All Things Grow with Love

Welcome to a super fun blog hop!

 I am the third stop on the hop, so hopefully you came by way of

Stampin' Sisterhood Blog

If not, it's just two stops back to start from the beginning at

The Twinery Blog

Of course, there are terrific prizes to be won, but more than that,

there are so many fabulous designers who will be inspiring

you all along the hop, so I hope you will join in.

I love this set of stamps from Rubbernecker called 

'Create a Garden Set 1'

As soon as I saw those baskets, I knew our baker's twine from

The Twinery would be right at home on them.

I had so much fun creating the flowers in the baskets as well.

I stamped them all in a variety of inks from A Muse Studio.

You will be seeing more of this set on my blog the last 3 Fridays in June

as I will be the Guest Designer for Rubbernecker and I am really

looking forward to it.

So wanna see what you could win ? ! ! !

From The Twinery . . . 

'I Dream in Twine'  $32 value

15 yds each of all 18 colors in our collection

From Rubbernecker

Believe it or not, all you have to do is stop by each blog

on the hop and leave a little love by way of comments.

That's it!

It's a rather large hop, so we are going to give you all

the way till Friday, June 8th.

It's time to get you on your way to the talented

Anne Harmon

So happy you stopped by today and I really hope you

enjoy all of fabulous work that went into this event !

Project Recipe:

Stamps: Create a Garden Set 1 by Rubbernecker Stamps

Ink:  A Muse Studio

Embellishments: baker's twine in Maraschino & Denim

from The Twinery

Brand New Stamps & More Need Good Home!

Hey there everybody!

If you have been visiting lately, you know I am

doing a big *purge* of my craft studio

and I am here once again to share a few new

packages I've put together that

reallllllllllly

need a good home!

The items that do not sell will be listed on

Ebay where the prices will go up due to 
fees & actual postage costs

Click on each photo for a 

*little* better view

SOLD

Terrific lot of Hampton Arts Stamps

$30 includes postage

(retail value over $125)

ALL BRAND NEW IN ORIGINAL PACKAGES!

SOLD
Sweet parcel of images

$12 includes postage

(retail value $30)

ALL BRAND NEW IN ORIGINAL PACKAGES!

SOLD

Six Beautiful Shades of Memories Dye Ink Pads

$18 includes postage

(retail value $30)

ALL BRAND NEW IN UNOPENED PACKAGES!

Hampton Arts Glitter Glue Sets

$14 includes postage

(retail value $30)

ALL BRAND NEW IN UNOPENED PACKAGES!

Red Rubber Mounted & Unmounted Stamps

from Artistic Outpost, Innovative Stamps & More

$20 includes postage

(retail value $50)

Most are BRAND NEW...only a few have been used
(THIS SET NO LONGER INCLUDES THE
BUTTERFLY TREE PLATE) 

SOLD

This baby is brand new and has NOT been

released to the stores as of yet!

$20 includes postage

All of the prices here include postage

but for US shipping only.

I'll gladly ship international!
Please email me

for postage to your country

PayPal only please 

Email me at:
julieranae@hotmail.com

Remember:  the items that do not sell will be listed on

Ebay where the prices will go up due to

fees & actual postage costs

Hope you'll be able to help give these fun products 

a good home!

Falling in Love All Over...

 

On Valentine's Day, Paul treated me to a little shopping at one

of the nearby SB stores.  The nearest one to our home

is nearly 30 miles away, but I am always happy to have a look!

I'm sure glad we took the trip.  I managed to spend very little money,

believe it or not.  My goal when I visit there is mainly to get the latest

and greatest DP's.  But as their CHA orders weren't quite in,

I had a look at their stamps.

 

Many of you know, I am pretty old school when it comes to my

stamps.  Yes, I have a very healthy collection of clear stamps, but...

.....there is nothing like the feel of a wood-mount in my hand.....

.....my heart pounding.....

.....wondering 'will I get it lined up or not?

