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P. Kelly Smith
Welcome to Freebie Friday and the final day (sigh) of our Cards & Gifts Week celebration! Hopefully you’ve enjoyed your sneak peek of 225 Cards & Gifts both here and on Moxie Fab World. If anything, we hope this fantastic special issue is at the top of your wish list, if not shopping list!
For those of you just joining us today, make sure to read all of our nifty gifty posts this week. From chatting with rising star Maren Benedict to dressing up gift cards, “wrapping” with Kim Kesti, and making wishes with Susan Opel, we’ve had a grand ol’ time! And special thanks go out to all the manufacturers who’ve donated their fabulous product for our daily giveaways! As always, your generosity is much appreciated!
Today I’m going to spotlight the last two chapters of 225 Cards & Gifts – home décor and miscellaneous gifts! If you thought we had shown you every gifty thing you can do with paper, think again! To me, these projects personify the word “gift” and would make a lovely addition in anyone’s home.
Here’s one of my favorite projects from our Heartfelt Gifts of Home Décor section:
Alicia Thelin’s Inspire Frame & Card
And who wouldn’t love to receive this beautiful ensemble from our Gifts from the Heart section?:
Tish Treadaway’s Beautiful Life Journal & Pencil Holder
Are you ready for our unbelievably huge giveaway? I hope you’re sitting down because if you’re not, you soon will be! Today we’re giving you 12 chances to win one of these incredible prizes from our very generous friends at Provo Craft:
Think of all the gifty gifts you could create with The Cricut Expression:
Or all the albums you could creatively concoct with the Your Story Binder/Laminator:
…or how ’bout all the custom-made t-shirts, hand bags, and home decor you could create and give using the Yudu Screen-Printing System?
I wasn’t lying about the prizes, right? They’re HUGE! Since we’re teaming up with Cath today on Moxie Fab World, she’s asked 10 amazing paper craftin’ gals to create a never-seen-before gifty project to get you totally inspired for all your paper crafted gift-giving. Leave a comment on each one of these blogs for a chance to win one of the aforementioned products from Provo Craft:
- Maren Benedict
- Kimberly Crawford
- Beatriz Jennings
- Kim Kesti
- Carolyn King
- Anabelle O’Malley
- Melissa Phillips
- Danni Reid
- Roree Rumph
- Sherry Wright
Each time you comment on a different blog (one comment per blog, please), your name gets entered to win. You can start by commenting here, then go see the gifty inspiration that is being offered on these 10 blogs, THEN stop by Moxie Fab World and leave a comment there as well.
That’s 12–count ’em–12 big fat chances to win!
So ready, set, COMMENT! Tell me which of these prizes you would want to win the most and why by midnight (MST) on Sunday, April 26 and that will be your first of 12 chances to make it happen!
The lucky winners will be announced on Tuesday, April 28!
Happy blog hopping!
Kelly
P.S. It’s not too late to participate in the Cards & Gifts Challenge! To play, create a Mother’s Day gift and upload it here. The deadline is midnight (MST) on Monday, April 27. We will choose TWO winners in each category and feature them either here or on the Moxie Fab World blog on Thursday, April 30. And of course, there will be prizes! For more information, click here!
P.P.S. It’s time to announce the five winners from Jennifer’s Gussy up Your Gift Cards post! Here they are in no particular order:
1. Anita Young (April 21, 9:05 a.m.)
2. Kate (April 21, 7:18 a.m.)
3. Jan (April 21, 10:54 a.m.)
4. Cheryl F Yelverton (April 21, 8:41 p.m.)
5. Btrflywmn (April 23, 11:58 a.m.)
Congrats, winners! In addition to winning a copy of 225 Cards & Gifts, each of you will receive a window tin and a large hinged tin to gussy up your gift cards! I will be e-mailing you shortly for your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!
P. Kelly Smith
Welcome to another Freebie Friday! Today we’re pleased to have with us Jeanette Herdman, founder of Scrap In Style. She’s going to dish about her growing (and immensely popular) online community, her favorite SIS product and tell us why she has the ultimate dream job.
