Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

Summer Tropical Fancy Favor Bag

Today is the first day of summer, although it has seemed quite hot for awhile now in Houston.  Who would have thought we didn't have the first day of summer yet??!  So in honor of the first day of summer, I made this quick and easy Fancy Favor Bag.

Tropical Favor Bag

  Love, love, love this Island Oasis Designer Series Paper #117173 from Stampin' Up!  It really makes you think of summer and the tropics!  I used the Bigz XL Stampin' Up! Fancy Favor Die #115965 to make the bag and put on some tropical flowers made with the Island Floral Die #118871, also in the Summer Mini Catalog.  These would be so fun and easy to make for a party favor this summer or little gift bag!

Don't forget to check the Last Chance items you want from the outgoing Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog, good only until June 30th!

Father’s Day Grill Card

I thought I would make a Father's Day card for my husband in honor of our new Weber grill we bought recently!  Lots of people were making punch art bbq grills either for Father's Day, July 4th, or bbq party invitations, but our grill is a a different shape.  I just cut rectangles and rounded the corner of the grill top and used my Zig Painty pen to draw in the handles and doors.  I stamped the flowers and butterfly with the new Itty Bitty Bits stamp set in the Summer Mini. and the sentiment with Teeny Tiny Wishes #115370.  Just a quick little card!

GrillFathersDay
 

Crayon Resist….Try It with the Kids!

I think this would be a fun project to try with your kids if they are out of school already.

Crayon Resist:

Stamp your image in Black Stazon on Glossy White card stock.

Color in some areas with your Whisper White Watercolor Crayon, some other light colored Watercolor Crayon or a regular crayon.

Apply ink to the entire piece of card stock using a brayer, sponge daubers or a sponge.  Where you applied the crayon, those areas will resist the ink.

Use a tissue to wipe off any excess ink.

Then you can go back and color in the areas you masked off with the crayon if you wish.

Try it!  I bet your kids will have fun trying all sorts of combinations!

 

 

Photography Tips for Summer Sun

Since we'll be taking lots of photos in the sun this summer, here are a few tips I read from Darren Rowse of Digital Photography School that might help get you some good pictures!

  • Use your flash, even in the sunlight.  It might help eliminate shadows on your subject's face or it might darken the background and make your subject stand out more.
  • Try shooting your subject in the shade….at least a little bit of shade, not in dark shade.  Try for even light, not that falling through the leaves producing all kinds of spots and shadows.  Sometimes just holding an umbrella over the subject (not getting it in the shot of course) may help.
  • Use a reflector, something with a white or light surface to give the subject extra light.  This might be as simple as a white t-shirt or stand near a white wall.

Just experiment and see what produces good results for you!  Then when you are ready to scrapbook those photos, Stampin' Up! has all the supplies and creative ideas you will need.  I'm always available to answer your questions about your projects!  Check out the Stampin' Up! online store here .

New Summer My Digital Studio Downloads

Check out the new My Digital Studio downloads just in time for the 4th of July!

The latest group of digital downloads for My Digital Studio are now available!

Item     Description     Price
121072 July Fourth stamp brush set $3.95
122146 Round Tab Punch $.95
123174 King of the Grill stamp brush set $3.95

 Go to the Shop Online button in the upper right of my blog and then click the Shop Now button.  On the left, click on Digital Crafting and then Newest Downloads.

Get your 4th of July fireworks digital stamps and bbq grill and be ready for your 4th of July, Father's Day, and summer time scrapbook pages, cards, and other projects!

Going to the Stampin’ Up! Convention!!

Finally made the decision to attend the annual Stampin' Up! Convention in Salt Lake City in July!  It will be fabulous, I'm sure!  So many ladies to talk with about stamping, display boards of the best samples and creative ideas, "getting to know" the Stampin' Up! employees on stage as they do their presentations, which are always fun and creative….love it when some of them even sing after their presentation!  It will be several days of fun, fun, fun!  You should become a demo and come along next year!  Get the Mini Starter Kit now for only $99!  Check my site at www.karenfontinelle.stampinup.net!

(I'm on a hotel computer so that's all I can post at the moment!)

Start Your Own Stamping Business for Only $99!

If you've ever wanted to be a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and have your own business either for a little extra cash to pay some bills or to build it big and earn money and rewards, this is a great chance to start for only $99.  This is a special Mini Starter Kit, good only until June 30, 2010.  The items included in the kit are recommended, but you can substitute a like item of equal or lesser value if you would like.

MiniStarterKitFlyer 

 

Look it over and if you are interested and have questions, please let me know! Email me or leave a comment and I'll get back to you!  You'll be a demonstrator in minutes if you sign up online on my website!

Using My Digital Studio Travel Journal Digital Kit

Here is a 12×12 scrapbook page I made with the new download for My Digital Studio, Travel Journal Digital Kit #121071.  The photos are from our trip two years ago to Yellowstone National Park.  This is the next day after we arrived.  You pass through Grand Teton National Park on the way to Yellowstone from Jackson Hole, WY.  The whole area is just fabulous, if you're looking for vacation ideas for this summer!  It was still snowy when we arrived in almost the middle of June!

