Design Team News to Share & More!

Talk about some FanTABulous news!

I received an email last Monday with an
invitation to join the new Design Team for

I have been playing with their  

wonderful baker's twine 
over the past month or so and
am in love with the colors and quality.
I am looking forward to working with a variety
of crafters including home decorators, party planners,
sewers and of course, paper crafters.
So stay tuned...we're going to have fun together!

I have been trying for a few weeks now to play
in a new challenge that has been started by my
friend Mona...but CrAzY life keeps gettin' in the way.
Well...not this week!  Well...barely...

Mona uses the beautiful color stories from
everyone's favorite 'A Creative Mint' and
this is a lovely combo indeed.

I have been making cards all week long for a
special project that I am raising money for and
this little collection is part of my week.
Very simply....K&Company paper,
Hero Arts greetings and the
small Spellbinders scalloped die.
A few simple embellishment details
are the finishing touches.

Here is a close up of two of the cards.

So that's it for today....sorry to be brief but I promise
next week will be fun.

This coming week is
'Player Appreciation Week'
in The Play Date Cafe.

We will have

Three Brand New Sponsors

to share with you.  It's going to be a lot of fun!!!

Real Life Halts my Creativity...

I have to tell you that the start to my week has been

'unusual', to say the least, so I am behind on a variety

of deadlines...including my own challenge  : (

These are the terrific colors for this week based on,

what I think, is a very unique photo.

Sarah is your color host this week

and

Creative Cuts & More 

is sponsoring with a wonderful 50-piece kit

which would be a perfect prize in time for 

the coming holidays.

I will do my best to get my project completed

and posted sometime later today.

I will share that I have been extremely distracted

by a number of 'real life' things, which has

caused my creative flow to come to a near standstill.

My daughter and her two boys were in a horrible

car accident on Sunday, just two days after

purchasing her new Toyota Camry.

She was at a stop light when she was rear-ended by

a 17 year-old in a large SUV, going 37 mph.

The description of her car is, well...

indescribable.

Nearly eight thousand dollars worth of damage

may give you some idea.

The fact that my grandsons, who were in the

back seat and within inches of the impact,

were not hurt is truly a miracle from God.

I just shared that photo of her oldest after he lost

his tooth here on Saturday night....he was going

back home with his mom and brother.

So I appreciate your understanding that I don't have my

PDCC project ready...but I will.

Needless to say there are many other daily things that

just pile up and I know it happens to you as well.

So get on over to The Play Date Cafe to see this

week's challenge and

don't forget....

there is a current design team call happening right now!

Could you be the next designer for The Play Date Cafe?

Julie Ranae's Wednesday Night Favs!

I don't typically start out my posts with a negative, but I have to say....I SO do not like how this card photographs, but the card itself is so lovely, that I had to give it a go anyway. I tried every different backdrop, different lighting, blah...blah...blah. So I hope you will take it for what it's worth....a valiant effort to share!

Now on to my new favs for this week!

Last week I introduced some of you to LilyBean's Paperie. You LOVED it there, so here is someone that Melissa herself follows. A Creative Mint is a feast for the eyes if you are inspired by color. I think many of us have inspiration boards in our art spaces to assist us when we need a little help. This blog is like having an inspiration board on your computer screen. Make sure when you visit that you don't stop at the most recent post. This visit requires you to scroll through the archives to really connect with what I'm saying.

I have to admit, I am still in my shabby-chic phase with this next blog, but you will see why I must share this with you. Iralamija is beautiful...lovely...sweet...well, you get the picture! Beatriz Jennings offers descriptive content for all of her posts in both English and Spanish translation, without relying on Google Translator. There are classes and tutorials offered and lovely handmade items just waiting to be ordered.
Again, visiting the archives of this blog is a must for you to really
appreciate all the beauty that is offered.

I saved this one for last because, well....I'm not sure where to start and I can already tell you that I don't see an end in sight for my description of this blog. Maria Medeiros Photography & Design AKA Cozycomfycouch. Maria has been a follower here at The Open Window from very early on. She came by way of my cyber friend Paulette's blog. Maria, is not a stamper. She is not 'technically' a paper artist in the way that most of us think, but what she manages to 'put to paper' is phenomenal! Maria has a website and a blog and about 25 other things going on and the one constant is the beautiful photography she shares. I am so happy to say that she is participating in our tag swap using her photography and she is very excited about it. You can get a sneak peek at her tags on her blog. Maria...thank you for being such a loyal follower and I can't wait to see what you have for us next!

That's it for tonight. Please...please...PLEASE...when you stop by these blogs each week, take just a moment to leave a quick comment to let them know how you found them. We bloggers always appreciate that little tidbit of information. Sometimes we stay up half the night just wondering how someone in Katmandu came to log onto our blog...well, I do anyway...