Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Columbus Day on My Digital Studio

Leave a reply

My Digital Studio Columbus Day

Images © Stampin’ Up! 2012

Happy Columbus Day!  Here’s my crude little version of one of Columbus’s ships, the Santa Maria, in honor of Columbus Day!  I made it all in My Digital Studio, with no plan, no copying, just playing!! I just used punches to make the ship and the waves, even tried the new crop feature in MDS 2! I love all the new features in Version 2 of My Digital Studio! If you either own My Digital Studio or want to learn a little bit about it, you can visit www.mydigitalstudio.net.  It’s is a Stampin’ Up! site for My Digital Studio for customers and demonstrators. It’s actually a Ning site that you can join, but you might be able to just look it over without joining. There are places to ask questions and tons of videos from Stampin’ Up! as well as other demonstrators on how to use all the features in this digital papercrafting software.

Once you check it out, go get the My Digital Studio Free 30-Day Trial and play with it! If you’ve never done digital, yes, it will take a bit to get used to (i went crazy at first not having paper and stamps in my hands to move around and try out!) but it is not hard to learn! I learned it from no experience!  The more you use it, the faster you will become proficient….you only need practice, not great computer or digital designing skills!

Give it a try today! Just go to my Stampin’ Up! store  and you’ll be able to download the free trial in minutes!

World Card Making Day! Make a Card! How About Spooky Bingo Bits Halloween Card?

Leave a reply
Spooky Bingo Bits Halloween Card
Images copyright Stampin' Up! 2012
Today is World Card Making Day, so get in on the fun!  Join cardmakers and papercrafters and stampers all over the world and make a card! Here is one I made in My Digital Studio, the design software from Stampin' Up! for digital papercrafting of all kinds! If you don't own My Digital Studio, you can easily make this same card with some paper, some punches and the stamp set Spooky Bingo Bits! You can get Spooky Bingo Bits in clear-mount or wood-mount. Or you can purchase Spooky Bingo Bits as a digital download to use in My Digital Studio or another design program.
You can purchase My Digital Studio two ways….just get MDS 2 (the new version 2) for $39.95 which is software you can download immediately with a little bit of content and add to it as you like.  Or, purchase MDS 2+ which is the software plus over $500 in digital content for $79.95.  Honestly, this is the best deal….you get SO much content to use for that extra $40.
If you don't even know what I am talking about….digital papercrafting?  digital downloads?  My Digital Studio?? ….. (because I didn't in the beginning!!!), then do the trial version!  Yes, you can try My Digital Studio, the full software plus enough content to play with, for free for 30 days! You can download the free 30-day trial of My Digital Studio.  While you are using the trial version, you can make your projects, print them yourself or send them off to the Stampin' Up! printer.
Whether you make a traditional card, a digital card, or even a hybrid card (digital plus traditional paper additions), stop and make a card today with all the cardmakers around the world on World Card Making Day!

World Card Making Day Tomorrow, October 6, 2012

Leave a reply

Gently Falling Birthday Card

Tomorrow, October 6, 2012 is World Card Making Day! Plan now to stop everything and sit down and make a card (or two or three!) tomorrow.  If you make two, you can keep your masterpiece and still have one to send to someone! Just think how thrilled someone would be to actually receive a REAL card in the mail from you! Or take advantage of the day to start on your Christmas cards!  Plan a design today and then you'll be ready to go tomorrow for World Card Making Day!

This card looks beautiful in person.  I'm not sure the photograph does it justice. I used the Gently Falling stamp set of leaves.  It's two-step stamping:  stamp the leaf, then stamp over it with the outline stamp.  If you want it perfect, you can use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig….but usually I just eyeball it and come close enough, as I did on this card. To make the multi-colored fall leaves, I used Stampin' Write Markers of various colors and then spritzed with some water very lightly to blend the colors. Then I over-stamped with the outline stamp of each leaf with Soft Suede. And I even sponged a little bit of color in between the leaves.

You could use this card for a masculine birthday card, Thanksgiving, or fall.

