Are the Snowflakes Falling Where You Are?

The weatherman said, for nearly a week straight, that we would have snow on Thanksgiving Day.  Well...not even a flurry,
so I decided to create my own!
This card will be available in my Etsy shop but may not last long,
so if you are interested, get on over!

These fabulous new patterned papers called 'Merrymint'
are from American Crafts.

It is a 'busy' card to be sure but I had fun with it!

The snowflakes are actually cut from Basic Grey's
'Eskimo Kisses' collection.

I used a Spellbinder's Snowflake die and the Martha Stewart  
Arctic Snowflake punch.

For the frosty icicles, I turned to Martha once again
with the Icicle Border punch.

Everything was topped off with Icicle Stickles and a few brads.

The stamp is from Inkadinkado.

This beautiful creation comes from my friend
Mona at Cupcake's Creations.

It arrived this week as a belated birthday wish along with a sweet package of metal embellishments that I happily added to my collection.  What a lovely surprise!

As if that wasn't enough, I was also informed that I won the above blog candy from Mona's blog in celebration of her 200th follower.  I must say I was incredibly surprised and can't wait to start playing with that Paisley EF from Cuttlebug.
That has been on my wish list for awhile!

Thank you so much, Mona....for honoring your followers 
but most of all, your friends...

Who Are You Thankful For?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope today finds you thankful for all that you have...

Here are a few things that I am thankful for:

My dear husband Paul

 who protects my heart

and has learned that it's ok to celebrate this day,
even though he's English

My daughter Mallory and my son Alex

who are my greatest creations

My parents

who are reminders of the good that still exists in this world

My grandchildren

who help me to know that I'm never too old to make wishes

My friends near and far, old and new
I honestly don't know what I would do without you

and

most importantly,

my God 

who makes all these things possible

A Little Fun to Share with You

As a mom for the past 25 years, I can truly say that no matter how much time I spent with my kids, there were still days I felt like I was neglecting them...ever felt that way?  That's kind of where I am with my blog at the moment.  I have missed my daily posts with new creations, but the truth is I have been SO BUSY behind the scenes working on some exciting projects which include not only The Open Window and The Play Date Cafe, but more interactive things for all of us coming just after the New Year.  You have been so gracious to come along for the ride and have been such loyal, encouraging blog friends, and I thank you.

So today...just like the early days of my blog, it will be about a couple of fun projects that I worked on yesterday.  I told you recently that I LOVE Platinum Stickles from Ranger.  The sneak peek above is a taste...here is the result...

This features a brand new Fiskars Ornament punch on Basic Grey patterned paper, the Cuttlebug Dot EF on beautiful Silver card stock from American Crafts, a simple $1 Christmas stamp, satin ribbon and of course, embellished with my beloved platinum Stickles.

I've started another project using this same punch with brand new American Crafts papers for Christmas and hope to share that with you later this week.  So many possibilities with this new punch!

Surely you recognize this little sneak peek. 
A little more Mabel Lucie Attwell.

This was one of the fabulous images I received in my box from
The Artistic Stamper.

I started this project last week, but was having trouble with
the finishing embellishments.

Then during last night's 'Dancing With the Stars' finale dances, became inspired to finish her accoutrements.

I added the silver Stickles to her shoes and collar and the pearls to her umbrella.  I had already run the umbrella cut-out through
'The Bug' using the dotted EF, and brought it alive a bit with a little bit of ink, but it still needed something....that's when the pearls were added.  The bit of patterned paper you see if from
Graphic45 'Baby 2 Bride'.  I also ran my distressing tool around the edges of the card stock just before I added the bow and pearl brad. 
So there's my creative process at work!

So here is what I want to know from you today...

What are YOUR thanksgiving plans?

I have a huge amount followers who are from countries that either do not have Thanksgiving or have already celebrated Thanksgiving.  But do not let that stop you from leaving me a note....what will you be doing THURSDAY?  Do you know, every year for the past 18, I call my mother-in-law to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving.  Now I know, she should really be calling me...
so I would love to hear from YOU!

A Little Glitter...A Little Mabel

This weekend marks the new release of the Mabel Lucie Atwell stamps from The Artistic Stamper.

I got mine yesterday, just in time to give you a sneak peek of a new Holiday image.

