Courtney Smith

Good morning, crafters and welcome to our Stamp It! 3 Ways promotion week! This week, we’re here to celebrate this incredible issue! Check out the celebration at Moxie Fab World as well! We took a popular feature from our Stamp It! Cards issues, and made it center stage in this brand new special issue!

Featuring over 40 different stamp sets, we asked three different designers to create projects with the stamp sets in completely unique ways!

We caught up with Heidi Van Laar, who not only rocked the issue, but who was one of our cover girls as well! Keep reading to get to learn a little more about Heidi, and to see some of her inspiring projects from this issue!

Where do you find your paper crafting inspiration?

Advertisements, children’s clothing, store displays, fashion magazines, even cake decoration, I find inspiration just about everywhere. It’s funny, but sometimes I’ll look at something totally un-craft related and I’ll instantly know how I want to interpret it as a card. I even carry a small sketchbook with me so I can jot down ideas if I’m inspired when I’m out and about.

What is your favorite paper crafting supply? Why?

Oooh, this is a hard question, I have so many favorites! Love my dies, love patterned paper, love my stamps, but the one thing I think I could never go without is good old cardstock. It’s such a basic supply, but you can do so much with it! I have to have it on hand in just about every color, and I love all the different textures and finishes that are out there.

Out of your cards published in Stamp It! 3 Ways, what were your three favorites and why?

Yellow Ribbon Card, pg. 79: It’s such a simple card, but I love the way it conveys it’s message of missing someone and wanting them to return home.

Welcome Home Card, pg. 63: I had fun taking what was meant to be a Christmas themed stamp set and creating a non holiday card. It’s great to be able to stretch supplies beyond the season that they were intended for.

Thank You Medallion Card, pg. 55: I had this idea to create a medallion by stamping one of the floral images from the set over and over again. As we all know sometimes things work better in your head than they do in reality so I was really pleased when the medallion came out just how I had pictured it.

What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you?

Hmmm, that I’m maybe a little bit obsessed with nail polish (my husband might say a lot, lol). I have over 200 bottles and I usually come home with one new color every week. I’m pretty conservative in how I dress, so my nails are the place I get to go a little crazy and have fun!

What designers do you admire and why?

Another hard question! There are so many truly amazing designers, and it seems like almost everyday I’m discovering someone else who knocks my sock off. There are a few designers that have been inspiring me for years though. Teri Anderson blows me away with her creative use of supplies and her fun and funky designs. Kim Hughes is the the queen of cute and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Maile Belles‘ clean and colorful designs always make my jaw drop.

How would you classify your personal crafting style?

I’ve always had a hard time classifying my style. I think that fun and cute with a tendency towards clean and graphic is probably the closest I can come. Clean and cute?

What was your favorite part about Stamp It! 3 Ways?

It was really fun trying to figure out a different, and interesting way to use each stamp set. I LOVED finally getting the issue and seeing what the other designers did!

What was the most difficult aspect of Stamp It! 3 Ways?

Trying to figure out a different and interesting way to use each stamp set, lol! It was my favorite part, but the most challenging too. Since the goal of this issue is to show the wide variety of things that can be created with a single set of stamps I spent a lot of time making sure I didn’t do something obvious.

What advice do you have for someone who’s never been published or who wants to try submitting for the first time?

I think the most important thing when you are trying to get published is to really know the magazine you are submitting to. Read the magazine, if there is a blog or a forum, read those too. The best way to get into a magazine is to know exactly what they are looking for and then do your best to give it to them. I read Paper Crafts for years before I got brave enough to submit and when I finally did I had some success. Knowing what they liked to publish definitely didn’t hurt.

Out of the stamp sets you designed with, which one was your favorite and why?

I really, really loved the Carved Love set from Practicing Creativity. It’s just such a different and unique set, plus I love anything woodgrain and the bark pattern is such fun alternative!

Thanks for stopping by to chat with us this morning, Heidi! Now what are you still sitting here for?! Get up, get those stamp sets, and get stamping! Leave a comment for us by Tuesday, January 24 at 5 PM MST, and we’ll pick three lucky winners to win copies of this issue! If you’re too excited to wait until then, buy your copy HERE!

P.S. Be sure to tune in all this week for sneak peeks into this special issue!

Courtney Smith

It’s Friday, it’s Friday, it’s Friday! It’s the end of a promotional week and that usually means one thing… a designer blog hop! But first, let’s recap all we learned this week!

We were able to catch up with Danielle Flanders, we learned about the Sew Easy and paper crimpers from Miss Teri Anderson and Susan Opel taught us about how to make crafts using our computers!

