Have you tried Stampin' Up!'s Paper Pumpkin subscription recently? Ya know….. it just MIGHT be the right time to give it a try; now that it's on special for HALF PRICE for your first 2 months! Just remember to enter the promo code: PUMPKINDEAL when you sign up!
OK, so the other day I sat down to play with my July 2013 Paper Pumpkin kit. I always look forward to these little monthly creativity sessions 'cuz they don't take much time, and they don't take much brain strain. So on THIS day, feeling a little cocky, I decided to see just how long it DOES take me to assemble one of these kits – from start to finish. (They're designed to be a 30-minute creativity break.) So, I decided to record my progress with notes and pictures. Keep in mind that I had no prior knowledge of this specific kit – other than having seen a picture of the finished project online somewhere. So I knew I'd be making a banner for use on a cake, or cupcakes or something. But the experience I'll be logging here literally began with cutting open my box. (And remember it takes extra time to grab the photo shots and record my notes.)
So here goes:
1:25 pm: Broke open the box and took out the supplies
1:30: All 3 stamps are now assembled (3 nice, graphic background stamps to add to my stamp collection – COOL!)
1:35: One of the two sheets of punch-outs is completely punched out, basic supplies have been gathered, and 2 new ink spots (from the kit) are sliced open
1:43: All 6 banner flags (for the first banner) have been stamped (and because I'm a little too….. um, shall we just say "particular" about such things as alignment, I relied on my grid paper to get those backgrounds stamped straight)
1:45: Just found the Stampin' Dimensionals package that I KNEW I'd seen when I took out the kit contents. Spent the last 2 minutes looking for them; they'd slid under a "pile" on my stamp desk. (Snort. Imagine that!!)
1:49: Bakers Twine is now tied between the 2 longest skewers/sticks. (It occurs to me it might be wise to anchor that bow with a drop of glue to keep it from untying itself later, but so far I haven't done it.) And the "H-o-o-r-a-y" letters are now mounted to the flag pieces with the recently-recovered Stampin' Dimensionals. I put two Dimensionals on each letter, which later proved to have been a mistake 'cuz there weren't quite enough Dimensionals to complete the entire project at that rate. Oops! Subtract a point for my first boo-boo. But add 3 extra points for thinking to lay out the stamped flags into an organized pattern before attaching the letters. I figure I'm ahead of the game now.
1:55: All flags are mounted (and more or less spaced acceptably) onto the string. I just used everyday tape for that. But apparently by tying "bows" on each end, I ended up with a shorter string upon which to attach the flags. I debate: Should I deduct points? Nah…. Bows are ALWAYS better than knots in my book, and the fact that I figured out how to do 'em with only 1 free end of string should rate EXTRA points!
2:01: The clothes pins have been added, and flag elements adjusted the best I can (given the short span of string I allowed myself). So main banner is complete.
2:03: Lower banner is assembled. And….. DONE!
Weeeeelllll, not really! Turns out as I'm cleaning up I discover there's ANOTHER whole set of paper supplies in the kit – with similar festive greetings! I've still got some extra Stampin' Dimensionals left at this point, but no additional string or sticks. Hmmmm….. what to do?
A quick glance at the instructions didn't produce the answer (who knows…. maybe it WAS in there, but I only glanced quickly), so in a flash of TOTAL brilliance I stamp, assemble and adhere the remaining flag pieces to the backside of the banner! Now my banner is double-sided and fit to be viewed by all members of the celebration – including those on the OTHER side of the room! Of course, that's probably what the designer had in mind in the first place, but I figure it's definitely worth another 10 points that *I* figured it out!
You know, I'm really having fun with this little creativity break every month where I can just sit down and make something…. and not have to figure out WHAT to make and HOW – or clean up a bunch of stuff afterwards! And now that I've got the IDEA for the cake banner (and I snagged the punch-out template from the trash to be used later as a template), just think how fancy I can go with the concept if I were to make it again with my regular stamp supplies! Hmmm…..
Well, better wrap this up…. 'cuz I've just got one remaining thing left to do: Go bake a cake to stick this little cutie into!
So! Are you ready to give Paper Pumpkin a try? Click here to get signed up….. and don't forget to include the promo code PUMPKINDEAL by August 31st to qualify for your first two months at HALF PRICE! (That's just $10 a month. Then, beginning with your 3rd month, your subscription price will revert to the normal Paper Pumpkin subscription rate of $19.99 a month. But hey! Even THAT's pretty sweet considering it includes shipping!)
And PSSSTT! Not too "into" this kinda stuff for yourself? Got a creative "someone special" in your life? It makes an awesome gift!
Oh! And if you're new to Paper Pumpkin, don't forget that your first month you'll get the Welcome Kit, rather than the regular kit for that month. In addition to the 4 cards that you'll make with your Welcome Kit, that one will *also* include a clear acrylic block that you'll save and use with the stamps that come in your subsequent kits. So over time you'll be building a little mini stamping kit, too….. 'cuz remember the stamps and inks in these kits are reuseable!
Half-price promo code: PUMPKINDEAL
Half-price-for-your-first-two-months offer expires: Aug. 31
And no worries about getting trapped for life or something. You have full control over your Paper Pumpkin account, so you can just sign in to suspend or cancel at any time; even change the numbers of kits you get. See? It's magic!
