P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Freebie Friday! Is everyone ready for Father’s Day this weekend? I mailed off my care package to my dad this week. Like most dads, he’s always saying, “Don’t spend your money on me. I don’t need a thing.” So I went the economical route and sent him some homemade jam and his favorite pancake mix. I even tucked in a homemade card. I loved creating a card with him specifically in mind.

Speaking of cards from the heart, our Top 15 blew me away with their interpretations of our “Masculine Garage” theme. It was so fun to read their e-mails last weekend as they were brainstorming ideas. I know many of them raided their husband’s and dad’s toolboxes in search of the perfect “manly” supplies. I have a hunch these husbands and dads will be receiving some extra special cards this Father’s Day!

It was a close race, but these 10 gals received the most votes in our masculine-themed card challenge. Here they are in alphabetical order:

Finalist #1 – Karen Baker: 

Finalist #2 – Lynn Ghahary: 

Finalist #3 – Courtney Kelley:

Finalist #4 – Belinda Chang Langer:

Finalist #5 – Regina Mangum:

Finalist #6 – Kryssi Ng:

Finalist #7 – Sarah Martina Parker:

Finalist #8 – Shemaine Smith:

Finalist #9 – Shanna Vineyard:

Finalist #10 – Vera Yates:

Which means we must say goodbye to Valerie Mangan, Winter Sims, Giovana Smith, Angie Tieman and Danielle Wycough. Ladies, thanks so much for your amazing contribution to Gallery Idol 2010. I’ll be contacting you shortly to discuss your prize packages. Best of luck in all your crafty pursuits!

Congratulations, Top 10! By making it this far, you’ve each won a free special issue, a one-year subscription and this fantastic prize package, courtesy of October Afternoon:

Top 10, ready for the next theme? Round 3’s theme is…unique uses of ribbon! Need some inspiration? Turn to the Few of Your Favorite Things feature in our May/June 2010 issue. The deadline for submissions is next Monday, June 21 at 9 a.m. (MDT). All ribbon cards must be posted to our gallery by this time. Voting for Round 3 will begin at noon!

Since it’s Freebie Friday, you know I’ve got some fun goodies! To go along with Gallery Idol’s next theme, I’m giving away an assortment of American Crafts ribbon to three lucky winners! To be entered to win, leave a congratulatory comment for our Top 10 finalists. All comments must be received by midnight (MDT) on Sunday, June 20. 

Three winners will take home an assortment of this fun ribbon!

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Freebie Friday! Did you hear the big news? Card Creations, Volume 8 is now on sale!

Back by popular demand, this special issue promises to wow even the most advanced card maker, while offering plenty of designs and techniques that beginners will love, too. And with 273 ideas for every occasion and holiday, each design can be easily adapted for tags, layouts, invitations and more.

Since this fan favorite only comes around once a year, we’re celebrating by throwing a party! Starting on Monday, we hope you’ll join us for Card Creations 8 Week. We’ll begin the party here and then let Cath wrap up the week on her Moxie Fab World blog. Both sites will be spotlighting some amazing cards from this issue, as well as giving away some fabulous prizes.

Between now and May 26, you can get free standard shipping on CC8! Just enter coupon code "CC8FS" at checkout. Click on the magazine image to reserve your copy today!

To give you a sneak peek of what’s in store next week, here’s two cards from the Friendship section of CC8. I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the more I love and appreciate my friends. Through the ups and downs of life, I know I can count on them for advice (solicited or not), moral support and even a little retail therapy (when things get really bad!).

I just love the design and sentiment on Melanie Douthit's You're a Great Friend Card (p. 69).

And there's just something about bunnies and buttons! Love this combination in Michelle Philippi's Best Friend Bunny Card (p. 69).

Ready for today’s giveaway? Since I love the cute little bunny in Michelle’s card, I just have to send him hoppin’ to a few of paper crafting friends. Leave a comment telling me a favorite girlfriend memory. Did you toilet paper the principal’s house? Get your ears pierced together? Meet through Facebook? Leave a comment and I’ll pick three winners to take home some fun chipboard product from Cosmo Cricket’s Nutmeg collection (seen on Michelle’s card above!) and a copy of Card Creations, Volume 8! All comments must be received by midnight (MDT) on Sunday, May 23.

Three lucky people will win this fun prize package!

See ya next week, friends!
Kelly

P.S. This is your last weekend to upload your entries to Gallery Idol! All Thank You cards submissions must be posted by midnight (MDT) on Monday, May 24. We’ll be announcing our Top 20 finalists next Friday!

P.P.S. If you happen to be attending CKC-Buffalo this weekend, make sure you say “hi” to Paper Crafts editor Susan R. Opel. She’s teaching 11 classes you won’t want to miss!