It’s been a fun week, and now we’re ending the week with a little more fun… and inspiration! These ten designers totally ROCKED this issue, so we asked them for a little more help! So here’s how it works: Jump, hop, skip or run to the blogs below. Check out their brand new projects, and leave a comment on each of their blogs. If you want a copy of the issue, that is! Then, race back here as fast as you can and leave a comment on our blog for a chance to win another prize! (Scroll down.)

What are you waiting for?! Go along, get reading!

• Cristina Kowalczyk
• Heidi Van Laar
• Vanessa Menhorn
• Kim Hughes
• Danielle Flanders
• Amber Daigre
• Kalyn Kepner
• Emily Branch
• Laura Williams
• Stephanie Halinski

And when you get back, check out this prize that you could win! Leave a comment telling us your favorite part about this week, and I’ll pick one lucky winner to snag this prize package, and a copy of the issue! Comments must be received by Sunday, January 15th at midnight MST.

Good luck, and happy reading!

Courtney Smith

Wasn’t chatting with Danielle a blast this morning? I’m sure none of you are reading this because you’re all on your way to get your very own copy of this issue, right? Right.

In this issue, we had some amazing patterns to put on our website. Have you seen them yet?!

Swell Gift Bag by Kim Kesti, page 51.

All Seasons Notebook Set by Cristina Kowalczyk, page 28.

Embossed Apple Thanks Card by Kim Hughes, page 32.

Think of all the projects you could create with these patterns! You can download JPEG versions and PDF version HERE! Thanks for tuning in!

Susan R. Opel

Oh, this crazy magazine world! It seems we’ve been celebrating Christmas all year long. We started thinking about Holiday Cards & More in March and then started getting ready for the November/December 2011 issue in April. It’s pretty special to be celebrating the whole year through! So in grand magazine-time style let me introduce to you our current call for submissions — our July/August 2012 issue!

Baby, it’s cold outside, but here at Paper Crafts magazine, we’re turning up the summer heat!

Send us your fresh and innovative ideas for projects based on the following themes. You can increase your chances of being published by using current products available throughout 2012, the coolest techniques, the finest execution, and a style that’s all your own.

Speaking of unique – be sure that the projects you submit have never appeared on a blog of any kind or as a contest or challenge winner or anywhere online.

You can check out The Top Ten Things to Know When Submitting to Paper Crafts Magazine HERE for some insight and ideas to help you out! These tips are great for beginners and veterans alike.

Shaped Cards for Summer

Our readers love shaped cards, so let’s have some summer fun! We’re looking for shaped cards that pay homage to summer icons – think beach ball, sun, flip flop, star, bathing suit, boat, ice cream, fruity drink, popsicle, canoe, etc. – any shape that makes you think of summer!

Create cards for the following occasions: Birthday, thank you, congrats, miss you, get well, hello, just because, encouragement, friendship, thinking of you, etc. We’ll be looking for a variety of styles (fun and cute, clean and graphic, classy and elegant, vintage, shabby chic). We’re excited to see how things shape up!

This summery shaped card by Kim Hughes made the cover of our July/August 2010 issue!

Back to School

As the summer winds down, minds turn to school (whether they want to or not!). Get out your notebook and start jotting down ideas to paper craft the back-to-school experience.

We’re looking for all kinds of projects including book marks, chore charts, desk sets, locker décor, back pack tags, lunch box notes, encouraging cards for the kiddies and teachers, etc., in a variety of styles and for all school ages (fun and cute, clean and graphic, classy and elegant, vintage, shabby chic). Cleverness always gets a few extra credit points in our book!

Playing With Paint

Remember those days in middle school when your art teacher proclaimed that it was a painting day? Relive that sheer joy and get creative with paint!

Pull out your acrylics, watercolors, spray paints, etc. and come up with inventive and clever uses of paint. Whatever you do, make sure the paint and what you do with it is still the focus of your project.

Create cards, gift bags and tags, gift card holders, paper crafted gifts, gift wraps, mini-album covers, home décor, etc., in a variety of styles (fun and cute, clean and graphic, classy and elegant, vintage, shabby chic) for the following favorite occasions: birthday, thank you, congrats, miss you, get well, hello, just because, encouragement, friendship, thinking of you, etc.

Vacation Time!

Packing up and heading off to destinations unknown is one of the best parts of summer, so grab a map and let’s take a trip together!

