Taking on a Challenge...or Two...or Three?

It's Wednesday....a full week into the month of 

December and it's gone by quickly, hasn't it?!

I have been 'hooked' on making Christmas cards

this year.  I don't know if it's because I stocked up

on sooooo many of the new holiday collections

this past fall or what?!

I just know that I am going to be offering most of

my new cards in my Etsy shop because I will have

an abundance!

I have My Mind's Eye and Fancy Pants Designs to thank

for parts of this elegant greeting.  I embellished a bit with

lots of bling

from The Paper Studio, Recollections and Stickles.

Oh...that punch on the blue panel?

It's a cool 'Radiant Circle' from EK Success.

I just randomly punched it and I think it added

a lot of depth, don't you?

I thought I would offer these to the following challenges:

There She Goes #84 ~ Bring on the Bling

City Crafter #34 ~ Let it Snow
Sunday Stampers #132 ~ Wonderful Christmastime

Little Red Wagon #58 ~ Use a Die Cut
Simon Says Stamp & Show ~ Holiday Greeting

I LoVe this quote and I LoVe this card

from Fancy Pants Designs 'Christmas Magic'

Collection.  I find all of their cards so versatile.

The DP on the base is from the 'Merry Days of Christmas'

Collection and the holly die cut is from 'Holly Jolly' set

both from My Mind's Eye.

I am a huge fan of those very 'luxe' sequins that I find

in the $1.99 bins at Archiver's, so the last time I was

there, I picked up several colors.  They made

terrific berries for the holly.

It's not as easy to see, but I added

stardust Stickles around the edges of the

holly and on the card around the heart gem.

I love that this card fits these FAB challenges:

The Color Throwdown #122

The Color Dare #88

Red, Olive, Neutral of Choice

There She Goes #84

Bring on the Bling

So happy to have had a chance to share these with

you today!  I will be back at midnight tonight with a

fab new challenge from 

See you soon!

Quick n Easy Holiday Cards

The snow has finally begun falling here in

Northern Illinois.  It's waves of flurries, but it is

sticking, so it's time to switch coats and keep 

the gloves handy.

It's a great day to share just a few very easy

projects that are perfect for quick holiday cards

and extra large gift tags.

One of my favorite stamp sets this season is this one

from PTI, 'Wreath for all Seasons'.

It really comes down to a little stampin' and layerin'!

This sweet little set is from Lizzie Anne Designs.

It's called 'Glad Tidings' and it's also the set I used

on the projects at the top.  Love that tree!

This set is retired over at Lizzie Anne, but last

I looked, they have it on sale for 50% off!!!

Lastly...this sweet little card features a little

EF from Sizzix using Co'ordinations cardstock,

which I sanded after embossing.  The little bird

is from BasicGrey and the sentiment is a StudioG.

These projects are pretty simple so I think you can

re-create them just by looking at them.  All are

CAS and so quick.  So don't hesitate to

make your own holiday cards

this season!

Quick shameless plug here...

I have a variety of holiday cards available

to purchase in my Etsy shop. 

I am offering my

blog readers ONLY

15% off any purchase.

When you checkout, use coupon code

JOW15

to receive your discount.

Code expires on Sunday, Dec 5th.

I'd love to know you stopped by...
I love hearing from you, so please leave
a quick comment below.

The Gang's 'Owl' Here! EtsyInspired #100

The day is finally here!

EtsyInspired Challenge #100!

I am so honored to be a guest designer with

this fabulous team for the month of August

and to kick it off with a

celebration this big is...well...big!

There are so many fabulous prizes to

be won this week by these fabby sponsors:

Unity Stamp Company

Lawn Fawn Stamps

Charleston Scrapbook Company

Limelight Papercrafts

May Arts

Softpencil Designs

Someone is going to win

100 items!

Let's see what my 'inspiration' was for this week

and then I will share with you how you could win!

The Etsy Store sponsor this week is

Cathy Walters.

She designs and creates amazing soldered pendants

and this one really grabbed my attention.

My little owl family come courtesy of

Kristen Powers Ink.

I love these little guys and I thought you might too!

You know this is one of my favorite border punches

from Martha Stewart.

So now how & what can you win?

First...we would love for you to play along

with us at EtsyInspired.  Stop by and check out

the challenge and play along.

You could win a fabulous pendant from

Cathy Walters and maybe even the

100 item giveaway!

Next...make a stop at each of the design team's

blogs and leave a comment for a chance to win

an additional prize from one of our sponsors.
Here's the EIC Design Team...