For today’s giveaway, Jeanette’s agreed to donate four SIStv online class tuitions (see descriptions below), as well as two $15 gift certificates to the SIStv Boutique!
Are you ready to learn more about Jeanette and Scrap In Style? Here we go!
Jeanette Herdman
What exactly is SIStv?
SIStv is “Scrap In Style TV,” a magazine style web TV show that my husband and I created and produce that is centered around memory keeping and the paper arts. ScrapinStyletv.com is the web site that we developed to help build our viewership as well as the brand Scrap In Style.
How did you come up with the idea of SIStv?
Creating the show was actually my husband’s idea several years ago. He has been in the entertainment industry since the early 90’s and thought producing a cutting edge show that featured scrapbooking would be a great niche. It took some time for me to catch his vision. Once I got on board, I dove in head first and found out that producing and hosting a show about my favorite hobby was like my dream job.
What do you want our readers to know about your growing online community?
The most important thing I want people to know about our online community is that it’s a place where scrappers and paper crafters of all levels can really engage in the process of becoming better at what they love to do. The idea of “community” is that everyone has something to offer that will benefit the other members. And when a person joins the Scrap In Style community, I sincerely believe that they will learn, become inspired, interact with people all over the world, and (hopefully) give back. In the end everyone grows. Okay, I’m feeling the need for a disclaimer: I’m talking about paper and glue here people…
One of your big pushes on the site is education. You actually offer a lot of online classes on paper crafting, photography, sewing, blogging, etc. How have these been going?
Our classes have been going really well. I think we’ve really started to hit our groove with what we’re offering in the way of content and classroom environment. I love that people always seem to have that hunger to learn new things, and it only seems to grow as we get older. I tell ya, education is wasted on the young… what I wouldn’t give to go back to the 5th grade!
Tell us a little bit about your two classes Scrap In Style Home: Decorating On A Budget (A six-week course beginning April 13) and Bling Out Your Blog 2.0 (April 20-May 1). By the way, thanks so much for donating these classes to our readers!
These two classes are especially exciting to me because they are both incredibly relevant. We came up with Scrap In Style Home: Decorating On A Budget because I believe crafting and home decorating really go hand in hand. I don’t think it’s a stretch at all for a scrapbooking web site to be offering a class on home décor. Crafters are especially good with repurposing, whether it’s an old clock or their scrapbooking supplies. Most people in today’s economy have had to cut back in some area, and where a lot of people wouldn’t dream of redecorating at a time like this, we’re showing people that it’s the absolute BEST time to do it because you really get to use your creative “chops”!
Bling Out Your Blog 2.0 is another class that will be of tremendous help to people. Writing and reading blogs has become one of the world’s favorite pasttimes. It’s like the ultimate in Internet Grass Roots Marketing (is that an oxymoron?). People are starting to really utilize their blogs in a variety of ways, many of which go well beyond the idea of keeping family and friends up to date on who they’re dating or on Little Jimmy’s first steps. In order for a blog to stand out in the crowd, it requires top form and function in its design and content. When people get done with this class, they will be able to create top notch blogs that will keep their readers coming back day after day.
SIStv actually has its own product line. What’s your favorite?
My two favorite products that Scrap In Style manufactures are our MODsheetsTM and our gaffer tape.
MODsheetsTM (short for Multi Optional Design Sheets) are papers that offer classic style but with versatility and value. Each sheet is modular in design (get it, “MODsheets”… ah, so clever are we!). Various patterns are included on each sheet in standardized sizes that are perfect for paper crafters. Each color coordinated line has three sheets and each sheet has between two and five patterns, in sizes ranging from 8″ x 12″ down to 2″ x 3”. You can use the sheet whole if you like as a background for your layout, knowing that the proportions of each pattern create “safe” design elements, or you can cut each pattern out and use it in a variety of ways, which is great for card makers. Over the last couple of years in the “paper biz” I have noticed that people really gravitate toward those classic patterns: houndstooth, polka dots, brocade, plaid, etc. because they want their projects to have a timeless look to them. Don’t get me wrong–I love an owl motif as much as the next guy–but ten years from now, nothing will say “2007” more to me than layouts made with owl paper. And that’s totally okay for some of your stuff, but you don’t want everything to look dated. It’s like with clothing… each season you want to get a few items that are really on-trend but for the most part it’s best to buy stuff that will really last you, items that you will be able to use with those trendy pieces a year from now. I just believe that offering customers variety and value… you know really give them some bang for their buck is where it’s at right now.
