Author Archives: Karen Fontinelle

It All Started with Teddy Roosevelt and a Bear!


Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, was born on this date in 1858.  In 1902, Roosevelt was helping settle a border dispute between Louisiana and Mississippi and during his free time he went hunting with his aides and some reporters.  As he was not having any luck in hunting, his aides found him a bear, but he refused to shoot it.  A cartoonist for the Washington Post drew a cartoon of the incident, first drawing a fierce bear but later changing it to a cuddly bear.  A store owner in Brooklyn, Morris Michtom, sent a toy bear that his wife had made to Roosevelt, asking if he could name it "Teddy's Bear".  The new toys became very popular and the teddy bear craze began.

If you want to celebrate the teddy bear, you need to shop at Stampin' Up! for the Build-A-Bear Workshop Collection!  You'll have so much fun creating your own Build-A-Bear projects, cards, and scrapbook pages!  In fact, you can create your own bear right on this link!  You can click and drag on various clothing and accessories on the bear, even dress him for Halloween!  Go check it out!

Last of the “Deals of the Week” for October!

Here are the final Deals of the Week for October!  Have a little princess or pirate in your house?  You'll need these party kits for sure!  If you don't have a party coming up soon, I think they would be fun for just a craft project for the children!  See pages 174-5 in the Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog for more information!

Week 4 Deals of the Week

Item 

Description

Special Price

116214 

Princess Party Kit 

$9.99

116213 

Pirate Party Kit

$9.99

Be sure to contact me before October 31, 11:50 PM (MT)


Another My Digital Studio Page

New England Fall Trip 2009-003 

Here's another page I made for my album with My Digital Studio as I am learning to use it.  This would have been a baby  scrapbook page if I had just inserted baby photos into the designer template….but you can take any page and make it your own or even start with a blank canvas.

Don't forget about the special Hostess Offer from Stampin' Up!…..through November 30, get My Digital Studio 50% off with a $400 workshop!

My Digital Studio

I've started making a digital photo album of some of my New England vacation photos in My Digital Studio.  You can do so many things with this new program from Stampin' Up!.  It isn't limited to just scrapbook pages or albums or calendars, although you can make all those things.  And if you submit your project to the official Stampin' Up! printer, you can be assured that your colors will be true to the Stampin' Up! colors.

Here is what might be my cover page.  I can always go back and change and work on my project.  Would you believe the design began as a baby album but I'm changing it to work for my trip pictures!

New England Fall Trip 2009-001 

Click here to read more about My Digital Studio!

Packaging is Everything!

While I thought the Halloween candle I made yesterday was very cute and Halloweeny, I was giving it to someone for a little gift and I thought just handing it to her made it look a little blah.  I just stuck it in a Stampin' Up! Cellophane Bag, tied some beautiful 1 1/4" Striped  Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon around and made a little tag with the stamp set Eat, Drink & Be Scary.  I punched a hole in the tag with my Crop-a-Dile and attached the tag with some Natural Hemp Twine.  Probably took just 5 minutes and the gift went from good to great!

You can find all these Stampin' Up! supplies in my online store HERE

Candlewrapped

Halloween Stamped Candle

After getting out my Halloween decorations yesterday and some candles, I remembered this old technique from several years ago of how to stamp on candles!  Actually you stamp on tissue paper and then heat and melt it into the candle.  Pretty easy, really.  Here I have taken you through the steps.

Stamp on tissue paper that will fit on the candle….best to cut your tissue paper as close to the stamped image as possible. (I forgot that part!)

Candlestart 

"Stick" the tissue paper onto your candle….I used a bit of glue stick to hold it for these photos.

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Wrap a piece of wax paper around the stamped tissue paper, best to have extra in the back to grab and hold to keep your hand away from the heat gun.

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Heat with your Stampin' Up! Heat Tool (a very good quality product…others will konk out sooner) until the wax melts a bit…..you'll be able to see it.

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I did the sentiment on the back with a separate piece.

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What a fun project and great gift!  Just think what you could do for the holidays!!

Stamp sets used:  Pumpkin Patch (in the Holiday Mini) and Holiday Best, Level 1 Hostess set

A New Business Opportunity

With the launch of the brand new My Digital Studio, Stampin' Up! has come up with a new way to become a demonstrator!  If you are interested in computers and technology, digital photography, and enjoy crafting in different ways and want to make money incorporating all these things, then the new Digital+ Starter Kit is for you!  You can start your own Stampin' Up! business for just $185.

