A Prize and Sharing Some Shopping!

First things first.

My sincere apologies with being so tardy with

the giveaway from my week of GIU.

Many of you know that I was away for a few

days celebrating my birthday

(more on that next)

and last week just flew by with a multitude

of creative deadlines & life as I know it.

Thank you to all who visited during GIU

and I hope you will continue to peek 

inside The Open Window.

Without further delay

congratulations to my birthday twin

StampinCathy!

Cathy...get in touch with me at julieranae@hotmail.com

because you have a choice between 4 different sets from Unity!

Now on a loooong personal note....

I thought I would share a little of my birthday shopping

with you.  Some of these things you have already

seen in action as I have 'broken them open' 

and played...and posted...and played some more!

This is the front of the fab Hilton Garden Inn.

The trees are already turning up in Central Wisconsin

which is always a bonus having a birthday in September.

I hinted on Facebook often about just how close

I was to Archivers...and here is the proof...

Just to the left, you see the back courtyard of our hotel

and what's that I see just a few steps away?

So yes, I was very fortunate to spend most of my

Sunday in the workroom, playing and shopping.

Paul watched football, then came down to see

what I was up to, treated me to coffee at Starbucks

(also next door...I know!).

Here's where I share a funny side story....

Paul noticed that our keycard was not locking the

door properly in our room while I was away.

Can you see it coming?

I decided to take a break to go get my camera,

got to the room to find it completely empty.

Everything was gone.

A trip to the front desk proved that they indeed

had moved us, and apparently I kept passing

Paul in the elevator.  By the time I found him,

he was in Archivers looking for me.

By the way...we were upgraded for the inconvenience

to a beautiful 4 room sweet with a whirlpool bath.

So our second night there was quite a lovely surprise.

There was a nice little make 'n take that day...

It was Tim Holtz weekend there and with a

$30 purchase, you got an Archivers tote

designed by Tim.

Oh!  Speaking of surprises....

When we arrived at the hotel on Saturday afternoon,

the hotel clerk informed me that there was a 

gift card waiting for me over at Archivers from Sarah.

My dear bestie from England made 2 phone calls

to get it arranged...Bless her heart!

She only knew the details because I had

shared them here with you.

It made me a little 'teary' to know that I have a

friend who would think to do all that to

make it happen....so what did I get?

Here's the tour.....

Sarah wanted to make sure that I got that Tim Holtz bag!

I also received two wonderful packages by mail from

my dear friends Savannah & Michele.  Michele sent

me this fabulous Martha punch and Sav sent the rest...

All were such lovely surprises!

I have the best husband!

I used to own my own store and spent 12-14 hours a day

there, he thought I would never want to spend time

the way I did that day.  When that was my request,

he made it happen and even 'indulged' me.

Two more little photos....

This is my favorite thoroughfare through Madison.

We go up there once or twice a month.

We spend so much time on this road getting to our

favorite places.  I love how the changes in color

make this a lovely drive.

And finally.....my family treating me to Red Robin...yum!

From top L:  my son Alex (22), Alex jr (2) & his mom Jayme

CJ (7), Mallory (CJ & Caleb's mom) (26), Caleb (5),

myself and Paul.

(I love little Caleb peeking over his mom's shoulder)

Thanks so much for spending some major time with me!

I appreciated all of the birthday wishes that came my way.

It made turning 50 that much sweeter...

Celebrating the First 50 Years...

What a day!!!

It is indeed a milestone birthday for me.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes that I have

been receiving over the past few days.

It has definitely been a time to contemplate the question

'how did this number come so quickly'?

I was thinking about it earlier today that 10 years

ago, there were a few celebrations for my

40th because at that time, I still had my store open

and between a variety of stamp clubs, regular customers

and other surprises, it was an easy time to celebrate.

Here I am 10 years later...10 years older...

with a whole new batch of friends from virtually

all over the world...thanks to your visits to

Julie's Open Window.

How will I be celebrating?

I enjoyed a lovely dinner with parents last night

and will be having a fun dinner out with my children

and 3 grandchildren tonight.