Ashley

De

Emily B.

Emily N.

Joy

Julie Ranae 

{that's me, of course}

Kerry

Savannah

Stephanie

Virginia

Here's what you could win from

Julie's Open Window courtesy of May Arts...

A grab bag a fabby ribbon!

Finally...to qualify for the 100 item giveaway,

you must play in the challenge.  The winner will be

chosen by random draw from the players who enter.

For all the details, click here and have fun! 

A Very Special Honor...

I have been holding this news in for a couple

of weeks now and I am finally able to share.

I am honored to have been asked to be the

August Guest Designer for the

Etsy Inspired Challenge.

I LoVe this challenge not only because I

enjoy a good challenge but because it is a

unique concept.  The EIC is one that

'pays it forward' so to speak, by using

the work of wonderful artisans and crafters

from Etsy as the actual inspiration for the challenge.

You would be AmAzEd at the unique work

that is used for each challenge inspiration.

The other FaBuLoUs news that goes along with this

is that EIC will be celebrating their 

100th challenge this Saturday!

So please come play along with

me and their great design team this

Saturday over at the EtsyInspired Challenge!

Loving the Clouds on a Sunny Day!

I know, I know....two quick posts in

one day!  I have been trying all

weekend to put the finishing touches

on re-creating a card that was first

inspired by my 3 grandsons.

You see, Jenny over at Wee Memories

has a fabulous challenge this week...

'The Sky's the Limit'

She love clouds...is taken with clouds...

and when I first read that, I knew that

I needed to make one of these cards

for the challenge....

Sorry that the photo is a bit 'wonky', but had to take

the pic a bit on the quick side...battery dying!

I KNOW you've been there  : )

Anyway...This card was made using some

BOO from my collection.

'Actopus to Zelephant' from K&Company.  

I used the adhesive borders and the mat pad DP.

This was a very popular card when I made it nearly

a year ago, and I sold it on Etsy.  So I have

decided to offer this one there as well.

Hope you will pop over and pick it up!

Just click HERE!

Thanks Jenny...a FaBuLoUs challenge this week!

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #10

I am so thankful when it comes to a blog 'makeover', you get to try and try and try until you fall in love with what you've done.  Now the problem with all that trying is it usually takes up an entire day of being at the computer, but I think it's just another form of creativity.  I love shabby chic and the romantic colors, so I hope you enjoy it while it lasts....you never know when it might be changed again!

 

      So the sneak peek above is to whet your appetite for these luscious colors for this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge.  I LOVE THEM!  The inspiration comes by way of The UK this week, so get on over and see what the fabulous PDCC Design Team
put together to inspire you.

I didn't use nearly as much brown in mine...in fact, it's just the base of my card.  But I thought the other elements of this Valentine's card worked really well for the challenge.

The focal point is vintage sheet music from the 1940's.  Also vintage are the foils that were recycled from very old baby shower decorations.  Remember the tissue paper garlands that pulled out to spell 'Congratulations'?  I managed to purchase a number of these awhile back and loved die-cutting them for these hearts.

I used the Damask EF for the silver metallic layer and fabulous turquoise glitter on a chipboard letter.

The die cut tag is from 'Snowed In' by My Mind's Eye.

In an effort to stick with the goal of using more of my older paper collections, I will do my best to share those by name, when I can.  This card uses pretty pinks from Making Memories' 'Sabrina' Collection.

That's one down...many, MANY more to go!

This card is currently for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Go...have fun with this challenge!

Let's see if we can get a record 
number of players this week!

Shifting Gears...Babies & Valentines...

 I have been having so much fun playing with two different paper collections, so I thought I would share these with you.

The first is Graphic45...'Baby 2 Bride'.

 

I used 3 different pages from this collection.

The base is 'Sentimental Baby' that I ran through

'The Bug' using the Swiss Dot EF.  I love this page because it has the verses to 'Rock a Bye Baby'

The next layer is 'Unforgettable'.  This page has a variety of squares that can be used together or can be cut apart.  I used 6 squares together.

The final addition was the sweet tag from the 'Tags' page.  This page has the most beautiful tags to choose from.

I distressed the edges of two layers and embellished with satin pearls, trim and platinum Stickles.

Now for something completely different.....

This Valentine card features the beautiful 'Artsy Urban' collection from GCD Studios.

I love the texture of all the collections from this company.  These papers are no exception.  The linen finishes and embossed glittered roses are so beautiful!

