Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Graduation Cap Box Gift or Favor

Graduation Cap Box Favor

Graduation is upon us and this little graduation cap favor or gift box might come in handy. Underneath the top of the cap is a box with a lid that could be used to hold a small graduation gift or be used as a graduation party favor!  The tassel is made with DMC floss, poked through the center of the top piece and covered with a small punched circle….just like a real graduation cap!  You could make this any size you need, from tiny to large or a matching color for a particular school.

Graduation Cap Box Favor top

Use any box template you like.  This particular sample is made with a 4" square of card stock, scored at 1" on all sides.  Cut one of the score lines on each side from the edge into the intersecting score line to form little tabs to help you fold into the square box.  This makes the lid.  To make the box bottom, start with a slightly smaller square of card stock…I used 3 7/8" square and score again at 1" on all four sides.  This will insure that the bottom will fit inside the lid. For the top of the cap, I cut a 3 1/4" square of card stock and attached the tassel.  If indeed you wanted something larger or sturdier, you could use some thin cardboard (such as what comes with designer paper) as the cap top and wrap it in card stock.

It's fun to add your personal touch to a graduation party or event!  And Stampin' Up! supplies are the best for any project!  Order yours at my Online Store or contact me.

Doily Triple Layer Punch Pattern Card

Doily Triple Layer Punch Card

There are two new extraordinary Stampin' Up! punches in the Summer Mini Catalog. This card uses the Doily Triple Layer Punch #122465 to make this pattern on my card.  I actually started with a completely different idea on using the punched images, but when that didn't seem to work out, I played around until I came up with something like this!  Then it was a matter of deciding which colors would go where and what would overlap what.  I used the Stampin' Up! Color Coach to choose my colors in the beginning after deciding on Wild Wasabi for the base layer.  The center doily is layered on a solid punch out of Rose Red (the first image the punch will make) and then the center is punched from the third image of the punch with a 1/2" circle punch.  Of course, I could not resist sticking on some Basic Rhinestones in the center.

Order your punch and then punch out a bunch of doilies and just play! See what patterns or designs you can come up with!

New Stampin’ Up! Punch! Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch Flower Card

Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch Flowers

Playing with the new Stampin' Up! punch!  These triple layer punches are amazing!  There are two to choose from in the Summer Mini Catalog.  This card uses the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch #122464.  The Wild Wasabi and Pacific Point pieces are from this punch.  I just glued them down one over the other with Tombow Multi Glue #110755.  The Daffodil Delight Center pieces are punched with one of the punches in the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack #118309.  The leaves are punched with the Blossoms Petals Punch #121808, which was in the Occasions Mini but is still available to order!  The designer paper is from Beyond the Garden #122342, and the greeting is stamped with Teeny Tiny Wishes #115370.

If you want to order these fun new triple layer punches, just click HERE to go to my Online Store!

Stampin’ Up! Love & Care Flower Card

Love & Care Flower Card

"Love & Care" is a Hostess stamp set in the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog on page 5.  There are so many Stampin' Up! ideas on how to use this lovely stamp set!  Once you start playing with it you can't stop! The flower is stamped with Versamark and them embossed with the new Tangerine Tango Stampin' Embossing Powder.  Everyone loves these new bright colors for embossing!  Check them out on page 23. The strip of designer paper is from mini catalog, Beyond the Garden.  These colored flowers will definitely brighten your day!  And you've got to have the new Postage Stamp Punch #122344 that I used for my greeting.  I forgot to take a photo, but I also stamped a piece of Whisper White card stock on the inside and LOVE how pretty it turned out with some of the other flower stamps on the corners!

This Love & Care stamp set is one of several you can earn when you have a stamping party with your friends!  Contact me for details!

We're finally getting decent rain and stormy weather in Houston today! It's playing havoc with the computer but at least my post didn't disappear! I'm not complaining since it is the first rain we have had here in ages!!

Digital Scrapbooking with My Digital Studio: Mother’s Day

My Digital Studio Wedding Heritage Page

Images copyright Stampin' Up! 2011

Mother's Day is here!  I noticed people on Facebook changing their profile photos to their mother's photo, and I guess that gave one of my friends the idea to post her mother's beautiful wedding portrait.  That gave me the idea to scan a photo of my mother in her wedding gown and make a scrapbook page.  One easy way to make a scrapbook page is to do it digitally.  Stampin' Up! has a fabulous digital program called My Digital Studio.  The nice part of a digital program is that you can change colors, sizes, embellishments, whatever with just the click of your mouse.  No wasted paper!  If I want, I can have this page printed or I could even now duplicate it with paper, ink and stamps.

