March 2016 Paper Pumpkin: Alternate projects

When I opened the March 2016 Paper Pumpkin kit, Pocketful of Cheer, I immediately loved the color combo (Soft Sky, Bermuda Bay, and Cucumber Crush), patterned paper, and versatile stamp images. The projects -- eight gift card holders, four small and four large -- were cute, too, of course. But I don't really give many gift cards as presents, so I made one holder of each style and then transformed the rest of the kit contents into other projects (with the addition of a few other supplies):

The two items on the left are the ones I made following the kit instructions. The rest of the projects are (going clockwise) a set of four note cards with lined envelopes, three A2 cards with envelopes, four treat holders (two with a coordinating mini card, two fold-open style), and a gift enclosure card with coordinating envelope.

I was really impressed with how far the kit contents went -- and I still have a few scraps of the printed paper left over. These are the additional supplies I used (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Tin of Cards
Paper: Whisper White note cards and envelopes, medium white envelopes
Ink: Soft Sky, Cucumber Crush
Accessories: Rhinestones; Very Vintage Designer Buttons; punches: Corner rounder, 1-1/4" scallop circle punch, 1-3/4" scallop circle punch, 1-3/8" circle punch; Simply Scored Tool and diagonal plate

Here are close-up pictures of the alternate projects as well as a few details for each:

The two pocket treat holders were the first extra projects I made. (I may or may not have had to buy a bag of Ghirardelli chocolate squares specifically to see of this idea would work. And I may or may not have had to eat the rest of the chocolates in the bag. Just sayin'.) For the striped holder I used two of the gift card pockets and adhered the flaps together. I made a belly band and added a stamped circle tag with the green and white twine.

For the kraft holder I cut apart two of the small gift card holders. Measuring from the concave end of each holder, I cut off the end about 1/4" past the score line. Then I cut off the points from the end (I think that was about 1/4" as well). I folded the flaps on the creases and adhered the two pieces together.

I stamped two of the small cards and tucked one in each holder. And there's still room to include a gift card if needed.

For these two treat holders I used the rest of the kraft gift card holders that I cut apart to make the previous project. The holder on the left is a matchbook style. The circle part of the focal image is attached to the top of the holder with Dimensionals, and the bottom part tucks behind the pennant tails.

For the second holder simply I made a belly band to keep the holder closed. To stamp the tag for this one, I used the "just for you" stamp from the kit and inked only the "for you" portion of the stamp.

I added the chocolate inside the holder with a small piece of double-stick tape (a couple of Glue Dots would also work). There's also space to hand write a note inside the holder.

I used the last mini card to make a small gift enclosure card. For the focal image I stamped "just for you" and a flower on the back of a small piece of the patterned paper and then punched it out. I was going to use Whisper White card stock, but it was too bright compared to the card base.

For the envelope, I cut a 4-1/2" square from the middle of one of the pieces of patterned paper. Using the Simply Scored Tool and diagonal plate, I scored two opposite sides at 2-5/8" and the other two sides at 1-5/8". Then I just folded on the score lines, trimmed off the point on the bottom flap and adhered the flaps to create the envelope. I'll seal the envelope with one of the self-adhesive circles from the kit.

I wanted to have a few different sentiments on my cards, so I used the Tin of Cards stamp set. For this card I turned one of the die-cut squares on an angle and then stamped the greeting and a few flowers. In hindsight, I think I should have left off the flowers or stamped just one. The focal layer is a little busy against the patterned paper.

To make a simple coordinating envelope, I adhered a strip of the patterned paper along the left edge of a medium white envelope.

To make the envelope liner for this card (and the following one) I traced the envelope flap on the back of the patterned paper. I cut it out and slipped it into the envelope so the top edge is just below the adhesive and the bottom edge is just below the opening. I partially closed the flap on the envelope to figure out where to crease the liner and then I adhered the liner to the envelope flap.

I used a large piece of patterned paper for the background on this card. Unfortunately I realized too late that the small guidelines (used for positioning the gift card pocket if following the kit instructions) were visible near the bottom of the card. I'm sure it would have been fine to leave as is, since the pattern on the paper is so busy and I don't think you'd notice the lines unless you were looking for them. But I decided to use a few rhinestones to cover the guidelines.

I used the gift card pocket, with the flaps cut off at the score lines, to make a mat for the focal image.

I think this card set is my favorite of the alternate projects, and I may use these layouts to make more card sets with other papers. To make the flowers, I snipped between the scallops after punching them out and gently curled up the petals. I used buttons with twine bows for the centers and little pennants for the leaves.

I also lined the envelopes, using the same technique as described above, to create a finished look for the card set.


Whew! That was a long post. Thanks for making it to the end. I hope you found a little inspiration for the March Paper Pumpkin kit or your card making in general. Thanks for stopping by!