Visit my NEW Website!

 After twenty years in papercraft and florals, I have finally decided to switch Paperfiori over to a website of my own. Don't worry! All of my old blog posts will be here on BlogSpot, and all of my future blog posts will be easily accessible on my new site. I've got a really awesome brand manager/operations coordinator helping me keep things organized and fresh and I am excited to share the next parts of my journey with you all! 

Here is my NEW logo! So many good changes happening.

In the future, you can find me, Kristin Sluhan, at: paperfiori.com, on Instagram (@kristinsluhan), and on YouTube (@paperfiori). I look forward to seeing you all again in these digital spaces as I navigate keeping this hobby of papercraft alive during the digital age!

AAA Cards Challenge with HERO ARTS!

 Hi all!

I’ve recently joined the I have recently subscribed to the Hero Arts stencil of the month and thought it would be a perfect tool to use for The current AAA Cards Challenge!

Even with a full A2 stencil, just using a part of it allows me to create a CAS style card with lots of white open space.

I love daffodils in the spring, it shows warmer weather is coming. These daffodils were Created using Altenew Citrus Burst and Maple Yellow along with Just Green and Evergreen for the leaves.

The sentiment is from A stamp set from the Concord & 9th Winter Retreat.  I had so much fun doing that class, I highly recommend becoming an attendee to any of their events!

The “extra“ girl in me, would’ve loved to have added some sparkle, but keeping it CAS I held myself back. What kind of card will you make for our challenge? Be sure to share it in our gallery!

Have a colorful day!

AAA Cards sketch challenge using ALTENEW!

 Hi all!

Super quick card today for AAA Cards challenge!  

Small stencils, stamps or dies are perfect for this challenge.  I used Altenew's Mini Delight series Cupcake.  The stamps in this series have dies to coordinate with them, usually including a word as well.  It's a great subscription to get for a small amount of money.

For this card, the layered stamp image was stamped repeatedly on the card front instead of using the coordinating die to cut them out.  The die word sentiment 'happy' was added from the set along with the word stamps.  I think it took me all of 10 minutes to make this card.  It's so cute and fun!

Go check out the other DT members and make a creation with for this challenge!  We'd love to see what you create.  Have a colorful day!

Happy Valentines Day with SISTERHOOD OF CRAFTERS!

 Hi all!

It's been a while since I posted anything.  I'll share below the major changes that have been happening around here, but for now....

It's time for another Sisterhood of Crafters challenge!  In honor of Valentine's day, we ask for you to make a creation with either Red or Pink.  Easy eh?  I can't wait to see what you come up with, in the meantime, the DT and I are here to inspire you!

This card started off with Altenew's Tufted Elegance embossing folder on pink cardstock.  Its a simple and lovely folder that goes with so many things...it's a must have in my book.

On top of that,  a die-cut heart from vellum using an old Spellbinders nesting set that's been in the stash for over 10 years!  Goes to show you, dies last a LIFETIME and are worth the investment!  Over that, a non-licensed die cut...I know, I'm bad...

Since this is for my mom, flowers are a must and Altenew's Vintage Garden flowers were so easy to make.  They were stamped and ink blended with the coordinating stencil set then a light wash of watercolor using the same inks were placed over it.  Finally, the flowers and leaves were die-cut  with the coordinating die, and a sentiment from the XOXO & More die set from Altenew were placed with some coordinating enamel dots.

If you want the deets on my absence, keep reading, otherwise head over to the SOC blog and check out more inspiration!

I haven't really been creating for about 2 months due to the holidays and lots of personal changes.  January started off promising...a NYE trip to our beloved @the_greenbrier with our daughters, God-daughter and our oldest's boyfriend.  Then January
quickly down-spiraled with my 84 yr-old dad getting sick while we were gone.

Grappling with the rapid advancement of my dad's Alzheimer's and his limited physical resources to recover from a bout of Norovirus, it left our family with the difficult decision; how to best care for him and my mom in their twilight years. With a very heavy heart, we chose to place him in Memory unit with Hospice care. My charismatic, funny, vivacious, loving and devoted dad is getting exceptional care, and mom and I can now transition from being care-givers, to being wife and daughter once again. The grief and guilt is very overwhelming, but we know this is the best choice we could make for his and mom's care. Thankfully, we were able to make his space incredibly homey (complete with wallpaper)and he has adapted incredibly well to his new place. We continue to pray God walks with him as he continues his life journey.

