Courtney Smith

Well, kind of. If by preview we mean an incredibly cute Superbowl card, then yes, it’s a preview.

The 46th annual Superbowl is in just a few days, and for many of us, that means watching the big game in our comfy clothes with a big bowl of snacks. My personal favorite? Puppy chow.

Check out this adorable card created by Amber Daigre for 365 Cards.

Happy snacking, and happy Superbowl Sunday!

Courtney Smith

Well, it’s February and love, love, love is in the air!

And because we l-o-v-e all of you readers oh so much, we decided to show that love by offering a Valentine’s mystery box giveaway!

Valentine’s Day is just 11 days away. Have you started your handmade Valentines yet? Me neither. But you sure could with all of this love themed product!

Let’s ignore the crooked line of hearts in the middle of the box, shall we? I think so too.

Leave a comment telling us what you would love to do on Valentine’s Day, and we’ll pick one lucky winner to snag all of this Valentine inspired product! Comments must be received by Monday, February 6th at 5 PM MST!

Puffy hearts!

(Thanks for letting me borrow the phrase, Susan!)

Courtney Smith

Well, Punxsutawney Phil will take (by the time you read this, took) center stage this morning to predict the weather for the rest of winter! According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be 6 more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow, spring will come early!

To celebrate this fun tradition, we have some fun groundhog facts for you, as well as a fun Groundhog card!

Check out this cute card created by Kasia Curry for 365 Cards!

And now, for the facts you’ve been waiting for all morning! Just try to hide your excitement…

• Did you know that a groundhog can whistle when it’s alarmed? Groundhogs also whistle in the spring when they begin courting!

• Groundhogs are resistant to many diseases and plagues because of their cleanliness!

• Groundhogs are one of the few animals that really hibernate. Hibernation is not just a deep sleep, but actually a deep coma! The body temperature drops to just a few degrees above freezing, the heart barely beats, and the breathing nearly stops!

• A groundhog’s life span is normally 6-8 years. Fortunately for us, Punxsutawney Phil sips magical elixir every summer during the annual Groundhog Picnic that adds 7 years to his life.

Wasn’t that a fun fact-filled morning? You can read more about the history of Groundhog Day HERE.

Thanks for tuning in!

Susan R. Opel

We’re a card making magazine, and it should come as no surprise that we LOVE to celebrate birthdays!

Today we’re here to celebrate one of the integral parts of our team – the lovely and talented Ahtanya Johnson!

Who is Ahtanya? You don’t see her face in the magazine, but without her, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. She’s the glue that holds us together, our intrepid Editorial Assistant. And not only does she have to put up with the Paper Crafts gang, she’s the editorial assistant for Creating Keepsakes team as well! That’s a lot of people to deal with!

Happy Birthday, Ahtanya!

If you’ve ever sent in a project for publication or a contest entry, that box or envelope is lovingly opened by Ahtanya, and then she updates spreadsheets and sorts and labels everything. If you have a question about payment or an important form, she’s your girl. Sweepstakes entries? Yep, those are her gig, too. She’s a machine, I tell you, and we’re so glad to celebrate her today!

Clockwise – Ahtanya with P Kelly and me at Editorial Board last spring; boa shot; with me at our photo shoot; braving the leakage under bubble wrap; Princess Ahtanya

In honor of Ahtanya’s birthday, I’ve decided to write three haiku for her. (And yes, haiku is the proper plural of haiku!)

Haiku #1

Mama to Cherokee

She’s the Queen of No Nonsense

Super single mom

Haiku #2

Red hooded sweatshirt

Ponytail and sparkly eyes

Take her to the beach

Haiku #3

Baggies and labels

Getting the projects ready

No detail is missed

Happy Birthday, Ahtanya! We puffy {heart} you!

Courtney Smith

Welcome to another edition of Winner Wednesday! Have you been enjoying the CHA updates on our Facebook and Twitter page? It kind of feels like you’re right there with us! I said kind of, not totally.

