Cookie Ornaments

We're seeing lots of great handmade ornaments on Pinterest these days, and Mae Armstrong has come up with a unique and fun one that rivals almost all that I have seen. It's an inexpensive and fun way to decorate a mini-tree in your kitchen. Why your kitchen? Because the ornaments are made from salt cookie dough! To start, make the cookie dough using the following recipe.

• 1 cup flour
  
• 1/2 cup salt
  
• 1/2 cup water
  
• Blend all ingredients together until a sticky dough is formed. Mae didn't even use a mixer for this project, feel free to mix the old fashioned way for quick and easy results (and less clean-up!)
  

When the dough is complete, roll it out use a fluted cookie cutter to cut the shapes. Add black ink on your PSA Essentials Peel & Stick stamp and stamp the dough. Mae stamped the tree from PSA Essentials Whimsy Tree, one of our favorite stamp sets released last year. Use a wooden stick to add holes. Bake before decorating at 200 degrees for 4 hours or you can leave them out overnight and they dry up hard. When they are dry, decorate them with your favorite markers!

The possibilities are endless with this project, you can use them as ornaments on your tree, or it would be a unique and cute way to embellish any packaging on presents. Tie festive ribbon through and to the packaging for a real statement. If you would like to keep your handmade ornaments for years, be sure to add a thin layer of polyurethane gloss varnish to prevent moisture. This is also a great project you can share with your kids. Enjoy this fun one, thanks for sharing with us Mae!

Holiday Cookies

Creating gorgeous holiday cookies that look like they came from a bakery has always been something I want to do. I found a great tutorial online on how to create bakery style cookies and they're a whole lot easier than I thought. http://sweetopia.net/2010/12/video-how-to-marble-or-swirl-royal-icing/

These gorgeous cookies would make a great gift this time of year. Place them in a tin with parchment paper to keep them from getting ruined. Wrap the tin (or skip the wrapping and just tie a bow). Attach a handmade gift tag and stamp the back of the tag with your personalized "from the kitchen of" stamp. Now you have a great holiday present that's thoughtful and looks great, too!

I love baking this time of year! Do you have any good online recipes to share?

Welcome New Design Team Member - Regina Mangum!

We are excited to announce a new member of our design team: Regina Mangum! Regina lives in San Francisco, CA and is a mom of a sweet and spunky little boy who often appears in her projects. Regina's crafting resume is impressive, which is one of the reasons we chose her! She was Paper Crafts Magazine 2010 Gallery Idol Top 5 Finalist and Card Ideas for Cardmakers Top 10 Designer. In addition, she's been published in:

• Card Creations: Favorite Occassions (November/December 2010)
  
• Paper Crafts Magazine (Jan/Feb 2011)
  
• Paper Crafts Magazine (Mar/April 2011)
  
• Card Ideas for Cardmakers (August 2011)
  
• Paper Crafts Magazine (Sept/October 2011)
  
• Card Creations: Get Inspired! (Nov 2011)
  

She is currently on the design team for Taylored Expressions and has worked on design teams for Clear & Simple Stamps and 2 Sketches 4 You Weekly Challenge. She's a busy woman! 


The other reason she was chosen is that her work is fantastic! She has a Clean & Simple Style but is whimsical and fun. Here a few examples of her great work. Be sure to visit her blog and say hello: http://www.thestampinbean.blogspot.com

Welcome Regina! We are thrilled to have you and can't wait to see what you come up with using PSA Essentials Peel & Stick stamps.



 

Every Day with Rachael Ray

This time of year all of our favorite celebs are telling us what their favorite gifts are to give and what's hot on the market. This season, Rachael Ray outlined her favorite kitchen goodies –like an egg tray, wine of the month club, alphabet cups for kids, chip and dip tray. She also announced her favorite non-kitchen goodies – like eco-friendly pencils, custom silhouette artwork, and one of MY favorites - PSA Essentials personalized and Peel & Stick stamps! 

We were honored to be chosen as one of Rachael's favorite things! Check out all her online bonus gift guide recommendations and see PSA Essentials here. http://www.rachaelraymag.com/fun-how-to/every-day-faves/rachael-s-bonus-online-gift-guide/7

 

 

 

The Letter Tree

If you're looking for personalized gifts for the holidays, check out one of our PSA Essentials retailers: The Letter Tree. Not only do they have a great deal on PSA Essentials (right now receive 30% off Peel & Stick packs, plus received a free alignment tool with custom stamp purchase) but they have great monogrammed and personalized gifts for everyone. Here are a few of my favorite things they carry. This great tote is perfect for the Farmers Market. It's chic and eco-friendly. Usually $44.00, it's on-sale for $33.00 – so you can save 25% right now.

I am digging the monogrammed computer bag, too. The font style is great for a guy! This would be a great gift for someone on the road a lot.

I think their nap mats are about the cutest thing I have ever seen. Send your kid to daycare or school with one of these to make them feel extra special. I love this ladybug one… that's what I call Molly – my little lady bug!

