Celebrating 3 Years at The Play Date Cafe !

This sentiment says it all !

We are celebrating over at

Where has the time gone ? ? ?

Just three short years ago, my UK bestie

Sarah Anderson and I shared this challenge with the world

and we never looked back !

{by the way . . . she will be joining us on Monday, Oct 22nd}

There have been many, MANY changes since then

but the challenge remains the same.

To interpret the colors as YOU see them

and enter whatever type of project you'd like.

With celebration comes more changes beginning

with a whole new look !

We would love for you to take our brand new badge

and place it on your blog with a link to The Cafe.

During the next 5 days, our designers will be visiting blogs

watching for our badge.  Randomly, we will hand out prizes

when we see it.  Help us reach 2,000 followers and even

more prizes will be awarded !

Along with that, we have amazing sponsors who will be

sharing 15 prizes for our weekly winner & honorable mentions.

You'll find all these details and even MORE SURPRISES

over at The Cafe.

This week's colors are some of the boldest we've ever had !

I chose to take a very simple route putting them together using flowers

from Prima & a beautiful gem flourish from Zva Creative.

The sentiment is from FarmHouse Paper Company.

I hope you will make plans to join us for each of the next five days

as we celebrate.  We would love to have you *LIKE* us over

on Facebook and follow along on Twitter @ThePDCC

I want to say THANK YOU to all who have supported our challenge.

Whether you are a brand new, a long-time player

or just peek in for some inspiration . . .

It's all possible because of YOU !

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Rondelle by Prima from StopandScrap.com

Stamps: Sugar Hill Autumn by Farmhouse Paper Company

Embellishments: gem flourish by Zva Creative

flowers by Prima

Giveaways . . . Inspiration . . . Giveaways !

FOR THE CRAFT'S MEOW
NEW RELEASE PREVIEW

& GIVEAWAY

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN

Here we go . . .

It's Sunday night . . .

A post you've been waiting for ! ! ! 

This one is all about GIVEAWAYS ! ! !

Along the way, I will be sharing a few favorite projects from

my blog.  I will include the link to the actual post so

you can see how the cards were created.

Click HERE to find out more about this card.

Click HERE to see what I created for my Irish Mum-in-Law
{EDIT TO ADD: some have said this link is not working, but I find it ok
on my end if you are unable to get there, I apologize}

Just in case, here is another little peek of one of my faves . . .

You should be able to read about this one by clicking HERE

The first giveaway I'd like to share is from the terrific folks over at

I know I speak a lot about my team over at The Twinery, but we

definitely enjoy playing with a variety of designers & the companies

they represent and SRM is definitely on that list.

Here is a card I recently made during a terrific team-up with SRM.

The next one has a special place in my heart because it was made

especially for my dear friend & co-creator of the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge

Michele Gross.  I loved working with her at both the PDCC & the CFC

and do all I can to stay in touch with her each week.

She is one of those people who came along in blogging and became

a fast friend and a beautiful designer.

So here is what SRM Stickers is giving away to one lucky person . . .

A big thanks to Susan & her team!

Another wonderful designer who has also become

a wonderful friend is Tami Mayberry.

She has been featured in a variety of publications & is

a stamp illustrator for GinaK Designs.

I love her work and love her !

She is offering a really fun giveaway . . .

 How about another truly fabulous giveaway ? !

My friend Julie Smith, owner of

has offered a jaw-dropping prize package . . .

Make sure you visit their website to see all the beautiful stamps

and accessories they make available.

How about another favorite project or two . . .

Click HERE to find out more about these fun holiday greetings.

This was a fun dimension project created for Little Yellow Bicycle

Click HERE for all the details

My friend Cindy Coutts is always very generous

when it comes to sponsoring The Play Date Cafe and now

she is sharing a giveaway for the party . . .

How about a very UNIQUE prize ? !

How many of you are Copic fans?

Or any coloring medium for that matter.

My friend Carissa over at 'Designed to Color' 

has offered a very unique prize . . .

and another winner will get the 

June/July 2012 printed issue!

{ a total prize value of $25}

One more for tonight!

For those who love digi images or maybe have wanted

to give them a try, here is a perfect opportunity for you

as By LORi Designs is giving away . . .