Odds are you’ve drooled over the vacation-themed product available (beach, zoo, camping, water sports, amusement parks, cruises, lake, tropical, etc.), but you never quite know how to use it on a card. How about a hello card for your favorite camping enthusiast using a camper? Or maybe a birthday card for your sister the beach bum with palm trees as a focus? Or how about a congratulations card with a roller coaster on it that says, “Enjoy the ride?” Have fun making all occasion projects with a vacation feel.

Create cards, gift bags and tags, gift card holders, paper crafted gifts, gift wraps, mini-album covers, home décor, etc., in a variety of styles (fun and cute, clean and graphic, classy and elegant, vintage, shabby chic) for the following favorite occasions: birthday, thank you, congrats, miss you, get well, hello, just because, encouragement, friendship, thinking of you, etc.

July/August Stamp It! Techniques – Stamping with Markers

Whether you stamp with actual ink and color your images or use markers as your stamping ink, we are looking for creative and clever ways to use your markers with your stamps! Create cards, gift bags and tags, gift card holders, paper crafted gifts, gift wraps, mini-album covers, home décor, etc., in a variety of styles (fun and cute, clean and graphic, classy and elegant, vintage, shabby chic) for the following favorite occasions: birthday, thank you, congrats, miss you, get well, hello, just because, encouragement, friendship, thinking of you, etc. Make sure that your marvelous marker magic is the star of the stamping show!

July/August Sketches

Use these fun sketches to create cards, gift card holders, gift bags, tags, mini-album covers, treat containers, etc. We’re looking for projects for the following occasions: birthday, thank you, congrats, miss you, get well, hello, just because, encouragement, friendship, thinking of you, etc.

Sketch #1

Sketch #2

IMPORTANT NOTICES:

Paper Crafts magazine prides itself on its blind submissions judging. Please be sure that your project image does not contain a watermark with any personal information. When you submit an image of your design, please make sure it is clearly photographed straight-on with a neutral background or scanned.

DEADLINES:

• Image/submission deadline: Monday, January 9, 2012
• Project acceptance from Paper Crafts editor: No later than Friday, January 13, 2012 (Please don’t submit your project(s) to any other publications until after this date.)
• Completed project in office: No later than Friday, February 3, 2012

WHERE TO SUBMIT:

Upload your submissions using our submissions tool by clicking the “Submit” tab at www.papercraftsmag.com or click here for a direct link. If you have any problems with the submission section of our web site, email Susan R. Opel at sopel@PaperCraftsMag.com for troubleshooting.

WHAT WE NEED WITH YOUR SUBMISSION:

Make note of items or techniques we may not be able to see. Send the finished size of the item and a list of supplies used plus any notes about unique techniques you used to create the project.

OK – so no excuses! Lots of fun reasons to challenge yourself and get crafting over your Christmas vacation or after things have settled down after 2012 has arrived! Remember, the deadline is Monday, January 9^th!

Which of these categories are you most excited about?

Courtney Smith

Hello, hello and welcome to our last day of Card Creations: Get Inspired Week! It’s been a week filled with inspiration, from lollipops to piano pieces and everything in between!

I think today is my favorite day of this promotional week! I love seeing how different designers were inspired by the items, and how they interpreted the inspiration.

For today’s blog hop, we asked our top nine designers from this issue to take something they were inspired by in their home, and to create a project based on that item! Take a look and see what they created!

1. Chan Vuong
2. Kalyn Kepner
3. Kim Hughes
4. Carly Robertson
5. Kim Kesti
6. Kristin Tierney
7. Lorena Canto
8. Lynn Mangan
9. Sarah Moerman
10. Teri Anderson

So here’s the deal. Run along to the blogs above, and see what they were inspired by! Then, hurry back here and leave a comment telling us which inspiration piece you were most inspired by. We’ll pick one lucky winner to win this Martha Stewart Craft Station valued at $165! And we’ll throw in a copy of Card Creations: Get Inspired, just because we like you so much! What are you waiting for?! Comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Sunday, December 5^th!

Oh, and I guess you might want to know this bit of information: Each designer will also be giving away an issue on her own blog. 10 chances to win a copy of the issue?! Happy Friday to you!

Good luck, and happy reading!

Courtney Smith

I have a riddle for you on this Friday morning.

What do a pair of galoshes, a globe, and a shiny silver compact mirror have in common? Well, nothing actually, except that they’re all featured in our new Card Creations Get Inspired issue! (Sorry, trick question.)

Finding inspiration in everyday objects can be the door that opens a new level of creativity for your paper crafting! In our newest special issue Card Creations Get Inspired, we show you how to take a favorite item – a colorful coffee mug or a pair of lace-up wedges – and create a card using it as your design inspiration!

