Joyful Inklings

Paper Pumpkin is the everything’s-in-the-box subscription kit by Stamping’ Up!, It is one of my favorite ways to make cards. In the box you’ll find pre-printed card bases, stamps, ink, embellishments, pre-cut decorations, adhesives, and coordinating envelopes to make 8 or 9 cards — usually three each of three different designs.

I always enjoy the challenge of making alternative cards — that is, designing my own cards from the supplies in the kit. By adding in some extra cardstock, stamps from previous kits, and using the special subscriber only add-on dies you can create your own unique cards. Those quarterly add-on dies are so very worth the $13, but ya gotta nab them while they’re there! You can find those dies as well as refill kits here.

These are the cards the December 2025 kit, Watercolor In Bloom, was originally designed to create — beautiful cards, but there is so much more you can do with this kit too!

Scroll on down and you’ll find photos of my alternative cards from the December 2025 kit along with a brief description of how to make the cards.

• Make a Basic White card base, 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ when folded
• Using Blueberry Bushel cardstock (CS) cut mat frame to 4 3/4″ x 3 1/2″
• Cut Basic White CS to 3 3/4″ x 2 1/2″ for central focal layer of card
• The vase here was die cut from part of a printed card in the kit, using a previous add-on die
• Stamp greenery using stamps from the kit in Garden Green and Shaded Spruce inks
• The flowers were die cut using a die from the Oct-Dec ’25 add-on dies. I used scraps of Gorgeous Grape and Highland Heather CS
• Stamp greeting in Blueberry Bushel on white CS and trimmed to fit

• Make a card base in Basic White CS to be 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ when folded
• Make the mat in Night of Navy CS cut to 4″ x 5 1/4″
• Trim the front of a printed envelope from the kit to 5″ x 3 3/4″
• Stamp the ferns in Night of Navy using stamp in kit
• Here, I cut the leaves in Old Olive CS using April-June ’25 add-on dies
• The larger Gorgeous Grape flower was die cut using April-June ’25 add-on dies
• The smaller Highland Heather flowers were die cut using a die from Oct-Dec ’25 add-on dies
• The Night of Navy “hugs” was die cut using die from April-June ’25 add-on dies
• Arrange pieces as you like in upper right third of the card. I added small pearl embellishments to the centers of the flowers.

• Make a card base from Blueberry Bushel, 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ when folded in half. Also, cut a piece 2 3/4″ x 1″ from Blueberry Bushel
• Cut pieces from pre-printed cards in kit to measure 5 1/4″ x 2 1/2″, 5 1/4″ x 1 1/2″, 3 1/4″ x 1″, 1 /2″ x 3/4″
• Cut from Basic White CS a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece for the inside of the card
• The 2 white flowers were die cut from Oct.-Dec. add-ons. You willl also need white CS to fit your greeting.
• Open card base and trim 1 1/4″ from right hand side of the front of the card.
• Trim this piece to 4″ in length and score at 1/2″ on one end. Adhere the 1/2″ flap to the right edge of the inside of the card. This will become the flap that your stamped greeting will be adhered to.
• Adhere larger Basic White CS to inside of card. This will cover the 1/4″ flap you just adhered.
• Adhere the 5 1/4″ x 2 1/2″ paper to the front of the card and the 5 1/4″ x 1 1/2″ piece to the right edge of the inside of the card, centering/aligning each piece so there is a 1/8″ border showing from the card base.
• Stamp greeting on the Basic White scrap and trim to fit the flap.
• Adhere the 1/2″ x 3/4″ piece of paper to the 1″ x 2 3/4″ piece of Blueberry Bushel. This will become the tab that the flap will tuck under. Decorate the tab as desired. Place a Stampin’ Dimensional at each end of the tab and align on the front of the card so the greeting flap will tuck in under it to hold the card closed.
• Decorate with flowers or whatever embellishments you’d like to use!

• Make a card base in Basic White to be 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ when folded
• Cut a Blueberry Bushel mat to 3 3/4″ x 5″
• Cut Basic White CS to 3 1/2″ x 4 3/4″ to be top layer for focal point of card
• Cut three strips from pre-printed card bases in kit to measure 4 3/4″ x 1/2″
• The larger circle in Blueberry Bushel and the smaller white circle I cut using Spotlight on Nature Dies, available here.
• The leaf and twigs are die cut from pre-printed card baes using Oct-Dec ’25 add-on dies
• The greeting is stamped in Blueberry Bushel using stamp from kit