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GCD Designs 'Provence'...Bold Pattern Series

I always look forward to Fridays, for many of the same reasons you do....the weekend is here, for many, it's a great 'date night'...but for me, it is also the night I have set aside to share with you a series of projects featuring specific colors, designs, themes and more. Tonight, I am happy to share a couple of projects that I made this week using a paper set that I showed you a couple of weeks ago and have been so excited to use! GCD Designs, which just finished a fabulous blog hop over at their site, is the name behind this series called 'Provence'. If you have come to know me, even a little, you know that my dream trip is to this region in the South of France. So let's go on a little tour of Provence right here at The Open Window.

If you have studied any French decorating, you know that the patterns and colors are bright and bold. Ochre, Cerulean Blue, Bordeaux...just to name a few. I think the colors and patterns on this first card are so classic. Stripes mixed with bold patterns. This card has a real feel of a wallpapered wall, don't you think? Because I have not seen these papers sold separately, I don't have names for the individual sheets, but what I do love, is that in each set, there are pattern choices on both sides. So coordinating is a cinch....especially when you are talking about 'busy' patterns. My philosophy is...if it's all in one set, you can mix any of it together!

I used the Martha Stewart Loop Around the Page punch just for something different as well as a vintage button and a soutache-style ribbon for focal points. Everything was aged using Ranger Archival ink in Coffee and the sentiment stamps
are from Scrappy Cat.

To quote Monty Python (and my friend Sarah!)...
and now for something completely different...

Yep....these patterned papers are from the very same set! What a change in theme though, huh?! I fell in love with the gold-striped paper, which I also used on the card above AND on the card from yesterday's post. It really set the 'gold tone' for this card. It also features one of the die-cut tags that was included in the set.

The 'extras' on this card include a very 'vintage' lace that I inherited from my seamstress grandmother, Martha Stewart rhinestones in my grandmother's birthstone Garnet, copper brads and these fabulous Holiday Brads from K&Co. The snowflake was cut using 'The Bug' and the Snowflake Nestibilities and then covered with fine gold glitter. Don't let glitter scare you! It's not nearly as messy as it used to be. There are so many great techniques for applying it as well as the quality...that can make all the difference in the world. The source for the rubber stamped sentiment is unknown, but I love the vintage 'feel' to it.

I'm curious....back to glitter for a moment....do you use glitter? How often and what's your favorite thing to make? Do you have a favorite brand? PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT because I would love to know what you do with glitter. I specialize in making themed glass ornaments all year-around and every ornament is 'tricked' out with some glitter.
I would love to share some of my glittering 'secrets' with you!

With Gratitude....Julie Ranae's Thursday Night Favs!

I extend that greeting to you! Every day, I find myself thinking about how wonderful it has been to become friends with so many new people. My husband laughs every now and then when he sees my 'followers' count. There was a time when I couldn't get past the number FOUR! For nearly 2 weeks, all I could say was, "just one more and I will have 5...that's all I really need!"
Well, times have certainly changed since those days in June and
I have you to thank for spreading the word
and stopping by each day to say 'hello'.

Let's get right to some new favorite places I have come to love.

This first blog is a wealth of information all wrapped up in great fun! Stampin When I Can comes from Allison of Calgary, Alberta Canada. I just love the layout of her site. Not only does she offer great projects which often use a variety of layouts and colors from other challenge sites, but she is a great list 'sharer' and always willing to help promote a fellow blogger. You will totally see what I mean when you hop on over. This is one of the most organized and easy to follow blogs I have seen in a long time.
I think you're gonna love your visit!

This next one is going to keep you smiling while you have a look around. Just Add Glitter and Stir is another one of those blogs that is big on 'sharing' and promoting fellow bloggers. Have you seen the badge 'I'm a Craftaholic' and wondered where it came from? Well, now you'll know!
Maggi is your fabulous host here and she does a terrific job making this blog a colorful place to be....when you stop by, please tell her we said hello from The Open Window!

