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Featured Artist/Designer: Laurie Willison

By Andrea Walford · Comments (5)

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

Today on the Paper Crafter’s Library blog, we’re continuing our weekly featured artist spotlight whereby each week we spotlight a different artist/designer in the paper crafting & mixed media world and introduce you to their fabulous work.

Today we’re thrilled to welcome – Laurie Willison.

Before we show you Laurie’s fabulous projects, let’s get to know her a little bit more…

My name is Laurie Willison. You can usually find me crafting away in my craft room while the kids are in school or when they are sleeping! Other than that I am a part time RN and I live in the country with my very own farm boy and our 2 kiddos.

I have been stamping since 2007, when a sweet friend of mine introduced me and I started scrapbooking in 1998 ish. (I still try on occasion but it doesn’t happen very often.) I have had the pleasure and honor of working on several design teams, including my most current, Verve, CAS-ual Fridays and Retro Sketches Challenge Blog.

My style is mostly CAS and I love to follow trends occasionally but I do love lots of white space and fun images. I am always on the look out for fun fonts too! I am honored to be a Featured Designer here at Paper Crafters Library! Thanks so much for having me!

Card Projects

Hello Sunshine

Supplies

Stamps: Doodled Occasions (Verve), Hello Sunshine (PTI)

Paper: White and Harvest Gold (PTI)

Ink: Papaya (Amuse), Versafine Black Onyx

Misc: Circle Punch (EK Success)

For the Hello Sunshine card, I took a yellow card stock and made the card base. I stamped Hello Sunshine in black ink at the bottom, center of the card. Next, I took white card stock and stamped the sun rays starting at one point in the middle at the base of the card stock. Then I took a circle punch and punched out half of a circle. I rounded the corners of the yellow card base and the corners of the white card stock. I attached the white card stock to the card base with foam tape for some dimension.

This Hope

Supplies

Stamps: Strong Anchor (Verve)

Paper: White (PTI)

Ink: Berry Sorbet (PTI)

For this card, I took the rope image and stamped stripes using the reverse side of the stamp. Then I stamped the scripture sentiment right in the middle using black ink. Super simple!

We hope you have enjoyed today’s projects courtesy of Laurie Willison. Also, be sure to stop by Laurie’s Blog to see even more of her beautiful work (and let her know we sent you).

Comments (5)

Categories : Artist / Designer Spotlight, Featured Posts, Latest News

Winner of Fancy Pants Give-Away

By Andrea Walford · Comments (0)

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

I’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to Fancy Pants Designs and their guest designer Jenny Evans for sharing such a wonderful project and for their generous give-away of their Down by the Shore collection shown below.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…….the winner is…… Marsha Reed!

Congratulations Marsha!! Be sure to email us at customerservice@papercrafterslibrary.com to claim your prize. Please be sure to put “Fancy Pants Designs” in the subject line of the email, and then in the email itself, be sure to include your full mailing address and phone number.

For those of you that didn’t win, each week on PCL we feature a different company, and each of those companies generously sponsors a prize. Join us next week for our next feature.

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Categories : Give Aways, Latest News

Trendy Tuesday – Anchors

By colleenharshaw · Comments (2)

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

Trendy Tuesday – Anchors
by Colleen Harshaw

Today I want to talk to you about the trend of using anchors in papercrafting. Prior to my researching and writing of this article, had I been asked to describe the type of projects that I would use anchors on, I would have answered with masculine or nautical themed projects. However, while browsing the internet for inspiration, I have seen some other clever ways of incorporating anchors into papercrafting projects. Today I will share some project samples with you in the hope of broadening your horizons, as my have been broadened!

I decided to look into the actual symbolism behind the anchor and I came up with several interesting points. Several different sources stated that the anchor symbolizes hope and steadfastness. It is obviously a nautical symbol also, and as a result, some feel it represents the Navy as well. According to some, it is a symbol of stability or strong foundation. For those who are Christian, it brings together the cross and the various nautical Christian symbols (fish, boat, dolphin), and it symbolizes Christian hope in Christ.

