Your Creative Escape Just Got 25% Sweeter

July 23, 2026July 23, 2026Leave a comment

Every fairy tale has a beginning, and Paper Pumpkin’s story started with one, too.

When Stampin’ Up!® first introduced Paper Pumpkin, it was inspired by Cinderella’s pumpkin… a little reminder that creativity can transform an ordinary day into something special. While I can’t promise a carriage or glass slippers, I can guarantee a creative escape delivered to your mailbox each month! (No fairy godmother required.)

The July “Hooray for Birthdays” Paper Pumpkin kit appeared in my mailbox this week and I went to work creating an alternate project using just the Hooray for Birthdays stamp set, Timid Tiger Ink Spot and the Detailed Flora Add-On Dies. Each month, I help my subscribers extend the use of their kit after the projects are assembled by sharing new ideas in a special newsletter.

Let’s review how to create a perfect layer for the “Hooray”:

Place the stamp flat (face up) on card stock and trace around the photopolymer shape.
Cut out the shape and FLIP IT OVER to stamp the sentiment. If you used a white card stock, it helps to lay it on a darker surface so you can see where to place it.

For crafters who crave convenient and fabulous, August is the perfect time to start creating with Paper Pumpkin because new subscribers can save 25% on their first kit!

Here’s who qualifies:

You haven’t had an active Paper Pumpkin subscription in the past 18 months.
You choose a pay-as-you-go subscription (this offer doesn’t apply to prepaid subscriptions).

Your discounted first kit will be the August 2026 Kindred Greetings Kit: The cards in this kit are all about sharing meaningful messages, with thoughtful sentiments and detailed botanical designs.

Why so many people love Paper Pumpkin

Everything you need in one box (except scissors!)
Precut pieces and step-by-step instructions
An exclusive stamp set and coordinating ink spot
A fun creative break without planning, shopping, or cleaning up a craft room

Whether you’ve never stamped before or you’ve been crafting for years, these kits make it simple to sit down and create something beautiful in about an hour.

Sometimes the best adventures begin with a pumpkin.

Subscribe Today!

World Bicycle Day: Card(s) to Celebrate!

June 3, 2026June 3, 2026Leave a comment

It’s the day the world looks to the marvelous machine, the bicycle! This short reel by National Geographic explains a bit about how this invention affected the world:

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Like myself, you probably have fond memories of the freedoms provided because of a bicycle! I felt so grown up when I was able to ride my bike to the Market Basket 3 blocks from my house to spend a quarter on a candy bar and having “wheels” allowed me to ride to work at the hotel my father managed. Though it was uphill to the hotel, I was grateful to coast home after stripping sheets from all the beds.

To commemorate the mechanics and freedom of a bike, I’ve created a birthday card:

Fussy cutting a bike from the Waterside Retreat Designer Series Paper got me rolling, and a label from the same paper provided a place to stamp.

I sprayed the Pecan Pie with water, crumpled it up and then spread it out to dry flat, giving it a leather-like texture, then distressed the edges of the seagull print.

Ready to celebrate the bicycle through crafting? June’s Paper Pumpkin is the Bikes & Blooms kit and it’s going to be fabulous:

You’ll enjoy creating 9 cheerful cards which include shiny silver foil and embellishments and you can transform your kit into alternate projects, like scrapbook pages. Make sure to subscribe to the world’s best craft kit by June 10th to get the Bikes & Blooms kit!

Subscribe to Paper Pumpkin

The supplies I used for my bike card are listed below, and when your cart reaches $75, you could add the June Product of the Month for just $5…and who wouldn’t want this Wild Bunch in their craft arsenal? Note: it’s actually NOT a two-step stamp, and I think this one will sell out quickly, so don’t delay your order.

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Say HELLO to Your Monthly Creative Escape

July 7, 2025July 5, 2025Leave a comment

Do you make consistent appointments with the doctor or the dentist to stay healthy? Do you have an exercise schedule or beauty regimen? Those promises you make to yourself for your well-being are the most important ones to keep, so make a pact to improve your connection with friends and to nurture your creativity:

Say HELLO to your monthly creative date – one you can do on your own, or with a friend!

A Paper Pumpkin craft box arrives in your mail on or before the 20th of each month filled with everything you need to make a paper-crafting project: Pre-cut paper, an ink spot in a Stampin’ Up!®️ color, adhesive and an exclusive stamp set. There are also step-by-step instructions in the box AND a how-to video on YouTube each month. Your FIRST kit includes a clear block – keep it handy for future kits!

