Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Veteran’s Day Patriotic Scrapbook Page

Veteran's Day Patriotic Scrapbook Page

Today is Veteran’s Day, a day we honor our military for their service and patriotism to our country and here is an example of a patriotic scrapbook page any of us could make.  Chances are every single one of us knows someone who is in the military now or has a family member who has served, whether recently or long ago. If we looked in some old boxes of photos, we can all probably pull out some vintage photos of our relatives and ancestors from their military service. Why not take some of those out of the box and put them on some quick and easy scrapbook pages and either tuck in an album or even frame and put on the wall as decor.

In case you would be interested, the genealogy website Ancestry.com is allowing anyone to look up military records free through today.  I was slow in reading my email and only noticed it yesterday but it has been going on for a few days. You may have to register in some way, but they occasionally have these opportunities to look up certain family records.  I find it fascinating to see actual records right on my computer screen and perhaps a real signature and handwriting by that person. I found records for my father, both my grandfathers, and a few other relatives.

Take a moment today to think about the veterans who have served our country in peace and in war and active military who are serving us right now around the world. If you would like to read more about the history of Veteran’s Day, just visit this link.

New Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deal!

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Nov 10 2015

Some interesting Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals today, right out of the Holiday Catalog (mostly!)! The pretty Metallic Foil Doilies are in the Annual Catalog. You can use the two punches, the Snow Flurry Punch and the Festive Flower Builder Punch for your holiday cards right now. You can also get these punches in bundles with the coordinating stamp set if you prefer.  And then there are the Perfect Pines Framelits Dies if you love Christmas trees!  And who doesn’t?! Check out these deals and see if you want to add them to your order!

Watch the Stampin’ Up! video about using the Festive Flower Builder Punch!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online HERE or contact me to put in your order for you!

Thankful Forest Friends Animals Card

Thankful Forest Friends Animals Card

I absolutely love this Thankful Forest Friends Stamp Set, especially the cute animals, so today I made this Thankful Forest Friends Animals Card! After stamping the card, there wasn’t much room for a greeting, but I managed to fit one on.

The card base is Soft Suede, cut 6″ x 6″ and folded in half to be 3″ x 6″. The top layer is Very Vanilla. The animals are stampin in various brown inks, Soft Suede, Early Espresso and Cajun Craze for the fox. The leafy garland with acorns I colored in with various Stampin’ Write Markers. The grass is from the Sheltering Tree Stamp Set and I overstamped the blades of grass over the grass stamp. The greeting is also from the same stamp set.

You may think this stamp set is for Thanksgiving, but just think what cute baby cards you can make with these animals! Or make some cute scrapbook pages for baby or outdoor adventures!

Don’t forget to check out the Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals!  Today is the last day for these.

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Nov 3 2015

If you need some stamps or accessories to make a card like my Thankful Forest Friends Animal Card, just click HERE to shop at Stampin’ Up!

Don’t Forget to Join Paper Pumpkin! Do It For Yourself!

Stampin' Up! Paper Pumpkin Monthly Papercrafting Kit

Click for more information or to join!

Stampin’ Up! offers monthly papercrafting kits called Paper Pumpkin that come to you in the mail!  Everything is included in the kit (stamps, ink, paper, and accessories) to create the surprise project. Past kits have included cards, mini album, framed piece, treat bags, gift boxes, and more! Every month is a surprise and a treat for you!

Treat yourself to a little bit of crafting time that you don’t even have to think about! Last summer we had a lot of trouble with our electricity going off and one Sunday it was off all day with 90+ degree temperatures outside. After lunch I got out my recent Paper Pumpkin Kit to assemble and it was great! No designing of a project, no jumping up and down to get my supplies, no thinking outside the box (no pun intended).  It was all right there, no need to exert myself in the un-airconditioned heat.  I could just work and take my mind off the extreme heat! Stamping is something you can do with no electricity, unlike many other things!

With the first kit, you will also receive a clear block on which to mount the stamps each month that come in the kit.  You can use these stamps in the future, not just with the kit.  Sometimes kits have leftover supplies that you can use another time. You can follow the directions that come with the kit or strike out on your own doing your own thing. Do a little of both. That’s what I sometimes do.