Whether you’re at CHA or not, you’ll want to scroll down as we announce the winners from the past week!

Go on, take a look….

Party Ensembles Giveaway post:

Lya L. (Jan. 31 @ 12:40 AM)

Stamp It! 3 Ways Week: Designer Blog Hop post:

Tamera Blake (Jan. 28 @ 5:18 PM)

Stamp It! 3 Ways Week: Get the Most Out of Your Stamps post:

Karen Jones (Jan. 26 @ 5:03 PM)

Brenda Lubrant (Jan. 26 @ 8:59 PM)

Terrie L. (Jan. 26 @ 12:50 PM)

A-Mused with the Go-to Gals Blog Hop post:

Paula-Kay Bourland (Jan. 26 @ 6:29 AM)

… Did you see your name?! Are you a lucky winner?! Congratulations, if you are! Email Holly Anderson at handerson@papercraftsmag.com and she will get your prizes mailed out to you right away!

Thanks for playing, and happy winning!

Julie Campbell

It’s February and love is in the air!

If you’ve stepped into a store or flipped on your television lately, I’m sure you’ve seen those not-so-subtle reminders that it’s time to celebrate our loved ones.

My sister is getting married in just a few short months, so we’ve been gathering ideas on celebrating love for quite some time now.  Nothing says ‘celebrating’ like confetti, as this cute little couple demonstrates!

I’ve heard it says that the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.  Who wouldn’t want to be surprised with this confetti filled cake?

So, this year, it seemed fitting to celebrate my love for my hubby with a handmade card filled with confetti.

Confetti filled windows are really easy to make!  If you’d like to make one yourself, you can find a complete tutorial on my blog today.

I’d love to hear how you like to celebrate your loved ones!  Leave a comment on this post and one of you will be eligible to win the Confetti Collection from our friends at American Crafts! Comments must be received by Thursday February 2 at 5 PM MST.

Thanks for tuning in and good luck!

Julie Campbell

Courtney Smith

Is one of your goals to be published in an issue of Paper Crafts magazine? Well, here’s your chance! We’re currently looking for your greatest stamped cards!

No matter your style, no matter your medium, no matter your skill level – it’s time to submit to Stamp It! Cards Volume 9. With more stamps on the market than ever before, we can’t wait to see your fresh, innovative, and creative stamped cards for all occasions and holidays! So grab your stamps and ink up those stamp pads because the best issue of Stamp It! Cards yet is waiting just for you!

Create cards that feature stamping (more than just the sentiment). We’re looking for a wide variety of stamps and stamping styles, so please vary the manufacturers you use when you submit, and use unique, new, and fresh stamps, because variety is the spice of life, right?

Knock us dead with trendy, clever, and gorgeous techniques! We want to give our readers the very best resource for creative stamping.

Submit stamped cards for the following occasions:

-All Occasion (humorous as well as serious, blank/no sentiment, just because, thinking of you, for you, etc.)

-Anniversary (milestone anniversaries as well as generic ones)

-Baby

-Birthday (kids, adults, milestone ages, teens, etc.)

-Congratulations (new job, promotion, making the cheer squad, getting engaged, getting an ‘A’, first house, new car, etc.)

-Easter

-Encouragement (you can do it, good luck, in general or for specific events, etc.)

-Fathers Day (expectant dads, new dads, grandfathers, like a dad to me, brothers or friends who are dads, military dads, etc.)

-Friendship (girlfriends, best friends, humorous as well as sentimental)

-Get Well (sick, hospitalization, broken bones, humorous as well as serious sentiments)

-Graduation (middle school, high school, college, graduate school, etc.)

-Halloween

-Hello

-Love (including Valentine’s Day)

-Miss You (romantic, military, etc.)

-Mothers Day (expectant moms, new moms, grandmothers, like a mom to me, military moms, etc.)

-Seasons Greetings (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s)

-Sympathy

-Thank You (in general as well as for specific people such as teachers, soldiers, coaches, friends, host/hostess, etc.; as well as for specific occasions and events, such as for a gift, offering support, listening, etc.)

