Puppy Love

Good morning friends!  I hope you all had a Merry and Blessed Christmas  or special time spent with loved ones during this holiday season.  Our Christmas was very pleasant.  My 15 yr. old had his wisdom teeth removed on Thursday.  Other than having chipmunk cheeks, he has been such a trooper and hasn't complained a bit.  Though he has been eating puddings, and jello, and ice cream and yogurt, he was able to eat a couple of helpings of turkey stuffing with gravy for his Christmas dinner.  The rest of us enjoyed turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and some other sides.  My oldest son said the turkey this year was one of the best he has ever had.  It was very moist.  I soaked it in a salt brine the last couple of times and I believe that has made all the difference.  I always baste my turkeys but the salt brine was the only thing that was significantly different than other times I have prepared turkey.  I always wash and soak my poultry, like my mother taught me, but I added much more salt to the soaking water than usual.  I hope I haven't bored you with my little cooking lesson.  I don't usual ramble so much.  After dinner some of us started putting together a 1000 piece puzzle, another past-time my mother also shared.  It is nice that my son's girlfriends also enjoy doing them as well.  Enough of my rambling lets move on to my card.

     I used the very popular Peeker Pocket die along with the Shih Tzu Peeker die to create my card.  The little pooch was one of the first dies I ever received, and I still love it!  I cut the pocket and puppy from white cardstock and colored the images with copics.  To create the texture on the pocket, I first colored the pocket with a blue copic, I think it was Manganese Blue.  Then I took a piece of scrap fabric that seems like a denim of some sort, and my colorless blender refill solution.  Wet the fabric scrap with the colorless blender and press it to the colored pocket to remove color and create the texture.  I learned this technique from a very talented artist, Joanne Basile, who taught some My Favorite Things classes at my local Scrapbook Store.  (I hope I spelled her name correctly.)  Isn't it a great technique?  The paw print and sentiment are from Market Street Stamps Pawprints on our Hearts set and the clipboard stamp is by Unity.  I hope you have a wonderful day and a safe and Happy New Year!  I will be back with another post on January 7th.  Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs and smiles,
Janice

Less is More, Sometimes

Hello Everyone!  Today I wanted to share a card that is different than my usual style.  This is clean and simple with high impact, I think.  I also wanted to show you that you do not need a Christmas tree die to make a Christmas tree.  I first cut a triangle in the shape of a Christmas tree, from glittered cardstock.  I cut several strips of paper using the Scallop Three Edger die from green patterned paper.  I then layered the strips onto the Christmas tree, offsetting each strip so the scallops were staggered.  I cut a brown tree trunk and then adhered the tree to a red card base.  I cut a strip of white glitter cardstaock with a slight wave for a hill.  Merry Christmas was written with a white gel pen, and a white snowflake was added for the tree star.  How do you use your dies in different ways?  I hope this inspires you to look at the possibilities your dies can create.  Thanks for stopping, as always.

Hugs and smiles,
Janice

Peachy Keen Challenge 67

Good morning Peachy Friends!!  I hope you are getting your entries in for the Open Design Team Call!  You have until Dec. 23, 2011.  You may read all about it here.

Today is my final post as a regular designer for Peachy Keen, but I won't be too far away.  I will be participating in future blog hops!  I am excited to see who will make the new Design Team!  Good luck to all who enter.

The challenge today is designer's choice.  All that is required is that you use Peachy Keen Stamps.  I chose to use some of the first stamps I ever purchased from Peachy Keen.  PK-411 Lil' Gingerbreads and Phrases was one of the sets I purchased.  It had been retired, but Kathy brought them back just because I thought they were so adorable!  I simply asked her if she would bring them out of retirement, so she did!  (Just like that!  Kathy is so generous and kind!)  Ginger bite and Snowmany Thanks were 2 other sets I purchased.  I still think they are as cute as the day I bought them and they still stamp beautifully after all these years.

Here is my card!

I tried to incorporate my favorite style of cards (scenes) and some of my favorite design elements (gingham, paper piecing, and polka dots) into my card.  I hope that I have inspired you to create and have fun.  I have gained much inspiration from all of you out there in blogland.