Stampin’ Up! always provides a link to a video that you can watch for each month’s kit if you would like a little more visual guidance.  Here is the one for these really cute treat bags that could be used for Halloween or for fall or Thanksgiving.

The important thing to know is that to receive this month’s kit (November) you need to sign up by November 10th.  After that, the kits start being shipped out so that they are received about mid-month.  You will be thrilled to find the Paper Pumpkin red box in your mailbox! If you sign up after the 10th, you will start with the next month’s kit.

Each month is just $19.95 which includes shipping. If you prefer, you can also add Prepaid subscriptions to your regular Stampin’ Up! order.  You can also give these as gifts.  Change the quantity of your order any month or even pause your subscription if you choose.  If Paper Pumpkin is not for you, just cancel.  No risk, no obligation.

Try Paper Pumpkin today! Get the November Kit! 

Thankful Forest Friends Thankful for You Card

Thankful Forest Friends Thankful for You Card

As long as I had my supplies out after decorating a bag in THIS POST, I decided to make this Thankful Forest Friends Thankful for You Card. I used to always say when you make one card, go ahead and make three cards of the same.  You’ll be able to use them eventually and you won’t have to get all the stuff out again.

This card uses the Thankful Forest Friends Stamp Set which I just ordered recently and I do absolutely love! The animals are so cute for any occasion and the words are great for Thanksgiving and any other thankful time!  Just don’t ink up the acorns and leaves if you want to send it in the summertime! Use markers to ink up only the words!

I don’t know what the term is or if there is one, but I had never tried the “staggered paper” look before.   Maybe it should be called tipsy paper, I don’t know! Usually I like things straight and even, but I thought I would live dangerously and stack these layers differently today! It’s okay, not sure I love it, but it’s okay and something different.  Maybe I will grow to love it! The designer paper is the beautiful Into The Woods Designer Series PaperThis stamp set and paper pack are both available in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog. This paper originated with one of the Stampin’ Up! artists handpainting these designs and then Stampin’ Up! did all their magic to turn it into our designer paper. This paper really is gorgeous! Just remember, every Stampin’ Up! paper is more beautiful in person, no matter how good it already looks online!

For a little interest, I pulled some threads out of the  1 1/4″ Burlap Ribbon.  Just cut off a length that you want to use, cut off the selvage edge on one side and you will be able to fray the ribbon to get however many strands you want to use as its own embellishment.  I used this Burlap Ribbon so much I had to order more! You might not think you would use it a lot, but you will! Burlap is so on trend right now and has been for awhile.

My card still needed a little something, so I stamped the little leaf stamp in the background with Versamark Ink.  Versamark has many uses, one being matching the card stock that you are stamping on.  You could get the same look if you stamped on the Tangelo Twist card stock with Tangelo Twist ink – and sometimes I do that as well!  Versamark Ink is also used in heat embossing.  I think the Versamark stamping gave the background and the card just a little something that it needed.

You don’t need to make this exact Thankful Forest Friends Thankful for You Card, you can also use the same basic design to make any other card. Try it!

Click to Shop Stampin’ Up!

Thankful Friends Thanksgiving Gift Bag

Thankful Friends Thanksgiving Gift Bag

How about using some of those bags you are hoarding and turning them into gift bags such as this Thankful Friends Thanksgiving Gift Bag?! It’s so easy and fun and makes good use of the excess we all have around our house.

I was cleaning my house getting ready for company and just happened to notice how there were grocery bags and other store shopping bags stuck in a basket on a shelf in the utility room plus a whole grocery bag in itself filled/stuffed with all kinds of miscellaneous bags just sitting there on the floor.  These are the kinds of things you just live with until company is coming and then you (hopefully) notice them. I started pulling out bags and bags and bags and realized we certainly did not need to keep this many on hand (although my husband might disagree, just in case!). And while I had these bags pulled out, I separated out some of the smaller bags with the handles, like you can also buy at the craft store, and decided to do some decorating.

