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Cath Edvalson
It’s National Dress Up Your Pet Day today, friends. I don’t know who comes up with these silly holidays, but here it is.
As I mentioned in this post on the the Moxie Fab World blog, dressing pets up in costumes is one of my most vehement “pet” peeves.
I mean, seriously, what self-respecting dog wants to be seen in these get-ups?
(Photos courtesy of LittlePamperedPets.com)
I get that these little guys may need some extra help staying warm in the winter, but seriously? A purple quilted pom-pom jacket—with a hood?
A herringbone jacket that wouldn’t even be comfortable for us humans to wear?
You’ve seen lots of pictures of Kelly’s dog, Lexus, in her various get-ups. But there’s none quite so precious as Lexus in her bathrobe:
Although I don't think "precious" is the word Lexus would use.
And these sleepy Boxers, Buddy and Laila, doggie friends of Jennifer’s—I mean, aren’t they a little big for such silly garb?
But I do suppose that if a doggie sweater is absolutely necessary, then you might as well make a fashion statement:
And I will admit that this little sweater on Megan Hoeppner’s dog, Jack, can be extraordinarily cute:
But friends, please, promise me that you’ll never do this to a dog:
And certainly not THIS:
Pajamas? For dogs? Fail!
I suppose it’s fine to be inspired by these get-ups, but please, if you must dress up your pets today in celebration of this *ahem* ridiculous holiday, just remember that we all need a little dignity in our lives, even our furry little friends.
Thanks for the rant,
Cath
P.S. Join me in the Moxie Fab World as Card Creations: Start to Finish Week continues! Today I’m showing moxie fab products that help you complete the card and I’m giving them all away to one lucky winner!
P.P.S. It’s time to announce the three winners from Kelly’s Meet Charlene Austin post!
1. Claudia F. (Jan. 12, 9:24 a.m.)
2. Paige (Jan. 12, 1:40 p.m.)
3. Diana Fisher (Jan. 12, 7:31 a.m.)
Congrats, winners! You’ve each won Technique Tuesday’s Loving Words by Ali Edwards stamp set and a copy of Card Creations: Start to Finish, Vol. 2. Kelly will be contacting you shortly to get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!
P. Kelly Smith
Welcome to Freebie Friday and 2010! I hope all of you are enjoying the first day of this brand new year. I thought I would ask the Paper Crafts editors and Go-to Gals what they’re looking forward to the most in 2010.
From family vacations to a first-time mama to puppy school graduations, all of us at Paper Crafts are also looking forward to another year of inspiring publications and, of course, the opportunity to connect with all of you. Take it away, Jennifer!
Jennifer Schaerer – After a few years of chaos and rollercoaster livelihood, I’m looking forward to the relative calm that 2010 promises to bring. We don’t have any milestone birthdays or other occasions, no major travel plans, and our house project list isn’t very long. Ahhhhhhh. I’m feeling better already!
Brandy Jesperson – I’m looking forward to being a first-time mama. I’m envisioning a perfect baby who sleeps through the nights and loves to give cuddles. You might want to check back with me in a few months when reality has set in. I know I’ll love my son with all my heart, but I also know he’s his mother’s son, so he’ll probably have a stubborn streak in him!
Cath Edvalson – I’m looking forward to a romantic week in Key West with my husband. We’re going in February to ward off the winter blues. I’ll drink to that!
P. Kelly Smith – I’m looking forward to our family reunion this summer, which will be held on a cruise ship! Thanks to Grandma Smith for her generosity in bringing 25 people together!
Susan R. Opel – On July 10, 2010, I’ll be singing in the wedding of one of my former students in Indiana. I’m so honored that she asked!
Teri Anderson – I’m looking forward to my puppy and I graduating from puppy training school in February. He currently is living up to the name “Marley” with all his mischief.
Maren Benedict – I’m looking forward to traveling to Italy with my husband in late spring/early summer. This will be only our fourth trip without kids in over 14 years, so it’s very well deserved!
Kim Hughes – I’m looking forward to taking a couple of mini vacations that will revolve around the CKC locations that I will be teaching at for Paper Crafts. I’m anxious to see my brother and his family, and meeting so many wonderful new people along the way who love the paper crafting industry as much as I do.
Kim Kesti – Since this year marks our 25th wedding anniversary, I’m looking forward to a little getaway with just Keith and me! Imagine that. We don’t have reservations yet – any ideas out there for a fabulous (but not super expensive) stateside getaway?
