It's Handmade Holidays Fun!

Hello and welcome in to The Open Window today !

I always enjoy when The Twinery participates in fun events

and today, I am sharing projects with you as the

'featured designer'

during the 2012 Handmade Holidays Blog Hop.

I am so happy to share projects using baker's twine from

The Twinery along with products from Fiskars, Tombow

and Hampton Arts.

My first card was created using paper from 

Simple Stories & Fancy Pants Design.

I simply braided twine in Maraschino, Charcoal & Flax and used it

as a border for this extra-long card.

The snowflakes were punched using fabulous snowflake punches

provided by Fiskars and attached with mini-brads.

Teeny buttons were added to the tree.

This next card is more detailed, but quite easy.

This card is all about the layers starting with paper from My Mind's Eye.

I punched the extra-large 'Geometric Medallion' border by Martha Stewart

and created circular frames using Spellbinders dies.

After layering each piece, I embellished using baker's twine in

Marschino & Ocean and bling from Prima.

How about another holiday card . . . 

This CAS card was created using super cool ornament single punches

and border punch.  The baker's twine is Flax & Stone.

The sentiment is from Hampton Arts.

The ornament tops were created with Stickles and the hangers are tiny gems.

This sweet card was made using stamps from The Craft's Meow

called 'Warm Winter Wishes'.  and paper from Recollections.

I loved making this card (and the next) using 'Stone' baker's twine

for the fringe and mitten ties.

And finally . . .

I used the very same set of stamps and papers, but switched up

the color scheme and used 'Honeydew' & 'Ocean' twine.

 I recently shared this project on my blog.

To see more photos and a complete recipe for the card above,

check out my post HERE

So very happy you stopped by today.

I hope you will join the blog hop. Find out how to participate and possibly win . . .

Three spools of baker's twine in your choice of colors

from The Twinery.

You will get all the details on The Twinery blog

Leave a comment on my blog and 

you could win

3 yards of 12 different colors.

I'll randomly choose a winner here, 

so make sure you

leave your email address 

when you say hello.

Enjoy your weekend !

Generous sponsors who provided products

for the projects above include:

The Twinery

Fiskars

Tombow

Hampton Arts

Holiday Inspiration with The Craft's Meow

Happy Monday !

It's hard to believe the holidays are upon us, but they most

definitely are on the way.

Today, the designers of

are coming together for a

Holiday Card Blog Hop

to inspire YOU this season !

All of the seasonal sets being featured are

on sale 15% off through this Thursday!

If you came by way of my very talented friend

Jessica blog iEmbellish

you are right where you should be to be

eligible to win a TCM stamp set of your choice !

If you just happened to swing by, I'd love to invite you back to

The Craft's Meow Blog

to start there.  When you do, just leave a comment and

YOU could win !

This is one of my favorite sets from TCM called 

'Warm Winter Wishes'.  It's a great set for paper-piecing.

The paper is from Recollections with the scarf & mittens adorned with

baker's twine in Ocean & Honeydew from The Twinery.

I am loving these colors for the winter season !

On a completely different note . . .

'Holiday Foundations' is an absolutely aMAZing set with so many great possibilities.

This CAS card was easy-peasy and could be done in varied colors.

Here are the sets I featured today

 

To be eligible to win a set of your choice, just make sure

you visit the blogs on the hop and leave a comment over

on the TCM blog by 9pm PST, Wednesday Nov 14th

It's time to send you on your way to my friend

Karen blog The Bald Dragonfly

So glad you stopped by !

You Warm my Heart Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Patterned Paper: Jolly & Bright by Recollections
Stamps: Warm Winter Wishes by The Craft's Meow

Embellishments: baker's twine in Ocean & Honeydew from The Twinery

Stardust Stickles by Ranger, gems from A Muse Studio

 

 

Happy Holidays Project Recipe:

 Cardstock: Bazzill & Recollections
Stamps: Holiday Foundations by The Craft's Meow

Ink: Cherry & Grass from A Muse Studio 

Embellishments: gems from K&Company

 

 

A Very Happy Christmas Eve to You!

Well, you know it's been a few days since posting when
Google asks you to 'sign in'!

These photos are just a glimpse of what we woke up to this morning.  Actually, the ice storm started yesterday afternoon and by midnight, when I drove to pick up my husband from Barnes & Noble, it was absolutely treacherous.  My daughter Mallory, who works at one of the local hospitals, called me mid-morning to tell me that she lost power because of 2 snapped lines and had to be shuttled to work by hospital security.  The lovely 14" of snow that we got nearly 2 weeks ago is now a frozen tundra.

This bush is just outside our front door.  To be honest, all of the trees right now are absolutely beautiful.  But the weight of the ice is snapping branches all over the city.  There is another inch or so of this ice to come yet tonight, but I have heard that we should awake on Christmas morning to a lovely snowfall.
Here's praying that happens!

I'm sorry I have been a bit MIA over the past week or so.  The holidays are definitely a busy time for all and I know we will all be back online after our Christmas naps.  I have already begun working on some wonderful Valentine projects that I am anxious to share.

Before I go for today, I wanted to share 'Lucy's annual Christmas photo'....well, that's what I call it anyway.  It seems that every year, Lucy creates some sort of 'photo op'.  Usually it's near the tree or the gifts or even the fireplace.  I have plenty of those photos, but this year, as soon as I put this crinkly satin paper into this box, her radar went up.  I turned around to find her sitting inside 'just waiting for the camera flash'.

I am convinced that she knows EXACTLY what she is doing!

I look forward to sharing Christmas with you for a little while tomorrow...God bless......

Just to Say Hello

Thought I would share these little tags that I just finished. They're going straight into my Etsy Store. It's that time of year to think ahead for those who are early birds when it comes to holiday preparations. These were really fun to do. I used mirror card and the 'bug' to emboss the dots. It doesn't show as well in my photo, but the reflection makes these really unique. I also used the brand spankin' new Harvest & Holiday Mat Stack designed by Debbie Mumm. These weren't even on the shelf yet when I stopped in at JoAnn Fabrics the other day. I saw the box on a cart with the description and said "I'll have that please". It's full of fun designs for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love the ribbon with the miniature snowflakes from American Crafts.

If you are still on the fence about the tag swap, we'd love to have you join us. I have 4 spots left, so click here, make your decision and let me know. Those of you who have signed up, I will be getting in touch with you later in the week. Please send me a private email with your email address. You can reach me at here.

I'll be back a little later, but in the meantime I hope you will pop over to Etsy and see what's new!