For some extra jazz, I spritzed the leaf part of the card with the Gold Glow Smooch Spritz.  You'll be able to see that gold spritz in the photo below.  The key to using the Smooch Spritz is to confidently push the spray button!  Don't try to do it lightly or half-heartedly or you will get big blobs of gold.  Just spray boldly and a fine mist will come out!  Use a box of some kind to catch the overspray, just in case.

Gently Falling Birthday Card Gold Shimmer Smooch Spritz

Depending on your browser, you might be able to click the photo above and enlarge it. Then you'll be able to see the gold shimmer.

Happy World Card Making Day Tomorrow!

Snow Festival Ornament Christmas Card

Leave a reply

Snow Festival Ornament Christmas Card

You can take advantage of the Stampin' Up! Merry Christmas special by purchasing the beautiful Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper and the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set…or even adding the Holiday Ornaments Framleits Dies.  But today I was creatively inspired by the other holiday paper in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog, Snow Festival!  I like the Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green color scheme. The greeting is from the Chock-Full of Cheer Stamp Set (another cute set!) in the regular Stampin' Up! Catalog.

Remember, that if you want to purchase one of the Merry Christmas Bundles, you MUST use the numbers in the special in order to receive your FREE Festive Paper-Piercing Pack.

The 12 Weeks of Christmas Coming to Your Inbox Today…Sign Up Now!

Leave a reply

12WksXmasBlogPost-001
Images © Stampin' Up! 2012

Would you like to receive a new idea for a Christmas card, gift, or wrapping in your inbox every week from now until Christmas? Then sign up for my mailing list here at the top of my blog because the "12 Weeks of Christmas" starts in just 4 hours! Make sure you receive each and every issue by signing up before the first one goes out today!

The "12 Weeks of Christmas" is my free gift to you, my subscribers, as a thank you for joining me in all this stamping fun and also to inspire you with creative ideas that you can use for the holidays. Maybe something you see in my emails will save you a trip to the mall or urge you to create a one-of-a-kind gift or card for someone special!

Don't delay! The first email goes out in a little bit! And it will only be delivered to my mailing list! If you are already on my list and receive my monthly newsletters, you don't have to do a thing!

Email me if you have any questions at Karen@KarenStamps.com.

 


My Digital Studio Printing Prices Slashed!!

Leave a reply


MDS New Lower Prices

Stampin' Up! has lowered all of the My Digital Studio print product prices-permanently! That's right. Now you can print your photobooks, cards, calendars, and other projects for less. And that's good news, especially right before the holidays! Shipping costs for digital products have also been simplified.

View the new printing prices.

New Design Features in MDS 2
Along with lowering print prices, Stampin' Up! added four more of the MDS 2 design features:

  • CROP PUNCHES: Show off part of the punch and hide the rest
  • PAPER RIP OPTION: Create torn edges with Designer Series Paper, card stock, and photos
  • IMPORT FROM OTHER PROJECT: Toggle between projects to import elements onto current project
  • MULTIPLE PAGE VIEW OPTIONS: View your page with trimmed bleed areas (in addition to viewing in single pages and spreads)

Update Your Software to Get the Lower Print Prices & New Features
To access the lower prices and new features, make sure to get the latest update for your MDS 2 software-even if you're using the trial version. Just go to Help and then Check for Updates and in a couple minutes you'll be all set.

And if you aren't using the trial version and haven't tried My Digital Studio, what are you waiting for?  Get the 30-Day Free Trial of My Digital Studio Version 2 today!


Are You On My Mailing List? The “12 Weeks of Christmas” is Coming!

Leave a reply

12WksXmasLogo2-001

Images © Stampin' Up! 2012

Only 24 hours until my "12 Weeks of Christmas" email campaign begins on Wednesday, October 3, 2012.  Be sure you are on my mailing list to receive all 12 issues. This is my free gift to my subscribers to thank them for their loyalty. Starting on Wednesday, you will receive an email from me with a free holiday project! We will start off with a Christmas card.

In order to receive this gift, you must be on my mailing list before the first email goes out! Please join us by signing up in the box near the top of my blog! It will be loads of fun! If you're like me, you love to get new ideas for Stampin' Up! projects! Even if I don't get a chance to make everything I come across, I enjoy seeing the idea!

