Submit

Grab some hot cocoa, put on some Christmas music, and don your Santa hat! It’s time to submit to our November/December 2012 issue!

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. Thanks!

Holiday Style

Your festively decorated holiday home conveys your sense of style, so why shouldn’t your cards do the same? We’re looking for holiday cards in our four core styles: fun & cute, clean & graphic, classy & elegant, and shabby chic & vintage (including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Years).

We’ll be choosing cards that most definitely fit each category to a T, so lovely cards that feature elements from multiple styles won’t work this time. Take a look at our style definitions below to determine what ingredients make up each style:

a)      Fun & Cute: What makes a fun and cute card? To begin with—a happy color scheme, a sweet sentiment, and an uncomplicated design. Throw in some whimsy (like cartoons and doodles), a few simple shapes (like hearts and stars), some friendly patterns (like polka dots and gingham)—and voila!

b)      Clean & Graphic: The clean and graphic style is characterized by the utilization of white space, clean lines, and simple treatment of text. It is no-frills, bare-boned, modern, and hip. And while you might be surprised at how minimally these cards are effectively embellished, you might also be amazed at how quickly their messages are communicated—this is a style that cuts to the quick and packs a punch all at once!

c)      Classy & Elegant: This style is polished. A shiny finish, sparkling embellishments, a rich color scheme, and sophisticated sentiment treatments are all part of the classy and elegant pedigree. Its look is regal, stunning, and dashing. And while its lines are clean, sweeping, and dramatic, it can also incorporate monochromatic color schemes with layered textures that awe and impress equally as well.

d)     Shabby Chic & Vintage: Shabby chic is a soft style, utilizing ribbon, lace, and techniques such as inking and distressing. The final product looks comfortable, weathered, and worn, and reminds us of the comfort in a cherished blanket, a familiar sweater, or a heartfelt conversation with a dear friend. Vintage is characterized by many of the same qualities as shabby chic, but it goes a step further by adding old images, found items, and antique trinkets to the mix.

Holiday Tag Parade

Those holiday gift bags, boxes, and treats always feel more special with a handmade tag attached! We’re looking for a parade of festive tags and tag sets for our readers to create for the holidays.

Create tags and tag sets in a variety of styles (fun & cute, clean & graphic, classy & elegant, shabby chic & vintage) for the holidays including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Years).

Get Stuck on Decorative Tape

Do you have a thing for decorative tape? Is washi tape one of your recent obsessions? Well, now’s the time to use that impressive stash you’ve been building (or have an excuse to buy more!).

Get inventive when creating projects (including cards, gift bags and tags, gift card holders, paper crafted gifts, gift wraps, mini-album covers, home decor etc.) that include decorative tape as a main/focal portion of the creation.

We’re looking for innovative and clever uses of decorative tape. Submissions will be judged specifically on the cleverness factor, so think deliberately as you create. Projects can be created for Thanksgiving and the holidays (including Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Years) as well as birthday, thank you, hello, friendship, sympathy, get well, encouragement, etc.

November/December Stamp It! Techniques – Spray Mists and Stamping

This issue’s column will focus on stamping combined with spray mists.

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: Thanksgiving, Christmas, holiday, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Years, as well as birthday, thank you, congrats, miss you, get well, hello, just because, encouragement, friendship, thinking of you, etc. Make sure that your perfectly executed and clever uses of spray mists in conjunction with stamping is the star of the show! ie: Just using spray mist to change the color of an embellishment would not qualify for this category since the mist is not being used with stamps.

November/December 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: Thanksgiving, Christmas, holiday, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Years as well as birthday, thank you, congrats, miss you, get well, hello, just because, encouragement, friendship, thinking of you, etc. Be sure to use a color palette appropriate for the holiday season when designing.

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, May 7, 2012

Project acceptance from Paper Crafts editor: No later than Friday, May 11, 2012 (Please don’t submit your project(s) to any other publications or post online until after this date.)

Completed project in office: No later than Friday, June 1, 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.

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

 

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.