Freebie Friday – “Sweet” Holiday Memories

December 18, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 173 comments

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Freebie Friday! Can you believe Christmas is only a week away? Yikes! My shopping list is still a mile long, but I’m slowly making a dent in it. For my immediate family, I try to buy five or six small gifts. Most of them are practical in nature, but I always try to throw in one sentimental one. Something that really pulls at the old heartstrings. 

In addition to tangible gifts, I love giving away holiday treats. Nothing says Christmas like homemade fudge,  peppermint bark or some gooey, flaky pastry. My mother makes the most amazing Candy Cane Coffee Cake. Perhaps you’ve seen or tasted one. You essentially braid fruit-filled pieces of dough into the shape of a candy cane. Here’s an actual image from my mom’s 30-year-old Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook: 

Candy Cane Coffee Cake

Looks delicious, right? My mom’s been giving these cakes away as neighbor gifts for as long as I can remember. The best part…they keep for several days, so you can nibble away at them piece by piece and not feel like you’re overdoing it. Because let’s face it, even though my mom would sometimes make 10 at a time, there would always be one or two that didn’t quite pass inspection, and therefore never left our kitchen. Waste not, want not! 

I just happen to have three paper collections from Bo Bunny that remind me of the hearth and home. I’d love to hear your favorite holiday treat/sweet/snack. Feel free to even share a recipe! Leave a comment and I’ll pick three winners to each take home one of these fun collections. All comments must be received by midnight (MDT) on Sunday, Dec. 20. 

Three lucky people will take home one of these Bo Bunny collections!

Happy Friday!
Kelly 

P.S. If you haven’t read Maren’s I’m Dreaming of a Chocolate Christmas post, it’s full of inspiring (and sinful!) ideas. 

P.P.S. It’s time to announce the five winners from Jennifer’s Happy Christmastine’s Day post! 

1. Rachel S (Dec. 15, 8:48 a.m.)
2. Barbara Staradumsky (Dec. 15, 8:17 a.m.)
3. Victoria S (Dec. 15, 8:25 p.m.)
4. Laura J (Dec. 15, 4:09 p.m.)
5. dahlhousedesigns (Dec. 16, 5:15 a.m.) 

Congrats, winners! You’ve each won a copy of our new January/February issue! I’ll be contacting you shortly to get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!

Show Off Your Holiday Cards

December 17, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 5 comments

Cath Edvalson

With Christmas a mere nine days away, you’ve got a Santa-sized list to make and check twice. I’m feeling your pain.  

That’s why we’ve made our Gallery Challenge elf-easy this month. The last thing we want to do is add another task to your list, so we’re focusing on a project you’re already working on—holiday cards. Since they’re already in the hopper, why not show them off?   

As a matter of fact, I’m super excited to show off these cards from our November/December issue as a way to get you inspired both to submit and to create, as the case may be.   

Jingle All the Way Card by Rae Barthel, p. 37

I love the way Rae has tied in the sheet music and the jingle bell to this card with a song as its title.   

Snowflake Happy Holidays Card by Patricia Komara, p. 41

Patricia’s gorgeous card has put a silver lining on all my Christmas dreams.   

Bright Be Merry Card by Wendy Sue Anderson, p. 38

Wendy Sue’s card puts the cute in Christmas!   

Whether you mailed your cards last week, and especially if, like me, you’re a procrastinator who hasn’t even started, we’d love to see your paper crafted holiday cards! Upload them HERE by Monday, Dec. 28 and you’ll not only be a contestant to win, but you’ll also see other inspiring cards that might get your juices flowing for those neighbor tags you still need to whip up, or for that special card for a certain someone you haven’t gotten around to just yet.   

Because at Paper Crafts, friends, inspiration is at the top of our list—and we’re definitely checking it twice!   

Good luck and have fun,
Cath  

P.S. It may be Christmastime, but in Magazineland we’ve just concepted our July/August 2010 issue! Feel like submitting? We’re always on the lookout for fresh new projects from fresh new talent. Click HERE to see our exciting July/August 2010 Call for Submissions!

