The Countdown Begins!

 

Hello again...yep, it's a busy weekend here at

The Open Window with all kinds of new release goodness!

 

It's Day Two of previews for the new releases at

The Craft's Meow.

Today's set was designed by the very talented

Michelle Bertuzzi and is just in time for the new year ahead.

 

 

Silhouettes are so trendy...skylines are too...

and this set is fab!

 

 

 Many thanks go to my husband Paul for his design idea.

When we owned a stamp store, Paul and I worked together a lot

on project ideas for our workshops and demos, but it's been

quite awhile.  So I was surprised when he took a look at this

stamp set and said "if it were me, I would use the numbers

for a New Year's countdown"

So that's what I did!

I already knew I wanted to make little banners, so it was

a perfect fit.  I love hanging banners using bakers twine

from The Twinery and the 'Maraschino' was a great color

to match the ink used on the sentiment, which is

cranberry by A Muse Studio.

I used the beautiful designer papers from Authentique

from their 'Journey' collection.

We've now revealed three sets...there are a total of

 SEVEN

brand new sets coming your way!

Make sure you stop over at the

The Craft's Meow Blog

because there's a great giveaway going on

for both of these sets.

Leave a comment here and

let me know

which of these 'sneak peek' sets is your 

favorite so far!

So happy you came by and I hope you enjoy your day!

Loving Thoughts Project Recipe:

Designer Paper: Journey from Authentique
Stamps: Happy New Year from The Craft's Meow
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento & Cranberry both from A Muse Studio

Embellishments: Bakers Twine in Maraschino from The Twinery

gem stars from Berry Sweet by K&Company, brads from Recollections

Inspired by Friends & Family

Yesterday I shared a few cards that I made using a

bunch of the new, fun things that I purchased on my

recent shopping day up in Madison.

Today, I am sharing a couple more.....

I will admit, I built this card around the chipboard sentiment.

I also had one person on my mind as I created this card.....

my dear friend Sarah.

This girl has an infectious laugh and the most

encouraging smile...so this card is for her.

My friend Nancy James creates these beautiful

tags and packages her hand-dyed seam-binding

to create eye-candy that I can't resist.

I have 100 yards of plain, white seam binding just

waiting for my own hand-dying to take place, but

whenever I order from Nancy, I always get the

bonus of her paper crafting to keep!

Now....for something completely different....

I find KandCompany's spring lines always difficult to resist,

but mainly because I know that my mom loves this style.

I make a lot of cards for her.

She has no idea that I am making a batch of things in

this style, which she will love.

The glittering bell jar is so beautiful, but it's hard to capture

with my little camera.

I hope you are having a lovely weekend.

It's a sunny but cold day here in Northern Illinois.

I am tucking in for a day of paper crafting.

I hope you enjoy your Sunday....

Thanks for swinging by!

Smile Card Recipe:

Cardstock: American Crafts

Designer Paper:  My Minds Eye 'Quite Contrary',
Colorbok 'Flea Market', Stampin Up (retired)
Die Cut Sentiment: KandCompany 'Margo'
Tools:  Fiskars Corner Rounder punch
Embellishments:  Sugarlump Studios,

Recollections, Paper Studio

Thank You Card Recipe:

Cardstock: American Crafts
Designer Paper: KandCompany 'Madeline'

Stamps: Hero Arts
Ink: Memories 
Tools:  Fiskars Corner Rounder & border punch
Embellishments:  seam binding from Sugarlump Studios

Rhinestone Flourish by Prima, flower by Recollections

Acetate bell jar sticker by KandCompany 'Flora & Fauna'

DeNami Design Floral Frenzy Blog Hop!

For the DT Call at

'CAS-ual Fridays',

click here!

 

It's finally here!

Welcome to the.... 

DeNami 'Floral Frenzy' Blog Hop

and I am thrilled to be participating.

In fact, I think there are a fair number of my

design teammates from The Play Date Cafe that are

playing along too!  Our PDCC team are

super excited that 

DeNami Design will be

sponsoring this coming week's challenge

and Paulina Nakamura will be our very

special guest designer in The Cafe.

If you came here from Nicki's blog

then you are on the right path.

If not, you may want to start from the beginning

of the hop at DeNami Design Blog

so you don't miss a thing!

Here's what's in store for you along the way....

a wonderful opportunity to be inspired by creative

designers all over the world who love to use

DeNami Design stamps in their projects

a chance to win a mini-shopping spree

on the DeNami Design Website

 and the way to do that, is to make sure you

visit each designer on the hop

and leave a comment!

You will have until 11:59pm PST

Monday, March 14th

to visit all the blogs and leave

your comments.

With a theme like 'Floral Frenzy' it was great to start

thinking spring!

I loved working with these colors and all of elements

that went along with the great designs from DeNami.

Now, I am sure you can see where I used the

sentiment stamp, but you may have to look

a little closely to find the 'decorative crest' image.

