Birthday Buoy

I meant to post this back in July but it appears I forgot...for a long time... But I still want to share as I'm pretty proud of this card I made for my husband's 30th birthday.  He is a lover of all things nautical - especially Sailor Jerry haha. 

So here is the card I made for my birthday buoy (get it?!? I'm lame, haha)

I die cut the buoy out of textured white card stock using the Circles framelits from Stampin Up.   Wrapped some red ribbon around and hot glued in place.  The background is the new Hardwood background stamp (also SU).  The pennants are from Banner Blast which was a Stampin Up Sale-a-Bration set (that means FREE) as well as the matching punch (also FREE).  They are mounted on bakers twine and anchored with nautical star brads.  Some mismatched chipboard numbers finish it off.

He loved this card and I enjoyed making it!  Hope you like it too!

Back in the Saddle

Hi everyone! 

So I know it's been a long time!  My life has been one big hectic ball of joy though!   We got married, had a baby, moved houses and are now renovating!  It's been a whirlwind and a learning experience. 

We welcomed Hudson James Charles on January 31st.  We are blessed that he is healthy and so happy.  He is an amazing baby and I have truly enjoyed becoming a mom. 

I'm starting to find moments here and there to squeeze in a card or two.  Though by no means am I producing like I used to, I am back in the saddle again!

And speaking of saddles...I wanted to share a card I made for my a friend who had a horse riding accident.  This was just a little get well / thinking of you card to brighten her day while laid up.  She really liked it!

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!

Christmas Crunch!

Hi everyone!

It's getting down to crunch time for Christmas cards!  Less than a month to go!  November has flown by so fast.  I made a whack of Christmas cards to bring to sell at iDecor-n-Floor.  Most weekends we get beautiful big snowflakes falling so it's been the perfect atmosphere to hole up in the scrap room with a peppermint tea or perhaps a coffee and Bailey's.  Here is one of my favorite cards I came up with during my marathon card-making:

This card uses a retired stamp set called Patterned Pines - it was a hostess stamp set from a past Stampin' Up Holiday Mini catalogue.  It's one of my favorites though!  I stamped them in Pool Party on white cardstock then trimmed them out.  The base of the card is also Pool Party (Dear Stampin' Up: Please don't EVER EVER EVER retire this colour! I love it! Sincerely, me.). 

The back panel is the woodgrain patterned cardstock from the Naturals Composition pack.  It's such a neat and different cardstock!  It's basically like a dark 'kraft' colour and each piece features a different pattern of raised, clear embossing.  The woodgrain one I thought was suitable for pine trees!

I finished off this clean and simple card with a white embossed sentiment and a few rhinestones randomly on the trees. 

I think it's fresh and contemporary - it was a nice change from the traditional reds and greens of Christmas!

Hope you like!

Online Extravaganza!

Hi everyone!

Our biggest sale of the holiday season is ON!  Enjoy our Online Extravaganza from now until November 28th featuring 20% - 50% off selected items!

You can get the MDS+2 software (My Digital Studio 2 - chock full of everything you need to get started creating digitally) for HALF PRICE!

Also loads of stamps, embellishments, ribbons, paper, etc.

Check it out online and shop now on my website:  http://cboyachek.stampinup.net

Enjoy!

Almost back in the swing of things!

Hey everyone!

I've had the worst thing ever happen to my computer - the whole hard drive crashed.  Thank GOODNESS for my friend's computer-savvy husband.  He was able to pull all my photos, documents and music off it before it became irrecoverable. 

Then I had to replace the actual hard drive and do a little more fixer-uppin' to the desktop.  Hundreds of dollars later, I'm back up and running now, but I haven't had a chance to have my important data loaded back on.  So I'm without all the photos I've taken of my cards!

So you won't get to see anything new for a little while longer... I know, it's already been forever - so how bad can it get, right?!  Haha!  Apologies for my absence!  I was doing a little life-cleanout in addition to my computer cleanout.  My keyword lately is BALANCE!  I had to put the Stampin' on the backburner for a while, but I am back now and recommitted! 

In fact, today is a beautiful winter day to observe the flaky stuff from inside, while making Christmas cards!  So that's what I'm off to do!

Talk to you soon!

2012-13 Catalogue Sneak Peek!

Hi everyone!

Last week I got my sneak peek order in the mail (one of the many perks of being is demo is getting first hand access to hot new products!).  Unfortunately, life has been hectic - especially with the shoe business - so I was unable to really sit and enjoy my goodies until today! 

Today is Day1 of my May Long weekend.  It's been raining since early in the morning here.  Very cloudy and overcast.  It is the perfect time to sit down with a cup of my favorite flavour of Keurig coffee and get creative! 

