Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC35




It's time to 'think outside the box' once again with
Her 'color story' photos are always so unique
and this week's is certainly no exception.

"This week's colours came about as I realised we'd not
really featured the colour brown.  Whilst hunting through some
art photos, I came across these chairs and both Julie and I
LoVeD it!  I was in the mood to make a canvas this week 
and had just used my seahorse image in a zendoodling class
I'd taught, so I thought I'd give him a go in these colors.
A certain little girl in my home has already asked if she can
please have this in her room!
These colours may look scary, but give them a go!"


Before we get to this week's guest, we have news to
share of a mixed-emotion-nature...

Mona Pendleton has decided it's time to work on
some new creative projects and will no longer be
designing with us here in The Cafe.
Mona went from being a weekly player to
our first Private Blend Designer and eventually
to our senior design team.
We will miss her weekly inspiration here
but we're sure that you'll be finding Mona 
in some new and exciting creative places!

How fun for us to welcome our newest
celebrity guest designer from the UK...
Lucy Abrams.


Lucy only lives a short 5 minute drive from
our Sarah, but not even Sarah was aware
until we were preparing for this week's post!

"I am an English and Drama teacher from
Manchester, England and 
I love to play with paper and stamps.  
I have a wonderful husband
who lets me hide away for hours upstairs,
'working' away in my little studio.
I was introduced to papercrafts in 2008 when my
sister gave me a scrapbooking kit.  I managed to
complete a single (awful) page before turning my
hand to card making.  I was hooked instantly!
Now I am lucky enough to design for several companies
including Hero Arts, My Cute Stamps and
Twopeasinabucket.com.
You are welcome to come visit my blog
Lucy's Cards...I'd love to see you there!"


It's been really great learning about where our
design team creates...we hope you have enjoyed it.
Our final designer to share her creative space is
Suzanne Czosek, your host for this week's challenge...

"I started out my craft space using a desk my husband
made in high school.  This triggered me moving my craft
space to our den, which is a shared space with the
family computer, which in turn gets me lots of company!
My original desk has been re-purposed for the computer
and I now use a long piece of countertop as my desktop.
My DH promises to build cabinets to go under it when
he gets time.  In the interim, I am supporting my countertop
with old table legs and the storage for all my supplies are
in plastic drawers and on shelves."


Here's what the rest of our designers have done to inspire you.....


Savannah O'Gwynn ~ Savannahland2


Stephanie Kraft ~ HandKrafted by Stephanie


Ruby McGuire ~ Ruby 2 Shoes Design


Lisa Somerville ~ Splendiferous Creations


This week's prize is 
A Stamper's Grab Bag!

Please follow the rules carefully to enter.
Deadline for prizes is 11:59pm EST on Tuesday
The 'Cup of the Week' will be announced during the next challenge.
ALL SKILL LEVELS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PLAY! 
We want you to enjoy this challenge. 
Interpret the colors the way you see them. 
We do not use specific card stock color names or brands.
Break out of the box and have fun! 
The main requirement is:
PDCC COLORS BE THE 
FOCUS OF YOUR SUBMISSION
When using additional colors, please limit them to neutrals. 
You are welcome to combine challenges, 
but we do ask that:
 1. The PDCC name and/or photo is used
2. OUR colors are the focus of the card.
 
See complete rules on sidebar at right

The Fab 4
The Cream in our Coffee
and
THE CUP of the WEEK

Another challenge has come to a close.
A very warm thank you to all who entered.
This challenge is only successful because of YOU
so please, PLEASE play with us again!

 The Play Date Cafe congratulates 
The Fab 4 for Challenge #34:
(in alphabetical order)


The Fab can proudly display the
'I Made the Fab 4'
badge on their blogs!



The Cream in our Coffee
( make sure you see this talent, too! )



and The Play Date Cafe Cup of the Week...



Nancy wins the fabby giveaway from


and can proudly display the 'Play Date Cafe Winner' Badge.

Nancy will also be eligible to be a
guest designer here in The Cafe.

