Cath Edvalson

This past Monday marked my five-year anniversary with Paper Crafts magazine. And while there’s been a whole lotta changes at the magazine over the years, I can’t believe how fast time flies when you’re having so much fun!

As I was reflecting on this milestone, I was surprised to realize that none of the team members from five years ago remains today, except moi. Stacy Croninger was the editor-in-chief and Jennafer Martin was the special issues managing editor. Stacy now works for the Events Team, helping to put on Creating Keepsakes Conventions all over the country, and Jennafer is now the editor-in-chief for Creating Keepsakes magazine. Stace, Vee, Marissa, Junko, and Brenda have all moved on in their careers, but not without imparting their own brand of stellar contributions along the way.

When I first arrived, the team was working on the December 2005/January 2006 issue, and though I survived a rigorous interviewing process, I knew absolutely nothing about magazine production whatsoever. Needless to say, I was able to pull from the skill set I had acquired as a middle school English teacher for ten years; and the 3 years that I ran my own handmade card business, Cards by Cath, proved to be invaluable. I am happy to report that eventually, somewhere along the way, I was able to figure a few things out:

• Like how to deal with the fact that magazines live and die by the deadline.
• Like how to impart a visual connection to the reader.
• Like how to be a team player.
• Like how to distinguish between magazine-time and real-time, and to think in both simultaneously. (This is not as easy as it may seem.)
• Like how to communicate to designers and manufacturers effectively.
• Like how to write an inspiring call for submissions.
• Like how to cover an entire CHA show floor in 3 days or less without absolutely withering.

Like how to write six or seven blog posts in each and every week.

In the course of the past five years I have contributed to the production of 36 magazine issues and 39 specials for a total of 75 magazines! I’ve also helped put together four books including 40 Techniques for Making Cards, Scrapbook to Cards, Paper Crafts Gourmet, and A Card a Day. Phew! That’s a whole lotta lotta!

The first special issue in which I played a major role? Card Creations: Start to Finish, Volume 1 and it was a challenge, let me tell you!

The most difficult issue to put together? Paper Crafts 101 because of all the content that had to be arranged.

The issue I had the most fun working on? You Go, Girl! because it was all about encouraging the women in our lives.

The issues I’m the proudest of? Our Stamp It! series because of the growth it’s seen over the years.

We’ve done a “color” issue, and an “eco” issue, and the July/August 2010 issue is all about you.

In 2008, the Moxie Fabs column came along and later that year, the Moxie Fab World. I am just now finishing up my twelfth Moxie Fabs column and I have written precisely 452 blog posts in the eighteen months since the Moxie Fab World was born.

And while we’ve been owned by three different companies and I’ve seen a lot of friends come and go, my favorite part of the job remains unchanged: connecting with people like you. From my current team members—Jennifer, Brandy, Kelly, Susan, Matt, Holly, and Ahtanya—to our former Paper Crafts Pros—Nichole, Wendy, Alisa, and Sue—to our current Paper Crafts Go-to Gals—Betsy, Jessica, Kim H., Kim K., Maren, and Teri—to the great designers to the inspiring manufacturers to all of you, this job is as fun as it is because of all the people that I’ve met along the way.

So here’s to five years of fun at Paper Crafts magazine! To help me celebrate, leave a comment by midnight (MDT) on Friday, June 4 telling me how long you’ve been along for the ride—as in, when did you first crack open a Paper Crafts publication—and what that’s meant to your life. I’ll select one random winner to receive the four Stamp It! Cards issues seen above as my thanks for coming to the party!

So grateful for Paper Crafts,
Cath

P.S. It’s time to announce the three winners from Jennifer’s June 1st is a Busy Day for a Celebration post!

1. Megan A. (June 1, 7:24 a.m.)
2. Lillian Child (June 2, 10:27 a.m.)
3. Jen Shears (June 1, 11:02 a.m.)

Congrats, winners! You’ve won some fun goodies from Tattered Angels! Kelly will be contacting you shortly for your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Freebie Friday! Has everyone found some time to paper craft this week? I myself will be spending the weekend making two sets of cards (20 total!) for our upcoming card group. Like many of you, I often struggle with “Where do I begin?” With so many pretty papers and endless embellishments, I often spend more time conceptualizing than creating. And while that’s important, I’d much rather be “playing” than “thinking”.

Lucky for me (and all of you!), our fabulous creative editor Cath Edvalson just returned from the CHA trade show with her top picks for products and trends. If you didn’t get a chance to read her CHA Trends by the Dozen post this week, it will definitely whet your paper crafting appetite!

