Paper Pumpkin June 2015 Craft Subscription Box Review

I was so happy when I discovered Paper Pumpkin. It’s a subscription by Stampin’ Up which is the kind of business that sends ladies to your house to have parties. Like Tupperware back in the day. However, Paper Pumpkin is just like a regular subscription, no parties or people involved. I signed up then sat back and waited impatiently.
I’m sitting here writing this up and all I really want to do is go back and finish the rest of the cards. This might be one of the most satisfying, creative subscriptions I’ve ever encountered. They set you up for success. You don’t even have to be creative, you just have to be willing to use your fingers.

The Cost: $19.95/month, skip any time.

What You Get: Every month you’ll receive a fully designed project kit with stamps, ink and paper. Everything is cut and ready to go.

I recently reviewed the Nicely Noted subscription and mentioned how I’ve been wanting to send more cards in the mail. I love receiving them and I know it must make others happy, too. There’s just something about a handwritten note. And a handwritten note on a handmade card is pretty much the best thing ever. And that’s where Paper Pumpkin comes in. The kit this month is “Happy Thoughts.”
I was sent everything that was needed to make two different kinds of cards. Everything was included except scissors. I was very impressed. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s my first box or not but there was also a clear plastic block included with a note. It’s a good thing it had one, too, otherwise I couldn’t have used the stamps. It’s the weirdest thing but genius.
So the clear block becomes the base. The flowers and writing you see are all plasticy rubber stamps. You peel the stamp off of the plastic card backing and stick it to the block. Viola! A real stamp! When you’re finished, you peel the stamp part off, stick it back on it’s black outline on the plastic card and put a new stamp on the block. It’s actually an amazing space saver, I’ll tell you that right now. I used to have a billion stamps but I gave them away at some point in my life. All those wooden blocks take up so much room!
There’s a set of visual instructions for each project. I did pretty well although there were some bits I think I should have done that weren’t noted. Practice makes perfect!
Here is everything you need to make one of the cards. This is the Banner Card. You even make the envelope! I was nearly hyperventilating, I was so excited.
Envelope making! The parts that needed to be glued together had a sticky band on them so all I had to do was take off the covering and stick it. I put the insert in but I think maybe I was supposed to glue it with glue dots because you can basically take it out if you wanted. Whoops.
My finished product! Yeah!! It’s a real card and I can send it to someone! It’ll cost extra stamps I think, because it’s odd size but who cares! I definitely could have done better on the arranging the sections of the banner but I’ve got three more cards to perfect my skills on.
And I only just now realized that I was not supposed to put the “it’s your day” part on this card. Doh!
Both the Banner Card and the Flower Card utilize the sticker sheets on the left. The Banner Card uses the wooden triangles and the Flower Card uses the flower punch outs.
And when I say everything is included, I mean it. It had glue dots, little plastic buttons, twine, and puffy foam adhesive “dimensionals” that raise parts of the card up. I did manage to mangle most of the little stars while punching them out…
Here’s the making of the second card. The “Flower” Card. I used the flower stamp for this card, too. This card uses square stickers from the sticker sheet I showed earlier. While the Banner Card used white cardstock for the actual card, this one uses Kraft paper.
Here is the finished card up close. As you can see, I need some help perfecting my stamping abilities. I jiggled the stamp while I was using it. Oops. But seriously, it’s SO cute! The twine, the button… Everything is so adorable right down to the details.
Full on photo of the card and envelope with insert. I did this all by myself! And it’s cute! I’ll give this one to my mom because she won’t care if it’s messed up. I still have three more of these and three more of the other card to make. Hopefully the rest will be more impressive.

VERDICT: So it’s a little photo heavy but I am seriously loving this. I can hardly wait for my next one. To the point that I’ve already gone on their website and stocked up my cart full of old stamp kits! It’s bad. I might have found my new favorite obsession. I have an issue with getting obsessions. Sure, subscription boxes are one of them but I can have more than one at a time. I used to make jewelry. I used to draw with pencils, then chalk, then pastels. I used to do calligraphy. Wow… Listing them out like that sorta makes me look insane. But I suppose we all have interests that last for a season. At least it’s not skydiving or something dangerous! Collecting Coke cans from around the world is pretty tame compared to collecting shark teeth or antlers.

If you would like to sign up for Paper Pumpkin, you can do that right here. I think there’s a question about a demonstrator but I just said no and there wasn’t any issues. I am very pleased with the quality of everything included as well. I used a coupon code SAVE50 when I subscribed but it expired June 10th. Darn it. I’ll keep my eye out for new ones, though.