To see the designs available for LORi, make sure you visit her

website HERE.  So much cuteness in one place should be illegal.

I leave you with a couple more projects from my personal

favorites list.

Click HERE to see how this was created

Finally...you can find this one HERE and I hope you'll check it out!

OK....lots more giveaways on this post and a lot of inspiration

from projects previously posted.

Over $100 in giveaways on this post once again!

So what do you have to do to have a chance to win.

Make sure you are a follower of my blog . . .

Come  follow The Open Window on Facebook . . .

Come *LIKE* me, Julie Ranae on Facebook

and 

answer one simple question at the end of this post . . .

Of the projects I share today from my favorites list,

which was YOUR favorite ? ? ? 

Make sure you click the links to check them out in full.

You would be surprised at the details once you see the entire piece.

Later on Sunday evening, I will be sharing a very hearfelt post with

all of you. Even though I don't know all your names by heart, I know

many of you will be a part of this post.  So make sure you plan to

spend some time with me later on Sunday night.

A BIG thank you to:

SRM Stickers
Tami Mayberry Art & Design
Papers and Such

Cindy Coutts 

Designed to Color

By Lori Designs

God's Blessing - The Craft's Meow & Giveaway

For the 3rd Anniversary 

Celebration Giveaway posts,

please click HERE...

don't forget you still have time

to participate on all posts to 

have a chance to win !

Happy Sunday and a Very Happy Father's Day

to all the dad's out there.

It's a reflective day for me as I lost my dad 12 years ago.

There's not a day that goes by when I don't think of him

and I miss him terribly.

I am happy to have Paul's dad to share Father's Day with

and we look forward to seeing him a little later today.

Today is also a special day because I have a few posts that

I will be sharing with you as part of

In fact . . . there will be a special giveaway at the end of this post,

so make sure you keep reading.

For now, it's time for me to share with you that it's

Day One of the New Release Previews

over at

This is one of my very favorite teams I serve on

because the variety of stamp images that are offered

are simply amazing.

We are happy to welcome our June Guest Designers

Larissa Heskett & Gayatri Murali.

I know you will enjoy the design-work of each

of these talented ladies.

Today, we share a 'peek' at the fabby new set designed by

my dear friend & teammate, Karen Baker

called 'God's Blessing'

I decided to try my hand at my first rolled rose.  Yep.  My first.

Rather than create one from scratch, I was happy to use the die from

My Little Shoebox and I really like the effect.  This one is actually one

small one nestled in a larger one.  The center is a hand-made brad

using the Epiphany brad maker.

The stamped images from the new stamp set are simply beautiful.

I love the scroll because it's a great accent piece for any type

of project.  I stamped it twice here.

I love what simple gems will add to a card, too.

These are leaves from Want2Scrap.

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!

Now . . .
as a bonus here at The Open Window . . . 
in celebration of my 3rd Anniversary

To be eligible to win, simply leave
a comment.  That's it !
Easy-Peasy !

I'll see you a bit later with the final post
of the celebration !

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Happy Go Lucky by My Little Shoebox
Stamps: God's Blessing by The Craft's Meow 

Ink: Slate from A Muse Studio

Embellishments: die cut flower by My Little Shoebox

 gem leaves by Want2Scrap

Tools: brad maker by Epiphany, Big Shot

Swiss Dot EF by Cuttlebug
 

Having a 'Date' With You !

Oh my goodness !

Day #3 is here already . . . one more to go.

In case you didn't have a chance to get to the post from

yesterday (my guest spot with Rubbernecker Stamps)

You still have time to visit to win...read the post HERE

I'd thought I would go ahead and share the finished card

because I truly do love these stamp sets . . .

I'm hoping to cover a little more ground with this post, but I'm

sure you know that to fit THREE YEARS of blogging memories

into 4 days is simply impossible.

By my calculations, it would take SIX YEARS because with every

post comes some sort of idea . . . thought . . . challenge . . .

Can you tell I love what I do ?

I hope so.

The truth is, many of us who get involved in the 'business' end of

designing, do spend more of our days creating and posts specifically

for those times.  It goes with the territory.