SIStv MODsheets - Rebel
The gaffer tape is incredibly utilitarian and aesthetically pleasing all at the same time. It’s one color and features a classic pattern. It’s the most fantastic stuff. It’s low-tac, somewhere between masking tape and duct tape, so it doesn’t ruin something you’ve put it on when you pull it off. Also, it’s super easy to tear through, which is really nice. I use it for everything – file folders, labels, my kids’ school projects… I’m seriously addicted to it. I wish I had it in every color and pattern… hmm… maybe someday I will!
Scrap In Style TV - Gaffer Tape - Red and White Houndstooth
What’s seems to be the most popular section of your web site?
Hmm… I would definitely have to say the SIStv Webisodes or the SISter’s Portfolio, which is our main gallery. We just started season two of Scrap In Style TV, and the response has been great so far. We had been in “reruns” since August because my husband who does all of our video production was diagnosed with a stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil in July (did I spell all of that correctly? Those are real long cancer-y words… I’m pretty sure I got “cell” right). He just got a clean bill of health about three weeks ago, so we’re getting back to normal… well, if you consider having two belly buttons normal (he has a pretty deep scar from where his feeding tube was).
The SISter’s Portfolio has lots and lots of eye candy, and great ideas are uploaded there every day. It’s hard to keep up with it sometimes, so we have a feature called “Favorite SISters” where you can put another member on your “Favorite SISter” list and on your profile when you sign in, you will see links to their latest layouts. It’s really cool because the main gallery moves really fast.
Now that you have a loyal following, how do you keep people coming back for more?
That is something that can be really challenging to be honest, but we have a really loyal following. In fact, I think it’s something like more than 50% of the visitors we had in 2008 have visited the site more than 100 times since we launched in May of 2007. The numbers are pretty incredible, but I know that we must continually improve the site content and its features if we want to stay in the game. I don’t want to go down in Internet history as some flash in the pan web site.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job?
The absolute most rewarding thing is when I hear someone say that SIS has changed their life. (And yes, I have heard that on more than one occasion.) It’s completely humbling. Not that I was a direct part of it, but knowing that something that I had a hand in creating was a part of something big in a person’s life is amazing.
What piece of advice would you give to someone who’s just getting started in paper crafting/scrapbooking?
Simple… don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. It’s not an all-or-nothing hobby. You can invest as little or as much time and money as you want, and it will be rewarding either way. Find someone (or somewhere, like a web site, cough cough www.scrapinstyletv.com cough) that will help you get started by easing into it… none of this “spending $200 to get you started” business, okay? Promise me! Promise!
Jeanette, thanks so much for being with us today! Like we mentioned before, Jeanette has graciously donated two tuitions to her Scrap In Style Home: Decorating On A Budget class and two tuitions to her Bling Out Your Blog 2.0 class. In addition, two lucky winners will each receive a $15 gift certificate to the SIStv Boutique. Leave a comment telling me what advice you would give a brand new paper crafter. All comments must be received by midnight on Sunday, March 29. I’ll announce the six winners on Monday, March 30.
P.S. Our fabulous editors Brandy Jesperson and Susan Opel participated in a live chat with SIStv members last week. Along with a few Creating Keepsakes editors, they answered questions on how to get projects published. If you’d like to read the complete transcript, click here!
