Kindred Spirits from The Craft's Meow

It is Day #2 of

NEW RELEASE PREVIEWS WEEK

at

Today we have a beautiful set called

'Kindred Spirits'

illustrated by Karen Baker

Paul and I love pansies.  We see 'faces' in each different design

and with this set from TCM, you will have an opportunity to put

beautiful 'faces' and color combos together.

For this card, I used a variety of inks from Memento to create

an overall background . . . very bold and bright !

How would you like a chance to win this set ?

All you have to do is stop by the TCM blog and leave a note

to say you stopped by for a visit.

Each day of the previews will bring another set up for grabs.

You have until 8pm PST, tonight to comment to be eligible.

I'll be back tomorrow with another TCM preview.


Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: gingham from A Muse
Stamps: Kindred Spirits by The Craft's Meow

Inks: Memento
Embellishments: Amy Tangerine ribbon from America Crafts,
Stardust Stickles & Liquid Pearls from Ranger,
mini brads from Recollections

Now and Always ...

I'm so glad you stopped by today !

It's time for another beautiful color challenge from

Everything about this color graphic reminds me of

RELAXATION

The colors are simply beautiful and perfect for

the celebration of Spring

I recently received these beautiful stamps from Gina K Designs

and thought they would be perfect with these colors.

Yep . . . it's Clean & Simple and straight to the color-point.

I stamped the 'Vogue Vases (2)' using inks from Colorbox & Ranger.

The beautiful 'Poster Board Sentiment(s)' was just the

right greeting.  The baker's twine is 'Orchid' from The Twinery

and the frame was created from paper by Lily Bee Design.

I hope you will come play with us this week.

We have a brand new sponsor joining us

and they have a terrific prize package on offer !

I know it's a short . . . post for today.

Things are busy here at Casa de Murray

but I'm always thinking of you ... 

and am so grateful that you stop by for a visit.

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Picket Fences by Lily Bee Design

Stamps: Vogue Vases 2 & Poster Board Sentiments 

by Gina K Designs

Inks: Banana Custard & Plum Berry by Colorbox, 

Dusty Concord Distress by Ranger

Embellishments: baker's twine in Orchid from The Twinery

 

Happy Easter with The Craft's Meow

I'm so happy you stopped by today because it's time

for a little inspiration for Spring.

It's our TCM March Blog Hop!

If you've already been hopping with us, then you

should be swinging by from my dear friend & teammate

Jessica Fick's blog

If not, I'd love for you to start over at

The Craft's Meow blog

and hop along with us.

Each designer has worked hard to bring you a

fabulous creation for Easter Encouragement.

Ever since TCM released the 'Easter Blessings' set

I've been in love.  The little critters in this set are so sweet.

I grabbed this Sizzix circle frame EF & embellished it with

a little ink & Liquid Pearls.

The paper is from Authentique.

The lacey flower was cut from a 6x6 pad by My Mind's Eye.

I cut it out & embellished it with a fun button & baker's twine from The Twinery.

A few tiny pearls and done.

Here is the adorable stamp set I used...

 

The next stop on the hop today is the very creative

Lin Brandyberry's blog

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I'd love to hear from you !

Project Recipe:

 Patterned Paper: Faith by Authentique

& Love Me by My Mind's Eye
Stamps: Easter Blessings by The Craft's Meow
Tools: Circle Frame EF by Sizzix, Big Shot
Embellishments: baker's twine in Strawberry by The Twinery

Liquid Pearls in Buttercup by Ranger

pearls by Recollections

 

'Fish'ing for Color

Welcome back to The Open Window !

It's time for another beautiful color challenge from

We worked with deep, delicious colors this week

Burnt Sienna . . . Mustard . . . Slate

As soon as I saw the color story, I knew I was going to pull out

the fabulous designs from Pink Paislee's 'Nantucket' collection.

If you follow me on FB at all, you know that Paul and I have recently

started a fresh-water aquarium . . . well, and now we have two !  LOL

So I am a bit obsessed with marine-life images

{which you will see in the coming days}

This card was simply all about adding layers on top of the

stamped 'advertising'.

You will not beLIEVE the inspiration over in The Cafe !

I know I say that a lot, but each week, I am more amazed

than the next.  Stunning creativity by some of

the best designers

in the world!

Look who's sponsoring this week . . .

YOU could be this week's 'Cup of the Week' !

I'll see you there !

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Pure Luxury by Gina K Designs

Patterned Paper, Die Cuts & Stamps: Nantucket Collection by Pink Paislee

Embellishments: Platinum Perfect Pearls by Ranger

It's a Sweet Taste of Summer

The day is here !!