Groovin’ with the Go-to Girls – I’m Dreaming of a Chocolate Christmas

December 16, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 40 comments

Maren Benedict

Happy National Chocolate Covered Anything Day! Can you believe such a marvelous day actually exists?

Acoording to HolidayInsights.com, today is a “great day to indulge, binge, pig-out and otherwise consume to excess, your favorite food…chocolate. We believe the timing of this day, during the holiday season, couldn’t be better.” I couldn’t agree more!

Just think of all the sinful ways you can celebrate…Think of all the things that could be covered in chocolate! 

In order to celebrate correctly, I decided to cover my favorite snacks in chocolate for a few last-minute teacher gifts.

Sin #1: Chocolate covered strawberries

Sin #2: Chocolate covered pretzels

Sin #3: Chocolate covered peanut butter sandwiches

Just slather some peanut butter between your Ritz crackers and cover. YUM! 

Are you getting hungry yet?

I have some leftover chocolate - just ready to cover something, anything. I would love to hear your sinful suggestions, so please post them below.

Have a chocolate-filled day!

Maren Benedict,
Paper Crafts Go-to Gal

Happy Christmastine’s Day!

December 15, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 98 comments

Jennifer Schaerer

Let’s see. We got through Merry Hallowistmas, and Happy Merrygiving is long past as well. Hmmmm…

Then it must be time for Happy Christmastine’s Day here in Magazineland, which means that even though it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, my inner lyrics are saying what the world needs now is love, sweet love.

That’s because, along with a few changes in our columns, we’ve been thinking about the glory of love and Valentine’s Day since early last summer. We’ve also been fine-tuning our cover look, and are head over heels in love with this one:

Get ready to fall in LOVE with our January/February issue!

Aren’t those cards by cover girls Teri Anderson, Julie Campbell and Dawn McVey just, well, lovely? And hey – it sure looks like kraft is popular, doesn’t it!

As for the changes in our columns, you already know about our shift from Ask the Pros to Dear Go-to Gals. But we’ve also re-launched the Joy of Card Making column as Go-to Sketches starting in this issue.

And, since you told us in our reader surveys that you love color and the inspiration of color combinations, we’d like to introduce you to Color Play. In this new column, five designers will be given a palette of four colors to create a design that’s all about inspiration, style and trendy color combinations.

How’s this for a lovely color combination? Don’t miss our newest column: Color Play!

We’ve also covered our Valentine bases with features on Vintage Valentines and Valentines for Everyone on Your List. Oh, and don’t miss our talented Paper Crafts Go-to Gals as they Try Something New – we asked them to step out of their comfort zone and create a card in a completely different style than their usual one. Our own Kim Kesti did shabby chic. Seriously.

So if you still need to get your hands on our January/February issue, leave me a comment and I’ll send FIVE random commenters a copy. I might even find some lovely goodies from our stash to include with it, you just never know…

Love is definitely in the air,
Jennifer

P.S. Are you a fan of Paper Crafts magazine and this blog? Here’s your chance to tell us what you like, what you want to see more of, etc. Complete our 2010 Reader Survey and 20 random respondents will win a copy of our newest book, A Card a Day: Your Ultimate Resource for Inspiration, Design, Tips & Techniques (retail value $21.95!).

There’s an Intern at the End of This Post

December 14, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 12 comments

Melinda Dann

Does anyone remember the Sesame Street book There’s a Monster at the End of This Book? It starred Grover, and he spends the entire book trying to keep you from getting to the end because he’s scared of the monster that’s supposed to be there. He even attempts to build a brick wall to keep you from turning the page, but the reader has no problems tearing it to the ground. In the end, it turns out that he, lovable Grover, is the monster at the end of the book. 

I loved this book as a tiny tot (and still do today…I wish I still had my copy.) 

As I near the end of my time here at Paper Crafts, I kind of feel like Grover, as he was trying to keep me from getting to the end of the book. Not because I’m scared of what happens at the end, but because I feel there is so much more I could learn, and I’m going to miss everyone here. (Except Matt who I see all the time at school.) It was over so quickly, and I can’t help but wonder if there was anything I missed…any lesson that I could have learned better.