Please be sure and check out all the adorable cards my friends have made!  They are awesome, as usual!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs and smiles,
Janice

Unity Snowman

Hi friends!  Today I have a card to show you that I made with this cute little snowman, made by Unity.  I love snowman images.  I used Copics to color this snowman.  I am entering this card into the Unity Let it Snow challenge that you can find here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs and smiles,
Janice

Tis the Season

Hello everyone!  Sorry for the late post.  Better late than never right?  I have a couple of cards to show you using the Boxwood Vine Wreath and I had an extra snowman scrap from the Snowman in Mug die.

I cut the wreath out twice and inked the leaves a bit with Brilliance olive ink.  I put the 2 wreaths together and then wrapped some red and white twine around it.  I had the snowman hold a stocking, and added a few poinsettias to the wreath along with a bow.  I then used some striped background paper for the card.  I stamped the sentiment, included with the die, onto the banner.

I used some of the other parts from the boxwood die to make the second card.  I put 2 of the banners together to make it look like garland.  Have you seen the new hunting dies?  You may check them out here.  As always, thanks for stopping by!

Hugs and smiles,
Janice

And the WINNER is.....

Pruttybird!  Congratulations Pruttybird!  Random number generator picked #4 as the winner from the PSA Essentials and Cottage Cutz Holiday Card Blog Hop.  You have won a 3x3 Cottage Cutz die.  I have sent you an email.  Thank you to all of you who joined the hop and left such sweet comments!

Exciting News Peachy Keen Design Team Call

Hello all of you Peachy Keen Fans!  I have exciting news to share with you.  Peachy Keen is having an open Design Team Call.  I have loved every moment of being on this team and have formed many friendships with my DT sisters.  I have been truly blessed to have had the opportunity to be on this awesome team.  Kathy and Angelica have been amazing as Design Team Leaders and  true FRIENDS!   Adrianne and Lauri are a great team that get those orders out to you in record time!  And of course Dave is the man behind the stamps.  Kathy is the heart and soul of the company and her images have brought so much JOY to me and to all of you that use her stamps.  They are a family that puts others first and I love them to bits!  (Dear Viv has rubbed off on me a bit.  I love her to bits too!)

Though I am sad to be finishing my full time DT position I am happy to say I will remain on the Alumni Team and participate in blog hops throughout the year.  They have been incredibly gracious and gentle as we transition and pass the torch to someone else.  I know many of you dream about being on the design team.  It has been an amazing ride and I will be forever grateful!  Congratulations to the very talented Lorie, Nikki, and Kim who will remain on the team as leaders and continue to inspire us with their amazing talent!  I am very happy for you!  To find out all the details of the open call please click here.  The best of luck to all who apply!  Thank you Peachy Keen for EVERYTHING!!  It has been a real pleasure!

PSA Essentials and Cottage Cutz Holiday Card Blog Hop

The Scrapping Cottage and PSA Essentials would like you to join us on this festive and fun Holiday Card Blog Hop.  If you have arrived here from Vera Yates blog, you are in the right place.  If not you will want to start at the beginning, Kay Norman's blog.

I have 2 cards to show you today. For my first card I used the Eskimo with Igloo die.  I love Peachy Keen faces so I used one of those instead of the face of the die.  You would need to cut a circle to stamp the face onto.  I used liquid applique on the fur trim and heat set it.  I love the look liquid applique gives to the fur trim. 

For my second card I used the Winter Bird with Ornament die.  This is a really nice die that is easy to use.  I used patterned paper for the ornament and I really like the end result.  The bird and branch can also be used for other seasons, just eliminate the snow on the branches.

What would a hop be if it didn't have a chance for you to win some cool prizes.Here are the details.

PRIZE PACKAGE DETAILS:   Readers who hop to each of the blogs, comment at each, and are a follower of PSA Stamp Camp will be entered to win the “Holiday Card” prize.  This prize contains 3 Peel & Stick stamp sets, 1 stamper, 1 black ink & 1-2 color ink from PSA Essentials.   The winner will also receive a $50 gift certificate to The Scrapping Cottge for the grand prize.   There are also 9 opportunities to win a 3 x 3 die from The Scrapping Cottage.  Leave a comment on my blog for a chance to win a 3x3 Cottage Cutz die of your choice.  I will use a random number generator and announce the winner on Monday Dec. 5th.  Good luck!

Here is the next place for you to hop, Jennifer Holmes blog.  I have included a list of the entire hop in case you get lost.  Remember to leave comments and have 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.psastzzzzzzampcamp.blogspot.com – PSA Essentials

Thanks for hopping with us today!

Hugs and smiles,

Janice