I found a line of stamps that was pretty much new to me.
Maybe to you  too?

 

Memory Box...love that simple name.

Along with the stamps, I also purchased every package they

had on hand of the 8x8 collections.  The subtle prints are lovely.

For these cards, I used these extras:

Martha Stewart Eyelet Stationery

Ribbon from American Crafts & Celebrate It

Stickles in platinum

assorted pearl embellishments

I hope to catch up purchasing the rest of the

Memory Box collection of stamps and DP's soon because...

...I am totally in love.

How appropriate to fall in love on Valentine's Day.....

A Little Glitter...A Little Mabel

This weekend marks the new release of the Mabel Lucie Atwell stamps from The Artistic Stamper.

I got mine yesterday, just in time to give you a sneak peek of a new Holiday image.

 

Can you tell what fun I had with this image?  I love to raise 'characters' off the page.

And what would the holidays be without a little glitter...

Here you go...you didn't think I was going to keep it from you,

did you?

Did you know...

The Artistic Stamper is the only place in the WORLD that you can get Mabel Lucie Atwell licensed stamps

 If you love Mabel stamps too, let me know...

leave me a comment and share your story...

Down on the Farm With Artful INKables

This week's post for Artful INKables was a fun project to do. This card was inspired by the brand new AI rubber stamp set 'Down on the Farm'. This 11-piece set has a little something for many occasions. So I hope you will 'giddy on up' to Arful INKables and order this set for yourself! For more inspiring projects, visit the AI blog.

A Holiday Treat For You

This week's Artful INKables post is a bit outside of the ol' box for me. Characters are not my strong suit when it comes to designing, but I think this little guy seems quite happy.

'Holiday Treats & Tails' is one of the new seasonal offerings from AI.
I used a number of embellishments including ribbon, buttons, rhinestones and glitter. I also popped the candy cane, the beaver's tail and teeth and the presents off the page with foam tape. I used chalks for most of the coloring.

Hope you will check out the Artful INKables blog and website for some rubber stamping fun!

I DO Believe!

Well....this card is definitely a different creation for
Julie Ranae, eh!
I really loved the colors for this week's
Color Throwdown Challenge.
I went to my stamp stash and found this sweet little set of $1.00 Studio G and Recollection stamps, and that was it!
So here's what I did.....

I stamped and colored the carriage and fairy, cut them out and then re-stamped them directly on to the cardstock. I layered them for dimension, as you can see better in the closer photos. I used silver Stickles for the 'fairy dust'
(I am going to go back and add some to her wings as well).
I added a rhinestone to the carriage door
and filled the button holes with tiny silver brads.
The small flowers were from my Fiskars Daisy punch and the centers are pearls. The ribbon I used is from American Crafts, which fit the color scheme perfectly, I think.
Hope you enjoyed it and if you're up for the challenge,
you still have time to enter.

I have been so busy sharing projects with you (which no one is complaining about) that I just have not had time to update you on other things. So while Paul is at work tonight, I am going to spend some time with you here. There are some blog award updates and just some general 'stuff' to chat about, so I will be back a little later with some photos to share, a project and life in general. So stop back later with a cuppa in hand and spend some time at
The Open Window.

CELEBRATING WITH A WHOLE LOTTA BLOG CANDY! ***This Giveaway is now closed....winner to be announced soon!***

I can't thank you enough for being a part of The Open Window!
I have enjoyed your company so much and your comments
make it a pleasure to post each and every day.
To celebrate going over the 100 followers mark,
I am offering a crazy...fabulous blog candy giveaway!
Over $125 in crazy...fabulous!
Rubber stamps (at least 12), papers, rub-ons, embellishments, including brads, snaps and metals, stickers, cardstock w/envelopes, ink, Martha Stewart ribbons and trims and
Simply Cards & Papercraft Magazine to boot!
There are so many things that you can't see in the photo!

Now...I am going to make this pretty easy on all of you, but I am going to ask for 'a little more love' in return. This is open to all who would like to participate, so here's all you have to do...

