This blog is about stamping, scrapbooking, food, writing, painting & family. Sweet pieces by me.
It’s not too late!! ⏰ The Cyber Monday sale event is still on!
Visit my website for some great deals! There’s shimmer tape in some beautiful colors like Papaya and Rose Gold.
I love these gratitude thin cuts for only $9.05!
And this Freshly Baked patterned paper and Picture My Life Cards are adorable for scrapbooking Christmas cookie decorating, or making Christmas cards!
Hope you find some great deals today and happy crafting!!! Xo
Hello my fellow crafters! So sorry I was MIA for like, wow, a YEAR! Life has been busy, to say the least. Earlier this year I celebrated my 48th birthday. I really can’t believe I will be 50 in 2 years, and I don’t want to even think about it. It does seem like yesterday that I was celebrating my 30th birthday. Gosh, it does go by in a blink! So, I think I will spend more time journaling my travels, time with family, and scrapbooking our adventures. This way I will be able to relive my memories through the albums and have something to pass down to my children.
Two days before I turned 48 I broke my pinky (in June). It was crazy and it happened quick. I was in the pool playing catch with my nephews with a nerf-style football. It landed on the tip of my pinky and the bottom bone in my finger cracked and my finger was bent over. I was pretty calm through it all, it did hurt, and sort of went numb. I told my husband, hey I think I broke my pinky, we should go. Went to the urgent care and had an xray, the doc came back with this.
OUCH!
I had 2 pins put in and was hurting for about 6 weeks. It was stiff after that and still is somewhat but just barely. It’s getting better every day! That was the first, and hopefully, the last, bone I have broken. I also started a new job as a Loan Officer and have been pretty busy with learning all that since May. It’s just now slowing down since rates are in the toilet, so I will be crafting more, and posting more fun things here during our slow time. 😉 I do post mortgage content on my IG page, so if you are interested in that sort of thing, check out my IG, @springsliving.
We also finally bought a house! YAY! It’s been great, the kids have their own room now. We also have a hot tub! The downside is we had a problem with a contractor and didn’t get the basement started. So I have my desk area in the living room and my husband’s “office” is in our oversized primary bedroom. We met a few other contractors which I think will pan out and hope to have them start in November. One room in the basement will be my craft/office and I am SO excited for that…FINALLY. I will be able to organize all my papers, punches, stamp pads, and so much more! I have many Stamp n Storage organizers and can’t wait to set it all up. I’ll for sure do a blog post when all that is going down. 🙂
Charlene’s pins 🙂
Now on to the newest scrapbook paper I am in love with, Gnomes for Winter! This paper is so cute! Almost everyone loves gnomes right??
Check out the whole line of Gnomes for Winter product line on my website HERE.
I am also loving the Evergreen line of products as well! Check out this beautiful card kit which includes an adorable layered pine cone, a branch of pine needles. and glitter ribbon! Here is the link to this kit HERE.
If you stop by my site to pick up some products, be sure to select the November Crop Party Nov 27, 2023. This will link up your order to my current party order. I will also send you a personalized handmade thank you card after you place your order.
If you are local to the Colorado Springs area, we will be holding a November Crop on Saturday the 25th. It is $25 and includes lunch, a 2-page CM layout, 2 Christmas cards (you put together) from the Evergreen paper line, catalogs, and a few goodies! You can send me a message if you are interested, or comment here.
I’m sure I’ll have extra scraps from the card kit, so I’ll be posting more ideas for Christmas cards and tags using the Gnomes for Winter, so be sure to check back here later!
Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day! 🙂
Have you seen the new paper line Seas & Greetings from CTMH? This design paper is so stinkin cute! It is decorated with snowmen that are outfitted in summer clothing and accessories. Can you say Christmas in a tropical location??
I love the idea of this paper so much that I did order a pack! I don’t have any island holidays, but I do have some cute papercrafting ideas for it for holiday packaging and gifts!
Here is the scrapbooking kit available HERE. These pages are darling! There is always extra pieces leftover from the kits to make a few cards too! This is such a great deal since you are also getting the stamp set AND the thin cuts!
If you can’t get enough of this cute Christmas paper, please come back and join me for my 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS projects coming soon! These will be great for last-minute gift ideas, gift wrapping ideas, and more! I’ll be using Close to My Heart paper, Seas & Greetings, Christmas Story, and Freshly Baked.