It's New Release Blog Hop Day at

If you have arrived at my blog from my talented teammate

Elizabeta Kushner's Blog

then you are in the right place!

If not, start back at the beginning at the

TCM Blog

 and get started there because

when you do, you could  
win big . . .
All SIX stamp sets !!!

What I love about TCM stamps is the diversity
within
each set.  I chose to use the beautiful poppy from the
'Hope Blooms' set & the sentiment from the
'Sweet Taste of Summer' set.
Now . . . when you see the entire set of 'Sweet Taste...'
you'll see what I mean when it comes to the diversity . . .

 'Sweet Taste of Summer' by Mabel R-O

'Hope Blooms' by Karen Baker

Do you see how different these two sets are in
their styles and yet, they can certainly be used together.
That's what makes your stamp set purchases
so valuable.

All of the supplies I used for this card are below 
in the 'project recipe'.

Earlier this week, I created projects using the same two sets
and once again, I created two more designs 
that were totally different.
You can see them HERE and HERE 

Now for a chance to win ALL SIX NEW RELEASES  . . .

Visit each designer's blog on the hop, leave a comment

{there's only 15 total}

and you have until 9:00pm PDT, Sunday, July 22nd to do so.

They are all on sale today!!!

Don't forget . . .

You can get this set FREE

'Summertime with Fibi & Lilly' by Mabel R-O

with a purchase of $50 or more,
but only for a limited time

Look forward to your comment and I will keep my fingers

crossed that YOU are a winner!

The next stop on the hop IS the very talented

Karen Baker's blog

Just in case there are any glitches in the blog hop,
here is a complete list of blogs participating for TCM:

The Craft's Meow Blog
Amy Tsuruta
Amy Wanford
Iwona Palamountain
Jackie Rockwell
Jean Martin 
Jen Cuthbertson
Jessica Fick
Naomi Gong
Elizabeta Kushner
Julie Ranae

Karen Baker
Lindsay Amrhein
Mabelle R-O

Nina Brackett

 Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Heidi Grace  
Stamps:  Hope Blooms & Sweet Taste of Summer
both from The Craft's Meow
Inks: Old Paper Distress Ink by Ranger, Copics

Tools:  Loop border punch by Martha Stewart

It's a 'Cool...Cool Summer'!

Welcome back to The Open Window !

It's Day #4 and the final day of New Release Previews for

Tomorrow will be the BIG TEAM blog hop and 

all SIX of the fabulous new stamp sets

previewed this past several days will be available for sale.

Today, we have one more set designed by Mabel R-O
called 'Summertime with Fibi & Lilly'
and for the month of July only,
it can be yours with a $50 purchase

We have had nearly two straight weeks of 96+ degree weather

and when I saw this glad with the ice cubes, all I could think

of was ice water with lemon & lime wedges, as that's been

my drink of choice every day.

I layered a variety of textured cardstocks created using

my embossing folders & Bazzill cardstock

and stamped the glass in lemon & lime inks.

The feel of the entire card made me think

70's and the sentiment was a perfect match !

It's difficult to tell from the photo, but I added

Stardust Stickles to make the ice cubes 'sparkle'.

Don't forget . . . this set can be yours when you order $50 or more

from The Craft's Meow when all new releases become available
tomorrow ! ! !

Make sure you pop by

 The Craft's Meow Blog

and check out the creative work

from all of the designers.

TCM is giving away a new release set

each day, so make sure you leave a comment

on the blog for a chance to win!

I am so glad you stopped by today.
Tomorrow is the New Release Blog Hop,
so make plans to stop back.

Happy Birthday Project Recipe: 
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics/Two Scoop

Stamps: Summertime with Fibi & Lilly by The Craft's Meow  

Embellishments: Stickles in Stardust by Ranger

Tools: Swiss Dot EF by Cuttlebug

Diamond Pattern EF by LifeStyle Crafts

Fun in the Sun - Final Design Team Call

Hi hi ! ! !

A super quick post as I share with you this week's challenge

How about this amazing photo scoped out by

our color story gal, Jaclyn Miller.

I was super-excited to find this great paper from Bella Blvd

in my stash because it had pretty much all the colors I needed

(ok..and a teensy bit of one or two others too)

It was a fairly straight-forward CAS card with a rolled flower

made from scratch.  The sentiment is a cut out also from

the same Bella set.  I used Liquid Pearls, gems & a brad

for the tiny flower centers & a BIG knot of

baker's twine in Pink Sorbet from The Twinery.

I hope you will take the challenge this week.

Fun bold colors !