If you are already a follower and you have a blog
I would appreciate a quick mention of our celebration here at The Open Window on your blog. Nothing long, nothing detailed, just help me to invite others to play along. The only thing I do ask in your post, is that you include the direct link to this blog candy offer, to make it easier for people to find. Once you have posted, come back here, click on Mr. Linky below and add your link for that post ONLY...not your entire blog.
Leave me a comment to let me know you're there...that's it!

If you are already a follower and do not have a blog
Just leave a comment and I will see that your entry is verified.

If you are not on my follower list
I would ask that you log on to become a 'public' follower
(no anonymous' please) and leave me a comment to let me know so I can welcome you personally.
From there, add your link to Mr. Linky below and then post my link on your blog if you indeed have one.

***IF ANYONE HAS TROUBLE WITH MR.LINKY...please email me
at paul.julie1102@sbcglobal.net and I will check it out
ONE ENTRY PER PERSON, please***
Open to all followers worldwide
Blog Candy giveaway ends at midnight CST on Friday, Sept 18th
Winner will be selected by random draw and announced on Saturday, Sept 19th

For those of you who are new or 'undecided' followers, here are just a few things coming up beginning in September:

I will be hosting 'play dates' which will be similar to challenges
sponsored by The Open Window

A new design team for The Open Window will be announced

Your blog may wind up as one of
'Julie Ranae's Wednesday Night Favs'

More blog candy giveaways, swaps and so much more!

For those of you who have been faithful friends and followers over the course of time...
I just want to say thank you....
THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!
The Open Window has not been open all that long...2 months to be exact, so you getting on board with me so quickly has been a real blessing. I look forward to many, many more days, weeks, months and yes, years with all of you!

A Teeny Tiny Peek....

This is what I truly call a 'sneak peek'! This coming weekend, the festivities begin for the new DT for Artful INKables as we help reveal the 3 BRAND NEW SETS from AI.
Are we excited about it? You bet!
All three sets have a different theme and I know there is something YOU are gonna love!
I am thrilled to be working with 'Steampunk Sarah'
that's all I can say!
Tomorrow, we will show you a glimpse of set #3 which I will also be working with.

Then the countdown is set for the AI Blog Hop,
Saturday, August 15th.
Hop along with us and you may just win
ALL 3 BRAND NEW AI STAMP SETS!

Make sure you stop back later tonight for my
Wednesday Night Favs!

Here's to Jury Duty, Paula Deen and New Friends!

I know we have a bit of time before we NEED Halloween cards, but for those of you who make and sell your creations, you know it's never too early to start.
I had fun with all the rhinestones on this project. The tree is from Penny Black Rubber Stamps and the greeting is Inkadinkado. Bo-Bunny's Mango Luau Dude provides the backdrop for this 'not-so-very-scary card. You'll find this one available in my Etsy store.



So I made it through my day 'on-call' for jury duty. They were able to choose the jury from the first 35 names called, so the other 65 or so of us did not have to be interviewed, but we did have to stay until the day was complete. I know for most, we realize jury duty is a right and a privilege. I believe that the hardest part is knowing that you may have to spend hours on end in one room and never get the call. Oh, and did I mention that you have to do it with approximately 100 total strangers?! Well I must say that today ended up being a pretty good time for 7 or 8 of us. We got our 'party' started at 9am sharp and continued until we were dismissed at 3pm. This group of women entered the room not knowing a thing about one another, but after getting acquainted in the morning, having a fabulous lunch together(our waitress was the spitting image of Paula Deen) and waiting out the rest of the afternoon for our name to be called (and that only happened for one of us), we were scheduling our 'jury duty reunion' for one year from today.

None of these girls were stampers....but that may change. One asked about my workshops, and then they passed around my stamping magazines. The next thing I know, I have all of their email addresses for my next round of classes. In fact, they said they would stop by The Open Window and take a look in, so if you're there girls A BIG HELLO FROM ME! I had a great day getting to know a little bit about all of you and I hope you will stop by often!

