The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC45

Congratulations to all of you who took the ultimate
challenge last week.  If you missed it, scroll down to
see what you missed.  We had one of the most colorful
project galleries and it was a pleasure to see how you all
made those colors work for you.

Senior Designer Julie Ranae, is your color host this week...
"I chose the colors this week with our guest designer in mind.
Her blog is always full of bold, bright, deep, rich colors and I
couldn't wait to see what she would bring to The Cafe as inspiration"

Please welcome Sankari Wegman!

"Hi Everyone, I am so excited

to be a guest designer today at the Play Date Cafe!!! YAY!! 

My husband and I live out in the cornfields of Iowa with our

two little ones and work as an Ayurvedic health consultant 

and just decided to go back to school this fall 

to finish my PhD in physiology :) 

I love spending time with my family and also love when everyone 

has gone to bed and I get to sneak away to my craft corner 

(which is literally just one corner)  I wish I had 4 corners! 

I started blogging about 2 years ago and what started as a small hobby (that fit into one drawer! has completely become a full fledged addiction :)) 

I feel so lucky to be designing for some wonderful companies and groups and am currently a design team member for Paper Craft Planet, Taylored Expressions, Verve Stamps, JustRite stamps and a DT member of the Gina K Card Club kit. Blogging has been a wonderful way for me to create special presents and cards for my family and friends and as creative therapy to unwind from the hectic schedule of the day, but more than anything it has also allowed me to make new best friends all over the world who also share this love of all things paper crafting! A huge thank you to Julie and her amazing Design Team for having me here today to play along with this amazingly delicious color combination!!! 

Big hugs and high fives to everyone,

Sankari"

We are also very excited to welcome

Andrea Ewen

as our newest Private Blend Designer.

We know you are going to love her style as much

as we do!

"My name is Andrea Ewen and I'm married to my high school sweetheart, Guy.  We have 2 beautiful children together, Troy is 12, Analise is 10 and they are the absolute lights of my life.  I work full time as a pharmacist at the Jersey Shore

in a quaint little "Mom n' Pop" pharmacy.  

When I'm not working or running to and from sporting/school events I'm in my craft room working up a storm.  I was introduced to Stampin' Up! in 2002 when a friend invited me to a party. Since that time, I've been hooked but just recently began to post my creations online on my blog "EwenStyle", which I started in March of this year. I'm looking forward to being a part of this wonderful Design Team here at The Play Date Cafe and grateful to these extremely talented artists for letting me join them on this fantastic ride!"

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

Ruby McGuire ~ Ruby 2 Shoes Design

Lisa Somerville ~ Splendiferous Creations

Suzanne Czosek ~ Suzz's Stamping Spot

Savannah O'Gwynn ~ Savannahland2

Senior Designer 

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 left

The Fab 4

The Cream in our Coffee

and

THE CUP of the WEEK

Another great 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!

This Week's Fab 4...

(in alphabetical order)

Nigel ~ Freebird's Flights of Fancy

Sue Allan ~ Little Imperfections

Sue L ~ Card Therapy
Suzanne ~ Simply Scrapbooking & Memories

The Fab can proudly display the

'I Made the Fab 4'

badge on their blogs!

The Cream in our Coffee...

( honorable mentions in random order )

Iza

Neet

Lynn

Jean FB

Gayle PR

Evelyn S

Julie Day

Priya

Sharon B

Traci S

Kim B

Nat

This group can proudly display the

'Cream in Our Coffee'

badge on their blogs!

and

The Cup of the Week...

Andrea M  ~ Work In Progress
 

Andrea wins the prize package from

and can proudly display the 'Cup of the Week' Badge.

 

Andrea will also be eligible to be a

guest designer here in The Cafe.

Andrea, please contact Julie Ranae at julieranae@hotmail.com

with your mailing address to receive your prize.

The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC44

Well...This is an 'unusual' inspiration photo
for The Play Date Cafe, is it not?!
Time to shake things up a bit and
get really creative!  Are you ready?
It's the first...
'colour horribilis' challenge!

Sarah Anderson is our host with the
creative idea for this week, so let's just see
what this is all about.....

"Are there any colours that don't go together?  That clash?

The very talented Penny Bearcroft from Life is a Fountain
and I discussed this one day at one of my workshops.
Penny thought it would be fun to play with a few colours that
most would think were, well...not so lovely together : ) 
I thought this would make a fun challenge and asked Penny to come up with some.
 Well...here they are!
Now I happen to think they do go together,
and Penny's proved it .... just take a look at her creation!

