Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Stampin’ Up! One Day Sale on Stamps! One Day Only: Monday, Oct. 29, 2012

Wow! Stampin' Up! is going all-out on Monday, October 29th!!

For ONE DAY ONLY you will get 15% off any stamp (almost!) from Stampin' Up! The goal is to sell more stamps in a single day than ever before! It's the one-day Sell-A-Stamp Spooktacular!

Here are the details:

Starting at 12:00 AM (MT) and ending at 11:50 PM (MT), almost every stamp will be 15 percent off.

This means all stamps in the current catalogs including:

Background stamps
Personalized name stamps
Cookie press stamps
Single-image stamps

This DOES NOT include:
Hostess sets
Bundled stamp sets
Digital stamp brush sets

There is no minimum purchase, and no limit to the number of stamps you can order.

This is going to be a contest for all Stampin' Up! Demonstrators and we will get prizes (new items from the spring catalog!) according to how many stamps we sell! So I'll get the prize, but you will get the 15% off deal! That's the important part…the sale price that you get! And if I win a prize, I'll be showing you how to use it on my blog!

So your assignment this weekend is to grab your pencil and paper, your computer word-processing program, your Excel spreadsheet, or your app on your smartphone and start making your shopping list of stamps!! Then you'll be ready on Monday, October 29th for the first-ever Stampin' Up! Sell-A-Stamp Spooktacular!

Look here for all the catalogs to start your list!!

Or click here to view the stamps in my Online Store! On Monday, all the stamp prices will reflect the 15% savings.

But that's not all…….

Stampin' Up! has added more SINGLE STAMPS to their test program! It must be popular!

You can see all the Single Stamps available for purchase HERE:

Single Stamps: Assortment 1 *New!
Single Stamps: Assortment 2 *New!
Single Stamps: Word Play
Single Stamps: Perfectly Penned
Single Stamps: Seasonal Sayings

But that's not all……….really!!!!………..

Monday Oct. 29th is Digital Scrapbooking Day and Stampin' Up! will celebrate all week! More about that later!

Punch Art Pumpkin Halloween Card

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Years and years ago I purchased this Halloween gift bag at a craft show and have only used it as one of my many Halloween decorations around the house. It's made with fabric probably ironed on to the paper bag.

Then I thought why not make a card like the bag? So I did!

I started with the pumpkin head, made out of three ovals punched with the Extra-Large Oval Punch. I sponged Pumpkin Pie ink around all three ovals and then just played with them until I got them placed how I wanted them. You could even use punched circles if you wanted. I just drew on the face with a black marker and drew on the little stitching lines.

For the Halloween hat, I die-cut the medium-size triangle on the Perfect Pennants Bigz L Die using the International Bazaar Designer Series Paper. Who would think you would use that paper for Halloween? The hat brim I just cut by hand and tied a Summer Starfruit Stitched Satin Ribbon bow.

The moon is a scrap piece of Summer Starfruit card stock. You can cut it by hand or punch out a small circle for the inside of the crescent moon and then another circle to cut the outside edge. You still might need to trim the points of the moon.

And for one more embellishment to the card, I stamped the bats from the Wicked Cool stamp set using the new Illuminate Glimmer Watermark Ink Pad. I just wanted a very light, night-time look for the bats in the background. There is a slight shimmer to the ink but it doesn't photograph as such at all…at least not with my camera and skills!

Halloween is getting close! Time to finish making those cards and mail some out to your friends!

Make an Anniversary or Wedding Card

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For today, let's look at an idea for a wedding anniversary card (or this could be a wedding card) and take a break from Halloween and Christmas. I got this idea from a card I saw on our Stampin' Up! site for demonstrators and changed a few things a little bit. This is a square card made with Very Vanilla card stock on all the layers. I mailed the card so I'm going to have to guess how I really made it!