Please sign up for my mailing list while you are thinking of it! We'll miss you if you don't!

Would You Like to Buy Single Stamps from Stampin’ Up!?

Leave a reply

Single Stamps Logo

Stampin' Up! just announced a Single Stamp pilot program! Apparently they received a positive response when they asked on Facebook if customers would be interested.They received 8,698 "likes" on their recent Facebook post!

To test this option, Stampin' Up! is offering the chance to buy single pieces from three stamp sets:   Word Play, Perfectly Penned, and Seasonal Sayings.  These are all greeting stamp sets so if you saw a stamp or two in the set that you really wanted but didn't want to pay the full price for the set, now you have the option to choose a single stamp!

*Note that these single stamps will only be offered in clear-mount, they'll come without a block, and they'll be packaged in cello bags versus the plastic cases we're used to. Also, since this is a pilot program, Spanish and French stamp sets are not included in this offer. 

This offer is available now through January 2, 2013.

Download the Word Play flyer.

Download the Perfectly Penned flyer.

Download the Seasonal Sayings flyer.

I'm very curious what everyone will think of this option!  Do you think you will like it or not?  Leave me a comment or email me and let me know what you think! You will have to do the math and see how buying just select stamps compares with buying the set. It will be an interesting experiment I think!

Merry Christmas from Stampin’ Up!….During October!

Leave a reply

SU Merry Christmas Flyer

Looks like Santa came early this year!  

Get a FREE Festive Paper-Piercing Pack when you purchase the Ornament Keepsakes Set and Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper.

Choose from the following options:

SU Merry Christmas Bundle 2012 Prices

You must use the special Item numbers to get this offer, not the numbers in the Holiday Catalog!

You may choose the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set (wood- or clear-mount) plus the Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper and get the Festive Paper-Piercing Pack

OR

You may choose the Ornament Keepsakes Bundle (stamp set and Holiday Ornaments Framelits Dies) plus the Candlelight Christmas paper and get the Festive Paper-Piercing Pack.

So it is stamp set & paper – or –  stamp set, framelits, and paper.

I would strongly suggest that you will want the Framelits Dies as well if you get this stamp set!  Just my opinion!  Or at least buy a Paper Snips scissors #103579 if you prefer to cut out!

You can check the various Bundles in the Holiday Catalog. This Ornament Keepsakes Bundle is on page 3 BUT be SURE you use the proper numbers for the offer as displayed above!  Click on the picture of the flyer to go to the pdf.

To order this special offer, just go to my Online Store….or email me any time at Karen@KarenStamps.com.  I'm happy to help you!

12 Weeks of Christmas Starting Soon!

Leave a reply

12 wks Xmas logo-001

Images © Stampin' Up! 2012

This week I will be starting my annual "12 Weeks of Christmas" email campaign! This is my free gift to you, a thank you for being on my mailing list. Every week, starting this Wednesday, October 3, up until Christmas, you will receive an email with a free holiday project. This will be either a card, a gift idea or a bag, tag, or wrap. You will get complete instructions to make each project and a list of Stampin' Up! supplies so you can get started now on your holiday preparations!

In order to receive ALL of these emails, you MUST be on my mailing list by 1 pm Wednesday, October 3. This will only be delivered to my mailing list!

If you are already on my mailing list (thank you!), you don't need to do anything!

If you want to be on my mailing list and receive my "12 Weeks of Christmas" emails and my monthly newsletters, please sign up in the box here on my blog. Do it now so you won't forget! Then Wednesday afternoon watch for my first project in your email!

Last year I received many nice comments from my subscribers about these holiday projects. Sometimes I even add bonus projects because there are just too many cute things to make! And nothing is too difficult for anybody!

I hope you will enjoy my "12 Weeks of Christmas"!  I can't wait to get started!!

Sign up for my mailing list at the top of my blog on the right!

