Flourishing Thanks - The Craft's Meow Blog Hop

The day has finally arrived !

It's The Craft's Meow 
June Release Blog Hop

I hope you stopped by from my friend & new TCM designer

Jinny Newlin's Blog

If not, I would love for you to join us from the start at

The Craft's Meow Blog

because someone is going to win

all four stamp sets
and it could be you !
More on that in a moment !

Today, the entire collection goes on sale!

For today's project, I revisited the

'Fancy Flourishes' set

designed by NinaB Designs

which is this month's

FREE GIFT w/$50 purchase

I created the 'wallpaper' for my card using the beautiful papers

from Authentique.

I added a ribbon border in the middle and the

stunning gem flourish is from Zva Creative.

This set has so many possibilities...create fun graphic elements

or simple elegance.  Either way, it's a GREAT ADDITION

for your stamp collection !

 

Here is another quick peek at the card I created using

the same set during our Preview Week.

 

The colors were inspired by this week's challenge at

 

 

 

 

You can view

the details of this card by clicking HERE

 

Here is the complete set . . .

and remember, it's only available for a limited time

FREE w/$50 purchase

YOU COULD WIN
the entire collection of new releases

pay a visit to our designer's blogs,

leave a comment and cross your fingers

all by 8pm PST, Sunday June 23rd.

One random winner will be chosen 
from one of the blogs on the hop

so make sure you leave a comment
here before you leave.
 

Speaking of the hop, it's time to send you on to

Lin Brandyberry's Blog

Thanks so much for coming by . . . Fingers crossed you win
and enjoy the rest of the inspiration from the TCM team !

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Renew by Authentique
Stamps: Fancy Flourishes by The Craft's Meow

Ink: Lido & Slate from A Muse Studio
Embellishments:  Smoke Crystal Flourish {CRB-05CA-113}
from Zva Creative
Elle ribbon from American Crafts

So Blessed ~ 4 Years of Blogging

Happy Monday and the beginning of a great week here

at The Open Window.

I am celebrating FOUR YEARS of blogging

(my first post was June 14, 2009)

and the sentiment on today's card says it all.

In so many ways, it seems like just yesterday

I posted my first thoughts & photos.

I've also been blessed to work with some pretty

aMAZing companies along the way.

Today....I come to you representing one of

my very favorites !

It is

NEW RELEASE PREVIEWS WEEK

at

Let's get things started here with a gorgeous set called

'Beautiful Rose'

illustrated by Nina B Designs

 I recently picked up a batch of new 6x6 pads on an Archivers
shopping trip and couldn't wait to start using them.  Most of the paper
on this card feature 'Down by the Shore' from Fancy Pants Design.
The rose was cut from Authentique's 'Pride' collection.
Although there are a few elements on this card by way of punched
borders using Fiskars Apron Lace ( great go-to punch),
a hand-cut flag & baker's twine in Canteloupe & Denim from The Twinery,
it still goes back to that 'Beautiful Rose'

How would you like a chance to win this set ?

All you have to do is stop by the TCM blog and leave a note

to say you stopped by for a visit.

Each day of the previews will bring another set up for grabs.

You have until 8pm PST, tonight to comment to be eligible.

I've also had the pleasure of working for
aNOTHer aMAZing company
for the past
3 years and wanted to let you know that there is a
TERRIFIC CHALLENGE
going on right now over there . . .

Whether you use a 'little' or a 'lot', 
as long as you use baker's twine on your project
YOU CAN ENTER!
Check out all the details HERE

I sure hope you'll leave a little note here as well.
I'd love to know you stopped by.
See you again tomorrow for another
terrific preview from TCM!

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Down by the Shore by Fancy Pants Design
and Pride by Authentique
Stamps: Beautiful Rose by The Craft's Meow

Embellishments: baker's twine in solid Canteloupe & Denim by The Twinery
Tools: Apron Lace border punch by Fiskars

It's New Release Day at The Craft's Meow !

The day has finally arrived !

It's The Craft's Meow 
May Release Blog Hop

I hope you stopped by from my friend & new TCM designer

Jinny Newlin's Blog

If not, I would love for you to join us from the start at

The Craft's Meow Blog

because someone is going to win the

entire collection of new releases and it could be you !
More on that in a moment !

Today we are revealing our final set

and

the entire collection goes on sale!