Susan R. Opel

Last month while teaching at a Creating Keepsakes Convention in Kentucky, I had the opportunity to meet Windy Robinson, a talented card designer who’s been published in Paper Crafts magazine. She told me an inspiring story about how she became the paper crafter that she is today, and I knew that I wanted to share it with all of you! So, read on for Windy’s story…

Windy’s story: Every year my best crafting buddy and I attend a CKC event. We’ve been fortunate enough to attend CKC-Louisville just two hours from our hometown of Cincinnati for the past two years, but I’ll admit that we’ve gleefully driven 5-6 hours to hit CKC-Nashville. You just can’t beat a weekend of quality crafting time with your girlfriends, abundant new products to buy and new things to learn by taking great classes from the pros.

It’s amazing what can happen in a very short period of time. I say this because it’s hard to believe that it was only a little over a year ago when I made my first card…ever! I entered it in the Paper Crafts Card Contest at CKC-Louisville.

Windy created her You Make Me Smile Card using product she bought at the CKC vendor faire last month.

Prior to making my first card, I was die-hard scrapbooker. I made my first scrapbooks over 12 years ago when I was in college, with magnetic albums and construction paper–yikes! After making that first card and taking a few classes at CKC, I instantly became addicted to card making. This addiction has been one of life’s little surprises for me. I never would have dreamt that I’d be a card maker, but what I hadn’t realized was that card making and scrapbooking naturally go hand in hand.

I began a blog where I shared cards that I’d made from the remnants of my scrapbook pages. Within a few months of sharing my work, seeing others’ inspiring work and playing along with the challenges at Paper Crafts Connection and Moxie Fab World, my card designs started to take over as the inspiration for my scrapbook layouts.

Windy’s classy and elegant style often includes a big dramatic silk ribbon.

As the months progressed, I started developing my style as a designer, submitting my work to Paper Crafts for publication, and building fabulous relationships with paper crafters from all around the world. The end result is that now I am a die-hard card maker (who scrapbooks), and I’ve even been asked to join the design teams for GCD Studios and Piggy Tales Academy! 

I love to share and learn, and this wonderful craft enables us all to do that on so many levels. Better yet, I have learned how to define my scrapbook designs, and I’m loving my layouts even more now. The moral of this story is that you can surprise yourself, but only if you give it a shot. So submit, share and most importantly, don’t stop creating!

Windy and I pause for a photo after the Paper Crafts Card Swap at CKC-Louisville.

Thanks for sharing your story, Windy. And to think that it all started because of a fun and crafty weekend with her girlfriends!

Have you ever attended a CKC event? Follow this link and see if there’s one in your neck of the woods. It might well be a weekend you’ll never forget (for all the right reasons!). 

Join me in giving Windy some Paper Crafts love!
Susan

P.S. You can see more of Windy’s cards in our current issue, as well as our May/June and July/August issues. Her projects will also be appearing in our upcoming special issues – Go-to Sketches (on sale March 23) and Card Creations, Volume 8.

Kim Kesti

Okay, I suppose it’s not the official Christmas rush yet, but when October rolls around I usually start getting a little anxious about my Christmas cards. I like to plan them in October, take a Christmas photo and make my cards in November, and mail them out first week in December. 

This fall at Creating Keepsakes Convention, Paper Crafts magazine teaches a fun class called Kick Start Christmas. I taught this class recently when convention was held in Glendale, Arizona. It really inspired me to “kick start” my own card plans. And better yet, one of the techniques we teach in our class is how to make Christmas cards with non-holiday paper. I thought that was a really interesting challenge. So, when I got home I decided to try it. I’m really happy with the results.

I grabbed a bunch of black, red and green scraps from my drawer and punched a whole batch of circles. I also choose a few creams for a neutral touch. I inked the edges of all the circles with black; this helped unify all the patterns. I stamped a little folksy bird (a non-holiday stamp) and a simple sentiment (both stamps are from Hero Arts). A bright touch of polka dot ribbon finished this guy off. What a fun, simple and inexpensive card to reproduce!

How are doing on your holiday cards? How about a little more inspiration? I’d like to send one lucky reader the card pictured above plus these previously published cards.

One lucky winner will take home ALL of these festive cards!

Just leave a comment below about your holiday card making adventures and you’ll be entered to win! All comments must be received by midnight (MDT) on Thursday, Oct. 22.

Happy card making!

Kim Kesti,
Paper Crafts Go-to Gal

Susan R. Opel

One of my all time favorite movies is The Sound of Music, especially for the music. I mean how can you not feel all warm inside when the Von Trapps sing “Edelweiss” and “So Long, Farewell”? There’s a comfort in these songs that remind me of the past and happy times.