Jennifer Schaerer
Hey there…fancy meeting you here! I bet you’re wondering about the winners from the Stamp It! Week Challenge we tossed out as part of all the fun last week. The five categories (stamp kissing, build a scene, creating patterned paper with stamps, adding color with markers and adding color with dye ink sprays) yielded hundreds of entries and we sure did have a tough time choosing winners. Luckily, we split the challenge between our happy home here at Paper Crafts Connection and over at Moxie Fab World with Cath. Yay for us and double yay for the double set of winners!
STAMP KISSING: Parker Laine
What a lovely effect adding detail to the petals of her focal point flower with stamp kissing in this card!
BUILD A SCENE: Pam Smerker
I am just imagining the thoughts in that little bunny’s head as he looks over the garden fence and into the rolling green hills.
CREATING PATTERNED PAPER WITH STAMPS: Ashley Newell
Damask has never looked classier than it does in this cool ocean blue with an orange ribbon to make it really pop!
ADDING COLOR WITH MARKERS: CatDidIt
Just look at the depth of color layering in the tiger lily bouquet!
ADDING COLOR WITH DYE INK SPRAY: Linda Beeson
Not only did Linda use dye ink spray to spice up her card, but she also made patterned paper with the dictionary stamp.
A great big cheer of congratulations to all five of these talented ladies! Email me at jschaerer (at) ckmedia.com so I can send each of you a prize package that includes five stamp sets from some of our favorite manufacturers as well as a copy of Stamp It! Cards. I hope each one of you also sent the card to us for our annual Stamping Royalty Contest so you have a second chance to win!
Wrapping up a happy Stamp It! Week,
Jennifer
P.S. If you’re anywhere near Louisville, KY this weekend, go visit our own Susan Opel at the Creating Keepsakes Convention there! Pssssst…she even made cards to swap at the Paper Crafts Card Swap class!
Guess what? These cards have a little secret!
P. Kelly Smith
Welcome to Freebie Friday! I hope you’ve enjoyed Stamp It! Week just as much as we’ve enjoyed bringing it to you here and on the Moxie Fab World blog. (Judging from our page hits and your wildly enthusiastic comments, you’ve had a mighty fine time! And all the free product doesn’t hurt, right?)
For those of you just joining us today, make sure to read all of our stamptastic posts this week. From a wonderfully candid interview with designer Teri Anderson to Susan Opel’s “green” confession to an inspiring tutorial on dye ink sprays from PC Pro Alisa Bangerter, we’ve truly been favored by the stamping gods. And a special thanks goes out to all the manufacturers who’ve donated their fabulous product for our daily giveaways – especially yesterday’s! You’ve made a lot of people very happy!
So should we get on with the giveaway? I told you it was going to be a BIG one. I believe my exact words were “the crème-de-la-crème of all stamping prizes”. I’m hyperventilating right now just thinking about and I don’t even get to take it home. Take a deep breath, ladies. Now let it out. Okay. Here. We. Go.
One random winner will receive this grand prize package including: Cropper Hopper Stamp Station, Copic Basic Brights marker set (MSRP $70.00), six Close to My Heart exclusive dye inks, two background stamps and the Butterfly Beauty set from Unity Stamp Company, Teacher’s Apple and Spiral Bouquet stamp sets from Papertrey Ink, and the five stamp sets we featured in the “Say it with Stamps” section of Stamp It! Cards. And, of course, a copy of Stamp It! Cards autographed by all the Paper Crafts editors. Whew! Did you get all that?
One lucky winner will take this home! Maybe it will be you!
And because I’m feeling very generous, five additional people will each receive this prize package including: five clear stamp sets and idea book from Adornit Carolee’s Creations and a copy of Stamp It! Cards.
Are you officially drooling? Good! Then I’ve done my job. Since today marks the first day of spring, leave a comment telling me your favorite spring quote. It can be from a song, a poem, a movie, etc. All comments must be received by midnight on Monday, March 23. I’ll announce the winners on Tuesday, March 24.
Five lucky winners will each take this prize package home!
All in all, I’d have say there’s a lot of stampers out there who are beyond passionate about their craft. One common thread I picked up from all of your comments (yes, I read every last one!) is there are endless creative possibilities when it comes to stamping. And when there’s no limit to creativity, that’s when the real fun begins!