Now that we know all about anchors and their symbolism, let’s look at some projects!

This first project is a Father’s Day card, which of course, falls into the category of masculine cards.

Card by ‘snowmanqueen’ via www.splitcoaststampers.com

This next anchor project falls into the category of ‘oh, I hadn’t thought of that!’ for me. This is an invite to a ‘sip-n-see’, which is a party to introduce the newest memeber of a family. So, in this case, the nautical anchor symbol was incorporated into a baby/nursery theme. I found other examples of this online also. Anchor shaped confetti in pastel colours to decorate tables at a baby shower isn’t something that would have occured to me!

www.celebrationsathomeblog.com

This next card is a tri-shutter card that clearly incorporates anchors into a Christian themed card. This is the second application of anchors that I had not really thought of before working on this article. I had a tendancy to associate anchors with strictly nautical or masculine projects, and I was missing the possibilites of Christian or baby themed projects. That is why reading and learning and drawing inspiration from others is so important to improving our craft! I can’t imagine how crafters survived prior to the birth of the internet!

Card by Grace Nywening for Our Daily Bread Designs
Photo credit to www.splitcoaststampers.com

This next card features a stamp called Tilda Un Anchor from Magnolia Ink. She really is a cutie, isn’t she?

Card by cabiotse via www.splitcoaststampers.com

The next project featured is an anchor wall hanging. This would be really cute for a little boy’s nautical themed bedroom. The anchor was actually cut out using an electronic die cutting machine, and then it was adhered to striped fabric and framed. It’s a very easy project that packs a lot of punch!

Photo courtesy of www.craftaholicsanonymous.net

Next I have a scrapbook layout to share with you. There is a company called Scrap Orchard that offers a nautical themed digital scrapbooking kit, and I was able to find many samples of projects online using this kit. The one I have selected to share with you today has the sentiment/title ‘you are the only fish in the sea for me’ which I think is a great title for a layout dedicated to the significant other in your life!

Anchors Aweigh digital scrapbooking kit from www.scraporchard.com

This next layout incorporates a couple of trends that we have talked about here at Trendy Tuesday. The first is banners and the second is….you guessed it, anchors! This layout is fun and summery with its bright colour palette and bold patterns.

Layout by Godschild94 via www.scrapbook.com

The next photo that I have to share is both a project and a crafting supply. I found this photo via Pinterest (I am offically a Pinterest junkie). The original website shows you how to make your own anchor stamp. Of course, this technique could be applied to other shapes and symbols too, but anchors are our subject for today.

Simply Happenstance via www.pinterest.com

OK, now we are moving on to the products! This is the fun part (if you ask me). I love an excuse to collect papercrafting supplies, however after my family’s most recent move (from the USA to Thailand) and all the unpacking I had to do, I am beginning to re-think my hobby of collecting!

The first product that I have to share is a Tiny Roller Doodle, which is really a rubber roller stamp. I don’t tend to use these myself, but I know there are people out there who really love them. If you are looking to mass produce a project with an anchor design, I can see how this would be really useful. This one is from the Uncharted Collection by Glitz Designs.

Tiny Roller Doodle by Glitz Design
Photo credit to www.scrapbook.com

Also from Glitz Design’s Uncharted Collection is some anchor themed Washi tape, which I have shown below.

Anchor Washi Tape – Uncharted line from Glitz Designs
Photo courtesy of www.scrapbook.com

This next product is a Slim Profile Edger Punch. These are really on trend right now. I particularily like my Threading Water Border Punch (Fiskars). You can find quite a line up of these edger/border punches available from EK Success, Fiskars and Martha Stewart.

EK Success Slim Profile Edger Punch – Anchors
Photo courtesy of www.scrapbook.com

This next product is a standard anchor punch by Martha Stewart.

Anchor punch by Martha Stewart
Photo courtesy of www.acherryontop.com

The next item that I want to share is a stamp set from A*Muse Studio. It is called Anchors Aweigh and they offer a die set from the same line for coordinating your projects.