Nancy, please contact Julie Ranae at julieranae@hotmail.com
with your mailing address to receive your prize.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC34



It is 'Color Splash' week here in 
The Play Date Cafe.
The design team enjoy hearing your
feedback each week and we know that
the 'color splash' challenge
is one of your all-time favorites.
'Color Splash' 
is simply black & white with a  
'bit' of color.
 THIS TIME "ROUND...
IT'S BLUE!
The shade choices here are YOUR INTERPRETATION.


Here is just a 'taste' of inspiration to get
you started by this week's senior DT host,



We are happy to welcome back


as this week's sponsor 
and HERE is what you might win...
 
We also welcome the owner of Limelight
Mandy Cheshire 
as our Celebrity Guest Designer.


"We are SO glad you
'stepped into the Limelight'!
My husband Drew and I are commited
to bringing you the best the stamping and
scrapbooking world have to offer
at a great price.  We are constantly seeking
out new and exciting products.
Please stop by our website and take a look
around.  We are sure you will find what you
need to inspire your creativity and create
beautiful projects."


Your design team host for this week's challenge is
Let's get a 'glimpse' inside
her creative space....

"My studio is in the back portion of our house.  It's a
nice-sized room with an 'L-shaped' countertop and
cabinets overhead for plenty of storage.  I also have
a wonderful cabinet on my wall that my father-in-law
built for even more storage.
I do tend to keep things out on my workspace that I
use daily, which sometimes (well, most of the time)
only leaves me a 10" x 10" workspace.
After all, a studio is supposed to be messy, right...
it's a creative place!
I did however, clean up my space for you,
so come by and take a look at where I create."


Here's what the rest of our designers have done to inspire you.....


Suzanne Czosek ~ Suzz's Stamping Spot


Savannah O'Gwynn ~ Savannahland2


Senior Designer 
Sarah Anderson ~ The Art of Moodling


Stephanie Kraft ~ HandKrafted by Stephanie


Ruby McGuire ~ Ruby 2 Shoes Design


Senior Designer
Mona Pendleton ~ Cupcake's Creations



Please follow the rules carefully to enter.
Deadline for prizes is 11:59pm EST on Tuesday
The 'Cup of the Week' will be announced during the next challenge.
ALL SKILL LEVELS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PLAY! 
We want you to enjoy this challenge. 
Interpret the colors the way you see them. 
We do not use specific card stock color names or brands.
Break out of the box and have fun! 
The main requirement is:
PDCC COLORS BE THE 
FOCUS OF YOUR SUBMISSION
When using additional colors, please limit them to neutrals. 
You are welcome to combine challenges, 
but we do ask that:
 1. The PDCC name and/or photo is used
2. OUR colors are the focus of the card.
 
See complete rules on sidebar at right





The Fab 4
The Cream in our Coffee
and
THE CUP of the WEEK

Another challenge has come to a close.
A very warm thank you to all who entered.
This challenge is only successful because of YOU
so please, PLEASE play with us again!

 The Play Date Cafe congratulates 
The Fab 4 for Challenge #33:
(in alphabetical order)

 Ann Cox ~ Creative Antics

The Fab can proudly display the
'I Made the Fab 4'
badge on their blogs!



The Cream in our Coffee
( make sure you see this talent, too! )



and The Play Date Cafe Cup of the Week...



Arielle ~ Snappy Stampin'

Arielle wins the stamp set from


and can proudly display the 'Play Date Cafe Winner' Badge.

Arielle will also be eligible to be a
guest designer here in The Cafe.

Arielle, please contact Julie Ranae at julieranae@hotmail.com
with your mailing address to receive your prize.


 

Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC33



We love that YOU are able to tell 
JUST by the inspiration photo 
WHO is the senior DT host for the week
and there is no mistaking this week's, is there?!
It's our Mona Pendleton!

  
We LOVE this week's 'color story' and we think you will too!