Thanks for making Stamp It! Week so much fun!
Kelly
P.S. Our Stamp It! Week Challenge is still going on! Wanna play? To participate, create a stamped card featuring one of the following techniques:
Stamp Kissing
Build a Scene
Creating Patterned Paper with Stamps
Adding Color with Markers
Adding Color with Dye Ink Sprays
Upload your stamped card here from now until Monday, March 23. We’ll pick 10 winners (two per category) to win a fabulous prize package. Five winners’ cards will be shown on this blog and five will be shown on Moxie Fab World. AND once you upload your card, you can turn around and mail it into our Stamping Royalty card contest!
P.P.S. Congrats to Jazy Girl, Kerry and Suzy! You’ve each won the Tattered Angels prize package from Wednesday’s Dye Inks Sprays Rock post. I’ll be e-mailing you shortly for your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments and played along!
Susan R. Opel
It’s pretty amazing that I have been scrapbooking since 1998, and I never really got all that into stamping. I certainly have admired all of the lovely stamps that manufacturers keep making, but it all seemed too messy – this coming from a former middle school art teacher who NEVER did a project with painting or paper mache (don’t worry – we did a lot of other really cool stuff!). But lately, things have been changing for me. What factors have been a part of that?
A. P. Kelly Smith – Paper Crafts magazine’s Online Editor Extraordinaire – Oh, Miss Kelly! Her cubicle is right behind me, and she keeps trying to prod me to give stamping a try. She tells me, “It’s so easy. It saves time. You’ll love it!” So I humored her and gave it a shot.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I created a Celtic inspired hello card featuring a lovely Lil Davis stamp.
B. American Crafts – At CHA in January, I was walking the floor with Cath, and we came to the American Crafts booth (always a source of brilliant inspiration for me). And guess what they were doing there? STAMPING! And I was like – WHOA – if American Crafts is stamping, I think I am game. So I got my hands on some sparkly green Zing! (AC’s new embossing powder) and went to town!
I created this layout with St. Patrick’s Day in mind as well – thinking about all of the things I feel “lucky” about.
C. Stamp It! Cards – Probably the most important factor in getting me to want to give stamping a try is Stamp It! Cards. This special issue is so crazy COOL! The contributors really showed me that stamping can in fact be trendy and hip! There are so many inspiring designers in this issue, but I am blown away by the stamping prowess of Dawn McVey. I’m sure that you will find each and every one of her designs absolutely exquisite along with page after page of other dazzling designs.
Be inspired to the max by Stamp It! Cards.
So now that I am getting into the groove, what sort of advice can you give me as a newbie to ease me into the world of ink and stamps? Leave me a comment with some stamping tips for beginners, and you will be entered to win my Green Hi Card pictured above as well as this aptly named Lucky collection from Rusty Pickle.
Doesn’t this line just make you want to Riverdance?
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from your Scotch-Irish redhead-by-choice associate editor!
Susan
P.S. Our Stamp It! Week Challenge is off to a great start! Wanna play? To participate, create a stamped card featuring one of the following techniques:
Stamp Kissing
Build a Scene
Creating Patterned Paper with Stamps
Adding Color with Markers
Adding Color with Dye Ink Sprays
Upload your stamped card here from now until Monday, March 23. We’ll pick 10 winners (two per category) to win a fabulous prize package. Five winners’ cards will be shown on this blog and five will be shown on Moxie Fab World. AND once you upload your card, you can turn around and mail it into our Stamping Royalty card contest!
P. Kelly Smith
Welcome to Magazine Monday and day one of Stamp It! Week! We’ve planned a whole week of stamping fun on the Paper Crafts Connection and Moxie Fab World blogs! So sit back, relax and enjoy getting to know Miss Teri Anderson – our designer spotlight for the day, week and month!
