Paper Pumpkin Weekend

I love getting my Paper Pumpkin kit in the mail.  It's a Christmas present every month.  I know that my kit arrives around the 18th of the month and the weekend following the arrival of the kit I hold a Paper Pumpkin Club event at my home.  All of my customers are invited...and it is nice to do a low stress activity with my friends.  We love the Paper Pumpkin kits because they are great for all levels.  You don't need any experience. 

Every kit comes with everything you need. When you first sign up, your kit will include your stamp block.  Every month includes the stamp, ink, adhesives and all of the bits and pieces to put your kit together.  

Here is a video I did on the unboxing of my Paper Pumpkin kit. It's my first video on you tube.  I am super excited.  

Here are the final 3 cards I made. I enjoy stepping out of the box and doing alternatives to the kit. I like showing you how versatile the Paper Pumpkin kit can be.  

All of these cards are alternatives to the July kit.

                

                                                

I loved this kit. Stampin' Up out-does themselves month to month and just when I think the kits can't get any better, they throw me a curve ball. 

And, until July 31, for every $50 usd you spend before July 31 (before shipping and tax) will earn you a $5 usd Bonus Days coupon code that can be used August 1–31.

I'm already looking forward to next months kit.  If you would like to join me in the Paper Pumpkin Club you may join me at this link. 

Sign Up Here for Paper Pumpkin

Here is a preview of the August 2019 Paper Pumpkin Kit

I don't like wishing summer away but this give me something to look forward to.

Happy Crafting everyone!

Stampin' Blends

Here is a card I made. I colored the flowers in with the Stampin' Blends. The stamp is from the Bloom & Grow stamp set.

I absolutely love our Stampin' Blends.  

What are they?

Stampin' Blends are Stampin' Up's own alcohol markers.

Here's another card. 

Also done with the Bloom & Grow stamp set, but, I also used the dies that are a part of the bundle.  

I love the Blackberry Bliss

With the Stampin’ Blends, you can create a high quality, realistic looking color-blending experience which will give you a rich, saturated color.  These are dual-tip markers, which match our exclusive Stampin’ Up! colors will make it easy for you to become a creative genius. 

You can blend light and dark shades of the same color or you can blend colors with similar hues. Each individual marker includes both a thin tip and a brush end.

Each marker has a fine tip for smaller images and a brush tip for larger areas. There are little icons showing the different types  of tips on the marker barrel.  Also, the thicker line near the marker caps indicates the brush tip.

We do have a color lifter...what is this you ask?

The color lifter has no color in it.  You can use it to erase, highlight, blend and add texture.  If you go over the lines, you can erase the color by gently going over the mistake and move the color back inside the lines.  You may need to go over it a few times.  You can also use the color lifter to highlight and area by removing color you’ve blended, to soften up or blend any harsh lines between the colors.

Tips:.

The perfect ink for you to use with these alcohol blending markers is the Memento Black Ink to stamp your image.  This will prevent your image from bleeding. 

You want to make sure that your ink is completely dry.

Most colors (except for Ivory and Bronze) come in a light and a dark shade.  Use the dark shade to add depth and shadows.  

You can start with either the dark or the light - it's up to you. You will end up in essentially the same spot.  

You will want to store your Stampin' Blends horizontally to prevent one end from drying out.  The perfect storage for our blends is the Stampin' Up blend storage

You may buy the blend storage here: Stampin' Up Blend Storage

You will also want to protect your work station...the ink will bleed through your cardstock. The perfect solution for this is to use our grid paper under your cardstock!

You can buy the stampin' blends as well as the Bloom & Grow bundle here: Shop with Meg

Don't forget - this is the perfect time to join Stampin' Up.  

From now until August 31, new demonstrators will receive an additional $30 usd to put toward bonus products in their Starter Kit. THEN, you will receive a $10 usd coupon code the following month.

You may join my team at the above link or click here: Join Bayside Paper Crafters

Thanks for checking my page out and happy papercrafting!

Megan

Delightful Tags for Cruising Ducks

Boy, did I have fun today!  There is nothing I like more than scrapbooking and papercrafting than planning our annual vacation. For the past few years, we have been fortunate enough to have been able to take a cruise on the Celebrity Summit to Bermuda.

Bermuda is beautiful. Its' people are friendly and welcoming. The island is clean...and the water and the sand are inspiring.

I usually start planning our vacation the year before and this year's cruise to Bermuda is no exception. We book in the ship so we can take advantage of any specials they are having.  PLUS, it gives me something to look forward to. I dislike the night we have to pack up our luggage and when I see those dreaded disembarkation tags, I cry (no joke).