Today's set is TCM's

FREE GIFT w/$50 PURCHASE

called

'Chalkboard Birthday'

illustrated by NinaB Designs

What a fun, FUN set !

I thought it would be fun to make a couple cards

using the washi tape I've been 'collecting'  LOL

I have jars full from Freckled Fawn, BasicGrey & Recollections.

I simply layered a variety of patterns

and coordinated with 'splatters' of ink using TCM's

'Typically Teen' set

{ which to this day, remains one of my fave sets }

I simply added a few fun silver pearls for a 'pop'

I thought it would be fun to go with a whole other color palette

Here is today's set . . .

and remember, it's only available for a limited time

FREE w/$50 purchase

YOU COULD WIN
the entire collection of new releases

pay a visit to our designer's blogs,

leave a comment and cross your fingers

all by 9pm PST, Thursday May 23rd.

One random winner will be chosen from one of the blogs

on the hop, so make sure you leave a comment.

Speaking of the hop, it's time to send you on to

Karen Baker's Blog

Thanks so much for coming by . . . I look forward to hearing from you !

Project Recipe:

Stamps: Chalkboard Birthday & Typically Teen
by The Craft's Meow

Embellishments:  washi tape from Freckled Fawn, BasicGrey & Recollections
silver pearls Recollections

'Sew' Fun with The Craft's Meow

It's day #2 of the January New Release Previews from

Make sure you stop by the TCM blog, because we are revealing

new sets each day.  Our design team is simply...fabulous

and I know you'll be inspired.

This month, TCM welcomes

Jennifer Ingle

as our Guest Designer.

Her design work is, well ... AWESOME!

Today's set is called 

'Crafty Shelf'

designed by NinaB Designs for TCM.

Whenever I find stamps with sewing elements, it makes me

think of my grandma.  She taught herself to sew and I was

the beneficiary as I had the most 'one of a kind' Barbie wardrobe on the planet!

I created this card using fun, bright paper from My Mind's Eye

and kept it simple.

How would you like a chance to win this set ?

All you have to do is stop by the TCM blog and leave a note

to say you stopped by for a visit.

Each day of the previews will bring another set up for grabs.

You have until 9pm PST, January 18th to comment to be eligible.

I'll be back tomorrow with another fabby preview.

Don't forget, a brand new color challenge is up and running over at

See you soon ! ! !

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Patterned Paper: 'Sunny' by My Mind's Eye

Stamps: Crafty Shelf by The Craft's Meow

Embellishments: gems from Little Yellow Bicycle
markers from Copic

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Are you ready ??

It's time for the January New Release Previews from

If you've been visiting the TCM blog, I'll bet you've been

'intrigued' by the sneak peeks and today, we start revealing

more each day.  Our design team is simply...fabulous

and I know you'll be inspired.

This month, TCM welcomes

Jennifer Ingle

as our Guest Designer.

Her design work is, well ... AWESOME!

Today's set is called 

'Beautiful Hymns'

designed by NinaB Designs for TCM.

{I apologize in advance for the lighting in these photos...dreary days here}

I love sets that have vines, ivy ... any type of free form stems

that can be stamped as an accent.  I used the one from this set

by stamping it in green & teal.

I still love this patterned paper from SEI and thought it paired

nicely with the 3-D sticker from KandCompany.

The hymn featured in this set is called 'Great is Thy Faithfulness'.

It's a song I grew up singing in church and still means

a lot to me today.

How would you like a chance to win this set ?

All you have to do is stop by the TCM blog and leave a note

to say you stopped by for a visit.

Each day of the previews will bring another set up for grabs.

You have until 9pm PST, January 18th to comment to be eligible.

I'll be back tomorrow with another fabby preview.

Don't forget, a brand new color challenge is up and running over at

See you soon ! ! !

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: GinaK Designs

Patterned Paper: 'Couture' by SEI

Stamps: Beautiful Hymns by The Craft's Meow

Embellishments: die cut sticker & gems from K&Company
Ink: A Muse Studio

Love Dwells Here

Christmas in July with

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps

IS JUST BELOW

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN

It is Day Three of the New Release Previews over at

Today's set was designed by the one and only

Nina B Designs and is one adorable set

called 'Love Dwells Here'

Of course, I can only show you a snippet

of the set, but my card will give you an idea of

what you can expect with these adorable stamps.