I do know that I appreciate Matt as a teacher more (and I’m not trying to be a teacher’s pet here – it’s actually true.) It’s much more fun to go into class knowing more about him and where he’s coming from. I also know that he cares a lot more about us as students that he lets on during critique. (I’m on to you, Matt.) :)

So, as much as I would like to build a brick wall and keep Friday from coming, I’m glad for the opportunities I had here, and I’m excited for what’s next for me! Thank you everyone for a great internship!

Your lovable design intern,
Melinda

P.S. Susan tells me the submissions deadline for Card Creations, Volume 8 is TONIGHT at midnight! Hurry and submit those amazing ideas HERE!

P.P.S. It’s time to announce the three winners from Kelly’s Conspiracy of Love post!

1. Nancy L. (Dec. 11, 11:18 a.m.)
2. Michelle A. (Dec, 11, 12:26 p.m.)
3. Dawnll (Dec. 11, 4:26 p.m.)

Congrats, ladies! You’ve each won a copy of Holidays Cards & More, Volume 4 and some fun paper crafting product! Kelly will be contacting you shortly to get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!

Freebie Friday – Conspiracy of Love

December 11, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 101 comments

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Freebie Friday! I love this special time of year. Not only am I mesmerized by the magic of the season, but I love how everyone seems to have a little more patience, a little more kindness and a little more love for their fellow man. 

Just this week Brandy announced our new joint venture with Creating Keepsakes magazine called “Creativity Heals”. The objective is simple: donate your time, creativity and supplies toward improving the lives of others. We’ve partnered with Operation Write Home, whose mission is to support our nation’s armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them. Thanks to all who have already sent off cards to OWH and to those who are organizing their shipments right now. 

Around the office, we also get into the spirit of giving. Last year a few of us participated in a Secret Santa exchange. My little elf just happened to be “Matthew McConaughey” and every day he would leave me a gift, along with a cute note. What was so remarkable was how well he knew me…he left me bottles of Coke, KitKat candy bars and even little treats for my dog Lexus. 

Just a few of the goodies my Secret Santa left under my tree.

Since I know you’re all dying to see the “note”, here’s a close-up view: 

Who knew Matthew had such a sculpted...sense of humor!

It turns out my Secret Santa was actually the sneaky Miss Susan R. Opel. At the big reveal, she presented me with a gorgeous card she had made. Inside was a gift card to one of my favorite stores. And while I was sad to see my daily visits from “Matthew” disappear, it sure made my holidays a little bit brighter. Just another reminder that gift giving can be so much fun – especially when it comes from the heart. 

I recently stumbled across our Simple Sentiments from Holiday Cards & More, Volume 4. One of my favorite quotes by Hamilton Wright Mabie is: “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” And, of course, you can’t go wrong with good ol’ Dr. Seuss… 

If you would like to download these festive sentiments, please click HERE. Ready for today’s giveaway? I’d love to hear all the fun ways you’ve spread Christmas cheer to your fellow man. Leave “Santa” a comment and he’ll pick three winners to take home a copy of Holiday Cards & More, Vol. 4, plus some fun paper crafting product. All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Sunday, Dec. 13.  

Happy Friday!
Kelly 

P.S. It’s time to announce the two winners from Teri’s Christmastime is Ornament Swap Time post! 

1. Savannah O’Gwynn (Dec. 9, 9:12 a.m.)
2. Shirley K. (Dec. 9, 7:28 a.m.) 

Congrats, ladies! You’ve each won a snowman ornament from Teri! I’ll be contacting you shortly to get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments! 

P.P.S. Here’s another freebie for everyone! This holiday, we invite you to share the inspiration of paper crafting with a friend or relative–at a GREAT DEAL! Subscribe or renew your subscription to Paper Crafts at our special low rate and we’ll give a one-year gift subscription to a friend absolutely FREE! That’s two subscriptions for the price of one! This special holiday offer won’t last long…so click on over today! Offer valid in the U.S. only.