I will start posting THIS WEEK my 1st Day of Christmas idea! See you soon and happy crafting!
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I’ve been super ADHD lately. I have never been diagnosed but I am 99.9% sure that I am. Just today, on my way to work, the conversation in my head went something like this… “I really want to start my own business…like the Art store I’ve been thinking about, or wait maybe a coffee shop, the “Insert cute name here” coffee shop. Or, I could do both. Coffee shop by day and art shop by night? Well…that might be a lot of work. Maybe I could just make videos on You Tube. So many success stories out there. I could do crafting, I love making cards and scrapbooks…or cooking! I do love my Pampered Chef and I do have some videos out there already. Ugh, but when do I have time to make those videos? Life with a 4 and 6 year old is busy! Not too mention LOUD. They hardly ever close their cute little mouths. Hmmm maybe I’ll just go back to school and be a teacher. Then I could teach cooking and art and DO IT ALL!! hahahaha”
Do any of you feel that way? My husband always looks at me like I’m crazy. I can’t help it I just want to make something of myself I guess to be important, to matter. It would be nice to hear someone say “we’re proud of you” or “we’re proud of what you’ve done with your life”.
In the meantime I just spend time with my kids as much as I can in between work, and we make sugar cookies. It was worth coloring the icing four different colors, and spending three hours working on cookies and coloring and decorating. It made for some really pretty pictures this Christmas and some great memories. That is what matters to us, building these memories for my children so they can look back and say we had such a fun childhood filled with great Christmas traditions and memories!
Hi there Stamping Friends!
Just thought I’d play along this week with MOJO Monday. Super cute sketch and I was able to use my circle framelits set from Stampin Up. These circles are so great for layering! I also cannot wait to make a cute scrapbook page using them to show off our adorable design paper!
Here’s my card for this challenge. It was pretty quick and easy.
See the twine? It’s actually the burlap ribbon we have! It’s very versatile! I will try to make a video to show you the different ways to use it!
And here are the other items I used:
I got up at 7:30AM this morning. Ok, so that’s not early for most of you but it is for me LOL! My kids have been trained to sleep in. We usually put them in bed about 9 or 9:30 so they sleep until 8:30 or 9. It’s NOT clockwork by any means and it’s been rough the last couple weeks. After the holidays we got off schedule because of staying up late and the kids were sleeping until 9:30-10! Which hey, that’s ok for me since I was staying up until 1 or 2am stamping! (Ugh…crazy I know!) We finally had a couple of days (4 or 5 really) where we got the kids up by 8:30 so they went down for a nap by 2 (instead of 3!) and in bed by 9. I’m okay with that. I’m a night owl, so if I get 2-3 hours in the evening to cuddle and watch shows with my hubby, then I’m happy. :-)Even happier if I get to stamp and make cards! However, I need to also sleep train MYSELF! I have gotten used to going to bed at 12-1am and sleeping until 9! I would love to have a couple hours in the morning to myself. Me and coffee. Quiet. Then I could write, journal, read, stamp and make cards, scrapbook…or whatever! So that is a definite resolution for me. I feel like I have all these thoughts and ideas in my head and I need to get them out!
One BIG problem is that the computer now lives in the garage. Why? Well, we wanted to make room for other things and not have the rooms look so cluttered. My stamping space was also out in the garage (I had a space heater), plus it’s California, not like the weather is that bad. So in November my husband said just move what you NEED to stamp and make cards into the spare room and he moved the baby’s crib into our son’s room. SWEET! Dude, I moved all my stuff in a couple hours during the baby’s nap time. IT WAS ON. I am nice and toasty when I’m crafting now. 🙂
So now, I’m happily crafting away…but I have this deep desire to write. Not just “blog” but actually write! I have ideas for children’s books in my head as well as two ideas for novels (fiction and sci-fi). I have no idea why I feel this pull to write but I know I must. I think it must be what “The Force” feels like. So, moving the computer is next.
This leads me to my New Years Resolutions! C’mon, we all do it. We make them. We break them. Maybe we make them just to have something to break? HA! Well anyway here they are!
Yes, I realize that #9 and 10 should be at the top…these aren’t really in any particular order…but I do feel that in order to do #2 – 10, #1 definitely has to happen first! hahaha
When I started this blog, I hoped it would be a place where I could write my little anecdotes, share pictures of the littles and their cute videos, share my photography (another hobby of mine), share my cards and scrap booking.