I die cut the scalloped hearts from Spellbinders and layered them using dimensional tape.  I added Prima flowers and centered one with an 'Artsy Urban' crochet flower.

The sweet angels were taken from 'The Book of Friendship'.  I love these chunky books that can usually be found in the Bargain Book section of Barnes & Noble.  They make great clip art!

Of course,
I couldn't finish without some vintage lace, vibrant rhinestones and icicle Stickles.

So there you have it....two VERY DIFFERENT creations.

Both will be available in my Etsy shop.

Before I go, I wanted to say thank you TO YOU!  I have loved getting to know so many of you through your visits to  

The Open Window.

I think 2010 will contain some very exciting months as we continue to communicate and share through this fabulous place.  My plans for New Year's Day is to play and create...I am making a deal with myself to use what I have.  Now, that doesn't mean that I won't be out there buying up the latest papers and stamps...that would be ridiculous!  No...my intentions are to try and use at least one thing I already have on hand in each of my projects and then share that with you.  So what do I have the MOST of that I need to use?  Paper...paper...PAPER!  Of course, many of us have things that we just don't want to part with...and I will hang on to those (and maybe share those along the way as well).  But I do need to start using more of my papers no matter how old they are.

So here is what I want to know from you?  What do you have the most of that you would be willing to try and use more of in the coming year's creativity?  I am sure we would ALL LOVE TO KNOW...so please leave me a comment....

Let's have fun with this!

Winter in Illinois...Design Team Call Still On

Happy Monday to you all!
How was your weekend?  Did you manage to get some holiday shopping done?  I'm afraid I did not as I was busy getting batches of these snowflakes done for Etsy orders.  Aren't these winter white with silver and pearl just sweet?  I thought so too!  If you just don't have time to make little embellishments like this,
then pop over to my Etsy store.
They are great beyond the holiday season, too!

What we did manage to do is get some decorating done.  This is just a little peek at our main tree.  I usually have 4 or 5 up scattered about.  Some are table-top trees with themed collections, so once those are finished tomorrow, I would love to share them with you.  It should be the perfect Christmas decorating day as well.  From the weathermen of our 4 local channels to the experts as The Weather Channel, we are settling in for a  
 potential foot of snow
beginning early in the morning.  Perfect....aaaah.....

DESIGN TEAM CALL

If you hadn't heard, The Open Window has announced a design team call for those who specialize in vintage/retro paper arts.  There are so many wonderful places to draw inspiration from for lovers of vintage and we have a new challenge blog that we want to include in that list.

To get all the details, click HERE!

Some of my favorite vintage-style blogs are:

A Vintage Chic, Iralamija, Lilybean's Paperie

Some of my favorite retro-style blogs are:

Gauche Alchemy, Just Add Glitter & Stir, A Vintage Spirit and Chronically Vintage

Visiting these blogs may help you to know if you have THE STYLE!

I just HAD to share this with you before I go.

 

I have yet to set this up during this season, but I found this photo from last Christmas as I was looking for something else and it just made me smile.  That's 15 year old Lucy.  I'm not quite sure if she felt left out or if she was on guard duty....either way, she was able to weave in and out without one of those pieces moving.  The reason that is so amazing is because she is not a slight kitty....
she weighs nearly 12 pounds!

See you tomorrow!

The Play Date Cafe Challenge #7

It's that time once again!  The Play Date Cafe Design Team have a wonderful array of projects to inspire you to play.  This week, there is also an additional opportunity to win one of the actual projects featured in the Cafe....so what are you still doin' here? 
I give you permission to head on over now.

It's a busy time of the year and you may not have enough time to make the little things.

I added these fun snowflakes to my Etsy store today along with some matching borders.  You can get the snowflakes on their own or as a complete package, so if you need a little something extra, stop on over!

Back later....till then, enjoy the day!

Lots of Fun to Share

It's been a really nice day here in Northern Illinois...55 degrees as I post this message.  But alas, it is not to last.  The temps are due to dip down into the 20's by tomorrow with yes, a bit of snow.

So I made this little card because of it's cheery colors.

I used a variety of fun things to get this one done.  I embossed the Basic Grey background using my new Cuttlebug Paisley EF which I got my friend Mona.  I made a matching paper flower with the Scalloped Nestibilities and finally, finished off the border with my Martha Stewart Loop punch.

Yes...it's a lot of matchy-matchy...but I think it works!

At the end of this post I have some great news

for those who LOVE this border,

so make sure you keep reading.