Betsy Veldman – I’m looking forward to a diaper-free 2010 (being slightly optimistic here…) and an end to the terrible two’s! I’m also looking forward to traveling a bit for Paper Crafts and hopefully taking another family vacation this summer — destination to be determined!
Jessica Witty – I’m looking forward to more SPACE! 2010 looks to be the year that this Party of 5 will find a new home. The thought of our 8-month-old finally able to sleep in a room other than our closet makes me very happy!
Ready for the very first giveaway of 2010? Tell me what you’re looking forward to the most in 2010. I’ll pick three lucky winners to receive a copy of our new special issue Card Creations: Start to Finish, Volume 2, which we’ll be spotlighting on Jan. 11-15! All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Sunday, Jan. 3.
Happy New Year!
Kelly
Jennifer Schaerer
Pssssst.
I’ve got news. Big news.
Guess what? It’s NEW YEAR’S EVE!
You…you mean…you already knew that?
Seriously?
I guess the communication glitches that come with our current phase of Mercury in retrograde are playing out as expected. Pardon me? What’s that you say? Ohhhhhhh…I see. You’re not quite sure what Mercury in retrograde is all about. I’ll take a stab at explaining it as simply as I can, but I’m no expert. I just pay attention to these phases because I fancy myself an astrology enthusiast, and I’ve been doing natal charts for quite a few years now as a hobby.
In a nutshell, Mercury’s retrograde is a 6-week astrological phase that crops up about every 3 months and wreaks havoc in areas of communication and transportation, as well as commerce and education. You’ll feel the pinch of the retrograde period if you do things like sign agreements, make major purchases, travel, have deep conversations or switch internet service while in its grip.
If you’re familiar with Mercury retrograde periods, then you may be dreading the next several weeks. After all, it’s a time when normally functioning devices (televisions, computers, phones) and transit options (cars, buses, trains, airplanes) cause an extra headache or two.
But you may be missing a fantastic opportunity if you pull the covers over your head until late in January when it’s all over. I’ve found that it’s a great time to take advantage of “re” activities like reviewing, revitalizing, rejuvenating, renewing and revealing – everything from projects around the house to relationships from long ago. Retreat into your resolve and get things done that you’ve left for another day.
My big activity for this retrograde period is to revisit all the half-finished paper projects in my craft area and get them done – with a different perspective than I had when I set them aside in frustration months ago.
You could also take the time to review your stash and purge what isn’t working for you anymore (donate the overage – a school, church, shelter or retirement home would love to have the supplies!). Do the same with all those cards you’ve made and haven’t used, and share with Operation Write Home.
While you’re sorting all those cards and other projects, take a minute and see if your style reveals itself to you. Are you fun and cute? Vintage? Classy and elegant? Or maybe a little bit shabby chic? Resolve to be true to your paper crafting style in the coming year and see where it takes you!
If you’ve read this far, you deserve some sort of reward for indulging my retrograde rhetoric. Raise your hand in the comments by midnight (MST) on Sunday, Jan. 3 if you’d be interested in seeing what your natal report has to say about your personality and style – I’ll pick 5 of you randomly and do your reports just for fun!
Happy New Year!
Renew, recharge, review and – above all else – rejoice in the new year!
Wishing you all the best in 2010,
Jennifer
P.S. Speaking of reviewing, please take the time to give us your feedback in our 2010 reader survey HERE. We sure do appreciate and value your opinions!
Brandy Jesperson
Can you believe it’s finally here? All the planning and preparing has led to this delightful day when kids watch the weather report to make sure Santa will arrive safe and sound, and households across the world gather to unwrap gifts and enjoy one another’s company.
In my family, we open one gift on Christmas Eve: a holiday book. We read the book before bed and fall fast asleep with visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads! The rest of the gifts are opened Christmas Day.
That being said, I know lots of people unwrap their gifts on Christmas Eve (this is when Susan’s Opel’s family has their big holiday extravaganza). So what about you? When do you unwrap your gifts?
Even though the majority of my gift giving occurs on Christmas Day, I still manage to work in a few excuses when it comes to ripping open that pretty paper. For instance, we had a Paper Crafts team party at Jennifer’s festive home last week. We each drew a name and purchased a gift especially for our person. We had a yummy lunch, laughed and exchanged gifts. In addition to celebrating the season, we also gave Cath a mini birthday party and were forced to bid Melinda a fond farewell as her internship came to a close.
Here are a few pictures from our soirée:
Paper Crafts Team Gift Exchange, 2009
Whether you’re unwrapping your gifts this evening or tomorrow morn, please know that all of us at Paper Crafts hope you have a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!
