Magazine Monday – Meet Carla Peicheff

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Magazine Monday and day one of Cards Creations 7 Week! As I mentioned last Friday, we’ve once again teamed up with Cath and her Moxie Fab World blog to celebrate our latest and greatest special issue Card Creations, Volume 7!

On sale tomorrow, this must-have issue features nearly 300 cards for all occasions. What’s even more impressive is over 200 designs are five steps or less, so making fabulous cards just got easier!

Each day this week we’ll be spotlighting cards from this great magazine, as well as giving away some fantastic prizes. As always, make sure you check back with us on Friday for our grand Freebie Friday giveaway. I’d love to spill the beans on what we have in store for you, but then I’d ruin the big surprise! And where’s the fun in that?

Remember between now and Friday, you can buy CC7 for 10% off. Click on the magazine image to reserve your copy today!

Today we’ll be spotlighting the fabulous Carla Peicheff, who has TEN glorious projects in this issue. I first became aware of Carla when she auditioned for our Gallery Idol 2008 competition. She made it all the way to our Top 10 round with her dazzling designs! (Just as a side note, today is the last day we’re accepting submissions for Gallery Idol 2009. Get your birthdays cards in by midnight (MST) and you could be one of our Top 20 contestants!)

So without further ado, let’s get to know Carla Peicheff!

Carla Peicheff

1. What is your favorite occasion or holiday to paper craft and why?  

I have to say that I absolutely love creating baby items…mini albums, cards, handmade gifts, etc. The paper lines that come out for baby items are always so adorable! Usually they feature little baby animals, polka dots, stripes, soft colors, etc. Who could ask for more really?

2. If you were only allowed two items to create a card beside cardstock and adhesive, what would they be?

Blossoms and buttons! I have a passion for blossoms…my blossom container is massive! I honestly have thousands of blossoms (yes, it’s a bit much, but really, you never know when you’ll need that *one* perfect little blossom, right?). And buttons! I always reach for buttons to finish off my blossoms…bright and fun or vintage and faded. I have a special place in my heart for all of them!

Carla Peicheff's Citrus Wish Card from CC7

3. What is your most difficult paper crafting challenge?

Definitely masculine cards! I find it so hard not to throw on lots of bling and blossoms, so keeping things clean and simple with dark, masculine colors isn’t really my style. So I tend to steer clear of masculine cards, but do enjoy creating them here and there.

4. How would you describe your style?

Hmm…I think my style is of the “more is more” school. I love to load up my cards with lots of blossoms, buttons, layered paper, rhinestones, ribbon, etc. But I will also do clean and simple cards. Overall, I think I’m pretty versatile. I’ll do whatever fits the occasion really! And depending on what inspired me, I just let my creativity take me along for the ride.

Carla Peicheff's Kiss Card from CC7

5. When it comes to calls and deadlines, how do you keep yourself organized?

For magazine calls, I will submit to those that “sing to me”, so if a call comes out that I like, I’ll send in a few cards and hope for the best! I’ve been quite busy with card orders and design team work recently so haven’t been submitting, but hope to find some time to do so again very soon!

As for deadlines, I have four kids, so I really need to keep myself on track. I’m a list maker, so I’ll start up a fresh “scrapping to-do” list every Monday and note the due dates so I’m not late.

6. Have you contributed to any design teams in the past or present? If so, which ones?

I love being part of a team, and working on different design teams keeps me creative and trying new things! I have served on several past design teams and as a guest designer. I am currently serving on four design teams:

• I head the design team with a friend at Lil’ Scrappers, which is an amazing Canadian store/kit club/message board.
• I’m also on the ShortCuts design team which sells the best clear and frosted card bases and precut gift card holders.
• I am also on the Bitten by the Bug design team which puts my love for my Cricut Expression to the test!
• And most recently, I made the Card Patterns design team, which is a fabulous card sketch challenge blog!

7. Name three Paper Crafts designers whose styles you like and tell me why they appeal to you.

Oh boy…this is a tough one, but I do know my first and foremost. I absolutely LOVE Melissa Phillips. Her style is so unique and feminine that I can *always* pick her stunning creations out of a magazine!

Two more designers I love are Sherry Wright and Kim Kesti… Sherry’s work is so sophisticated and detailed. She has an amazing eye, and it’s always a treat seeing her work! Fabulous! Kim’s work is clean and crisp! Her bright and fun creations always put a smile on my face!

8. Do you remember what Paper Crafts issue your first project appeared in? How has your style changed since then?

It wasn’t that long ago at all… it was the March/April issue of 2009. So no, I don’t think my style has changed much since then… lol!

9. Do you have any advice/tips for someone who’s never been published or who wants to submit for the first time?

A few tips from my own experience:

• Send in clear, bright and crisp pictures, and always be sure you know your materials.
• Send in your very best work! I’ve never seen a sloppy, slapped together card in any magazine.
• Don’t give up! I can only imagine how many thousands of submissions magazines receive. Just because you may not get picked up right away, it doesn’t mean they don’t like your “style”, or that you’ll never get picked up. It may just not be exactly what they’re looking for in that issue. So stick to it – your time will come!

10. Do you have a blog or online gallery? If so, please provide the URL.

I do have a blog (www.moralia.wordpress.com), which I update almost daily. You’ll find all my work here, along with random ramblings, pictures of my kids, etc. Please stop by and say hello!

So hopefully you’ve enjoyed getting to know Carla Peicheff! Our friends at American Crafts were nice enough to donate three sets of their Romance collection – the collection Carla used to create her Kiss card above. Please leave a comment below and I’ll pick three random winners to receive this awesome prize package, plus a copy of Cards Creations, Volume 7. All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Tuesday, June 23.

Three lucky winners will receive this prize package valued at more than $100!

Make sure you head on over to Moxie Fab World for Cath’s moxie fab take on CC7! And get ready for Brandy’s post tomorrow on National Pink Day!

Kelly

P.S. It’s time to announce the seven winners from last week’s Freebie Friday – Cards Creations 7 Week! post. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Maria Gurnsey (June 19, 8:37 a.m.)
2. Gail (June 19, 2:32 p.m.)
3. Malia Leuck (June 20, 11:27 a.m.)
4. Karen D (June 20, 5:49 p.m.)
5. Kim M (June 19, 3:35 p.m.)
6. Lynette C (June 20, 1:49 a.m.)
7. Mary D (June 19, 1:17 p.m.)

P.P.S. It’s time to announce the five winners of Jennifer’s 107 Days and Counting! post. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Ellen (June 18, 8:46 a.m.)
2. Kristie Larsen (June 18, 5:05 p.m.)
3. Carol Metully (June 19, 12:31 p.m.)
4. Tina (June 18, 6:17 a.m.)
5. Carol (ScrapMomOf2) (June 18, 8:38 a.m.)

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