 

Can you tell what fun I had with this image?  I love to raise 'characters' off the page.

And what would the holidays be without a little glitter...

Here you go...you didn't think I was going to keep it from you,

did you?

Did you know...

The Artistic Stamper is the only place in the WORLD that you can get Mabel Lucie Atwell licensed stamps

 If you love Mabel stamps too, let me know...

leave me a comment and share your story...

My First Digi-Stamp Experience! How Fun!

Believe it or not, digital stamps is a place I had yet to go...

I admit, I am pretty 'old-school'...in fact, until recently I had yet to really use many of the fabulous clear stamps that have now become the 'stamp of choice'.  When I think of clear stamps, I have to laugh because my store was 2200 square feet in size.  How on earth would I have filled it with those flat, packages of clear images?!

But the switch ended up being very easy.  After all, you can see EXACTLY where you want to stamp your image, can't you!  So imagine the thought of 'printing' an image from my computer?!
I know, I can hear some of you already,
but I am going to ask a favor of you...

Alison, one of our fabulous designers for The Play Date Cafe has started a wonderful new line of digital images and when I saw this one, I KNEW it was the one I wanted to try.  She has a great selection on her blog Stretch N' Bubbles and
I KNOW there is one just for you!
This one is called 'Unity' and that title is what caught my attention.

When I envisioned playing with this one, I immediately saw dimension in my mind, so much of this is 3-D.

I used the Cool Gray No 1 Copic for the shading.
The word stamps, which I thought complimented this image so well, were from the Wordsworth 'Messiah' set.

Alison has such a great variety of adorable and UNIQUE stamps and if you're like me, you may need instruction on how to use them.  I promise, she will walk you through the EASIEST steps in the world to get you started.  Let me know if you give it a try.
I would love for you to leave me a comment and let me know which one...or two...or three....

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #5

It's official...The Play Date Cafe Challenge is a hit!

Today's challenge now find us with a new design team member hosting her very first challenge, so I hope you will head on over to The Play Date Cafe and see what Jules and the girls have inspired us with this week.


Visit Play Date Cafe

If you want to have inspiration at your fingertips including photos of challenge pieces and ideas for creating them, then click on The Play Date Cafe Social Network button above and join us!
It's free and most of all, it's fun!

Provence on Paper...I Love GCD Studios

Decided to take a break from my seasonal projects and break out the fabulous papers from GCD Studios.  Awhile back, I shared my love of Provence with you.  When I finished this card, I think my husband's exact words were "that sure screams Provence".  Now, I think...that was a back-handed compliment, but he was right on the money because this paper is from the Provence Collection, so good eye, Paul!

I used a variety of the designs and included 3 of the die cuts from the set.  Even the 12 x 12 sheet that I cut had a die-cut edge.

I 'blinged' up the rooster with a little Diamond Stickles and added a few punch cut-outs with pearl centers.

Just a little project to brighten (literally) your day!

 Have you seen either of these fabulous cups lately?

If not, then you have not been to The Play Date Cafe.

 Thursday starts a brand, new challenge with our brand, new designer, Jules Campbell so make sure you stop by and check out the FaBuLoUs colors for this week's challenge!

Being Creative with The Artistic Stamper

Finally!  The wait is over! 
The stamps from The Artistic Stamper arrived!

A few days ago, I received a big ol' box of rubber stamps and believe me, my head has been spinning with ideas!  Rather than spend time creating a bunch of things to share with you, I thought I would at least get one card up that I thought was kinda fun.

This simple creation was made using four different stamps from Jennie & Hels.

The bird is actually 2 different stamps, a negative and positive, if you will.  These are from the Stitchels line by Hels Sheridan.  The new Chicken Wire stamp was a fabulous background stamp for this card.  Then, there is the simple sentiment 'Imagine', which is perfect for just about anything.

The extras I used on this card are the Martha Stewart Loop punch and rhinestones.

This sweet bird's tail just cried out for a little bling!

 Jennie gladly ships to the U.S. and shipping is extremely reasonable.

The stamps are unmounted,
beautiful red rubber.

Thought I would share a few of the images with you

 

I love the stamps from The Artistic Stamper
and I know you will too!

More to come......