I've chosen to try and weave in personal stories along the way because

I know that is what brought some of you to my blog in the first place.

I didn't work for anyone or have a lot of projects to post . . .

Proof of that is to visit the month of June back in 2009

when I shared 'tiny' little photos 

(because I had NO idea how to edit them)

and when I finally learned a *little*, one of the first things 

I posted were photos I had taken of my three oldest grandsons.

Yep, those are three of the four from the photo I

posted on Day #1 of our party (HERE)

Baby Finn wasn't even a twinkle in his mom's eye at that time.

Yes . . . I know. I am STILL on the first month of blogging in '09.

So let's move it along.  I think you get it.

I LOVE TO SHARE 

ON MY BLOG ! ! !

Before we get to the next story, you KNOW I have to

give a shout out to some special people because let's face it . . .

as much as you are enjoying my posts (as you share with each note),

you are definitely lovin' the giveaways!

I am so excited about this upcoming week over at The Twinery

because we are teaming up with the uber-creative girls from

and look at what my friend Shemaine Smith arranged

for this anniversary celebration . . .

Make sure you plan to join us June 18-22 for so much fun

and inspiration using baker's twine & terrific scrapbooking elements

from My Little Shoebox.

To see all MLS has to offer, visit their website too!

Oh heck !  Let's do one more that has a story with it . . .

Last summer, I met someone who had become a dear friend

through blogging when I first met her as she joined the DT

over at The Twinery.  From there, I had the pleasure of meeting

up with her twice last summer at a consumer show & at CHA.

 

Angelica Suarez, owner of Market Street Stamps is one

of the sweetest ladies in the biz.  I have enjoyed our

friendship so much and have been so inspired by watching

her grow her stamp company to be one that people are in love with.

I had the blessing of being a part of their design team in 2011

and am so excited to see what is on the horizon for them.

Here are a few of my favorites created using MSS . . .

 With husband Jorge, they are a GREAT team !

Market Street Stamps are sharing a

for one of our winners during the celebration !

A big thanks to Angelica & Jorge & continued success to you both!

So I asked you to take your best guess on what this photo was . . .

I so enjoyed all of your answers, especially those who felt as

though they might be cheating because they 'copied off someone

elses paper while leaving their comment'  LOL

Yes, it was the very first challenge graphic for what would become

a HUGE part of my blogging life, 

The Play Date Cafe.

It's a big part of my life because of the time it takes to physically

work on it each week, but there is an even greater reason . . .

It became a huge part of my life because of the aMAZing friendships

I've made along the way.  We started The Play Date Cafe Challenge

back in October 2009 and what a journey it has been.

 It's beginnings were fairly primitive . . .

We didn't even have a separate blog set up for it, but before the first

week ended, we sure did !  The response what quite amazing 

and we will be celebrating our 3rd anniversary this October.

{YES . . . another fabulous party with lots of prizes & guests}

My bestie Sarah (you read about her on Friday's post) and I

partnered together to make the challenge happen.  We knew

we needed to find a small and talented team to work with us

and fill special 'roles' that we had.

You see, we wanted the PDCC to be more than just a

card-making challenge.  We wanted to encourage all types

of work and in recent months, we've even had cupcakes entered

into our challenges !

So we asked the very talented Alison Spellman & Sandra Kelly

to join our team.  Shortly after, Julie Campbell joined us as well.

As the challenge grew, we knew we wanted to create a 'designer position'

that was by invitation-only and the Private Blend Designer born.

This is a designer who we recognize (at the time they come on)

that they are designers who deserve a platform to share their work,

maybe have never been on a team before, but are really talented and

would add just the 'missing' piece to our own team.

Although our first designer was well on her way to becoming a

very popular designer & blogger, she still agreed to fill the role.

 Our first PBD was none other than my friend

Mona Pendleton of Cupcake's Creations.

Mona has gone on to represent some of the biggest companies in

the industry and has been featured in publications.

Paul and I had the pleasure of spending time with Mona & her husband Scott

a couple of summers ago during CHA in Chicago.

It was an blast to share coffee & great conversation.

Mona & I had spent hours on the phone in our early blogging

days and still enjoy sharing comments with one another.

