Happy Colors...

An ever so quick post for you today.

The sun is shining, it's 85 lovely degrees

with very little humidity and I just want

to get out of the house for a little while.

Before I go, though....

I had been contemplating what to make for

this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge.

I had missed the past couple and really 

wanted to play this week.

I found this photo to truly inspire me to use color.

I love the vibrancy of the flowers,

and especially loved all the greenery.

This is what I came up with and I must say

that the sentiment on the card says it all!

I used a variety of VersaMagic & Colorbox

Chalk inks for the repeat sentiment.

I LoVe this Ippity sentiment.

It's from the 'A Little Buggy' set

which is such a fabby summer set!

It really works well with the

'Bit of Burlap' stamp

(Check out THIS project)

Of course, you will find these Ippity

stamps and more on my Ippity Page HERE

Always Sale Priced!

Back this weekend with a few more things I have

been working on along with a few personal shopping

items to share ....  oooh....

First Stop on the Inspirational Tour of the World

Hope you have been a follower of my blog

for awhile, because I have a question for you.

Where in all the world would I

most like to visit?

The reason for my question is it's the first stop on my  

'Inspirational Tour of the World'

over at The Play Date Cafe. 

Not only would I love to visit, but being an avid

'student' of Provence, which is in the South of France,

I would love to live there in a farmhouse surrounded

by vineyards and lavender fields.

For now....the rest of the design team and I

want to inspire you to create with the colors used in

this wonderful, Provencal kitchen.

I love these simple designs from Ippity.

I used 3 different stamps from 3 different collections

(all available from my Ippity page HERE).

The Prima flowers and the Debbie Mumm ribbon

add to the bold and luscious colors, to be sure.

We have a NEW celebrity guest designer

this week, Mariana Grigsby, who brings her wonderfully

bold style to The Cafe.

So get out your box of 64's (crayons, that is) 

and start creatin' because the sky is virtually the limit!

A Couple of Real Winners...Really!

It has been great fun hearing from all of my

followers and new friends over the past few

weeks as I celebrated the first anniversary of

Julie's Open Window.

I promised one lucky person the fabulous

prize package above and using Random.org

the lucky winner is:

Lorie a.k.a.The Peddler said... 

Hi Julie:  Of course I would love an opportunity to at a chance to win this blog candy. 

But first I must say "Congratulations" on the anniversary of your blog. 

I began The Peddler's Galley blog in February of this year and each day 

has been a welcoming learning experience and that includes 

losing precious information too.

There is a lot of information and inspiration to 

draw from. I wish you much success in year #2. 

 

 

 I also participated in the the fabulous

event 'Where Bloggers Create II' and 

offered a few goodies out of my own

creative stash to share with one guest

who left a comment on my blog during the party.

 Again, using Random.org, that lucky guest is:

 

Kirsty Vittetoe said... 

I need to show this to my husband, so he'd know I still have 

a long way to go on building up those MS punches! 

Thanks for opening up your door for us to peek into your crafting space!

So....I need for Lorie & Kirsty to email me at

julieranae@hotmail.com

with your mailing address.

Thank you to all who visit 

Julie's Open Window.

I've said it before and I am sure I will repeat it again...

followers and comments are the lifeblood of a blog...

 It is YOU who inspire

me to continue to create and share...

 

Why Monday is One of my Favorite Days...

I used to think that time flew by just because I'm gettin'

older....but I think, I THINK...it's just life!

What am I nattering on about?

It's another 

H{ippity} Hop Monday!

Make sure you hook up with all the
H{ippity} Hoppers here!
There is some amazing talent just waiting for your visit!

I only have one quick creation to share with you today,

but it's an important one as I am sending this off to some

very dear friends who are going through a cancer-concern

in their family and I want them to know that Paul & I

are keeping them in our prayers.

What I love about the Ippity stamp line is
how versatile the sets are and how well they work
in tandem, set-to-set.  For this card, I used

three different sets!

 

 'What Matters Most' (sentiment)

 'The Simple Things'  (border leaves)

 'Now & Always'  (butterfly & tiny petals)

All of these sets are available to purchase
by clicking right here.  I would love to fix you up
with these fantabulous stamps!