I found this neat little group on Facebook called Celebrity Cruising Ducks.  It's a group who hides rubber ducks on the ships. When you find a duck, you take a pic of the duck and post it to the Facebook group.  You can either hide it again for someone else to find or take the duck home with you.

So I got these cute little Flamingo ducks. There were so many options to choose from on Amazon. My husband would have liked the super heroes (he loves Batman) but I wanted something a little bit more festive for the vacation. So, I chose the flamingoes.

I saw a post on Facebook from Lisa Sornson, another Stampin' Up Demonstrator, who made some tags with the June 2019 Paper Pumpkin kit.  Since I had almost a whole other kit I hadn't used (and since I needed tags to go with my ducks) I decided to make some tags for my Cruising Ducks.

Here is my before picture (granted, nothing much to look at)

 I took the mini cards from the Paper Pumpkin kit and decided which ones I would use for the tags.  I decided to use the Delightful Tag Topper because I love the intricacy of the topper...of course, it was the first time I had used my laminator and did not realize that the laminator would have an issue with all of the bends in the tag...they still came out good, though (you can see for yourself in a bit).

Once I figured out which cards I was going to use, I took the dies from the Under the Sea Dies and Framelits and used some of the coral dies with Old Olive, Calypso Coral and Blushing Bride cardstock. Then, I used some Wink of Stella on the die cut pieces. I wanted them to match the starfish and the sand dollars from the Paper Pumpkin kit.

I also used my sponge dauber to color the vellum pieces of coral.  I used the round piece of vellum as a stencil and used my sponge dauber on the sentiment.  The sentiment is from the Sea of Textures stamp set and I cut this out with the Tailored Tag.

Once I had all of the pieces divided, I started putting the tags together. It was completely random (and a lot of fun).  I knew what I wanted to accomplish...all inspired by Bermuda (if you follow my blog, I am sure you are starting to see a pattern).

Here's the first one, now to thread them and tie them to the ducks.

2 ducks done....

I like them ALOT.

I hope you like them...and I hope that by following me I inspire you and perhaps learn something new, as well.  

My June 2019 Paper Pumpkin Alternatives

My 10 favorite things about being a Stampin' Up Demonstrator
10. The discount allows me to get everything I "need"
 9. Rewards (earning flex points which can be used for many different things such as registering for On Stage! See #7)
8.  Getting the new catalogs before anyone else (admit it!)
7. Being able to go to On Stage! So fun!!
6. Sharing ideas
6. Learning new techniques (I've been a paper crafter for 25 years and I love being able to learn new things to teach my friends and customers)
4. Opportunity for me to go as far as I want to go. And, my Stampin' Up bucket list is evolving!
3. Being a part of an amazing organization that truly values us and stands behind their product 100%
2. Meeting new people and making friends (my upline is my sister from another mother. I signed up under her and that was how we met)
1.    Stampin' Up is allowing me to live my life and has helped me find my passion. 

I would love for you to join our team and become a Bayside Paper Crafter! And, it's a great time to join.

Why?
Stampin' Up is having an Extra, Extra Awesome Promotion!
In fact, the promotion is so nice, Stampin' Up named it twice!

From now until August 31st, anyone who joins Stampin' Up as a demonstrator will receive an additional $30 to be used toward their starter kit.  
But, wait, that's not all!
They will also receive a $10 coupon that can be used the following month.

• New demonstrators who sign up during this time period will pay $99 usd to sign up and choose $155 usd worth of Stampin’ Up! products in their Starter Kit.

• Coupon codes will be sent between the fifth and seventh business day of the following month a new demonstrator signs up.

This special applies whether you sign up to run Stampin' Up as a business or if you are signing up as a hobbyist.  You will still get the discount when you shop, be eligible to attend On Stage in November (it's in Hartford this year), and get the opportunity to see the new Holiday Catalog that is coming out in a few months!

You may go to my Stampin' Up Page at papercraftswithmeg.stampinup.net and send me a message. I would love to talk about Stampin' Up with you.  

You may also follow me on Facebook and Instagram at Bayside Paper Crafters.

Bonus Days are Back!!

For every $50 usd you spend before July 31 (before shipping and tax) you will earn a $5 usd Bonus Days coupon code that can be used August 1–31.

There is no limit to the number of codes that can be earned on a single order. 

The codes are sent via email. If you do not have an email address (or you don't want to share your email) you can have your coupons sent to me and I will give you your coupon code.

There are no limits to how many coupons you can earn and you can shop all month for this special!

Shop my store at: papercraftswithmeg.stampinup.net