So I was very excited to receive an email from my friend Heidi who runs the blog for GCD Studios.  If you have been reading my blog for very long, you KNOW I LOVE GCD STUDIOS!  Heidi wanted to let me know that one of my cards was featured on their blog as they were honoring past blog candy winners and fans, of which I am BOTH.  If you click HERE, you can read the post and

you will find my card.

Then today, the FedEx truck stopped by to deliver these 3 fabulous sets from GCD Studios!

Included in the box were some fabulous embellishment packages to go with the latest release of the 'Artsy Urban' Collection by Melody Ross.  So I am looking forward to working with these
FABU collections!

In case you though I had forgotten about the 'Autograph Sessions' with our artists and authors, I truly have not.  On the contrary....in fact, I have been working to edit all the fabulous information that has been shared by these wonderful folks and am hoping to get a new Session up in just a few days.  To whet your appetite though, I can tell you that we have a couple of wonderful 'famous' stamp designers along with mixed media artists and workshop instructors and of course, our authors, whose books really tell the story.  Speaking of story, if you love art journaling, you are going to love our next guest, so make sure you stay tuned!

DESIGN TEAM CALL
If you hadn't heard, The Open Window has announced a design team call for those who specialize in vintage/retro paper arts.  There are so many wonderful places to draw inspiration from for lovers of vintage and we have a new challenge blog that we want to include in that list.
To get more details, click HERE!
Some of my favorite vintage-style blogs are:
A Vintage Chic, Iralamija, Lilybean's Paperie
Some of my favorite retro-style blogs are:
Gauche Alchemy, Just Add Glitter & Stir, A Vintage Spirit and Chronically Vintage

Visiting these blogs may help you to know if you have THE STYLE!

Last but not least, I have heard from a number of you who are just not able to get your hands on one of my favorite punches, the Martha Stewart Loop punch.  So I thought I would go ahead and offer some of my favorite borders to you in my Etsy Store.

These are the borders I used in the card above and they are ready for you to add to your cards and scrapbook pages.  They are large enough to cut in half so you double what you already get AND many of these are double-sided papers, so you have more choices.

So click here or on my link at the top of my sidebar to see what choices are there.

I will do my best to add to the selection as quickly as I can.

Long post....long overdue!  Thanks for hanging in with me.
that greeting card at the top...

That's for YOU!

Calm & Serene...and a DESIGN TEAM CALL

Did you survive Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

I love Thanksgiving but I must say that I feel sorry

for those who have to be

to work at 3am for the feeding frenzy.

Wouldn't make for a very relaxing day.

So now that a new week has begun,

I thought I would share a project that has

a more peaceful and serene setting.

 

I think, at last count, there were 10 layers

to make this a very, dimensional greeting.

The die cuts are from My Mind's Eye

and the snowflakes are from Martha Stewart.

It has definitely been a busy time for me here at  

The Open Window.

My Etsy shop has been busy with special orders and so I am doing

my best to get it re-stocked with new things for the holidays.

I will be listing this card as soon as I can, so if you would like it, as it will not be duplicated,

then head on over and make your purchase.

DeSiGn TeAm CaLL......

There is always something new going on and
now we are looking for some new designers with a vintage edge.
Are you a vintage girl or guy?
If so, then we want to hear from you!

We are looking for designers who would like to participate
in a brand new challenge

beginning in January 2010 which  
focuses on a style reflecting pre-1975.

Call it vintage...call it retro...are we calling YOU?!?

Here is all you need to do:

Send me an email with your name and blog link.

If you would like, you can send up to 3 JPEG files
of favorite projects

you have done which reflect your vintage-style.

Send a list of any online galleries you participate in
such as Splitcoast, Graphic45, The Play Date Cafe, etc.

and please let us know if you have been or are
currently on any other design teams.

We are asking a 6 month commitment to the team
contributing one project per week

with possible hosting once per month.

SEND YOUR SUBMISSIONS TO:

julieranae@hotmail.com

Deadline for design team submissions is Sunday, Dec 20th.

We welcome designers from all over the world!

See you tomorrow.....

A Graphic45 Weekend...What Are You Doing?

Just in case my absence from posting has caused you to believe I have fallen off the face of the earth...not so!  I have been catching up on a lot of things over the past couple of days.  You know how it is....you go away and when you return, you have no idea how the worked piled up so high!

But before I tell you about some of the things I am working on, let me tell you about this project.

  As I mentioned earlier in the week, I found a wonderful selection of Graphic45 papers at a scrapbooking store in Cedarburg, Wisconsin and boy, was I excited!  So today was a good quiet day for me to get to work on using those papers.  I made these pumpkins last week using a die cut from QuicKutz and a little Diamond Stickles.