Yep...there it is stamped on the petals

of the green flowers!

I hope you enjoyed your visit to

The Open Window

 

Next stop on the hop,

is my very talented teammate from

The Play Date Cafe,

Colleen Dietrich

Make sure you leave a comment here to be

eligible for a $20 Gift Certificate from

DeNami Designs.

Today's Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Core'dinations

 Designer Paper: K&Co 'Sweet Nectar;
Stamps: DeNami Design
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink in 'Frayed Burlap' & 'Fired Brick'
Ranger Adirondack in 'Lettuce' & 'Black'
Tools: Big Shot, Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dot' EF, Tim Holtz Alterations 'Tattered Florals'

Embellishments: baker's twine by The Twinery in 'Honeydew' & 'Pink Sorbet'

rhinestones/pearls by Recollections

Fresh & Bright...The Play Date Cafe

I'm not sure if you've been able to tell, but I have

really been diggin' bright colors this week.

I think it's been a long winter and I am just ready

for some color.

It's great timing because this week's color challenge

over at The Play Date Cafe scratches me

right where I itch!!!

Three of our Senior Designers are

responsible for choosing our weekly

color stories and we each have our own

style and color palette that is all our own.

This palette....is pure Ruby 2 Shoes!

I decided to go with a distressed, aged look for this card.

One of my very favorite tools in the studio is the

Distrezz-it-All by Zutter.

It saves that cramp you get in your hand with tiny little

distressing tools and can handle a single sheet of

cardstock all the way up to chipboard.

This card is all about layers of designer paper and

embellishments.  The sweet little lucite cherries are by

Mary Englebreit and were the perfect little addition.

Of course I tied it together with a little baker's twine 

from The Twinery.

We have the talented Maria Gurnsey joining us as

our guest designer this week.

In honor of Maria, I used her 'namesake' 'Gingham Gurnsey'

stamp to create the tag under the 'my friend' sentiment.

Check out that story and learn more about Maria

when you visit The Cafe.

We have the most talented design team

waiting to inspire you, and here they are....

Sarah AndersonRuby McGuire

 Savannah O'Gwynn 

Andrea Ewen

Colleen Dietrich  

Fiona Shultz

Jaclyn Miller 

Jinny Newlin
Libby Hickson  

Michele Gross

Tracey Kuzniak

and of course, our sweet guest...
Maria Gurnsey

 So glad you stopped by and I hope you'll 

leave a quick little note to let me know

you were here : )

Today's Project Recipe:

Cardstock: The Paper Company

 Designer Paper: K&Company 'Sweet Nectar' & BoBunny 'Abbey Road'
Stamps: Papertrey Ink 'Friendship Jar & Ippity 'Gurnsey Gingham'
Ink: VersaMagic, Ranger Archival, Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Tools: Spellbinders 'Labels One', Big Shot, sewing machine
Distrezz-it-All, Martha Stewart punch 'Loop Heart'

Embellishments: Baker's Twine by The Twinery in 'Caribbean', 

Pearls by Martha Stewart, Cherry by Mary Engelbreit

A Sweet Moment Indeed...

Oh my!  Get ready for some color because it's

H{ippity} Hop Monday!!!

This is the weekly gathering of Ippity Chicks and

fans of Ippity who love to inspire you to

play with the fabulous rubber from Ippity!

I had lots of fun putting this card together because my goal was to 

play with color and fun images,
and that's what I did!

I love this DP from K&Company's 'Sweet Nectar' Set.

I stamped the cupcake and heat embossed it so it would

really show off the colors of the 'frosting'.

If there's one thing that people get to know about me,

I do NOT like to color, as a rule, but coloring an image like

this is simple and fun because once it was complete, I topped

it with 'diamond' Stickles.

I am absolutely in love with the Martha 'heart loop' punch.

I spotted some CrAzY beautiful work using it over on 

Sankari Wegman's blog and I had to have it!

Adorned with four different colors of bright and beautiful

baker's twine from The Twinery and some fabby

rhinestones....it's a done deal!

Here's what I used to make this colorful creation...

I have both of these stamp sets available

for purchase over on my Ippity page here

and I would love to be your Ippity Chick!!!

Both sets are discounted just for you!

If you order BOTH sets, you will get an additional

ONE DOLLAR OFF ANY ADDITIONAL
STAMP SETS FROM MY IPPITY PAGE!!!
Order 2 other sets, get $2 off...
Order 4 other sets, get $4 off...
you get the idea!!!!

In the meantime, make sure you stop by The Ippity Blog

to see the great group of people who have projects to

inspire you to play!

Today's Project Recipe:

Cardstock: American Crafts

Designer Paper: K&Company 'Sweet Nectar' Collection
Stamps: Ippity 'Cuppy Cakes' & 'Here and Now'
Ink: VersaMark, Memories in Black 
Stickles: Diamond
Tools: Martha Stewart 'Loop Hearts'

Embellishments: Baker's Twine from The Twinery

Rhinestones by K&Company & Mark Richards

The Remedy for Love

Gosh....just the idea that someone would need to

look for a remedy for love.....feels a bit sad at first.