However, being a mom of TWO toddlers…well there’s that whole I don’t have time for ME thing. Well, I’m making it! I recently saw a video of Jada Pinkett Smith answering her daughters question about how hard it is being a wife and a mother. I feel like she was answering this question for me! She hits the nail on the head. It’s very hard to balance being a wife and a mother and still being able to enjoy what we want in life. It’s our life too, remember? So the list above doesn’t include “spend more time doing things for myself” but I feel that 1-8 are doing exactly that. I mean, the list could go on and on…get more massages, get more pedicures, go mall shopping (for myself), have more coffee dates with friends, have more girl’s (mom’s) nights out, etc etc etc. I would really love all of that…but time, money and resources are all a factor. So for now, I’d be fulfilled with the 10 above…for now.
Now my son has come into the garage (with his Kindle) and is asking me to hold him so I must go for now…but I’ll leave you with this…sometimes the only thing holding us back is US.
Here’s a couple of pictures of my cuties opening presents at Christmas! Sophie was fully aware of what was going on and loved every minute! This one is a bit blurry (most are because my kids never sit still!) but I just loved how she held up these Frozen toys. She loves her Frozen 🙂
Ok, so my son is now out here and in full “I’m going to annoy my mom mode”. Can’t get writing done yelling “stop” every 2 minutes. Guess my time is up. Guess 30 minutes of writing will have to do!
Now, go out and do what YOU want to do. It’s a new day, a fresh start.
Charlene xoxo
Shop the Stampin Up Online Extravaganza sale from Nov 23rd – Nov 30th! Flash sale on November 30th for the last 24 hours too!
Enjoy some sweet savings for the holidays and start checking off your holiday craft-making and gift giving!
Hi There!
Here is another sketch challenge that my upline posted. I was behind so I just posted one and here’s the 3rd (I missed the 2nd which was a color challenge).
Okay…so I know that I JUST made a card using Flurry of Wishes…but I just CAN’T help myself. It’s so stinkin’ beautiful! Not to mention I LOVE stamping and then punching out perfect little snowflakes. What’s that? You don’t have it yet? What?? Go, now, get it! 😉
Here is the card that I made! I had to emboss the snowflakes AGAIN…but at least I used gold this time 😉 Ha! I loved throwing in the black cardstock for a pop of color (that’s an oxymoron isn’t it??)
Hope you enjoyed my card today and if you see anything you like…(FLURRY OF WISHES PHOTOPOLYMER BUNDLE!) click below to purchase from my site! Thanks for supporting my business. In reality you are supporting my family, which means diapers for my baby girl 😉 Remember for every $35 USD you purchase before tax and shipping, you get a”punch”and once you have 9 “punches” you get to pick a FREE stamp set of your choice! So…get shopping! ;-D
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog
Hi there!
My upline started a sketch challenge for all of her downline to participate in, how fun! Every week we can enter the challenge and upload our project/card/scrapbook page to our team FB page. Then every week she draws a name for a $20 Stampin Up catalog shopping spree! I’ll be posting my challenge projects here every week!
I think she borrowed this sketch from over at Fab Friday. 😉 It’s a cute little sketch and when I saw it I thought snowflakes!! I just love the Flurry of Wishes Photopolymer stamp bundle. So glad I purchased it. It makes it so easy when you can just punch out snowflakes!
I turned the sketch horizontally and loved it even more. Sometimes things just come to fruition when you are looking at a different angle! I stamped the largest snowflake in Soft Sky and then used clear embossing powder on it. Then punched it out with a 2-1/2″ circle punch. I used the snail adhesive on the back and then put the gold cording where I wanted it to go. I was trying for a kind of loopty loop effect. 😉 I made a banner using the gold embossed vellum paper and finished it with a gold embossed sentiment and metallic sequins. The simplicity of this card is SO elegant!
Here are all the items you will need to make this lovely snowflake card:
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog
Hi there!
Here is the sketch challenge for Mojo Monday 423. I love this sketch! I adore the layers and the cute banner! I’m all about layering so I can use my super cute design papers! Have you seen the Home for Christmas designer series paper?? Ummm gorgeous!
I had fun cutting out the sweet little deer on this card. It’s Rudolph! The paper has about 20 little reindeer you could punch, cut out or use whole! So versatile!
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Here are the items you’ll need for this card: (coming soon)
Sweet pieces by me 