So are there any colours that don't go together?
Or is it just the tones of the colours that don't work out?
So while you're creating with these colours, we'd love you to ponder this question.
See what you come up with for colours that don't go well together.
We'd love to hear your ideas, but make sure you complete
this challenge
in navy blue, hot pink and mustard yellow."

This week we welcome back Elise Durenberger
back to The Cafe as our Guest Designer.
We hope you have been as inspired by her
fabulous creativity as much as our design team have.
Make sure you put Mamacow Creations on
your favorites list and visit often.
Here is what Elise did with this week's
'unique' color challenge.....

So glad to have another great prize package
from Memory Box Stamps



Here is what you could win...

'Rhubarb Tart' paper collection

'Seed Stems' Stamp Set

We are sad to be saying goodbye to one of our
design team members this week.

As the 6 month term has come and gone already,
it unfortunately passes all too quickly.
Stephanie Kraft has been such a wonderful friend
and creative partner to the rest of our team and we
know she has been an inspiration to you as well.
We hope she doesn't mind that we shared her final
thoughts for our team with you...

"I made this week's card especially for all of you, 

my sweet PDCC teammates

sending hugs and smiles, though not saying goodbye!"

Thanks Steph for being such an inspiration to all of us.
We look forward to seeing what wonderfully creative
things are next for you.....

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

Savannah O'Gwynn ~ Savannahland2

Ruby McGuire ~ Ruby 2 Shoes Design

Lisa Somerville ~ Splendiferous Creations

 
Suzanne Czosek ~ Suzz's Stamping Spot

Senior Designer

Julie Ranae ~ Julie's Open Window

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 left

The Fab 4

The Cream in our Coffee

and

THE CUP of the WEEK

Another record player 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!

This Week's Fab 4...

(in alphabetical order)

Gerrie ~ Queen of Grunge

Jen Shears ~ Jen Shears Designs

Mirabelka ~ Mirabelka's Corner
Nerina ~ Nerina's Serendipity

The Fab can proudly display the

'I Made the Fab 4'

badge on their blogs!

The Cream in our Coffee...

( honorable mentions in random order )

Kate

Claire C

Erin T

Julie Day

Jaclyn M

Nicky Hsu

Erica C

Andrea

Lynne

Darling Ho

Heather Marie

Jill

Shelly

Clare B

Colleen D

 

This group can proudly display the

'Cream in Our Coffee'

badge on their blogs!

and

The Cup of the Week...

Dana Gustafson  ~ Paper Daydream
 

Dana wins the prize package from

and can proudly display the 'Cup of the Week' Badge.

 

Dana will also be eligible to be a

guest designer here in The Cafe.

Dana, please contact Julie Ranae at julieranae@hotmail.com

with your mailing address to receive your prize.

The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC43

It is August and here in the US, we are in the

'dog days' of summer.  Some of the hottest weather

on record calls for some refreshing.......

'colors'

don't you think?!

Senior Designer Julie Ranae is this week's host...

"I have to say that when I saw this photo

(courtesy of Marthastewart.com)

I fell in love.  I am such a fan of lime greens and

lighter shades of blue together, so add a deep accent

of green and I am good to go!"

It's always so great to welcome brand new sponsors

to our challenge and this week, we are thrilled to have

Creative Inspirations Paints

"Creative Inspirations is a family-owned business that offers

a quality iridescent craft paint in 55 vibrant colors.

You will make your projects sparkle with our

non-toxic, water-based paints 

which work wonderfully on most surfaces.

Just shake, open and create!

Just in time for the holidays, we have

Limited Edition colors in:

Beige, Ivory, Burgundy and Denium.

Please visit our blog

and find our full range of products on our website

www.creativeinspirationspaint.com"

This week's fabby prize:

your choice of

12 jars of Creative Inspirations Paints

We are also very happy to have a variety of
the Creative Inspirations DT playing along with us this week!
Again, check out their blog here for more inspiration
using this week's PDCC colors.

It is time to reveal the newest addition

to The Play Date Cafe Design Team

and we are super excited indeed!

Just what makes a

'Private Blend' Designer?

This is a player who, from week to week,
stands out with an innovative and inspiring style.

It is by invitation-only from our senior design team
  and can happen at any time for an open-ended period.

Our newest Private Blend Designer is...

 Andrea Ewen

Congratulations to Andrea!  We look forward to her

joining us for her first challenge as a PBD, Sept 2nd.

This week's guest designer has been one of the most

popular 'guys' we have had in The Cafe.  We already had

Paul Browning scheduled for two weeks in the month of

August and it's a good thing we did because you made

it clear with your comments that you loved having him here.

Paul...we can't thank you enough for your support

all the way from the UK and we want you to know that

you are welcome back anytime, sir!