On Saturday, Paul and I will be heading up to Madison, WI

for a couple of days and staying at the Hilton Garden Inn

which is 'literally' attached to ... wait for it ...
an Archiver's Store!
So over the weekend, I am going to spend an afternoon
using their workroom to have a little creative time.
Paul is going to bring the laptop and some movies
and have a little relax time.

I have the best husband!

As a little tribute to him, I created a card that
shares my heart towards my dear Paul...

Today is my last day hosting

It has been such a terrific week!
For my last 'official' post for Unity,
I thought I would share 3 different projects
using their newest stamps called

'Itty Bitty'

 Most of you know that I am not one to do a lot
of coloring, but these stamps make it so easy!
This set is called 'Rain or Shine'.
I used my Paisley EF from Cuttlebug for the base card.
I have been waiting for just the right project to use these
sweet blue rhinestones.  When I bought them, I had always
envisioned using them as raindrops.

Another fun set is 'Sit.Eat.Enjoy'
What a great little set for all sorts of invites.
I called on my Swiss Dot EF this time.
Labels One from Spellbinders create a nice frame
and I pulled out some really old designer paper for
the faux tablecloth.  That's my BOO for this week!

 My final project is a little something for the holidays.

 This is 'Merry & Bright'
Lots of possibilities...lots of fun!

Have you seen Unity's 'Itty Bitty' stamps yet?

Now you have!

So how would you like an opportunity to
win a set of Unity stamps?
All you have to do is leave a comment on each of my
GIU posts for this week (M-F).  That's it.
You will have through Sunday to do so.
On Monday, when I return home from the weekend,
I will randomly draw one winner from the comments left
and announce it here on my blog.

Thank you for joining me this week for 'Growing in Unity'.
I've had an absolute blast!

Right Where I Should Be...Growing in Unity

I have to admit, this is one of my

all-time favorite sentiments from Unity Stamps.

I received this set as a birthday gift from my

dear friend and fellow PDCC designer,

Savannah O'Gwynn.

It's a bittersweet week for me as I was supposed

to be celebrating my 50th birthday (this Friday)

with her and her sweet husband this coming

weekend...but scheduling just wouldn't allow it.

But for now, she and I both believe the above quote.

This is already Day Four of hosting 'Growing in Unity'.

This week has flown by so quickly, but I have enjoyed

every single minute of creating and sharing with you.

At the end of this post, don't forget to leave a comment

to be eligible to win a set of Unity stamps.  

You must leave a comment on each GIU post, 

which began on Monday and will go through Friday.

This set is called 'Where You Are'.

The stamp images in this collection are really large and substantial.

I love the elements of nature and enjoyed using subtle shades

from Memento and Ranger to achieve the various greens.

The sky shades were done with VersaMagic and

Tim Holtz Distress Inks.

While I worked on this project, I continued to layer

the soft tree branches to give the idea of being 

alone in the wilderness ... knowing that

in that moment, I am right where I should be.

Well....one more day of 'Growing in Unity'

and a special day for me as I reach the milestone of

50 years old.

I hope you will plan to stop back on Friday, say hello

and check out my next project...see you then!

Growing in Unity...Unity Addicts...it's ALL about Unity!

It has been so refreshing to post a project for you each day.

Reminds me of when I first started my blog 15 months ago.

Of course, this week I have had something very specific to

share, but I want you to know that I have great intentions

to continue sharing more often.

If you have been visiting this week, you know that I

am hosting 'Growing in Unity'.

 

I am really excited to share that you can

read a bit more about me as 

I am being featured on the Unity blog today!

Today's post has an extra spin on it as

I am also participating in the Unity Addict's Challenge.

You too can play along by heading over to the

Unity Challenge Forum at SCS.

The challenge is this inspiration photo...

and here is my interpretation....

I love the new 'Simple Blessings' set from Unity.

There are a variety of pumpkins, leaves & more in

this wonderful set.  I stamped one of the pumkins on

cork paper and the leaves on a variety of patterned papers.

I love the small-checked paper from Graphic45's

'Halloween in Wonderland'.  The pumpkin paper is

from the new 'Apple Cider' collection from Imaginisce.