If you haven't heard already, Stampin' Up! is one-upping themselves again!!  We asked, they listened!  With the new catalogue brings newly formulated ink pads!  The new firm-foam pads feature improved ink-holding material (foam) yet with the same upside-down storage design of the regular pads.  The coverage has impoved incredibly and it also makes it easier (strength-wise) to stamp with as you don't have to mash down on the stamp repeatedly - a gentle tap-tap will do!  I guarantee you will love them too!

Here is a card I made using the new ink pads as well as most of the new In Colours introduced this catalogue. 

The base is Gumball Green - such a rich, vibrant green!  I stamped the sentiment and butterflies also in Gumball Green.  The bird is stamped with Midnight Muse and the flower with Primrose Petals as well as Raspberry Ripple.  Those are 4/5 In Colours - you'll just have to wait another post to see Summer Starfruit! 

All images featured on this card are from the new set Papaya Collage.  There is also a cute little birthday hat that the bird can wear to lend a sort of kitschy-vintage feel! 

I also added a wooden button which will also be offered in the new catalogue.  I love the natural look and feel of the new buttons.

The printed paper is our specialty encyclopedia paper - and the good news it that it has carried on over into the new catalogue!  No retirement for this versatile paper!

I hope you've enjoyed this quick peek at some of the new goodies!  I just can't wait to get them into your hands come June 1st!

'Tis the Season (no not that season!)

Hi everyone!

Well, I've been on a major wedding card kick lately.  'Tis the season!  You didn't think I meant Christmas, did you?!  Heck no, I never start my Christmas cards this early - though I really should.  I'm one of those procrastinators you find knee deep in cardstock and glitter on December 21st, hurriedly making 25+ cards, living on coffee (and Bailey's!).

Wedding season means gifts and therefore cards too!  My little cards have found a good home at a local shop here in town.  I'm very grateful to iDecor & More that they've allowed me the opportunity to showcase my cards there.  iDecor carries a great selection of home decor gifts that would be perfect for any newlyweds!  And my cards are right at the till, so grab one to match your gift, would ya?

This card is on a Pool Party base and features a simple cross made from Attic Boutique DSP.  The center of the cross is adorned with a journalling spot from the Attic Boutique Side Notes.  The sentiment is from an oldie but goodie set "Whimsical Words".  It's finished off with simple and clean rounded corners using our corner punch.

Hope you like :)

Attic Boutique

I am loving this suite of products from the Occasions Mini.  It's called "Attic Boutique" and includes great paper featuring antiques, pretty stamp sets and easy pre-made labels/journalling spots. 

Here is a card I made using the Attic Boutique designer series paper and "Side Notes". 

I find there's a larger demand for engagement and wedding cards this time of year, so I thought I better get prepared! 

The sentiment is from another Occasions Mini stamp set "Love & Laughter".  I stamped it on a pre-cut label from the Attic Boutique Side Notes and popped it up a layer with some Stampin' Dimensionals. 

I just love antiquated feel of this line.  The other papers are simply gorgeous as well - featuring tiny flowers and window shutters, roses and trumpets, coursets and ink pens! 

Remember your last chance to get your hands on all of these products is approaching quickly!  The Occasions Mini ends on April 30th!  Contact me today to get your order in!

Leaving my Mark...

I've never bothered putting watermarks or copyrights on my photos of my cards for the simple reason that I had no idea how to do it.  I don't have Photoshop and I don't want it either!  I just wanted a simple way to do batch watermarks!  After a bit of researching online I found a great program that I will be using to mark my photos before they hit my blog.  I saw one of my cards on Pinterest today (and I didn't put it there) and then it hit me that in this time of information transfers....I really should be protecting my work!  So thanks to the good folks Batch Marker I will be able to do this daunting task in very little time!  Go check out their site if you're also a crafter or photographer that will be posting work online!

Stay tuned... I promise I have some cards for you soon!

Hi everyone!




I’m so excited about this promo and I couldn’t wait to share it with you! The Clearance Rack Blitz is on from now until January 5th. There are over 200 new items on the Rack and the discounts are crazy – up to 80% off the original catalogue prices! Right now there are still a ton of punches, ribbons, chipboard and papers left… but it’s a first-come-first-served sale so once the stock is gone – that’s all! Make sure you get your order in sooner than later as your faves might be gone!



If you order through my online site, all the awesome benefits still apply. You will get preferred pricing with me as your Demonstrator. You will also get hostess rewards if your order hits $200. (You could even ask your friends what they want and add theirs to yours to hit a higher total and get more free stuff!). What a great bunch of stocking stuffers these items would make for the scrap-addict in your life!



You can check out the promo on my website and just click the big picture to be brought to the shopping site.



Happy shopping!

Shoes & Stamps!

Hi everyone!

Sorry I've been a blogging stranger over the past little while!  I got rolling with a new business venture that I am absolutely loving - J9 Design shoes!  It really took off in my hometown and surrounding area so the past month and a half or so has been CrAzY bUsY!!!  If you would like to see what all the hype is about, check out Manitoba's own "J9 Design" on Facebook or on the web.  We are the very first shoe party company in the province!

