Here are some of my alternatives with the Ho Ho Ho Paper Pumpkin kit from October.  As usual St! created a wonderful kit.  Originally designed to create nine cards but I chose to make alternatives. 

I love when they include a die cut that works as a stencil.  This snowflake design was perfect! Grab your Blending Brush and a ink of choice and you can create this background too.  I chose the back side of the piece to apply color to so that I could still use the intended side on a card when I was done. 

Here is a closer look.  

The Real Red Pearlized Enamel Effects were a great addition to the middle of the snowflakes.  

This Santa stamp is so cute.  I stamped him and fussy cut him out. I paired him with a piece from the Celebrate Everything Host DSP pack. 

If you've seen my designs in the past you know I like to cut up the printed envelopes as well.  This card was one I created with pieces of some of the envelopes after I had cut them. 

This is another card using part of the envelope as well as a leftover piece of the card bases I cut down. I cut apart the hohoho die to create three separate pieces as well. 

This is one of my favorites and it's such a simple design! I adore the fonts in the new Framed & Festive stamp set. 

One final alternative. 

If you are not a subscriber you can sign up here.  The November kit is tags that coordinate with this kit! 

I had a lot of fun with this kit! I loved the boxes it was designed to create but it was easy to use the pieces for cards as well.  

For this first card I paired it with the Scary Cute stamp set from the July-December mini catalog. The line of trick or treaters makes such a cute background. 

When I cut apart one of the lids to use it had score marks already so I added more to create a fun background.  A little splatter with a marker and some of the various elements from the kit makes a simple but festive card. 

Here I cut the web section from the box lid and then layered it on another piece of the white lid. A few web stamps and it's a quick and easy card!

The plaid design in all the fun colors might be my favorite part of the kit.  This is another very simple card layout that is easy to recreate. 

When I cut apart the lids I ended up with the flap pieces leftover but I didn't want to throw them away.  I decided to try layering them and thought it turned out pretty cute! The Glitter Washi tape has quickly become a favorite. Anything that adds sparkle without mess!

I had this piece of Designer Series Paper from the Host paper pack Celebrate Everything sitting on my desk and thought it was perfect to pair with the purples! 

Which is your favorite?  Do you send Halloween cards? 

If you enjoy seeing my alternatives each month consider subscribing to get your own kit! I love them, both for the projects as intended and for the fun alternatives I manage to create. New for my customers is an exclusive set of PDF instructions for alternative projects emailed to them each month.  These are designed by a number of different demonstrators so you get lots of styles of projects.  The PDF's are emailed typically by the end of the first week of the month. Sign up for Paper Pumpkin here. 

This is one of my top five kits of all time! It is so beautiful.

I thought I'd share a visual of how I cut down my card bases to create extras. I take each one and trim on the long edge to make it 5 1/4 in and then rotate and trim to create two 4 in pieces. If the strips are of varying colors I'll keep them to create a card using only strips. 

With the sunflower water color piece I cut it in 1/2 again to create two focal pieces I could use. 

The larger piece on this card is actually from an envelope. I cut out main design with a circle die (which you can see on the last card). I layered the other pieces so they would cover the area that I had cut out. I also tied the ribbon through the edge of the circle so it did not go all the way around the layered base piece. 

Stamping on a printed piece of paper can create a fun look. 

Another technique I used on some of the cards was to make the included gold honeycomb pieces a mask.  Using a blending brush I was able to add a subtle pattern to my card stock. These are very simple single layer cards! 

This is another very simple card that lets the beautiful watercolor do the work. Cards don't have to be complicated to be amazing!

Another card where I used the honeycomb as a mask. 

This is the card I created with the cut out piece from the envelope. I stamped the leaves behind it and layered it on a scallop circle. The Solid Faceted Gems are one of my favorite embellishments. 

Which is your favorite?  You can sign up for Paper Pumpkin here or email me with questions. 

I've been behind sharing all my Paper Pumpkin alternatives but I finally got all of these done and ready! I love all the new In Colors so this was a fun kit to use.  I appreciate that they gave us a sample of all five colors! 

The big Happy stamp was perfect for creating a focal point on my background. I figure this card can be used for a birthday or any other milestone celebration.  

Simple card designs at their best.  Sometimes we don't need a lot to create a great look. 

This card was created using part of an envelope.  I love to cut up envelopes with pretty patterns inside and use them to create more cards. 

You can't go wrong with circles! 

If you are interested in getting a kit delivered to your door each month you can sign up or get more information here. I'm always happy to answer questions as well. 

The cheese and bread images did not speak to me with this kit but I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to create alternatives when I sat down to work with it!

I didn't want to use the  panel with the pink blanket type image in the middle so I cut around it and loved how it created the pieces that lined up nicely in the corners. 

Cutting this card in two pieces allowed me to get even more use out of it. I typically cut the front and back pieces to 4 x 5 1/4 and then layer on cardstock. 

The Brushed Brass Butterflies were the perfect accent to add. 

Don't forget about cutting apart the envelopes to use the inside design. 

Cutting this card front in four pieces created a different look.  Very simple! 

I love how this one turned out! I used Calypso Coral as the additional color for this monochromatic look.  

Which is your favorite?