-Thanksgiving

-Wedding

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.

Please submit cards that have never appeared online or on a blog of any kind whatsoever using product that will be available throughout 2012.

DEADLINES:

Image/submission deadline: Monday, February 6, 2012

Project acceptance from Paper Crafts editor: No later than Friday, February 10, 2012 (Please don’t submit your project(s) to any other publications until after this date.)

Completed project in office: No later than Friday, March 2, 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 me 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 thefinished size of the item and a list of supplies used plus any notes about unique techniques you used to create the project.

Kerri Miller

This just in!

Paper Crafts editorial team Jennifer Schaerer, Susan R. Opel, P. Kelly Smith, Courtney Smith, Cath Edvalson and Kerri Miller left their family and homes this past Saturday to attend one of this year’s most anticipated events in the paper crafting industry. . . CHA.

Moments after arriving in Anaheim, California, the team discovered they were a day early for the show and met up with Go-to Gals, Teri Anderson, Windy Robinson, Kim Kesti, and Julie Campbell to spend the afternoon cavorting around Disneyland and gearing up for what was to be the best in CHA shows. Inside sources report this little pre-trip to Disneyland indeed wasn’t a mistake but a planned happy event for all.

Pausing from the hustle and bustle to speak with reporters, a happy Susan Opel admitted that while she “had fun with the team at Disneyland” she was “excited to see the new products and old friends at the CHA show”. “I came to Disneyland to hang out with all my pals. But I’m really looking forward to seeing lots of old new faces when we hit the showroom floor,” said the Creative Editor extraordinaire.

At the show, Editorial team and Go to Gals were seen visiting a number of booths, talking with vendors, and laughing with old friends.

Fans were thrilled to attend the party of all parties happening at the Paper Crafts booth on Monday. Turn-out was high as the team unmasked their latest in editorial content for paper crafters.

Jennifer Schaerer made a statement to the press earlier today saying, quote “We know there is always a reason to celebrate and throngs of passionate paper crafters clogged our booth for their chance to win a copy of our newest book Party Ensembles. The atmosphere was electric.”

Reporters caught up with Kerri Miller to ask her what her favorite part of the event had been so far. “Seeing the happiness on everyone’s faces as they greet old and new friends has been a highlight for me. And of course, seeing the delicious new product that is coming out is always exciting!”

Cath was unable to comment as she was too overwhelmed by the notoriety and fame of her Moxie Fabness.

The Paper Crafts team at our 2011 booth event!

For more on this fabulous event, visit Paper Crafts magazine HERE!

Holly Anderson

If you happen to be in Anaheim at CHA with us, you know that our booth event is today! At this event, we’ll be giving away copies of our newest book, Party Ensembles! It’s pretty amazing, if you ask us.

What’s that you say? You’re not in California with us? Well that’s not fair of us. Looks like we’ll have to share the wealth here!

Leave a comment for us by tomorrow afternoon, Tuesday January 31st at 5 PM MST, and we’ll pick THREE lucky winners to receive a copy of this innovative new book! 288 pages and over 1000 project ideas, from birthday parties and bridal showers to Father’s Day and Halloween, this book has it all! You’re sure to find inspiration in the 140 party ensembles featured!

Good luck!

Holly

Holly Anderson

Alright, you have submitted your wintry Gallery Challenge entries, and we have chosen the winners! Christmas is past and gone, but we were looking for some cheery winter-inspired projects. Our three picks are shown below!

These projects wipe away those winter blues! Scroll down to see the winners!

Dana W.

Trinh Arrieta

Amy Wanford

Congratulations, ladies! You win either 1) a complimentary one-year subscription to Paper Crafts magazine, or 2) the special issue of their choice, plus a fun selection of paper crafting product! Email me your shipping address to handerson@papercraftsmag.com, and I’ll get your goodies sent out to you!

Thanks for checking in!

Holly