I love this Holiday Catalog stamp set, Thankful Forest Friends. I only recently ordered it because, of course, I can’t order everything the first time around! The animals are so cute and the greetings are perfect for Thanksgiving.  You will also be able to just ink up the words on the “Thankful for You” stamp and use that for any occasion, not just Thanksgiving.

This bag had the name of the store printed on the front, so that determined how wide my paper was going to be in order to cover it up, which was 4 inches.  The bag is 8″ wide. I used the Into The Woods Designer Series Paper and chose Old Olive as the back layer. Every package of designer paper comes with a list of coordinating colors so that makes matching easy.

I colored the greeting stamp with several Stampin’ Write Markers to get the various colors. Just breathe (huff) on the stamp after coloring on it with markers to remoisten the ink, then stamp. Next I used the Deco Labels Collection Framelits and the Big Shot to cut out the greeting and the layer underneath. You could add ribbon and other embellishments, but I kept it quick and simple.

So go through your bag stash today and pull out the ones you can turn into gift bags for free! And your house will look a little neater too!  If you need this beautiful paper or stamp set I used to make my Thankful Friends Thanksgiving Gift Bag  to take to your hostess this Thanksgiving, just visit the Stampin’ Up! Online Store or contact me to put your order in for you!

Stampin’ Up! Online Shopping HERE!

Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deal Nov 3 2015

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Nov 3 2015

 

Here are the new Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals for November 3 – 9.  Add one or more of these to your order and get some good deals!  The Old Olive Baker’s Twine will come in handy on those fall and holiday cards and projects, as well as the Flower Medallion Punch.  And the Piercing Pack and the Masks are extras that we don’t think of using as often as we should just to add a little something different to our projects.  Try them at a discount!

Shop HERE at Stampin’ Up! Online any time!

Punch Art Turkey Thanksgiving Card

Punch Art Turkey Thanksgiving Card

Is it too early for a punch art turkey card?! Probably not because Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!  Once I put up my Halloween decorations I know I will continually be changing them out through Christmas.  It all happens so fast!  Happy November!

Two years ago I made a punch art turkey Thanksgiving card, and I thought maybe it was time for an update. You can view it HERE. I made this card the same way, just used the current new paper, Into the Woods Designer Series PaperI only recently got this paper (even a Demonstrator can’t have it all!) and let me tell you, it is gorgeous!  I could barely stand to cut into it and punch pieces for my card!

To make the turkey body, I used the 2 1/2″ Circle Punch. The turkey head is the 1 3/8″ Circle Punch. The feathers are made with the Large Oval Punch and the Scallop Oval PunchAnd where would any project be without using the Owl Builder Punch?!  I used the Owl Punch for the turkey feet and for the turkey eyes.  The beak is hand cut from a scrap and the waddle is punched with the heart in the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack. The greeting is from the well-used Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set and punched with the Word Window Punch.

This may be a  wild and crazy looking turkey, but that’s okay because I made it myself and used some beautiful paper! I played around with the feathers and placement and finally I was satisfied with it.  If you don’t feel right about your design the first time, just keep playing, move things around, change the colors, it will come!

You might enjoy this Stampin’ Up! video with the artist of these beautiful papers!

To purchase this beautiful Into the Woods Paper or any of the other supplies I used to make this Punch Art Turkey Thanksgiving Card, please visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE.

Masculine Birthday Card with Glimmer Leaves

Masculine Birthday Card with Glimmer Leaves

It’s November! Did you remember to change your clocks?  Time to “Fall Back”!

Today I have this beautiful masculine birthday card with glimmer leaves to show you that my husband’s cousin sent me in a text.  I thought it was such a beautiful card that I asked her if I could show it off on my blog!  She made it for her son’s birthday, so as you can see, it makes a great masculine card with the neutral background colors, the leaves, and the wooden elements. We are always looking for good cards to make for the men in our lives!

The leaves are made with three colors of glimmer paper, such as the Gold Glimmer Paper, and die cut with the Leaflets Framelits Dies using the Big Shot.  She also added some Autumn Wooden Elements (retired). Although this card is for a birthday, I think it would make a beautiful card for Thanksgiving or a Thinking of You Card or any number of occasions.

