Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Another Stampin’ Up! Sale-a-Bration Video….Sweet Summer Project

Here is another video, this one by Carrie Cudney at Stampin' Up!, demonstrating a stamp set you can get for free during Sale-A-Bration until March 31.  She makes a cute and easy card you will love!  Perhaps seeing these videos will help you with your Sale-A-Bration choices when you place your order!  Enjoy!

You can find a list of the supplies for this Stampin' Up! project HERE.

And when you are ready to order Stampin' Up! supplies, please click HERE to go to my Online Store!  Let me know if you have any questions.

Have You EVER Thought About Being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator??

It's always a good time to sign up to be a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, but right now, during Sale-A-Bration is an especially good time!  The Starter Kit, which is normally $175 is discounted 15% during Sale-A-Bration which means you can start your own business in minutes and become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator for only $148.75 until March 31, 2011.

If you would like to hear directly from Stampin' Up! about the company and about becoming a Demonstrator, you will have an opportunity to attend a special phone call on Tuesday, February 22.  A Stampin' Up! staff member will give a short presentation for about 10 minutes and then take questions.  Space is limited on the call, first-come first-served.

If you would like to take advantage of this unique opportunity just to hear about Stampin' Up!, contact me at KSFontinelle@gmail.com and I will give you further information.  Also, you can find out about Stampin' Up! HERE.

Click on photo below for more information!

StarterKitphoto2

Be sure to contact me before Tuesday, Feb. 22 so I can give you the details on making this call.  There is no obligation and you won't be asked to sign up on the call.  You can just listen in and contact me later to ask questions or find out how to sign up!

Paper Daisy Brown Paper Gift Bag

 

Paper Daisy Paper Gift Bag

While still having fun playing with the Paper Daisies #119243, I got the idea to decorate a little gift bag.  For this project I used the Mini Lunch Sacks that were available in the Holiday Mini Catalog, but of course you could use this idea on any brown paper bag.

After folding over the top of the bag, I tied the 1/2" Stitched-Poly ribbon in Blushing Bride #119267 around from top to bottom and tied a knot right underneath the flower.  I put three Paper Daisies together, held together with a Clear Rhinestone Brad #113144.  They are sponged with Blushing Bride ink.  The flower embellishment is attached with a Stampin' Dimensional #104430 only at the top so the ribbon can be opened.  Last of all, I stamped a greeting from the stamp set "You're a Gem" on page 25 of the Occasions Mini Catalog. Actually, this is a great inexpensive Stampin' Up! set with little greetings perfect for little gifts.

If you need supplies for this or any other Stampin' Up! projects, please consider shopping at my online store HERE or contact me by email.

Paper Daisy

I'm making a card right now and thought the Paper Daisies #119243 might be a good embellishment.  I really hadn't used them yet except to experiment with coloring one with a Stampin' Write Marker.  (See page 188 in the IB&C to see how to color these with ink refills and water!) I wanted to leave these white and just couldn't get satisfied with how they were looking on the card.  Finaly I punched a small flower center with the Boho Blossoms Punch #119858 and added that with a Clear Rhinestone Brad.  So now it was better but still something was off. Then I thought about gently sponging some Pink Pirouette ink onto the Paper Daisies.  I did it very softly just around the edges of the flower and that seemed perfect!  Funny how it takes just one more little thing to get something exactly how you like it!

Sampin' Up! Paper Daisies

Here's a close-up of the flower.

Pink Pirouette Paper Daisy

If you need accents and embellishments for your Stampin' Up! cards, be sure to check out my Online Store HERE.

My Digital Studio Hybrid Sale-A-Bration Page

Doesn't this look like an adorable scrapbook page?!  It is a digital scrapbook page made with My Digital Studio using the "So Much to Sale-A-Brate Digital Content CD" #123681 that you can get FREE in the Sale-a-Bration Catalog with a $50 purchase!  The project is made by Stampin' Up!'s Sara Douglass who happens to be Shelli Gardner's daughter.  After making the digital page, she adds real buttons and embelllishments for added interest.  Click on the photo above to go to a page on my Demonstrator Business Website where you can watch a video of Sara explaining how she made the page!

If you have any questions about My Digital Studio please contact me.  It really is a fun product to work with.  Stampin ' Up! even has a website where you can learn, ask questions and share projects about My Digital Studio.  The website is www.mydigitalstudio.net  and is a great resource!

Valentine Diorama Card

I almost forgot I wanted to make a diorama card for Valentine's Day! It's a little difficult to photograph so I'll show you the top view first.  A diorama card is essentially three layers:  the back, and then the front and middle with a window punched out so that you can see all the way through or so that it looks 3D.

Valentine Diorama Card

Here is the card straight-on.