QUICK REMINDER
Would you be willing to turn off the
word verification (captcha) on your blog?
Our design team make an effort to visit and comment 
on every single entry, but the word verification 
prompt is making it harder to do each week.
Word verification has been causing many designer's
computers to literally 'lock up' which in turn does 
not allow us to let you know we stopped by.
You can change your blog settings to monitor 
your comments if you are using it to avoid spam.
We sincerely appreciate your consideration!


We are so happy to have a new sponsor here in The Cafe
this week and the owner is also our celebrity guest designer!






Practicing Creativity has a wonderful line
of photo-polymer stamps with images
that are very versatile.
What a terrific prize they have for our
creative winner this week:

Barefoot Summer

We are delighted to welcome the owner
and creator of Practicing Creativity stamps
as our celebrity guest designer.


"I love crafts!
Really...I can't get enough of them.
Thankfully, my sweet husband Chase knew
that long before he married me.  He had seen the
many scrapbooks lining my shelves!
If you've seen any of my videos, you know I
am from the south...Nashville to be exact.
Six months ago I started to design my own
stamps and running my own company.
It's certainly been an adventure, but I've loved
every minute of it.  I invite you to come see me



Your host for this week's challenge is
Let's see where she creates.....

"My creative space is my studio in my our home.
We converted a garage into a studio and utility area.
It's a work in progress and there is still much to be done.
Overall organization is important.  For instance, I want to
replace my horrible old plastic boxes for some cute,
fabric bags and make everything look more 'girly'!
 I used to work out of cupboards in the dining room
and under our stairs, so this is a definite improvement!
For some reason, I am very messy when I create.  I get
an idea in my mind and then after I rummage,
it looks as if 20 people have been making cards instead of
just lil 'ol me!
I have some photos of my studio to share, so I hope
you will pop by and say hi!"


Here's what the rest of our designers have done to inspire you.....


Lisa Somerville ~ Splendiferous Creations


Julie Ranae ~ Julie's Open Window


Suzanne Czosek ~ Suzz's Stamping Spot


Savannah O'Gwynn ~ Savannahland2


Sarah Anderson ~ The Art of Moodling



Please follow the rules carefully to enter.
Deadline for prizes is 11:59pm EST on Tuesday
The 'Cup of the Week' will be announced during the next challenge.
ALL SKILL LEVELS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PLAY! 
We want you to enjoy this challenge. 
Interpret the colors the way you see them. 
We do not use specific card stock color names or brands.
Break out of the box and have fun! 
The main requirement is:
PDCC COLORS BE THE 
FOCUS OF YOUR SUBMISSION
When using additional colors, please limit them to neutrals. 
You are welcome to combine challenges, 
but we do ask that:
 1. The PDCC name and/or photo is used
2. OUR colors are the focus of the card.
 
See complete rules on sidebar at right


The Fab 4
The Cream in our Coffee
and
THE CUP of the WEEK

Another challenge has come to a close.
A very warm thank you to all who entered.
This challenge is only successful because of YOU
so please, PLEASE play with us again!

 The Play Date Cafe congratulates 
The Fab 4 for Challenge #32:
(in alphabetical order)


The Fab can proudly display the
'I Made the Fab 4'
badge on their blogs!



The Cream in our Coffee
( make sure you see this talent, too! )



and The Play Date Cafe Cup of the Week...


Kim Costelo ~ PaperBabe

Kim wins the Stamper's Package from



and can proudly display the 'Play Date Cafe Winner' Badge.

Kim will also be eligible to be a
guest designer here in The Cafe.

Kim, please contact Julie Ranae at julieranae@hotmail.com
with your mailing address to receive your prize.



Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC32



Those flowers are gorgeous, aren't they?
The frosting looks ridiculously YUMMY!

There's ALL KINDS OF GOODNESS
and LOADS OF INSPIRATION...so here we go!

Our fabulous sponsors this week:


Limelight Papercrafts
is owned by husband & wife
Drew and Mandy.  They are committed to
bringing the best in stamping and scrapbooking
products and at a great price!

Here's what you COULD win...


"How Delightful' set from Lawn Fawn
AND
'Canvas Flowers' from Jillibean Soup



NEXT UP.....

