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals. 

On the designer paper, I stamped the splatter stamp in So Saffron, and used the Two-Step Stampin' technique with the Papillon Potpourri stamps -- first stamping the solid butterfly image in So Saffron, and next the small butterfly outline in either Tempting Turquoise or Basic Gray.   Here's a close up of the stamping:

 

Next up is the card that uses the other half of the Basic Gray card I'd cut apart, and has the other half of the Whisper White sheet as the card base.  On the Whisper White, I'd stamped the splatter image multiple times using So Saffron ink in the area that would show through the window created in the Basic Gray where the Decorative Label piece had been punched out:

Here's a close up of the stamping;

For the final card, I used the card base and designer paper that came with the kit, and had three of the Old Olive medallion stickers left, so arranged them along the right side.  I stamped the greeting in Basic Gray, and added the turquoise butterflies for a pop of color:

These cards were so easy and fun to create, I wanted to make some more!  I decided to CASE my favorite design from up above -- the one with the four butterflies stamped on the designer paper.  I couldn't find designer paper in my stash that matched what I had in mind, so decided to create my own by repeatedly stamping the splatter image.  While I was doing that, the idea came to me to drag along the stamp while stamping to create more of a blurred image, like rain streaks on a window.  I used a Pool Party, Basic Gray, and Very Vanilla color combo for my cards.  Here's how they turned out:

For this one, the greeting is on an Extra Large Oval punched piece.  The ribbon is the Basic Black/Basic Gray Striped Ribbon from the Holiday Catalog -- I love how elegant it is. 

And, here's another card I created, just a little different:

The greeting is on a Large Oval punched piece, which is layered on a Basic Gray Scallop Oval punched piece.  There's a 3/8" Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon flag sticking out from the greeting.

Here are a couple of close ups of the stamped images so you can get a better look at the results of the dragging technique I used in creating the background:

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed these ideas and are inspired with new ideas and techniques to use with your Paper Pumpkin welcome kit (not a Paper Pumpkin subscriber yet?  Click here to check it out, and if you are one of my existing customers, or in the U.S. and don't already have a demonstrator, please be sure to choose me as your demonstrator when you sign up! I'll be sending my Paper Pumpkin subscribers special bonus cards and ideas for using the supplies that come in our kits).

- Michelle