Love,
Brandy
Jennifer Schaerer
Let’s see. We got through Merry Hallowistmas, and Happy Merrygiving is long past as well. Hmmmm…
Then it must be time for Happy Christmastine’s Day here in Magazineland, which means that even though it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, my inner lyrics are saying what the world needs now is love, sweet love.
That’s because, along with a few changes in our columns, we’ve been thinking about the glory of love and Valentine’s Day since early last summer. We’ve also been fine-tuning our cover look, and are head over heels in love with this one:
Get ready to fall in LOVE with our January/February issue!
Aren’t those cards by cover girls Teri Anderson, Julie Campbell and Dawn McVey just, well, lovely? And hey – it sure looks like kraft is popular, doesn’t it!
As for the changes in our columns, you already know about our shift from Ask the Pros to Dear Go-to Gals. But we’ve also re-launched the Joy of Card Making column as Go-to Sketches starting in this issue.
And, since you told us in our reader surveys that you love color and the inspiration of color combinations, we’d like to introduce you to Color Play. In this new column, five designers will be given a palette of four colors to create a design that’s all about inspiration, style and trendy color combinations.
How’s this for a lovely color combination? Don’t miss our newest column: Color Play!
We’ve also covered our Valentine bases with features on Vintage Valentines and Valentines for Everyone on Your List. Oh, and don’t miss our talented Paper Crafts Go-to Gals as they Try Something New – we asked them to step out of their comfort zone and create a card in a completely different style than their usual one. Our own Kim Kesti did shabby chic. Seriously.
So if you still need to get your hands on our January/February issue, leave me a comment and I’ll send FIVE random commenters a copy. I might even find some lovely goodies from our stash to include with it, you just never know…
Love is definitely in the air,
Jennifer
P.S. Are you a fan of Paper Crafts magazine and this blog? Here’s your chance to tell us what you like, what you want to see more of, etc. Complete our 2010 Reader Survey and 20 random respondents will win a copy of our newest book, A Card a Day: Your Ultimate Resource for Inspiration, Design, Tips & Techniques (retail value $21.95!).
Jennifer Schaerer
Sometime during the months leading into December, my life becomes one that is characterized by Christmas carols because I start thinking in lyrics. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and it’s definitely the most wonderful time of the year.
Although I love the drama of the decor, the sweet sounds of singing voices and the promise of tasty pastries and other festive holiday foods, it’s the spirit of giving that really helps me dance my way through the season. There’s nothing better than the feeling of helping those who need it most.
In the spirit of giving, the elves in the Paper Crafts workshop have been busy the last few weeks. Monday was decorating day for our donated tree for Utah’s Festival of Trees, and this year’s labor of love is now complete.
This was Holly's very first Festival of the Trees. Judging from that big smile, she really enjoyed herself.
Cath, our moxie fab elf, helped us wire ornaments.
Our chief wire elves Brenda and Kelly whistled while they worked.
Brandy became our chief garland elf and did a great job.
Susan was our chief bag elf since she went around and picked up little bits of trash. After all, every artist needs a clean workspace!
And every artist needs a canvas to paint on. I happily took on the role as chief tree elf. Does it look straight?
Ta da! What do you think of our finished tree?
This event is an annual fundraiser for the patients at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, and every penny raised at the event goes directly to the children at the hospital who couldn’t otherwise pay for treatment.
Brandy Jesperson, our managing editor, has been involved with this fundraiser for 10 years after being a patient at Primary Children’s as a teenager. She urged us to get involved, and we decorated our first Paper Crafts team tree a few years ago and have been doing it ever since.
Here's last year's "Home for the Holidays" tree.
This year’s tree was auctioned off to the highest bidder and we’re certain that it brought a generous sum for the hospital. All of us at Paper Crafts are grateful to the manufacturers who helped make this tree possible with their heartfelt donations:
- Karen Foster Design
- Clearsnap
- Cornish Heritage Farms
- Marvy Uchida
- BasicGrey
- American Crafts
- Fiskars
- Little Yellow Bicycle
- Hambly Screen Prints
- Doodlebug Design
- Provo Craft
We’d also like to say a very special thanks to all the designers who sent in handmade card sets for us to include with the tree:
- Debbie Olson
- Alicia Thelin
- Kim Hughes
- Cindy Etienne
- Charlene Austin
- Linda Beeson
- Latisha Yoast
- Gretchen McElveen
- Laura O’Donnell
- Lori Roop
- Carolyn King
- Jean Cross
- Becky Olsen
- Melanie Douthit
- Sandy Rollinger
- Jennifer Scull
- Debbie Seyer
- All of our lovely donated cards!