 

Just wait until you see how many stamps come with this set ! ! !

For this card, I used five of them.  The theme was a perfect fit for

the background paper from Heidi Grace.

I layered the images on Bazzill cardstock and that was pretty much it.

Make sure you pop by

 The Craft's Meow Blog

and check out the beautiful creations

from all of the designers.

TCM is giving away a new release set

each day, so make sure you leave a comment

on the blog for a chance to win!

I am so glad you stopped by today and I hope

you will plan to come by tomorrow and Monday

so you don't miss a thing!

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Tweet Dreams by Heidi Grace
Stamps: Love Dwells Here by The Craft's Meow

mini brads by Recollections

How Would YOU Like to Win Six New Stamp Sets?!

For the new challenge at

The Play Date Cafe

please scroll down

It's a very exciting day today !

All week long I've been sharing projects from

and today is RELEASE DAY and our team blog hop.

If you've come by way of our newest illustrator

Elizabeta Kushner's Blog

then you are on the path of the hop.

If not, you will definitely want to start over at

The Craft's Meow Blog

because someone is going to 

win the

ENTIRE RELEASE

That's the SIX brand new stamp sets

we previewed this week.

I fell in love with this set designed by NinaB Designs for TCM

called 'Stitched Flowers' with the matching 'Stitched Sentiments'.

I stamped the flowers & did a faux-watercolor using Memento inks.

I used paper from Lily Bee Design as my wallpaper.

For a little interest, I punched a border on one edge and added

baker's twine, in Flax & Orchid by The Twinery, on the other.

I think it's always fun to place the sentiment on it's side

because it's 'unexpected'.

The tiny pearls are from Want2Scrap.

I know you will see all the sets on the TCM Website, so I am going

to show you a very special one here...

This terrific set is 'Summer Fun'and for a limited time is available

as a gift with a purchase of $50 or more.

I used this set in my post from yesterday as well...

you can check it out here

So here is how you can win....

Visit each designer's blog on the hop, leave a comment

{ there's only 16 total over 4 days...very do-able }

and you have until 9:00pm PDT, Sunday June 24th to do so.

They are all on sale today!!!

Don't wait!

Look forward to your comment and I will keep my fingers

crossed that YOU are a winner!

The next stop on the hop IS the talented


Karen Baker's blog

Just in case there are any glitches in the blog hop,

here is a complete list of blogs participating for TCM:

The Craft's Meow Blog
Amy Tsuruta
Amy Wanford
Ivana Camdzic
Larissa Heskett
Iwona Palamountain
Jackie Rockwell
Jean Martin 
Jen Cuthbertson
Jessica Fick
Gayatri Murali
Elizabeta Kushner
Julie Ranae

Karen Baker
Lindsay Amrhein

Nina Brackett

 Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Picket Fence by Lily Bee Design
Stamps:  Stitched Flowers & Stitched Sentiments
both from The Craft's Meow
Inks: Grape Jelly & Bamboo Leaves Memento

Embellishments:  pearls & flourish from Want2Scrap

baker's twine in Flax & Orchid from The Twinery

Tools:  Apron Lace border punch from Fiskars

Keep Calm...with The Craft's Meow!

The day is here !!

It's New Release Blog Hop Day at

If you have arrived at my blog from our talented

Guest Designer  

Gini Cagle's Blog

then you are in the right place!

If not, start back at the beginning at the

TCM Blog

 and get started there because

when you do, you could win big!   
All SIX stamp sets !!!

More on that in a sec.

 For this card, I revisited the sets called
'Vintage Rides' and 'Nature's Beauty'.
I thought it would be fun to do a little paper-piecing with papers from MME.
There's those great cloud dies from Lil' Inker Designs once again
and the sunshine was punched using one of the newest punches from
Martha Stewart's Loop Collection.
I'm sure you recognize my favorite baker's twine from The Twinery as well.

 I know you will see all the sets on the TCM Blog/Website, so I am going

to show you a very special one here...

  This adorable set is 'Giddy Up' designed by the lovely

Nina B Designs for TCM and for a limited time is only available

as a gift with a purchase of $50 or more.

I used this set in my post from yesterday as well...

you can check it out here

So here is how you can win....

Visit each designer's blog on the hop, leave a comment

{there's only 17 total}

and you have until 9:00pm PDT, Friday April 23rd to do so.