From there, our PBD's have included:

Andrea Ewen, Colleen Dietrich, Julie Day, Stacy Rodriguez

and our current designer, Donna Bowman.

Even though the PDCC team changes from time to time,

we remain a family of friends.  We are currently having a

DT Call to add SEVEN NEW DESIGNERS to our team

and I KNOW they will become family as well.

Today we are blessed to have Jaclyn Miller as our

Color Story Coordinator.  She is the genius behind

the colors that bring us all together each week.

We are also home to the 'Color Splash' Challenge,

which has become a favorite by so many players.

It began week #15 and continues to this day.

Our very first 'splash' is featured in the graphic above

and was Black & White with a 'splash' of teal.

I want to thank each of the designers here who have been a

part of my life way beYOND The Play Date Cafe team:

Michele Gross
Andrea Ewen
Libby Hickson
Tracey Kuzniak
Fiona Shultz
Julie Campbell
Suzanne Czosek
Sandra Kelly
Lisa Somerville
Alison Spelman 

and our current team:

Savannah O'Gwynn

Ruby McGuire

Jaclyn Miller

Colleen Dietrich

Jinny Newlin

Denise January

Stacy Rodriguez

Alicia Thelin

Donna Bowman

 You will find a link to all the blogs of all these fantastic

designers over at The Play Date Cafe.

I hope you will take time to visit them & check out what

they are up to today!

BTW . . . we are not losing 7 designers : )

But you'll have to stay tuned to see what IS happening.

And of course, we would LOVE to see your submission for the Call.

So I mentioned that when we first started the challenge, we had

specific needs to be filled along with the idea of fabulous design-work.

Keep in mind, I barely knew how to edit my own photos back then!

I was extremely happy when Alison shared with me that she knew how

to do graphics & would be happy to do all of our color stories for us.

So each month, our designer chose the photo they wanted as the

inspiration for that week and Alison made them come to life !

Today, Alison runs her own stamp company called

The Alley Way Stamps and has generously offered our party

 $35 Shopping Spree

You can read all about the company and check out all of

their adorable stamp designs by visiting their website HERE

OK  . . .  while I know this post probably took you maybe a

minute or two to read through (not counting visiting the links),

it took me nearly two hours to write.

(My husband and daughter called for a few minutes of that time)

so it's time for me to take a break.

Tonight . . . I will be sharing a post that is all giveaways!

Yep . . . GIVEAWAYS !

So I'll let you know when that post goes live, but until then,

I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Tomorrow, I will be sharing a very special post which will include

some very special people and I hope you will make plans to

stop by for that too.  It will be the final day of the celebration

and of course, we will wrap it up with some pretty cool prizes as well!

Today . . . 

All you need to do to win any one of today's featured prizes

(from this post)

is to let me know this about The Play Date Cafe Challenge :

a.  it's NEW to you

b.  You've heard of it, but haven't had a chance to play 

c.  You play and LOVE it!

Thanks again for your visit!

A BIG thank you to:

My Little Shoebox
Market Street Stamps
The Alley Way Stamps

Wanna Win? I'm an Honorary 'Sister' !

Talk about a 'sneak peek' huh ? ! !

I am thrilled to be the June Guest Designer over on the

Stampin' Sisterhood Blog for Rubbernecker Stamps.

I've had the pleasure of playing with these stamps since my

friend Jacquie Peifer sent me a set as a gift.

I've also created with them as part of a recent promotion with

The Twinery and I absolutely love them !

I hope you will pop over and check out what I did to complete this

card and plan to pop by each Friday in June as I share more.

Guess What ? ? ?

Rubbernecker has generously offered to share 

a wonderful prize during our . . .

and I can think of no better time than NOW

to offer it as a giveaway ! ! !

All you have to do for this is pop over to the

Stampin' Sisterhood Blog

leave a quick comment to

show your support of them.  I'll choose the winners from

a random draw from their comment section.

Of course, I'd love to know you came by today too,

so if you have a moment . . .

I will be back later to share a BIG story with you.

I have so many fab things planned for the next couple of

days, so I am thrilled you've been hanging out with me !

A BIG thank you to:

Rubbernecker Stamps