Hello stampers! Oh the Paper Pumpkin possibilities! I think you may know by now that I am a rather big Paper Pumpkin advocate. That is saying a LOT. You would think that having a stamp room full of stamps, ink and paper that I would never get Paper Pumpkin for myself. Do you want to know why I do?

Treating Yourself

The main reason that I get Paper Pumpkin for myself is that it is an instant gratification treat. For once I get to papercraft without having to think and that feels pretty darn good once in a while. I have often compared it to ordering take out food even though you are a great cook and enjoy cooking. Once in a while it is just so nice to be able to indulge without any muss or fuss. Paper Pumpkin lets that happen. The Dutch in me also repurposes the beautiful box that it comes in.

Portability

The other thing that I love about Paper Pumpkin is that it is so easy to grab and take with me when I go somewhere. I always have one with me when I go and visit my parents. Mom is 87 and she loves to do this with me, especially when she realized that there is a lot of product in the box so it is ok if she messes up and needs another piece. I love watching her decide what to do with what she has as she loves to change things and make it her own. Paper Pumpkin gives us quality time that we might not otherwise have. There are only so many dice games I can play in a row!!

Possibilities

Every once in a while a Paper Pumpkin comes along that you think you might not like. No worries! You can either choose to skip a month or wait a while and see what everyone else makes with it. That’s right! There is a huge stamping community that subscribes to Paper Pumpkin and shares their creations on social media. Check out the Paper Pumpkin Fan Club on Facebook. This month the kit was Christmas tags and I heard at least one customer saying, I don’t do tags. Well, take a look what I made with this kit!

My Card with the Tag Kit

Even though this month’s kit was 24 tags, you don’t have to be limited by the suggested use. Debbie Henderson showed us this great card and I just recreated it myself. I didn’t change a thing because her card was beautiful! I did add a piece of patterned paper from the Wrapped in Plaid pack just like she did.

Here is a close up. I cut two strips of silver foil paper, 3/4″ by 5 1/4″ and 1 1/4″ by 5 1/4″ and embossed them with the Hammered 3D embossing folder. The strip of paper is from Wrapped in Plaid and it is 3″ by 5 1/4″ which means you can get two pieces out of each 6×6 piece of paper.

The deer in the kit are actually silver foil but Debbie turned them around so they would be white. This simple adjustment changes the look entirely! The other subtle change is that she cut up the sentiment and switched the order. I will show you a picture of the tag and you will see what I mean.

A Personal Note on Fear

As many of you already know my 93 year old Pap has been dealing with some nasty health issues. His bout with shingles landed him in the hospital and this evolved into fluid around his lungs, bowel issues and overall failing health. It was starting to look rather grim, but Mom had some wise words. She said that sometimes the things we fear are worse than what is actually going to happen and through this needless fear we make our lives more difficult than they need to be!

I live two and a half hours away from my parents and I have spend many hours on the road visiting them. Of course I am prepared to go again at the drop of a hat but sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and follow your head and not your heart. I got some advice from my own doctor and now I am calling the nurse’s station every day to get an update on my dad. Then I can make an informed decision instead of driving back and forth like a crazy squirrel on steroids. My absence for a few days also gives my siblings the opportunity to step up to the plate.

I have no fear for my Pap. He loves the Lord like his best friend and when he dies he will be in heaven and how awesome is that? He also has no fear, but only the regret that he is leaving the love of his life behind. This too is assuaged by the fact that God also loves my mom very much and she will be taken care of too. What a precious gift!!

Another gift

It seems a little frivolous after talking about the precious gift of salvation to be talking about the gift of Paper Pumpkin!! However….Paper Pumpkin is a wonderful gift for yourself, a friend or a teacher. You have many options to choose from. You can get a subscription where you pay monthly. You can also get pre-paid subscriptions for one, three, six or twelve months. No matter which option you choose, you can always choose to skip a month when you want. Click this link to find out more. I will also have icons at the bottom of this post with the product list. You can click on those as well and go straight to my store.

Product List