They are all on sale today!!!

Don't wait!

Look forward to your comment and I will keep my fingers

crossed that YOU are a winner!

The next stop on the hop is my friend
and newest stamp illustrator

Karen Baker's blog

Just in case there are any glitches in the blog hop,
here is a complete list of blogs participating for TCM:

The Craft's Meow Blog
Amy Tsuruta
Amy Wanford
Ivana Camdzic
Geri Freeman
Iwona Palamountain
Jackie Rockwell
Jean Martin 
Jen Cuthbertson
Jenny Suchin
Jessica Fick
Gini Cagle
Julie Ranae

Karen Baker
Lindsay Amrhein
Michelle Bertuzzi

Nina Brackett

 Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Fine & Dandy Boy by My Mind's Eye
Stamps:  Vintage Rides, Nature's Beauty
both from The Craft's Meow

Tools: Cloud die from Lil' Inker Designs, Big Shot
Large Dot EF by Cuttlebug
Circle Loop punch by Martha Stewart for EK Success

Embellishments:  baker's twine in charcoal by The Twinery

What's the Buzz?

It's that time once again!

Say it with me....

'Color Splash'  ! ! !

I don't know which I love more....

the fact that we are trying out another neutral color

as our 'splash' for the very first time

or

this terrific graphic ?!

So here is another little fun fact that I am pretty sure I've

never shared...

I love rabbits.

I love real rabbits...

stuffed rabbits...

(especially of the handcrafted artisan-type)

and vintage-style figurines

So this graphic is one of my favorites we've had to date.

I knew right away that I would be pulling out my baker's twine for this one.

The Twinery's 'cappuccino' was the perfect color.  I paired it with 'charcoal'

and I really like the look.

How about this adorable stamp set from The Craft's Meow? !

It's a new release designed by NinaB Designs and is a limited edition

gift with purchase right now.

It's called 'Thanks Bee to Thee' and has become one of my faves.

{this is a post full of favorites : }

The sweet'heart' bee wings were filled in with platinum Stickles

{yes, my favorite color glitter glue : }

We are happy to be offering a wonderful prize from our prize vault

provided by The Twinery, so you too, can have these colors and more

for your baker's twine collection.

So head on over to The Cafe, check out the amazing inspiration

from our design team and come 'splash' with us!

Project Recipe:

Stamps:  Thanks Bee to Thee by The Craft's Meow

Embellishments: Cappuccino & Charcoal baker's twine from The Twinery

Platinum Stickles by Ranger

Inspiration with The Craft's Meow

Welcome back to Day #2 of New Release Previews

during the

1st Birthday Bash at TCM

Along with sharing projects inspired by the newest stamp releases

(which will be available March 21st)

we have a challenge with each day that you can participate in.

For all the details, check out the TCM Blog.

Today's challenge is an Inspiration Challenge....

Take a look at this gorgeous photo and let those

creative juices flow.

Today is Mother's Day in the UK, so I was thinking about my
dear sweet mother-in-law as I created this card...miss her so much....

Another beautiful stamp set from Nina B Designs for TCM.

It's called 'Cherished' and will be a perfect addition to your stamp collection.

My background frame, flowers and stems are created from papers by 

Little Yellow Bicycle and lily bee design.

I used the Lacey Squares die from Spellbinders for my base frame

and used the Martha Branch Border, which was inspired by the

beams in the photo above.

I'm linking this up to the Vintage Florals Challenge over at
CARDS/Create as well.

How would you like a chance to win this stamp set before it

goes on sale next week?  All you need to do is visit our designer's blogs and

make sure to leave a comment over on The Craft's Meow blog.

You'll have until 9pm PDT each day to leave your comment and the winners

will be announced the following day along with the next preview & challenge.

We would love for you to play along with each challenge during our

1st Birthday Bash...all the details are on the TCM Blog.

I'd love to hear from you....please leave a note & make sure you leave

a contact address so I can say hello back.

Enjoy the bash!!!

Project Recipe: 

Patterned Paper:  Paradise from Little Yellow Bicycle, Picket Fence by lily bee design
Stamps:  Cherished from The Craft's Meow
Ink:  Dusty Concord Distress Ink by Ranger
Black Tuxedo Memento by Tsukineko

Tools:  Lacey Squares die from Spellbinders, Big Shot
Branch Border punch by Martha Stewart