The Pumpkin Patch !!

Hi there friends

I have to tell you what a wonderful time I had on Monday night!  Several of my friends purchased the Paper Pumpin kit from Stampin' Up! and came over Monday evening to take part in my first "Pumpkin Patch" and I have to tell you - I enjoyed myself immensely!  You really want to sign up and join us next time around!

Let's get this straight:
I was excited when my Pumpkin Kit arrived.
I was excited when I opened it and saw the pretty blue tissue paper.
Then I opened it and briefly thought...hmmmm, is this all there is?  But on Monday when I started creating, my excitement returned and I was even more excited!!
The supplies Stampin' Up! provided make 4 really, really cute cards.  Nice and simple too.  An easy 30 minutes of refreshing craft therapy.  And then you are left with the materials and tools to continue creating...

I had so much fun creating "outside the box" and beyond just those first 4 cards, but still using the kit supplies.  At least for the time being I wanted to stick exclusively to using the Basic Gray ink and the sentiment and distressed dots stamps included in this kit.  I used the leftover outlines of some of the stickers to create even more elements for cards - see the green sunburst outlines, and the yellow arrow outlines?  And notice the little white Itty Bitty punch blossoms on the Turquoise card?  They are also punched from leftover white "spacer" bits from the sticker pages so they are self-adhering.

I supplied some So Saffron, Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray, Tempting Turquoise, Baja Breeze, Gumball Green and Whisper White scraps and my guests used their imaginations to create cards unique to themselves.  The Elegant Butterfly and Bitty Butterfly punches were also popular!  

Lynn created this card and I just had to post it - Don't you LOVE the Basic Gray marker journalling around the outside edges of the Doily die cut and Gray matte piece?  I can see so much potential for future cards, just with what we created the other night.

And it was relaxing!  Oh so relaxing.  No pressure.  No time constraints.  No "have to finish cards X, Y and Z by 9 pm...." feeling.  I really enjoyed the atmosphere of an Open Crop&Create Night and I think I may repeat this at more than just the Pumpkin Patch events in future.

At any rate - and until then - I wanted to show you some of the sorts of things you could do using just this first 'My Paper Pumpkin' kit.  I really do think these kits are a fantastic deal for new and experienced crafters alike.  Once you have made the projects that are supplied with the kit, you still have the ink and stamps remaining and the possibilities for using these supplies are endless!   I am excited about getting my next one.  And having my friends over to create with me for another Pumpkin Patch.

Would you like to join us?  Or maybe just get the kit and stay home to create the wonderful projects included?  Hop on over to the Paper pumpkin website before the 10th of the month and sign up for your kit (don't forget to choose me as your demonstrator).  You'll expect your kit to arrive sometime after the 15th of the month - and if you're local, you're invited to join us for the next Pumpkin Patch.  Trust me when I say that you will enjoy your time 'in the Patch'.

Have a wonderful day and a terrific week.  God Bless,     ~Cynthia      <><