Inspired By Challenge Winners

December 10, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 comments

Susan R. Opel

Every time a new issue of Paper Crafts magazine hits the newsstands and our subscribers’ mailboxes, there’s a surge of excitement. We KNOW all of the inspiration that’s inside each issue, but we’re also curious where the creative train will stop next. We’re eager to see what our readers do with all of the ideas they glean from every glossy page. 

Enter the Inspired By Challenge! This challenge was issued for you to create a card inspired by one that you’d seen in the pages of any Paper Crafts publication, and I truly enjoyed checking out the fruits of your labors! What fun to see your interpretations and hear your stories. 

Now without further ado, I introduce the winners of the Inspired By challenge! 

Winner #1 – Lynn Miller 

Lynn went for a pretty direct interpretation of Stephanie Muzzulin’s Thank You Tree Card. Though she used the same stamp to achieve the look, her addition of buttons for fall foliage and a decidedly autumnal color scheme are just the perfect twist to the original. 

You can find Stephanie’s card in the November/December 2009 issue.

Winner #2 – Jennifer Hansen 

Jennifer’s Many Thanks Card was inspired by Kim Moreno’s Birdie Anniversary Card. Jennifer kept some of the same design elements – the triple matting, the scallop at the top and the bird motif. She used pearls as a substitution for the rhinestones that appear on Kim’s card. By using a different color palette, less whimsical patterned paper and a more sophisticated font, Jennifer’s card takes on a totally different and equally attractive look!  

You can find Kim’s card in A Card a Day.

Winner #3 – Dee Woodland 

Even though it isn’t a thank you or birthday card, we were so delighted by Dee’s Happily Ever After Card inspired by Danni Reid’s Thanks A Bunch Card that we had to share it with you. Dee was inspired by Danni’s pretty white on white on white card and added just the right amount of color with her pink flowers. Thanks for sharing, Dee! 

You can find Danni’s card in Card Creations, Volume 7.

Congrats, ladies! You’ve each won a free 1-year subscription to Paper Crafts or special issue of your choice. I’ll be contacting you shortly to discuss your prizes and get you mailing addresses. Thanks to all who played along! 

Wanna join in on the fun? Thumb through the pages of a Paper Crafts publication (magazine or special issue) and create a project inspired by one that you see. Submit an image of your Inspired By project here, tell us where we can find the original in our magazine and you just might have your card featured in the Paper Crafts Connection section of one of our issues. Why not give it a shot? 

Show us how YOU get inspired by Paper Crafts magazine!
Susan 

P.S. It’s time to announce the winner of Brandy’s Are You Feeling Festive Yet? post! 

Debbie Fisher (Dec. 8, 3:19 p.m.) 

Congrats, Debbie! You’ve won a fun assortment of paper crafting supplies! Kelly will be contacting you shortly to get your mailing address. Thanks to all who left comments!

Groovin’ with the Go-to-Gals: Christmastime is Ornament Swap Time

December 9, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 73 comments

Teri Anderson

Christmas would not be complete for me without adding a few new handmade ornaments to my tree. 

I’ve been doing that now for five or six years, thanks to a small group of women I met online through a discussion group for scrapbookers and card makers. 

It all started when one of the members suggested the group do an ornament swap. The rules were simple: Come up with an ornament and then make an identical one for everyone else who wanted in on the action.

Needless to say, that first swap was a hit, and the group has done an ornament swap every year since. I look forward to the annual swap. I love to see what my friends have dreamed up. Sometimes, the ornaments are really simple. Other times, they are a bit more complicated. 

Because of the group, I’ve added monograms, bells, buckets filled with nuts and candy, beaded cactuses, seashells, angels, snowflakes, stars, gingerbread men and lots of snowmen to my Christmas tree. 

As fun as it is to receive ornaments from my friends, it’s always fun to make ones for them. The ornaments provide a nice change of pace to the cards and scrapbook pages I usually make. 

