Paper Crafts Connection

CHA Winter 2010: Trends by the Dozen

February 9, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: 7gypsies, Adorn It, Anna Griffin, BasicGrey, Bazzill Basics Paper, Canvas Corp., Cath Edvalson, CHA, Cosmo Cricket, Donna Salazar, GCD Studios, Glitz Design, Impression Obsession, Jenni Bowlin, K&Company, Little Yellow Bicycle, Maya Road, Melissa Frances, October Afternoon, Paper Crafts Connection, Paper Crafts magazine, Pink Paislee, Prima, Ranger Industries, Reminisce, Technique Tuesday, Teresa Collins Design, The Girls' Paperie, Tim Holtz, Webster's Pages, Zutter | 175 comments

Cath Edvalson

As creative editor for Paper Crafts magazine, it’s my job to make sure that the projects we show are fresh, fun and trendy. So, when I walk the showroom floor at CHA, I’m always on the lookout for what inspires, what’s showing up multiple times in multiple places and what’s getting a lot of buzz as I bop from booth to booth.

On the plane ride home, as I started to process all I had seen, I wrote down the common themes that had risen to the top of my experience. Here are they are—my CHA Winter 2010 Trends by the Dozen:

1. Doilies & Lace. Intricate lovelies straight from Grandma’s parlor:

Products from October Afternoon, Little Yellow Bicycle and Donna Salazar

2. Opaque. It’s been about glitter and twinkle. Now it’s about hard-core shine:

Products from Ranger and Pink Paislee

3. Textured Cardstock. Whether it’s custom to a manufacturer, raised or stitched, it’s all about texture:

Products from Cosmo Cricket, Bazzill Basics Paper and Anna Griffin

4. Canvas. Speaking of texture…

Products from Prima, Canvas Corp. and BasicGrey

5. Peace Signs. A return trend from CHA Summer, these happy icons were everywhere I looked:

Products from Little Yellow Bicycle, Adorn It and Reminisce

6. Altered Art. Anything Tim Holtz is hot and these new tools help seal the deal:

Products from Tim Holtz, GCD Studios and Zutter

7. Music. Carrying its own tune:

Products from Glitz Design, Technique Tuesday and October Afternoon

8. Frames. Picture this:

Products from Teresa Collins Design, Webster’s Pages and 7gypsies

9. Buttons. As in cute as a…

Products from Webster’s Pages, The Girls’ Paperie and Jenni Bowlin

10. Vintage Ephemera. Trinkets, cards, images and more:

Products from Melissa Frances, Glitz Design and K&Company

11. Background Text. These say it all…

Products from Prima, Technique Tuesday and Impression Obsession

12. Sewing—the run-away trend of the show. Keeping us in stitches:

Products from Cosmo Cricket and Maya Road

Which of these trends speaks the most to you and why? I’d love to hear your takes on this trendy dozen, friends! Leave me a comment by midnight (MST) on Wednesday, Feb. 10 and I’d be oh-so-happy to send the Material Girl collection from Cosmo Cricket to one random lucky winner!

Dealing in dozens,
Cath

Magazine Monday – January Gallery Challenge Winners!

February 8, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: Alice Wertz, February Gallery Challenge, January Gallery Challenge, January/February 2010 issue, Magazine Monday, Nina Brackett, P. Kelly Smith, Paper Crafts Connection, Paper Crafts magazine, Vanessa Menhorn | 16 comments

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Magazine Monday! Thanks again for all the comments from last week’s blogiversary celebration. You sure know how to make this humble editor feel good. It makes all the 2 a.m. “feedings” and lack of sleep well worth it. And now you know why I begin every morning with a tall glass of Coke over ice! Breakfast of champions!

Did everyone have a good weekend? For those of you affected by the snowstorms, I hope you enjoyed the opportunity to stayed indoors and catch up on some paper crafting. Perhaps a few of you even started or finished your Valentine’s Day projects. Remember it’s not too late to shower your sweeties in love!

But before Feb. 14 arrives, let’s fall in love with our January Gallery Challenge winners. These three ladies not only aced our marker-themed challenge, but they actually made me want to go play with my Copics!