These 3 sets can be yours at the wonderfully 

discounted price of just $55 (+ $5 postage)

AND... 

if you order from me today, you will get

'Books a' Flutter'

ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Remember, this specific offer is only
here at Julie's Open Window.
Email me at julieranae@hotmail.com
and place your order today!

Elegance in a Houndstooth Wrap...The PDCC36

What a fun week this has been in preparation for

the new color challenge at The Play Date Cafe.

I am the color host this week and absolutely

ADORE these colors!

First, we were inspired by this fabulous layout

courtesy of Marthastewart.com

Then, Ruby 2 Shoes issued a friendly little

'insider challenge' to me personally, to create

something using our 'under-used'

Tim Holtz Bird Cage Dies from Sizzix.

From there, the entire team got in on it, at least the

bird/birdcage-theme.  So we hope you enjoy it!

I used a couple of my favorite stamps from

The Artistic Stamper.

The 'Houndstooth Background' which I used on my birdcage

was a perfect match for a little BOO that I used, those paper

flowers from Making Memories.

I also used the very versatile 'Swirl' accent stamp

for my bird.  I gave the white background a little texture

using my 'Stylized Flowers' EF from Cuttlebug

(another favorite) and topped it all off 

with bling here and there.

We are really happy to have Kelly Marie from

Lawn Fawn back as our guest designer and sponsor

this week.  Even Kelly got in on our little

'insider challenge'  : )

One more note...

A good friend to The PDCC made a HUGE

contribution to our challenge blog this week.

You'll have to visit The Cafe to find out what,

but I want to extend a personal thank you to our

friend Paul B of The Artsiders for not only his

wonderful gift to our team and you, the players...

but for his continued support and inspiration each week!

Come play with us at The Play Date Cafe!

The Best Things in Life....

A very quick post for all of you today.

I have been playing around with the

'Now & Always' stamp set

from Ippity and I love how

versatile it is.

The sentiment is from

'The Simple Things'.

The designer paper on the butterfly and background is

from Webster's Pages and the striped paper is from

Nikki Sivils 'Victoria Street' Collection.

That's right...I forgot!
I used another Ippity set on this creation

which I made for the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge.

My Mind's Eye provided this wonderful floral print DP.

Martha's Art Deco punch is featured as a

layered border and held in place with a little stitching.

The sentiment is once again from 'The Simple Things' set.

The floral stamps are from 'Faith Blooms' and is 

available from my Ippity Page for only $5!

Of course all these sets are available to order

from My Ippity Page all discounted for you!

 

 

Stay tuned for Wednesday night's midnight posting

from The Play Date Cafe.

New things to reveal...and a makeover to boot!

A Little More H{ippity} Hopping...

As Independence Day approaches, it always brings up

lively conversation between my husband and I.

Being married to a British man always puts a

unique spin on holidays.

He does love the fireworks here  : )

While working on cards for 

The Monday H{ippity} Hop,

I thought it would be fun to use this large medallion-style

stamp from the Now & Always set

for this patriotic tribute.

They make unique fireworks!

I did a little paper-piecing on the butterfly

and added lovely rhinestones for a little sparkle.

The CARDS challenge for this week is 4th of July

themed for those of us who celebrate the day.

Before I go, I hope you will stop by

The Play Date Cafe

and have a peek at our 

'new look'

There is still plenty of time to play!

This week we will be revealing a whole bunch

of new 'stuff' along with a wonderful new

color challenge!

It's gonna be fun! 

It's the Simple Things...H{ippity} Hop Monday!

 It's H{ippity} Hop Monday!

If this is your first time here, each Monday
there is a group of fabulous girls who create
inspiring projects featuring Ippity.
I am just one on the stop  : )

I am so glad to have had some precious time

to spend creating a variety of cards over the

weekend, one of which I am sharing with you today.

Last week's Ippity Challenge was to create a card

using 'paper piecing'.  I made several, but this was

one of my favorites.

I used stamps from two different sets by Ippity.

'The Simple Things' and 'Now and Always'

from the Spring 2010 Collection.

I absolutely love these large medallion-style images!

I also used my favorite new Martha Stewart

border punch to create the subtle, yet effective border.

Both of these sets are available on My Ippity Page.

Just click HERE or on the link under my banner above.

In the meantime, make sure you stop by
The Ippity Blog and join this week's
H{ippity} Hop.
There are so many talented girls waiting to
share their creations with you!