Julie's Open Window

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

It's the Sizzix Fresh Vintage Blog Hop!

For the Craft's Meow

Release Preview

Click HERE

It's finally here!

The Sizzix 'Fresh Vintage' Blog Hop.

This is such a COOL blog hop

and here is why...

Over the next six weeks, you will be able

to enjoy the creations of 60 designers

but in small doses.

How do you get from blog to blog

in 'small doses'?

Just find the badge
on my top left sidebar that

matches the one above and 'click'.

Easy-peasy.

{more information at the end of the post}

I am thrilled to be here on behalf of one of
the blog hop sponsors...

The Twinery.
There are several of our

designers who will be designing for this hop
over the next six weeks.

I have a wonderful giveaway for you!
Make sure you leave a comment
at the end of this post
and become a follower of my blog
and you just might win this...

An Ultimate Color Sampler Pack

{retail value $25}

I had the pleasure of working with the new

Sizzix Photo Album Scoreboard Die from Eileen Hull.

This is my finished album.

I used a variety of embellishments as finishing

touches on my cover including the beautiful

Honeydew bakers twine from The Twinery.

Here is a little of the journey on how

I completed my album.....

The XL Scoreboard dies work wonderfully in

my Big Shot using the Little Sizzles 6 x 13

Double-sided Mat Board. When you run the

die through the machine, the binding border

makes the necessary scores that fold so easily.

Of course, you can use the Scoreboard dies

with your favorite cardstock and designer paper too.

I then decided to use Glimmer Mist to create

the color for my binding. I ended up not using

the rectangular frame and opted for a metal one.

The instructions included show you how to create

the accordion folds for the inside which will then

hold your album pages. You can add as many as

you like to create a custom album.

Here is the outside of the album's binding.

The most difficult part is deciding the theme you

would like to include and creating the cover....

but of course, it's the most fun part as well!

Here are a few more photos

of the detailed embellishments...

The folks at OhMyCrafts.com are giving away

a Flower Layers #9 Die, so make sure you visit

their blog for chance to win!
You will find all of the Scoreboard dies & more
from Sizzix on their website.

I hope you enjoyed your visit.
I would love to hear from you
and don't forget....
you could win the fabby prize
from me & The Twinery!

Now here are a few details on how this blog

hop will work over the next 6 weeks....

FAQ about the Fresh Vintage Blog Hop:

How do I hop around to see ideas
using the current featured die?
Every Tuesday and Thursday between
September 27-November 3, 2011
there will be a new Sizzix Fresh Vintage die featured
on 6-10 participating designers' blogs.
The navigation buttons for "Hop Back" and "Hop Forward"
will allow you to easily
hop around and see projects featuring whatever the
current die is, since those buttons are
programmed to navigate
only to the blogs that are participating for
that die. On the next Tuesday/Thursday, the buttons will
automatically reprogram themselves to navigate to the blogs
that are signed up for the next featured die.

What if I start at a designer's blog that isn't one of the 6-10
signed up for that die?
No problem! Simply hit either the
"Hop Forward" or "Hop Back"
button on the Fresh Vintage navigation widget from any blog's sidebar and you'll automatically
advance to one of the participating blogs.

Can I go back and view the ideas for a
previously featured die?

Of course! Go to Eileen Hull's blog and find the
Fresh Vintage Permalinks button on her "Blog Hops" page.
It will bring up her blog posts where you'll find
direct links to each participating blog along with a
thumbnail image of the project.

Happy Halloween Project Recipe:

Designer Paper: 'Nature's Storybook' from Webster's Pages
Tools: Photo Album Scoreboard Die by Eilieen Hull for Sizzix,
Little Sizzles Mat Board from Sizzix, Big Shot
Embellishments: 'Moroccan' Metal Label Holders by Making Memories,
lace & pearl border & paper flower by Recollections,
Honeydew bakers twine from The Twinery,
Glimmer Mist in 'brick' from Tattered Angels
gem flourish by Zva Creative

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

Monday, September 26, 2011

Sweet Spooks at Market Street Stamps!

Here I am with the fabulous

New Release Previews for

Market Street Stamps

I AdOrE the new images from MSS

and of course, I love all the inspiration

from my fellow designers there.

I get to bring you the fun and fab Halloween images

from the
Sweet Spooks Collection.

I love making Halloween cards for

all four of my grandsons

but I prefer to make the 'fun' scary cards

and this set works perfectly for that!

How dang adorable is this 'scary' spider??!!!

I love making CAS *pop* off the page with just

the tiniest additional elements.
Can you count how

many there are on this single card?

Four!

First, I paper-pieced the happy little body,

I then added tiny black gems to each leg.

I added a shiny gem to the center of the web.

Last but not least....

.....a nice drag line from the web created

with charcoal bakers twine from The Twinery.

You must stop by The Market Street Blog to see the

beautiful inspiration from my fellow designers because

YOU COULD WIN FREE STAMP SETS!!

Make sure you leave
a comment on my post!

and join use each night at 7pm CST
for all the new images

leading up to the

New Release Block Party on Friday!!!