This masculine birthday card with glimmer leaves proves that you can use some glimmer and sparkle even for men!

Need some Glimmer Paper or a Big Shot to cut out those gorgeous leaves?  Just shop at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store or contact me to place your order for you.

 

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Cards

I can’t believe Halloween is finally here!  I still have Halloween projects I would like to make! As I was beginning to mail out some cards the other day, I just grabbed a bunch and took a photo. You will probably find most of these on other blog posts.  And now that Halloween is here, it is on to the other holidays!  Have fun tonight!  Watch out for the ghosts and goblins!

Happy Halloween!

Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween Mini Treat Bag

Halloween Mini Treat Bag

One more day until Halloween so here is a Halloween Mini Treat Bag for holding some treats! If you have the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Die, you can make your own treat bag.  If you don’t, maybe this will give you an idea for decorating whatever little bags you have or can buy at the craft store if you are needing some last minute treat bag ideas!  I couldn’t even find my Spider Web Doilies but I did have two halves laying on my table so I used those!  The tag is from the Merry Everything Stamp Set.  I colored in the little vampire with a Pear Pizzazz marker.

For a layer behind the tag I just punched 4 pieces from the Note Tag Punch,  cut off the bottom portions, and adhered them behind the tag, just for a different look!  The spider web paper from Happy Haunting was perfect for this.

I hope you are ready for a fun Halloween! And I hope the weather cooperates for all the little trick-or-treaters, wherever you live!

Punch Art Black Cat Halloween Card

Punch Art Black Cat Halloween Card

I would say this punch art black cat Halloween card has two levels of inspiration on it. One day I saw pink being used in Halloween decorations and I thought that would be a fun thing to do.  I added some bits of Melon Mambo to this card, in the layers, the stamped greeting and in the paper bow on the punch art cat. (Sometimes just seeing a scrap of paper on your work table will provide inspiration!) The cat came from a picture of a cat decoration of some kind in a magazine article I recently read on the plane (the only time I seem to get to catch up on my magazines!) that made me think of the shapes of our Stampin’ Up! punches.

I used the Extra-Large Oval Punch for the cat’s body and the Large Oval Punch for the head. The ears are the top tip of the Tree Punch.  The feet are the Word Window Punch, cut in half. The legs are drawn in with the White Stampin’ Chalk MarkerI don’t remember how I did the eyes!  Maybe I just cut the shapes by hand.  Possibly I used the leaf on the Bird Builder Punch and trimmed it.  Punches just make things easier but there is no reason why you can’t cut things out by hand if you don’t have the appropriate punch – or use something else and then modify the shape.

The greeting is stamped with a stamp from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  Have I ever mentioned how I think this is one of the best stamp sets to own??  It has so many greetings to use, both for holidays and generic.  Very useful.  You can never have too many sentiments and greetings to use. For a little pizzazz, I added two Brights Candy Dots.  I love those cute Candy Dots!  The little stamped stars are from the Something to Say Stamp Set.  The star on the wand is punched from Gold Glimmer Paper with the star punch in the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack. The jack-o-lantern is stamped with the Howl-o-Ween Treat Stamp Set and punched out with the Boo To You Framelits Dies.

If you are looking for some last minute Halloween card ideas, maybe this punch art black cat Halloween card idea will help you.

 

Howl-O-Ween Treat Halloween Trick or Treat Card

Howl-O-Ween Treat Halloween Trick or Treat CardIf you are looking for a colorful Halloween card, look no farther than this Howl-O-Ween Treat Halloween Trick or Treat Card. The stamps are both from the Howl-o-Ween Treat Stamp Set.  The greeting is colored with three different markers and layered on the front of the card. The pumpkin is stamped and then die cut with the Boo To You Framelits Dies.

The background is simply a piece of Whisper White cardstock, with different colors just sponged on.  I have always cut the Stamping Sponges into pieces and used them that size.

Sponging

Sponging

After the sponging, I could see the card was going to need “something”, so I splattered the watered down Multipurpose Liquid Glue (the “green” glue, as we often say) over the card front and the greeting piece with my Aqua Painter, just like you would with a paintbrush. After applying the glue this way, sprinkle the card with Gold Stampin’ Glitter and then of course shake off.  You will have splattered sparkly glitter!  Really fun!

