Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Back to School Texas State Tax Holiday: Use Stamping Supplies for School Supplies

It's Back to School time and the state of Texas is having a sales tax holiday for school supplies up to $100.00 per item from August 19-21. Because school supply items are included in this sales tax holiday, the list of items below will be state tax free during the holiday period. Please note that you must place your order with Stampin' Up! during the tax holiday period in order to receive these items tax free. Also, keep in mind that this is a state sales tax holiday and may not apply to additional city, jurisdiction, or county taxes.

The following items are tax-exempt during the Texas sales tax holiday:

Item Number

Description

 Price

100425

2-Way Glue Pen

 $    3.50

100902

Dotto Refill

 $    6.50

101879

Watercolor Pencils (24)

 $   19.95

102845

Blender Pens (3)

 $    9.95

103179

Craft & Rubber Scissors

 $   19.95

103305

Dotto

 $   12.95

103579

Paper Snips

 $    9.95

103683

Mini Glue Dots

 $    4.95

104045

Anywhere Glue Sticks (2)

 $    3.95

104294

Sticky Strip

 $    6.95

104331

SNAIL Refill

 $    4.50

104332

SNAIL Adhesive

 $    6.95

104430

Stampin' Dimensionals

 $    3.95

105021

Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen

 $    3.95

105394

Basic Black Stampin' Write Journaler

 $    3.50

108360

Craft Scissors

 $   29.95

110755

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

 $    3.95

Varies

Stampin' Write Marker

 $    3.50

119700

Subtles Collection Stampin' Write Markers (10)

 $   28.95

119701

Regals Collection Stampin' Write Markers (10)

 $   28.95

119702

Brights Collection Stampin' Write Markers (10)

 $   28.95

119703

Neutrals Collection Stampin' Write Markers (8)

 $   22.95

119801

2010-2012 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (5)

 $   14.95

119802

Subtles Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10)

 $   16.95

119803

Regals Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10)

 $   16.95

119804

Brights Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10)

 $   16.95

119805

Neutrals Collection Watercolor Wonder Crayons (10)

 $   16.95

120962

Stampin' Pastels

 $   24.95

123002

2011-2013 In Color Stampin' Write Markers (5)

 $   14.95

 

I always kept a stash of extra school supplies in my closet when my kids were in school because we all know you don't always hear about the notebook or folder your child needs until 10 pm the night before…..so purchase some of these quality school supplies for your kids and have them on hand.   When those school projects and science fairs start rolling around you'll be prepared!  And what they don't use, you can use!!

Save a little money on taxes now so you'll have a little extra for your own stamping supplies!

Click HERE to shop for your Back to School Supplies during the Texas Tax-Free Holiday!

This offer good August 19-21 only!!

For more information on the Sales Tax Holiday for Texas, click HERE.

Everyone Wants to Be Liked!

I hope you enjoy reading my blog and get inspiration from some of the stamping ideas you may see here.  

  • If you want to be on my mailing list for my monthly email newsletter (and usually a mid-month update or reminder), please sign up in the Mailing List box in the upper left of my blog!
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Thanks a bunch!

Stampin’ Up! Fabric Ideas from Convention

Stampin' Up! isn't only about stamps, paper and ink!  We have gorgeous fabric to work with as well, and you don't always have to be able to sew! Here are some photos of fabulous displays from Convention I think you will enjoy!  Then be sure to check out the fabric from Stampin' Up! in my Online Store.

Flirtacious Fabric

Flirtacious Fabric

Flirtacious Fabric

Flirtacious Fabric (in photos above)

Beau Chateau Fabric

Beau Chateau Fabric

Beau Chateau Fabric

Beau Chateau Fabric

Candy Cane Christmas

Candy Cane Christmas Fabric

Candy Cane Christmas Fabric

Candy Cane Christmas Fabric
Springtime Vintage

Springtime Vintage Fabric

Sweet Stitches Fabric

Sweet Stitches Fabric

Sweet Stitches Fabric

If you enjoyed those displays, click on the online ordering button in the upper right corner of my blog and get yourself some fabric!

Looking for a Job?……A Fun Job, That Is!

If you like stamping and scrapbooking, or digital papercrafting, or home decorating….or honestly, even if you don't…….but you know a good business opportunity when you see one, please consider becoming a part of Stampin' Up!  Stampin' Up! is always looking for a few good demonstrators!  

It's not something to have to wait for or be interviewed for or wonder if you got the job or not.  It's all up to YOU!  In fact, the hours you work are up to YOU!  How you want to run your business (within reason!) is up to YOU!  Do you want to focus on card making or just scrapbooking?  Do you want to hold workshops and meet new people all the time or do you want to do classes in your home?  Do you want to make scrapbooks or party invitations and favors or gifts with Stampin' Up! supplies to sell to others? Do you want to earn a trip to Fiji??  Any of these things and more are possibilities when you become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator!

And that's not even mentioning the new friends you will make and the fun you will have and the perks you will get from Stampin' Up!

Please click HERE and see if this opportunity is for you!

