SUMMER NIGHTS

It's always an exciting occasion when my monthly Paper Pumpkin kit arrives in the mail. Sometimes I'm more ready for its arrival than other times. This month happened to be one of the hotly anticipated months.

Before even seeing my kit in person, I put in an order for the add on to the kit. The add on includes decorative card bases and envelopes with gold metallic borders and darling decorated insides, enough to make 24 cards! 

I had no idea what to expect of this month's Paper Pumpkin, so when I excitedly opened the box, I was surprised to see the contents. 

The nine "cards" with rounded corners that came in the kit were meant to be used as postcard invitations to a summer party and included the envelopes in which to mail them. Not a party goer or giver (except for my workshops, if you can call them a party, more of a social event), this format did not appeal to me. Also included were nine diecut tealight bags. ? 

Besides the diecuts, the baker's twine, the ink spot, the cool stamp set, the embellishments, and the adhesives, I was especially drawn to three vellum diecut mason jars. Setting them carefully to the side, I plan to use these jars with one of the new floral sets in the Annual Catalog. Stay tuned for what I end up doing with them.

One of the diecuts was a mini carnival scene. I eagerly added that with Dimensionals to the bottom of three of the identical decorated bases. Since I had one more carnival to use, I grabbed one more of the bases that features a summer sky. 

The two designs of cards I made using this carnival are shown below.

The following photo of a portion of the instruction sheet which shows what the carnival cards should look like, if done according to the kit instructions.

I wanted to make these cards my own. I stamped three of the fireworks stamp in VersaMark ink, then embossed them using some gold embossing powder with glitter in for extra shimmer. I also added to the scene a few iridescent sequins I'd had left over from a past Paper Pumpkin kit.

In Stampin' Up! gold embossing powder, and using a stamp from another past Paper Pumpkin kit, I added the word "celebrate" near the carnival. To make it a complete card, I added it to a card base of Calypso Coral.

I am so happy with how my own takes on this month's Paper Pumpkin kit turned out. Fireworks remind me of my childhood. 

Here's a stupid kids' memory: When I was a youngster, on the evening of the Fourth of July, my family always traveled to a nearby town that boasted good fireworks. When we got home, I opened my birthday presents. (My birthday is on the 5th, so I'm not sure how this night-before-present-opening began.) Because we started the night with fireworks, then birthday presents, in my child's mind, the fireworks were always done because of me and my birthday the next day. Ah. The bliss and naivete of childhood.

Sparkling

Smiles.