Exceptional Charm

We're on Pinterest!

Charm Design Studio is finally on Pinterest. It's both magically-wonderful and addicting. Admittedly, the set up process seemed kind of confusing as it automatically synced to every Pinterest-loving contact, all available information, and even my profile image on Twitter, leaving me with a feeling of "what just happened?" after it was all over. (You don't have to use Twitter, but you currently need either that or a Facebook account to join.) Now that that's over, Pinterest and I are friends - kind of like the crafty/artsy friend you'd spend a Saturday morning with cutting pictures you like out of magazines. It's like that, except that you and others get to share your magazine picture clippings with friends and acquaintances around the globe - and your magazines don't look like they are about to be paper mache. Pinterest essentially lets you build an online moodboard for everything that interests you, whether it be home design, quotes, party decor, DIY projects, etc. How about you? Are you on Pinterest?

D.I.Y. Table Lighting

Accent lighting is a great way to visually warm up a space. The same goes for events whether they be a sit-down meal among friends or a wedding. This is a great do-it-yourself decoration that has the look of those upscale restaurant table lamps minus the pricetag. For each "lamp," all you need is a wineglass, a sheet of vellum, a pair of scissors, an adhesive, and a tealight (or electric tealight). You can download our template here.

If you already have a set of wineglasses, awesome! If not, this is a great time to take advantage of places like your local dollar store or Ikea. Craft and scrapbook supply stores are great resources for vellum paper. Often you can buy paper by the sheet, and typically it's not to hard to find a good sale if you keep an eye out for weekly specials and coupons.

The entire project is for the most part a no-brainer, but when selecting adhesive consider that this will be near a heat source even if it's isn't directly near a flame. With that in mind, read adhesive labels to see warnings or recommendations. Clear tape and scrapbook adhesive tapes are good options. Glue pens can be another option, but again, read the label. If you're nervous, maybe consider doing a test run to make sure the heat doesn't undo the tape or glue you selected. If you want to get really fancy, you might consider using paper punches, decorative-edge scissors, or even patterned vellum. You could even try running your sewing machine over the paper for a different look, so long as the stitches aren't so close together that they inadvertantly perforate it.

Look at that. How simple was that? I'd love to know what ideas you have or things you tried in making these! Let us know in the comments section or on our Facebook page or Twitter.

Etsy Treasury: Something about this time of year makes me love cinnamon

It's funny to me how when spring rolls around and the windows get thrown wide open - the new fresh air makes me want to indulge in citrus scents, mint, or scents like that. Then by the time fall sneaks onto the scene, I've all but abandoned my former affinity to those scents in favor of cinnamon. Oh, cinnamon. Whether it be a nice cup of cinnamon tea or a pumpkin spice latte, some form of spicy note finds its way into my midst - perhaps enjoyed with a good book after a nice stroll outside.

Check out our treasury on Etsy here, and be sure to check out the amazing vendors and items featured! Happy autumn, everyone!

Desert Rose

 

Desert Rose by charmdesignstudio featuring shirts & blouses

National S'more Day!

It's National S'more Day. Can you believe that? How awesome is that? In honor of National S'more day, here is some fun s'more merriment from around the web.

- The history of the s'more via Wikipedia.

- S'mores via Smitten Kitchen from homemade marshmallows and homemade graham crackers.

- S'more bar recipe by Williams Sonoma found via The Loveliest Day blog.

- A fun infographic by REI found via Wantist blog.

- The Perfect S'more by Food Network, as well as a chai s'more.

And if you're lucky enough to have the September 2010 edition of Food Network magazine, then you have four pretty great s'more variations. If not - well, we'll share:

Caramel Apple S'more = cinnamon grahams + toasted marshmallow + apple slices + chocolate-covered caramel

Elvis S'more = honey grahams + toasted marshmallow + banana slices + peanut butter.

Cinnamon Toast S'more = cinnamon grahams + toasted marshmallow + butterscotch chips + white chocolate

Mint Chocolate Chip S'more = chocolate grahams + toasted marshmallow + mini chocolate chips + peppermint patty

 

Happy s'more-making!!!

 

New changes in the studio

You may have noticed things are looking a little different around here, and you're right! After keeping this under wraps for several months, we're finally debuting a few big changes for Charm Design Studio. The studio started as an eclectic mix of various design interests, but as the business has grown, it's become clear that those identities need to be separate, unique identities.