In your Digital+ Starter Kit, you will receive the My Digital Studio software, two stamp sets, cardstock, ink pads, markers, ribbon, buttons, adhesives and business supplies.  Please click HERE to read all the details about the kit.  There are other links on that web page to give you even more information about being a demonstrator and the kits available.  If you prefer, you can still purchase the standard Starter Kit for just $199.  Either way, I am confident you will enjoy being a part of the Stampin' Up! family.  Please contact me with any questions and I can tell you how to sign up!

Medallion Halloween Card

Here are the Stampin' Up! Deals of the Week, good until Monday, Oct. 26 at 9:50 am MT!  In looking at this list, I think you would enjoy any and all of these embellishments to use on your cards, scrapbook pages, or any projects. 

 Week 3 Deals of the Week

Item

Description

Special Price

114348

Basic Jumbo grommets

$4.49

109857

Mini Library clips

$8.99

112571

Circle Designer brads

$3.99

 112581

 1/2" Library clips

 $3.99


 I decided to make a card showing the Basic Jumbo grommets.  Since I had played around with the "Medallion" stamp this weekend, I was in the mood to use it on this card somehow.  The other stamp set is "Eat, Drink & Be Scary".  The little strip of designer series paper is called "Cast-A-Spell" in the Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog.

HalloweenGrommetCard 

Here's a close-up of the grommet….very easy to use…..just poke it through the paper and fold down the tabs on the other side.  Stick a bow in the center just using some mini glue dots.

Grommet

When you have an order ready to place, be sure to check the Deals of the Week  during the month of October!
 


Teddy Bear Baby Shower

A few weeks ago I was asked to make some centerpieces for a baby shower.  As I was about to go on vacation, it became a "rush" job, but I knew it would be fun to tackle this project!  Since it was a teddy bear theme, I knew the Stampin' Up! Build-A-Bear would be perfect!

After getting some ideas, I decided to make a "diaper cake" for the main centerpiece.  I suppose there are several ways of making diaper cakes and this was my first, but I just added the diapers sideways around in a circle to make the layers of the cake and then decorated with "Build-A-Bear".  For the cake, I used the boy bear in the stamp set Beary Best Friends and cut him out.  The teddy on top of the cake is smaller than he looks in the photo and just a cute little one I picked up to fit on top of the cake.

TeddyBearDiaperCake 

TeddyBearDiaperCakecloseup 

And then for the table centerpieces, I just used new paint cans, filled with a diaper, a bib, and baby wash cloths and decorated with bears from the Stampin' Up! Bear die in the Build-a-Bear Collection.  If I'd had more time I probably would have done them up even a little more, but I think they turned out pretty cute as is.

TeddyBearPaintCan

If you are interested in starting or adding to your Stampin' Up! Build-A-Bear Collection, just email me and I'll help you decide what you'd like to start with!  Of course, you need it all!

Autumn Splendor

I had purchased this stamp set, Autumn Splendor, in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini, thinking about our upcoming (at the time) New England fall foliage trip.  I knew it would make beautiful cards and scrapbook pages with fall colored leaves.  Here is a card I made.  I stamped the leaf with Basic Brown ink so I could watercolor the leaf with my Aquapainter and Watercolor Crayons to give it the fall colors.  Then I painted over the leaf with the new Shimmer Paint in the Holiday Mini (Champagne Mist).  The shimmer kind of covered the colors of the leaf but I think it still turned out well and I hope you can see the shimmer in the photos.  You'll love the new Shimmer Paint!  If you need any suggestions or tips on using it, please email me.

LeafShimmerCard 

LeafShimmerPaint

The card base is made with Dusty Durango card stock and the Designer Paper layer is Autumn Meadows from the Holiday Mini.  Those are actually the two sides of the paper you see in the photo!  The ribbon is Dusty Durango polka dot turned around so you just see the solid side.  And for a greeting I used Teeny Tiny Wishes punched out with the Oval Punch and layered on the Scallop Oval Punch.  You'll notice the leaf layer is sponged on the side, which I do think adds a lot….but just so you know, I decided to do the sponging after somehow getting extra ink from my fingers on the edges of the card.  See!  There are no mistakes in stamping!  You can probably click on the photos to see them enlarged.