The layer on top of the card base is embossed with the beautiful Fancy Fan Folder. I cut a wide strip which I punched along the bottom with the Scallop Trim Border Punch and stamped "Happy Anniversary" from Teeny Tiny Wishes. I cut another narrower strip and embossed it with the Lacy Brocade Folder and adhered that near the top of the wide strip. Then you need a punched or die cut or hand-cut out heart and a few paper flowers. Add some ribbon, or I used some Victoria Crochet Trim kind of gathered up and adhered with Sticky Strip. And for some bling, I added lots of Pearl Basic Jewels, including one or two Large Pearl Basic Jewels.

Just to add a little more to this card and differentiate all the Very Vanilla layers, I sponged a little Crumb Cake ink here and there, along edges and lightly over the embossed pieces. Just adds a little something, especially if you want a little vintage look, which is often good for wedding or anniversary.

If you would like to place an order for any stamping supplies, you can order online any time, at your convenience, at my Stampin' Up! Online Store. Be sure to check the Clearance Rack, too!

Candlelight Christmas Flocked Clear Strip Christmas Ornament

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I had to play again with the design of the ornaments on the cover of our Stampin' Up! Demonstrator magazine called Stampin' Success. You can make these Christmas ornaments with just strips of paper! This time I decided I wanted a fancier one…I only intended to add some ribbon and maybe some rhinestones. But once I pulled out the Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper, I noticed the beautiful flocked clear window sheet "paper"! I thought that would make something pretty! So here it is!

Once I made the ornament, I attached a bow at the top with some mini glue dots and added just a few Rhinestone Jewels here and there.

My strips this time were 4 3/4" for the center one, two strips 6" each and 2 strips 7 1/4". I think you just need to play with the lengths of the strips to get the size of ornament that you want. These strips are only 1/2" wide. You can read my directions for how I put the ornament together on my post the other day here. I think you can see in this photo above that I put rhinestones near the top, middle and bottom of the outside strips and one on each side of the center strip. I used Baker's Twine for the hanging thread. Just feed it in through the center of the ornament and pull tightly for it to come up to the top in between the strips.

I might not be done yet! I think the next one I will try will have another set or two of strips!

If you want a pack of the Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper, you know where to go! While you are there, check out the Merry Christmas special which includes the Candlelight Christmas paper, and also the Clearance Rack! New items were just added on Friday! Although some products sold out the first day, there still are great bargains to be had, so don't miss out!

Candlelight Christmas Paper Strip Christmas Ornament

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I'm playing with some more paper strips to make a Christmas ornament again, this time using the Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper. I cut twelve strips, each 1/2" wide and 6" long. I punched a circle with the 1 3/8" Circle Punch on which to glue the strips.

Yes, I have hot glue all over the place! Thank goodness for the Silicone Craft Sheet! There should be twelve strips glued in there but one got lost….when I found it I was able to stick it in the slightly empty space with some Tombow Multi Glue. I used more hot glue to add scallops and circle punches to decorate the outside.

The little reindeer and the greeting are from the Joyous Celebrations stamp set. I love the Champagne Glimmer Paper scallop behind the reindeer on the front of the ornament.

Time is getting closer and closer to start thinking about making some things for Christmas! If you need any supplies for crafting, you will find what you need at my Stampin' Up! Online Store! Be sure to check the Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack for some great bargains! New items just added yesterday!

Make Your Own Halloween Ornament with Paper Strips

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As Stampin' Up! Demonstrators, we receive a magazine that we all love filled with creative ideas, business tips, and the latest Stampin' Up! news. On the cover of the latest issue are pictures of ornaments like these, except for winter or Christmas. I decided to try making a paper ornament for Halloween with the Howlstooth & Scaringbone Designer Series Paper. These would be so fun to make for Halloween decorations for a party!

Stampin' Up! didn't provide any specific instructions that I found, but I found some examples online! This particular one is made with five strips of paper. Basically you need two "long" strips, two "shorter" strips, and one "even shorter"!

This is what I used:

Strips are cut 1" wide.

2 strips 10" long, 2 strips 8" long, and 1 strip 6 3/4" long.