Anchors Aweigh Stamp Set from A*Muse Studio

Anchors Aweigh Die Set from A*Muse Studio

I found quite a few examples of digital papers with an anchor theme. This example is from a company called Moo and Puppy.

Rainbow Nautical Anchor Digital Paper from Moo and Puppy
Photo credit www.etsy.com

Next, I found an anchor wall decal, which clearly in this photo is being used in a boy’s nursery.

Anchor Wall Decal from round321 via www.etsy.com

The next items I want to share are metal anchor buttons that I found on www.etsy.com. There were several different choices available.

Anchor Metal Buttons from DansandBrandi via www.etsy.com

Lastly, I have some Jolee’s Boutique stickers to share with you. They are dimentional stickers that are widely available at craft stores and online.

Jolee’s Boutique Stickers Large Navy from www.createforless.com

Well, that wraps things up for today. I hope you enjoyed learning about anchors with me! Happy crafting!

Comments (2)

Categories : Latest News, Trend Watch

Winner of Maya Road Give-Away

By Andrea Walford · Comments (0)

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

I’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to Maya Road and designer Caroline Lau for sharing such a wonderful project and for their generous give-away of their prize pack shown below.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…….the winner is…… Tammy Hanson!

Congratulations Tammy!! Be sure to email us at customerservice@papercrafterslibrary.com to claim your prize. Please be sure to put “Maya Road” in the subject line of the email, and then in the email itself, be sure to include your full mailing address and phone number.

For those of you that didn’t win, each week on PCL we feature a different company, and each of those companies generously sponsors a prize. Join us next week when we feature Fancy Pants Designs.

Comments (0)

Categories : Give Aways, Latest News

Trendy Tuesday – Frame It Right

By Katherine Elliott · Comments (7)

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013

Trendy Tuesday – Frame It Right
by Katherine Elliot

It is no surprise to find creative photo frames used on scrapbook pages in the paper craft world. However, besides showing off your best photographs in scrapbook albums, frames are a trend in many other paper craft projects and products. Check out the various embellishments, stamps and dies that can help you frame it right…

Album Project by Greta Hammond, image source Paper Crafters Library

If you missed it earlier, check out the showcase of Fancy Pants Designs products here on the PCL blog, including the patterned photo frames shown above. Coordinate these frames with matching papers and accessories from Fancy Pants Designs and you are sure to have a winning design in no time.

Trend Setter Patterned Photo Frames from Fancy Pants Designs, image source Two Peas in a Bucket

Pink Paislee also offers some pretty decorative, patterned frames that could be perfect for many spring projects.

Mixed Media Mini album by Shellye McDaniel, image source Papered Cottage

Cottage Farms Photo Frames from Pink Paislee, image source Two Peas in a Bucket

Frame embellishments are chic, too. Mandy’s scrapbook page shown below uses trendy mini-frame wood cut embellishments from Maya Road in addition to an embellished frame around her photo on her scrapbook page.

Hello You

Hello You scrapbook page by Mandy Koepen, image source Cocoa Daisy Scrapbooking

Maya Road - You've Been Framed Wood Embellishments

Maya Road You’ve Been Framed wood embellishments, image source Eclectic Paperie

Some of the next scrapper’s fun photo booth style pics are highlighted with ornate mini frame embellishments from Websters Pages.

Just Us 2 scrapbook page by Trace Mar, image source Two Peas in a Bucket Gallery

Webster Pages Frame Variety Pack image source Flamingo Scraps

Photos of your loved ones do not need to be used exclusively in binders or scrapbook albums, of course. A framed photo card would warm the heart of any proud parent on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or any occasion.

DEC2012DAY2E Photo frame card by Julie Dinn, image source Kreative Jewels

Julie Dinn’s card above used a simple frame die from My Favorite Things. The frame window on this die makes it simple to add your photo or image to any project.

Die-namics InstaFrame from My Favorite Things

Other companies, like Maya Road, have similar, simple photo frame stamps and sentiments to use with your photos.