I’ve made angels from bottle caps, Santa tags and snowmen from sticks and felt over the years. This year, I again went with a snowman. 

 

This is my ornament for the year. To make this guy, I covered two pieces of balsa wood with cardstock, glued them together and then just decorated my snowman up with chalk, brads, cardstock, pompoms and other crafts supplies. 

This year’s ornaments are scheduled to arrive this week. I can hardly wait. For me, Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without the swap. 

I’d love to hear from you today! Leave a comment here and you could win one of my snowmen ornaments. Two Paper Crafts Connection readers will each receive one. All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Thursday, Dec. 10. 

Teri Anderson,
Paper Crafts Go-to-Gal

Are You Feeling Festive Yet?

December 8, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | 45 comments

Brandy Jesperson

The holidays are officially upon us and I can’t help but feel the magic of the season. The bell ringers are in front of my local Wal-Mart and tonight will be spent caroling with the youth in my neighborhood. We’re delivering treats to a few surrounding families in need of extra cheer. I sincerely believe that many ailments from loneliness to sickness can be healed with a dose of love and attention.  

This is why I’m so excited to bring you the “Creativity Heals” campaign created by our sister publication, Creating Keepsakes magazine.  

Creating Keepsakes recognizes the inspiring and healing power that creativity brings into our lives and the lives of others. Since Creating Keepsakes is encouraging everyone to donate time, creativity or extra crafting supplies towards improving the lives of others, we’ve decided to partner with one of our very favorite charities: Operation Write Home. 

This amazing charity’s mission is to support our nation’s armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them. As of November 29, 279,487 cards have been sent to deployed heroes! Let’s add to this number by donating a few cards of our own. I know you’ve got extra cards lying around so please put them to good use by sending them to a good home.  

I’ll be donating several versions of this card (sans glitter): 

Drop me a line letting me know if you donated any cards. Everyone who donates will be entered into a drawing to win an assortment of paper crafting supplies. All comments must be received by midnight (MDT) on Wednesday, Dec. 9.  

Yours in festive giving,
Brandy

P.S. We just added a “Creativity Heals” tab to our menu bar. Any time you want to learn more about giving back or to see what charities we’re supporting, please click HERE.

Magazine Monday – November Gallery Challenge Winners!

December 7, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 14 comments

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Magazine Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend and crossed a few things off their Christmas to-do list. Unfortunately, I did not keep my promise of putting up my tree and holiday decor. I’ve been sick most of the weekend, so I spent many hours rotating between bed, couch and another room, which will remain nameless. Enough said.

Let’s move on to our three winners from November’s Gallery Challenge! These three ladies not only aced our holiday treat containers theme, but they also showed us how easy it is to incorporate your paper crafting supplies into holiday gift wrap. Let’s meet our three winners!

Winner #1 – Heidi Van Laar: 

I love how the two birds are talking to each other in Heidi's Joy Bag and Tag.

Winner #2 – Beth Matson:

And we just loved the originality of Beth's Reindeer Noses Treat Bags. Per bag she included eight chocolate Whoppers for Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. And then one cherry sour for Rudolph.

Winner #3 – Ashley Newell:

And who wouldn't want to see Ashley's elegant gift box under their tree?

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 of our merry projects from the November challenge, please visit our gallery HERE.

Wanna join the fun and participate in our next challenge? We just launched our December Gallery Challenge! Since we know you’ve all been working on them, we want to see you best Christmas card designs! For inspiration, please turn to the Symbols of the Season and All Creatures Great & Small features in our November/December 2009 issue. This three-week challenge will run through midnight (MDT) on Monday, Dec. 28. Click HERE for all the details!

Here’s hoping my Monday is better than my Sunday!
Kelly

It’s time to announce the two winners from my Santa, Owls & Mice – Oh My! post. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Lynn Ghahary (Dec. 4, 11:39 a.m.)
2. Lisa Petrella (Dec. 4, 10:02 p.m.)

Congrats, winners! Each of you has won an assortment of American Crafts Blue Skies collection. I’ll be e-mailing you shortly for your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!