Category Archives: 3-D, Gifts & Things

Who Would Have Thought Target Mailboxes Would Be So Much Fun?!

When this Target mailbox craze started, I would have thought we would all make our Valentine mailbox that one year and then we'd be on to something else. But it seems like we still haven't gotten our fill of them! They make such great gifts, for any occasion, as well as great projects in stamp camps and classes. I found one more mailbox in my stash and wanted to decorate it for Valentine's Day. Hope you have found your Target mailboxes! Put some little cards or candy inside and you have yourself a great Valentine gift!

Here's what I used:

Bella Rose Designer Paper (love it!)

Love You Much Stamp set

Best Wishes and More Stamp set (heart on the front)

White Gel Pen

Ribbon: 5/8" Riding Hood Red Striped Grosgrain, Pretty in Pink Taffeta, Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain

Eyelet Border Punch, Trio Flower Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Circle punches, Scallop Punch

Naturally Serif Alphabet Decorative Strip for the Big Shot ("Be Mine")

Rhinestone Brad

Everything is available online at www.karenfontinelle.stampinup.net. Click on the "Shop Now" button to go to the online catalog. Don't forget to add your Sale-A-Bration products for every $50.

Have fun making a Valentine or gift for someone you care about!

Valentine Stamp Camp

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These are the projects we made at my Valentine Stamp Camp last weekend!

If you missed this one, I hope you can make the next one!

Love, love, love making these nugget tins! They are SO easy and SO cute when you get finished, no matter how you decorate your tin. Just take a strip of Designer Series Paper approximately 1" x 3" and wrap around a Hershey's Nugget. You can use Sticky Strip. I used a dab of SNAIL to hold the paper on the top of the nugget, then used the Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive (in the green bottle) to hold the ends of the paper (just a small dab). The scallop on the belly band is stamped with the Love You Much stamp set. You could also just tie a pretty ribbon around and attach a tag or even use a rub on on the clear top. So cute!

This is the same card I made for swapping at the SU San Antonio Regional with the stamp set "A Happy Heart". I used the Spiral Punch and the Bella Rose DSP.

This Valentine I copied from one made by Wendy Janson.

Here are some pillow boxes made with the Big Shot and Pillow Box die. The one we made at the stamp camp I punched out with the Heart to Heart Punch, then adhered a piece of transparency inside the pillow box. We stamped more hearts with the Love You Much stamp set, punched out with the Heart to Heart Punch and then decorated the pillow box. These were fun to make. I love my Big Shot!

And if you think I am crazy, or that your eyes are playing tricks with you, yes, that IS a Christmas card you see! This is in keeping with my challenge to myself to start on Christmas EARLY!! We used the Snow Swirled stamp set to make this card and put the tiniest bit of Dazzling Diamond Glitter on the snowflakes on the tree. The Christmas card design was one I found by Caroline LeBel and just loved. So simple yet so elegant. I used Real Red on that card as I was afraid I was running out of the Riding Hood Red Ribbon and wanted to use the Real Red Grosgrain.

This month if you place an online order through my website www.karenfontinelle.stampinup.net you will receive a FREE Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog. Also, keep in mind that Stampin' Up!'s famous "Sale-a-Bration" promotion has begun! With every $50 purchase (before shipping and tax) you may choose one Sale-A-Bration item FREE in the Sale-A-Bration Mini Catalog. There are four stamp sets, one set of ribbon, and one set of Designer Series Paper to choose from! Contact me anytime if you have questions or would like to place an order or schedule a workshop to earn your free Hostess Benefits!

Making a Picture Mug

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I had fun yesterday working on these Picture Mugs I picked up at Aaron Brothers Art and Framing. I'm sure you can buy them other places as well. They are designed to stick photos inside, which is great, too, but I thought of stamping something. I decided to work with the new stamp set "Petal Pizzazz" on page 90 of the new Idea Book & Catalog.

To begin, just unscrew the bottom of the mug and pull out the insert that is in between the outside of the mug and the inner container. There is a piece of clear plastic over the paper insert. You can use this piece of plastic as your template to make your cardstock base.

I used Whisper White card stock, sponged with some Baja Breeze ink for sky. Then I stamped a few stems and flowers on this cardstock.

I wanted to use some green designer paper for the grass so I chose this pattern from Bella Rose, and since I wanted to play with my new Eyelet Border Punch I used that across the top of the grass! A little odd but fun!

Next I stamped assorted flowers in different colors, thinking I would use of course the whole flowers but also thinking I could punch the centers to use on other flowers.

I just laid out the flowers on my stamped piece, playing around with placement and colors and what centers would go on which flowers. When I was happy with the design, I glued everything down with Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive. If you get any of that where you don't want it, let it dry and then use the fantastic Adhesive Remover.

Yes, I had to cut out most of the flowers and leaves by hand, but as long as you have the Paper Snips, it is not too bad of a job! You can use the Scallop Punch on the one flower design, which leaves a little white margin on the edges but that is fine.

Here is a second one I did, instead using the Kiwi Kiss textured cardstock for the grass and a few different flowers and colors.

