The Play Date Cafe Challenge #8 and yes, a little sadness...

Bet you didn't expect these colors this time of the year, did ya?!  Well, when you pop over to The Play Date Cafe and see what our Miss Alison has to say about her inspiration for this week's challenge, you may begin to look at Christmas colors
in a whole new way!

Some great surprises over there this week including our December Guest Designer, Mona Pendleton of Cupcake's Creations. 
So head on over and we really hope you will play along this week!

Well my friends, this is what 14 inches of snow looks like out of Julie's Open Window.  Not much but a vast wasteland of white.  As many of you know, if you have been following me since the fall, our wonderful city tore out all of our existing tree lines and shrubs to make way for the 'road to nowhere' (click here to really get emotionally attached).  Last year at this time, this would have been such a lovely scene with the church just in the background, but those days, as they say, are gone.  Sad....yes I am.  I have found myself feeling a number of emotions that I never thought I would attach to the scene in my own backyard. 
But there they were, rearing their heads all day long.

This is one scene that hasen't changed.  The tiny view which comes with 14" of snow from the front door of our condo.  The winds were whipping around over 30 mph last night and this morning,
so my poor holiday flag just gave up.

I have lived all my life, with the exception of a few months here and way over there, in Northern Illinois.  I always thought that I would be sad if I couldn't spend this time of year right here with the snow and yes, the cold.  But I have to say, after a day like today, I am seriously re-thinking that idea!

So here is what I want to know from you.....

What have you given up by moving from your roots that you never thought you would miss, but now you reeeaally do?   
Please leave me a comment. 
I know I am not the only one who has experienced these feelings of 'should we, shouldn't we' and your response just might be the medicine I need!

As my 4 year old grandson Caleb used to say...
'See you Umorrow!'  : )

Winter in Illinois...Design Team Call Still On

Happy Monday to you all!
How was your weekend?  Did you manage to get some holiday shopping done?  I'm afraid I did not as I was busy getting batches of these snowflakes done for Etsy orders.  Aren't these winter white with silver and pearl just sweet?  I thought so too!  If you just don't have time to make little embellishments like this,
then pop over to my Etsy store.
They are great beyond the holiday season, too!

What we did manage to do is get some decorating done.  This is just a little peek at our main tree.  I usually have 4 or 5 up scattered about.  Some are table-top trees with themed collections, so once those are finished tomorrow, I would love to share them with you.  It should be the perfect Christmas decorating day as well.  From the weathermen of our 4 local channels to the experts as The Weather Channel, we are settling in for a  
 potential foot of snow
beginning early in the morning.  Perfect....aaaah.....

DESIGN TEAM CALL

If you hadn't heard, The Open Window has announced a design team call for those who specialize in vintage/retro paper arts.  There are so many wonderful places to draw inspiration from for lovers of vintage and we have a new challenge blog that we want to include in that list.

To get all the details, click HERE!

Some of my favorite vintage-style blogs are:

A Vintage Chic, Iralamija, Lilybean's Paperie

Some of my favorite retro-style blogs are:

Gauche Alchemy, Just Add Glitter & Stir, A Vintage Spirit and Chronically Vintage

Visiting these blogs may help you to know if you have THE STYLE!

I just HAD to share this with you before I go.

 

I have yet to set this up during this season, but I found this photo from last Christmas as I was looking for something else and it just made me smile.  That's 15 year old Lucy.  I'm not quite sure if she felt left out or if she was on guard duty....either way, she was able to weave in and out without one of those pieces moving.  The reason that is so amazing is because she is not a slight kitty....
she weighs nearly 12 pounds!

See you tomorrow!

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #7

It's that time once again!  The Play Date Cafe Design Team have a wonderful array of projects to inspire you to play.  This week, there is also an additional opportunity to win one of the actual projects featured in the Cafe....so what are you still doin' here? 
I give you permission to head on over now.

It's a busy time of the year and you may not have enough time to make the little things.

I added these fun snowflakes to my Etsy store today along with some matching borders.  You can get the snowflakes on their own or as a complete package, so if you need a little something extra, stop on over!

Back later....till then, enjoy the day!

Lots of Fun to Share

It's been a really nice day here in Northern Illinois...55 degrees as I post this message.  But alas, it is not to last.  The temps are due to dip down into the 20's by tomorrow with yes, a bit of snow.

So I made this little card because of it's cheery colors.