Today we celebrate one last time our out-going Founding Paper Crafts Pros with a cheery rendition of “So Long, Farewell”. They have been an important part of our magazine, and we wish them the absolute very best as they begin their new paper crafting adventures. 

Founding Paper Crafts Pros: Wendy Johnson, Sue Neal, Alisa Bangerter and Kim Kesti.

In case you missed it, Alisa, Susan, and Wendy have all bid an official farewell in three different blog posts here on Paper Crafts Connection. You can read Alisa’s here, Susan’s here, and Wendy’s here.

We certainly don’t expect these ladies to fade out of the picture. You can look forward to seeing more of their creations in our magazine, and we can’t wait to watch where the future takes them. Alisa is working on writing a book, Susan is busy teaching classes and Wendy is embarking on a new venture with Piggy Tales as their education coordinator. And since they love teaching, you just might get the chance to take a class from them at a CKC.

Make sure to leave some love in the form of comments here today for these fabulous ladies. I’ll choose one lucky winner who will receive a copy of Scrapbook to Cards autographed by Alisa, Susan, and Wendy, as well as their partner in paper crafting crime, Kim Kesti. Get those responses in by midnight MDT on Friday, September 4th, and Kelly will announce the winner on Monday!

So long, ladies,
Susan

Brandy Jesperson

Did you know that today is in fact National Hug Holiday? Yep, it’s true. 

So give your sweetie a squeeze, your bestie a bear hug, and your kiddo a cuddle. 

If you’re really feeling ambitious, you could even create a card to celebrate this day full of affection and twitterpation. 

I found this gem on Dawn McVey’s blog and love, love, love it! (Too bad I can’t hug it in person!)

And since it’s practically impossible for me to write on this here blog without giving away a prize, I have a stamp set I’d like to offer up. Leave me a comment telling me who you want to give a big hug to and why, and you’ll be automatically entered to win this stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms. The three lucky winners will be announced on Monday, June 15.

{{{hugs}}} and kisses,
Brandy

P.S. If you’re in the Pasadena, California area, make sure you swing by the Creating Keepsakes Convention this weekend and tell Ms. Wendy J. hello!

Brandy Jesperson

As many of you know, several of us from the Paper Crafts team get together once a month to swap cards. We make our cards ahead of time and take turns gathering at one another’s home. We swap cards, eat tons of unhealthy food, make a project, and jibber jabber into the wee hours of the night. I love being a part of this group and I look forward to it each month. Not only is it a great way to stock up on my cards, but it’s a great excuse to get crafty with friends.

Last month we met at Beth’s gorgeous home (thanks Beth!). For our activity we decoupaged wooden frames. We used pretty patterned paper, ribbon, and embellishments to transform basic dollar aisle frames into works of art.   

Here is a peek at our completed frames. Don’t they look fabulous?!

A quick picture of the group. Even Jennifer's daughter Catherine joined us for the night! We had lots of fun and missed those who couldn’t be there.

I know I’ve said this before, but if you’ve never swapped, you should totally try it! Get together with a group of co-workers, neighbors, or friends and let the creative juices flow! Also, if you’ve never paper crafted a wooden frame, you should try. I’m going to make it easy. I’m giving you everything but the frame. That’s right, leave me a comment and three lucky people will each win a SEI collection to use on a wooden frame (or any other project). The winners will be announced on Wednesday, April 22.

Up for grabs: SEI's Lovebirds, Bridgeport and Mimosa collections

Happy crafting (and commenting),
Brandy  

P.S. If you live in or around Mesa, Arizona, make sure you visit Paper Crafts Pro Kim Kesti and all the other fabulous teachers at the Creating Keepsakes Convention.

Brandy Jesperson

For the past few weeks the lovely ladies of SIStv have been sending in submissions for the Star Style Contest. Once the submissions were in, those of us at Paper Crafts and Creating Keepsakes were charged with the task of picking the winners.

It was a tough job (the submissions were AMAZING), but after a bit of deliberation we came up with a trio of winners who all did an awesome job of capturing the “Spring Green” theme. 

So without further ado, here are the winning projects! To check out the three projects Creating Keepsakes selected check out this link.

Butterfly Card by sandrinesvk:

None of us could resist the clean, graphic lines of this card – love it!! The translated sentiment reads: "Happiness never decreases by being shared." ~Buddha

Easter Memories Card by Char4355:

Scalloped edges, hopping bunnies, and a bubble tree. It can’t get much Spring-ier than this delightful card.

Welcome Banner by sheilad:

We adored the way this festive banner incorporated trendy vintage book pages.