Arrange the strips in a "sandwich", paying attention to how you want the sides of your paper to show: shortest strip in the middle, next longest on each side of the shortest strip, and the longest strips on the outside. So for my ornament, I have the strips stacked 10" – 8" – 6 3/4" – 8" – 10" and make them all flush at one end (they'll be uneven at the opposite end of the pile). Using my paper-piercing tool I poked a hole and inserted a brad. Then I lined up the bottom of the strips, which shapes the ornament and inserted a brad to hold it. That's it! Tie a string or ribbon through the top and you've got it! Experiment with sizes and you can have ornaments of all sizes! I think I would make the next one a little narrower and shorter strips.

Try one with your paper scraps! Bet you can't make just one!!

When you want to order MORE paper, just go to my Stampin' Up! Online Store….but be sure to check the Clearance Rack because Stampin' Up! added over 70 new products today…some might be gone, so check as soon as you can! Clearance Rack orders must be made online only because of the availability of the items.

Ornament Keepsakes Paper Christmas Ornament

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I know you have seen this ornament before…it's on the cover of the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog and a lot of people have been making them! I finally stopped the world and made the hanging ornament myself! It really is beautiful in person and the Dazzling Diamonds Glitter around the edges of each little ornament really makes it look fantastic. This is made with the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set and the Holiday Ornaments Framelits Dies. The only difficult part is cutting out your stamped images of the ornaments with the Framelits as it just takes awhile to do twenty of each! But once you have that part done (you can also just cut out designer paper, not stamped images) the rest is fairly easy to assemble and glue. Mine has Linen Thread loops in each of the large ornaments, but I think something more sparkly would be better. The Scalloped Tulle Ribbon was fun to work with and insert and twist between some of the ornaments. The rosette in the center is made with the Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper. Then a Vintage Faceted Designer Button is hot-glued into the center of the rosette with a Large Pearl Basic Jewel adhered to the center of the button.

I hope you will take some time to make something special for Christmas, just because! Just to relax and enjoy the creative side of yourself! Sometimes we all have to do that!

If you need any stamping or scrapbooking supplies, please visit my Stampin' Up! Online Store or email with your order. Don't forget to check the Merry Christmas October Promotion by Stampin' Up! which is only good until the end of October….which is sure sneaking up on all of us!

Have fun making your ornament! You'll be glad you did!

Ornament Keepsakes Paper-Pierced Christmas Card

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Stampin’ Up! gives us so many options for designing our handmade Christmas cards and other projects. One of the big trends right now is paper-piercing. If you look closely at my card, stamped with the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set, you can see three different styles of paper-piercing. On the Gumball Green ornament, I went around the outside. On the Cherry Cobbler ornament I made a circle inside the ornament, and on the Baja Breeze ornament the piercing is on the center design. Then I free-handed piercing for the ornament strings up to the top of the card.

The Paper Piercing Tool is very handy to have!

Feel free to email me with any questions at Karen@KarenStamps.com.

Christmas Porcelain Ornaments….A Blast from the Past!

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Anybody remember these Christmas porcelain ornaments Stampin' Up! used to sell? I'm thinking it was back in the beginning days of my association with Stampin' Up! And that's now been over ten years ago if you count from the time I first heard about Stampin' Up! from my friend I was visiting. If you've been around Stampin' Up! that long, I'm sure you will recognize the stamp set, too!

As I was cleaning out my craft closet recently, I knew I was going to find a bag of plain porcelain ornaments….but I didn't remember that I had already stamped them! What a nice surprise to find something stashed that was actually used, so now I am happy to bring them out of the darkness and hang them on the tree this year! They would also make a cute Christmas tag on a package! Just remember that a handmade Christmas ornament can be very special.

I believe these were stamped with Stazon and then colored in with markers. For the sparkly finish they probably were stamped with VersaMark ink and embossed with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder #101930.

Find something in your stash that you've been putting off or forgot you even had and make something with it today! You might find some Christmas gift ideas that you didn't know you had!

A Tic Tac Pumpkin for Halloween

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I've seen a lot of different characters online made by various stampers using Tic Tac boxes. When you wrap some paper around the Tic Tacs and punch a hold in order to see through to the Tic Tacs, you can make a cute Santa, snowman, jack-o-lantern, elf, etc. Some have used the Two Tags Die and tied it with ribbon on the side, some have used the Top Note Die, and some have just wrapped a piece of card stock around the Tic Tac box.

