Holiday Decorating

What best describes the way the exterior of your home is decorated this holiday season?

• A) Completely dark – it's the holidays?
  
• B) A single wreath on the door
  
• C) A wreath on every window, lit reindeer in the yard, a blow up Santa, and lights all across roofline
  

If you've answered "B", I have a holiday decoration for you. It's understated and simple, yet still festive. Just like the exterior of your house. 

To recreate, find your favorite basket and add winter flowers or plants. Our designer Heidi Ferguson chose this adorable log basket (perfect for the holidays) and added holly. Stamp "NOEL" from PSA Archive Peel & Stick stamps in red ink on white paper, then punch and adhere to larger punched red cardstock. Glue onto bamboo sticks and stick into the basket of flowers or plant.



Voila! You've created a centerpiece for your table or a decoration for your home that looks great but isn't over the top. My kind of decoration! (I answered B.)

Gift idea & handmade packaging

Our design team member Mae Armstrong places a lot of emphasis on the way a gift is wrapped. To her, the packaging and wrapping is equally a part of the gift as the gift itself. After all, it does set the tone. Her friends and family know her for giving wonderful gifts, wrapped in beautiful, handmade designs. And with her innovative, reusable ideas, the packaging truly is a gift within itself. Check out this wonderful idea to try out. It's a draw string bag, perfect for jewelry!

Here's what you will need:

1. PSA Essentials "Treeo" Peel and Stick Stamp Set
   
2. PSA Essentials Stamper
   
3. PSA Essentials Alignment Tool
   
4. PSA Essentials Black and Pink Ink
   
5. 1-3/8 " Circle Puncher
   
6. 2" Scalloped Circle Puncher
   
7. Spellbinders Nestabilities Dies - Labels 2
   
8. Crystal Sticker Pearls - Natural Pearl - 3mm
   
9. Pink Yarn
   
10. Retro Fabric (from Fabric.com)
    

Pre-punch all your shapes, stamp the tree design from PSA Tree-O Peel & Stick on the white card stock (inner layer) and embellish with pearl stickers. Place inner circle on top of the scalloped circle tag and glue on top of the base label. There are a total of three layers for this project.


Cut the fabric according to the size of your present. On the front side of your fabric sew the Christmas label. Turn over hem, start sewing all sides for your draw string bag. Add the pink yarn at the end and thread through the bag. Mae found a cute pink tin container with a clear top. Perfect little storage for the bracelet. You can also fill the bag with shredded pink paper.

And voila! You have a cute drawstring bag to give!


 

 

Winner

Last week all week long, we featured holiday cards by our designers.  We had hundreds of comments as entries to win, but there could only be one winner.  Congratulations to Jessica!  You are the winner of any Peel & Stick pack of your choice.   Email loregan@psaessentials.com with your address & choice of Peel & Stick pack.  Congrats! 

 

O’Regan Holiday Cards – 2011

I ordered my photo holiday cards this season from Shutterfly. I was impressed with the quality – the matte finish and heavy weight card stock is luxe and the design is colorful and whimsical. Take a look! Molly is singing Jingle Bells on the beach in Cabo. (This would have been a great video!) She's such a happy child with abundant personality, I think that shows through in this card.

I spent some time decorating the outside of the envelopes with various Peel & Stick stamps from PSA Essentials, and my own personalized stamper. For the return address, I used four different middles with my outer personalized address ring - the "north pole" sign and ornament from PSA Vintage Snowman, and the holiday letter and the decorated palm tree from PSA Tree-O. I used my hunter & red ink to make it stand out. I had 125 cards to send out, so I changed things up with my middles every so often. Just because it's easy to do so and because I couldn't choose just one! Take a peak here - sorry I have to blur out my address!

Which is your favorite? The ornament surprised me as mine – I love how crisp and clear the cross-hatching is in the illustration, it looks like an etching.



