Milk and Cookies Party

Our design team member Mae Armstrong threw the most incredible 2^nd birthday party for her twin boys around the theme of milk and cookies.   From a homemade piñata to DIY play dough favors, a wreath for the front door, and baking mountains of cookies, cakes and cupcakes, Mae spent dozens of hours on this party.   Today I am sharing all the components of the party and over the next few days, I’ll share her tutorials on how to make different components of the party.  You’re sure to want to recreate some – if not all – of this party.    

First she created a front door wreath that highlighted the number “2”.   She used her PSA Essential custom stamp that she designed herself for the party.    

She stamped her heart out!   And baked her heart out!  Here’s the dessert buffet featuring chocolate crinkles, chocolate chip cookies, funfetti, boysenberry thumbprint cookies, cookie birthday cake, cookies and cream cupcakes, party straws and homemade play dough favors.

Can you see the blue cookie bag? Guests loved that they were able to bring some yummy baked treats with them.

Here are the homemade play dough party favors.

And cookies and cream cupcakes. 

The whole set up…

Mae’s aunt gave her this cookie pan from William Sonoma – it made an adorable cake!

Here’s the homemade giant cookie pinata with pull strings.

Here’s the piñata in action!

When it was time to eat,  Mae created simple table cover by getting a big roll of butcher paper and covering the table.  She a created simple place mats for each guest with their name and stamped it with the PSA Essentials custom birthday stamp.

Here are the party guests decorating their own sugar cookies!

The twin boys enjoyed the sugar cookie decorating activity! 

 Aren’t they just adorable? 

Welcome Connor Michael O'Regan

On Thursday, May 17^th   at 1.10 pm,  we welcomed our son into this world!   Connor Michael O’Regan was 8 lbs and 19.5 inches and perfectly healthy.   We are totally in love with him and I am so proud to introduce him here at PSA Stamp Camp. 

I ordered our birth announcements from Tiny Prints (http://www.tinyprints.com/.)  I am busy stuffing envelopes, putting on labels and stamping all 150 of them to get them out.  I had the above custom stamp made to stamp the back of the envelopes... isn't it cute?

I stamped my address on the birth announcements with my personalized address stamp and the inner ring “It’s A Boy” from PSA Carriage Peel & Stick pack.

We are adjusting to life as a family of four – there have been some challenges and not a lot of sleep, but every day gets easier and better.  Babies don’t stay babies forever – in the first year of life infants go from tiny blobs to crawling to walking and babbling.   I am reminding myself of that with each 2 am or 4 am feeding and trying to cherish those times as they’re fleeting.  This time is short lived - time to make the most of it. 

Graduation Layout

Graduating high school is one of those times in your life you’ll remember forever.  For me who went to The University of Michigan with 6,000 people in my undergraduate class, my college diplomas (yes, I like people to know that there are two…) were mailed to me.   High school graduation was different.   It felt monumentous.   It wasn’t just because of the accomplishment of completing school, but because I graduated from my parents and was leaving my friends.   I graduated and became an adult (sort of), headed off to college later that summer, and truly survived on my own. 

This epic time in someone’s life is certainly worthy of a scrapbook page if you’re a scraper.   Here’s an idea by Kim Schofield.  She’s used our new Asian Symbols and Asian Icon stamps available only at Smithsonian Museum Stores.   This was the perfect collection for Kim’s friends daughter who majored in Chinese. 

Here are some close-ups of the stamps.

Supplies used:

·         Designer Paper – Graphic 45

·         KaiserCraft – Rhinestone Swirl

·         PSA Essentials Asian Symbols & Asian Icons available only at Smithsonian Museum Stores: & ).

·         Grad Letters – Idea-ology (Tim Holtz)

Super Star Cards - Which is your favorite? & Win

For the last three weeks, I have been showcasing the Top 15 Super Star Cards of all time at PSA Stamp Camp.   In the last two years, I’ve posted nearly 450 posts here and hundreds of cards so it was extremely difficult to narrow it down to 15.   Some notes about my choices.

I tend to gravitate towards a clean and simple style.  I am not a shabby chic lover and don’t usually go for a layered look because I like things minimal, clean and uncluttered.  That’s just me and it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the talents of card makers with other styles.  Three talented designers, Carly Robertson, Melyssa Connolly and Jennifer Holmes have been with PSA Essentials since we started our design team in August 2010, so naturally I had more to choose from by them.    I couldn’t even get to all the ones that our talented new card makers like Vera Yates, Jamie Cripps and Regina Mangum have made for us.   I wanted to include more by Jeanne Streiff – but nearly everything she makes for us gets printed in CardMaker magazine and I can’t show them. 

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE!

Though it seems impossible, it’s time for you to choose among these 15 cards your absolute favorite.   What will it be?

#1 – I’m sorry by Jennifer Holmes

#2 – Miss You Friends by Kelley Eubanks

#3 – Joy Baby Card by Kelley Eubanks

#4 – Mr. & Mrs.  by Jeanne Streiff

#5 -  Thank-you Military by Tami Mayberry

#6 – Beautiful Day card by Carly Robertson

#7 – 1^st birthday by Jennifer Holmes

#8 -  It’s a Girl by Carly Robertson

#9 – Ray of Sunshine by Jennifer Holmes

#10 – Home Sweet Home by Kelley Eubanks

#11 – Bridal by Carly Robertson

#12 – Shoes by Carly Robertson

#13 – Hi by Jennifer Holmes

#14 -  Many Thanks by Carly Robertson

#15 – Congrats Grad by Melyssa Connolly

Cast your vote now!