Winner #1 – Vanessa Menhorn:

We loved the detailed shading on Vanessa's clean and graphic card. Judging from her watermark and the name of her blog ("Wings of a Butterfly"), she's a fan of these beauties.

Winner #2 – Nina Brackett:

Apparently Nina is a fan of butterflies, too! We loved this shabby chic card and how she accented her butterfly with gorgeous pearls.

Winner #3 – Alice Wertz:

Alice definitely knows her way around a marker! Check out her blog for more examples of this fun and cute card.

Congratulations, ladies! Each of you has won either a one-year subscription or the special issue of your choice. I’ll be contacting you shortly to discuss your prizes. If you’re interested in seeing all the marker projects from the January challenge, please visit our gallery HERE.

Wanna join the fun and participate in our next challenge? We launched our February Gallery Challenge last Monday and already have 87 entries! Since it’s the season of love, we want to see your very best Valentine’s Day projects. For inspiration, please turn to the Valentines for Everyone on Your List and Vintage Valentines features in our January/February 2010 issue. This three-week challenge will run through midnight (MST) on Monday, Feb. 22. Click HERE for all the details!

Happy Monday!
Kelly

P.S. It’s time to announce the winners from Susan ’s One Year with the Paper Crafts Gang post and my That Could Be a Blog Post post!

Susan’s winners:

1. Danita C. (Feb. 4, 8:04 a.m.)
2. Sara-Jane (Feb. 4, 8:44 a.m.)
3. Maureen D. (Feb. 4, 5:14 a.m.)

My winners:

1. Jami (Feb. 7, 4:14 p.m.)
2. Anita Young (Feb. 5, 11:13 a.m.)
3. Erika M. (Feb. 5, 6:42 a.m.)

Congrats, winners! I’ll be contacting you shortly to discuss your prizes and get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!

Freebie Friday – That Could be a Blog Post!

February 5, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: Brandy Jesperson, Freebie Friday, Gallery Idol, Jo Kill, Karen Foster Design, P. Kelly Smith, Paper Crafts Connection, Paper Crafts magazine, Shanna Vineyard, Summer Braxton, Susan R. Opel | 268 comments

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Freebie Friday! I hope you’ve enjoyed our week-long blogiversary celebration. I’ve enjoyed reading all of your heartfelt comments this week and throughout the past year. And I do read each and every one!

I love bringing you this blog five days a week, 52 weeks a year. Some might think that would be a daunting task. You have to run out of ideas sooner or later, right? Luckily, I’m constantly surrounded by inspiration. And since my introvert tendencies make me sit and stew over things, once an idea hits me, I immediately exclaim, “That could be a blog post!” And the rest is history…

Since I shared my favorite blog posts with you on Monday, today I’d like to share some editor insights on a few of our more controversial posts. Because let’s face it, I know you all like a juicy story just as much as me! And with this full disclosure, I’ll share some of my favorite reader comments. Some of them were so laugh-out-loud funny, I immediately had to forward them on to the rest of the team. And within seconds, laughter could be heard erupting from our cubicles and nearby offices. There’s some colorful PC peeps out there!

So, without further ado, here’s a few headline-making posts of 2009:

1. Birthday Idol – April 29, 2009: In honor of Susan’s birthday last year, we decided to go with an American Idol theme since she loves the show and had just joined a rock ‘n roll band. Little did I know, but I apparently offended one of her die-hard fans by making this innocent comment: “Kelly Clarkson, eat your heart out! There’s a new Idol in town.” I assure you, as a fellow Texan and fan of Kelly’s music, I was not referring to her weight at all. I was merely suggesting that Susan was the new “Idol” in Paper Crafts land.

2. Do You Like to Make Stuff – May, 26, 2009: Brandy had no idea what she was setting herself up for with this post. It began with her listing the things she likes to make: cookies, friends, cards, magazines, etc. The comment prompt to win a prize was: “What do you like to make?” Summer Braxton chimed in with: “I hope I don’t offend anyone…but I like to make whoopee with my husband…especially since he just got home from a year-long deployment.” (Summer, your comment was one I most definitely forwarded to the rest of the team! Thanks for the giggle!)