I know these two blogs are going to keep you busy, so we will stop there for tonight. This past week, I received several recommendations from you dear friends, and I am still making visits. As always, thank you for sharing some of your favorites with me. I appreciate that you have come to know some of the styles and formats that I enjoy.

As they say 'a picture tells a thousand words'...
and this one tells the whole story, doesn't it?!
CJ, our 6 year old grandson lost his first tooth the day before yesterday. If you've kept up with the story, you know that he discovered it was loose while spending the afternoon with me, well over a month ago. It was quite the discovery at the time, but like all six year olds, it became old news at pretty quickly and he just wanted it out. The trick? He bit into the rind of a lemon (I have no idea why...) and within five minutes, he was now the proud owner of 'one gap in his mouth'! Last week I showed you a picture of the tooth already making it's way in, so it won't be a gap for long.
"The tooth fairy left 8 quarters under my pillow!" he told us. Then he was very excited to find out that the tooth fairy who covers Mema Julie & Papa Paul's side of town, stopped by and left $2.00 under a pillow. He was even more excited to hear that "Papa was asleep when he felt his pillow being lifted, it woke him up!"
Let's see how long we can keep that going, huh!?

Have a great night everyone....back tomorrow with another offering from my new 'Friday Color Series'.
I'm very excited about this one!

Are You Ready for All Kinds of Scary?

I just gotta say...I am having so much fun with this brand new 'Halloween Hauntings' rubber stamp set from Artful INKables. There are 11 fabulous images to choose from...I used 4 on this fun little tag. Along with the new patterned papers from Making Memories, a vintage button and some 'scary' ribbon,
it's a pretty simple 'make'.

Well, we are half way through the week...how is yours shaping up? Mine has been busy with business and personal things. Yesterday I gave you my morning 'play-by-play' and my UK friend Cal said that I have now "set the bar" for getting things done. As productive as yesterday was, today couldn't have been any more opposite, so I guess it was just a one time thing.

I want to thank those of you who expressed interest in The Play Date Design Team. I will be contacting each one of you personally over the next few days. I think it is going to be so much fun as we begin to present a new color challenge site
right here at The Open Window.

I mentioned last week that I was contemplating a move of my 'New Favorite Blogs' list to Thursday nights...and I have indeed decided to do just that. So beginning tomorrow night, you will find the feature being called 'Julie Ranae's THURSDAY night Favs'. I have a fabulous list for you tomorrow night, so I hope you will come by. I am hoping to post to you during the day as well as I get to share a 'little' news & photo about my 6 yr old grandson, CJ...can you guess what it might be? If you have been following along for the past week, it shouldn't be too hard.

Still would like to hear more from you regarding your 'favorite styles I have dared NOT try'. We talked a little about it yesterday, but if you missed it, just click here.
Look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Color Dare Challenge

I gave you a sneak peek of this project a couple of days ago and loved the comments I received.
The photo of the entire card is not the greatest, but that's another story. For now, I am just happy it's here for you to see!

This week's Color Dare Challenge #34 was to use a combination of Blush Blossom, Certainly Celery and Chocolate Chip (all from SU color chart). They were nice colors to play with.

The rest of the design team have come up with some fabulous projects to inspire you, so I hope you will get yourself on over to The Color Dare Challenge blog, have a look around and then go create! Make sure you enter it via Mr. Linky so we know when to come have a look!

How Has Your Day Been? DESIGN TEAM REMINDER!

As I was thinking of a title for this post, I decided to ask myself the very same question...and my day has been TERRIFIC! What I especially liked was that I had accomplished the following all before noon: two loads of laundry...prepared 12 packages for the post office...returned 2 quite lengthy phone calls...dropped Paul off at B&N...dropped said packages off at USPS...stopped at the dollar store to see what I couldn't live without...made a quick trip to Walgreens and treated myself to a $4.50 blended ice mocha...
ALL BEFORE NOON!

