Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Stampin’ Up! Houndstooth Matchbox

Stampin' Up! Houndstooth Matchbox

Use the Stampin' Up! Matchbox Die #114890 with your Big Shot #113439 to make this cute little box!  The Love Letter Designer Series Paper #117162 with the black and white houndstooth pattern really makes this box up-to-date!  Just the other day I read how trendy houndstooth is and that gave me the idea to make something with this paper.  I LOVE the Real Red, Basic Black and Very Vanilla colors in this paper and have seen many cute projects using it.

To top off my matchbox, I used the Scallop Circle Punch #119854 to punch two scallops in the same pattern. Fold each scallop in half, making sure that you aren't folding any scallops on the ends in half…..you want to just fold in the lines between the scallops. Fold in half, open, fold in half in another spot.  I found that if you just go around the circle to each scallop you will probably get them all and get them folded correctly. After you have made all the folds (so that it looks like spokes on a wheel), take your Paper Snips #103579 and cut on just one of those lines into the center.

Scallop Punch Folds

Then starting with the slit, accordion-fold the scallops back and forth all the way around.

Scallop Punch Accordion-Folded

Take the two folded scallops and adhere them together do you have one whole flower…..you can even use three scallops if you want!  On my matchbox, I actually used two scallop flowers, one with a different pattern on the bottom.  Then I attached a linen-threaded Real Red button from the Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons which were in the Holiday Mini.

Stampin' Up! Houndstooth Matchbox

If you need any supplies to make cute little projects like this, please visit my Online Store HERE.

Pi Day–March 14th

Today is “Pi Day“, and, if you are mathematically inclined, a day to celebrate!  I’m sure it’s something we all learned in school way back when, but I couldn’t really tell you much about it anymore!  Here is what the site www.piday.org has to say:

Pi is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535…

With the use of computers, Pi has been calculated to over 1 trillion digits past the decimal. Pi is an irrational and transcendental number meaning it will continue infinitely without repeating.”

I wouldn’t be so interested, since as far as I know it has nothing to do with stamping, but when my son was in high school, in calculus (I guess) he was able to recite over 500 digits of pi and held the record for awhile for his class!  He has a “pi” t-shirt and everything.  So today he is home on spring break and sat down at some website and typed out 110 digits of pi. It’s called Pi Trainer, just in case you want to try it out yourself!  He typed the numbers out real fast, just hesitating for a moment, like it was nothing.  He said it’s muscle-memory!  


 

Daylight Savings Time Starts Tonight/Tomorrow!

Daylight Savings Time My Digital Studio Card

Daylight Savings Time starts tonight when you go to bed, if you remember to change your clocks!  Technically, it is probably 2 am tomorrow, which is tonight as far as I am concerned! Spring is coming, so SPRING ahead….. change your clocks an hour ahead….so you lose an hour! That's not good for me this weekend because I happen to have all three children home this weekend (or should I say "four" now that I have a new son-in-law!)

To commemorate Daylight Savings Time, I quickly made this card in My Digital Studio!  It is fairly plain and simple, but today I liked it that way!  I did add a digital brass brad in the center of the clock hands! You've really got to try My Digital Studio…..it's not just for digital scrapbooking!  You can order it HERE in my online store.  The software will be shipped to you, and after that you can order the latest downloads and have them appear instantly to begin using!

Don't forget…..when you go to bed at 11 PM set your clocks for midnight! Check your smoke detector batteries, too! (maybe not at midnight, but tomorrow!)  Watch all the news stories on TV of the clock shops that have to reset the hundreds of clocks and watches they have!  And then order My Digital Studio so you can join in the fun!  (And choose your FREE Sale-a-Bration product too!)


Stampin’ Up! Ornament Punch is Available!

The Extra-Large Ornament Punch #119847 is available for order again! The problems with this punch  have now been resolved and it is ready to go!  You can see a Christmas card I made with the Ornament Punch HERE.  But there are lots of other creative ideas you can do with this punch!  Can you imagine a vase or a fish with this punch??!  You will want to add this punch to your collection!  It has been very popular!

Ornament Punch - by Stampin' Up!Ordering some of the punches you have been dying to have and maybe a pack of paper or a stamp set will get you to $50 for your Sale-a-Bration reward!  Be sure to check it out!  Just click the Online Ordering button in the corner to go to my store and place your order any time you want to!

Fat Tuesday

Happy Mardi Gras!  Today is the big day, especially in New Orleans, although Mardi Gras isn't limited to only one day…..and not even to one city.  You've got to have beads! Here you see some of mine in a bowl, gathered from several years of Mardi Gras parties we attended.  The colors of Mardi Gras are purple (for justice), green (for faith), and yellow (for power).  Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday" which is the last day of eating rich foods before Ash Wednesday, when the fasting of Lent begins.  Here's a card I made for Mardi Gras using the colors of purple, green and yellow.  In the background you can see the little favor bag I made last year in this post.