I used a variety of fun things to get this one done.  I embossed the Basic Grey background using my new Cuttlebug Paisley EF which I got my friend Mona.  I made a matching paper flower with the Scalloped Nestibilities and finally, finished off the border with my Martha Stewart Loop punch.

Yes...it's a lot of matchy-matchy...but I think it works!

At the end of this post I have some great news

for those who LOVE this border,

so make sure you keep reading.

So I was very excited to receive an email from my friend Heidi who runs the blog for GCD Studios.  If you have been reading my blog for very long, you KNOW I LOVE GCD STUDIOS!  Heidi wanted to let me know that one of my cards was featured on their blog as they were honoring past blog candy winners and fans, of which I am BOTH.  If you click HERE, you can read the post and

you will find my card.

Then today, the FedEx truck stopped by to deliver these 3 fabulous sets from GCD Studios!

Included in the box were some fabulous embellishment packages to go with the latest release of the 'Artsy Urban' Collection by Melody Ross.  So I am looking forward to working with these
FABU collections!

In case you though I had forgotten about the 'Autograph Sessions' with our artists and authors, I truly have not.  On the contrary....in fact, I have been working to edit all the fabulous information that has been shared by these wonderful folks and am hoping to get a new Session up in just a few days.  To whet your appetite though, I can tell you that we have a couple of wonderful 'famous' stamp designers along with mixed media artists and workshop instructors and of course, our authors, whose books really tell the story.  Speaking of story, if you love art journaling, you are going to love our next guest, so make sure you stay tuned!

DESIGN TEAM CALL
If you hadn't heard, The Open Window has announced a design team call for those who specialize in vintage/retro paper arts.  There are so many wonderful places to draw inspiration from for lovers of vintage and we have a new challenge blog that we want to include in that list.
To get more details, click HERE!
Some of my favorite vintage-style blogs are:
A Vintage Chic, Iralamija, Lilybean's Paperie
Some of my favorite retro-style blogs are:
Gauche Alchemy, Just Add Glitter & Stir, A Vintage Spirit and Chronically Vintage

Visiting these blogs may help you to know if you have THE STYLE!

Last but not least, I have heard from a number of you who are just not able to get your hands on one of my favorite punches, the Martha Stewart Loop punch.  So I thought I would go ahead and offer some of my favorite borders to you in my Etsy Store.

These are the borders I used in the card above and they are ready for you to add to your cards and scrapbook pages.  They are large enough to cut in half so you double what you already get AND many of these are double-sided papers, so you have more choices.

So click here or on my link at the top of my sidebar to see what choices are there.

I will do my best to add to the selection as quickly as I can.

Long post....long overdue!  Thanks for hanging in with me.
that greeting card at the top...

That's for YOU!

Calm & Serene...and a DESIGN TEAM CALL

Did you survive Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

I love Thanksgiving but I must say that I feel sorry

for those who have to be

to work at 3am for the feeding frenzy.

Wouldn't make for a very relaxing day.

So now that a new week has begun,

I thought I would share a project that has

a more peaceful and serene setting.

 

I think, at last count, there were 10 layers

to make this a very, dimensional greeting.

The die cuts are from My Mind's Eye

and the snowflakes are from Martha Stewart.

It has definitely been a busy time for me here at  

The Open Window.

My Etsy shop has been busy with special orders and so I am doing

my best to get it re-stocked with new things for the holidays.

I will be listing this card as soon as I can, so if you would like it, as it will not be duplicated,

then head on over and make your purchase.

DeSiGn TeAm CaLL......

There is always something new going on and
now we are looking for some new designers with a vintage edge.
Are you a vintage girl or guy?
If so, then we want to hear from you!

We are looking for designers who would like to participate
in a brand new challenge

beginning in January 2010 which  
focuses on a style reflecting pre-1975.

Call it vintage...call it retro...are we calling YOU?!?

Here is all you need to do:

Send me an email with your name and blog link.

If you would like, you can send up to 3 JPEG files
of favorite projects

you have done which reflect your vintage-style.

Send a list of any online galleries you participate in
such as Splitcoast, Graphic45, The Play Date Cafe, etc.

and please let us know if you have been or are
currently on any other design teams.

We are asking a 6 month commitment to the team
contributing one project per week

with possible hosting once per month.

SEND YOUR SUBMISSIONS TO:

julieranae@hotmail.com

Deadline for design team submissions is Sunday, Dec 20th.

We welcome designers from all over the world!

See you tomorrow.....