It's H{ippity} Hop Monday!

What a terrific way to start the week by 

feeding your creative needs with some

wonderful inspiration by all of the

Ippity chicks and fans listed

on the Ippity Blog.

So.....

What is the remedy for love?

 According to this wonderful quote, it's to 'love more'!

This is such a fun set from Ippity called

'Quotes A'la Happy'

Twenty fun, creative images 

just right for so many occasions.

I have an order going in to Ippity this week

and would LoVe for you to get in on it!

Place an order for this set or any other

Ippity set from my page here and you will

receive 10% off your entire order!

Order $50 or more and get your choice of

one of these stamps free:

You'll find all Ippity sets here!

This offer expires on Sunday, Feb 6th at 11:59pm CST.

One more thing.....

You know I am on the design team for

The Twinery, right?

Well, I wanted to make sure you were aware of

the newest colors which are now available and

are shipping immediately....

Aren't they gorgeous?

One of the most requested colors has been black

and it's now here for you!

I personally LoVe the Honeydew and am really

excited to know mine is on the way!

There's also a very fabby Valentine's giveaway going on

over on The Twinery's blog!

So glad you were able to stop by.

I hope you'll leave me a quick little note to

let me know you were here.

Make sure you stop back later tonight as I will be

announcing the winner of the blog candy from the

'March of the Snowmen' Blog Hop.

Today's Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Bazzill, The Paper Company

Ink: Ranger Archival in Black, Tim Holtz Distress in 'Frayed Burlap'

Stamps:  Ippity 'Quotes A'la Happy'
Die Cut Tools: Cricut 'George & Basic Shapes'

Embellishments:  The Twinery baker's twine in 'Maraschino'
Recollections & K&Co rhinestones

Tools:  Fiskar's Corner Rounder, misc markers

Gift Tags Galore!

One of the things I enjoy making at Christmas time,

more than anything else

is gift tags...but not just plain jane tags.

I think all these tags qualify for CAS until you start

adding embellishments, which I love to do!

Die cut tags using Spellbinders Labels Four,

layered with a variety of designer papers from

Memory Box and K&Co.

The focal point sentiments for each of these are vinyl

'Stickerz' from EAD Designs.

Add pearls, gold twine and silk ribbon and there you go!

I am entering my set of tags above

for the Scrappy Saturday Challenge

featuring one of my favorite Christmas songs,

'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'

I made another set of tags using a wonderful rubber stamp

image from Memory Box.  I used a paper-piecing method

with the holly and added fabby pearls for the berries.

The holly is actually placed with 3-D tape for a

dimensional affect.

I am entering this set of tags over at

Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge

and

Little Red Wagon Challenge #57

and

Sunday Stampers #132

Last but not least, another batch of tags

featuring EAD Designs 'Stickerz'...

Love the 'retro feel' to these ornaments.

I dressed them up a bit with Stickles in platinum

(which is my FAVORITE color)

and a lovely rhinestone for the center.

The stamped sentiment is from The Paper Company.

All of the tags in this post have been shaded on the edges

with Tim Holtz Distress Ink.  It adds depth and gives a

vintage-feel to paper projects.

Hope you enjoyed these fun little projects!

One more thing....

Monique Hanson, my design team-mate at The Twinery

and author of the blog, For the Love of Paper, honored

me with a sweet blog award today.

I thank her for thinking of me and I appreciate her

being a follower here at The Open Window.

I am going to 'cop out' a bit on the sharing the

personal things that most awards require, but only

because I just shared some pretty fun and in some

cases, surprising things in my interview with Ippity.

So if you have a moment, I would love if you

would click here and check out some fun facts

about Julie Ranae.

I didn't 'cop out' completely....Thanks again Monique!

Red & White...Holiday Delight!

It's that time once again!

I have really inspired by the tradional colors

of Christmas this year, which is a bit unusual

for me.  I like to go outside the box to

create for the holiday, but I am 

LoViNg 

deep reds and bright whites.

How about a no-stamping project this week?!

Another something unusual for me.

I love the KandCompany Christmas collections...

all of them!  haha

The center die cut comes from the

Brenda Walton Evergreen set.

Underneath that is is a tag from Martha Stewart.

I used a Sizzix 'Santa Bingo Card' EF

on the bright white background and followed up

with beautiful red and white DP from

My Mind's Eye.

The acetate sentiment is from Little Yellow Bicycle.

That ribbon is really fun too...

it's scrunchy, but soft...stretchy but holds it's shape.

The Play Date Cafe Design Team 

have created some pretty sweet

projects to inspire you to play with these

gorgeous colors, so please pay a visit, won't you?!