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

Suzanne Czosek ~ Suzz's Stamping Spot

Savannah O'Gwynn ~ Savannahland2

Stephanie Kraft ~ HandKrafted by Stephanie

Ruby McGuire ~ Ruby 2 Shoes Design

Lisa Somerville ~ Splendiferous Creations

Senior Designer 

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 left

The Fab 4

The Cream in our Coffee

and

THE CUP of the WEEK

Another record player 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!

This Week's Fab 4...

(in alphabetical order)

Giovana ~ A Place to Praise & Craft

Iza ~ Jestcudnie

Lori T ~ Inkingly Yours
Lynette ~ Netter's Notables

The Fab can proudly display the

'I Made the Fab 4'

badge on their blogs!

The Cream in our Coffee...

( honorable mentions in random order )

Donna

Jenny Johns

Tracy Evans

Lenet

Nerina

Jack

Melissa H

Lucille

Jimmi

Jean FB

Michelle M

Lisa A

Sandy

Natalie H

Suzie L

 

This group can proudly display the

'Cream in Our Coffee'

badge on their blogs!

and

The Cup of the Week...

Annette Green ~ My Creative Journey
 

Annette wins the prize package from

and can proudly display the 'Cup of the Week' Badge.

 

Annette will also be eligible to be a

guest designer here in The Cafe.

Annette, please contact Julie Ranae at julieranae@hotmail.com

with your mailing address to receive your prize.

The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC42

Here we are at challenge #42.
Do you realize we are just 10 weeks away from our  
One Year Anniversary
here at The Play Date Cafe??!!
There's no waiting until our 100th challenge to have
a big celebration, so make sure you mark your
calendars for October 21st and help us celebrate!

Here's something else...
Next week we will be revealing the next

Private Blend Designer

for 2010...who will it be?
Make sure you stay tuned!

Miss Sarah is our Senior Designer host this week.

She has been on 'holiday' on The Isle of Wight for
the past couple weeks, so we haven't been able to
catch up with her long enough to find out her thoughts
behind this 'color story'.  But how fun is this photo?
We know you'll have fun creating with these 'earthy' colors.

We are really happy to have another prize
package from one of our favorite sponsors,

and here is what you could win...

 'Little Birdie' stamps

'Fernbrae' paper collection


We are really excited about our next  
Guest Designer.
We have always loved her entries to
our challenge and as a past

'Cup of the Week'

she definitely earned it!
We welcome...
Elise Durenberger.

"I live on a small-ish ranch in gorgeous Sonoma County,

California.  I spend my days wrangling two kids

(who aren't exactly little anymore *sob*!),

one over-sized kid (that would be my husband),

5 horses, 4 dogs, 2 cats and one happy, but dusty little home.

I'm a fine artist by trade and education and these days I 

specialize in Animal Portraiture.

In my 'free time', I'm a rabid paper crafter, who dreams in

hues of ink, glitter, card stock and stamps!

I've been completely transformed by the power and

creative-shared experience of Blogland.

I'm beyond honored to be guest designing for

The Play Date Cafe, as it is one of my favorite

challenge destinations.  I am always so moved by the

breadth of samples the super talented design team

put together week after week.  I hope to add to that

experience for all of you while I am here."

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

Lisa Somerville ~ Splendiferous Creations

Suzanne Czosek ~ Suzz's Stamping Spot

Savannah O'Gwynn ~ Savannahland2

Ruby McGuire ~ Ruby 2 Shoes Design

Senior Designer

Julie Ranae ~ Julie's Open Window

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 left

The Fab 4

The Cream in our Coffee

and

THE CUP of the WEEK

Another record player 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!

This Week's Fab 4...

(in alphabetical order)

Diane ~ Peaceful Lane

Jaclyn ~ Designs by Jax

Lynn ~ The Mango Boys & Me
Pauline ~ Craft Obsession

The Fab can proudly display the

'I Made the Fab 4'

badge on their blogs!

The Cream in our Coffee...

( honorable mentions in random order )

Deb Young

Greta H

Linda Beeson

Susie

Mags

Annette G

Bonnie Rose

Stella

Tami Grandi

Gerrie

Debbie D

Wendy

Sarah T

Christina

Julie Day

 

This group can proudly display the

'Cream in Our Coffee'

badge on their blogs!

and

The Cup of the Week...

 

Nicky Hsu ~ Craft-Coffee-Cat
 

Nicky wins the 'paper grab bag' from

and can proudly display the 'Cup of the Week' Badge.

 

Nicky will also be eligible to be a

guest designer here in The Cafe.

Nicky, please contact Julie Ranae at julieranae@hotmail.com

with your mailing address to receive your prize.