New Design: Anastasia - Vintage style birdcage with "Love Birds"

        I thought I'd introduce you to my latest work! Meet Anastasia....a classy vintage style invitation. The satin metallic printed layer has a unique smudged look along the edges to give it the appearance of old paper. A pair of blue "love birds" rest on a flowering tree branch as flowers cascade down to the ground. Below them an antique gold bird cage hags with it's door open. On the right is a vintage frame encompassing the wording where I chose several fonts that when together, give the invitation and old look. At the bottom left is the inscription "As petals to a flower, as wings to a bird, as sunrise to morning, so you are to me.". All this is then layered over a bronze metallic cardstock base and the corners are rounded to complete the look of this design. Fully customizable to your choices of text and colors. $3.00 each

Invitations featuring water color paintings by Ruth Loewen

Coming soon! I will be designing invitations that will feature prints of my very own water color paintings. Invitations featuring my original art work will start at $4.00 each for base and printed layer. Please contact me for pricing on custom paintings made especially for your invitations. Here is a sneak peek at one of the first painting to be featured:

We now support a charity!

We are so excited to announce that Enchanted Moments is now a proud supporter of Samaritan’s Purse.  As of June 14th, 2012, $5 from every order will be donated to:  

A great charity and ministry that focuses on, and deals directly with international relief efforts, where the need is so great. Together we can make a difference, touching lives and hearts across the globe. For more information about Samaritan’s Purse visit their website at: www.samaritanspurse.ca

Favourite Things

      Over the years designing invitations I have developed a love for particular elements, styles and colours. Here are just some of my favourite things that will perhaps inspire you.  :)

Fonts

     I love fonts! I think just the right combination of fonts can sometimes be just the right thing you need to make your invitation go from "Hmmmm" to "Ahhhhhh!". I would have to say my dream font I have yet to purchase (Poetry font) but for now my favourite of the fancy fonts is:

I think it's just so classy and elegant. Swirls just the right amount without being overwhelming.

    Now for simpler fonts I have a few favourites that I find pair very nicely with fancy script fonts:

Paper / Cardstock

       For printed layers on invitations, my all-time favourite cardstock is a gorgeous metallic satin finish white. It's smooth texture, vibrant sheen and crisp, clear printing has brought this cardstock to the very top of my list. I have been so happy to see that more and more couples have been choosing this cardstock for their invitations this year, due to it's elegant appeal.

       For invitation base cardstocks, I would have to say that this metallic satin finish Champagne cardstock has won my heart. It is so versatile in that its heavy enough to be an invitation base and yet flexible enough to print on. Print quality result on this paper are also very good. The color is softer and so classy, adds so much to the designs I've used it on.

Ribbon

      Hands down my favourite ribbon of the year is a deep eggplant purple satin ribbon made by Offray (color name Grape). The color is just so deep and rich it's almost intoxicating to look at. Love it, love it, love it!

Embellishments

       It's hard to pick out of the endless options out there but I am going to go with an oval rhinestone and pearl button...so beautiful!

Colors

        Where do I start? There are so many gorgeous color combinations it almost seems like picking a favourite is literally impossible, but alas I have found one combination this year that I think has risen above the rest. I think my other favourites listed above may give you a hint but, my favourite color combo of this year is Deep Eggplant Purple, Champaign and Ivory. Can you get any classier than that? I think it sets a traditional, upscale feel to the wedding. I can just picture: Champaign glasses, crystal, draped ivory sheer fabric with white lights, floating candles in glass vases, deep purple flowers, a stringed quartet playing classical, Champaign satin bridesmaids dresses with eggplant purple sashes…I think you get the picture. Simply stunning....mmm so nice!

     - Ruth Loewen



Wedding colors for spring - Apple Green and Coral

          Now that spring is in the air, I thought I’d introduce a new spring wedding invitation design! The color scheme is perfect for spring with splashes of Fresh Apple Green and Bright Coral. I gathered inspiration from the new flowers that will soon be blooming and the fresh green of spring foliage, as nature awakens from it’s winter slumber. I love the way these two colors work together and I think they set an atmosphere that has a crisp fresh feel and yet it adds that touch of warmth by bringing in the coral. Simply delightful!  

          The printed layer on this design is a white cardstock with a very subtle metallic sheen to it. Beautiful Coral flowers softly fade into the background, and at the top is a monogram of the couple’s initials. The front is adorned with small pearls and a band of white satin ribbon. All this is layered over an Apple Green metallic cardstock. 

Invitation by: Enchanted Moments - Invitations & Cards, Flowers by: Snapdragon Studio, Cake by: Linda's Bakery courtesy of EAD, Bridesmaid dress from: The Rose Dress, Wedding dress from: Wedding Dresses Best

Embarrassing moments....

I know we all have them. With doing displays at 2 wedding shows in the last 2 weeks it was sure to happen that I would encounter at least one embarrassing moment and sure enough I did.