For all of you subscribers out there, we sneak peeked Teri’s spotlight in our May/June “Paper Crafts Connection” column. Since we’re not limited to word count on the web (thank goodness!), we’re happy to bring you Teri’s complete interview here. And since she’s also a fabulous stamper, we’re gonna show off some of her great projects from Stamp It! Cards. She was also nice enough to contribute to our giveaway today, so make sure to leave a comment to win her gorgeous “Thank You” card set. Thanks, Teri!
Teri Anderson
1. What is your most difficult paper crafting challenge?
It’s using those “really special” pieces of paper and embellishments that were so cool when I got them. I always put them away for that “really special” project and then I can’t bring myself to use them because they are so cool.
2. What is your favorite paper crafting supply?
I love stamps. Clear and rubber. You name it. I love them all. I think they’re one of the most versatile tools because you can use one stamp and get a different look each time you use it. Change the ink color and get a different look. Use a technique like embossing and get a whole different look. I also have great appreciation for ledger paper and American Crafts letter stickers, which frequently find their way onto my projects.
3. Name three Paper Crafts designers whose styles you like and tell me why they appeal to you.
Kim Hughes. Kim makes a lot of cards and has such a cheerful, friendly style. She adds lots of doodles, inking and texture. I love that. Her projects never look the same to me, yet her style comes through time and time again.
Dawn McVey. Dawn is a stamper with great design skills. Her projects are always so clean and crisp. I’m really drawn to that. I hope to see a lot more from her in the magazine in the future.
Alisa Bangerter. Alisa just amazes me. Her projects really stand out to me as consistently well thought out, designed and put together. I often wonder how she comes up with the ideas for her projects.
4. You’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of different publications. How do you keep yourself organized?
I am a lister. I make lists of calls I want to submit to, products I want to work with and post-call follow-up work I need to do. I’ve also learned to set limits for myself. I don’t submit to everything. I am not on a lot of different design teams. I only try for things I really do have an interest in.
5. Do you have any advice for someone who’s never been published or who wants to try submitting for the first time?
- Don’t fuss over it. Just take the plunge and submit. You’ll never get published without taking that first step.
- Don’t feel like you have to do what the designers you see right now in the magazine are doing to get published.
- Stay true to your own paper crafting style and use the products and techniques that make you happy. Products come and go. And what is a hip technique today may not be so cool six months from now.
- Remember it’s not anything against you if your project is not picked up right away. Your project just may not work with others the magazine’s editors have chosen.
- I’ve never known a magazine editor who keeps a list of people to reject. Well, good ones, at least. Just kidding! In my experience, they just want a project that wows them and will appeal to their magazine’s readers.
6. What is your favorite thing to paper craft and why?
Cards are my absolute favorite thing to make. A card is just a great little canvas to try out a new design or technique on. I don’t feel bad if doesn’t work out because I can just throw the card out. That’s something I can’t bring myself to do with scrapbook pages. Cards also make people happy. I’ve never had anyone complain about receiving a handmade card. It’s like giving them a little piece of me. Even if I can’t be there to give them a hug in person, the recipients know they really were on my mind when I made their cards.
7. What design teams are you on?
I’m on Art Declassified’s team.
8. How would you describe your style?
Funky, yet simple with a few flecks of technique thrown in the mix. I deviate from my style once in awhile, but I find I am usually the happiest with my projects that are simple and haven’t taken hours to pull off.
9. What do you like about working with Paper Crafts magazine?
For me, Paper Crafts has helped me to become a better designer. I’ve had many projects picked up by the magazine that I’ve had to rework before they’ve appeared in print. That has helped me to become more confident in why a design will or will not work. It’s also made me think more about how products coordinate together, like when I’ve mixed together a bold green patterned paper and a solid green ribbon. In the past, I might have picked a wild, polka dot ribbon, which would have clashed more with the paper than complimented it. By the way, I’ve always felt strange calling myself a designer. It has always seemed a bit on the stuffy side. I’m really just a crafty girl who likes to make stuff that gets in a magazine every so often.
10. Do you have a blog or online gallery? If so, please provide the URL.
Here's Teri's "Never Give Up" card from Stamp It! Cards.
