Capture the Good Times

Hello !  I'm really glad you came by today !

It's Thursday...at least on the East Coast ; )

so it's time for ...

My dad had a small collection of vintage cameras

and when I saw the 'Oh Snap' collection from Taylored Expressions,

I knew I had to have it.

I simply used the colors for the challenge and made

them work for this design.  The patterned paper around

the base card is from Prima.

I found this uber-BIG gem from Teresa Collins in my stash

and thought it was a perfect 'add' for the lens.

This week's sponsor is sharing a $25 Shopping Spree

to the 'Cup of the Week'

I hope you'll join us in The Cafe !

Hope you had fun with this card...I sure did !

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Rondelle by Prima

Stamps: Oh Snap by Taylored Expressions

Embellishments: gem from Teresa Collins

 

 

A Floral Spring

Hello . . . so great to have you stop by today !

It's blog hop day with the designers of

If you are hopping with us, then you should have come from

Jessica Fick's blog

If you just happened by, then get yourself over to

The Craft's Meow blog

Someone is going to win a stamp set of their choice

simply by visiting all 13 blogs & leaving a little love.

Deadline to be eligible for prize is

11:59 EST, Thursday May 9th

Winner will be announced Friday, May 10th

There are some pretty fabby things coming up at TCM

and you won't want to miss anything!

This month's theme is:  FLOWERS

I pulled out a design I created about a year ago when the set

'Beautiful Spring' was introduced.  I love how simple it is

and couldn't help but use it again.

Here is the original design created for Mother's Day 2012.

This time, I paired it with the sentiment from the 'Rejoice' set.

I used the Sizzix 'Wreath' embossing folder for my base.

I simply stamped the flower image on three different paper from

Prima and cut them out in layers.  I added a beautiful gem flourish

and pearls from Zva Creative to complete the look.

I thought this was a great color combo for this week's challenge over at

The next stop on the hop is my friend & TCM Illustrator

Karen Baker's blog

Don't forget to say hello before you go!

Our designers await your visit!

ENJOY!

Project Recipe:

 Patterned Paper: Romance Novel by Prima

Stamps: Beautiful Spring & Rejoice by The Craft's Meow
Tools: Wreath EF by Sizzix, Big Shot
Embellishments: pink gem flourish {CR-06CA-120}

white pearls {PEW-03CA-104} from Zva Creative

 

Heartfelt Thanks!

I'm so glad you stopped by today.

I am happy to share a colorful card with you today

to say 'Thank You' to teachers everywhere !

Yes . . . The Twinery is sharing all kinds of crafting goodness

this week in honor of educators.  

 

Our design team will be

sharing both cards & gifts using fun & fabulous baker's twine

in hopes of inspiring you to create something for the teacher in your life.

With four grandsons ranging from 4th grade to pre-school, I have had

the pleasure of making cards for their teachers for Christmas

 and the end of the school year.

I am definitely a card maker at heart & did I have fun putting

this card together !  I created the tag first and layered from there.

Both the tag & card base have washi tape from Freckled Fawn.

These alphabets remind me so much of grade school

[which was WAY too long ago]

I love putting a whole bunch of baker's twine together for

a tag 'tassel' and for this one, I used:

Charcoal, Mandarin, Buttercream, Marigold and the brand new

Rainbow Teal Shimmer.

All of these can be found over in The Twinery Store.

I used stickers from SRM for the sentiment & fun polka dots,

a fun pencil embellishment (which I've had for years)

and the flower is from Prima.

 

I hope you will stop by The Twinery blog this week and enjoy

the projects our talented designers have to share.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today !

 

 

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Embellishments: washi tape from Freckled Fawn,

pencil button by Dress it Up, stickers from SRM Stickers

flower from Prima, all baker's twine from The Twinery

A { Colorful } Challenge

It's quite a colorful day here at The Open Window

as we present a brand new challenge over at

This week, we are using the colors

Grass ... Rose Petal ... Hibiscus

I have been hanging on to a bunch of newer embellishments

from BasicGrey, including the 'Hey Girl' collection and I knew

this hanging banner would be perfect for these colors.