         Ok, so the past week or so I’ve had a cold. Not exactly what you would call great timing with wedding shows in tow. I was working my booth at the Wonderful Wedding Show in Winnipeg, and all was going well until suddenly I felt an urge to cough. Trying to avoid sounding like contagious germ carrier I tried to suppress the cough. Well the instant I did that I knew I was in trouble. My eyes began to water and the urge to cough intensified. Just then there were two ladies at my booth who were asking questions about my stationery. As soon as I went to talk I realized that I had also lost my voice. All that came out of my mouth were whispering and squeaks sounds resembling that of a sticky windshield wiper. I cleared my throat repeatedly but to no avail, all the while trying to suppress the growing urge to cough. So there I am, standing there squeaking away with tears flooding from my eyes and streaming down my face. I can only imagine what they must have thought and the incident left me feeling like a blubbering idiot lol. Somehow I managed to answer their questions and then after they left my booth I broke into a strenuous coughing fit.

         Moral of the story: I think us business professionals often put so much emphasis on being “professional” that we forget to display or remember that we, just like anybody else, are human. There is nothing like an embarrassing blunder to put any illusions aside and everything back into perspective. :)

- Ruth

The Bride With A Sticky Tongue...

You’ve got your invitations, you’re so excited....but now the daunting task of stuffing envelopes awaits you. At this point you may be having nightmares, dreaming of all the hundreds of sticky, gluey envelopes to be licked and wondering how many friends or family, you can con into helping you. There is hope! Here are some helpful tips for sealing envelopes without a sticky tongue.

Things you will need:

- Dish towel

- A glass with 1/2 of water in it

- A stencil paint brush (flat cut on the bottom with stiffer bristles)

Lay the dish towel down flat on a table. Then place the already stuffed envelope with flap open on top of your dish towel. Dip your paint brush in the water, dab once on the towel (to get rid of excess water) and then dab along the outer edge of the glue strip on the envelope flap. Seal the envelope...you’re done!

Helpful hints:

You want just enough water to wet the glue, so make sure the brush is not dripping. One dip of water to the brush should wet up to 4 envelopes before it has to be dipped again. Make sure when dabbing the glue strip that you don’t smear the glue since this could result in it getting on an area of the envelope that could stick to your invitation inside.

Other tips for stuffing envelopes:

Address all your envelopes before stuffing them. This avoids indenting the invitation inside with your pen. Then stuff all your envelopes before sealing any of them. That way if you forgot to put something in one of them (like an RSVP card) you can go back and put it in. After that you are all set to seal and send!

Happy stuffing!

- Ruth Loewen

The Wonderful Wedding Show 2012

Well we are back from the wonderful wedding show and I have to say that this year’s show was truly wonderful. Our booth was buzzing with people and I want to thank everyone who stopped by! Something I noticed this year was an increase in the number of support people that accompanied the brides and grooms to be, which was nice to see. Here are a couple of photos of our booth:

I also had the pleasure of meeting some amazing wedding vendors at the show.

Across the aisle from me was Pearl Angelini Photography. Pearl and her husband Frank are such a delightful couple and we all had so much fun chatting in-between the lulls in the onset of people. I found Pearl’s take on photography to be very impressive and tasteful; that coupled with her warm and bubbly personality makes her to be, what I consider an ideal photographer. One that would make anyone’s big day just that much more special! If you are looking for a good photographer this one comes highly recommended! :)

Kitty-corner to my booth was Decorations By Rick with a mesmerizing display of gorgeous center pieces and crystal chandeliers. Rick truly possesses that “magic touch” and ability to incorporate the wow factor into his décor.

I’m looking forward to the new clients I have met and get to design for in 2012! What a great kick off to the year!

       - Ruth    

Sneak Peeks...

So quite a while ago I had mentioned that I had a bunch of new designs I would be adding to the gallery. Well, as you may have noticed I haven’t gotten that far quite yet (lol) but here are some sneak peeks into the new designs that will be having their big début at the Wonderful Wedding Show in Winnipeg this coming weekend! Enjoy....

New Domain Name - We got it!

I’m so happy to announce that we are now the proud owners of our new domain name: www.enchantedmoments.ca ! Our other domain name will still remain active but this at least makes it easier for people to remember our web address since there is no hyphen in it. Yay! :)

- Ruth

Wedding Shows!

The new year is here and now many of us wedding vendors are all in a bustle to get ready for what we call “the Wedding Show season”. I love wedding show season! It’s that time in the year where I get to meet with engaged couples face to face and talk about their weddings! We will be attending the Wonderful Wedding Show in Winnipeg (booth #1016) on January 21st and 22nd, and the Westman Wedding Expo in Brandon (booth B7) on January 29th. If you’re in the area come on down and say hi! This year I hope to get some photos my display to share here on my blog. :)

- Ruth