Love is Being Stuck on You!

It's time for another Clean and Simple Challenge from

 Cas-ual Fridays

 

After creating cards for the past 17 years or so,

I have come to really appreciate finding ways

to make my card-making easier, but when it

comes to stickers, I am not an easy sell.

Usually there is too much of the clear adhesive

still showing through, but when I heard we

were working with this week's sponsor, I knew

there would be no problems here!

This beautiful sentiment is indeed, a sticker.

It's from SRM Designs and I absolutely love it!

 

Even though this card fits into the

Clean and Simple

category, there are a lot of elements to it.

That's what I loved about the challenge of using

stickers because it allowed me to be able to 

stretch my design to include paper-layers,

embossing, die-cutting & embellishing.

A big thanks to SRM Stickers for sponsoring

our designers this week with a most generous

package of designs.  I will be sharing more

in the coming days.

Now head on over to CAS-ual Fridays

and check out what our talented

'Girl Fridays' have been up to!!

Project Recipe: 
Designer Paper: A Muse Studio

Tools: Heart EF by Sizzix, 
Fancy Tags 2 by Spellbinders, Big Shot

Embellishments: Heart & Tag Nestabling by Want2Scrap,
Pink Sorbet baker's twine from The Twinery

 

Thankful....

I know I sound like a broken record each week
but man, the time sure flies and here we are
with another fab color challenge over at
The Play Date Cafe

The suggested colors this week are...
mint...ivory...coral

 My photos have been so difficult to take
lately with the lighting I have, so it doesn't
look as close as I would prefer, but
what's a girl to do??!!  

I am happy to say that it also ties in with this
week's sponsor 
Market Street Stamps

It's new release week over there
and although I am on the design team,
our own designers from The Cafe also
played along with images from MSS.

I love the 'Cane' background you see here.
It's so versatile.
The floral image is from the new set
'Autumn Greetings'
I am sure those flowers were meant to be more
'autumnal' in color, 
but it just goes to show that
you can step out of the box & put your own 
spin on design work.

Now it's your turn to get in on the fun!
Head on over to The Cafe
and check out with the designers have
created to inspire you to play.

I'd love to hear from you, so if you stopped by,
let me know...if your return email is with your
comment, I'd be glad to return the chat!

Project Recipe: 
Cardstock: Bazzill
Stamps:  'Autumn Greetings & Cane' from Market Street Stamps 
Ink:  'Latte' from A Muse Studio & 'Rich Cocoa' from Memento
Copics in 'Begonia Pink'

Tools: Corner rounder punch from Fiskars

Embellishments: Stickles in 'Stardust',
Rhinestone flourish from Prima

My Thoughts & Prayers.....

It's an exciting week once again!!!

This time around, I am thrilled to be coming to you by way of

Market Street Stamps

It's new release week and the sneak peeks begin...

NOW!!!

This beautiful set is called 'Comforting Florals'.

I adore the text fonts on the sentiments

and Love...love...LOVE the floral images.

Creating a card with dimension is so easy with these images.

On this card, I chose to make the flowers dimensional.

On this next set, I chose to make the vase the standout...

I used diamond glaze to give it the effect of water.

What I love about hydrangeas is the way they have 

variegated color throughout their life span..

from the beginning to the very end.

The way I created the variegation on both these 

cards was to use Memento Dew Drop inks 

in different colors, 

beginning with the darkest ink first, then working from 

down to the top of the stem with lighter inks.

You must stop by The Market Street Blog to see the

beautiful inspiration from my fellow designers
because YOU COULD WIN FREE STAMP SETS!!
Make sure you leave 
a comment on my post!

and join use each night at 7pm CST
for all the new images

leading up to New Release Friday!!!