I grabbed some washi tape from Freckled Fawn & Recollections

to create a simple pattern on the base panel and brought

it all together with the sweet flower from Prima.

I find myself apologizing with nearly every post

for the poor lighting in my photos.  Yes, I have a light tent.

The problem is my creative space is getting smaller by the day

and I've not had room to put it back up, so I have to fiddle with

the editing of my photos more and more.

I love this card (I must admit) but the photos do nothing for it.

On a GREAT note . . .

You know I love The Twinery and we are happy to

be providing a prize from this fabby baker's twine company.

Make sure you get over to see all the yummy new

'Metallic Shimmer' twines !

I'll see YOU in The Play Date Cafe !

Project Recipe:

 Patterned Paper & Banner Embellishment: Hey Girl by BasicGrey
Embellishments: washi tape from Freckled Fawn & Recollections

flower from Prima, pearls from Recollections

Memories with Zva Creative & Authentique

Happy Friday

and

Welcome in to The Open Window !

I am so glad you came by today because I am taking part in

day #3 of a very INspirational blog hop

I really enjoy being a part of the Zva Creative team

and adore the beautiful designs of Authentique . . .

it's a terrific match !

The beautiful 'Hope' collection from Authentique is simply lovely.

I love the double-sided papers because there are so many options.

I layered two designs as my base then placed the sentiment sticker

{which is in the shape of an file card} on top.

I cut the eggs from another designer sheet and layered those

over the beautiful Soft Blue Crystal & Pearl Flourish from Zva.

I centered my flowers from Prima with taupe pearls also from Zva.

Each element is layered 'above' the next to create lots of dimension.

Zva Creative will be selecting two lucky winners who comment along the three day blog hop to win a Zva prize package worth $30 and Authentique’s Hope collection.  All comments must be received by 11:59pm on Monday, March 25th EST.  The winner will be announced on Zva’s blog on Tuesday, March 26th.

Please make sure to leave a little love before

you move on because the more you leave comments

on the hop trail, the more chances you have to win !

Here's who's participating today:

Natasha Naranjo Aguirre

Julie Ranae

Lisa Somerville

Authentique Blog 

Zva Creative Blog

 

 

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Hope by Authentique

Embellishments: crystal & pearl flourish {CRB-05CA-108}

taupe pearls {CRW-04CB-139}

from Zva Creative
flowers from Tea-Thyme by Prima 

 

Celebrate with The Craft's Meow!

Happy Monday and welcome in to The Open Window !

If you are just stopping by, you picked a great day

because it's Day #2 of the New Release Previews over at

We are on the countdown to TCM's 2nd Birthday Celebration

and release of our March images !

Today's preview is of a 'sweet'

{ I couldn't resist }

new stamp set designed by Mabelle R-O called

'Sweet Birthday'

I immediately knew I wanted to use fun, bright colors for my card

and the balloon in this set was so fun to play with.

I did a little simple 'masking' to make my bouquet using vibrant

ink from A Muse Studio (to order, see link below)

and stamped the sweet daisy on each balloon.

Prima's Doodle Deux made the perfect backdrop for the colors.

The sweet little double bow was made using yummy baker's twine

from The Twinery in 'Ocean' & the 

brand spankin' new 'Iridescent Blossom'

What I love about this set is there are so many fun & surprising elements

you can play with, right down to the little 'swirlys'.

To celebrate this week, TCM will be giving away not one but . . .

TWO of the FEATURED STAMP SETS EACH DAY

Simply visit the TCM blog, leave a quick note to say hello

by 8pm PST each day & you just might win !

I'm so very glad you stopped by.

Make sure you let me know you were here and fingers

crossed that you'll be a winner !