Instant Photo Frame Clear Photopolymer Stamps 2"X3" SMP2X3-2315

Instant Photo Frame stamp set from Maya Road, image source Stuff4Scrapbooking

Frame themes pop up in even more rubber stamp sets. The photo craze of holding an empty frame up to your face is fun and festive. Here are just a couple of cards that used stamps with that fun trend that caught my eye…

Card by Melody Rupple, image source A Paper Melody

Picture Perfect stamp set from My Favorite Things

Card by Joslyn Nielson, image source Unity Stamp Company

ANGIE-1067A-VICKI,-CATHERINE-&-LEICA-GIRLS

Vicki, Catherine and Leica Girls stamp set from Unity Stamp Company

Frames are not only used for personal photos. They make great focal points on cards framing both sentiments and images. Believe or not, the image below was created by Erin Gonzales using digital stamps from My Digital Studio. The depth of the framed image looks fantastic on this digital thank you card.

Fancy Frames digital card by Erin Gonzales, created using My Digital Studio from Stampin’ Up!, image source Hand Stamped Style

Fancy Frames -- Digital Download Fancy Frames digital images from My Digital Studio, image source Stampin’ Up!

Create your own stamped ornate frame using a stamp set and coordinating dies or punches, like this Flourishes set that goes well with several oval shapes.

Flowers and Frames stamp set from Flourishes

Card by Silke Ledlow, image source Flourishes Boutique

Using layered dies, like those from Spellbinders, you can make your own frame shapes and patterned paper frames for your projects. Andrea’s card below shows a lovely, classic way to create a frame using Nestabilities. This card is from a post from the PCL archives…of course Andrea has always been on trend!

Nestabilities Frame card by Andrea Walford, image source Paper Crafters Library

Hope you found something inspiring to put you in a crafty frame of mind today. Until next time, happy crafting, everyone.

Comments (7)

Categories : Latest News, Trend Watch

Tags : Trendy Tuesday

Featured Company: Maya Road

By Andrea Walford · Comments (64)

Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

I’m so excited to bring you this week’s Featured Company which is also a returning company: Maya Road! We are long time fans of Maya Road and are so happy they have returned.

About Maya Road

Maya Road was born in 2003. Two sisters, Deborah and Caroline, were spending the weekend together, and went shopping for all of the latest scrapbooking supplies. As they browsed the aisles, they were struck by how difficult it was to find unique scrapbooking products and how expensive products were. They started chatting about products they wanted to see, and they brainstormed how they could combine their business knowledge and design skills to produce the unique products for scrapbooking. Thus, Maya Road was formed.

After much soul-searching, they decided to launch Maya Road nationally with 38 unique products at HIA (the prior name for CHA Tradeshow) in 2004. Since then Maya Road has added over 2000 new products to their line. Creative items include such as chipboard, trims, twines, metals, Maya Mists, embellishments and more.

Maya Road was founded on a belief in each person’s creative ability and on the commitment to making high quality scrapbooking products available and affordable to everyone. Maya Road believes that scrapbooking and memory keeping should be an everyday event available to everyone.

Our signature products are carried in over 1000 scrapbooking stores in the US, Australia, Canada, the UK and beyond. People often ask where the term “Maya Road” comes from. Maya is actually a combination of nicknames, Caroline and Deborah, had as kids. They looked up “Maya” and realized it meant “The Art of Creation” and thus, Maya Road was born.

Follow Maya Road on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and on their Design Team Blog

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/mayaroad

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mayaroad

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/mayaroad/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MayaRoadJourney/videos

Special Maya Road Guest Designer

Today we also have a special Maya Road Guest Designer. Caroline Lau is one of the owners of Maya Road as well as designs for the company. We are so excited to have her showcase her work today on Paper Crafter’s Library. You can leave a comment below the post telling us what you like about her projects for a chance to win the Maya Road prize package shown below.