Favorite Convention Swaps

I will say these are a few of my favorite Stampin' Up! Convention swaps but really I was barely able to single these out because I got some really good swaps!  But for the sake of this post, here are some that particularly jumped out at me!  Sorry that I don't have the names in front of me of who created these lovely swaps.

Convention Swap Card Cone

Convention Swap Cards14

Convention Swap Cards15

Convention Swap Cards16

 

Now that you have been inspired, go stamp something!


Easy Events Cuckoo Clock

Easy Events Cuckoo Clock Card

There are a lot of reasons to love the new stamp set Easy Events, but I have a special reason for loving the cuckoo clock image.  When my father was in the Air Force and visited Germany, way back when, he bought cuckoo clocks to bring home to my mother and both sets of my grandparents.  So when I see cuckoo clocks, it reminds me of all of my family and their homes.  I remember exactly where the clocks were hung in their houses and ours.  Cuckoo clocks are fascinating to children to see that little bird pop out and chirp or to help pull up the cuckoo clock weights to keep the clock running.  I was amazed to see that this image would be included in a Stampin' Up! stamp set!

I used the Color Coach to choose my colors for this card (Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze and Soft Suede….except I used a darker brown..Chocolate Chip) and when I saw the new Scallop Dots Ribbon on my table I decided that would be the perfect embellishment for my 4×4 card!  I colored the image with Stampin' Write Markers and a Blender Pen.

Easy Events has stamps for almost every occasion, such as baby, Christmas, wedding, thank you and more….and if you omit the sentiment you have even more uses for the images….and of course you can always use the sentiment by itself.

Order your Easy Events stamp set and all your stamping products HERE at my Online Store.

Happy Birthday Lucille Ball!

Lucille-ball

Whenever I hear one of those questions like "What famous person, dead or alive, would you most like to meet?" or "What celebrity would you like to have dinner with?" I realize I am not too starstruck because there aren't many names I would use to answer that question.  But Lucille Ball would be one of them!  

Today would have been her 100th birthday and 60 years after she started her famous television show "I Love Lucy".  The show first aired in October 1951.  I don't know when I first started watching it, but to hear "I Love Lucy" or to hear the theme music of that show takes me back to my childhood.  The show was on at 9:30 am, which means I could only watch it during the summer (if I was up early enough) or on days when I was home sick.  Even if I was sick, it wasn't too bad to get to stay home and lay on the couch and watch "I Love Lucy"!  I can't imagine how many times I saw those episodes over and over and over again….and they were always hilarious!  In later years, Lucy had some shows with Ethel that were shown in the evenings.  My family and I loved those too!

There is a new exhibit that just opened dedicated to the "I Love Lucy" show at the Library of Congress.  Raymond White, the curator of the exhibit, said,  “The Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz papers at the Library of Congress provide a unique opportunity to view the development of the show from the perspective of their family–in terms of the items that were preserved in the family scrapbooks, and this was our point of departure for the exhibit,” he says. “…the scrapbooks contained a wealth of materials documenting the early careers of Ball and Arnaz…and a treasure trove of photographs that present the extremely photogenic Ball and Arnaz in the height of 1940s Hollywood glamour.”

So you never know where your scrapbooks might end up!  Consider the importance they might have in history!

Click HERE for more information on the Library of Congress exhibit. Sounds to me like scrapbooking played an important role!

A Few Convention Swaps

Convention Swap Cards

Convention Swap Cards2

One of the most fun parts of the Stampin' Up! Convention and even other Stampin' Up! events is swapping with other attendees.  Swapping means a Stampin' Up! demonstrator makes a bunch of the same card front to trade with other demonstrators.  Usually we make more than one design.  Really almost from the time you arrive at the airport swapping among demonstrators begins…but for sure once you arrive at the Convention hall!  You will see demonstrators in the lobby and everywhere with their hands full of swaps to trade and this continues for days.  Besides being fun and a good way to get acquainted with others, it gives us samples to show our customers for ideas on what they can make with their stamping supplies.  Some demonstrators sign up for special organized swaps with a certain group or with a certain theme….it might be 3×3 cards, or scrapbook pages, or 3D items, or gifts or pop-up cards or whatever!  You might see them meeting in a circle in the lobby and trading their swaps in an organized fashion.  Whatever the method, it is REALLY fun, and so fun to come home with lots of samples to show!

(You might be able to click on the photos to enlarge them.)

3×3 Thank You Cards

It's fun making little 3"x 3" notecards, and these were perfect for putting in my customers' bags with their Stampin' Up! orders!

Pretty Postage Thank You Card

Stamps:  Pretty Postage, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Calypso Coral

Paper:  Pool Party, Whisper White, and Calypso Coral card stock; Pocketful of Posies Designer Series Paper

Accesssories:  Postage Stamp Punch, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Stampin' Write Markers for words:  Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo

Try making some 3 x 3 cards for fun!  Maybe you will think they are less intimidating that a full-size card, just to get your creative juices flowing!

If you need any stamping supplies, just click on over to my Online Store!


Love Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper? Buy 3, Get One Free!!

Designer Series Paper Special

Click image to enlarge!