'My Thoughts & Prayers' Project Recipe:

Stamps:  'Comforting Florals' from Market Street Stamps
Ink:  Tuxedo Black from Memento, Assorted Copics

Tools: Corner rounder punch from Fiskars
Embellishments: Stickles in 'diamond', gems from Recollections

'Deepest Condolences' Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Bazzill
Stamps:  'Comforting Florals' from Market Street Stamps
Ink:  Tuxedo Black, Lilac Posies, Grape Jelly & Desert Sand
all from Memento

Tools: Heart to Heart border punch by Martha Stewart

Corner rounder punch from Fiskars

Embellishments:  Diamond Glaze by JudiKins

gems by Recollections

Blue Hydrangeas Project Recipe: 
Cardstock: Bazzill
Stamps:  'Comforting Florals' from Market Street Stamps 
Ink:  Tuxedo Black, Grape Jelly & Bamboo Leaves, Danube Blue
all from Memento

Tools: Heart to Heart border punch by Martha Stewart

Corner rounder punch from Fiskars

Embellishments:  Diamond Glaze by JudiKins

Whooo Me??

I can honestly say that this has been the busiest week on my

blog since starting it 2 years ago.

It was The Twinery's 1st Anniversary and we had
one heck of a party
all week long!

Several of our talented designers shared their talents and

there were some pretty spectacular giveaways.

If you participated as a hopper, then you were busy too!!!

Don't forget, the winners will be announced on Saturday on

The Twinery's blog.

I love serving on the creative teams that I do

and one of the newest for me and to the

paper crafting community is

Sweet Stamp Shop.

This is Vernie...she is pals with Melvin...and together they

make a great pair!  I love the versatility of this set and

the whimsical nature of the images.

There's Melvin!!!

I hope you'll visit the Sweet Stamp Shop Blog

for lots of fun creativity...and make sure you check

out the shop too!

Today's Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Dots & Stripes Candy Shoppe by Echo Park
Stamps:  'Melvin & Vernie' from Sweet Stamp Shop
Ink:  Tuxedo Black from Memento, Assorted Copics

Tools: Cloud dies by Lil' Inker Designs, 

Graphic Rays EF from Tim Holtz for Sizzix

Big Shot, Corner rounder punch from Fiskars

A Little Birdie Told Me...

The Twinery & Echo Park

Blog Hop 

is Here

I got to play with images from one of my favorite 

stamp companies this week for the

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge

This week we are asking for

any type of embossing

you want to use!

Just remember to keep it

Clean and Simple

I decided to go with some Bazzill Swiss Dots Cardstock

that I've been saving for just the perfect occassion...

and this was it!

To create my clouds, I used my favorite dies from

Lil' Inker Designs.

Our design team played with images from

our most generous sponsor.

I have a few sets from Stamps of Life 

and I absolutely love them!

This time around, I chose...

'Trees 2 Build'

Great to have you back at The Open Window!

It has been a busy week indeed.

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

know you stopped by and make sure you

pop over to CAS-ual Fridays and play!

Today's Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Swiss Dots by Bazzill 
Stamps:  'Trees 2 Build' from Stamps of Life

Tools: Cloud dies by Lil' Inker Designs, 

Swiss Dots EF from Cuttlebug

Big Shot, Corner rounder punch from Fiskars

Welcome to my Web...with The Twinery & Echo Park

Check out

The Play Date Cafe 

Challenge

Here

It's another day of celebration!!!

and today we are blog hopping with

 If you've come here directly from the
Echo Park Blog

then you are in the right spot!

If not, pop back over to
The Twinery Blog
and get started from the beginning.
There are some pretty amazing prizes
for those who complete the hop
(all the details below)

Echo Park Paper provided all of our designers

at The Twinery with collections of our choice

and I couldn't help but start thinking about

Halloween with....

I love this collection of papers which included
these great die-cut stickers.
I chose to make one of the webs
dimensional
using The Twinery's 'charcoal' baker's twine.

How 'bout that scary spider?

That's one of my new favorite
punches from EK Success...it's actually from last
season, but I just got mine and I adore it!
Yes...I adore a spider, but only in this form!!!

Alright...of course there are some pretty
fantabulous prizes

up for grabs on such a great hop!

Ultimate Color Sampler

from The Twinery

and

Three Designer Collections

from Echo Park Paper

All you need to do is drop by each of our designer's blogs

and leave a little love...a complete list of all designers is

on The Twinery blog for you.

The deadline to hop and leave comments is

11:59 EST Friday, August 19th.

Winners will be announced on Saturday, August 20th

over on The Twinery blog.


So glad you stopped by and I hope
you enjoyed your visit!!