You can see Caroline’s fabulous projects below, but first, here is a little more about her:

Caroline Lau is one of the partners/owners of Maya Road. Caroline started Maya Road at the end of 2003 with her sister. After a long career as a Chemical Engineer, Caroline left her job to work on Maya Road full time over 8 year ago. Caroline’s work has been published in magazines such as Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbooks, Etc, Paper Crafts, Memory Makers and Somerset Studio.

She is thrilled to be able to travel around to share with everyone her love of Maya Road products!In addition to Maya Road, Caroline enjoys spending time with her family – David (husband) and two kids (Noah and Olivia). Caroline also enjoys soccer, sewing, running and yoga.

Maya Road Card Projects

Supplies needed:

Card 1
Card base – White
Patterned paper (Bo Bunny Dots)
Maya Road Vintage Pale Pink Pearl Pins
Maya Road Vintage Pearl Butterfly Pins
Maya Road Alterable Wood Buttons
Maya Road Canary Paper Twine Cording
Maya Road Fabric Leaves
Maya Road Earth Paper Twine Cording
Maya Road Tiramisu Twine Cording
Maya Road Card Sentiments Stamp Set
Adhesive
Scissors
Foam Dots
Paper Trimmer
Black Ink Pad
Acrylic Block

Instructions

1.Cut the pink patterned dot paper to fit on card base. Leave a 1/4″ white edge showing so cut your pink paper 1/2″ smaller than the card base for the length and width.
2. Free hand cut the green heart and attach it to the pink paper. Attach the pink paper to the card base.
3. Cut three – 2″ long pieces of the Canary Paper Twine Cording. Unravel each and twist slightly in the middle to form three bow tie shaped pieces. Glue them together as shown to form flower. Add large Alterable Button to the middle.
4. Cut a 4″ long piece of the Earth Paper Twine Cording. Curl as shown and attach to the back of the flower.
5. Attach the fabric leaf to the back of the flower.
6. Take a 5″ piece of the Tiramisu Twine Cording and tie a bow. Attach to the back of the flower.
7. Attach the flower to the card and add the two pins.
8. Stamp the sentiment onto the green patterned paper. Cut out. Attach to the card with foam dots.

Card 2
Card base – White

Patterned paper (Bo Bunny Dots/ Fancy Pants/ MME)

Maya Road Crystal Pin

Maya Road Alterable Wood Buttons

Maya Road Cloud Twine Cording

Maya Road Blue Mojito Twine Cording

Maya Road Card Sentiments Stamp Set

Maya Road Canary Yellow Tu-Tu Tulle

Maya Road Mini Wood Ruler

Orange Brad (Jenni Bowlin)

Adhesive

Scissors

Foam Dots

Paper Trimmer

Black Ink Pad

Acrylic Block

Instructions.

1.Cut the lace paper to fit onto the card base. Leave a 1/4″ white edge showing so cut your pink paper 1/2″ smaller than the card base for the length and width. Next cut the dot paper a 1/2″ smaller than the lace paper for the length and width.

2. Glue patterned papers together and onto card.

3. Take a 5″ long piece of the Tu-Tu Tulle. Roll into a spiral to form a flower. Add a small Alterable Button to the middle. Trim the excess tulle so that the diameter of the flower is about 1.5″.

4. Cut two two leaves free hand from patterned paper. Glue to the back of the flower.

5. Cut a 4″ long piece of the Cloud White Paper Twine Cording. Curl and attach to the back of the flower.

6. Stamp the sentiment onto the orange patterned paper. Cut out.

7. Assemble the card. Add the ruler, flower, brad and pin.

8. Tie a bow using 5″ of Blue Mojito Twine Cording. Attach to card.

9. Attach the word sentiments with foam dots.

We hope you have enjoyed today’s feature. We want to extend a sincere thank you to Caroline Lau for her fabulous project and Maya Road for sharing their company with us. Be sure to visit Maya Road to see more of their great products.

In order to enter the give-away to win the fabulous Maya Road prize package shown above, please leave us a comment in the comments section of this post. Winner will be announced next Wednesday on the Paper Crafter’s Library blog!