Project Recipe:

 Patterned Paper: Doodle Deux by Prima
Stamps: Sweet Birthday by The Craft's Meow
Inks: Ocean, Bellini & Orange by A Muse Studio
Tools: Lacey Squares die by Spellbinders, Big Shot
Embellishments: baker's twine in Ocean & Iridescent Blossom by The Twinery
silver pearls by Recollections
 

It's the Little Things with SRM Stickers

Hello . . . Hello . . . HELLO ! ! !

It's so great to have you swing by The Open Window today

because there's a brand new challenge over at

and I've got a fun card to share featuring this week's sponsor

Our design team received an aMAZing package of goodies from

SRM Stickers and we ALL had a great time creating with them !

Just wait till you see what my teammates made !

I used this fun paper from Prima's 'Doodle Deux' stack

to match up the color from the challenge.

Then I took the 'doodles' & sentiments from SRM

to create borders & greetings for the card.

OH  . . . the glassine bag is also from SRM.

I placed the sentiments over washi tape

which I think is always a fun touch.

I love how the paper shows through and gives the card

another dimension of color.

I made a simple bookmark to fit inside the bag and

of course, I grabbed my favorite baker's twine from The Twinery

to finish it off.

 

The small dimensional flowers are die cuts I made using

Sizzix dies by Stephanie Barnard.

I sure hope you can play along with us this week because

 

is giving away a terrific prize package to our

'Cup of the Week'

Thanks oh so much for stopping by today.

I hope you'll leave a quick note to let me know you

came by.  If you have a blog, you know how fun it is to

get just a quick note from your readers.

If you are like me, it's so easy to swing by, take a quick

peek and move on.  That's because there are 1,000's of

terrific blogs out there.

I'm so aware of how many there are .... it's part of my

business as a social media coordinator, so I want you to

know that I really do appreciate the time it takes & for

making my blog one of your many choices.

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Doodle Deux by Prima

Embellishments: We've Got Your Border stickers & glassine bag by SRM Stickers

baker's twine in Strawberry, Seaweed & Cantaloupe from The Twinery

mini brads from Zva Creative, washi tape by Recollections

Tools: Banners #2 Framelets by Sizzix, Big Shot

 

Celebrating the Day!

Gosh...it's been waaaay too long!

Last week, I was a welcome overnight 'guest' in one of our

hospitals and I've found it difficult to be on the computer much.

I am happy to say that after many, many tests related to my heart

(including an induced stress test which was simply 'unpleasant' at best)

my heart was declared in "perfect" condition.

It turns out that I have some torn ligaments in the chest wall

near that area and did you know . . .

it's pretty darned painful and can totally fool ya !

Of course you KNOW I now have very few excuses for not

adding a little exercise to my life.

But it's a very content feeling knowing I can do it with confidence.

Anyway . . . I am back at it and glad to be able to share a couple

of projects with you today featuring beautiful bling from

I really enjoyed making this card.

The colors, the bling, the stamps . . .

it all made me happy !

The colors are perfect for the current challenge over at

 

I simply created my wallpaper with these beautiful papers

and then determined where each element should go.

The bling is beautiful jet black crystal flourishes from Zva

and they really do stand out on this card.

The die frame is Spellbinders Labels 18 and the stamped sentiment

is from Avery Elle.

How about some more bling ??!!

This time, I added a BIG punch with Zva's beautiful bold flower.

This card does have a lot going on.

An embossed panel on the bottom with a panel created

using Martha Stewart's Deep Edge Geometric Medallion punch.

Then I layered the beautiful pink/lavender flourish just under the flower.

The stamped sentiment is from The Craft's Meow.

I am so very glad you stopped by today and hope that you found

a little inspiration along the way.

I'd love to hear from you, so please let me know you came by.

I always appreciate your visits !

