Announcing My Paper Pumpkin!!!!!

Sweep away the mundane-your creativity carriage awaits!

I'm Paper Pumpkin . . .
I come to your door each month (a fully decked-out creativity carriage). I'll help you to escape your life with some paper fun.
I come in a sweet box, but you'll really love what you find on the inside:
All the stamps, ink, paper, and accessories to create pinable projects. Create stuff like cards, journals, décor, and more!
Paper Pumpkin by Stampin' Up! is a new monthly kit program that anyone (even you) can enjoy!

Get Started

It's so easy to get started. Simply sign up for the program starting Monday, January 14 by visiting www.mypaperpumpkin.com and click Get it. Every month a new, surprise project kit arrives at your doorstep. Just think of the anticipation of creating a fun project to pin, showoff, and share with your friends and family-every month!
Of course, you'll want to know more. So here's the nitty gritty:

• Each month we send you a unique, surprise kit with a project-cards, journals, décor, and more! (We've even color-coordinated, measured, and cut everything for you!)
• Each kit includes stamps, ink, paper, and accessories-everything but adhesive.
• Each kit gives you and your customer a 30-minute creativity escape.
• We will ship your Paper Pumpkin on or around the 15th of the month.  
• You need to sign up for a kit by the 10th of the month to get that month's kit. If you sign up on the 11th of the month, your first kit will come the next month. (Let's say you sign up on May 10th, we'll send your kit around May 15th. If you sign up on May 11th, we'll send your first kit around June 15th.)
• A Paper Pumpkin membership is $19.95 per month (and shipping is included!).  
• There's no commitment, you can cancel your monthly Paper Pumpkin at anytime. You can also skip a month if you want.
• Starting in early March, we'll offer a Try-It kit if you'd like to try Paper Pumpkin for one month.

Here's How You Order

Sign up for your monthly Paper Pumpkin starting Monday, January 14 by visiting www.mypaperpumpkin.com and click Get it.  Please indicate that I am your Demonstrator when ordering My Paper Pumpkin :)
Starting in early March, you can try Paper Pumpkin for one month by visiting our online store.

A Free Gift in Your Very First Kit

The Welcome Kit is the very first Paper Pumpkin you will receive in your first month of membership. The Welcome Kit includes a free gift-a clear acrylic block!

Stampin' Sanding System and Dust Buddy Card & Video!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  For me, and for many of us, our first waking thought of the day is "I didn't get enough sleep."  The next one is "I don't have enough time."  Whether true or not, that thought of not enough occurs to us automatically before we even think to question or examine it.  We spend most of the hours and the days of our lives hearing, explaining, complaining, or worrying about what we don't have enough of...Before we even sit up in bed, before our feet touch the floor, we're already inadequate, already behind, already losing, already lacking something.  And by the time we go to bed at night, our minds are racing with a litany of what we didn't get, or didn't get done, that day.  We go to sleep burdened by those thoughts and wake up to that reverie of lack...This internal condition of scarcity, this mind-set of scarcity, lives at the very heart of our jealousies, our greed, our prejudice, and our arguments with life... -  Lynne Twist in The Soul of Money.
Lynne Twist refers to scarcity as "the great lie."  How much truth have you been giving this lie?  I know I have given it some truth and I am ready to expose it for what it truly is!  How 'bout you????
Today I wanted to share a video to introduce you to the Stampin' Sanding System and the Dust Buddy.  I thought a fun card would be a great way to show you these two tools in action!  Enjoy and have a beautiful weekend!

Just Believe Watercolor Wonder Crayon Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  How quickly your thinking changes helps determine how quickly your mortal circumstances change. - Marianne Williamson
Ahhh the wonderful mind and ego.  It is amazing how much of our life is determined by our thoughts.  This is a lesson that I continue to encounter - day in and day out - in my life.  I don't know if I would call it a New Year's resolution or more of a resolution about my life - not tied to any date on the calendar.  The commitment to myself to be aware of how my thinking impacts how I experience my life and my commitment to ask the Universe for help when I need it.  Help so that when my thinking about a situation is creating a negative experience in my life that I have the ability to quickly change how I am thinking about the situation to more positively impact my life.  I keep encountering situations to put this into practice and for that, believe it or not, I am grateful.  I have seen firsthand how when I change my thinking, miracles can happen - empathy and understanding can happen - a lightness in my soul and my step can happen.  Yes, I pray that my thinking be changed so that I can be the best that I can be.  I wish the same for you :)
Today's card was made with a technique I enjoy a lot.  I used the floral image from Just Believe and colored directly on the stamp with Watercolor Wonder crayons.  I then spritzed the stamp with water I keep in a small spray bottle.  I then stamped the image onto watercolor paper and lifted the image to see what happened :)  The piece was left to dry and then adhered to card stock.  The sentiment from Petite Pairs was stamped with Rich Razzleberry and punched out with a circle punch.  I hope you like it :)

