Paper Pumpkin Alternative – Cozy Christmas (October 2025)

On Saturday, I hosted my monthly Zoom call with my Paper Pumpkin customers. During our Pumpkin in the Fungeon calls, I share fun ideas with the items included in the monthly kit, and my customers share their brilliant ideas. I’m always so impressed by what others are making—and I wish I could bottle the joy of these calls to share with you.

I was skeptical about the felt accents and bold images in the Cozy Christmas kit. I don’t know why I was hesitant to play with the elements, but I’m happy I did! We are having VERY FALL WEATHER in Atlanta, so it was fun to dabble in this Christmas-themed kit.

More About The Kit

October’s kit includes nine designed cards that come together beautifully—you don’t have to change a thing to create cards you’ll be proud to send to friends and family. Here’s a look at the finished projects as designed:

I love the Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green colors, but the warm Pecan Pie and Basic Beige bases add a special warmth to these projects. These are great cards, but … the stamp set is a keeper that will certainly make its way into my Christmas cards! Here’s a look at the stamp set that came with the kit:

Stampin’ Up! has also released refills for this kit in the online store (I’ve already ordered extras). Refills include everything but the Stampin’ Spot and the stamp set. Check it out here.

Alternative Projects

As lovely as the as-designed projects are in this kit, I wanted to stretch the elements and share some alternative designs during our call. Here are two of the projects I showcased:

Below are closer looks at these projects and how I used the products in the Cozy Christmas Kit to make them in my own design.

Deck the Halls

How can you stamp “Deck the Halls” without a little tune in your ear and a little song that takes you to “with boughs of holly”?! The as-designed card in the kit features a Christmas tree built with five rows of angled ray shapes – I omitted the last row to create a smaller tree that takes less space on my card. I changed the background from the Basic Beige panel in the kit to the Pecan Pie panel from another card and framed it with white. I love the warmth that panel brings to the tree – and the sparkle design on the base works well with the retro design. Here’s a closer look at this card:

The picture above gives you an idea of how the felt pieces worked on these projects – such fun! If you love the warm mix of Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler and Pecan Pie as much as I do, I hope you’ll save this for future reference:

Joy to the World

When I shared my “Joy to the world” card on the call, I could hear my Mom immediately say, “there’s Pool Party!” (she joins these calls and always chats with me after to share how much she loves the group and the projects they share). Anyway, Mom KNEW I’d work my signature blue into these projects somehow – and she was right. Here’s a closer look at my Joy card:

The Cherry Cobbler letters are part of the kit, but I repositioned them on a 2-1/4″ strip of Pool Party cardstock that I planned to position horizontally on the card front. When I realized it fit at an angle, I trimmed the banner along the edges. I added the letters with Mini Glue Dots to give them a little lift.

I added six Cherry Cobbler sequins that were included in the kit to give a little sparkle to my card. All of this is mounted on one of the Basic Beige card bases included in the kit.

More About This Quarter’s Paper Pumpkin Kits

Each quarter, Stampin’ Up! releases a special set of exclusive dies for Paper Pumpkin subscribers—just $12! Here’s the set for October-December, along with a sneak peek at the kits that coordinate. If you’ve been on the fence about subscribing, now’s a great time to join in. Here’s the set of dies for the October-December kits:

Stampin’ Up! has given us a sneak peek at the three kits that coordinate with the above set of dies (including the kit I have shared with you today). If you’ve ever been interested in signing up for Paper Pumpkin, then perhaps these sneak peeks might interest you:

More to Come

I’m excited to share more from this kit later this week. The next project I’ll share is [easily] my favorite of the three I created with the elements of the kit. I had fun with these elements and look forward to sharing more.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

Sign Up for Paper Pumpkin Today

Want to be part of the fun? Subscribe today, and you’ll be invited to my monthly Pumpkin in the Fungeon calls where we share inspiration, laughter, and creativity. You can subscribe month-to-month or prepay to earn Stampin’ Rewards.

CLICK HERE to subscribe to Paper Pumpkin.

If you have questions or need help, email me anytime at [email protected]. I’d love to welcome you into our group. ♥

My New Card Class

Yesterday I launched a new card class that features the gorgeous Joyful Days Memories & More Card Pack. I’ve designed four projects with these cards that we’ll make together during the card. I’ll send you all the pieces you’ll need to make the cards, and it’s only $35.

I know you’ll like these cards, so I hope you’ll join me for this fun class. To learn more and sign up today, CLICK HERE.

New Product Shares

I also launched product shares for the upcoming Online Exclusives offering – paper, ribbon, embellishments and swatch books. These shares are also only $35 – you can’t lose!

To learn more and sign up today, CLICK HERE.