Happy Valentine's Day Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Rosarian by Prima
Stamps: Lots of Love by Avery Elle

Embellishments: black crystal flourish CR-04CA-125

from Zva Creative
seam binding from Sugar Lump Studios on Etsy & Hug Snug

Tools: Labels 18 by Spellbinders, Big Shot

So Grateful Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: So Sophie by My Mind's Eye
Stamps: Many Thanks by The Craft's Meow

Embellishments: pearl flourish CRB-05CA-122

white flower all from Zva Creative
Tools: Geometric Medallion Deep Edge punch 

by Martha Stewart

large swiss dot EF by Cuttlebug, Big Shot

 

Celebrating 3 Years at The Play Date Cafe !

This sentiment says it all !

We are celebrating over at

Where has the time gone ? ? ?

Just three short years ago, my UK bestie

Sarah Anderson and I shared this challenge with the world

and we never looked back !

{by the way . . . she will be joining us on Monday, Oct 22nd}

There have been many, MANY changes since then

but the challenge remains the same.

To interpret the colors as YOU see them

and enter whatever type of project you'd like.

With celebration comes more changes beginning

with a whole new look !

We would love for you to take our brand new badge

and place it on your blog with a link to The Cafe.

During the next 5 days, our designers will be visiting blogs

watching for our badge.  Randomly, we will hand out prizes

when we see it.  Help us reach 2,000 followers and even

more prizes will be awarded !

Along with that, we have amazing sponsors who will be

sharing 15 prizes for our weekly winner & honorable mentions.

You'll find all these details and even MORE SURPRISES

over at The Cafe.

This week's colors are some of the boldest we've ever had !

I chose to take a very simple route putting them together using flowers

from Prima & a beautiful gem flourish from Zva Creative.

The sentiment is from FarmHouse Paper Company.

I hope you will make plans to join us for each of the next five days

as we celebrate.  We would love to have you *LIKE* us over

on Facebook and follow along on Twitter @ThePDCC

I want to say THANK YOU to all who have supported our challenge.

Whether you are a brand new, a long-time player

or just peek in for some inspiration . . .

It's all possible because of YOU !

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Rondelle by Prima from StopandScrap.com

Stamps: Sugar Hill Autumn by Farmhouse Paper Company

Embellishments: gem flourish by Zva Creative

flowers by Prima

Countdown to a Celebration!

Please Scroll Down for the

EAD DESIGNS BLOG HOP

Hello !

I'm back again with an uber-quick post.

I didn't have a chance to share the card I created for the current

challenge over at The Play Date Cafe due to a minor accident

involving my husband Paul last Wednesday evening.

I chatted with several of you over on Facebook, but long story short . . .

We were at Home Depot searching for some finished wood to use

as a base for our brand new 60-gallon freshwater aquarium.

The clerk asked Paul to help him move a few of the sheets

and on sheet #2, Paul lifted his head and cut it open on a metal

bracket above.  Needless to say, stitches were put in and the

evening got away from me.  Well, the rest of the week into

the weekend got away from me.

He is doing well now and I thank you for your kind

thoughts, messages and prayers, both on facebook

and via email.  It is always such a blessing to know I am

in a community of caring folks.

So here is this week's challenge

and here is my interpretation

I love this new paper from Prima's Rondelle collection.

As soon as I got my 6x6 pad in from StopandScrap.com,

I knew I wanted to use it for this challenge.

I created my frame using a Spellbinders die & matching

pearl Nestabling from Want2Scrap. I used a fab tiny print

stamp from Glitz Design and stamped it on the diagonal.

The sentiment is from PTI.

I really hope you will make plans to join us this Thursday, October 18th

as The Play Date Cafe celebrates it 3rd Anniversary.

We will party for FIVE days with . . .

alumni designers

 fabulous sponsors

and

great surprises

We are working hard to reach a milestone

2,000 follower mark

and prizes will be involved !

So I hope you will stop by and sign on to follow

{if you aren't already}

because we'd love to have you !

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Gina K Designs & American Crafts

Patterned Paper: Rondelle by Prima

Stamps: Glitz Design & PaperTrey Ink

Tools:  Fancy Tags Two die by Spellbinders, Big Shot

Embellishments: Nestabling by Want2Scrap

gems by KandCompany