We are delighted to welcome
Jen del Muro
to The Play Date Cafe
as this week's Celebrity Guest Designer.


"Hi, it's me...Jen del Muro of
www.iheart2stamp.com
As the name of my blog suggests,
I LoVe to stamp!
I have always loved paper projects and
in 2004, I was introduced to stamping
and it's been non-stop ever since.
Can you relate?  : )

I have served on a variety of design teams
including Verve, The Cat's Pajamas,
Taylored Expressions, Stamping Bella
and Splitcoast's Dirty Dozen.
Many of my cards have been published
in paper crafting magazines and I also
collaborated on a book for Design Originals
featuring alcohol markers (Copic).

My  favorite thing about stamping is the wonderful
people you meet along the way.  It's amazing how
a little rubber (or photo-polymer), ink and
paper can bring people together.
Thank you to The Play Date Cafe for having
me play along!  I don't know that I would have chosen
these colors on their own, but they are
truly delightful together!"


Our inspiration photo is courtesy of
our senior designer, Sarah Anderson.

"How stunning is that wedding cake?!
It was made for a friend of mine,
by another friend who had never really
made a cake like this before!

I spend a lot of time thinking about
colour, looking out for great combinations
and taking notice of the colours other people
use in their artwork.
Peach is NOT one of my colours!
I think it looks pretty on this cake, but I would
never in a million years use it in my artwork.
However, being the kind of girl I am and being
on a 'colour challenge' design team, it was
time to REALLY challenge myself this week."


Your host for this week's challenge is
Let's see where she creates.....

My creative space is a spare bedroom in our house.
I spend a lot of time in it, so it is important that it
be organized.  I am constantly reorganizing as I
acquire new supplies.
I am far from a 'neat-freak', but I find that I am
most productive when my workspace isn't messy,
so I always clean up before I get started on a new
project.  Besides, if I didn't, I'd only have a tiny
corner of my table to work on!  : )
I am sharing a video of my studio over
on my blog, so I hope you'll stop by!"


Here's what the rest of our designers have done to inspire you.....


Ruby McGuire ~ Ruby 2 Shoes Design


Senior Designer
Mona Pendleton ~ Cupcake's Creations


Lisa Somerville ~ Splendiferous Creations


Suzanne Czosek ~ Suzz's Stamping Spot


Savannah O'Gwynn ~ Savannahland2


Please follow the rules carefully to enter.
Deadline for prizes is 11:59pm EST on Tuesday
The 'Cup of the Week' will be announced during the next challenge.
ALL SKILL LEVELS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PLAY! 
We want you to enjoy this challenge. 
Interpret the colors the way you see them. 
We do not use specific card stock color names or brands.
Break out of the box and have fun! 
The main requirement is:
PDCC COLORS BE THE 
FOCUS OF YOUR SUBMISSION
When using additional colors, please limit them to neutrals. 
You are welcome to combine challenges, 
but we do ask that:
 1. The PDCC name and/or photo is used
2. OUR colors are the focus of the card.
 
See complete rules on sidebar at right




The Fab 4
The Cream in our Coffee
and
THE CUP of the WEEK

Another challenge has come to a close.
A very warm thank you to all who entered.
This challenge is only successful because of YOU
so please, PLEASE play with us again!

 The Play Date Cafe congratulates 
The Fab 4 for Challenge #31:
(in alphabetical order)

 Anne ~ Anne-ecdotes
Clare Buswell ~ Clare's Creations
Joanna K ~ Under a Creative Spell
Rosemary D ~ Hey There Rosigrl

The Fab can proudly display the
'I Made the Fab 4'
badge on their blogs!



The Cream in our Coffee
( make sure you see this talent, too! )



and The Play Date Cafe Cup of the Week...

Jo Willis ~ Here I Go Again

Jo wins the Stamper's Surprise
compliments The Play Date Cafe.

and can proudly display the 'Play Date Cafe Winner' Badge.

Jo will also be eligible to be a
guest designer here in The Cafe.

Jo, please contact Julie Ranae at julieranae@hotmail.com
with your mailing address to receive your prize.