Give Thanks

The day is here !!

It's New Release Blog Hop Day at

If you have arrived at my blog from the talented 

Elizabeta'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 !!!

More on that in a sec.

It's a bittersweet post today as TCM says farewell to
designer Amy Tsuruta  : (
She has been a part of the TCM family from the very beginning
and will be missed by us all.
I have the pleasure of continuing the creative journey with her
at The Play Date Cafe, so I am one lucky girl!
We'll miss you at TCM, Amy!

I'm totally excited about the new challenge over at

 

because this card is a sure-fit for their theme.

Clean and Simple.
I've had this window card in my stash for y.e.a.r.s and thought this
pumpkin from the 'Fall with Fibi and Lilly' set was just perfect.
I love the mix of fonts in the sentiment from the 'Fall Blessings' set.

I know you will see all the sets on the TCM Website, so I am going
to show you a very special one here...

This terrific set is 'Golden Days' designed by my friend

Karen Baker for TCM and for a limited time is only available

as a gift with a purchase of $50 or more.

I used this set in my post from yesterday as well...

you can check it out here

So here is how you can win....

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

You have until 9:00pm PDT, Sunday September 23rd to do so.

They are all on sale today!!!

Don't wait!

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 talented


Karen Baker's blog 

 

Enjoy the hop !  There is a lot of beautiful inspiration
out there for you by some of the most talented designers around.


Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Farmhouse by Crate Paper
Stamps:  Fall with Fibi & Lilly, Fall Blessings
both from The Craft's Meow

Embellishments:  brads from Craft Essentials

The Best Day Ever

For The Play Date Cafe Challenge
Please Scroll Down

It's the final day of our New Release Previews from

We have two final fabulous sets to share with you today
one of which is our FREE GIFT w/$50 purchase.


The first set was designed by Kaitlyn Ord
and I decided to go total *spooky* with it . . .

The banners & sentiment come from this fabulous set called 'Good Times'
The paper, tag & brads collection is brand new from My Mind's Eye called
'Lost and Found Halloween'.  I love this BIG spider punch from EK Success!
It was the perfect fit for the spider web.

Now for something completely different . . .

The beautiful new set designed by Karen Baker
'Golden Days'

This is our September Gift w/$50 purchase.

I love the sentiments that Karen designs and this set
contains a variety that will be perfect for your autumn cards.
I created the wreath using a Sizzix EF and simply adorned it with
pearl flourishes from Want2Scrap and topped it off with
a sweet pumpkin from yesterday's featured set 'Fall Blessings'.

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 each new release

each day, so make sure you leave a comment

on the blog for a chance to win!

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Gina K Designs & Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Lost & Found Halloween by My Mind's Eye
from StopandScrap.com 
Stamps: Good Times & Golden Days
both by The Craft's Meow 

Embellishments: tags & brads from My Mind's Eye
pearl flourish by Want2Scrap
Tools: spider punch from EK Success, Big Shot
Wreath EF by Sizzix

Fall with Fibi & Lilly

It is Day #3 of New Release Previews over at

and today we have TWO fabulous sets
we are featuring designed by the
talented Mabele R-O
and I had a blast playing with both of these sets.

The first is called 'Fall Blessings'

As you can see, all I did was choose the images I wanted to include,
stamped, colored and layered each one.
The clouds were cut using my die from Lil' Inker Designs

The next set is called 'Fall with Fibi & Lilly'

Again...such a simple CAS card!
I just cut & colored the image, layered it on a frame created
with oval dies from Spellbinders and added Stardust Stickles

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 each new release

each day, so make sure you leave a comment

on the blog for a chance to win!

Project Recipe:

Stamps: Fall Blessing & Fall with Fibi & Lilly
both by The Craft's Meow 

Embellishments: Stardust Stickles by Ranger
Tools: cloud die by Lil' Inker Designs, Big Shot
Standard Ovals die by Spellbinders, Copic Markers

Fall ...

Welcome back to The Open Window.

I hope you had a lovely weekend.  The temps took a real 'dip'

the past few days and inspired me to create using a lot

of fall themes, beginning with today's project for

I hope you will hop with us today because there is always

a terrific prize at the end.