This is a sneak peek of the July kit – the deadline for this kit is July 10th, but you can subscribe anytime and get the next kit!

The Sweeter With You July Paper Pumpkin Kit will be a card kit that makes 8 cards: 4 each of 2 different designs featuring sun-kissed strawberries and gingham!

One other perk for subscribers is an optional Add-on die set each quarter that matches the kits for all three months. The July-September coordinating Add-on is the Circle of Seasons dies:

And here is a card I made with the Circle of Seasons Add-on dies to whet your appetite for a sweet crafting subscription!

From a silver foil “Hello” to the mouth-watering fruits, this card is quintessential summer! But that’s not all…the dies ALSO cut an ACORN (which will match the September kit!)

As a subscriber, you may add an extra kit for yourself or a gift, shop from extra kits or refills, skip a month, or cancel at any time. I send a Paper Pumpkin Patch newsletter to my subscribers the last week of every month with ways to continue to use their stamp set and ink spot after the kit is completed!

If you’ve ever wanted to attend a class, but couldn’t — if you need a happy hobby — or if you just love paper, ink and stamps– THIS SUBSCRIPTION is a way to show yourself (or a friend) a little love.

👇🏼CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE NOW!👇🏼

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Keep your creative juices flowing with Paper Pumpkin! 🍊🧡– Loni Spendlove

Spotlight Masking Technique

November 25, 2024Leave a comment

Using this reverse masking concept with blending & stamping to give your hand-crafted projects the look of layers without the bulk of extra paper! While I’m sharing projects used mostly with the November “Filled with Joy” Paper Pumpkin kit, I know you’ll find ways to try it with what you have.

Watch the video tutorial, then see the finished projects below.

A good paper crafter looks for new ways to use every piece of a kit, such as the piece that we popped the ornaments from in the kit – I used it as a stencil for blending ink onto this tag (from the coordinating Merry Tags & More dies), then stamped through the stencil before removing it:

Voila! A new ornament! Same technique on a card:

These stockings were included in the “Filled with Joy” kit – there were still some refills available to Paper Pumpkin subscribers at the time of this post – and DID YOU KNOW you could add texture to fabric by running it through an embossing folder?! The Eyelet 3D folder was adorable on these and the tag was another alternative idea that wasn’t shown in the video:

I’ll stuff these with some goodies for my primary class at church and for the sisters I minister to. That’s 8 gifts wrapped, thanks to a kit!

Paper Pumpkin subscribers who choose me as their demonstrator receive an exclusive “Pumpkin Patch” email each month with more ways to use the stamp set and ink pad from their kit.

You can “think outside the box” and use the supplies from a kit for different projects, like this quick gift card holder (demonstrated in the video):

If you missed subscribing for the November Paper Pumpkin kit, don’t worry…you could make the same gift card holder idea with the Festive Tags kit, which is available a la carte in the Kit Collection!

While you can order from the Kit Collection ANYTIME (new kits are added monthly!), you may not want to miss a month of our premium craft kit subscription…the December kit is called “Notes from the Heart” and here’s a sneak peek:

Learn more about Paper Pumpkin HERE.

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Don’t Be Spooked-Be Crafty!

October 9, 2024Leave a comment

There is a LOT going on in the SU!niverse – let’s break it down, so you can pick your path to fall creativity:

First: Can there be anything easier and more exciting than getting a craft kit in the mail??

Actually, YES: When your first kit is 40% off!

The last day to take advantage of the Paper Pumpkin new subscription offer is Thursday, October 10th (also the deadline for the Nests of Winter Kit) and new accounts will receive 40% off the first kit when you enter the promo code HOLIDAY40 – CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE

Sweetening the pot: I have a GIVEAWAY for one new subscriber – the coordinating Merry Tags & More dies match the Oct/Nov/Dec kits! It could be yours, along with the joy of a new monthly crafting adventure!

Second: TODAY (Wednesday, October 9th) is the last day of our Stamp Sale~ 15% off all stamp sets from the Annual Catalog!

Next: Whether you are craving connection, a community or a discount on craft supplies, you’ll find that the best opportunity to try any of those is the STARTER KIT – and it’s worth MORE in October!

You’ll get to choose $155 ($30 more than usual) worth of product for just $99, PLUS get a discount on future purchases through January, 2025. You’ll also get to be a part of my Sprinkled Ink family of demonstrators, and if it brings you JOY, it could turn into the adventure of your life!