3. Gallery Idol Top 10…Coming Soon – July 17, 2009: This is probably the most painful post I had to write last year. (See finalist Jo Kill’s card below. The sentiment reads: “Sometimes Life Sucks…” And it did that day!) Long story short, I was on vacation in San Diego and had to post the Top 10 results of our Gallery Idol competition. Our webmaster was suppose to e-mail me the results over the weekend, he forgot and the inmates turned on him. Despite the drama, I loved this comment from Shanna Vineyard, who I believe was about six months pregnant at the time: “Hey Kelly! Who’s the “Nameless” webmaster so we can all come lynch him/her???? Bwahahahahha! J/K!!!!!!” I’m sure it was the hormones talking, right Shanna?

So there you have it! Just a few posts that definitely caught our attention in 2009. Hopefully in 2010 we’ll continue to bring you all the things you love, plus introduce some fun things you’ve never seen before! (And I’m sure they’ll be some juicy stories to tell a year from now!)

Happy Friday!
Kelly

P.S. I almost forgot today’s giveaway! As my blogiversary gift to you, leave a comment about absolutely anything and I’ll pick three winners to receive Karen Foster’s Simple Elegance Card Creations Kit and one of our new Betty t-shirts. All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Sunday, Feb. 7.

Three lucky winners will take home this Karen Foster Design card kit and a Betty t-shirt!

P.P.S. It’s time to announce the three winners from Kim Hughes’ Inspiration Journals post!

1. Jamie Greene (Feb. 3, 6:56 a.m.)
2. Julie Campbell (Feb. 3, 8:30 a.m.)
3. Victoria S. (Feb. 3, 9:52 p.m.)

Congrats, winners! You’ve each won a new BasicGrey collection and one of our Betty t-shirts. I’ll be contacting you shortly to get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!

One Year with the Paper Crafts Gang

February 4, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: Becky Olsen, Brandy Jesperson, Brenda Peterson, Brynn Lillywhite, Cath Edvalson, Courtney Smith, Imaginisce, Jennifer Schaerer, Kim Hughes, Kim Kesti, Lindy Brown, Making Memories, Matt Anderson, Melinda Dann, Nicki Kezerian, P. Kelly Smith, Paper Crafts Connection, Paper Crafts Go-to Gals, Paper Crafts interns, Paper Crafts magazine, Sarie Smith, Stace Hasegawa, Susan R. Opel | 162 comments

Susan R. Opel

In the last year, we’ve shared all sorts of crazy Paper Crafts fun with you. If you scroll through the last 12 months of our blog, you’ll see that we work really hard, but we also have lots of good times, too. Having a great job is all well and good, but when you can call your colleagues friends, that’s pretty stinkin’ cool.

Kelly recently called me the team cheerleader (ooh, I like that title!), so I’ve gathered a synopsis of the silly, mundane and cool things that we’ve done since this blog’s inception.

Can I get a Go! Fight! Win! Paper Crafts?

This is one of my favorite pictures of the Paper Crafts team.

We’ve had six interns in the last year, and each has brought her own personality to our team. I always loved seeing their blog posts with their impressions of what it’s like to work in our office. I think we’ve turned a few of them into paper crafters. But really, how can they resist?

Thanks Courtney, Brynn, Lindy, Nicki, Melinda, and Sarie!

You also got the chance to look into our daily lives with meetings, an office tour, photo shoot preparation and us just generally loving each other. We keep busy in our offices and cubicles bringing you the magazine, but we take time to chit-chat sometimes, too.

Getting the job done, Paper Crafts’s style

But we’re not confined to the office, no siree! We’ve been out in the world together on many occasions. A crew of us visited Disneyland, four of us saw Celine Dion in concert, the whole gang painted plates at a do-it-yourself pottery place, many of us participated in card group and we even had a field trip to the Making Memories office.

We work and play hard!

As a card making magazine, it probably comes as no surprise that we LOVE to celebrate every little holiday possible. From Halloween (oh, those polygamist brides of Frankenstein!) to St. Patrick’s Day (any reason to dress in a theme) to the Super Bowl (don’t let that Steelers jersey fool you – Go COLTS!).

Give us a holiday, and we’ll find a way to celebrate!