And while Cath cited a dozen tasty trends, she said the runaway hit of the show was the vintage look. We recently featured this timeless trend in our July/August 2009 issue. I love the fact that people are now incorporating antique lace, buttons, ticket stubs, game pieces, costume jewelry and a million other priceless finds into their paper crafting. It really gives a whole new meaning to the word recycling!

And for those of you who scrapbook, there’s finally a plethora of vintage product to complement those heirloom family photos. Here’s a few of my favorites from the Smith family vault:

My great-grandmother Ruth Turner Smith. She was born January 1, 1900.

Here she is a few years later with her husband and two young sons. The youngest is my grandpa.

That little baby grew up to marry my grandma, seen here with my uncle, aunt and dad (far right). Circa 1963.

Aren’t these photos amazing? Last year my grandma went through all of her old photo albums and slides and put close to 1200 pictures on CD’s. She then gave one to each member of the family for Christmas. What a memorable gift!

Are you ready for today’s vintage-inspired giveaway? If the vintage trend is one that speaks to you, leave a comment telling me why. I’ll pick three random winners to receive either Graphic 45′s Playtimes Past, Botanicabella or Times Nouveau collection. All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Sunday, August 16. I’ll announce the three winners on Monday’s blog.

Three winners will each win one of these vintage collections from Graphic 45.

Here to making old new again!
Kelly

P.S. It’s time to announce the winners from Cath’s CHA Trends by the Dozen post and Kim’s My Creative Process post! Here they are:

Cath’s winner:

Jing-Jing (August 11, 10:42 a.m.)

Kim’s winner:

Lindsay (August 12, 8:36 a.m.)

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

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Freebie Friday! It seems like the economy is affecting everyone these days. My dear, sweet mom lost her job this week. A job she called home for the last six years (I know many of you can relate). While the shock of it is still settling in, she’s preparing herself for leaner days ahead.

And though her bank account won’t be as full, she’s looking forward to a little down time until that next job presents itself.

With her days now free, I suggested she take up card making (something I wish I had more time to do!). Her first response was, “Isn’t that expensive?” I replied, “You haven’t seen our July/August issue!” And it’s so true. Card making doesn’t have to be expensive. You just need some inspiration to point you in the right direction! Enter our July/August issue:

Our “Eco” issue is packed with 100+ projects geared towards saving you money and the environment. Take Alisa’s blog this week on rubbing flower petals onto cardstock. Who knew you could achieve so many brilliant colors? What a beautiful backdrop! Throw in a few miscellaneous supplies and voila! – you have a gorgeous card that cost next to nothing to create.

Alisa Bangerter's Enjoy and Thanks cards from our July/August issue.

Here’s two more eco-conscious cards from Alisa’s Paper Crafts 101 column (July/August issue). In her Enjoy card, she created her own patterned paper by rubbing leaves in a circular motion. In her Thanks card, she used a fern leaf as a mask to create a striking focal point. Make sure you ”leaf” through the magazine and look at her nine out-of-the-box technique squares. You’ll also want to check out our “5 cards, 5 occasions, 5 dollars” feature. If you need some eco-inspiration, you’ll find it here.

To aid in your quest to paper craft more economically, today I’m giving away papers from Tinkering Ink’s “Becoming Green” collection, as well as Unity Stamp Company’s “Growing in Unity” stamp set. So many of you said that your favorite things in nature are flowers and trees. Well, here’s some more!

Two lucky winners will each receive this nature-loving prize package!

Leave a comment telling me ways you’re trimming your paper crafting costs. All comments must be received by midnight on Sunday, June 14. I’ll announce the two winners on Monday’s blog.

Here’s to being green (and liking it!)
Kelly

P.S. It’s time to announce the three winners from Alisa’s Natural Color post. Here they are in no particular order:

1. noa d (June 10, 7:32 a.m.)
2. Sara (June 11, 9:38 a.m.)
3. Sara-Jane (June 10, 6:18 p.m.)

Congrats, winners! Each of you will receive a copy of our July/August issue and Kelly Panacci’s Funtastik Flowers stamp set. I’ll be e-mailing you shortly for your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!

Alisa Bangerter

I had the opportunity to create the Paper Crafts 101 column for the July/August issue of Paper Crafts magazine. I played around with techniques using items from nature and came up with a lot of really fun things to do using items from my yard.