You can see on this one, as I was using the Scallop Punch to do the yellow flower center on the gigantic red flower in the lower left corner, I turned the punch a bit, instead of trying to line up the scallops and it made like a little ruffle around the edge of the flower that I really liked! You should be able to click on any of these pictures and make them larger.

Place the plastic template over your work and roll it up so you can reinsert it into the mug. It was a little tricky to keep the plastic lined up with the paper on the edges, but I finally did it!

A Valentine Mailbox

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Whenever I see these mailboxes, I think about the excitement they caused a couple years ago when they appeared in the Target dollar spots! As soon as they were found and stampers began altering them and posting pictures online, other stampers just went wild all over the country for these little mailboxes! Target probably wondered what in the world was going on as their dollar spots were stalked, phone calls made to the stores checking on inventory and deliveries, and shopping carts filled up with how ever many mailboxes could be found! It was Target Mailbox-Mania…..and I'm not sure it is over yet! Apparently this year's mailboxes are starting to show up in Target dollar spots and are silver! However, I still have plenty of white and red ones in my closet so I don't need silver ones (unless, of course, someone posts something with a silver one that is so darn cute I can't resist!). They ARE nice for gifts…..you can stamp notecards to put inside or fill with candy or a little gift. Actually, years ago my friend Chris sent me a red Christmas mailbox, personalized, that I always put out on my table with the lid open and candy canes laying inside.

Here is my most recent Valentine mailbox using the oh-so-cute Love You Much stamp set!

I used the Bella Rose Designer Paper on this mailbox.

Christmas Stamping

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I haven't really disappeared but just trying to get everything done for the holidays like everyone! I have been stamping even though I haven't posted. Here are some things I have stamped recently, most likely copied from another talented demonstrator. I usually like to give credit but I don't have those names in front of me right now and this is a rush!

A Happy Birthday Pyramid Card

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Halloween has always been extra special at our house because our youngest son was born the night before Halloween, just missing being a pumpkin or goblin by about 45 minutes. I remember when I was pregnant with him seeing the cutest little Halloween t-shirt in one of the store windows at the Galleria and thinking if he had actually been born on Halloween I should really have that shirt for my Halloween baby. Didn't happen, which probably was a good thing for him, because he doesn't have to exactly share his birthday with a holiday. But of course his birthday parties were always Halloween-themed, which made them extra fun. I just wish I was into Stampin' Up! back when my kids were little because of SO many opportunities for gifts, party favors, invitations, note cards, etc. If you have little ones, you really should get into stamping because you will have many opportunities to be creative!

I love this Pun Fun stamp set, but especially loved this rocket for my son. When I started looking for ideas for this card, I came across this Pyramid card made by Trina on Splitcoast. You can find different pyramid template lots of places on the internet, but I loved the colors Trina used on her card. I added a Jumbo Eyelet for the window on the rocket and some stars, punched with the large and small star punches…..all found in the Stampin' Up! catalog, of course…. and also added a velcro dot just under that front flap to hold it closed. The pattern I used showed a slit but I couldn't figure that out. The card had to be mailed so it had to be flat. I hope he can figure out how to assemble when he receives it!

Trick-or-Treat! Happy Halloween!! Last Minute Halloween Cards!

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Wow! This morning a black cat ran right across the street in front of my car as I was driving back into my neighborhood! Is that real Halloween or what?! I know it is bad luck to have a black cat cross your path, so that freaked me out a little bit! Hopefully today will be nothing but good luck because I love Halloween (it would help if we had some fall leaves here in Houston!) and I get to see my boys. One was nearly born a Halloween goblin because he arrived just 45 minutes before Halloween! But that was twenty years ago! More about his birthday card later.

I usually have a lot of trick-or-treaters at my house, but it is often about 80 degrees, at least when the kids start out after dinner, sweating in their costumes. When I was growing up in St. Louis it was often a problem on Halloween with the weather being very cold, and we had to wear a winter coat…..either over our costume, which meant no one could see the costume, or under the costume, which of course looked ridiculous! "Back in the olden days" we always had to have a joke ready to tell people before they would give us candy. I don't think they do that anymore.

Here are some Halloween cards I've made (okay, mostly copied from somebody else!) to help celebrate the day!

Shelli Makes Holiday Table Settings

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Look what I just found!! I was reading Shelli's blog (founder and CEO of Stampin' Up! of course) and saw that she had an appearance on an NBC station in Utah. She shows how to make easy holiday place settings using the Curly Label Punch Bundle (item #112966, page 189…only $33.95 for the punch itself and four stamps!). Such simple and fun ways to make your holiday table so pretty for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's! She also has a VERY cute pillow box favor made with the Big Shot! You won't want to miss this!

And here is a link to the Utah TV station where you will find a list of supplies and directions on how to make the projects shown:

http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=61&sid=4573672

Enjoy!!

Stamping With Karen

Having Fun With Paper, Ink, and Stamps

Category Archives: 3-D, Gifts & Things

Who Would Have Thought Target Mailboxes Would Be So Much Fun?!

Valentine Stamp Camp

Making a Picture Mug

A Valentine Mailbox

Christmas Stamping

A Happy Birthday Pyramid Card

Trick-or-Treat! Happy Halloween!! Last Minute Halloween Cards!

Shelli Makes Holiday Table Settings