The paper is from the 'Domestic Goddess' and 'Christmas Past' Collections.  I love the sheets of coordinating tags and found a use for two of them here.  The stamped sentiment is from Wordsworth and the Impression Obsession swirls were stamped using VersaMark.  The garnet rhinestones are Martha Stewart.  I finished it off with a little vintage lace, metal embellishments and some jute cord for the large tag, which really adds to the texture.

There are no fewer than 8 layers on this card...
and I really enjoyed making it!

I mentioned that I have been busy working on a lot of things lately and here is what I CAN tell you is happening as early as the coming week here at The Open Window:

The next installment of my new feature 'Autograph Sessions'...in fact, I have interviews with some very well-known, accomplished paper artists and authors to run through the rest of the year.

A BIG announcement regarding The Play Date Cafe Challenge...complete with sneak peeks and more prizes to play...but that's all I can say!

A HUGE sale is coming up in my ETSY store, as I am totally redoing it for the holidays, so I hope you will take advantage of some pretty big savings...I will announce the date for that soon.

Some fabulous BLOG CANDY giveaways are also coming...so you don't want to miss a visit!

Here is what I want to know from you...what is YOUR IDEA of the most relaxing Sunday afternoon or whatever afternoon is your favorite...leave me a comment and tomorrow, I will share my answer to that question with you.  For me, the answer is so easy, but in my mind, the details are lovely...

Etsy Sale...BIG SAVINGS!

Hey everyone....I am ready to add a new selection of cards to my Etsy shop, but I need to clear out some of the cards that were placed in the past few months. So to you, my dear followers, I am offering 30% off all of the remaining items in my Etsy shop.
You can take advantage of this great sale
through Friday, Oct. 23rd!

All you have to do is head on over, see which of my one-of-a-kind creations you would like, then make the purchase. Once I have received notification that you have made your purchase, I will calculate your discount and send you an adjusted invoice. That's all there is to it!

I have a number of cards that have been entered in challenges and have been features on my blog. They are one-of-a-kind, so head on over and take a look.

I will see you tomorrow with a great new project and the first 'hint' of the blog candy up for grabs. For those details, just click here. Until then............

Just Catchin' Up...ETSY SALE!

So is it just me or am I giving you a lot of 'sneak peeks' lately? This one is because The Color Dare Challenge doesn't start until Wednesday, so I can't reveal all, but I sure hope you stop by and enter this week. More on that Wednesday.

How about the Artful INKables Blog Hop today? Did you make it around? If not, there is still plenty of time. The deadline to win the BRAND NEW STAMP SETS is midnight, Sept 17. All it takes is stopping by each blog (only 11 in all), leave a note saying you stopped by and that's it.

I know my posts have been a bit more sporadic the past few days, but I promise you all is well at The Open Window. In fact, I have been busy with my hands in a number of different projects. As many of you know, we have a current design team call out and the new 'Play Date' Challenges will be starting soon. I am working on a blog makeover to accomodate all the fun things that are around the corner as well as constructing a separate blog for online workshops. So hang in there with me, because without you, it would be a very, lonely journey!

One more thing before I get back to my work table....I have decided to offer my current inventory of cards in my ETSY STORE at a 15% discount. I have a whole new batch of things to get on over the next couple of weeks and I would like to clear out some of my inventory. Most of these cards have been featured on my blog and are ready to go complete with a coordinating envelope. SO....until Friday, Sept 18th, anything you purchase from my Etsy store will be 15% OFF. The current prices listed are BEFORE the discount, so if you see something you like, put it in your shopping cart then let me know when you are ready to checkout.

Contact me directly at paul.julie1102@sbcglobal.net for invoice or questions.

In the meantime....have a great night and I will be back for a chat tomorrow!

Happy Monday...Mission Accomplished!

I had a great time working on this challenge from Dawn McVey's blog and as you can see it has a multitude of elements and layers, six layers to be exact!

Here's the rundown:

I used the Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page 'Loop' punches, The Damask & Swiss Dots EF and Friends Forever Die Cut from Cuttlebug, Scallops Nestibilities by Spellbinders. The bird stamp is from The Paper Company and is 3-D layered. The bling on the bird's tail is created with fuschia flat sequins.

This card is going up for sale in my Etsy store and it won't be there long, so if you would like to have it for a special greeting for someone or for an example for your inspiration board, get over to Etsy ASAP!