I couldn't resist using the border punch from Martha Stewart.

Here is a look at just a few of the stamps that come in

the 'Simple Blessings' set from Unity....

Don't forget....you could win a set of Unity stamps!

Leave a comment on each of my GIU posts for this week

(I began on Monday)

and on Friday, I will be drawing from all of the comments

and one lucky person will be a winner!

I will see you at midnight, EST tonight for the 

brand new challenge at The Play Date Cafe

and join me again as I continue to bring more Unity inspiration.

Quick Holiday Cards & Tags-Growing in Unity

Are you working on holiday cards yet?

I'm not really, although I have been sharing a few

over the past couple of days.

It's day two of hosting

and I have been enjoying playing with my

newest set of Unity called

'Bright & Merry Winter Wishes'.

I have been trying to create a few things that would 

give you ideas on how to make quick 'assembly-line'

type of cards.  Anything I can do to inspire you to

'make' rather than 'buy'!

The snowflake was actually stamped first and then

die cut using a Spellbinders die.  I also used

'Labels One' for my frames.

A little Stickles in garnet highlight a few of the letters

on the sentiment and a rhinestone center for a little more shine!

The satin ribbons are from Anna Griffin.

These really make up so quickly that using the same

design for matching gift tags just makes sense.

I am really enjoying playing with my Unity stamps this

week and now here's a chance for you to

win your own set from Unity.

Make sure you leave a comment on each GIU post

which began yesterday.  Come Friday, I will have a random

drawing from all the comments left on these posts.

So glad you stopped by!

Growing in Unity & Hippity Hoppin' all in One Day!

It's going to be a very busy week here at The Open Window!

I am so excited to be this week's hostess for

'Growing in Unity'

Each day, I will be sharing a new project that will hopefully

inspire you to use your Unity stamps in new and creative ways.

If you are new to Unity, then you have got to get over to 

their website and check out all their wonderful images.

Along with each daily project, I will remind you to leave a

comment because on Friday, I will have a random drawing

from the comments left all week.

You could win a set of Unity stamps!  

So make sure you stop by each day!

This was a fun card to work on.  

You could totally switch it up and use different color combos.

The ornament image is from the brand new holiday set

 from Unity called 'Bright & Merry Winter Wishes'.

I heat embossed it (which I rarely do anymore) with

metallic bronze from JudiKins.

The letters were cut from a Sizzix/BasicGrey set and

the designer papers are from The Girls' Paperie 'On Holiday'

and My Mind's Eye 'Lost and Found'.

The satin ribbon & pearls are from Martha Stewart.

I added depth to each piece by using Tim Holtz

Distress Inks in 'Old Paper' & 'Vintage Photo'.

Now it's time to share with you my offering for

H{ippity} Hop Monday with Ippity Stamps.

If you are new to the 'Hop', each week a great group of 

{Ippity} 'chicks' and {Ippity} fans create a variety of projects

to share with you.  To get the complete list of who is

hopping with me, just click here to visit the {Ippity} blog.

Again, I think this is such a great card to do in a variety

of colors.  It's a simple one to put together and would be

a great 'assembly-line' card if you need to make alot.

The fun and funky snowman is from 

{Ippity}'s 'Kissmas & Mistletoe' set

and the other images are from 

Unity's 'Bright & Merry Winter Wishes' set

used for the first card.

I cut the silver metallic cardstock and red circle using my

Spellbinders die cuts and added gems and checked ribbon

for fun little embellishments.

Each time I participate in the 'hop', I offer

a great deal on the {Ippity} stamps I used.

This week, you can get....

'Kissmas & Mistletoe' for only $18 

which includes free shipping!

I would so love to be 

your {Ippity} Chick!

If you are interested in this set or any of the

others listed in my {Ippity} page here,

just email me at julieranae@hotmail.com

There are several sets not yet listed on my page,

but all are available through me.

So glad you stopped by today!

Don't forget to stop by each day 

and

leave a comment if you would like a chance

to win the fabby Unity set on Friday.

See you tomorrow with more 

Growing in Unity!