And what would we do without our friends? We love having visitors stop by, and when they do it’s hugs all around. When are you going to stop by?

We love to grab a picture when friends stop by.

So what do you want to see in the upcoming months from the Paper Crafts team? I’ve got three new Imaginisce collections and three of our Betty t-shirts to give away to three lucky commenters. Leave a comment by Friday, Feb. 5 at midnight (MST), and you might just win!

Your Paper Crafts cheerleader,
Susan

P.S. It’s time to announce the winner from Brandy’s A Year of Giving Back post!

Jess (Feb. 2, 8:53 a.m.)

Congrats, Jess! You’ve won two prize packages! One for yourself and one to give to a friend! Kelly will be contacting you shortly to get your mailing address. Thanks to all who left comments!

Groovin’ with the Go-to Gals – Inspiration Journals

February 3, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: BasicGrey, Brandy Jesperson, Card Creations: Start to Finish: Volume 2, Groovin with the Go-to Gals, inspiration journal, Kim Hughes, Melanie Douthit, Paper Crafts Connection, Paper Crafts Go-to Gal, Paper Crafts magazine, Three Bugs in a Rug | 170 comments

Kim Hughes

Attention all list makers! Are you like me and have a bazillion little notes left in every corner of the house? I vow to get that under control in 2010. One month down and I’m doing umm…okay with keeping up.

I find there to be a wealth of information here on the Paper Crafts Connection blog, don’t you? So, I decided to keep a special journal next to my computer, compiled of notes, design ideas and inspiration.

I found an old journal book that I had only used a couple of times (because those little notes never seemed to make it in there). I covered it with some fresh Three Bugs in A Rug paper, added a black paper strip to the spine and voila…a sweet place to leave my Paper Crafts Connection notes!

I chose to keep my cover simple. I didn’t want anything dimensional on it to distract me, and I decided on a fresh color palette to make me smile every time I pick it up.

The inside page is a pocket, just in case I do reach for some scrap paper to write something on. These little notes can slip inside and still be where they should be, until they make it into the journal.

The editors and Go-to Gals shared what they were looking forward to in 2010 in this post, so I wrote a few extras in my journal.

I was inspired by a card on Melanie Douthit’s blog, so I created two sketches based on her design and made note of a fun color combo to use in the future.

Inspired by Brandy’s Happy Bird Day post, I jotted down some fun ideas to keep in mind when I create.

And I wrote a friendly reminder to myself to create something FUN based on the new Card Creations: Start to Finish special issue!

If you don’t have a journal handy, try making a cover for a notepad. Or bind a book with different colored papers. Punch a hole in note papers and tie a ribbon through them all. The point is to keep all of your notes together and to find inspiration here.

Beautiful creations, challenges, prizes…what else could you ask for? It’s all here, and I make a point to stop by every day. I hope you do as well.

Happy Blogiversary, Paper Crafts!

Kim Hughes,
Paper Crafts Go-to Gal

P.S. I fell in love with the new BasicGrey lines at CHA! Leave a comment telling me how this blog inspires you and I’ll pick three winners to take home one of these collections and a Paper Crafts Betty t-shirt! All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Thursday, Feb. 4.

P.P.S. It’s time to announce the three winners from Kelly’s Happy Blogiversary post!

1. Reah Feiertag (Feb. 1, 8:38 a.m.)
2. see mary stamp (Feb. 1, 6:09 a.m.)
3. Rachael Wood (Feb. 1, 7:57 p.m.)

Congrats, winners! Kelly will be contacting you shortly to discuss your prizes and get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!

A Year of Giving Back

February 2, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: Becky Olsen, Brandy Jesperson, Brenda Hurd, Creating Keepsakes magazine, Creativity Heals, Facebook, Festival of the Trees, Fiskars, Maren Benedict, Megan Hoeppner, Operation Write Home, P. Kelly Smith, Paper Crafts Connection, Paper Crafts Go-to Gals, Paper Crafts magazine, Primary Children's Medical Center, Roxanne Bagley, Stamp It! Cards, World Card Making Day Card Contest | 96 comments

Brandy Jesperson

I know it’s cliché, but time flies when you’re having fun. I distinctly remember talking with the Paper Crafts team and dreaming up a blog full of interactive challenges, beautiful pictures and prizes galore! Sure enough, two blinks of an eye and one year later here we are!