And here's Teri's "Perhaps" card, also from Stamp It! Cards.
So hopefully you’ve enjoyed getting to know Teri Anderson a little bit better. Please leave a comment below and you’ll be entered into a drawing to receive her “Thank You” card set and a copy of Stamp It! Cards. All comments must be received by midnight on Tuesday, March 17.
Leave a comment and win this card set by Teri!
And make sure you head over to Moxie Fab World! Cath is spotlighting some yummy Papertrey Ink sets and yes, giving a few of them away! And get ready for tomorrow’s St. Patrick’s Day post by our little leprechaun Susan Opel! I hear she’ll be giving away something green!
Kelly
P.S. Congrats to Felicia Archie! She won my stamped butterfly card and a copy of Stamp It! Cards from last week’s Freebie Friday – Countdown to Stamp It! Week! I’ll be e-mailing you shortly for your mailing address. Thanks to all who left comments and played along!
P. Kelly Smith
Welcome to Freebie Friday and the official countdown to Stamp It! Week. Since our special issue Stamp It! Cards just went on sale, we thought it would be fun to dedicate a whole week (March 16-20) to the wonderful world of stamping.
Not only will we being having a ton of fun here, but we’re partnering with creative editor Cath Edvalson and her Moxie Fab World blog. Both sites will be doing daily giveaways, as well as offering great stamping tips and techniques for every skill level.
Next week on Paper Crafts Connection:
Magazine Monday – Designer spotlight on stamping queen Teri Anderson. She’ll tell you why she loves stamping so much and even give away an original stamped card set to one lucky winner.
Tuesday – Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Associate editor Susan Opel will admit a BIG stamping confession here, but she’ll also give away a fabulous green-themed prize package! Go Irish!
With the Pros Wednesday – Paper Crafts Pro Alisa Bangerter will show off one of her amazing cards from Stamp It! Cards, as well as offer great tips for working with dye ink sprays. And there will be three fun prize packages up for grabs courtesy of Tattered Angels!
Thursday – Managing editor Brandy Jesperson will spotlight some of the cool projects from our Stamp It! Cards feature “Stamp It! 3 Ways”. And you guessed it – she’ll be giving away something stampy!
Freebie Friday – Since this day is synonymous with free prizes, you’ll definitely want to check back for the crème-de-la-crème of all stamping prizes. Word on the street is you ladies will go nuts for it!
And if that weren’t enough, we’re starting this party with a little online contest. The Stamp It! Week Challenge officially begins right now! To play, create a stamped card featuring one of the following techniques:
Stamp Kissing
Build a Scene
Creating Patterned Paper with Stamps
Adding Color with Markers
Adding Color with Dye Ink Sprays
Upload your stamped card here from now until Monday, March 23. We’ll pick 10 winners (two per category) to win a fabulous prize package. Five winners’ cards will be shown on this blog and five will be shown on Moxie Fab World. AND once you upload your card, you can turn around and mail it into our Stamping Royalty card contest! How’s that for a win-win?!
So, as you can see, we have a lot going on for Stamp It! Week. We hope you come back for what promises to be a stamp-a-licious good time!
Kelly
P.S. To win a copy of Stamp It! Cards, as well as my stamped butterfly card (seen below), please leave a comment telling me why you love stamping so much.
Even I have been bitten by the stamping bug! Here's a card I created for my monthly card group. I ended up tracing the stamped butterfly image with a glitter pen to give the wings a little extra shimmer.
- P. Kelly Smith
Welcome to Freebie Friday and Paper Crafts latest installment of I-Spy! This game has always been a fan favorite, so I’m happy to be bringing it back! Are you ready to win some really cool prizes? Get ready because I’m picking FIVE winners this time!
You must have a copy of our March/April 2009 issue in front of you. All I-Spy questions will be directly related to this issue and this issue only.
March/April I-Spy Questions:
1. I spy Jennifer’s Editor’s Note where she shows a project from our 2008 World Card Making Day card contest (see p. 80 for our 20 winners). How many total entries did we receive?