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Inspiration Journal Entry #2

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Drying Time Gives You A Different Perspective
As I have launched my inspiration journal journey, I find that I begin a page without knowing what it will become.  I sometimes start with an idea.  Other times I just start with a color.  But since I am working with paint and plaster and other materials that I don't usually use in card making, I am also finding that I need to allow for drying time (unless I want to create a page of mud...now there's an idea for another day!).  When I go to step away to allow for the drying I often feel stuck or unsure as to what my next step will be.  But then, when I come back - once the drying is done - I often have a new perspective - an idea - for what to do next.  The drying time gives me a different perspective and an ability to move forward.  Now the question is how can I incorporate "drying time" into other aspects of my life?  The time to step away for a bit and come back with new eyes...
Today's post is my second inspiration journal entry (I created the page at the end of December).  I'm hoping to do about a page a week - unless inspiration strikes sooner or later :)  I don't think I will describe the process of creating the page (since I would need to capture the process in a video if I wanted to have a chance of remembering all of the different steps! - Maybe one day I'll make this into a video series).  For now I am just going to let my creativity run wild in these pages and share the results with you :)  Enjoy :)

Terrific Tuesday: Greetings From Friends :)

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Appreciate Your Friendships :)
Today I've decided to share a few cards and gifts I have received from friends far and wide over the holiday season :)  I so appreciate these friends thinking of me and sending me their handmade cards and creations!  I am blessed!!!!!

This gorgeous Christmas card came from Doris in Canada!  You can check out her blog here!  I love the use of silver glitter paper on this card - it absolutely SPARKLES in person! :)  Thank you so much Doris!!!!

I am ever so amazed by this tiny felted tea cup sent to me by Helen all the way from the UK!!!!  It is such an incredibly precious piece of handiwork that I will treasure!  Thank you soooo much Helen!!!!  Helen also decided to help me out with my 30-angels-in-30-days challenge (which has now more likely turned into 30-angels-in-30 weeks!...I've gotten a bit off track lately) :)

She sent me this delicate little angel made from wire, beads and netting.  You can check out Helen's blog here!

I am also so grateful for this beautiful thank you card sent to me by Sharri!  Such a thoughtful way to express appreciation!  Thank you Sharri!!!!
Today I am so appreciative of the friendship provided by these beautiful, amazing and creative women!!!!!  Thank you all for blessing me with your friendship :)

Coloring Fabric With Watercolor Wonder Crayons: A Video

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Let Your Mind Explore "What If?"
I love it when I allow my mind to ask and explore "What if?"  That's how I led myself to today's project and to last week's Encaustic Fun video.  I started looking at my Watercolor Wonder crayons and thinking about the different ways we played with crayons as kids.  I remembered melting the crayons to create drip candles and then my mind went to thinking about the crayons as being made of wax...which made me think of encaustics...and I began to wonder - "What if you melted the Watercolor Wonder crayons?"  "How would you melt the crayons?"  "What different ways could you heat or melt them and still have them remain intact for other projects?"  I then began to think about the different surfaces you could melt wax on and also thought a bit about batik and began to wonder, "What if you used Watercolor Wonder crayons on fabric?"  "Could you color on the fabric?"  "Could you apply the color in such a way that it would stay on the fabric?"  I'm realizing now why these crayons aren't just called Watercolor Crayons....It's because they really make me "WONDER!" :)  Choose an item in your craft room...let your mind explore "What if?" and see where it takes you! :)
Today I'd like to share a video of 2 different techniques for using your Watercolor Wonder crayons to color/dye fabric!  Have fun!!!!!