One of our goals when we concepted this blog was to encourage people to serve those around them. After all, card making is innately generous. We make cards for our loved ones to celebrate events, give condolences and simply say “hi.”

As I think back over the past 12 months, we’ve not only had the chance to give back, but we’ve also had a lot of fun doing it. So put on your magical time machine hats (you’ve all got one, right?) and join me for a quick trip down memory lane.

Last Fall Kelly joined forces with some crafty friends to crop for Cystic Fibrosis. Not only did all the proceeds go to a great cause, but it was also a chance to meet new people and create into the wee hours of the morning!

Here's Roxanne (Becky's sister), Kelly, Megan, Brenda and Becky.

In November we continued our tradition of decorating and donating a tree (complete with oodles of donations from manufacturers and designers) to the Festival of Trees. All the money raised at this event goes to the patients at Primary Children’s Medical Center, and over the past three years our trees have made more than $5000 for this great cause.

Ta da! What do you think of our finished tree?

Even our Go-to Gals got into the act this year! Ms. Maren shared a delicious assortment of chocolate-covered creations (accompanied by a hearty dose of papery goodness) ideal for teacher gifts. With two former teachers on our team, we love and respect the fine people who teach our children each day.

Switch out the tag and you've got a yummy Valentine's treat!

In December we joined forces with Creating Keepsakes magazine and Creativity Heals. This program encourages people to donate time, creativity or extra crafting supplies towards improving the lives of others. We invited all of you to donate cards to Operation Write Home and were blown away by the generosity you showed on our blog and Facebook pages. We’ve been associated with this charity for years and love their support for our nation’s armed forces. We also donated hundreds of cards to this charity following our World Card Making Day Card Contest in October.

All of these cards were sent in to Operation Write Home.

At each turn we have been struck by the kindness and willingness to give all of you readers have shown. Thanks for making 2009 a year of giving back. As a thank you I’d like to give ONE lucky person two copies of our new special issue Stamp It! Cards, two Fiskars stamp sets and two of our sassy Betty t-shirts. All that I ask is that you keep one prize package for yourself and give the other to a friend. To be eligible to win, please leave a comment telling me how you like to give back to those around you. Perhaps we’ll be able to take something YOU do and work it into 2010. All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Wednesday, Feb. 3.

Thanks and love,
Brandy

P.S. It’s time to announce the 10 winners from Jennifer’s Sharing the CHA Goodies post and the five winners from Kelly’s January/February I-Spy post!

Jennifer’s winners:

1. Diane S. (Jan. 29, 7:59 p.m.)
2. Carisa (Jan. 28, 3:17 p.m.)
3. Brandy Jarvis (Jan. 28, 2:12 p.m.)
4. Tammy Wisterman (Jan. 28, 8:08 p.m.)
5. Carol (Jan. 28, 3:31 p.m.)
6. Iris Soscia (Jan. 28, 1:48 p.m.)
7. Diana N. (Jan. 28, 6:40 p.m.)
8. Sue B. (Jan. 29, 7:56 p.m.)
9. Letisia Chubbuck (Jan. 28, 6:43 p.m.)
10. Jennifer Hansen (Jan. 28, 11:15 p.m.)

Kelly’s winners:

1. Carol H. (Jan. 29, 9:53 a.m.)
2. cards4ever (Jan. 29, 10:39 p.m.)
3. Wendy M. (Jan. 30, 8:47 a.m.)
4. Kerry A. (Jan. 31, 9:43 a.m.)
5. Mary Ashby (Jan. 29, 8:04 a.m.)

Congrats, winners! Kelly will be contacting you shortly to discuss your prizes and get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!

Magazine Monday – Happy Blogiversary!