If you made your way here by way of our

September Guest Designer

Wendi's blog

If not, just a couple stops back is the

EAD Designs blog

where you can get started !

This week, I enjoyed playing with the 'Fall Harvest' Stickerz from EAD.

I pulled out some beautiful paper from last season from 

Little Yellow Bicycle called 'Hello Fall' and layered

all of my elements on top.

I twisted three different baker's twines from The Twinery

in Mandarin, Honeydew and Cappuccino and tied my

tag with a 'rag' knot.

Here is the set I used

and don't forget . . . 

So great to have you come by today.

I hope you will be inspired to create for the autumn season.

It's time to send you on your way to

Liz's blog Liz's Paper Loft

Project Recipe:

Patterned Paper: Hello Fall by Little Yellow Bicycle

Embellishments: Fall Harvest by EAD Designs
baker's twine in Mandarin, Honeydew & Cappuccino

from The Twinery, gem flourish from Want2Scrap

Happy Fall from The Craft's Meow

For the

Sizzix Fresh Vintage

Blog Hop Post

Click HERE

It is Day #2 of the New Release Previews from

and today we feature the lovely designs of

Maree Truelove, one of our newest stamp designers.

This sweet set is called 'Happy Fall'

I thought it would be fun to use the solid design

of the pumpkin and create some texture by

using houndstooth paper and the Swiss Dot

EF from Cuttlebug.  I also accented the clouds

the same way.  Check out that tiny acorn!  Ca-ute!

Make sure you visit The Craft's Meow blog

and check out the rest of the design team's

projects.  You will get a real taste for this set

by the time it is released on Saturday! 

You can also win a set, 

so make sure to leave

a comment before you leave.  
TCM will be drawing a name 
each day

and you never know 
it could be YOURS!

Project Recipe: 

Designer Paper: 'Kay Autumn' by MAMBI,
Dots & Stripes Candy Shoppe by Echo Park Papers
Ink: Tuxedo Black by Memento, 
Stamps:  'Happy Fall' by The Craft's Meow

Tools: Cloud die by Lil' Inker Designs
Swiss Dot EF from Cuttlebug, Distrezz-it-All by Zutter,
Notebook border punch by EK Success
Embellishments:  Bakers twine in Mandarin from The Twinery

Happy Autumn! Well, I Just Can't Wait....!

I know I am a day early with my official autumn celebration, but I can't wait any longer! I love every single thing about this season....the color, the weather (yes, rainy periods included), the smells...I LOVE IT ALL! It's too bad that while the leaves are changing, they aren't all glittery like the leaves on this tag...I mean, if it's already going to be a little messy as they hit the ground, why not make it pretty, too!

Here are the elements to this fun project:
First off, I started with fabulous patterned paper from My Mind's Eye cut into an extra large tag. I distressed the edges with Ranger Archival ink in Coffee using a stipple brush....I don't use anything else, by the way. I LOVE using stipple brushes for this technique and I think at the moment, I have a dozen of them. I used a Paper Inspirations 'swirl' stamp on the bottom half of the tag and an Inkadinkado stamp for the sentiment. From there, it was just lots of layers of lace, ribbon, pearls and glitter. The leaves were cut using 'The Bug' and Spellbinders Leaves. The glitter is a mix of brands, including Martha Stewart. I think one of my favorite elements of this tag is the vintage lace at the top. It was actually a mint green color, which was just not 'natural' enough, so I stippled the coffee ink over the lace, and that was all it needed.

Well...I need to run and take care of a couple of projects with deadlines of today. It's going to be tough because 'Dancing With the Stars' is starting but I am pretty good with multi-tasking!

Before I scoot....let me ask you...Do you have a favorite activity that you only do in the fall? What is it you are looking forward to? For me, there are a few. I love visiting the local apple orchard and getting those first HOT apple cider donuts...I love seeing my grandkids dress up for Halloween...and my wedding anniversary is in November. I will leave it at that for now, but I would love it if you would leave a comment and let me know
what excites you about Autumn.