So tonight, I decided to play a little and can you tell what I have been playing with? Yep, 'the bug'! I have been so excited about making fall cards and I love the 'pumpkin spice' EF. I stamped these fabulous Inkadinkado 'pumpkins on the vine' with Versamark. The greeting is from the same set stamped in Versamagic 'night sky'. Couldn't resist some embellishments with the vintage, single-hole button and the extra-large rick-rack by Debbie Mumm.

Just a quick reminder.....tomorrow is the deadline for the DESIGN TEAM CALL for the new 'Play Date' Challenges from The Open Window. I am so excited about these new color challenges and I know there are those of you who may be on the fence...."should I or shouldn't I?" Let me remind you that we all started somewhere, so if you are interested, click here for the details.

Now...here's what I would like to know...WHAT DESIGN STYLE DO YOU REALLY ADMIRE BUT HAVE YET TO TRY? Is it clean and classic...vintage or retro...shabby chic with lots of lace, buttons and details...bold and bright...soft and subtle...? Do you like to pile on the layers not knowing when to stop or are you pretty much a 'minimalist'? All paper and no stamping? What about the new 'digital' craze...do you download images
or are you 'old-school'?

Leave a comment and be as descriptive as possible...it's my way of getting to peek in Your Open Window.....see you tomorrow with the Color Dare Challenge, a project from Artful INKables and my Wednesday Night Favorites list. I will also share my answer to the design-style question. Enjoy your evening!

Just Catchin' Up...ETSY SALE!

So is it just me or am I giving you a lot of 'sneak peeks' lately? This one is because The Color Dare Challenge doesn't start until Wednesday, so I can't reveal all, but I sure hope you stop by and enter this week. More on that Wednesday.

How about the Artful INKables Blog Hop today? Did you make it around? If not, there is still plenty of time. The deadline to win the BRAND NEW STAMP SETS is midnight, Sept 17. All it takes is stopping by each blog (only 11 in all), leave a note saying you stopped by and that's it.

I know my posts have been a bit more sporadic the past few days, but I promise you all is well at The Open Window. In fact, I have been busy with my hands in a number of different projects. As many of you know, we have a current design team call out and the new 'Play Date' Challenges will be starting soon. I am working on a blog makeover to accomodate all the fun things that are around the corner as well as constructing a separate blog for online workshops. So hang in there with me, because without you, it would be a very, lonely journey!

One more thing before I get back to my work table....I have decided to offer my current inventory of cards in my ETSY STORE at a 15% discount. I have a whole new batch of things to get on over the next couple of weeks and I would like to clear out some of my inventory. Most of these cards have been featured on my blog and are ready to go complete with a coordinating envelope. SO....until Friday, Sept 18th, anything you purchase from my Etsy store will be 15% OFF. The current prices listed are BEFORE the discount, so if you see something you like, put it in your shopping cart then let me know when you are ready to checkout.

Contact me directly at paul.julie1102@sbcglobal.net for invoice or questions.

In the meantime....have a great night and I will be back for a chat tomorrow!

Artful Inkables Blog Hop Time!

Welcome to the Artful INKables Blog Hop!

Did you stop by here after visiting the AI blog? If not, make sure you start from the beginning at Artful INKables
then proceed from there.
That way, you won't miss any of the great projects.

Today, the AI Design Team is featuring the
release of TWO BRAND NEW STAMP SETS

Each blog on the hop will feature one of the new sets and an
opportunity to win BOTH!
Just stop by each blog on the hop, leave a comment
and cross your fingers!

That's all there is to it!The new set that I am featuring today is called
'Halloween Hauntings'.
HOW MUCH FUN IS THIS, HUH?! I even included some fabulous new May Arts ribbon which is ALSO available from AI.
The metallic threads really sets it apart.

There are so many creative possibilities with this 11 pc set,
so make sure you add it to your shopping cart over at AI.

I'm so glad you stopped by! I hope while you're here, you will considering becoming a regular follower of The Open Window. There's something new almost everyday and quite frankly,
we have a lot fun!
Your next stop on the hop is
Jackie's blog just click here!

In the meantime....I will be back a little later today
with an update from my studio