Looking for a great hostess or housewarming gift? Or maybe a holiday gift for the stationery enthusiast. Here's an idea: pair a PSA Essentials custom stamp with some of The Letter Tree's personalized stationery. They have 23 different stationery styles to choose from, I like the red stripe one here. See them all here. http://www.thelettertree.com/penoca.html

Of course, be sure to check out all of the great products they have and all of the PSA Essentials products they have. http://www.thelettertree.com/psaessentials.html This great deal of 30% off Peel & Stick and a free alignment tool with custom stamp purchase ends 12/4 at midnight. That's tomorrow!  I love these stamps and they are perfect gifts this year!

 

 

PSA Essentials & Cottage Cuz Blog Hop 12/2 – 12/4

You may be joining us from the Scrapping Cottage (http://scrappingcottage.blogspot.com/) or just starting out on this fabulous hop. Either way, welcome! This weekend we are sharing wonderful holiday card ideas using PSA Essentials and Cottage Cuz by both of our team's talented designers. We were feeling extra jolly this time of year so if you leave a comment and become a follower of PSA Stamp Camp (if you aren't already), we will enter you to win:

• 3 Peel & Stick stamp sets, 1 stamper, 1 black ink & 1-2 color ink from PSA Essentials
  
• A $50 gift certificate to The Scrapping Cottage
  
• There are also 9 opportunities to win a 3 x 3 die from The Scrapping Cottage along the way, so be sure to check out all the blogs and terms/conditions
  

Here today is a great card using PSA Essentials Vanilla Peel & Stick stamps and UBU Peppermint Swing Peel & Stick stamps. Instead of the "I"'s in Jingle, Jennifer Holmes replaced them with these adorable UBU festive characters. I just love the lime and pink color combination she's chosen here!

PSA Essentials manufactures self-inking custom stamps. We have patent-pending Peel & Stick technology which allows you to Peel away your personalized design and stick on one of thousands of our other designs, from seasonal, occasions, holidays, letters and sentiments. Our Peel & Stick stamps work with our PSA Stamper, or just like any other clear, acrylic stamp – use them with blocks and mix and match different inks. Our designs are perfect for creating your holiday cards!

Right now, you can receive 30% off all Peel & Stick packs, and a personalized stamp is just $26.50 (normally $40!) To receive this incredible holiday deal, head to our retailer, Rossomer Square. http://www.rossomersquare.com/by-brand-psa-essentials-c-88_297.html

If you haven't hopped around, follow this great line-up! Enjoy some holiday card inspiration and have some fun.

• www.kcreatedbykay.blogspot.com - Kay Norman
  
• http://www.thecountrychiccottage.net - Angie Holden
  
• www.thethinkinspot.blogspot.com - Lorie Souther
  
• http://paperiepetals.blogspot.com - Kim Schofield
  
• www.maisymary.blogspot.com  - Pearl Liu
  
• www.lingshappyplace.blogspot.com - Vera Yates
  
• www.stampingwithjanice.blogspot.com  - Janice Wilson
  
• www.simpleflourishes.com - Jennifer Holmes
  
• www.pinkcloudscrappers.blogspot.com -  Lori Leng
  
• http://inkypaws.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ - Jeanne Streiff
  
• www.ginicagle.blogspot.com  - Gini Cagle
  
• www.livingthecircuslife.blogspot.com - Kim Moreno
  
• www.taylordconcepts.blogspot.com  - Erika Taylor
  
• www.fantastink.blogspot.com - Meylssa Connolley
  
• www.handmadebyangelica.com  - Angelica Suarez
  
• www.sweeetdesignsbycheryl.blogspot.com  - Cheryl Walker
  
• http://maearmstrong.blogspot.com - Mae Armstrong
  
• http://scrappingcottage.blogspot.com/ - The Scrapping Cottage
  
• www.psastampcamp.blogspot.com – PSA Essentials
  

DIY Fridge Magnets

I have a long list of projects in my crafting queue. On the list to do is artwork with book covers for Molly's room, a project for my god daughter Owsley, and…. fridge magnets. It's time to upgrade the Pizza Hut freebies we've been sporting. My eye has been on ones from Exposures but I really can't justify the $16.99 plus Shipping and Handling for fridge magnets… though aren't they cute?

I stumbled upon this fantastic tutorial for mini Polaroid magnets and now all I have to do is execute the plan to save $16.99, S&H, and cross it off my list. (http://www.ambrosiagirl.com/blog/tiny-polaroid-magnets/).  I e emailed the designer, Jennifer Kirk and asked for permission to showcase this amazing project.   She couldn't have been nicer!  Be sure to check out her blog and the full tutorial on how to create these adorable Polaroid magnets!

While I am at it, I can make some cute fridge magnets with PSA Essentials stamps! Angie Holden shows us just how easy it is. Start by stamping with your favorite PSA Essentials Peel & Stick stamp set onto colorful paper. Then punch, adhere to chipboard and Mod Podge for a finished look. Adhere the chipboard to magnetic backers, and voila! Easy magnets.

These magnets look great displaying artwork done by Angie's offspring!

I love the idea of DIY magnets on the fridge!