One of my favorite was creating texture using some green leaves by rubbing them on cardstock and transferring the pigment onto the paper. 

Since spring has burst my yard into a plethora of color, I wanted to try a variety of brightly colored flower petals and leaves to see what I could create. 

I took each petal or leaf and rubbed it in circular motions onto cardstock. It was fun to see how each color transferred onto the paper, as some colors are different from what you think will appear. The effect of the pigment from the plants has a soft watercolor look to it – in fact it is hard to tell that it isn’t a paint or ink that was used.

And here's the finished result!

So my challenge to you is to try a new technique using something from nature. It’s fun, fast and free!

Alisa, Paper Crafts Pro

P.S. For those of you who don’t have flowers growing in a garden, today I’m giving them away…the stamped version that is! Leave a comment telling me your favorite item from nature. It can be anything! I’ll randomly pick three people to win a copy of our July/August issue and Kelly Panacci’s Funtastik Flowers stamp set. All comments must be received by midnight on Thursday, June 11. The three winners will be announced on Friday’s blog.

Three lucky winners will take home this prize package!

Susan R. Opel

One year ago today, I began working as associate creative editor for Paper Crafts magazine!

It’s amazing to think about what all has happened in those 365 days including two title changes from associate creative editor to associate editor to editor.

Take a look back at my first year in pictures!

In the top left picture you can see me on June 9, 2008, eager to get started. One change is that I’ve lost over 40 lbs. since my first day. You can also see me at work filming a crafting video in my home and showing my Paper Crafts colors.

I work with some pretty cool people, and there’ve been changes there, too. Since I arrived we lost Stacy, Kimberly, and Neko, but our team is whole again with the addition of Jennifer and Matt (and boy, do they ROCK!). Jennifer, Brandy, Kelly, Cath, and I bonded in Anaheim at CHA in January, and in September, I got to meet the Pros and the Editorial Board for the first time.

I’ve become an expert air traveler with trips to Chicago and Anaheim for CHA trade shows, Louisville, KY, and Manchester, NH, for CKCs, and Salem, OR, for World Card Making Day 2008. I’ll be off to two more CKCs before the year is out in Valley Forge, PA, and Nashville, TN.

Since starting at Paper Crafts, I’ve started making cards, and being in a creative environment for work is pretty darn cool! And the creativity doesn’t stop there… My sister and I masterminded a makeover of the lobby of our building (top left of collage), I got to see my name in print in the Nov/Dec 2008 issue, my sister and I arranged our scrapbook room in glorious color, I decorated my very first cubicle tree, and I created a ton of cards to share with my students in the CKC card swap.

And as you well know, we know how to have fun. My parents came to visit in October (aren’t they cute?), and they kept remarking how it seemed like all we do around here is have fun! Like that’s a BAD thing. I guess I am OK with going to a Celine Dion concert with my colleagues and dressing up like crazy hippies for Halloween. Fun is GOOD!

Ah, the memories… I’m sure to have many more good times in the year to come, but this was my first one! And I LOVED it!

Tell me how your life has changed in the last 365 days, and I’ll give one lucky winner a copy of the fantastic July/August 2009 Eco Issue. I’ll also include four cards that appear in the issue courtesy of Kim Hughes (2 from her!), Brigid Gonzalez, and Danielle Calhoun. Get those responses in by midnight MDT on Friday, June 12, and Kelly will announce the winner on Monday!

Here’s to many more years at Paper Crafts magazine!
Susan

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Freebie Friday and Paper Crafts latest installment of the I-Spy trivia game! Are you ready to win some green and groovy prizes? I mean really groovy! Not only are these products from some of the hottest manufacturers, but they’re also earth-friendly! Get ready because I’m picking five winners this time!

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

July/August I-Spy Questions:

1. I spy Jennifer’s Ed Note where she mentions we received almost 1,500 cards for our World Card Making Day Card Contest last year. Where did we donate these lovely cards?
2. I spy our Paper Crafts Connection column. According to Susan’s quiz, what is the answer to #4 (‘70s soul and gospel singer turned Memphis pastor, “Let’s Stay Together” –Al _________?
3. I Spy our Ask the Pros column. How did Alisa create the birthday cake embellishment on her card?
4. I spy our Online Corner column. Who made all 110 of her wedding invitations? (Hint: http://www.papercraftsmag.com/about/index.html)
5. I spy our Joy of Card Making column on incorporating elements from nature into your paper crafts. What element did Stefanie Hamilton use on her Bring My Heart card?
6. I spy Cath’s Moxie Fabs column. Name three earth-friendly words printed on Beth Opel’s Green card?
7. I spy our Green & Groovy feature. (Yeah, baby!) I spy Alice Golden’s Best Wishes card. According to the “Going Green” tip, what will actually grow if it’s planted? (Is that amazing or what?!)
8. I spy our Value of Vintage feature. What date is handwritten on the vintage receipt in Teri Anderson’s For U card?
9. I spy our 5 cards, 5 occasions, 5 dollars feature. Name the five designers whose cards appear in this feature. Also list each of their receipt totals.
10. I spy our Simple Sentiments column. What item did Brandy recycle into a set of bedroom pillows?