Each of our three winners will take home this prize package, which includes a copy of Stamp It! Cards, Card Creations, Volume 6 and Scrapbook to Cards!

All of us at Paper Crafts magazine would like to thank everyone who participated in this challenge. Your projects were fabulous… keep up the good work! For those of you who didn’t get in on the SIStv fun don’t fret. Use these fun projects as inspiration for your own “Spring Green” projects. 

Wishing you a happy Spring (even though we’re buried in snow here in Utah),

Brandy

P.S. If you live in the St. Louis area and you’re looking for a little creative boost check out our Creating Keepsakes Convention this weekend. The incomparable Ms. Kim Kesti will be teaching and anyone who goes is guaranteed to have oh so much fun!!

Jennifer Schaerer

Hey there…fancy meeting you here! I bet you’re wondering about the winners from the Stamp It! Week Challenge we tossed out as part of all the fun last week. The five categories (stamp kissing, build a scene, creating patterned paper with stamps, adding color with markers and adding color with dye ink sprays) yielded hundreds of entries and we sure did have a tough time choosing winners. Luckily, we split the challenge between our happy home here at Paper Crafts Connection and over at Moxie Fab World with Cath. Yay for us and double yay for the double set of winners!

STAMP KISSING: Parker Laine

What a lovely effect adding detail to the petals of her focal point flower with stamp kissing in this card!

BUILD A SCENE: Pam Smerker

I am just imagining the thoughts in that little bunny’s head as he looks over the garden fence and into the rolling green hills.

CREATING PATTERNED PAPER WITH STAMPS: Ashley Newell

Damask has never looked classier than it does in this cool ocean blue with an orange ribbon to make it really pop!

ADDING COLOR WITH MARKERS: CatDidIt

Just look at the depth of color layering in the tiger lily bouquet!

ADDING COLOR WITH DYE INK SPRAY: Linda Beeson

Not only did Linda use dye ink spray to spice up her card, but she also made patterned paper with the dictionary stamp.

A great big cheer of congratulations to all five of these talented ladies! Email me at jschaerer (at) ckmedia.com so I can send each of you a prize package that includes five stamp sets from some of our favorite manufacturers as well as a copy of Stamp It! Cards. I hope each one of you also sent the card to us for our annual Stamping Royalty Contest so you have a second chance to win!

Wrapping up a happy Stamp It! Week,
Jennifer

P.S. If you’re anywhere near Louisville, KY this weekend, go visit our own Susan Opel at the Creating Keepsakes Convention there! Pssssst…she even made cards to swap at the Paper Crafts Card Swap class!

Guess what? These cards have a little secret!

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Freebie Friday and Paper Crafts latest installment of I-Spy! This game has always been a fan favorite, so I’m happy to be bringing it back! Are you ready to win some really cool prizes? Get ready because I’m picking FIVE winners this time!

You must have a copy of our March/April 2009 issue in front of you. All I-Spy questions will be directly related to this issue and this issue only.

March/April I-Spy Questions:

1. I spy Jennifer’s Editor’s Note where she shows a project from our 2008 World Card Making Day card contest (see p. 80 for our 20 winners). How many total entries did we receive?
2. I spy our Paper Crafts Connection column. According to our March/April calendar, there will be a Creating Keepsakes Convention on April 24-26. Where will it be held?
3. I Spy our Ask the Pros column. How does Paper Crafts Pro Wendy Johnson organize her stamps?
4. I spy our Joy of Card Making column. What tip does designer Julie Ebersole recommend for her “How Ya Bean?” card?
5. I spy Cath’s Moxie Fab column on the trendy color combination of yellow and gray. What sentiment is on designer Melissa Phillips’ mini album?
6. I spy Susan Neal’s “Perfect Pair” card in our Paper Crafts 101 column. In addition to Arial, what other font did she use to create the sentiment?
7. I spy a “Safari Clock” in our Photo Finish column. What country is spelled out in letter stickers?
8. I spy our Here Comes the Bride feature. What names are written on the frame from the “Umbrella Bridal Shower”? (FYI: the couple in the photo is actually Brandy’s brother and sister-in-law Jared and Cassidy Olsen!)
9. I spy our Baby Animals for Baby feature. The cute opener shows nine different baby animals. Name three.
10. I spy Susan Opel’s Tips, Tools & Technique column. Designer and master piercer Debbie Olson offers five tips for “Piercing Like a Pro”. What is her #3 tip?

Five random people (that answer five or more questions correctly) will win a selection of butterfly product we featured in this issue’s “Product Parade” and ”Sweepstakes” columns. To play, please enter your answers in the comment field below this entry. I will draw my five winners on Monday, March 9 and announce them in Tuesday’s blog.

Good Luck!
Kelly