Who Doesn't Like Fun Mail??

Happy Saturday!!  And we are getting more snow today, because we don't have enough.  Poor Dalwhinnie tries walking in the backyard and she struggles as she cracks the ice on top of the snow and falls up to her armpit into snow drifts.   

Today I want to share with you  Paper Pumpkin.   Do you know what Paper Pumpkin is?   Paper Pumpkin is a monthly subscription from Stampin' Up! where you get a fun little package of goodies every month in the mail.  And who doesn't like fun mail.  And it costs only $24.95/month.   To be completely honest, when they started the program almost 2 years ago, I was not sold.   I saw a couple of the boxes that Denise was getting and I wasn't excited about it.  I have been scrapbooking and papercrafting for 16 years, I have seen so many trends etc come and go, I am looking for new and exciting, something I haven't seen before, yet I want to add to my growing stash.   Years ago I tried the monthly scrapbook kit in a pizza box and I ended up with a lot of product that I didn't use but paid money for.   So I sat on the fence, I didn't want to have a collection of boxes of unopened kits sitting in my studio reminding me of the money I spent on a product that is being unused.  

I went to Convention this year and decided to try out Paper Pumpkin with the kit they were offering free to those of us who visited the booth and wrote what we would use that month's kit for.  Well, that kit changed my mind.  It was a cute cute mini album that I could put together in a couple of hours.  So yes, I signed up.  And yes, the boxes started collecting in my studio over the fall as I dealt with the hospital, care agencies, etc getting my mom set up in her supported housing unit and the various emergencies I have had to deal as my mom's only caregiver/family in the area.    During these months I was neglecting my creative time.  Which deep down in my soul I need for my own sanity and this last  1 1/2 years I needed it.  But like most people, I put that me time on the back burner to focus on what needed to be done for not only my own children and husband but now an ageing parent having a health crisis in a town 1/2 hr away. 

 I didn't have the large blocks of time I like to have to focus on projects but I did have a growing number of Paper Pumpkin boxes sitting in my studio, unused. So I decided back in January to start opening up those boxes and making the projects based on the idea page inside.   I was mentally and emotionally burnt out, the creative juices were stalled, no they felt dead dead dead.  LOL   It was perfect.   In a matter of 30 minutes to an hour I had completed the project inside the box.  Be it a set of cards, a mini album, etc.       It got my creative juices going once again.   And it is helping me regain some of the sanity I thought I lost over the months.  LOL  

Here is the cute little box it comes in.  Not only do I stalk my UPS man, now you can add FedEx man to my list of favourite men in my life.  Dave is and always be number 1, but these guys bring me boxes of fun.  LOL

Every month the special project is wrapped in this fun blue tissue paper.  And this time of year in Ontario it is a color that brightens my day.  Makes me think of spring!!

This months kit and they have now switched the kit stamps to photopolymer.  Love it!!!

Here are all the kit components.  All I need is a block or two for the stamps and addhesives.  The kit this month is a set of four gift bags to decorate.  Love it.

Thursday night I hung out with a group of friends here in town.  We get together two Thursday nights a month to socialize and craft.  And we are called the Scrappy Janes.     And here is a bag that I completed that night.   How cute is that.  Whatever sentiment you want for the bag is up to you.   I chose thanks, it could be hello, celebrate, happy.  Customize the bag to suit your needs.

I also completed another Paper Pumpkin kit.  And for me to get even one project done during those nights is a huge accomplishment.  I get too busy talking and eating to get much done normally.  lol   Two have two kits was awesome!!!

If you need a creative outlet but short on time and energy, I highly recommend Paper Pumpkin.  The price is right and sometimes they throw a little something extra special in the box.   How does it get better than that? Why yes, it does get betteR, new prescriptions, I mean new memberships of Paper Pumpkin get a set of free markers!!!  A $19.95 value for FREE!!!

Contact me today and sign up!!   You won't regret it!

Thanks for stopping and visiting.  I can be reached at riajenkins@rogers.com