Happy Halloween Project Recipe:

Designer Paper: 'Halloween in Wonderland' from Graphic45
Ink: Tuxedo Black from Memento
Stamps: 'Sweet Spooks' by Market Street Stamps

'Drippy Goo' border punch from Martha Stewart

Sweet Spider Project Recipe:

Designer Paper: 'Off the Record' by Echo Park Paper
Ink: Tuxedo Black by Memento,
Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink from Tim Holtz for Ranger
Stamps: 'Sweet Spooks' by Market Street Stamps

Embellishments: bakers twine in 'charcoal' from The Twinery
gems from Recollections

As We Gather Together...The Craft's Meow Sneak Peeks

It's
Day One of the New Release Previews
from

The Craft's Meow!

This is going to be an awesome week of

previews as we have

FIVE BRAND NEW SETS

and each is unique and fabulous!

Our first set was designed by the

amazingly talented Kaitlyn Ord

It's called 'As We Gather Together'

I love the versatility of this set and you will too!

The beautiful vintage-style artwork brought out

the CAS-style in me.

I used a variegated inking technique to

create this card...so simple.

Each image has two colors...cover the stamp with

the lightest color and *kiss* the inside edge with

the next shade as you move down the line.

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!

Have a great day!!!

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: from Bazzill
Ink: Rich Cocoa, Bamboo Leaves, Potter's Clay
all by Memento,
Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink from Tim Holtz for Ranger
Stamps: 'As We Gather Together' by The Craft's Meow

Tools: Fiskars Corner Rounder punch

Embellishments: gems from Recollections,

Friday, September 23, 2011

Celebrating Autumn With Baker's Twine Accents

Congratulations to:

Laura P

Laura wins the

Ultimate Color Sampler Pack from

It is Day Three of....

It has been such an inspirational week seeing

all of the creativity from our design team using

the best baker's twine on the planet!

I am so honored to be the

Design Team Coordinator for this team

and am blown away by the

amazing creativity of each designer.

If you've come to my blog by way of

The Twinery

then you are in the right spot!

If not, it's just one hop back to get started

at the beginning.

You'll want to make sure to start at the

beginning of our hop because not only do I have

a giveaway for you here, but there is

one fantabulous giveaway

valued at over $160

when you complete the hop.

I kept my projects very Clean and Simple for you

to show how easily you can use our baker's twine

for just the right dimensional accent.

I love that this card fits the newest challenge over at

The Play Date Cafe

where we are celebrating our 100th Challenge!!!

On both of my cards, I used the brand new

'Acorn' Die & Stamp Set from Lil' Inker Designs.

Cappuccino & Caribbean are the colors I chose

to accent these cards.

Giveaway now closed

See the winner at the

beginning of this post

Now....for the giveaway on MY blog..

Leave a comment on my blog and

you could win

the Ultimate Color Sampler Pack!

All 14 of our beautiful colors!

(a $25 retail value)
Of course, I always love new followers
and would love to have you follow me here
at The Open Window.

That's it!! That is all you have to do!

To win the Ultimate Bundle

worth over $160

make sure you start the hop at

Day One

(there are only 3 days and a total of 19 blogs)

Happy Fall to All...

For The Twinery

Blog Hop

Click Here

It is the final day of....

If you came here from the

Lil' Inker Designs Blog

then you are just where you need to be.

If not, it's just one stop back, so click the link

and start there because stopping by each blog

and leaving a comment could win you a prize!

Today each of the designers is featuring the new

Acorn die and Stamp set.

This is my favorite out of all our new releases.

The die gives you the Acorn and leaves which

I cut using designers paper from Imaginisce.

There are three shopping credits that are

being given away and here is how you can win...

Just visit each blog on each day's hop and

leave a comment. That's it!
The winners will be announced over on the
Lil' Inker Designs blog on Monday, Sept 26th.

Here is a list of today's designers...

Lil' Inker Designs

Julie Ranae <--- you are here

Amy Kolling

Ariana Grant

I am so happy you stopped by.

You are really going to enjoy the projects

featured by our designers.

Project Recipe:

Designer Paper: from Imaginisce
Tools: 'Acorn' Die & Stamp Set by Lil' Inker Designs

Big Shot

Fiskars Corner Rounder punch

Embellishments: gems by Recollections

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Take it With a Grain of Salt...

I've been trying to live by this little mantra lately...

and besides, there are a lot of good things

in life that taste good with *salt*

It is time for the new

Market Fresh Sketch

from Market Street Stamps

I had a lot of fun creating this card.

Most of you know that I am more of

a color challenge kinda gal but I like

stretching myself to work with something

outside the box!

I love this set called 'Tiki Time' from MSS.

So many FAB possibilities.

I used a variety of embossing folders (see below)

and my starburst border punch from Martha.

I think my favorite part is....the salt!

Created with a little Stickles in 'Frosted Lace'

I hope you will stop by the Market Street Blog

and check out all the inspiration there from so

many amazing designers and then plan to

play along with us!

So grateful you stopped by today...

If you've come looking for updated information

on the benefit for

Please click here and thank you so much!

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Bazzill
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento & Copic Markers
from A Muse Studio
Tools: 'Stylized Flower & Dotted Swiss'
Embossing Folders from Cuttlebug

Standard Circle dies from Spellbinders, Big Shot

Fiskars Corner Rounder punch
Starburst Border punch from Martha Stewart

Embellishments: Stickles in 'Frosted Lace'
Twill Ribbon from A Muse Studio