In this project, I used a piece of Pumpkin Pie card stock cut at 5 1/4 x 2 3/4" (I assume all Tic Tac boxes are the same size, but I'm not sure). Either you can just wrap the strip around the Tic Tac box tightly, sort of scoring the edges with your fingers as you fold, or you can score at 5/8", 2 3/8", 3" and 4 3/4". The fun part is punching out a shape on the front so you can see through to the Tic Tacs inside. You will need to tear off the label or it might show in your punched hole. For this pumpkin, I used the Extra-Large Oval Punch #119859 but you could use a small circle punch. Figure out which panel is going to be the front, and center the punch as best you can. You could also punch a Post-it Note, stick it where you want your shape to be punched on your project, and then punch.

Then to make my box look like a pumpkin, I punched some leaves and branches with the Bird Builder Punch #117191 and cut a little scrap of brown for the pumpkin stem. You could also add scraps of black to make a jack-o-lantern face if you wanted to. You could also add a piece of window sheet inside the card stock and glue a face on that…or just stick on the Tic Tac box. Then for some embellishment, I added a "Boo" from the Tiny Tags stamp set and punched out with the Jewelry Tag punch #117190. Finally, I tied on a little piece of Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine to the little tag.

This is an easy project and fun to do! Use your imagination and come up with something to coordinate with the color of Tic Tacs you have!

For any card stock and punches, just shop at my Online Store! Don't forget the Merry Christmas promotion if you are interested in the Ornament Keepsakes Bundle.

Stampin’ Up! October Promotion–Free Festive Paper-Piercing Pack

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Don't forget about the Stampin' Up! October Promotion! Purchase a combination of Christmas products and get a FREE Festive Paper-Piercing Pack. Paper-piercing will enhance your stamping projects and is a trendy technique to use these days!

You have a couple of choices for receiving your free Festive Paper-Piercing Pack:

Purchase the Ornament Keepsakes Stamp Set (in wood- or clear-mount) AND the Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper and get the Festive Paper-Piercing Pack FREE.
Purchase the Ornament Keepsakes BUNDLE and Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper and receive the Festive Paper-Piercing Pack FREE. The Bundle includes the stamp set,the designer paper AND the Holiday Ornaments Framelits Dies. Check out the Bundles in the Holiday Catalog just inside the front cover and throughout the catalog.

Be sure to use the special order numbers in the flyer above (click on it to enlarge) to receive the special offer. You can order online at my Stampin' Up! Online Store here or just email me and I will put your order in for you.

This is a beautiful stamp set and beautiful designer series paper (one design is like a clear window sheet with flocking!) so it is well worth taking advantage of this special offer. The Bundle that includes the framelits dies makes cutting out those stamped ornaments, or just the ornament shape from designer paper, so easy…and the bundle is a savings in itself! Please check it out and get your order in before Halloween night!!

This early Christmas Gift with Purchase to you from Stampin' Up! is only good during October!

Tips for Taking Great Halloween Photos!

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Today I read an interesting blog article written by Suzanne Kantra about taking great Halloween photos . I admit most of these tips are over and above my point-and-shoot photography skills, but you might be more capable when it comes to cameras! And they're not all advanced tips, so I think we can all benefit.

This article talks about how to get those after dark shots on Halloween night, including how to capture a few ghosts in your photo! She has tips for eliminating blurry shots in the dark and how to get some good shots right at dusk. Maybe you will even want to capture some ghost writing!

To read the full article, you will find it here. I hope this gives you good ideas for Halloween photos!

Plan ahead for your Halloween photos and create some scrapbook pages, traditional or digital, so you can just place those photos right in their places the day after Halloween! If you need some Halloween ideas for scrapbooking, please contact me.

Toxic Treats Halloween Card with Champagne Glimmer Paper

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It was fun to play around with the Toxic Treats stamp set and the Champagne Glimmer Paper….and all the other elements on this card! First I used the Spider Web Embossing Folder for the front of the card and then lightly rubbed the new Illuminate Glimmer Watermark Stampin' Pad over the web to give it some shimmer.