It’s definitely the most wonderful time of the year!
Jennifer
P. Kelly Smith
Welcome to Magazine Monday! It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Even though we’re still a few days away from Thanksgiving, a massive snowstorm blew in this weekend reminding us that Santa Claus will be here very soon. Luckily, a few of us magazine editors are well-prepared because we just swapped Christmas tags at our monthly card group.
Our little group (which just celebrated its one-year anniversary!) met at Jennifer’s house on Saturday. Since there’s always so much going on in December, we deliberately don’t meet this month – which means we swap Christmas tags in November. We each made 12 tags of the same design, swapped them with our fellow card group members and took home 12 different designs. I know I’m a little bit bias, but I think our tags are gorgeous!
Here's all of our lovely Christmas tags...just waiting to be swapped!
After we swap cards/tags, I like to have some crafty activity prepared for us to do. In the past we’ve paper crafted calendars, wooden picture frames, recipe books, gift bags, magnet boards, treat containers, etc. Since we’ve been meeting for a while now, it’s getting harder and harder to come up with new activities that are not only fun, but can be completed in a couple of hours. Lucky for me, I stumbled across this inspiring blog post from designer Lisa Johnson. Her little holiday planners immediately put me in the Christmas spirit and made me think, “Let’s make these in card group!”
Lisa Johnson's holiday planner was all the inspiration I needed!
The icing on the cake is I just happen to stock up on composition books during all the back-to-school sales. I found them for 53 cents a piece! What’s great about this project is you can adapt it for so many occasions. In addition to holiday planners, these make great journals (pregnancy/weight loss/travel), sketch books, appointment books, etc.
Once again we gathered in Jennifer's cozy dining room to unleash our creativity.
I had everyone bring their favorite Christmas-themed paper and I provided the “Christmas Lists” title and the stamped envelopes that said “Coupons” and “Receipts”. (Just paste the envelopes in the front and back covers!) And it was so fun incorporating a pen into the design of the planner. Who doesn’t need a pen when they’re making their “naughty” and “nice” lists!
Here's Brenda and her festive holiday planner.
Sarah and Brandy show off their cute planners and Brandy's baby bump!
The Three Musketeers (Jennifer, Beth and Tracy) proudly display their planners.
Megan arrived a little late to the party, so she missed our fun activity. She kindly agreed to stand up with me to show you the "before" and "after" look.
So there you have it…November’s card group is in the bag! If you’re itching to do a fun project, I highly recommend these cute holiday planners. Why not make a whole bunch and give them away? Tis the season, after all!
Happy Monday!
Kelly
P. S. It’s time to announce the two winners from my Freebie Friday – I’m Thankful For… post!
1. Kellie B. (Nov. 22, 12:43 p.m.)
2. dahlhousedesigns (Nov. 21, 5:27 p.m.)
Congrats, winners! You each won Reminisce’s Autumn Forest collection! I’ll be contacting you shortly to get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!
P.P.S. There’s still time to upload your holiday treat containers to our November Gallery Challenge! Three winners will receive a 1-year subscription to Paper Crafts (or a special issue of their choice) and be featured on this blog on Monday, Dec. 7. You better act fast…this challenge ends at midnight (MDT) tonight. Click here for the details!
Jennifer Schaerer
Although I’ve poked fun at the blending of seasons that starts sometime in September and ends December 25, especially since I live life in “magazine time” nowadays, there’s something about the spirit of Christmas that warms me to my toes and makes my Elf DNA kick in waaaaaay too early. My long-suffering husband (the original Grinch) wants to box me up with my Christmas decorations when I start humming carols in August. I just can’t help it! I start thinking about Christmas when we’re about halfway there — in late June.
But based on your response to our lunchtime conversation last week, it sounds like Brandy and I are in the definite minority when it comes to getting a jump start on the holidays. Y’all have a hard-and-fast rule about the integrity of Thanksgiving celebrations and don’t ever toss the turkey and gratitude in a Cuisinart with the Christmas trees and carols.
In spite of the commercial fuel that gets my holiday engine revving, I really love this blended and extended season for the focus on gratitude and giving — large or small, short or tall, it’s all about appreciating what we have and then sharing the love wherever we can for as long as we can.
So for you, the members of the Paper Crafts family for whom we are so very grateful, I bring you Melinda’s hard work and gift to you.
If you’re scanning this post in a reader or RSS feed, you might want to click on through and check out our new look:
Just for you! A new banner for Paper Crafts Connection!