February 1, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: Betsy Veldman, Brandy Jesperson, Card Creations 7 Week, Cosmo Cricket, Creativity Heals, February Gallery Challenge, free blinkies, Gallery Idol, January/February 2010 issue, Jessica Witty, Kim Hughes, Kim Kesti, Magazine Monday, Maren Benedict, Matt Anderson, P. Kelly Smith, Paper Crafts Connection, Paper Crafts Go-to Gals, Paper Crafts magazine, Rae Barthel, Stamp It! Cards Week, Teri Anderson, World Card Making Day | 103 comments

: P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Magazine Monday and day one of Paper Crafts Connection’s Blogiversary Celebration! Tomorrow, February 2, marks our official one-year anniversary, and I don’t about you, but time sure has flown by!

It was just over a year ago that I started building this blog, page by page and link by link. We knew we wanted it to be an extension of the magazine, and because we’re not limited to page count here, we knew we could give you more of everything you love about Paper Crafts. And because of its viral nature, we knew there was potential to reach paper crafters from all over the world on a daily basis. No pressure at all!

So, a year later, I’m sitting here trying to sum up 263 posts, which collectively contain 26,872 comments! And while certain posts are more memorable than others, in a way, all of them are like little babies that I’ve created and sent out into the paper crafting world for love and acceptance. And you’ve all embraced each and every one. Even the ones that were silly and lame and had nothing to do with paper crafting. Does anyone remember our Return of the Jedi Braid post? Like I said, there’s been some random ones!

That said, there’s also been some amazing ones. Too many to individually mention, but I went through our archives and pulled my favorites. In true Letterman style, I bring you PK’s Top Ten Paper Crafts Connection Blog Posts of 2009:

1. Happy World Card Making Day – Oct. 3, 2009 (Of course this would be my #1! So fun to celebrate this holiday with the whole wide world!)

2. Freebie Friday – Giving Back – Sept. 18, 2009 (You may think I picked this as one of my favorites because it features a scrumptious Johnny Depp card, but the real reason is because I so enjoyed giving my time to a wonderful charity. Brandy will talk more about our inspiring Creativity Heals campaign tomorrow!)

3. Magazine Monday – The Paper Crafts Office Tour – August 17, 2009 (As a request from one of our readers, I went around the office and took pictures of our lobby, break room and all of our individual cubes. It was a lot of fun!)

4. Freebie Friday – And the Gallery Idol Winner Is – July 31, 2009 (Oh happy day for Rae Barthel!)

5. Welcome Go-to Gal, Teri Anderson – July 23, 2009/Welcome Go-to Gal, Jessica Witty – July 21, 2009/Welcome Go-to Gal, Betsy Veldman – July 16, 2009/Welcome Go-to Gal, Maren Benedict – July 14, 2009/Welcome Go-to Gal, Kim Hughes – July 9, 2009/Welcome Go-to Gal, Kim Kesti – July 7, 2009 (July, 2009 was a very busy month in Paper Crafts land! In addition to the weekly Gallery Idol challenges and posts, we also welcomed six talented ladies to our family – the Paper Crafts Go-to Gals!)

6. Tickled Pink – June 23, 2009 (National Pink Day just happened to fall during our Card Creations 7 promotional week in June. In true girly fashion, Brandy spotlighted some pretty pink projects, gave away some pink-alicious product and then posted a picture of us in our finest pink garb.)

7. The Lone Design Man – May 7, 2009 (Matt, our lone man on the team, dishes secrets on what it’s like to work with seven hormonal women. He also shows some of his amazing openers that are featured in our magazine!)

8. Freebie Friday – Get Your Blinkies Here – April 3, 2009 (Here we showed readers how to upload their very own Paper Crafts and Moxie Fab World blinkies! If you still don’t have them on your blogs, what are you waiting for?)

9. Freebie Friday – The Big One – March 20, 2009 (This post related to our Stamp It! Cards promotional week generated more comments than any other to date. I wonder if this jackpot of a giveaway had anything to do with it!)

10. Happy Birthday, PK – March 12, 2009 (As a Coca-Cola fanatic, this post literally leaves me feeling effervescent!)

Can I tell you how hard it was to only pick 10 posts?! Luckily, we still have the rest of the week to touch on highlights from the past year. And since no celebration would be complete without presents, today I’m giving away three fun prize packages! Leave a comment telling me one of your favorite Paper Crafts Connection blog posts from 2009. I’ll pick three random winners to each receive one of our new “Betty” t-shirts, a Paper Crafts Connection button and Cosmo Cricket’s Earth Love collection. All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Tuesday, Feb, 2.

