A Fun Way to Stamp With a Friend!

Aloha, all!

My friend, Donna, is back on the Big Island for a month or so, and we have been making sure to take the time to stamp together at least once a week while she’s here. As she and I are both still really busy trying to get our lives back in order after our evacuation from Leilani Estates early in May, I tried to find something that we could do that would be fun and relaxing, yet help us rebuild a stash of greeting cards.

Paper Pumpkin to the rescue. Paper Pumpkin is a line of Stampin’ Up! products that is available by subscription only. Each month, I receive a red box in the mail (hold on – it will be different this month!) with everything you need to make a fun papercraft project. For August 2018, the kit was a set of beautiful floral greeting cards. As soon as I saw it, I crossed my fingers that there would be “refill” kits available so that Donna and I could spend our time making these cards. Yay, they were available!

And these were the cards that we made – yes, we each made 10 cards! If you’ve ever thought about subscribing to Paper Pumpkins, here are some of my thoughts about the kits:

• The kits have gotten a lot better over the years since the program started. A LOT better! Look at those beautiful watercolor-style flowers. These were designed using flowers hand-painted by a Stampin’ Up! staff member. Just gorgeous!
• Not all kits are standard-sized greeting cards. If I had my druthers, all kits would be at least note card-sized. BUT there are hundreds of Paper Pumpkin subscribers out there who make it their business to come up with alternative projects for every kit (yes, even for this kit). So, when I get a kit that’s a 3-dimensional project or a banner or some such, I look for those card ideas that people are quick to post on Facebook and other places. Yes, I’ve made some myself, but this year, I just don’t have the time.
• “Refills” for the Paper Pumpkin kits include everything except the stamp set and the ink spot that comes with a full kit. That’s what I bought for Donna and we just shared the stamps and ink across the table.
• Full kits that have an overstock, as well as refill kits for many (but not all) kits are available for sale on the Stampin’ Up! website, but only for those who are Paper Pumpkin subscribers. As I write this, there is one full kit from May 2018 that’s available, as well as refills for other kits.
• Every once in a while, there are special kits with special boxes to show them off. The soon-to-be shipped September 2018 Kit is one of those. We’re told that, if you like Halloween, you will love this kit. What will it be? Cards? Treat Bags or Boxes? Table decorations? Whatever it is, it’s going to be perfect for me as I don’t have any Halloween style stamps, and I love to send Halloween cards. I’ll be using whatever’s in the kit to make cards. You have until Monday, September 10, 2018, to sign up for Paper Pumpkin to get the September 2018 kit!

Hey, whatever you do for stamping this week, make sure you have fun with it!