FIVE random people (that answer five or more questions correctly) will win a selection of green and groovy products we featured in this issue’s “Product Parade” and “Sweepstakes” columns. To play, please enter your answers in the comment field below this entry. All comments must be received by midnight on Sunday, June 7. I’ll announce the five groovy winners on Monday, June 8.

Five lucky winners will take home a selection of this green and groovy product!

Good luck!
Kelly

P.S. It’s time to announce the three winners from Wendy’s Best Friends Forever post! Here they are in no particular order:

1. Dee (June 4, 1:47 p.m.)
2. Gracii (June 3, 3:08 p.m.)
3. Wendy F (June 3, 5:19 a.m.)

Congrats, ladies! Each of you will receive a copy of 225 Cards & Gifts and My Favorite Things’ Call Me stamp set. I’ll be contacting you shortly for your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!

Brandy Jesperson

My name is Brandy and I like to make stuff. I like to make cookies.

These sandwich cookies from Paper Crafts Gourmet are delicious!

I like to make friends.

My co-workers are also my friends…am I a lucky duck or what?!

I like to make cards.

A simple little card set I put together using the Craft Fair collection from American Crafts.

I like to make magazines.

I like to make people happy by giving them free stuff.

Tell me what you like to make and you’ll automatically be entered to win this Simply Spring clear stamp set from Tinkering Ink.  I’ll randomly select two winners on Friday, May 29 so drop me a line and tell your friends!

Yours in gift-giving happiness,
Brandy

P.S. It’s time to announce the two winners from Kelly’s One Red Hot Giveaway post from last Friday! Here they are in no particular order:

1. Aimee (May 23, 4:22 p.m.)
2. Kim M (May 22, 8:32 p.m.)

Each of you will receive a red-themed prize package! Kelly will be e-mailing you shortly for your mailing addresses! Thanks to all who left so many heartwarming teacher stories!

P.P.S. It’s also time to announce the winner from Cath’s Ready? Set! Access! post!

Congratulations go out to Rebecca Keppel (May 19, 10:25 p.m.)!

Rebecca has won an Easy Stamp Press from Fiskars along with their new clear stamp set called Tartan ‘n Time. Kelly will be e-mailing you soon, Rebecca! Thanks to all who left comments!

Brandy Jesperson

That’s right…it’s 2010 here at Paper Crafts. 

Magazine time and real time are two very different things. For example, it’s May 14. My geraniums are planted, the birds are chirping, and I’m wearing Capri pants. Note to self: buy self tanner! However, in magazine time I’m final editing Holiday Cards & More (which is going to be an AWESOME issue, BTW). Yep, I’m immersed in pine trees, elves, and cable-knit sweaters.

Think that is crazy? I can do one better. The call for our January/February issue went out yesterday. Yep, we’ve already concepted a Valentine’s Day feature and have long since celebrated the New Year. 

This might sound a little hectic, but on the bright side I get to celebrate everything twice. Twice the conversation hearts, twice the spooking, and twice the Christmas carols. So, occasionally I write the wrong year on my checks…the banker always notices and sets me straight.   

To celebrate yet another example of magazine time versus real time I thought I’d offer up a prize. Do you plan ahead when it comes to your paper crafting? Do you need a holiday issue in August to ensure that your cards are completed by December? Leave me a comment answering one of these questions and I’ll randomly select two lucky people to receive FREE copies of the July/August issue of Paper Crafts. 

This issue doesn’t even go on sale until May 26 so leave me a comment to be eligible to win one of the very first copies! Winners will be announced Monday, May 18.  

Happy 2010, I mean 2009,
Brandy

P.S. Our fantastic editor Susan Opel will be teaching at CKC-Manchester this weekend (May 14-16). If you happen to be there, make sure to say hi!