From the clothes, shoes and accessories of your closet to the plates, mugs and pantry of the kitchen; design inspiration is everywhere! Whether the color, texture, shape or style of an item inspires you, this issue is definitely a keeper!

See how these four designers; Kim Hughes, AJ Otto, Sarah Moerman, and Laura Williams, were all inspired by Susan’s tank top below! (Oh, wait – it seems you’re missing page 14! Ay yi yi. Our goof! Click HERE to see the full spread!)

How are you inspired by Susan's tank top?

Kim Hughes created this adorable card using inspiration from the pattern of Susan's tank top!

This lovely card by AJ Otto drew inspiration from the color scheme.

Sarah Moerman was inspired by the color scheme and pattern to create this fun card!

I love the double stamped background on Laura Williams' darling card!

Be sure to tune in next week as we celebrate the release of our newest special issue! We’ll be giving away three issues each day, as well as showing more inspiration, so make sure to check back!

See you Monday!

P.S. Not a Black Friday fan? Later this afternoon we have a special Cyber Monday announcement, so make sure to stop by!

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Magazine Monday! Today we’re kicking off Round 3 in our exciting Gallery Idol competition. The Top 10 finalists were only given three days to create their cards for this week’s round of voting. I can’t wait to see what they do with our fabric-themed challenge.

With this week’s assigned theme, I thought I would spotlight some of my favorite fabric-infused cards from the pages of Paper Crafts magazine. Whether it’s used as a focal point, a background or an embellishment, incorporating fabric into your paper crafts can be “sew” much fun!

First, let’s begin with Kim Kesti’s Apron Strings Card from Card Creations, Vol. 7:

Kim's sentimental card also graced the cover of this issue.

And these cards by Julia Stainton and Kim Hughes from Card Creations, Vol. 9:

Julia's Sew Nice Card incorporates fabric strips and a canvas silhouette.

Kim uses a sweater scrap for the background of her Little Someone Card.

Fabulous uses of fabric, right? Once noon (MDT) rolls around, click HERE to preview the Top 10′s cards and to vote for your favorite. Remember, according to the official rules of Gallery Idol 2011: “Cards should be judged on overall appearance, creativity, execution, and conformity to theme.” You’ve only got one vote per round, so make it count. And with that, good luck to our Top 10!

Happy Monday!
Kelly

P.S. It’s time to announce the winners from our Sneak Peeks from the CHA Summer Show, Gallery Idol Top 10 and One More Summer Stamp Giveaway posts!

Sneak Peeks from the CHA Summer Show winners:

1. Ellen S. (July 21, 12:51 p.m.)
2. Janet Sisk (July 21, 3:15 p.m.)

Gallery Idol Top 10 winner:

Shelly Greybeck (July 22, 8:11 a.m.)

One More Summer Stamp Giveaway winner:

Michelle Liimatainen (July 23, 9:59 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!

Smooches Lollipop Card Kit by Kim Hughes

Whether you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day, National Lollipop Day or any other sweet day, our Smooches Lollipop Card Kit has everything you need to make 30 cards. There’s even a CD with 12 different sentiments so you can cater your “kiss” to everyone on your list.

Click HERE to download complete supplies, instructions and the lips pattern.

Click HERE to order the Smooches Lollipop Card Kit.

~The Paper Crafts Team

Click HERE to download the pattern for Kim Hughes’s You Are Sweet Card from Card Creations, Vol. 9. The best part…you get to determine the flavor!

Enjoy!

~The Paper Crafts Team

Courtney Smith

I have fond memories of ice cream.

In grade school – okay fine, all the way through high school – we were allowed to have ice cream for breakfast on the last day of school. Can you imagine?! Ice cream, for breakfast?! It forever cemented the goodness of ice cream.

Fortunately, ice cream gets more than one day in the spotlight, earning the entire month of July as National Ice Cream Month. In celebration, I think we should all make a goal to eat ice cream every day for the rest of July, agree?

Luckily for our waistlines, we have some ice cream eye-candy to tide us over.

Check out Ashley Harris’s Too Cool Card from the July/August 2011 issue:

And Kim Hughes’s You Are Sweet Card from Card Creations, Vol. 9:

Leave  a comment telling us your favorite ice cream, and we’ll pick two winners to receive this brand new stamp set, Sugar Rush, from Paper Smooches! All comments must be received by midnight (MDT) on Wednesday, July 6.

Personally I’m a sucker for Butter Pecan. Or Cookies and Cream. Or Rocky Road. Okay, really, who can pick just one?!

Courtney

P.S. Try this recipe for low-fat ice cream made with bananas. As an ice cream connoisseur, I give this my thumbs up of approval!