First, Charm Design Studio itself is going to be predominantly wedding and social stationery with a handful of things featured in our boutique.

Next, our photo cards will now be sold primarily as templates for professional photographers under the name "Charm Design Studio Pro." On that, photographers following us, you can now find us online here, on Facebook here, and on Twitter here.

Lastly, on the subject of new identities, that brings up another change. Eclectic Affinity is now the official line of handmade jewelry. It is now located online here with corresponding Etsy, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.

We're really excited about these new changes and how they can better serve you, our customers!

 

 

 

[*baby photo compliments of V Gallery]

Natural Beauty: Priti Nail Polish

After I started slowly switching much of my cosmetic and body care products to healthier natural and/or organic alternatives, I admit I was a little disheartened nixing the nail polish. And bless the co-op for having nail polish at all - but the colors were always less than inspiring. So when I stumbled upon Priti NYC I was floored. I just kept scrolling...and scrolling...and scrolling. Priti brand nail polish is not only a much safer alternative to traditional nail polish, as it does not contain toluene, dibutyl phthalate (DHB) and formaldehyde - but it comes in a spectrum of colors; and the remover is completely biodegradable, non-toxic, and non-carcinogenic.

Your skin is the largest organ of your body, and it's absorbing everything you put on it. So be nice to it.
Priti also carries a line of mini bottles as well as a whole line made specifically for little girls, The Priti Princess Collection. So even if you haven't jumped on the natural beauty bandwagon quite yet, the non-toxic aspect of these polishes might appeal to moms and moms-to-be.

Who else is excited for sandal weather?

Fun new find: Wantist

You know those internet travels where you start on a website and before you know it you have 15+ tabs open in your browser, and you have no idea how you got there? Aw, yes, well, I found something super neat! Wantist is "a curated collection of gift ideas." In short, it's a site that makes picking out a gift far more fun and interesting than it would be had you gone the route of going store to store. (How did I not know about this last Christmas?!) Well, just in time for Mother's Day/graduation/Father's Day season, Wantist makes gift-finding easy and fun by filling in the blanks: "I'm looking for [something] for [someone]." The site generates gifts that appropriately fit the descriptions you choose in the provided list in each blank. How great? No, seriously - how great! I apologize in advance for the time you'll now spend looking at the fun gift ideas. (It's really fun!) Enjoy!

For Japan With Love

Yesterday we posted on Facebook and Twitter information about donating to the relief efforts in Japan through Samaritan's Purse. Today we're letting you know another way to contribute as well. Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours have put together a remarkable fundraising campaign called For Japan With Love to raise awareness and funds to help those affect by the devastation in Japan.

You can contribute in 2 ways. If you're a blogger, join with other bloggers around the world as we participate in a day of silence tomorrow, Friday, March 18. (More info here.) The second way you can help is to contribute to Shelter Box USA. Thus far, the For Japan With Love campaign has far exceeded the initial fundraising goal - but that doesn't mean that, together, we can't do better.

 

Ask yourself this: "How would I feel if one day all I knew - my home, my job, my family, my friends, every possession I own, everything I've ever had was gone? What would I do if basic necessesities like clean water, food, medical supplies, a place to sleep - were gone?"

What would you do, and where would you go? Who would you turn to? What happens when the only thing you have left is your life? For many, they are even less fortunate than that.

 

No matter what you donate and no matter where you donate, please donate somewhere. Think of how many impulse or non-essential purchases you bought today, this week. Even if you think you can't donate a lot - if everyone donated at least the amount of money they spend on conveniences like $4 coffee and a pack of gum - things that seemingly don't amount to much - think how much that would be. If everyone in your office donated even just five dollars...and then the office next door did that...and the one next to that...think how much that could be. Think of how many lives will be helped by that money.

Oftentimes it seems the reason people don't give is because they feel guilty that they can't give more. Don't. If everyone gave something, that really would be something. This isn't about ego - it's about helping hurting people.

Just as importantly, if not more - no matter how busy you are or how much money you have, everyone has at least enough time to say, "Please, God - bless the people in Japan. Assist the people working in the relief efforts. Bring healing to Japan."

Etsy Treasury: et cetera

An eclectic colletion - and our newest Etsy Treasury. Click on the link and check out the treasury on Etsy as well as the featured Etsy shops.