Happy Mother's Day!

Stampin’ Up! Easy Handmade Card for Mother’s Day

Stampin' Up! Mother's Day Handmade Card

Mother's Day is Sunday so time is running out!  If you are wanting to make a handmade card for your mother, this one is easy and you can modify it to fit what supplies you have.  The stamped letters are from the beautiful Lovely Letters stamp set #115030 and the "O" is made from layers of flowers from the Flower, Daisies #2 Die #114520 cut with the Big Shot #113439.  The Whisper White layer is embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder #117335.  The ribbon is the beautiful taffeta ribbon, Daffodil Delight #119766.  Stampin' Up! cards are the best and your mother would be assured of loving one that you made!

Bold Blossom Mother Day Card

Sunday, May 8th is Mother's Day, and you SURE better have a card for your mother!!  Here's one I made with Bold Blossom, a stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalog that is also featured in the Summer Mini Catalog.  It's a fun, easy stamp set to use for a card.

Bold Blossom Mother's Day Card

I used the Color Coach to see what colors would look good with Tempting Turquoise, which I had chosen for the card base.  My Color Coach suggested Tangerine Tango!

Take time to make a nice card for your mother!

Stampin’ Up! Strength & Hope Campaign

Copyright Stampin' Up! 2011

Stampin' Up! is partnering with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation® by donating $2 of the sale of each Strength & Hope stamp set or Strength & Hope Digital kit (which includes a four-piece stamp brush set, 12 Designer Series Papers, and 10 embellishment pieces) to help with their work in breast cancer.  This promotion runs from May 1 – August 31.  Please click HERE to read all about it and/or watch the video by Shelli Gardner below.


Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalog Live!

Summer Mini 2011

The Stampin' Up! Summer Mini is live!  Click on the link to see inside! After a long winter, this mini will get you in a summertime mood with beautiful flowers, bright papers, travel and sailing, summer fun, and brand new amazing punches!  And those are just a few of the great items in the new Summer Mini!

Click HERE to download the "recipes" for the sample projects showcased in the mini catalog.

Summer Mini Flowers-001
Copyright Stampin' Up! 2011

Here's a card I made in My Digital Studio, starting with a template, using the Fabulous Florets Stamp Brush Set #124110.  This digital set matches the regular stamp set Fabulous Florets in the Summer Mini.

May Day Flower Holder

May Day Flower Holder

Today is May Day, although I've never really seen it celebrated! Supposedly you hang a small basket of flowers or gifts on your neighbor's door without being seen.  Now wouldn't that really be a nice thing to find on your door?!  I think this tradition has been transformed into a fun Halloween prank where you "Boo" somebody with a paper ghost and some Halloween treats.  Some say on May Day that if you get caught placing the May Day basket, you get a kiss!  I read that in London children get pennies for bringing flowers house to house and then those pennies are thrown into a wishing well and donated to charity.  In France people try to touch cows parading with flowers on their tails, which is supposed to bring good luck.  Whether or not these are real traditions, I think they all sound like nice celebrations of spring.

Here's my May Day basket, made with the Stampin' Up! Petal Cone die #121810.  It is being carried over from the Occasions Mini, which means we can still order it!

Click HERE to see which items are being carried over.

If you like this project and would like to make it yourself, send me an email and I'll get you started!




Stampin’ Up! Begins National Scrapbooking Month Early!

Copyright Stampin' Up! 2011

May is National Scrapbooking Month and Stampin' Up! has begun their promotion a little bit early!  So today only, you can combine this with the April promotions!

You can purchase select stamp sets at 30% off!

You can select certain digital download bundles at 30% off!

You can select some My Digital Studio print products at a discount!

You can purchase the Digital+ Starter Kit for just $122.50 and become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator with your own business!

Digital Starter Kit Snip

You can add on the Stampin' Memories Kit to your Digital+ Starter Kit for just $35 (regular price $50).

Stampin' Memories Add On Snip

The bad news is…..Some things are coming to an end today, April 30th. Last day for the  Occasions Mini….be sure to check it one more time! Maybe you will see some of the items again in the new catalog in July and maybe you won't…..so flip through that Occasions Mini one more time (or a couple of times!) today!