2. I spy our Paper Crafts Connection column. According to our March/April calendar, there will be a Creating Keepsakes Convention on April 24-26. Where will it be held?
3. I Spy our Ask the Pros column. How does Paper Crafts Pro Wendy Johnson organize her stamps?
4. I spy our Joy of Card Making column. What tip does designer Julie Ebersole recommend for her “How Ya Bean?” card?
5. I spy Cath’s Moxie Fab column on the trendy color combination of yellow and gray. What sentiment is on designer Melissa Phillips’ mini album?
6. I spy Susan Neal’s “Perfect Pair” card in our Paper Crafts 101 column. In addition to Arial, what other font did she use to create the sentiment?
7. I spy a “Safari Clock” in our Photo Finish column. What country is spelled out in letter stickers?
8. I spy our Here Comes the Bride feature. What names are written on the frame from the “Umbrella Bridal Shower”? (FYI: the couple in the photo is actually Brandy’s brother and sister-in-law Jared and Cassidy Olsen!)
9. I spy our Baby Animals for Baby feature. The cute opener shows nine different baby animals. Name three.
10. I spy Susan Opel’s Tips, Tools & Technique column. Designer and master piercer Debbie Olson offers five tips for “Piercing Like a Pro”. What is her #3 tip?
Five random people (that answer five or more questions correctly) will win a selection of butterfly product we featured in this issue’s “Product Parade” and “Sweepstakes” columns. To play, please enter your answers in the comment field below this entry. I will draw my five winners on Monday, March 9 and announce them in Tuesday’s blog.
Good Luck!
Kelly
Susan R. Opel
It’s time for another edition of Tips, Tools, & Techniques trivia! Open your March/April 2009 issue of Paper Crafts to page 88 and answer the following questions for the chance to WIN (and who doesn’t like to win?):
- On page 89, Debbie Olson created six exquisite tags featuring paper piercing. What girl’s name appears on one of the tags?
- How many pink rhinestones are there on my Easter card on page 88?
- How long are the Pierceabilities by Spellbinders?
- I mentioned a friend that might carry the Chocolate Total Tote from Creative Options. What is her name? She is a middle school counselor in Garret, IN (not that this clue will help – just a little factoid!).
- What idea is your favorite from this issue’s Tips, Tools, & Techniques column, and why?
Now for the fun part. One winner will be selected at random to win the following:
- The Chocolate Total Tote from Creative Options shown on page 90.
- The Stitching Guide by Lasting Impressions on page 89.
- All of the Pierceabilities by Spellbinders found on page 88.
Now how ’bout that? There’s not much more to do before you are qualified to win!
- Send me an e-mail with your answers to sopel@ckmedia.com. Put “TT&T Blog” in the subject line of your message. Be sure to leave a comment on the blog, and stir up the competition a little. It just makes it more fun, right? 😉
- Entries are due no later than midnight MST on Sunday, March 8. From the correct entries received, one winner will be selected at random and contacted via e-mail. Once the winner has been notified, I’ll post his/her name in the comments section of this blog. Note: Due to the number of e-mails received, I’m unable to respond to each message individually. Please know that I do read your comments and totally appreciate your participation. Thanks!
So… What are you waiting for?
Good luck!
Susan
P.S. And without further adieu, here are the winners from our most recent giveaway blogs:
Congrats to Jill Swanson, Marcia, and Jennifer Owen! You three have each won a copy of Stamp It! Cards from Jennifer’s Inkformation on Stamp It! Cards post.
Congrats to Courtney and Jan! Generous Stace decided to pick two winners, so each of you will receive a handmade paper tree from her My First Blog – Oh My post.
Congrats to Colleen, Ellie and Cathyl! Colleen has won the Technique Tuesday stamp binder/stamp sets and Ellie and Cathyl have each won a copy of Stamp It! Cards from my Freebie Friday – Oh Stampy Day post.
We’ll be e-mailing you shortly for your mailing addresses! Thanks to all who left comments and played along!
Paper Crafts Connection 