Is it Really Summer?

Many Northern Illinoisans are asking themselves that very question...it's only 61 degrees here...and it's rainy...and there are supposed to be thunderstorms coming, but at that temp, I don't know how.

So my trip to the Chicago suburbs yesterday was a nice day out. I spent time at the Archivers store and managed to get quite a bit of work done on some projects for my Etsy store. Of course, the first hour was spent shopping. I managed to come home with lots of decorative papers, some Bazzill Basics cardstock, althought the store informed me that they will not be stocking that brand any longer, but she couldn't tell me what brand they would have in the future. I also brought home a bunch of new clear stamps, a Penny Black wood-mount Christmas Ornament stamp that I got for 75% off and some storage solutions for my clear stamps. So all in all, a very good day!

As for Paul's interview, time will tell. But for now he is happy being a merchandising manager for Barnes & Noble. He's a book hound, so he makes a great bookseller.

So how has your day been? I have been multi-tasking today. I am working on getting some of those stamps organized in my new cases, working on cards for Etsy and taking care of basic household chores. Do you find it difficult to balance your creative time with everyday life? I would encourage you to take what time you can, even if it's just a little bit and do something creative. I would love to hear what you did today!

Easy Layered Card - TUTORIAL

This is just a quick little note to remind you that it's ok to
create something quick 'n easy. Layered cards have so much dimension but take very little time.

The stamps used on this project:

Swirly Background ~ Scrappy Cat
'What's Up' ~ Impression Obsession

Here's is what else you will need for this project:

Cardstock in brown and clay orange
K&Company A-Z Mat Pad Papers
Colorbox Chalk Ink in Burnt Sienna & Yellow Citrus
K&Company Actopus to Zelephant Circus Train Border
Brads
Circle Punch
Double stick Flat and Foam Tapes

Cut, score & fold brown cardstock to desired size. Cut clay orange cardstock to fit as a top layer and stamp Swirly Background with Burnt Sienna and place on top of card.

Cut square from a coordinating paper and shade around edges using yellow citrus ink.

Cut center circle using punch from K&Co background paper and adhere to card

Cut one image from K&Co Train Border and adhere to square. Insert brads where the train wheels would be and layer on top of circle with foam tape.

Stamp 'What's Up' underneath circle in burnt sienna ink.....it's that easy!

AND DON'T FORGET ..... There's still time to enter to win my BLOG CANDY!
See the post below for all the details!

Floating Garden Tutorial

This is a quick and easy technique for those of you who may not know exactly what to do with your Pearl Ex. It's one that we taught in my store and I know you are going to love the results!

The image used here is from Magenta, but you can use any big, bold image you have.

Here's what else you need to get started:

Embossing Ink in Black
Embossing Powder in Clear
Matte Cardstock in Black
Pearl Ex in your choice of colors
Dove Blender / Blender Refill Fluid
Squeeze & Flo Bottle w/Dove Blender Fluid in bottle
(these last two supplies are optional dependent on what you have)

Stamp and emboss your image on black cardstock. This effect will work on other dark cardstocks, but you will have to experiment on your scraps to
see what works.

This technique was done with a Squeeze & Flo bottle/paintbrush.
If you have a Dove Blender pen, you can do the same technique, and in fact,
you can squeeze into smaller 'nooks n crannies' with it.
Place 2 or 3 colors of PearlEx onto a small disposable plate and dip either the
tip of your Dove Blender Pen or the edge of the Squeeze & Flo brush into the
first color and begin to 'paint' or 'float the color' inside the lines of your image.

It's as easy as that! It may take a bit of practice with the Squeeze & Flo
technique as you may find at first you have little pools inside your image.
Make sure you allow it a few minutes to dry and if you want to seal it, just
use a matte fixative or a shot of cheap hairspray. The expensive ones will
work too, but who can afford it?!

Hope you will try this technique.....let me know what you think!