It's also the last day for the Spring Is Blossoming Promotion!  This one is easy….just purchase $20 in product and then add on the beautiful Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper #122367 and/or the Four Frames stamp set, available in wood or clear mount.

Copyright Stampin' Up! 2011

Click on the lovely card above to go to the page listing all the supplies you will need.

So there you go…..lots to think about today! 

Contact me if you have any questions!



 


A Stampin’ Up! Wedding Card for a Princess

Royal Wedding Card

Were you up early for the Royal Wedding of William and Kate today? I was, just so I could say "I was there!"  I think I did the same when Prince Charles and Diana got married.  I pulled out one of my favorite retired Stampin' Up! stamp sets, Pretty Princess, to make a wedding card for the newlyweds.  I tried to add plenty of gold, silver and bling with the Brushed Gold and Brushed Silver cardstock, the Basic Pearls and Rhinestones and of course some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter!

And here's a little souvenir from Charles and Diana's wedding that a friend living in London at the time sent to me!  I hope I can find something similar for William and Kate so I have a set!

Charles and Diana plate

How to Mix Glitter

Flower Glitter Holder

Here's a tip I learned from a Stampin' Up! video:  Using one of the flowers from the Flower Folds Die #115970, bend up the petals to make a little cup.  I was mixing some Fine Supernova Glitter with the Champagne Glass Glitter, dipping and stirring with my Bone Folder #102300. When you are ready to dump your glitter on your project, you can lower one of the petals for a little spout!  I happened to have this flower already cut and laying out, but I would suggest using card stock rather than designer paper.  Just a unique way to use our Stampin' Up! products!

 

Occasions Mini Catalog coming to an end April 30th!

Shop soon!!

Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, Kiss Cam, George and Barbara Bush

What do the Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, the Kiss Cam, George and Barbara Bush all have in common??  If you live in Houston, Texas you probably know!

My husband got baseball tickets from work for last night's game at Minute Maid Park which was between the Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals.  We love to go to the ballgame when we can, especially when the Cards are here since we both grew up in St. Louis and will always be Cardinal fans in our hearts (although after 28 years here I guess we are legitimate Astros fans as well!)  Attendance at the game was pretty low and we didn't have many people around us, except for the other couple who got the other pair of tickets from work.  So I KNEW this was going to happen!  I just knew it. When they did the "Kiss Cam" between innings, toward the end, if not the end of it, I was stunned to see my husband up on the big new screen, then me and a glimpse of the lady next to us in orange and the big heart!  I think they were trying to get all four of us in the shot, I'm not sure, but we kissed just in case!

To add to the fun of the night, President and Mrs. Bush (George and Barbara) were in attendance in their seats behind homeplate.  Barbara had her scorecard and kept score during the game while chatting with her husband!  They have lived in Houston since they left the White House and frequently attend Astros games!  Another time when we were at a game, they put the Kiss Cam camera on them!  It was very cute!

Here's an easy card to make in My Digital Studio with a bit of a baseball game feel!

Baseball-001

Oh, and the game got very exciting, the Astros even loaded the bases after the Cardinals had taken the lead and we got some runs but no grand slam homer….if an Astro had hit a grand slam that inning a lucky family would have won $25,000 from Sonic!!  I bet they were on the edge of their seats! The game was tied in the ninth, but finally the Astros prevailed with a win!  Just goes to show, always still until the end of a baseball game!!

Stampin’ Up! Springtime Card

Stampin' Up! doesn't leave us in the lurch when it comes to creative ideas for handmade cards and projects.  Every month Stampin' Up! demonstrators receive an inspiring magazine called Stampin' Success which has loads of ideas for papercrafting, cardmaking, and scrapbooking as well as how to run a successful stamping business. This is one of the ideas I found in a past issue except I made my card a little larger than the original.

Springtime Stampin' Up! Card

This card is stamped with the Easter Blossoms stamp set in the Occasions Mini Catalog.  You can see that even though we might think of this as an Easter set, it is perfectly useful for other occasions.  The Occasions Mini ends on April 30 so be sure you order before then!

The sentiment has Champagne Glass Glitter #120997 mixed with some Stampin' Fine Supernova Glitter #114287 to add some color around the border.