My Digital Studio 12x12 Scrapbook Page Travel Journal

Although I started off with a designer template that didn't look at all like the great outdoors, I changed the background papers to the new ones in the Travel Journal Digital Kit.  The compass is also included in that kit.  I added the journaling element from another designer kit and placed a text box over that so I could write about our hike that day.

If you want to easily scrap your vacation pictures this summer, check out My Digital Studio.  You can load it on your laptop and do a page a night while on vacation!  Just order HERE!

My Digital Studio….New Downloads for Father’s Day and Travel

Two new digital downloads from Stampin' Up! for My Digital Studio! Just in time for summer……Father's Day and travel!

 Travel Journal Digital Kit - Digital Download - by Stampin' Up!

Copyright Stampin' Up! 2010

                                             121071 Travel Journal Digital Kit     $9.95
                                Fathers Day Stamp Brush Set - Digital Download - by Stampin' Up!
                               Copyright Stampin' Up! 2010

              121070  Father's Day stamp brush set     $5.95

Won't these make great cards and scrapbook pages and whatever else you can think of!

Shop Online HERE and download your images right away!  Just click on "Newest Downloads".


“Because I Care” Card

And this is what I made after mounting my new stamp set, Because I Care. This is a new sneak peek set that will be in the new 2010-2011 Stampin' Up Idea Book & Catalog.  As demos, we were able to order some of the new products a month ahead of time!  What a perk!  I also used the new texture folder for the Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper, for the background layer.  I have seen some beautiful cards made with that.  You'll love it!

Because I Care Card with Hydrangea
 

A Tip for Your Stamp Sets

This is what I try to do every time I mount a new stamp set…at least the wood-mount ones now (I should clarify, now that Stampin' Up! also has the clear-mount).

  • Cut a piece of scrap computer paper to fit inside the bottom of your stamp case.  I usually place the case on the piece of paper and roughly trace around the case and roughly cut out…no exacting measurements or anything!
  • After I have my stamps mounted, I stamp each one on this scrap of paper to put inside the stamp case.  This way I know what stamps belong with the set AND in the rare instance (it has happened once or twice) that there is a little imperfection in the rubber, I will notice it right away and can contact Stampin' Up!
  • If I wanted (or took the time) to be super-organized I would also stamp the set on a full sheet of paper and put it in a notebook to keep track of what stamp sets I own. But I don't do that yet!

Stamp Case Index 

When you do this, you know immediately which stamps belong in that set and if you have them all.  There are many ways people organize their stamps and supplies, but this works for me!

For the clear-mount stamps, I save the rubber in which the die-cut stamps come, and after mounting the label on each stamp, I replace it in that piece of rubber.  That way, again, I can see at a glance if a stamp is missing.

And if you want to know, this is a beautiful new Stampin' Up! Hostess set, Because I Care, in the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog coming out July 1st!

If you were a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, you could have preordered some of the new products and have them in your hands a month early!  You still could!

$99 Mini Starter Kit Promotion

Hawaiian Shirt Father’s Day Card

Father's Day is coming up Sunday, June 20th.  Here's a fun card to make….really any time for the man in your life.  Instead of the tropical paper, you could make a dress shirt and even add a necktie.  Have I said before that I LOVE this Island Oasis Designer Series Paper in the Summer Mini??  You could choose any of the patterns in this package of paper and it would look great.  The card base is Kraft, which after July 1st will be known as "Crumb Cake"!  This Striped Grosgrain Pumpkin Pie Ribbon as well as the Bold Brights Brads is on the Last Chance List so don't wait too long to get it!

The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes #115370, a great set for lots of occasions.  You will use it a lot.

Origami Shirt for Father's Day 

Just go to my website and check out the Last Chance items (some are 25% and 50% off!!) so you won't be disappointed!

 

Vacation Photography Tips at a National Park

Since summer vacations will soon be starting, I thought I would post some tips for getting good photos that you may want to scrapbook after you get home (or while you're traveling if you have a laptop and My Digital Studio!). I found these tips from Kodak. (Click on the photos to enlarge.)

  • Capture the landmarks.  Yes, everyone will be photographing the same sites, but after all, that is what you came to see.  Take a picture of it.  Take several.  When I went to find a photo for this article, I realized I didn't have quite the perfect picture of Old Faithful erupting even though I had taken lots of photos plus video. 

Old Faithful Geyser erupting 


  • Place the point of interest off center.   Here is the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, one of the biggest photo attractions in the park.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone National Park 

Here I have the waterfall in the center of my photo.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Here it is off center.  Makes it a little more interesting.

  • Include people for scale.  Often you can't get an idea of size or area, but if you include people in the photo it might illustrate the sheer size better.

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone Natl Park 

Here we are at Grand Prismatic Spring, but you can't get an idea if it is large or small.

Grand Prismatic Spring 

But here where you can look across the landscape and see the people on the walkway you get a better idea of how large an area it really is.

**********

Some of our best vacations have been to the national parks….Yosemite, Zion, Bryce, and most recently Yellowstone.  If you haven't been to a national park, please go because they are spectacular.  If you want to find lodging inside the park (a plus!) keep trying even on short notice because there are often cancellations and you just might snag accommodations shorter than a year in advance!