Valentine Diorama Card front
I cut two sheets of card stock 8.5" x 3.5" and one sheet for the middle at 6.5" x 3.5".  This is another project that once you understand the basic idea, you can make any size you want.  Then just decorate and stamp how you like. 

 

Happy Valentine's Day!!


My Digital Studio Valentine

I wanted to make a Valentine in My Digital Studio the easy way!  I found a designer template that inspired me in the program and then just changed a few things.  See if you can find all the things I did!

Here is the designer template.  It is a birthday card all ready to be printed….but you can change every single thing on it if you want.

My Digital Studio Birthday Card
Images copyright Stampin' Up!

 

And here is the card for Valentine's Day I changed it to:

My Digital Studio Valentine

I changed the background to Pretty in Pink, deleted the flower and added a heart shaped punch and filled it with a polka dot designer paper.  I added a Pretty in Pink button and a taffeta bow on it.  Also, I deleted the greeting and found a valentine greeting instead and changed the color to Real Red.  With My Digital Studio I can also fill the inside of the card with a color or designer paper, add decorative elements, whatever greeting I want and I've got a whole card!  After printing, if I wanted to, I could add a real bow to the heart flower or a real button and ribbon.

My Digital Studio is easy for the beginner in digital papercrafting, yet has many things to explore so that you would never get bored as you progress in your ability!  To learn more about My Digital Studio software, please click HERE.

 


Cute by the Inch Valentine

Just a little quickie I made playing with the Cute by the Inch Hostess stamp set and the Petal Card Punch #119273.  Punch four of the petals.  Trim off one side flap on all the petals. Line them all up side by side and you will see to glue the flap of one to the inside of the one next to it.  That way with all four glued together in a line, you can form a box and then glue the last flap.  I stamped the heart from Cute by the Inch, a stamp set you can earn when you hostess a workshop and punched a little flower to decorate.  It's just big enough to hold a Hershey's Kiss or a diamond necklace for Valentine's Day!!

Petal Card Punch Valentine Basket

Easy Valentine Craft

If you are looking for an easy valentine craft for kids or a school valentine idea, this is it.  I saw this idea in a scrapbooking magazine and I had extra valentine pencils taking up space in my messy room.  I cut a piece of cardstock 3" x 3 1/2" and rounded the corners with the 3/16" Corner Punch #119871.  Glue on any piece of designer series paper slightly smaller than the card stock, 2 3/4" x 3 1/4" after rounding its corners.  Punch two holes for the pencil with a 1/2" Circle Punch #119869.  Insert the pencil in the holes and then add something over the middle of the pencil.  I punched a 2 3/8" Scallop Circle #118874 and stamped on a 1 3/4" Circle Punch #119850.  For the boys I used the stamp set Fox & Friends….what cute little animals!!  For the girls I used the stamp sets Love You Much #113756 and I {Heart} Hearts.

Valentine Pencil Holders

There's space on the back to write a greeting.  Really fun and easy to make!

Valentine's Day in Monday, February 14th so not much time left!

Valentine Votive Candle Holder

Need a quick and easy little gift for Valentine's Day?  All you need is a votive candle holder and some paper, ink and stamps….maybe a punch….maybe the Big Shot!

Valentine Votive Candle

You probably have these little glass votive candle holders around your house, or if you need to buy some they are easy to find.  All you need to do basically is wrap some paper around the glass and decorate!  I chose to emboss the Stampin' Up! White Vellum Card Stock #101856 with the Finial Press Embossing Folder #115963.  That looked so pretty just by itself!  And of course I had to use the Red Glimmer Paper #121790 in the Occasions Mini Catalog because it is so beautiful to punch a large heart….and no glitter falls off!  Again, it was plenty pretty with just the heart on the vellum!  I tried tying various ribbons around the middle but nothing seemed quite right.  Then I stamped the greeting with the "Be My Valentine" stamp #122045 in Real Red and just cut out the banner. Seemed perfect to me as a finishing touch!  There are lots of easy valentine craft ideas and this is one of them!  Wouldn't this be a great valentine craft for kids?!

And if you need to stock up on supplies for future crafting projects, just click HERE!

Valentine Triangle Treat Box

Valentine Triangle Box

 

One of my blog readers today asked me about triangle boxes, and after cutting and folding a piece of paper to refresh my memory on how to describe to her how to make one, I thought why not make one for Valentine's Day!

After scoring and folding, I ran the paper through my Big Shot in the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder #117335.  I would say that embossing folder makes anything look good, but then I would say that for all of the embossing folders!  The decoration on the front is made with a stamp from the "Love You Much" stamp set #113756.  That's a cute set!  To make it a little fancier, I stamped the image twice so I could punch out the "hugs & kisses" with the 1" Circle Punch and a layer for that with the 1 1/4" Circle Punch.  I also stamped the heart again and just cut it out with my Paper Snips (you've got to have those for cutting little things!!).  You can pop up whichever layers you want with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Here is a view of the box from the side so you can see what it looks like.

Valentine Triangle Box

 

And here is the basic format for making the triangle box.  You can make any size you need.  My paper happens to be 4" x 11", scored in the middle at 5 1/2".  Measure at each end to find the center and put a pencil mark.  Then score on a diagonal from the center fold edges to that midpoint on each end.  Fold on all the scored lines and fold into your triangle box.  See where you want to punch the holes on the side flaps where you will tie the ribbon to hold the box closed.

Triangle Box Folds

Just stamp or decorate your box how you want and put a treat in it!

If you need card stock to start making triangle boxes and others, just click HERE to go to my Online Store and shop!  Don't forget….with a $50 purchase, you will get to choose a Sale-A-Bration free reward! Contact me if you have any questions.

Valentine Favor Tin

Having some of these little favor tins left over from our daughter's wedding, I thought I should decorate one for Valentine's Day.  They really are handy little things to have on hand!  What cute valentine gifts or valentine favors these will make!

Valentine Favor Tin

Valentine Tin

Supplies:

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes (greeting), Clearly for You (Occasions Mini)

Paper:  Red Glimmer Paper #121790, Love Impressions Specialty Designer Series Paper #121780, Love Patterns #124156, Whisper White card stock

Ink:  Basic Gray, Real Red

Accessories:  Full Heart Extra-Large Punch #119883, Heart Small Punch #117193, Basic Rhinestones #119246. Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon #109034, Stampin' Dimensionals #104430, Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue #110755, Wilton Favor Tin

Funny thing is,  the inspiration for the tin came from finding scraps on my table!  First I found a scrap of the designer paper, cut it a little shorter and wrapped around the tin.  I already have a glimmer heart punched out just waiting for a project and stuck that on.  The little red bow I found in my bag of scrap ribbon, already the perfect size! Actually, it looked plenty cute with just the DSP wrapped around the side and the glimmer heart stuck on top!

Now what to do with it?  Fill it with candy, of course!!  OR stamp some little valentine messages, coupon, or wishes.  Attach them to a strand of ribbon and you'll have a little valentine garland to pull out of the tin. OR just use it for your Valentine gift box!


Candy Pop Flower

Candy Pop Flower


I bought a bag of these candy pops for Valentine's Day and had almost forgotten them. Here is something easy and fun to make for Valentine's or any time really.  Just choose your colors for your occasion.  I used the Flower Folds Die #115970 to cut my flower layers with my Big Shot.  You can use whichever flower sizes you want (I did not use the largest one) and whatever paper you want.  I used Real Red and Pink Pirouette card stock, and a piece of the Love Patterns Pack #124156 designer paper special  going on now until Feb. 14th.  I used some SNAIL adhesive to tack the flower layers together before poking a hole in the center for the candy pop stick.  I even cut off some of the paper wrapper at the bottom so the pop would fit closer to the flower.  Then I wrapped some Old Olive card stock around the stem and punched out some leaves with the beautiful Two-Step Bird Extra-Large Punch #117191.  You could attach a greeting to the stem also.

Here's a view from the top.

TootsiePopFlower2

If you are still looking for Valentine ideas, I hope this will be useful for you!  Check back each day this week for more Valentine ideas!


Super Bowl Sunday

My Digital Studio Super Bowl Card

Another fun and easy creation with My Digital Studio!  I just started with a design already included in the program, changed the pennant colors, added text, added the owl punches, changed the scallop color to black, deleted the greeting and added my own text box.  With a little research, I was able to find out the color codes for the Steelers and the Packers and used those in a couple places because you can select any colors you want with My Digital Studio.

Remember, when you purchase the My Digital Studio software from Stampin' Up!, you will be able to choose a Sale-A-Bration reward!

Enjoy the 2011 Super Bowl game……….and the commercials!

Embossed Valentine Hearts Card

I've seen some people doing this "embossing technique" so I decided to try it on my own card.  I had a lot of hearts already punched out and some scraps of DSP so this is what I came up with. The idea is that you just stick down your shapes on a card……I used some SNAIL….not sure if you even have to use adhesive….

Hearts on Card

 

and then you run it through your Big Shot using the Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder #119976.  

Hearts Card Embossed 

That embosses your design right into the card!  Try it yourself!  To finish the card, I tied some ribbon around the designer paper, attached a sentiment, and layered it on Real Red.  Have fun with it!  What an easy way to make a special Valentine!