This is the FINAL WEEK we are accepting submissions

So if you're riding the fence, I hope you'll jump off

and take a chance.  It might be

YOU

we are waiting for !

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Sunshine Happiness by Bella Blvd

Embellishments: baker's twine in Pink Sorbet by The Twinery

gems from Little Yellow Bicycle & Martha Stewart 

brad from American Crafts, Liquid Pearls by Ranger

 

Feelin' Groovy!

Welcome back to The Open Window !

It's Day #4 and the final day of New Release Previews for

Tomorrow will be the BIG TEAM blog hop and 

all SIX of the fabulous new stamp sets

previewed this past several days will be available for sale.

Today, we reveal our final two sets designed by 

my very talented friend Karen Baker.

This one is called 'Retro Foundations'

and it's uber-groovy !

I admit it . . . I LOVE disco and couldn't wait to get my design claws

on this disco ball !  I made it sparkle with Stardust Stickles.

The borders included in this set are absolutely fab and how about 

that sentiment ? !  I love using tiny rhinestones to 'hang' things . . .

birdcages, chandeliers and now this great disco ball.

The set comes with a chain as well.

This next stamp set is the May gift with $50 purchase called

'Typically Teen'

I know this set is going to get a LOT of use in my projects.

The abstract designs are perfect for all sorts of backgrounds

and shadow accents.

I love the Decorative Dress Forms dies from Spellbinders

and thought it would be fun to design a dress using

the 'spatters' in this set.  I used a variety of ink from A Muse Studio.

Keeping with a retro-feel, I created rings using 

Spellbinders Standard Circles dies.

Don't forget . . . this set can be yours when you order $50 or more

from The Craft's Meow and it all becomes available on Monday !

Make sure you pop by

 The Craft's Meow Blog

and check out the creative work

from all of the designers.

TCM is giving away a new release set

each day, so make sure you leave a comment

on the blog for a chance to win!

I am so glad you stopped by today.
Tomorrow is the New Release Blog Hop,
so make plans to stop back.

Happy Birthday Project Recipe:

Stamps: Retro Foundations by The Craft's Meow
Ink: Ocean & Slate by A Muse Studio 

Embellishments: mini rhinestones & brads by Recollections
Stickles in Stardust by Ranger

Design a Dress Project Recipe:

Stamps: Typically Teen & Retro Foundations by The Craft's Meow
Ink: Latte, Ocean, Grass, Lichen & Slate by A Muse Studio 

Embellishments: pearls from Recollections
Tools: Standard Circles & Decorative Dress Forms dies
by Spellbinders, Big Shot

Spring is Here with The Craft's Meow

It's certainly Spring here at The Open Window as it's

Day #1 of 

New Release Previews

 Each day this week, you will see a new set

revealed and have a chance to win a set each day!

Before we get to it, I am so excited to welcome our
April Guest Designers at TCM...
Gini Cagle & Geri Freeman
These women are super talented and I am so glad they
will be a part of the new release festivities.

Our first sneak peek is called 'Nature's Beauty'
from TCM illustrator Michelle Bertuzzi

Another very versatile set indeed!
I did a lot of 'fussy cutting' for this card, but I like the
way it turned out.  Had my fingers held out, I would have cut a dozen more
of these blossoms and created even more layers.
The centers were created using Liquid Pearls.

I would love to submit this cards for the call over at CARDS/Create
for the Spring Cards Challenge.

I think it would be really elegant to stamp these same blossoms
in black and white and have that lovely little butterfly in a bold color.

The next release sneak is from TCM illustrator
Kaitlyn Ord called 'Travel Time'.

I took a really BOLD approach with this stamp set.
I created my own background using the sentiments that come
with the set and layerd the uber-cool airplane on top.
I LOVE the 'newspaper-style' graphics on the plane.

Just wait till you see the rest of this set  !!!

Make sure you pop by

 The Craft's Meow Blog

and check out the fabulous-ness

from all of the designers.

TCM is giving away a new release set

each day, so make sure you leave a comment

on the blog for a chance to win!

I am so glad you stopped by today and I hope

you will plan to come by each day this week

so you don't miss a thing!

Spring is Here Project Recipe:

Stamps: Nature's Beauty by The Craft's Meow

Ink: Orange, Bubblegum, Fern & Lido by A Muse Studio

Grape Jelly Memento by Tsukineko 

Embellishments: Liquid Pearls by Ranger in Buttercup & White Opal

Travel Time Project Recipe:

Stamps: Travel Time by The Craft's Meow 

Ink: Slate, Blueberry & Burano by A Muse Studio