Paper Pumpkin June 2026 - Hooray for Birthdays! AHSC #692 challenge

Here is the latest Atlantic Hearts weekly sketch challenge.  It's AHSC #692.  There are some wonderful samples from entrants and the Design Team on the AHSC blog, so I hope you'll check them out using the link.  And, if you're up for a challenge yourself please enter, it's fun and easy to participate.  

Here's My Card:  

I stayed pretty close to the sketch design and theme of this week's challenge, mainly because I wanted to make some cards using the July 2026 Hooray for Birthdays Paper Pumpkin kit.  Here's my rendition.....

This spring, Stampin' Up! launched five new incolours, and one of them, Hydrangea Hue, has quickly become one of my favourites. Although it is primarily blue, it carries subtle mauve-purple undertones. 

I used some blue cardstock from the kit and layered it with a white hexagon featuring a silver border. Finding the hexagon a bit too plain, I embossed it with a floral embossing folder called Cute Crochet, which added a lovely touch to the otherwise dull white background.

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Hooray for Birthdays -Paper Pumpkin July 2026
• Birthday Wishes for You #145742 (R)

Cardstock and Designer Series Paper (DSP):

• Basic White card base 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" 
• White Hexagon from Paper Pumpkin kit embossed with Cute Crochet 3D EF
• Paper Pumpkin July 2026 - Hurray for Birthdays 
• 3 3/4" x 5" for front matte and 5 1/4" x 4"
• Hydrangea Hue matte for card front 3 7/8" x 5 1/4"

The phrase "With Many Wishes Just for You" originates from a retired Stampin' Up! collection called Birthday Wishes for You. I really like how the words flow and the frame around them. It’s stamped in Pear Pizzazz, though looking back, I might have chosen Garden Green instead. Oh well.

Ink and Blends:

• Hydrangea Hue sponged around flowers 
• Pear Pizzazz

Accessories:  

• Cute Crochet 3D Embossing Folder
• Brushed Brass Butterflies small and medium 
• Sponge Dauber
• Dimensionals
• Glue Dots 

I hope you found this week's challenge card interesting. Let me know, your feedback encourages me to continue taking part in sketch challenges. It would make my day if you I would would leave a comment or ask for information on how to participate in card challenges. 

Concerning feedback, my entry for AHSC #691 was chosen as one of the top three, along with Joanne James, The Crafty Owl, and Christy Stanford. I received some wonderful remarks from the Design Team about this card, which I sincerely appreciated.

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop

Woolly Sheep and Paper Pumpkin Hooray for Birthdays!

Happy August! Another summer month has passed, and now we’re marking August 1st, a statutory holiday established in 1974 to honour the province’s pioneers. Many families take advantage of the long weekend to go camping or visit national parks for some outdoor fun. 

Unfortunately, this year there are more than 100 active forest fires, and WestJet, one of the major airlines, is facing a nationwide strike by its flight attendants. 

It's supposed to rain heavily today, so I'm choosing to travel to my craft room and enjoy the weekend making some cards.  Happy BC Day!   

This week I'm entering my card challenge in both the Freshly Made Sketches #747 and the AAA Card Challenge #320. I hope you'll play along with me.

I usually don’t participate in more than one challenge, but this week I chose to try something different. I had already started creating my card for the FMS challenge when I came across  a new site to me, called the AAA Card Challenge blog.  Their challenge was to create a card with design that started with the letter "S". Since I was already using the Woolly "Sheep" set and sheep was on the suggestion list, so it was an easy decision to play along.  And that’s how we ended up here.

Here Is My Card:

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Die Sets:

• July 2026 Paper Pumpkin Kit - Hooray for Birthdays! 
• Woolly Friends #16688 (R) 
• All About Birthdays (R) - inside sentiment 
• Stylish Shape Dies #159183

Cardstock and Designer Paper:

• Card base and Inside Matte - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" for base and 5" x 3 3/4" for inside matte.
• Scraps were used to punch out the 1 1/4" circles and for stamping the sheep heads.  They were stamped twice, once on the circle and then a second head was stamped for each of the five circles, fussy cut and adhered with dimensionals to give some depth.  Leftover scraps were used for the bows and sheep bells that were added adhered to the first image, before the dimensional raised heads were added.  
• Hydrangea Hue (new incolour) mattes were cut for the front and inside that measured 5 1/4" x 4".
• Designer Paper for final front matte is from the Paper Pumpkin Kit.  I cut a piece of the blue plaid cardstock down to 5"  x 3 3/4" 

Inks and Blends:

• Momento Black ink was used to stamp the sheep 
• Hydrangea Hue ink was used for the "birthday wishes" and "wishing you the HAPPIEST birthday yet" sentiments on the front and inside design.
• Old Olive ink was used for the grass on inside design 
• Pretty in Pink, Daffodil Delight light and dark stamping blends were used to highlight the sheep ears, cheeks and Copic soft gray was used to outline the sheep. 

Accessories: 

• Dimensionals were used to pop up the flowers and sheep heads on the card front.
• Die cut self-adhesive black plastic "happy" sentiment is from the Paper Pumpkin kit, along with the floral images and leaves.

Thanks for dropping by to check out this sketch and my interpretation. Let me know if you played along with the challenge or how you like my card. I'm always appreciative and interested to know what you think.

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop