Paper Smooches: March ANIMAL Challenge #1 + Olsen's Last Post

Hello, friends:)

Olsen's Last Post: The past few weeks have been super hard for Trav and I as we lost our pup, Olsen Bebo O'Gwynn, on Thursday, March 5, 2020. He was exactly 11 years 10 months old. His health had been declining the last month, but it really got worse the last week. He started drinking a lot of water and not wanting to go on walks. We took him to the vet and they ran some tests, which resulted in Olsen taking thyroid medication since they thought it had to do with his thyroid or Cushings disease. A week later, he had completely stopped eating, no energy (even though he slept all day), and he started breathing super heavy. I took him to the vet for x-rays and they found fluid in his lungs. They took more x-rays and found that his kidney was enlarged (3x the bone size that they compare it to) and that his stomach was being pushed (possibly by a tumor on his liver). We had the vet perform a procedure to drain his lungs thinking it would help, but it was unsuccessful. We took him home but decided early on Thursday morning it was time since his quality of life wasn't great.

Hardest thing I had to do.
I miss him so much.

This was the last photo of him in my studio with me. He wasn't feeling good at all.❤️

That being said... it's been emotionally hard to work in my studio this month. But I managed to find some time to create two cards in his honor. Both are animal themed and fit our new Paper Smooches March ANIMAL challenge theme.

This first card was created for Trav- hardest card I ever created. This pup from the PS Woofers & Tweeters stamp set reminds me of Olsen so much. ❤️

PS stamps/dies/stencils used include: Paws For A Cause, Woofers & Tweeters stamps/dies, Tiny Hearts dies, Fringe dies, Rainbow dies

I created two of the next card- one for each of my brothers and their families. Leander (my older brother) and Carrel (pronounced CARL; my younger brother) sent us sympathy cards. Their love during this difficult time was much needed, and I wanted to send them a "thank you" for thinking of us.

PS stamps/dies/stencils used include: Lucky Dog Two, Dog Icons (retired)

I'm sorry my photos are so blurry- both cards are Olsen through and through ❤️

That's it for me today. I hope you create something for our challenge-- you could win a gift certificate to the PS store! Be sure to stop by HERE to link up and play along:)

THANKS so much for stopping by! Be blessed:)

Paper Smooches: March 2020 Blog Hop **************GIVEAWAY

Hello, friends!

It's time to share a sampling of the NEW Paper Smooches March 2020 release with you!

• THREE new 3x4 stamp sets
• ONE new stencil

Guess what!??!?! All of these will be available to purchase TODAY- right now!! You will find the new products at their online store HERE. 

To add extra fun to our blog hop... there is a PRIZE! The prize - a $50 gift code to use at the PS online store. 

Here are the details: 

• Leave a comment on any of the blogs listed below (you do not need to comment on all the blogs to qualify but it will increase your chances of winning). 
• TWO winners will be chosen at RANDOM from any of the design team blogs and the PS blog to win the $25 prize. 
• Deadline: You have until midnight Central time on January 8th to leave a comment. 
• Please check the Paper Smooches blog on January 9th to see if you are one of the TWO lucky winners!

Paper Smooches blog

Teri Anderson

Karin Akesdotter
Savannah O'Gwynn [you are HERE}
Jill Hawkins

Michele Boyer

Ways to increase your chances of winning: 

• Tell us that you Facebooked about our blog hop. If you don't already like the PS FB page, please like and follow us HERE. 
• Tell us that you Tweeted about our hop (follow PS on Twitter HERE). 
• Share our blog hop on Instagram @papersmooches
• Tell us that you posted on your blog about our blog hop

***NOTE: this means you have up to FOUR extra chances to win!! 

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I really love how this project turned out using the NEW PS Swoosh stencil! Instead of using a stencil with inks, watercolor, or paste, I decided to go a different route- SEWING:)

You should definitely try stitching a stencil design or stitching on cardstock because it is super easy! Here are a few steps of how I created this card.

 Step 1: Tape down your stencil (or use Pixie Dust spray or another adhesive to make sure your stencil stays in place)

Step 2: Trace the stencil image LIGHTLY using a pencil

Step 3: Stitch the image using multiple stitch lengths **For curves and tight areas I lowered the stitch to a 2 or 1.5; For other lines I had the stitch length at at 3. Be sure to go slow when stitching on paper!! 

Use a pair of scissors to cut off the excess thread

Step 4: Lightly remove pencil markings (my favorite brush to remove eraser tidbits is a make-up brush! LOL!) **Be careful not to push too hard with your eraser- you could crinkle the paper or pull a thread. 

Step 5: Finish card using embellishments, stamped sentiments, ribbons, etc! 

I decided to cut this card down a bit and add a few clear droplets by The Stamp Market. This card was super easy to make, and I love how it turned out! 

PS stamps/dies/stencils used include: Swoosh stencil, Sympathy Sampler

Be sure to stop by the PS blog for details about this blog hop and giveaway! And don't forget to leave some love along the hop:) 

That's it for me today- THANK YOU so much for stopping by! Be blessed ❤️ 

ps... Did you know that Paper Smooches has a bi-weekly challenge each month? That's 2 ways to enter to win even MORE goodies! Check out our current challenge HERE- March 1-14 ANYTHING GOES!