Happy Monday!
Kelly

P.S. We just launched our February Gallery Challenge today! Since it’s the season of love, we want to see your best Valentine’s Day projects. For inspiration, please turn to the Valentines for Everyone on Your List and Vintage Valentines features in our January/February 2010 issue. This three-week challenge will run through midnight (MDT) on Monday, Feb. 22. Click HERE for all the details! (January’s winners will be spotlighted next Monday, Feb. 8.)

Freebie Friday – January/February I-Spy!

January 29, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: Freebie Friday, January/February 2010 issue, Jo Kill, Kim Hughes, Kim Kesti, Maren Benedict, Marvy Uchida, P. Kelly Smith, Paper Crafts 2010 Reader Survey, Paper Crafts Connection, Paper Crafts Go-to Gals, Paper Crafts magazine, Rae Barthel, Stefanie Hamilton, vintage product | 106 comments

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Freebie Friday and Paper Crafts latest installment of the trivia game I-Spy! If you’re a fan of the vintage look, then you’re going to love today’s giveaway!

From frilly flowers and papers to bingo cards and pearl stick pins, this prize package will transport you back to Grandma’s cozy parlor. Get ready to play because I’m picking five winners this time!

You must have a copy of our January/February 2010 issue in front of you. All questions will be directly related to this issue and this issue only.

January/February I-Spy Questions:

1. I spy designer Rae Barthel in our Paper Crafts Connection column. Name the five rounds of competition that earned her the title of 2009 Gallery Idol.

2. I spy Cath’s Moxie Fabs column. In Stefanie Hamilton’s Everything I Am Card, what does the woman owe everything to?

3. I spy our Paper Crafts 101 column. In one of Kim Hughes’ technique squares she braided floss to make sun rays. How many “rays” are there?

4. I spy our brand new Color Play column. Name the four Bazzill cardstock colors Kim Kesti uses in her Groovy Love Card.

5. I spy our Valentines for Everyone on Your List feature. What designer tip does Jo Kill suggest for her Love You Card?

6. I spy our Marker Magic feature. Name the items hanging from the clothesline in Maren Benedict’s Let’s Hang Out Card.

7. I spy at least three cards in our Vintage Valentines feature that incorporate stick pins. Name two of the cards. Hint: If they’re hard to spot, refer to the supply lists!

8. I spy our 2010 Reader Survey. What prize will 20 random respondents win? (P.S. If you still haven’t completed the survey, you have until midnight (MST) on Saturday night!)

9. I spy our Tips, Tools, & Techniques column. What increments do Marvy Uchida’s Mega, Giga and Extra Giga Punches cut?

10. I spy our Simple Sentiments column and the quote: ”When you are in love you can’t sleep because reality is better than your dreams.” Who said this?

Five random winners (who answer five or more questions correctly) will win a selection of product we feature in this issue’s Product Parade and Sweepstakes columns. (Just turn to pages 75-76 for a closer look!) To play, please enter your answers in the comment field below this entry. All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Sunday, Jan. 31.

Five lucky people will win an assortment of this vintage product!

Good luck!
Kelly

P.S. Did you know this little blog here turns one-year-old next week? Make sure you join us for our Paper Crafts Connection Blogiversary Celebration! We’ll be recapping some of our more memorable moments from the past year, as well as giving away some fabulous product. I did just return from CHA after all. Hope to see you all next week!

P.P.S. It’s time to announce the winner of Maren’s Groovin With the Go-to Gals…at CHA post!

Sandy Kay (Jan. 28, 3:58 p.m.)

Congrats, Sandy! You’ve won some fun CHA goodies! I’ll be contacting you shortly to get your mailing address. Thanks to all who left comments!

Sharing the CHA Goodies!