Merry Minis Teeny Tiny Wishes Christmas Card

Leave a reply

Merry Minis Teeny Tiny Wishes Christmas Card

Here is my Merry Minis Teeny Tiny Wishes Christmas Card! Cute name, cute card….if I do say so myself! This is a 4" x 4" square card of Real Red that I just pulled out of my package of card stock scraps and decided to use it. I wanted to emphasize the Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon because tomorrow, Sunday September 30th, is the LAST DAY for the "Back to Spool" Promotion by Stampin' Up! With a $40 purchase of Stampin' Up! product from my store, you can choose a free roll of this ribbon, in any of the 5 colors.  These are the current In Colors so you will love them!

So back to the card….I cut two of the Labels Collections Framelits shapes in Whisper White and Gumball Green.  Then I just punched out three Christmas trees with the fun little Merry Minis Punch Pack from the Be of Good Cheer Designer Series Paper (in the annual catalog) and stamped the greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes. I was going to jazz up the card more maybe with a designer paper layer, some Dazzling Details around the edge of the framelit, maybe a rhinestone on top of each tree…but once I put just the two Basic Rhinestones on top and bottom of the label…that was it! Perfection! Keep it simple!!  Done!  I love this card!

Now I need to go my make own Stampin' Up! order so I can get some FREE RIBBON!!

Back to Spool

Halloween Medallion Decorations

Leave a reply
You can have so much fun with Halloween crafts! Here are two Halloween Medallion Decorations that I made very easily by just pulling out some designer paper, some punches, some stamps, hot glue and my Simply Scored Scoring Tool. Make your medallions (or lollies) whatever size you want, add some layers and add a stamped Halloween image of some kind to the top. Tie on some ribbon or glue onto a stick. You could make big ones or tiny ones to hang on an ornament tree.
**************
Need any stamping supplies? If you order $40 in product before the last day of September, you can choose a roll of ribbon for every $40 you spend! This offer is quickly coming to an end as September 30 is not far off!

Note from Stampin’ Up! Peppermint Embossing Powder

Leave a reply

Stampin' Up! has updated us about the Peppermint Sticks Scented Stampin' Emboss Powder (Item 127830):

Due to quality issues, this Peppermint Embossing Powder from the Holiday Catalog will no longer be available for purchase. The product will still emboss and you can continue to use it; however, the peppermint scent does not last as long as indicated in the catalog. The supplier will not be able to reformulate the powder in time for use during the holidays, so Stampin' Up! has decided to stop selling the product.

If you have already ordered this item and are unsatisfied with it, please contact me (or your Demonstrator) or Stampin' Up! for a refund or to exchange it for a different scented Stampin' Emboss Powder.

Gently Falling Card

Leave a reply

Gently Falling Card
It's fall, for two days now!  Not that we can tell here in Houston, TX and we won't have colored leaves until December. But just to KNOW that it is fall makes me feel cooler and looking forward to all the things that are autumn.

This card was made with one of the leaf sets I have….Gently Falling. It's a two-step stamping set which means you can stamp the solid image of the leaf and then stamp over it with the outline image to define it….or just leave the solid image! Or you might want to just stamp the outline image and color in…or use it as a background as I did on the Gumball Green card base.

To give the look of fall leaves, I used several Stampin' Write Markers to ink the stamps. I would start with the lightest color of marker I was using on that stamp and ink up parts of the stamp.  Then I would progress with darker and darker colors of green or brown, for example.  This gives a multi-colored effect.  Either breathe heavily on the stamp to remoisten the ink or spritz it with a little water from a distance. That helps to blend the colors on your stamp.

Just because some packages of card stock were still not put away, I thought they looked good together and decided to use them….Gumball Green, Rich Razzleberry, and Very Vanilla….and some Soft Suede ink plus a little More Mustard and Tangerine Tango markers.

The little greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (such a useful set!!), punched out with the Word Window Punch and layered on the Modern Label Punch. I almost didn't put a greeting so I could add an appropriate one later when I needed a card, but "Just for You" will do for a lot of occasions! I recommend purchasing the wood-mount version of Teeny Tiny Wishes since the stamps are so tiny.

It's fall so lets start enjoying the colors and the mood of autumn! The Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog also has many stamp and paper choices as well as inspiration to get you in a fall-ish mood! If you need a Holiday Catalog, just email me at Karen@KarenStamps.com