So now that you know all about my affair with shoes and that I've been cheating on my stamps with  my shoes for months now.... it's time to refocus on crafting!

I got the inspirational kick-in-the-pants when I got my demonstrator-only sneak preview of the Occasions Mini catalogue and Sale-a-Bration brochure!  When I placed my preorder online, I was treated to 2 free gifts for recruiting in November!  With my preorder, I was eligible for Sale-a-Bration items - a total of 5 FREE ones!  I also got $55 of hostess dollars to spend!  A total FREE haul of 3 stamp sets, 2 digital ensemble CD's (for My Digital Studio), pack of patterned paper, ribbon & brad bundle, decorative journalling spots, glass glitter, Sweet Pressed cookie stamps AND a punch!  Woo hoo I love my job!

If you want to get on the list for an Occasions Mini catalogue and a Sale-a-Bration brochure, be sure to contact me.  If you haven't heard of Sale-a-Bration, PLEASE do contact me!  It's the most exciting time of the Stampin' Up! year!

Here are a couple cards I made out of my favorite paper, Pocketful of Posies.  I love the large, bold patterns and how easy it is to add just a few embellishments and have a card done!



Don't hate me, but....

Hi everyone!

Just a spoiler alert... I will be posting a couple Christmas cards today!  I know, I know, it's still early, but don't hate me just yet!  Despite the fact the weather has been absurdly beautiful this October, the month is almost over.  Then comes November, then comes December!  I know that if you're like me, you'll have an insanely busy November and early December, so why not get those cards done now??  It will save you time in the long run and you'll be so proud you got them done early; saving time for more important things like visiting friends and family this coming season.

Here are a couple cards I made which will be featured in my November Christmas Card class (please contact me for more details). 

 This one features the Gifts of Christmas stamp set.  It was stamped in Versamark ink then sprinkled with silver embossing powder and heat set.  It was mounted on old Xmas patterned paper, but you can use any old stuff you have handy.  Then a sparkly knotted bow was added diagonally and anchored behind the patterned paper panel.  I also added 3 cute mini brads in the lower right corner.  Then the whole thing was mounted on a Not Quite Navy standard sized card panel.

This card uses an old hostess set called Patterned Pines - which is still one of my favorites! The trees are inked up with individual markers in Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip and Island Indigo (a new In Colour!).  I used 3 assorted silver brads to top the trees, then double matted the trees on Baja and Indigo paper leaving 1/8" border.  This fits perfectly into the frame created by the Tulip Border embossing folder which was used on the Chocolate Chip card base.



Hope you enjoyed a little sneak  peek at next class!  Best wishes on your Christmas crafting!

The Flu's of Fall!

Hi everyone!


Sorry for the delay in not posting! I was really busy in the last half of September. I had a great time at my first card class with 8 wonderful gals. We made 6 awesome cards and had lots of fun. The rest of September was spent prepping for a tradeshow in a neighbouring town. It was my first time to this town for Stampin’ Up!, so it was great to meet new people and find new customers. A little boy was so excited to find a truck card for his grandpa, it was adorable.

Anyhow, I wanted to share a card today that is very current to what’s happening in my life! First of all, I absolutely LOVE fall; the colours, the crispy leaves, the chilled breeze, the excitement of oncoming holidays! But….while I’ve been lucky enough to avoid the seasonal coughs/colds/flus, many of my friends have gotten bugs and have been under the weather (even though the weather is unseasonally warm here! It’s like June!). This inspired me to make a get well card with a fall theme.

I used Soft Suede cardstock as a base for my card. I used the Leaves #2 die and my Big Shot to cut out different leaves in the colours of Pool Party, More Mustard and Soft Suede. These colours coordinate with the Spice Cake designer series paper that I used. To make the texture, you glue the leaves to the patterned paper panel then run the whole thing through the Big Shot with the Lattice embossing folder. It creates an inlaid embossing look. I anchored the panel to the base with 4 Mustard brads then added the “get well wishes” sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

I hope you and your families are not suffering any of these fall flus. It’s far too beautiful outside to be sick!

Take care!

My Big Fat Greek Wedding Card

Hi everyone!


I wanted to show you a custom card I made at the request of a lady I work with. She wanted a Greek style wedding card. I don’t know a whole lot about Greece, despite having visited there on a school trip. I do remember the beautiful blue of the ocean against the white of the shoreline houses though… So I jumped off from that for the inspiration on this card.  I ran into problems when I saw the vision of the card in my head, but realized I don’t even have the Lattice die that I would need! Luckily, my sweet friend Linda came through for me and saved the day by lending me hers {{thank you Linda!!}}.