You have to hurry if you want to mail any Halloween cards to friends!  Halloween is Saturday, Oct. 31!

Did you know that Oct. 31st will be the last day of daylight savings time for this year?!  Time to “Fall Back” and get that extra hour of sleep!

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Here are the new Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals!  Some fun things for jazzing up your cards and projects!

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Oct 27 2015

Click to Shop!

Shop for any supplies you need, whether for my Howl-O-Ween Treat Halloween Trick or Treat Card, or any of your other papercrafting projects at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE.

Witch’s Hat Triangle Treat Box for Halloween

Witch's Hat Triangle Treat Box for Halloween

This Witch’s Hat Triangle Treat Box for Halloween is one I learned to make a long time ago and think it is SO easy to make!  You can vary the size and certainly make it for any occasion! And all it takes is half a sheet of card stock!

Witch's Hat Triangle Treat Box Greeting

This is a difficult project to photograph, but here you can see it from the side to see the dimension. Holes are punched in the top and I threaded the Pear Pizzazz Cotton Ribbon through them after putting some candy treats inside.  I also made a Halloween tag tied on with the cotton ribbon by just sponging on some colors of ink on to the tag and stamping “Happy Halloween” with Basic Black Archival Ink.  The stamp is from the And Many More Stamp SetThis is a great stamp set, you can never have too many greetings because we always want just the perfect wording for our cards and projects. I suggest buying the wood-mount in stamp sets like this one with smaller stamps and one that you will use a lot because being mounted .already on the wood, they are quicker and easier to use.

I made the basic triangle box out of Basic Black Card Stock and then traced the top shape onto the back of a piece of Black Glimmer Paper. I glued this on to the top of the box and added a band of Gold Glimmer Paper.  Underneath the gold band, I cut another piece of Black Glimmer Paper to fit into the bottom space except I made it longer by about half an inch or so than the bottom of the hat. Then I trimmed it to make it look like the brim of the witch’s hat. I also punched out some Gold Glimmer stars with the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack star punch.

To make the triangle box, cut a piece of card stock in half longways, 4 1/4″ x 11. Score in the middle at 5 1/2″. Then put a small mark at the center of each end, which for this size would be 2 1/8″.  Use the Stampin’ Trimmer to score from this center mark to the center score line at an angle. Do this on both ends on both sides. Fold everything on the score lines, and you will see how it all fits together.  Then punch holes in the top edges for the ribbon.  Be sure to add your treat before tying up the box!

Witch's Hat Triangle Box Drawing

Witch's Hat Triangle Box Layout

Try this project!  These are really fun to make!  And I love projects and ideas that can be used for not just one occasion or theme. This Witch’s Hat Triangle Treat Box for Halloween is just one way to use this triangle box idea!

Halloween Picture Frame

 Halloween Picture Frame

This Halloween Picture Frame is from last year, but I thought I would post it as a reminder of something fun you could make. This is a piece of Halloween paper from last year (Motley Monsters) placed inside a picture frame.  Then I took a piece of Tangerine Tango Two-Toned Trim (which you can still buy on the Clearance Rack and also in Old Olive) and strung it across the top of the frame opening (I took out the glass).  Just clip on a photo or two or three with a Mini Metallic Clothespin and maybe a little greeting or Halloween decoration.  You can use any designer paper, Halloween pattern or something similar (you could use a print or polka dots or stripes in Halloween colors, too).

This is a really fun way to display some current or past Halloween photos or make as a hostess gift if you are going to a Halloween party!  You can also stick on some Halloween images on to the frame itself to further decorate it.

As you can see, you make things other than cards with papercrafting supplies!  Make your own home decor with a picture frame and paper!  Just think of how you can change out the paper to make a frame for birthday photos, anniversary, or a holiday celebration!  Sometimes it helps to think of making a card, but then put if in a picture frame! Or think of how you would make a scrapbook page but put it in a picture frame!  Lots of ideas that you can make!

Shop Stampin’ Up! Online for anything to make your Halloween picture frame or display for any occasion!