Adding to this, we received news our sweet 2 yr-old God-daughter, who has been living with us for a year, would be leaving our care in February. This revelation is shocking and scary, but unfortunately, we have zero control/say over her future. She is a HUGE fan of both Princess Tiana and Minnie Mouse. We had plans to go to Disney World in May for a big family trip for all of us and we hated her missing the experience of Disney magic. So I planned an amazing 4-day trip for her in only 3 days! Only hubby and I could go with her, my youngest had school and my oldest made sure she didn't burn the house down while we were gone. She had the time of her life with lots of princesses and Minnie, it couldn't have been any more special! We are praying continually for God to grace her with comfort and safety as she transitions from our care.

Thanks for letting me share my grief and journey with you all...

 AAA Cards FOLLOW THE LEADER Challenge!

Hi all!

It’s time for a new challenge at AAA Cards!  This time we are CASE-ing one of our fellow DT members Mariles.  Her gorgeous card is sure to inspire you!

See what I mean?  It’s a stunner!  I kept my card very simple and opted not to use die cuts.  I have very limited time in the studio right now due to lots of changes happening in life, and a simple stamped card makes for an easy quick card.

There are SO many gorgeous creations form our fellow DT members, please be sure to visit them for more inspiration.  Them make your card and link it up so we can be inspired by you.  You may even win a guest designer spot!  Hope to see you there!

Have a colorful day!

Let it snow with Sisterhood of Crafters!

 Hi all!

I hope you have all had an incredible Christmas and New Year!  It's been a bit of a rollercoaster around here.  Norovirus hit my entire family a couple days before Christmas so we were unable to celebrate with my parents until the 28th.  We left the next day to go to the Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia for the New Year, and my dad took a turn while we were gone.  Today it was apparent hard decisions will need to be made in the next few days, so I'm glad I was able to get in a little crafty therapy!

This time around we are celebrating winter with the Sisterhood of Crafters, and we want to see your creations with SNOWFLAKES!  It's my favorite icon to use when decorating for the holidays and I have MANY snowflakes in my stash!

The card base for this card was created forever ago!  I think I made it in September?  It's made with pigment watercolor powders which are VERY messy, but SO fun and the results are STUNNING.  After the panel was dried, it was run through with the Simon Says Stamp Cheery Snowflake embossing folder.

The snowflake placed on top of the panel was die-cut from iridescent glitter paper on hand using Spellbinders Snowflake Card Creator Etched Die.  The large snowflake is so beautiful and the die set can be used to make a shaped snowflake card.  Unfortunately, the piece of cardstock on hand was too small for a shaped card, but fit perfectly on an A2 card front.

Finally, Altenew Iridescent Gem Sparkles were added to the snowflake for some added shimmer and the sentiment was added from my sentiment scrap box.  It's from Pink Fresh, but that's as far as I can recall.

I hope you were inspired by this sparkly card today, please go check out all the DT inspiration creations and make a snowflake card!  Our challenges last the entire month, so. make a few!

Have a colorful day!

AAA Cards Transportation Challenge with SPELLBINDERS CRAFTY ADVENT CALENDAR!

Hi all!

I hope you have all had an incredible Christmas and New Year!  It's been a bit of a rollercoaster around here.  Norovirus hit my entire family a couple days before Christmas so we were unable to celebrate with my parents until the 28th.  We left the next day to go to the Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia for the New Year, and my dad took a turn while we were gone.  Today it was apparent hard decisions will need to be made in the next few days, so I'm glad I was able to get in a little crafty therapy!

Today AAA Cards is back with a transportation challenge!  I have only a few items that would match this theme...however....The Spellbinders Crafty Advent Calendar this year had the PERFECT item to use so I pulled it out!  The calendar was so fun to use this year.  If you haven't seen my creations using each day from the calendar, check them out here on my Instagram.  There were so many amazing goodies in this box, like this adorable hot air balloon from Day 1!

This card is all about ink blending!  First, a rectangle was masked off with some mint tape.  Then, with Altenew's Sea Glass Fresh Dye ink and their blending brush, clouds were added using a homemade stencil.  To add a bit of interest, using the Altenew Score Board, embossed lines were added around the clouds.

The balloon shapes and stripes were strategically placed and die-cut from one of my scrap ink-blended panels, as were the bows on the sides.  The bunting was cut from vellum and the basket with ropes from kraft paper.  All pieces were assembled and glued to the front of the card panel.

Finally, this adorable sentiment was included in Day 1 of the advent calendar, so it was added beneath the balloon.

It's pushing the CAS style a bit with all the die cuts, but definitely meets the challenge in the design.  Be sure to check out the DT's creations for this challenge...they are adorable...then add your creation to our link!  I look forward to seeing them!

Have a colorful day!