January 28, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: card kits, Cath Edvalson, CHA, Jennifer Schaerer, Kim Hughes, Moxie Fab World, Moxie Fab World Facebook fan page, P. Kelly Smith, Paper Crafts 2010 Reader Survey, Paper Crafts Connection, Paper Crafts Facebook fan page, Paper Crafts Go-to Gal, Paper Crafts magazine, Teri Anderson, Twitter | 257 comments

Jennifer Schaerer

The energy wave from CHA is still rolling through our world, and we really enjoyed being able to connect with you in real time right here on our blog, on our Facebook fan page and with Twitter updates (Paper Crafts Go-to Gal Teri Anderson sure was busy with her tweets, wasn’t she?). Cath was updating the Moxie Fab World fan page on Facebook as well, so we hope you felt like you were at least right there with us in spirit.

But spirit isn’t touchable or wearable, now is it? It sure would be nice if you maybe had something of your own from the show to make it all better, right?

Shhhh…don’t tell anyone…I was just a little bit sneaky at the show and told a few teensy weensy itty bitty white lies about being out of certain buttons and t-shirts. And I also tucked away some card kits from our workshop…you know, just in case I might need them for something…something like a share-the-CHA-love giveaway right here on the Paper Crafts Connection blog!

Whaddya think? Should I?

Okay! Let’s do it! I’ve got t-shirts:

The shirt that advertises your priorities for all to see!

I’ve also got some of each button we handed out:

It's definitely time to get stampy!

Not now honey, I'm reading my Paper Crafts

Just in case the t-shirt doesn't say it all for you!

Your home for all things paper crafty -- the Paper Crafts Connection blog!

And, to bring you right into the touch-it-feel-it part of CHA, I’ll also toss in the five card kits from Kim Hughes’ workshop so you can whip up some of your own:

That's a custom sentiment drawn by Go-to Gal Kim Hughes!

Such a sweet gift card holder!

A quick and cute hello -- with another custom Kim Hughes drawing that you can color with markers!

A fun card using Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird collection

This card is simpler than it looks!

If you want one of these yummy CHA care packages, just let me know. Raise your hand and yell “Me! Me! Me!” or whatever it takes to get my attention. Leave a comment by midnight this Saturday, January 30 (which also happens to be the deadline for our 2010 Reader Survey – have you completed it yet?) and I’ll pick 10 random winners.

Enjoy!
Jennifer

P.S. Cath is featuring Kelly as an Editor’s Choice over on Moxie Fab World blog today. Click HERE to read all about her secret love affair with buttons! (And, yes, there’s a button giveaway!)

P.P.S. It’s time to announce the three winners of Teri’s Stamptastic Storage Solutions post!

1. Jan B. (Jan. 20, 7:54 p.m.)
2. Diane S. (Jan. 21, 4:05 a.m.)
3. Shelly Abbs (Jan. 20, 9:55 a.m.)

Congrats, winners! You’ve each won a copy of Stamp It! Cards! Kelly will be contacting you shortly to get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!

Groovin’ with the Go-to Gals…at CHA!

January 27, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: Ashley Harris, CHA, Go-to Sketches, Groovin with the Go-to Gals, Kim Hughes, Kim Kesti, Maren Benedict, Paper Crafts Connection, Paper Crafts Facebook fan page, Paper Crafts Go-to Gal, Paper Crafts magazine, Susan R. Opel, Teri Anderson | 147 comments

Maren Benedict

I’m writing from CHA! I love capturing the spirit and excitement that comes from this event.

It’s all about AMAZING new product and reconnecting with people from all over the world who ‘get it’.

I am, as many attest, always taking photos at these special events. Here are my top three so far:

Lovely ladies! From left: Teri Anderson, Ashley Harris, Kim Hughes and Kim Kesti

Check out Susan's sparkly tank top...GORGEOUS!

Hmm…I wonder why I like this one so much?

I promise to share hundreds more in the next few days, but until then, I’d love to hear what caption would go perfectly with them. Leave a comment by midnight on Thursday, Jan. 28 and I’ll pick one person to receive some goodies from CHA. Be sure to tell me which picture you’re commenting on!

Maren Benedict,
Paper Crafts Go-to Gal

P.S. If you just can’t wait to see my hundreds of pictures, hop on over to the Paper Crafts Fan Page on Facebook. The editors have been posting some product sneak peeks, plus a few incriminating ones of us after-hours!