The next stop on the hop is
the amazingly talented...
Monika Wright

Today's Project Recipe:

Designer Paper: 'Apothecary Emporium' by Echo Park Paper

Tools: Tarantula punch by EK Success
Embellishments:  'charcoal' baker's twine from The Twinery

Just Buzzin' by ...

Check out
The Twinery / Echo Park Paper

Blog Hop

Click Here

Hi everyone...
It's been a super-busy week here at
The Open Window...lots of celebrations and
new releases going on, so I have a
super quick post today....

It's time for another challenge at

Yummy...yummy...YUMMY colors this week!

 This week I pulled out my stamps from Avocado Arts.

They are sponsoring the challenge this week and

this happens to be one of my favorite sets.

I pretty much paper-pieced everything so it's

pretty self-explanatory.

I love my friend Michelle from...

 and thank her for generously sponsoring

our challenge this week.

I hope you will come play along!

Today's Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Bazzill & A Muse Studio
Stamps: 'Sunshine & Smiles' by Avocado Arts

Ink:  'Paris Dusk, Tuxedo Black & Rosebud' from Memento

Tools:  Corner Rounder punch from Fiskars

Anniversary Blog Hoppin' with The Twinery & Scor-Pal

All of these sentiments come straight from the heart!!

We are celebrating all week long over at The Twinery

and today is the fun & fab blog hop with...

If you've come here from the talented

Tami Mayberry's blog

then you are on the right track.

If not, pop back to the beginning over at

The Twinery blog

and get started there.

We are giving away prizes all week long

and we don't want you to miss out.

More on that below....

We have a terrific bunch of designers from both teams

who are ready to fill you with inspiration using the

fabulous baker's twine from The Twinery

and unique projects with the assistance of the Scor-Pal.

It has been my privilege to be the Design Team Coordinator

for The Twinery for the past 8 months and the

sentiments on these flags say it all!

They were created with the fun stamps & dies from

Lil' Inker Designs.

I twisted our baker's twine in

peapod, lemondrop & denim

to make a fun accent on this card.

I've been making rosettes for awhile now, but I have to say

that they became a whole lot easier once I received my

Scor-Pal scoring board.  I am primarily a card maker

and for me, the grooves on the board are just right for the

scoring that I do on a daily basis. 

Check out how perfect these creases are on this rosette...

Wanna know what you could win??

The Ultimate Color Sampler Pack

and

The Scor-Buddy

All you need to do is drop by each of our designer's blogs

and leave a little love...a complete list of all designers is

on The Twinery blog for you.

The deadline to hop and leave comments is

11:59 EST Friday, August 19th.

Winners will be announced on Saturday, August 20th

over on The Twinery blog.

OK...you've got some hoppin' to do.

The next talented designer to visit is

Caroline Stender

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Today's Project Recipe:

Designer Paper: The Girls' Paperie
Stamps: 'Sentiment Flags & Rainbows & Clouds Sentiments' 
by Lil' Inker Designs

Ink: Tuxedo Black' from Memento

Tools:  'Sentiment Flags' die by Lil' Inker Designs,
Standard Circles die from Spellbinders, Big Shot
Scor-Pal Scoring Board, Border punch by Fiskars
Embellishments:  baker's twine from The Twinery
in 'Peapod, Lemondrop & Denim'
Pearls from Recollections

Feelin' a Little Crabby...

I heard on the news yesterday that as of June 21st, the first

day of summer, we've lost 62 minutes of daylight and

in the next month, we will have lost 81 more!!

So I had to get this card done and posted!!!

Actually, I made it specifically for the new challenge at

This week, CAS-ual Fridays is bringing you a '2fer'

as we team up with Clean & Simple's 'Fall-to-layout' sketch.

This little crab looks quite happy enjoying his summer!

I took a few liberties with the sketch which are pretty

obvious, but I had too much fun with these images

from Market Street Stamps.

This week, we are sponsored by

so I hope you'll come play.

Hey!!!  You'll be able to link to both challenges

with your project as well...how fun is that??!!

Thanks for stopping by.....I hope you'll leave a comment

and let me know you were here.

The best part of my 

blogging day is when I

hear from you.

Today's Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Bazzill
Stamps: 'Chillaxin & Under the Sea' by Market Street Stamps

Ink:  'Bahama Blue, Tuxedo Black & Bamboo Leaves' from Memento
Copics in Begonia Pink & New Leaf

Tools:  'Fan Shell' punch by Martha Stewart

Love You...Love These Colors!