And don’t forget that we are doing a giveaway on Facebook.  Upload a card you’ve designed inspired by one of these designs (or anything you've done recently) and be entered to win.   One lucky person will receive 3 Peel & Stick packs of their choice.  I hope you’ve enjoyed Super Star cards! 

Friendship Card

My best friend Danielle and I often send eachother cute friendship cards.   I thought of her when I saw this card by Carly Robertson about shoes – she is a big time shoe buyer!  (And not just for her personal collection, she actually buys shoes for a living for a store you probably shop at…)  This card makes my Top 10 Super Star Cards, out of thousands we’ve seen by our Design Team. 

Why it works:   Doesn’t lime and pink always work?   The tag adhered with 3D dots gives great dimension, the button and ribbon add visual interest to a simple card.  

What you’ll need: 

·         Cardstock: Lime and Sugar (A Muse); Pattern Paper: Pink Kitchen (A Muse);

·         Stamps: (image) PSA- Frenchie and (sentiment) PSA-Dare to Dream (PSA Essentials);

·         Fibers: pink sheer ribbon (A Muse) and lime twine (Michaels); Button: (A Muse); Gems: rhinestone (Kaiser); Tools: Tags (Sizzix)

How to recreate it:

1.       Cut card base from lime card stock and add a strip of pink polka dot pattern paper.

2.       Stamp image and sentiment on white tag

3.       Add rhinestone, ribbon and button, adhere to card.

WANT TO WIN Peel & Stick packs?   If you’re inspired by this card, recreate it exactly or do a variation.   Upload it to our Facebook page!  Each time you share a card on our Facebook timeline, you’ll earn one entry to win 3 PSA Essentials Peel & Stick packs of your choice.   We’ll choose just one winner from all the entries so good luck and happy card making!

It's A Girl Card

Do you know someone who’s having a girl or just had one?  Recreate and send this idea by Carly Robertson!  See why it makes my Top 15 Super Star Cards of all time.

Why it works:  Both the scalloped tag and small gift tag add a lot to this clean and simple card.  The lime and pink color combination is perfect for a little girl.    These two stamps from PSA Carriage are such wonderful stamps to welcome a girl into the world – you don’t need a whole lot of fluff to make a big statement. 

What you’ll need: 

·         Cardstock: Sugar and Bubblegum (A Muse)

·         Stamps: PSA-Carriage (PSA Essentials)

·         Fibers: lime stitched and pink sheer ribbon (A Muse)

·         Tools: large circle scallop (Spellbinders) and Tags (Sizzix) \

·         Gems: rhinestone (A Muse)

How to recreate it:

1.       Cut card base and layer with pink paper.

2.       Stamp sentiment on white tag and attach to card with ribbon, add rhinestone.

3.       Stamp image on circle scallop die and add to card base.

WANT TO WIN Peel & Stick packs?   If you’re inspired by this card, recreate it exactly or do a variation.   Upload it to our Facebook page!  Each time you share a card on our Facebook timeline, you’ll earn one entry to win 3 PSA Essentials Peel & Stick packs of your choice.   We’ll choose just one winner from all the entries so good luck and happy card making!

Hi Card

Adding to our list today of Super Star cards is a “hi” card by Jennifer Holmes.   It seems that the days of writing an old-fashioned letter are gone – we’re quick to send an email or a text, and more reluctant to pick up a pen and paper.  But receiving a card in the mail “just because” could really make someone’s day.  

Why it works:   The flower stamps from PSA Life’s A Beach stamped on an acrylic block in varying inks are so bright and cheery! It’s like getting a bouquet of flowers.  The orange polka dot ribbon is unexpected – the ribbon gives the card dimension and depth that makes the card even more special.  

What you’ll need:

·         Stamps:  Vanilla Alphabet, “H” Monogram, Life’s A Beach Peel & Stick Packs (PSA Essentials)

·         Paper: Stamper’s Select White and Raspberry Fizz (Papertrey Ink), Purple (Bazzil Bassics)

·         Ink: Raspberry Fizz and True Black (Papertrey Ink), Cameo Coral, Elegant Eggplant and Certainly Celery (Stampin’ Up!)

·         Tools: Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), circle punch (EK Success), Classic Circle die (Spellbinders)

·         Other: Berry Sorbet Swiss Dot Ribbon (Papertrey Ink), glitter (MarthaStewart Crafts), markers (Copic), foam dimensionals, glue pen

How to recreate it:

                   1.            Make card base from purple cardstock.

                   2.            Cut a slightly smaller piece of white cardstock for front.  Round corners.

                   3.            Stamp floral stamp randomly along bottom half of white cardstock. Color centers with coordinating Copic markers.

                   4.            Using a glue pen, add glitter to center of flowers.

                   5.            Tie ribbon around cardstock and tie a bow.  Adhere to card base.

                   6.            Stamp “h” and “i” onto white cardstock.  Punch out with circle die.

                   7.            Cut out slightly larger circle from Raspberry Fizz cardstock.

                   8.            Adhere two circles together and adhere to card using foam dimensionals.

Want to win Peel & Stick packs?   If you’re inspired by this card, recreate it exactly or do a variation.   Upload it to our Facebook page!  Each time you share a card on our Facebook timeline, you’ll earn one entry to win 3 PSA Essentials Peel & Stick packs of your choice.   We’ll choose just one winner from all the entries so good luck and happy card making!