And this will be the gift that just keeps on giving…since some of you may know that our Lone Design Man Matt likes to help Cath mess around with the banners over at Moxie Fab World, you can keep an eye out for the same attention to design detail here as we continue to make personal connections through the art of paper crafting. Maybe we’ll change the wallpaper. Or the mug. Or the look of her outfit. Stay tuned!
Whether your gratitude is the centerpiece of a table laden with turkey and stuffing or a holiday that’s all about giving and sharing, I’m right there with you in spirit.
Happy Merrygiving,
Jennifer
Jennifer Schaerer
I think I had been on the job for about a month when someone started asking about editorial outlines for the books we were planning for the upcoming year.
Books. Seriously? I was still trying to figure out how a magazine works!
Luckily for me, the team raised their collective hand and suggested an inspiring idea by Wendy Sue Anderson…our friend, regular contributor, and – as of yesterday! – brand new member of the Creating Keepsakes 2010 Dream Team.
Here's CK and PC team members having some fun with Wendy Sue.
She had noted that, while cleaning up her scrapbook room and organizing stacks of idea books, she was struck with the thought of how many of them were so similar – in concept and content. She had then started thinking about what she’d like to see in an idea book – something new and different. That’s when the concept of “a card a day” popped into her head.
The rest is history, and with the expertise of our business partners at Leisure Arts, we’ve published A Card a Day: Your Ultimate Resource for Inspiration, Design, Tips & Techniques. And it seemed only natural to ask Wendy to create the cards that would open each month of the book. By now you’ve probably already seen the sneak peek, but if you haven’t then hop to it!
Speaking of sneak peeks, Wendy and I had a hoot of a time getting our official shot for the editor’s note in the book. Switching shirts, getting close, and completely trusting the experts on the shutter-clicking side of the camera to capture the excitement we had for this fun project!
Here our photographer Symoni gets a close-up of Wendy Sue.
Then it's my turn to join Wendy Sue under the spotlight.
Here Symoni looks at the computer to see if she got a good shot.
Then Symoni joins fellow photographer Brian at the computer. Notice all the cool colored drapes and boards in the background. There's every color under the rainbow!
And here Brian picks the best picture out of the bunch. Isn't Wendy Sue photogenic?
Just because we don’t want the fun and excitement to end, we’re making a special offer for the next 36 hours — order your copy now (guess what? It’s even in stock…so hurry!) and get free shipping! Make sure you place your order by 5:00 p.m. (EST) tomorrow (Nov. 6) to take advantage.
Better yet? I’ve got THREE copies sitting right here, ready to ship out to three lucky (and random!) winners. Let me know by Saturday, Nov. 7 at midnight (MST) what your favorite card making occasion is and I’ll select three of you to receive your very own copy.
Who knows, maybe your new favorite occasion will be National Chocolate Cupcake Day, or even Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Hoping you find ANY excuse to make and send a handmade card,
Jennifer
P.S. Can you guess what the giveaway will be for tomorrow’s Freebie Friday post?
P. Kelly Smith
Happy Halloween! Yesterday I revealed the theme of our highly anticipated team costume: The Seven Brides of Frankenstein. (Well, technically it was nine brides since our two interns agreed to join in on the fun! The more the merrier, right?)
Jennifer was kind enough to make all the brides these amazing black and white tulle veils. Add a wardrobe of black fish net stockings, a little black dress and some ghoulish make-up and hair, and we’re ready to meet our handsome Frankie at the Paper Crafts alter.
Here comes the brides! What do you think of our official wedding portrait?
Frankenstein a.k.a. Matt Anderson
Black Widow Bride a.k.a. Jennifer Schaerer
Somber-But-Not-Sober Bride a.k.a. Cath Edvalson
Bun-In-The-Oven Bride a.k.a. Brandy Jesperson
Diamond Ice Bride a.k.a. P. Kelly Smith
Fiery Vixen Bride a.k.a. Susan R. Opel
Don't-Mess-With-Me Bride a.k.a. Brenda Peterson
Happy-Go-Lucky Bride a.k.a. Holly Mills
Mysterious Vamp Bride a.k.a. Melinda Dann
Not-So-Sure Bride a.k.a. Sarie Smith
As you can see, we had a very good time at the wedding! A special thanks goes out to “Frankie” for putting up with nine crazy, hormonal bridezillas!
Here’s hoping your Halloween is a memorable one!
Kelly
P.S. Make sure you check back with us on Monday when we spotlight the three winners from our October Gallery Challenge! With 469 submissions, there was a lot of spooktacular projects to choose from!
Paper Crafts Connection 