FINALLY: Choose your own CURATED Craft Kit for up to 30% off this month!

This sale includes the two newest kits that were released last week! Click on the images to view them:

Tie a ribbon around these kits and you are ready for gifting!

BONUS NEWS: I’ll be at CraftCon USA in Kanab, UT on October 25-26 and teaching two classes with my friend Sue. We would love to see you there! Use promo code TEACHERS PET to save MORE on the event registration, then use what you saved to register for one of our classes.

Fall Bird Card for a color challenge, Winterly Tree Tops by Stampin' Up!

Flowers & Feathers

October 3, 2024Leave a comment

Another sleepless night as I dreamed of creating this card 🥱 … trying to decide if creativity is a blessing or a curse!

The idea came from the #tgifc492 Inspiration challenge:

Think of it like a mashup of two songs, but two stamp sets: Enduring Beauty for the flowers and Winterly Tree Tops for the birds.

I wanted to give it a fall vibe, so picked a palette of Pecan Pie, Very Vanilla, Peach Pie, and Mossy Meadow (almost sounds like a recipe!). With a lot of layers and texture, it feels vintage and the sprinkle of three Drusy Embellishments adds a bit of glittery elegance.

TRIVIA TIME: “DRUSY” is an adjective that means “covered in minute crystals” and can describe the inside of a rock cavity that is lined with tiny crystals. These embellishments are truly gorgeous, but not easily mailable, as they do make the card quite bumpy. It needs a padded envelope if you are mailing it!

Peek inside the card:

Winterly Tree Tops is a part of the larger Nests of Winter Suite and features the beautiful birds. You may be interested in the coordinating craft kit called Nests of Christmas that is part of our crafting subscription service (Paper Pumpkin). It’s only available if you subscribe by October 10th, and if you use promo code HOLIDAY40 as a first-time subscriber, you’ll get your first kit at 40% off!

Now that the card is finished and shared with you, I’m looking forward to a nap!

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Build Creative Muscles – Get 40% Off!

September 23, 2024Leave a comment

When I taught piano lessons, I’d tell my students “Practice trumps talent when talent doesn’t practice”. If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not creative,” believe me when I say CREATIVITY CAN BE LEARNED!!

The easiest way to become more artistic is to have a starting point. Paper Pumpkin – a monthly craft box kit subscription – gives you a place to practice. Let me show you how:

On the left is a card created as designed for the September Paper Pumpkin Kit (“Autumn Abundance”). It took me less than 5 minutes to make it, following the instructions in the box. I thought the colors were so pretty, I chose to use the same palette on another card. Using Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry and Night of Navy ink pads, I followed a sketch from the Stampin’ Up! Sept-Dec Mini Catalog (pg. 16) to make the second card. It was simply stamped on Very Vanilla card stock and used the Labeled with Love punch to make the trio of panels.

Each quarter, there is a coordinating die set available to add-on to the kits, so I used the same sketch & colors to create a second version with the die-cut leaves using the dies for last quarter. They are sold out, but you CAN order the Merry Tags & More Dies (which coordinate with the Oct-Dec 2024 kits) while supplies last.

Next, this Thank You card in the kit (left) had a beautiful base. What if you needed a small gift package?

Make it into a box, of course! I’m teaching you how to make all these alternate projects in today’s video, so watch here for instructions:

Also included in the kit this month was this third card project- it was a 4″ x 4″ Autumn card, then I looked at the window and it made me think of a shaker card:

The snail and leaves shake around inside!

The kit is terrific to get your creative juices flowing, and making the projects as intended, you will learn the basics of paper crafting. You can always make different projects with the supplies you have in the box, and I send an EXCLUSIVE email each month to my Paper Pumpkin subscribers with ways to use the stamp set and ink spot after the kit is complete!

HERE’S THE DEAL:

Try a Paper Pumpkin craft kit subscription with 40% off your first month (new subscribers only)! Use promo code HOLIDAY40 when you subscribe HERE by October 10, 2024!

You are peeking at the “Nest of Christmas” October Kit, which coordinates with the Nests of Winter Suite in the Sept-Dec Mini catalog, and you could try it at a discount! This kit will make 10 Christmas Cards.

While the September Autumn Abundance kit isn’t available as a full kit, the refill IS available in my store (limited supplies available) and you could use other stamps and ink pads you already have to make it. You must be a current Paper Pumpkin subscriber to order refills or add-ons, so sign up and then start shopping the extras, using the same email you subscribed with.