I used her Lattice die with Whisper White cardstock through the Big Shot machine then adhered it to a Pacific Point card backing. The base of the card is also Pacific Point, but matted to 1/8” with White as well. I rolled Old Olive cardstock through the Big Shot twice with our Little Leaves Sizzlit diecut. I cut the leaves a bit to space them out more on the bottom of the card. Then I punched a bunch of tiny Always Artichoke dots using the Cupcake builder punch. These are my olives on the olive branches!! I have no idea if they realistically resemble an olive or not, but I think the Greek newlyweds will get it!

The card is finished off with the “congrats” sentiment from the Tagtastic hostess set.


I also wanted to show something else I’ve been working on….My new kick is BOOKMARKS! You can get one done super fast and feel really good that you’ve accomplished something. That feeling is few and far between for me lately. I just feel so busy and guilty that I’m neglecting my stamping stuff. But you can bust one of these out in less than 15 minutes, so it makes you feel great!!!

This one was made by cutting our DSP cardboard packaging insert down to 8” by 2.5”. Then I covered it with Baja Breeze cardstock. I stamped a few different images from the Artistic Etchings set all over both sides. Then I adhered some retired black jewels that I’ve been hoarding since last Halloween. I sponged the edges with grey and a bit of black. I punched a hole near the top, set a jumbo eyelet in it for strength then tied some Pool Party ruffled ribbon and other thin black ribbon through.

Hope you liked these things and hope you can find a spare 15 minutes to try your hand at a bookmark!

(P.S.  Yes, Clive Barker is one of my favorite authors!  I will read anything by him, as well as by Lee Child!)

August Promo & "Let's Party" Pants!

Hi everyone!

I wanted to show you a couple cards today (for different reasons). The first one I made for my Grandma’s birthday.

It uses Perfect Plum for a base and then a layer of the retired Botanical Gazette DSP. I stamped my new favorite (yep, I have a new fave every time you talk to me!) image from the set Field Flowers. It’s a 2-step stamper but really easy to use and forgiving – you don’t even need the Stamp-a-ma-jig positioner. I stamped the flower heads in Perfect Plum and Concord Crush for a darker accent. The middle of the flowers is More Mustard with Soft Suede accents. I finished it off the image panel with some distressing, tearing and sponging. Then I adhered 3 gorgeous little pearls at the top and a knot of Chantilly lace across the bottom. My Grandma loved it and called it a masterpiece (she may be biased though!).




The next thing I wanted to talk about (and show you what you can do with) is our August promo! It’s great – I was ecstatic when SU announced it… For the month of August, when you buy 3 packs of Designer Series Paper (DSP) you will get a 4th for free! That’s a $13.50 value! And it means you can stock up on your favorites. Or get one of everything. Or like me, get 2 of everything – then you can reserve one pack for scrapbooking and one pack for cards.

Don’t be afraid to cut up that 12x12 paper – it’s not just for scrapbooking. Here’s a cute card I made using the new Domestic Goddess DSP.

I selected a chunk that would show the clothes on the line. After cutting out the appropriate piece of DSP, I carefully covered the pants image with Tombow liquid glue then sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. I got the “Let’s party” by colouring just the 2 required words on the birthday stamp from Occasional Quotes. I did the “party” with the old Jumble Alphabet set and used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to ensure perfect placement. I anchored one of the new In Colour Designer Print Brads in Calypso Coral in the bottom corner.


It’s an eye-catching and humourous birthday card for that special friend that always seems to have their Party Pants on!

Hope you like!

P.S. Contact me today to take advantage of the Buy 3 Get 1 Free DSP sale!

Sweet Floral is my New Favorite!

Hi everyone!

Hope this beautiful summer day finds you well...it's so nice out here today.  I just wanted to share a quick card before I'm off to go swim at my friend's pool. 

This background stamp is one of the new ones that made an appearance July 1st with the new catalogue release. It's called Sweet Floral and it is so elegant. 

Here I've made the card base from Blushing Bride cardstock.  Then inked up the Sweet Floral stamp with Staz On black ink and stamped on vellum.  It's very important to use Staz On when stamping on vellum or other less porous surfaces so it won't smudge.  Once the ink dried, I flipped over the vellum piece and simply used Stampin' Write Markers to colour it from behind.  Then the vellum was attached to a same-sized piece of retired Night & Day DSP.  Instead of using my special invisible vellum glue, I just used a mini brad in each corner to adhere the layers. 

The sentiment is from the Hostess only set "Tagtastic".  It goes great with punches of course! 

Hope you liked it!  Oh, and one more thing before I go.  I wanted to introduce my blog helper...

Her name is Kitty Kitty or KiKi for short.  I think she's actually more of a hinderance than a help since I have to type all this stuff one handed. 

But she loves hanging out with me at the computer so I feel bad to kick her off.

Bye everyone!

From Charlene & KiKi