I am super-excited about this week's challenge

over at The Play Date Cafe and here's why....

 

Just look at these bold, beautiful colors.

This is an actual photo taken by our

Color Story Coordinator, Jaclyn Miller.

It's a bit of architecture in Michigan

and it's beautiful!

BTW...make sure you read the amazing

news regarding Jaclyn over in The Cafe.

She was just recognized for a pretty amazing

contest and is on her way to 'cruisin' very soon!

So here is my take on this week's color story.

A big thanks to My Mind's Eye for providing

the perfect designer paper...it's as if it was

made to order! (details listed below)

I also love my 'Scaredy Crow' punch

from Fiskars.  I love their limited edition

punches and usually try to get one or two each

time they are released.

 

This week we are sponsored by...

Practicing Creativity is a returning sponsor

to The Cafe.  Courtney was kind enough to

provide our design team with a variety of

stamp sets to play with.

We look forward to having you play along

with us.  There is so much fantastic inspiration

by our design team...so come play!

Today's Project Recipe:

Designer Paper: 'Hattie' Stella & Rose by My Mind's Eye
Stamps: 'Everyday Prints' by Practicing Creativity Designs

Ink:  'Slate, Papaya & French Roast' from A Muse Studio,
'Agean Blue' from VersaMagic

Tools:  'Scaredy Crow' & corner rounder by Fiskars

Embellishments: Crochet & Paper flowers & copper brads by Recollections

 

 

Lil' Inker Designs Kick-Off Blog Hop

Are you ready for day filled with rainbows & clouds?

Happy clouds of course!

We are celebrating the brand new design team

and the newest stamps and dies from

Lil' Inker Designs

with a fabulous blog hop!

If you've come here from

Laura's blog

then you are in the right place.

If not, pop over there real quick and get started

from the beginning because we are giving away

fabulous prizes to three lucky people!

There are only 12 designers on the hop

and an entire week to enter...so let's get to it!

As I said, we are celebrating the newest release of

'Rainbows & Clouds'

It's a terrific photopolymer stamp set of sentiments

with matching dies.

There are so many wonderful possibilities

using this set and when you hop with us,

you will see just how many there are!!

On both of the cards, I featured the fun & fab

'Candy Shoppe' collection from Echo Park Papers

along with American Crafts cardstocks.

The rest of the details are below.

Just one more little card to show the

versatility of this set....

The smaller rainbow is so perfect for small

cards & extra-large gift tags.

Lil' Inker Designs is a fairly new company

with very big ideas and you're going to enjoy

the other new releases that will be coming

your way this fall.  
Visit the website 
to see the other fun sets that are

available right now.
  
I am so glad you stopped by!

I hope you will continue the hop with us.  

There are fab prizes being given away and all you

have to do is visit each stop on the hop and

leave a comment to let us know you were there.

Deadline for prizes is 11:59pm Sunday, Aug 14th

When you leave your comment on my blog,

here's what I'd love to know...

'DO YOU PREFER PASTELS 

OR BOLD & BRIGHT?'

The next stop on the hop is

the most talented....

Teresa Kline

'Sunshine & Rainbows/Sky's the Limit' Project Recipe:

Cardstock/Designer Paper: American Crafts, 'Candy Shoppe' by Echo Park
Stamps: 'Rainbows & Clouds' by Lil' Inker Designs

Ink:  'Tuxedo Black' Memento,

Tools:  'Rainbows & Clouds' die by Lil' Inker Designs,
Standard Circles die by Spellbinders, Big Shot, Fiskars corner rounder
Sunrays & Swiss Dot EF by Sizzix

'Cloud 9' Project Recipe:

Cardstock/Designer Paper: American Crafts, 'Candy Shoppe' by Echo Park 
Stamps: 'Rainbows & Clouds' by Lil' Inker Designs

Ink:  'Tuxedo Black' Memento,

Tools:  'Rainbows & Clouds' die by Lil' Inker Designs,
Standard Circles die by Spellbinders, Big Shot, Fiskars corner rounder
Swiss Dot EF by Sizzix 

Embellishments: 'Stardust' Stickles by Ranger