Hello stampers! What a fun Paper Pumpkin this is with the Bikes & Blooms theme. It’s really perfect for this dual demonstrator living in the Netherlands. I live in the middle of the greenhouse district, the heart of the flower industry and am even married to a flower grower. In case you didn’t know, Gerard grows amaryllis as a cut flower.

Whenever my Paper Pumpkin arrives, I first make the cards as shown and THEN I decide how I am going to play with the contents to create something unique for you. Here are the cards included in the kit, there are nine of them with cute envelopes too, which of course I was too excited to photograph!

Yes, we do drive our bikes with flowers in the basket, not just because it looks nice, but because it is practical too. In the Netherlands there are more kilometers of bike paths than there are roads!! Biking is often quicker than taking the car because of limited parking spaces and because road traffic can get really congested.

The stamps that come with this Bikes & Blooms kit have some lovely sayings in a very pretty font. There is a dual butterfly stamp as well as a single butterfly stamp, two sets of flowers and of course a big bicycle stamp.

The ink spot (that is Stampin’Up! talk for a mini ink pad) is Calypso Coral which is such a wonderful, summery colour. Now are you ready for my card??

Stylish Shapes dies were used to cut four squares which were then layered on to the Perennial Postage die cuts. Clockwise from top left, I used Barely Blush, Crisp Canteloupe, Pretty in Pink and Calypso Coral. Instead of using cardstock, I used Basic White cardstock and blending brushes to create my own. I love the softer look that occurs with this technique. Both floral stamps were put to use to do the collage stamping. Believe it or not, it is better if you first do your stamping, and then do your die cutting, otherwise it affects the colour on the edges of the diecut if you stamp afterwards. Another thing to note, the Barely Blush is such a light colour that it doesn’t do the “stamping off” or second generation stamping very well at all.

I stamped the bike in Hybrid Black and fussy cut it. “The sentiment “Have a lovely day” is also stamped in Hybrid Black. The four coloured squares are mounted on a piece of Basic White cardstock measuring 3″ or 7.6cm square. This is adhered to another Basic White layer 4″ x 5 1 /4″ or 10cm x 14.35cm.

If you look closely, you will see that the centres of the coloured squares are popped up with dimensionals. Adhere your Basic White layer to your Thick Basic White card which measures 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ scored at 4 1/4″ or 21cm x 14.85cm scored at 10.5cm.

Thanks so much for joining me to find out other ways to use your amazing June Paper Pumpkin, Bikes & Blooms. I love it and I am sure you will too. If you haven’t already subscribed, you can do so in the Netherlands here, or in Canada here. Be sure to hop along and see what all the other talented Dutch demonstrators have made with this fun June Paper Pumpkin.

Paper Pumpkin Subscription [166815] $39.75	Paper Pumpkin 3 Month Subscription [166816] $119.25	Small Blending Brushes [160518] $21.00	Barely Blush Classic Stampin Pad [167678] $20.00	Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin Pad [167680] $20.00
Pretty In Pink Classic Stampin Pad [163807] $12.25	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad [147101] $12.25	Stylish Shapes Dies [159183] $41.00	Perennial Postage Dies [162607] $45.00	Basic Black Hybrid Stampin' Pad [166648] $16.50
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [159229] $24.00	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276] $18.00	Basic White Medium Envelopes [159236] $21.00