New toy!

Hi everyone!
I'm back after another long break. I'm happy to start getting back in the swing of things; slowly but surely. We still haven't moved to our new house yet but are working hard on renovations. In the meantime, I found some spare time to squeeze in some work on my cards.  Also, there is nothing like the great inspiration that you get from playing with a new toy!  In this case, I mean the new envelope punch board. This device is a small table top tool that lets you create your own envelopes to match 61 different sizes of cards. It is a great way to use up all those scraps of designer series paper that you might be hanging onto - especially if you're like me: a paper hoarder!

Here you can see one of the envelopes that I made using our double sided  Designer Series paper. This envelope is geared to fit a standard card which is 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 inches. My favorite part about making my own envelopes is that they can be coordinated with the card that I want to match.

I love using double sided paper for the envelope as you see both sides of the paper after you're done.  A quick envelope such as this one comes together in mere seconds using the quick scoring and punching guides on the envelope punch board.  I can tell that this tool will quickly become one of my favorites and most well used in my Stampin' Up! repetoire. So what are you waiting for? Get yourself an envelope punch board today!

Hi everyone!

I want to apologize and warn you at the same time!  First, my apologies for the long absence again.  Second, I'm warning you that it will probably happen again and again - at least for the time being! 
Things that have been keeping me busy:

1) Work (but that's a given)
2) Selling our rental property
3) Buying a new house
4) Renovating the new house
5) Getting ready to sell our current house
6) Social, shower, stagette and wedding planning (the big day is coming up September 7th!)
7) Returning to post secondary education (distance education, part time) for Real Estate Appraisal
8) Finding out we're expecting OUR FIRST BABY on January 21st!

This time of my life couldn't possibly be any busier - there just aren't enough hours in a day right now!  I haven't picked up an ink pad in a long long time and even though that drives me crazy, there's not much I can do about it!

So I thank you in advance for your patience while I take a step back from business just to savour and enjoy the happy things in my life right now! 

I will still be doing some custom orders and invitations, but will not have a regular supply of cards on hand.  I will still also be submitting orders, so if you ever need anything, you know where to find me.

I'll leave you with a peek at a card I did before life got so crazy:

Lots of thanks! Lots of love!

Charlene

Sale-a-Brate in March!

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share a couple cards I made using some of the new and awesome FREE products available to you during Sale-a-Bration.  If you know Stampin' Up, you know this is their BEST time of year!  For every $60 you spend, you can pick a free item from the Sale-a-Bration selection.  See the SAB link on the right hand side of my page or contact me for a hard copy of the SAB brochure. 

Here is the first one:

 I made this one with a Soft Suede base and added a piece of the nice patterned paper in Summer Starfruit from the FREE pack of SAB paper 'Sycamore Street'.  You will see that this paper is incredibly versatile - I used it for this very vintage card as well as a more retro card below AND two very modern/contemporary cards as well. 

The nostalgic ferris wheel image is also part of a FREE Sale-a-Bration set called 'Feeling Sentimental'.  The sentiment is also part of that same set. 

I finished it off with a vintage faceted button and some brown baker's twine. 

This birthday card was pretty much the same process - the Sycamore paper makes it so easy to let your DSP take center stage on your cards!  The cycle image is again from 'Feeling Sentimental'.  The Pool Party button is from the set of FREE Sale-a-Bration buttons and ribbon pack.  You get 3 spools of ribbon and 36 buttons in 3 colours!  Fantastic deal!
The birthday sentiment banner is from 'Itty Bitty Banners' stamp set and is one of the free SAB choices that is also featured in the main catalogue. 

Hope you liked this quick glimpse at the SAB offerings this year!  There is much much more in the brochure - you are going to want one!  Contact me to get a copy

Hope you like!

Charlene

Swing Life Away

Hello friends!

Since getting engaged at the end of November, plus lots of family events over Christmas break, I'd been neglecting my stamping!  Lately I've stepped away from the wedding Pinterest board and gotten my hands inky again. 

Here is a cute little card I made up for a birthday - I love how nostalgic it feels. 

I used textured Very Vanilla cardstock to give an aged linen feel to the stamped image which is from the set Forever Young (which I felt fitting for a birthday card, no?). 

The background was done with the Woodgrain background stamp which is so very versatile!  It's probably my favorite background stamp ever!

I finished this simple card off with a Garden Green mat for the picture as well as some linen thread anchored with a lovely wooden designer button from Stampin' Up!. 
I love that this could be a lady's or man's card. 

Hey! In other news - I've began to use a different sort of packaging for my cards!  Before, it was fully sealed in a clear envelope - which was great for protecting them, but not so helpful for readability!  Now that I've discovered the wonderful Clear Bags company, I'm using their clear card jackets which keep the card fully protected on the outside, but allow the viewer to open it to read the sentiment inside with ease!  You can see them in action if you go check my cards out at iDecor'n'Floor. 

Hope you like!