Mardi Gras 2011

Mardi Gras 2011 Card

Stamps:  Artistic Etchings (p. 125), Something to Celebrate (Occasions Mini)

Ink:  Concord Crush, Daffodil Delight, Garden Green

Cardstock:  Daffodil Delight, Concord Crush, Whisper White

Accessories:  Scallop Trim Border Punch #118402, Scallop Oval Punch #119856, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval Large Punch #119855, Trinket Crowns #121891, 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon Daffodil Delight #119254

Just stamp the medallions and crown from Artistic Etchings randomly all over the Whisper White cardstock.  I just LOVED the stamped crowns! Then I also added a "real" crown from the Occasions Mini tied with a taffeta ribbon right above the oval greeting.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

St. Patrick’s Day Votive

St Pats Votive

 

Just a little St. Pat's decoration!  I was going to make my own shamrock with hearts, but came across this stamp in the set "Got Treats" in the Stampin' Up! 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog on page 55.  It is available in either wood- or clear-mount.  In order to leave off the words this time at the bottom of the stamp, I just colored in the shamrock with a Stampin' Write Marker in Garden Green.  Then I punched out the circle and mounted in on a Garden Green Scallop punch….and to jazz it up a bit, mounted that on another scallop in Brushed Gold card stock.  With my white Signo Gel Pen #105021 I added a dot on each scallop edge.  I originally wanted to wrap the votive holder with vellum stamped with shamrocks, but due to the shape of the glass it would not fit right, so I just used some 5/8" Whisper White Organza Ribbon #114219 instead (it's my favorite ribbon anyway!). 

Wouldn't this be an easy little table decoration for your St. Patrick's Day party?
 

My Azalea Trail Card

I realize this card doesn't exactly look like a real azalea, but its inspiration came from going on the River Oaks Garden Club Azalea Trail yesterday!  My husband and I enjoy going on the Azalea Trail every year, even if the azaleas aren't in full bloom yet.  We really like seeing the inside of the homes that you can walk through, and the floral arrangements and gardens are always beautiful.  The flower colors are so gorgeous, so I made my pink azalea with Melon Mambo card stock.  Our own azalea bushes are just starting to bloom. You can see one of the flowers I picked beside my card!

Azalea  Card

The flower on this card is made with the Fun Flowers Bigz Die #121812 in the Occasions Mini.  Even though I didn't think I "needed" this die, once I saw all the beautiful flowers other people were making, I knew I had been mistaken!  The leaves are stamped with the Build a Blossom stamp set, page 12 Occasions Mini, and punched with the Blossom Petals Punch #121808 on the same page.  I added some Subtles Brads #119738 to look like the azalea stamens and put a greeting from the Hostess Level 2 set in the Occasions Mini, Something to Celebrate.  The background paper is Springtime Vintage #121782. I also used my bone folder to curl the edges of the azalea petals a bit.

Now that spring is coming, you will want to start stamping flowers, so if you need some new supplies, check out my Online Store at my website HERE or email with any questions or help with your order.  

You have one day left to hit the Azalea Trail if you are in Houston this weekend!

 

Last Month for Sale-a-Bration!

 Sale-a-Bration

March is here already!  There is a whole month to go of Stampin' Up!'s great promotion called Sale-a-Bration, but don't let it slip by you!  We know how fast time flies by and I wouldn't want you to miss out!  This is the time of year when you can get free Sale-a-Bration product for just spending $50 (before tax and shipping) with Stampin' Up!  And there's no limit to the free products you can get with each $50 purchase.  So, spend $100 and get 2 free Sale-a-Bration products…and so on!

As a hostess, if you have a $300 workshop (or even your own purchase) you will choose an EXTRA Sale-a-Bration product, beyond what you get for your own order, and beyond the usual Hostess benefits from Stampin' Up!

As if those two things are good enough, if you join as a Demonstrator during March, you can purchase the Starter Kit for 15% off!  You may choose either the Standard Starter Kit or the Digital+ Kit!  You even get an additional bonus!!

If you join soon, you still would have time to hold a workshop or collect orders and take advantage of Sale-a-Bration as a demonstrator!  You can even sign up online at my website HERE.  It only takes minutes and you will have your Demonstrator number in an email immediately following your sign-up.  I will be happy to be your upline and guide you as you begin your new business as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!

Please click on the links above to find out more information and contact me if you have questions or would like more help!

Cupcake Card

Cupcake Card

Since I had so much fun making a 4 1/4" square card last week with strips of designer series paper in THIS post, I thought I would make something similar today. This is the Sale-a-Bration designer paper, Ice Cream Parlor #122242 on page 7.  You can get this paper free with a $50 purchase from Stampin' Up! until March 31st….and with another $50 purchase, you can also get the Ribbon & Button Pack #123529 for added embellishment!

The cupcake is of course punched with the Build a Cupcake Punch #121807 in the Occasions 2011 Mini Catalog.  Really a fun card to make!

Let me know if you need any supplies!  Sale-a-Bration only lasts one more month!!!  Go to my website to place an order anytime!