Today begins the Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper Promotion….Buy 3, Get 1 Free

Just as it says, when you buy 3 packs of Designer Series Paper, you will get to choose one free!  There is no limit to the number of free packages you can earn!  And there are beautiful papers in the new catalog! Click HERE to read all about it!

Specialty Designer Series Paper and Hostess Designer Series Paper are not part of this promotion and cannot be redeemed through this offer.

This offer is good through August 31, 2011.

You can order online at my website HERE, contact me with your order, OR plan a workshop with your friends and earn Hostess Benefits for more free stuff!

Go HERE now to see all the beautiful designer papers available for this offer!

Last Day! Become a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator for $99…and Get a Christmas Keepsake Box Project FREE!

Christmas Box


Today, Sunday July 31st, is your last chance to begin your stamping and scrapbooking business for only $99. And for an extra bonus, receive this Christmas Keepsake Box FREE with your first demonstrator order beginning August 1st.  This box is part of the Shelli Signature Collection which means Shelli Gardner, founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!, had a large part in the design of the product.  I told you that this box was much more beautiful in person than you can tell in the flyer about the promotion, so I hope you can get a better view of it here in this photo I found in my Convention photos.  It was on display in a glass case! Really a gorgeous project!

But the box is only a small part of the opportunity, excitement, and fun of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. With your Starter Kit, you can begin your Stampin' Up! business and take it to whatever level you like…maybe even earning the Incentive Trip to Fiji….or Hilton Head Island!  Or if it suits you better, just have occasional get-togethers with friends or family to enjoy the art of rubber stamping, or scrapbooking, or digital papercrafting.  You are also welcome to order the standard Starter Kit if you prefer to receive more stamping supplies than this smaller kit provides.  If you have been a stamper or scrapbooker or previous demo and already have lots of product, this $99 Starter Kit is for you!

Go to my website NOW and click the JOIN NOW button on the left. You can sign up online and be a demo in minutes!  If you have any technical difficulties, please contact me and I can try to help you solve your problem. 

Starter Kit $99

Click the photo above to go to the promotions page!

Don't worry about not being creative or not knowing what to do once you are a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator because there are PLENTY of Stampin' Up! resources to help you, plus my own knowledge, expertise, and experience.  It will be a great journey for you….you will be surprised!

Today won't be your last chance to sign up, but it is the last chance to sign up for only $99 and to receive the bonus Christmas Keepsake Box with your first demo order.

Here are more details about the $99 Starter Kit:

$99 Starter Kit 
Contains over $185 in products and business supplies–including new products from the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog! All items below are recommended, but a new demonstrator can substitute a similar item of equal or lesser value.

 

Page

Item

Description

57

123225

Easy Events Clear-Mount Set*

69

122740

Pennant Parade Wood-Mount Set*

177

102277

Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad

177

105216

Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad

177

103133

Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

177

119706

Brights 8-1/2" x 11" Assorted Card Stock

180

101179

Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad

182

107311

Whisper White Note Cards (20)

185

124339

Just Add Cake Designer Series Paper*

195

124142

Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon*

203

122129

Blender Pen (1)

205

118486

Clear-Mount Block C

206

104332

SNAIL Adhesive

*New to the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog!

Business Supplies 
The business supplies in the promotional mini kit will be the same business supplies that are in existing starter kits; no alternative selections can be made for business items.

  • Getting Started DVD
  • Getting Started Guide
  • Guest Invitation Postcards (100)
  • 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog (8)
  • 2011 Summer Mini Catalog (8)
  • Stampin' Up! logo vinyl
  • To My Hostess Envelopes (10)
  • Recruit Folders (5)
  • Recruit Brochures (20)
  • Customer Order Forms (50)

Contact me today with any further questions at Karen@Karenstamps.com.




Stampin’ Up! Birthday Card

Stampin' Up! Birthday Card

Stampin' Up! started a new program this year to celebrate demonstrators' birthdays by sending a card and giving a discount on one product during our birthday month!  So guess what I got in the mail today??!  Even though August is only a couple of days away, this card took me completely by surprise!  It's made with My Digital Studio but has two real rhinestone jewels stuck on the front!  The inside is decorated to match, which is a cool thing you can do with MDS cards…you can color the inside of the card and add elements to be printed.  So now I just have to decide which product I want to buy with my birthday discount!

Wouldn't you like to be part of a company like this?!  While you can sign up in August and every month afterwards, you can sign up in the next two days, by July 31, and start your own stamping and scrapbooking business for only $99.  July 31st is Sunday, so don't hesitate!  You can sign up online on my website in minutes!  Look for the "Join Now" button on the left!  Contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

This Week’s My Digital Studio Downloads

I can't wait to put these on my order!!  New My Digital Studio downloads every week!

My Digital Studio Downloads July 26

Be sure to click to enlarge!  I was so excited to see each of these, really…probably especially the Letters To Santa Embellishments..and the Hello, Doily Stamp Brush…and the Lace Ribbon Border Punch…well, you get the idea!
My Digital Studio Downloads Prices

Click these images to enlarge!

Be sure to order My Digital Studio today!

Go right here!