Here are some more photos from our trip!

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Wouldn't you love to stamp some colored leaves??!

 

Halloween Decor Element….Toil and Trouble

ToilandTroubleDixie 

Isn't this the CUTEST Halloween frame???!!!!!  If you were thinking Stampin' Up!'s Decor Elements were for walls only, think again!  My demo friend Dixie and her friend Gerrie got together to make these the other day for a play day! Don't we all need to just stop and play once in awhile?  They used the Old Olive "Toil and Trouble" Decor Element in the Definitely Decorative catalog on page 7 in this frame and decorated with "Cast-A-Spell" Designer Series Paper around the edges, a little sponging with black ink, some other little stick on "jewels" and some "real" plastic spiders!  It is SO CUTE, I wish you could see it in person!  (sorry for the glare from my flash)

You can order these Stampin' Up! items and any other Halloween or fall products tonight in your pajamas at my online store and have them in time for Halloween!

And if you are interested in "My Digital Studio" there are some new Halloween downloads available today!

Item # Product Name Price
118114    Cast A Spell Designer Series paper – digital download  $4.95
118115    Night & Day Designer Series paper – digital download  $4.95
118124    Medallion stamp brush set – digital download   $1.95
118126    Circle Circus stamp brush set – digital download   $5.95
118116    School Days II stamp brush set – digital download  $9.95
118121    Great Moments II stamp brush set – digital download  $9.95
118122    Pumpkin Patch stamp brush set – digital download  $5.95

Week #2….Deals of the Week

During the month of October, Stampin' Up! will offer several discounted products as "Deals of the Week." No limits and no minimum purchase required.


Week 2 Deals of the Week

Item

Description

Special Price

115961

Perfect Setting Bigz XL die

$25.99

114515

Flower Burst Embosslits die

$5.99

116760

Pop-Up Three Tier Cake Bigz XL die

$25.49

The Week 2 deals are good from Oct. 12 through Oct. 19 at 9:50 am (MT).


Click HERE to read about all of Stampin' Up!'s current promotions!

Back from Fall in New England

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If you noticed my blog posts lacking it is because my husband and I were on a dream trip to New England to see the fall foliage….and New England!  Even on a ten day trip, there wasn't enough time to see everything and go everywhere.  I would like to think we'll go back someday but we'll see!  Since we don't get much in the way of "fall foliage" here in Houston (until Nov. or Dec.) it was a real treat to see the colored leaves.  Timing is everything and we must have hit it right because if the leaves weren't at peak color, I don't know how much more gorgeous they could be!  The only thing that could have been better was the weather.  It was cloudy and chilly almost the whole time, with a little drizzle thrown in now and then, and maybe bits of sunshine on a few days.  Naturally, the day we had the ocean view room in Bar Harbor, Maine it rained.  Fortunately you can still enjoy colored leaves even in cloudy weather and you could even make the case that it adds to the atmosphere of fall……but a little more sunshine to make the leaves sparkle would have been very nice.

We flew into Manchester, NH and drove straight to Woodstock, Vermont. Right away the leaves looked beautiful, and we couldn't restrain ourselves from saying, "Look at those leaves!"  "Look at that tree!" every few seconds! Woodstock was a really cute place and we stayed in our first B&B, the Ardmore Inn.  We weren't sure how we would like a B&B but it seemed to be the thing to do in this part of the country.  Charlotte was a great hostess and made our first experience a perfect one.  If the delicious breakfasts and afternoon cookies weren't enough, she certainly had me with the fall and Halloween decorations!

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Our first covered bridge:

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Some scenery…..and thank goodness for our new GPS to figure out where we were on this ride and get us back to town!  Amazing!  We had fun with our GPS lady!

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Vermont was everything you would imagine it to be!

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A side trip to Fort Ticonderoga in New York after taking a ferry across Lake Champlain:

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A beautiful "Kodak spot" in Stowe, VT….we saw so many beautiful white steepled churches on this trip.

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More leaves….can't resist!!

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I think you can click on the pictures to enlarge.

I do hope I scrapbook some of these photos now!  I think "My Digital Studio" is calling my name!