True Love and Stamping

Last week I got a surprise when my brother flew to Houston to pick up a plane to fly back to Wichita (he's a pilot).  He was supposed to fly it back the same day, but driving from one airport to the other on opposite ends of town and getting stuck in traffic made it rather late, plus Wichita was expecting freezing rain. Therefore, I got the benefit of a longer visit with him.  When he called his wife to say he'd be staying overnight, she told him he had to make her a card while he was here!  She loves stamping and scrapbooking!

So after dinner and visiting awhile, we made a card!  He did a great job and even got a little artistic I think!

First time to stamp!

When I handed him a pen to sign the inside of the card, he wasn't finished stamping!  He learned to color part of a stamp with a marker to stamp just the greeting that he wanted!

The Broadsheet Alphabet

And he still wasn't finished!  Why just write the person's name on the envelope when you could stamp it?! (yes, his wife's name is Karen also!) Here he is planning it out!

So if you ever thought YOU would never be able to make beautiful cards and scrapbook pages and learn card making techniques, just think of my brother making a beautiful card…and envelope!!…for his wife with no training!  Of course he could take an airplane apart and put it back together…or a car…or a kitchen….so putting a little ink on a stamp and pressing it on paper probably isn't that hard!

If you and your friends want to learn to stamp, contact me for a workshop or lesson!  Anyone can do it….the first time!


Just for You Card

I can't tell you how quick and easy this card was to make! I've seen lots of cards with various strips of either designer paper or different colors of card stock adhered to the card front so I decided to try that style.  I already had the Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper out, so I grabbed a piece of Crumb Cake card stock for the base, cut it to 4 1/4" x 8 1/2", folded in half, just so the math would be easy with the strips!  I cut four 1" x 4" strips that fit perfectly across the front.  I made a little tag on the front with two punches and tied on some ribbon!  You could put any kind of greeting on the front!  Keep this style and size in mind!!

Just for You Card

Take a minute and think about your Sale-A-Bration order this weekend!

Springtime Vintage Card

Springtime Vintage Card

I'm playing with the Springtime Vintage Designer Paper #121782 today and came up with this card.  I used a piece of the designer paper and trimmed it with Rose Red and two different punches, Scallop Trim Border #118402 and Eyelet Border #119853.  Then I used the Decorative Label Punch #120907 to punch through the cardstock and layer of designer series paper.  I stamped inside that punched area then with the frame from "Charming" and stamped the word "Friend" inside from the stamp set "You're a Gem" in the Occasions Mini Catalog on page 25.  To finish it off, I tied some Victoria Crochet Trim #118481 around the front of the card and attached an Antique Brad #117273 over the top of the bow.

If you need some punches that I mentioned in this post, please visit my Online Store to place your order!  Don't forget about Sale-A-Bration…Spend $50 (before shipping and tax) and choose a free reward in the Sale-a-Bration Catalog!

Hot Air Balloon Card

Hot air balloons always seem to be popular and almost magical as we see them gliding across the sky.  Many cities, including Houston, have an annual hot air balloon festival, which is really a spectacular sight.  But hot air balloons are a hot trend in papercrafting right now.  I decided to use up most of my "Love Impressions" Rub-Ons #121886 which Stampin' Up! gave us demonstrators as a gift!

Hot Air Balloon Card

 

Two of the hot air balloons are rubbed right on to the card.  The one with the cross-hatch balloon is rubbed on to a piece of Whisper White card stock and cut out, then popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals.  The two smallest clouds are also rub ons, but guess what the other three clouds are made from??  They are the frosting from the Build a Cupcake Punch #121807 in the Occasions Mini Catalog!  I sponged a little bit of Marina Mist ink around the edges of the "clouds" and two are popped up with Dimensionals.  Even the "Love You" is rubbed on to a piece of Whisper White card stock and punched out with the 3/4" x 15/16" Oval Punch #120908.  It would have looked good just applied straight to the card but I embellished it with an oval punch of Marina Mist card stock and two silver brads.

If you need an easy way to make a card, having some rub ons and card stock will do it!  To order any of these supplies, please visit my Online Store!  Don't forget, with a $50 order (before shipping and tax) you may choose a free Sale-A-Bration reward!

 


 

Scallop Square Die Birthday Card

I got the idea for this card in a magazine, but made my card a little less formal.  I guess you might say it is actually a small card (about 3 7/8" square) adhered to the background cut with the Scallop Square Bigz Clear Die #115950.  I used some Pretty in Pink designer series paper from the Subtles Patterns Paper Stack #117152 on the front and stamped a birthday greeting from the stamp set Bring On the Cake in the Occasions Mini on page 13.

You can use this same format for a card for any occasion!

Scallop Square Birthday Card

Scallop Square Birthday Card

For an extra embellisment, I embossed a scrap of paper with one of the embossing folders and then punched it with the Butterfly Punch #119848.  With my Two-Way Glue Pen I added some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.  For the antennae just tie a little Linen thread around the center. Add two Basic Pearls #119247 for some bling!