I stamped the witch image on Glossy White Card Stock and then sponged the Daffodil Delight moon in the background using a Post-it Note for a stencil. Then I covered the moon with the punched out circle from the Post-it Note to mask it while I sponged some More Mustard ink around the moon…and then around the rest of it I sponged Cajun Craze. I also used the Labels Collection Framelits to cut out the Toxic Treats image, the Cajun Craze layer and the Champagne Glimmer Paper. LOVE the glimmer paper!!! I HAD to put a little spider in the web, although I'm not sure he matches…but oh well, it's Halloween!

Oops, almost forgot to show you the inside of the card, since the card base is black. I just added a layer of Whisper White card stock that I stamped with some images from Toxic Treats stamp set.

I hope you will make some fun Halloween cards or projects for your family and friends or maybe neighbors. It is 90 degrees here today in Houston so anything I can do to make me think it is actually fall here makes me happy!

If you need any Halloween stamping supplies you can find plenty in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog AND the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog! Find everything you need in my Stampin' Up! Online Store!

Snow Festival Designer Tag Reindeer Christmas Card

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These Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags are so cute and easy to add to Christmas cards! This card took just minutes to make. I used Cherry Cobbler for the card base, punched a strip of Gumball Green card stock with the Scallop Trim Border Punch, and used a strip of the Snow Festival Designer Series Paper. And for a little extra razzle-dazzle, I added some Rhinestone Jewels to the ornaments on the reindeer antlers, plus a little dot of Dazzling Details on his red nose!

Order yourself a pack or two of these Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags! You'll be glad you did!

Shop at my Stampin' Up! Online Store or email me!

Petite Pocket Die Pouch with Snow Festival Designer Printed Tag

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You will find the Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog on page 17, and look how you can pair one with the Petite Pocket Die and make a cute little gift! Honestly, I passed these up when I saw them in the Holiday Catalog because I didn't know why I would want to buy tags for packages from Stampin' Up! Well, of course they were cute, but when I wanted so many other things, why would I spend money on these? But since then, I have seen so many cute ideas for using these for more than tags, that I ordered two packages of them!

The Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags come in a little pad so you just tear off the one you want to use. Each of the 25 tags is double-sided with five different holiday designs on each side, so that makes ten different designs to use in your projects!

Here is one cute project…..it was in the magazine that Stampin' Up! Demonstrators receive with craft ideas, business tips and news. Just use the Petite Pocket Die cut out with the Big Shot and adhere the sides to make the pouch. Then take a tag of your choice and adhere just the center on the front of the pouch.

Wrap the sides around to the back and adhere. Stamp a greeting or embellish with some ribbon. I used Baker's Twine and stamped the greeting from Chock-Full of Cheer (best to stamp the greeting before you attach the tag!)

If you want to add on these Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags to your order, just go to my Stampin' Up! Online Store and shop! It's not too early to get started on your Christmas projects!

And if you want to see a creative Christmas idea every week, be sure you are on my newsletter mailing list! My next "12 Weeks of Christmas" newsletter comes out tomorrow!! Don't miss another one! Sign up at the top of my blog today!

Stamping With Karen

Having Fun With Paper, Ink, and Stamps

Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Stampin’ Up! One Day Sale on Stamps! One Day Only: Monday, Oct. 29, 2012

Punch Art Pumpkin Halloween Card

Make an Anniversary or Wedding Card

Candlelight Christmas Flocked Clear Strip Christmas Ornament

Candlelight Christmas Paper Strip Christmas Ornament

Make Your Own Halloween Ornament with Paper Strips

Ornament Keepsakes Paper Christmas Ornament

Ornament Keepsakes Paper-Pierced Christmas Card

Christmas Porcelain Ornaments….A Blast from the Past!

A Tic Tac Pumpkin for Halloween

Stampin’ Up! October Promotion–Free Festive Paper-Piercing Pack

Tips for Taking Great Halloween Photos!

Toxic Treats Halloween Card with Champagne Glimmer Paper

Snow Festival Designer Tag Reindeer Christmas Card

Petite Pocket Die Pouch with Snow Festival Designer Printed Tag