I also ordered vintage holiday postage stamps from The Paper Nickel Stamp Company. Each stamp is real postage from 1963 and to 1981. It's a hoot to see how the designs have evolved over the years! Adding vintage postage stamps gives each card an extra special touch and really makes them stand out in a sea of bills and cards this season. You can order them too at: http://thepapernickel.com/

With my PSA Essentials stamp and vintage postage stamps, these cards just sparkle! And even more so when the addresses are prominently displayed!

What do your family cards look like this year? 

Christmas Magic Blog Hop

Looking for the Winter Wonderland Blog Hop?  Click here: 

For the Christmas Magic Blog Hop, you should be joining us from Mindy.   Today we are showing three cards by PSA Essentials design team member Carly Robertson that appeared in Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine.  Aren't familiar with PSA Essentials?  We manufacture self-inking personalized stamps with switchable technology and thousands of designs.  We have ones for each holiday, sentiment, occasion, great licensed ones too.   Aren't these cards amazing? 

See them all together here - they're such a fantastic trio. 

BLOG CANDY ALERT!  In addition to our sponsorship prize, you can also win 1 Peel & Stick pack of your choice.   Which is your favorite? Leave a comment and let us know.  To win, you must be a follower! 


Up next is Robin! 


Here's the entire line-up (just in case you are lost!) 

• Ashley - http://theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com
• Nicolette - http://beyondscrapin.blogspot.com
• Lisa- http://honeybearzdesigns2011.blogspot.com/
• Jamie -http://myamusinglife.blogspot.com
• Tami - http://tamboscreations.blogspot.com
• Gina - http://californiascrappin-gcinderella21.blogspot.com/
• Angela - http://creativecraftin.blogspot.com/
• Janet R -http://janetscreativeworld.blogspot.com/
• Zenita - http://scrappinwithz.blogspot.com
• Janet S - http://ladyluvbug.blogspot.com/
• Mindy - http://papercreationsbymindyblog.blogspot.com/
• Libby - http://psastampcamp.blogspot.com/
• Robin - http://scrapandchat.blogspot.com/
• Tanya - http://little-scrapper.blogspot.com/
• Vicki - http://scrapbookingcreationsbyvicki.blogspot.com/
• Liz - http://tryin2craft.blogspot.com
• Kristy - http://scraptasticalkreations.blogspot.com 

Holiday Card Week – Day 5 (&Winter Wonderland Blog Hop)

Greetings!  Welcome to the Winter Wonderland Blog Hop & Day 5 of our Holiday Card Week.   You're joining us from Jamie probably, but if not - just start from the beginning at the Queen.  


I bet you knew that we carried some really popular and really adorable characters like Hello Kitty, Peanuts & Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Today we are showcasing holiday card designs using our licensed Peel & Stick stamps – all of them have sets devoted to the winter holidays. 


This card is an old favorite by Carly Robertson. She's stamped "joy, peace, love" from PSA Tree-O but the adorable little Rudolph comes to us from Rudolph & Friends Peel & Stick stamps. My friend Bari Adler collects snow globes from all around the world, and this one reminded me of her. The card is so simple, but completely adorable.

Vera Yates created a "Seasons Greetings" with Snoopy from Peanuts Wishes. She too colored up the present to make it stand out.

Enjoy great inspiration all day long on this Winter Wonderland Blog Hop! 


BLOG CANDY ALERT!   Leave one comment per day all week long to be entered to win your favorite Peel & Stick pack!  What's your favorite licensed Peel & Stick holiday pack of ours? Let us know today! Here's the whole line-up:  


 1. Theresa H.~www.thescrapbookingqueen.com
2.  Lisa ~ http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
4.  Amber J. ~ http://pixiperfectcreations.blogspot.com
5. Colleen H. ~ www.cbcscrapbooking.blogspot.com
6. April N. ~ http://www.curlsandgrins.blogspot.com
Blog is Down... adjust accordingly please...
8. Michelle H. ~http://www.craftychelle.blogspot.com/
9. Brenda B~ http://createbyburffrau.blogspot.com/
10. Jamie ~ http://myamusinglife.blogspot.com/
11. PSA~ http://www.psastampcamp.blogspot.com/