,Once again, Stampin' Up! provided us with a wonderful creative kit.  As I like to do, I made up one of each as shown in the directions and then proceeded to create my alternatives. 

The negative space from the die cuts are great to use as stencils. Here I used part of an envelope, ink and the blending brush to create the leaf image and then stamped my sentiment over it. A truly simple card! 

The pre printed cards were beautiful but I didn't find ways to cut them up.  Instead I simplified this one. 

The envelopes, though, were perfect this month! They were printed on both the inside and the outside giving me even more ways to use them. 

Although I didn't find ways to cut up the front of the pre printed cards this was a fun way to create an alternative. I flipped the card inside out, die cut an opening and then closed it back up.  It provides a cool opening and look to the card! 

This one uses both the inside and the outside of an envelope.  Add a few punched pieces and you've got a card! 

All of these use parts of envelopes! 

If you're interested in getting your own Paper Pumpkin kit go here to learn more or sign up.  Be sure to be signed up by the 10th of the month to get that month's kit. 

I couldn't wait to get my December kit.  I'm a sucker for a good pun and this kit did not disappoint.  I started out creating one of each card as intended and then I started playing around. I ended up making 25 cards from one kit! There are plenty of pieces to let you get creative and try new designs with just a few extra pieces of card stock. 

The small piece of striped paper below the circle is from one of the envelopes.  I cut one of each style of envelope apart and used the pattern on various cards. 

This one is pretty close to the sample.  I decided that faces weren't always necessary! 

Which version do you like best? I love the mustache and both sayings.  They are perfect for guy cards.  

Two things about this one.  First, it uses the inside of an envelope for the main background.  I love the soft stripes.

Second, the egg looked like a flower to me! If you don't stamp the outlines it's a pretty flower.  

Another card using an envelope piece. So simple and basic but I love the bright red polka dots. 

Signing up for Paper Pumpkin is easy.  Simply go here and create your account.  Or, consider a pre-paid subscription! You can even earn Sale a Bration rewards on 3, 6 or 12 month pre-paids. 

Remember you can pause or cancel anytime but it's so fun to have a craft kit arrive on my door each month.  Create as is or try some alternatives.  

This month's kit did not disappoint.  Such a great value too--it makes 12 full size cards. I had fun making a few alternative designs (and plan to do more!)  Even the envelopes were cute. 

The original design of each card is a tri-fold so there is both a front piece and an inside piece to use when creating alternatives.  I cut one of each apart to start creating.  Each of these designs is a very simple idea.  

This camper might be my favorite of all the designs.  It's so cute.  I cut it down to 4 x 5.25 and I popped it up using dimensionals.  I added a sentiment directly on the card stock base.  A twine bow and a few sequins completes the card. 

The tiny firefly stamps are too cute.  Pay attention to the white circle areas on some of the cards.  They are the perfect place to stamp the fireflies to have them look lit up. 

On this card I cut one of the panels nearly in half and stamped the small "needles" on the other side of the card. 

I stamped the full tree stamp in Garden Green on the Garden Green scalloped circle.  I love that it ended up looking like a shadow!  A fun surprise. 

Interested in learning more about Paper Pumpkin?  Click here. 

I knew I was going to love this Paper Pumpkin because of the alcohol wash papers! It did not disappoint.  

As usual, the first thing I did was cut one set of card bases apart to give me additional supplies to work with. Adding a few pieces of cardstock allowed me to create double the cards. 

Stamping the flower stamp in the same color ink gives the watermark look to the image.  It's a go to technique for me! 

Don't forget you can stamp on your envelopes too!

Sometimes a simple card is the best.  In this case the paper does all the work. I simply added my sentiment directly to the paper, adhered to a white base and added some bling.  Easiest card ever! 

I've found my self needing wedding cards so this kit lent itself perfectly to the theme.  Again, by simply adding cardstock and changing up the design, I was able to create new and fun alternatives.  

These vellum pieces are so pretty.  I did use some dimensionals that I hid under the label on this one. 

​The hardest part of using vellum is keeping your adhesive from showing.  I try to look for larger sections of printing or places where I'll be adding something on top to cover it. 

Another easy layout that is wonderful thanks to the leafy pieces. 

This one is a little busier than some of the others but sometimes I can go crazy with lots of layers and embellishments.  

Don't forget to sign up by July 10th to get the July kit.  Go here. 

I'll admit when I first opened this month's kit I was not sure I was going to come up with a lot of alternatives.  The card bases were only printed on the front so it limited the options there.  However, once I started playing with the stamps I had so much fun! 

One of my biggest tips is to make your own baseballs! Just grab a circle and a red marker and free hand.  I drew the two half circles and then made the stitching marks.  You can create any size you want.  

I also really liked the font of the sentiments.  They inked so well!  I stuck with Night of Nave on most of my cards.  

Creating a background using the stamps and the same color ink as the cardstock allows for quick cards.  

I kept some without a "person" on them so I could use them when I needed them! 

A few others I made for Father's Day and (shh) my Dad's birthday! 

I loved the Crushed Curry paired with the Night of Nave and Real Red. 

I still made a full set of the cards as intended. 

​I really ended up liking this kit a lot!  Be sure to sign up by June 10th to get this month's box.  It contains TWO ink spots! 

Sign up here