Comments (64)

Categories : Company / Manufacturer Spotlight, Latest News, Maya Road, Maya Road

Winner of Fancy Pants Give-Away

By Andrea Walford · Comments (1)

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

I’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to Fancy Pants Designs and their designer Vicki Chrisman for sharing such a wonderful project and for their generous give-away of their Park Bench Collection Pack.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…….the winner is…… Sheila R!

Congratulations Sheila!! Be sure to email us at customerservice@papercrafterslibrary.com to claim your prize. Please be sure to put “Fancy Pants Designs” in the subject line of the email, and then in the email itself, be sure to include your full mailing address and phone number.

For those of you that didn’t win, each week on PCL we feature a different company, and each of those companies generously sponsors a prize. We will be back next week with more features.

Comments (1)

Categories : Fancy Pants, Give Aways, Latest News

Trendy Tuesday – Frogs & Toads

By Katherine Elliott · Comments (5)

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013

Trendy Tuesday – Frogs & Toads
by Katherine Elliot

One of the first signs of spring around my neck of the woods is the sound of tree frogs chattering away in the morning, waking up and thawing out from a long, cold winter. If it doesn’t yet look like spring where you are, let me just say, it looks like it’s on the way! Let me admit now, it’s hard to separate frogs and toads in the paper craft world, so these little creatures will share the spotlight this week.

Birthday card by Jana Millen, image source This Little Card of Mine

Jan Millen’s adorable birthday card shown above features a very cute frog from the Paper Smooches stamp set, Little Fellas. You may notice many of the projects and products featured are biased towards the frog variety. Maybe the famous Muppett, Kermit the Frog, has influenced mainstream culture over the years, I really cannot say, but hey, they are both cute.

Want a little information on the official differences between a frog and toad? Just do a search to find fun facts like the link here. Luckily, there will be no science quiz at the end of this post, so just enjoy these projects and the ”toadily unfrogettable” puns you can find to match them!

GretchenMcElveen_Birthday Boy card3_Toadally awesome card

Card by Gretchen McElveen featuring Bella Blvd Toadily Cool stamp image source Bella Blvd.

Unity Stamp branded with Bella Blvd, image source Scrapbook.com

Card by Kecia Waters featuring Frog Eating Fly stamp from Rubbernecker Stamps, image source Stamping Deets

Vicki Parson did a terrific job coloring her digital stamp image, Frog Boy from Hambo Stamps on her beautifully embellished card. The digital image download comes with a few phrases, too, including the cute one she used. I love this fun take on a get well card.

Get Well card by Vicki Parson, image source StampSmiles.com

“Hello, Ma Baby, Hello My Darling….” Anyone else remember the singing frog from the old Looney Tunes show? This DRS Designs Singing Frog stamp captures that childhood memory for me. Now if I can only get that song outta my head…

Wonderful Day card by Jennifer E, image source Ink n’ Scrap Habits

A smiling frog looks so cheerful on a card. Papertrey Ink has a stamp set and matching dies for their Boy Basics Frog Hop Mini Stamp set. The stamp and another sweet punny greeting was used in the project below. Hoppy Birthday

Card featuring Frog Hop Mini Stamp by Debbie Olson, image source Papertrey Ink

Inky Antics’ line of ”Honey Pop” stamps are designed to go with unique honeycomb papers, to allow you to insert a surprise pop-up on the inside of a card. Of course they have a frog/toad theme set that includes cute images and sentiments.

Frog Honeypop Clear Stamp Set HPOP-11027

Frog Honeypop Clear stamp from Inky Antics, image source Stuff4Scrapbooking

The honeycomb paper pop-ups look like a lot of fun. Check out the pop-up honeycomb toadstool in the card below created by Michelle Pearson.

Card by Michelle Pearson featuring honeycomb pop-up using Honey Pop stamp, image source Inspiration Blooms

And now, for the more serious minded toad lover…

Sir Toad stamp from Stampendous

Stampendous’ Sir Toad stamp has a vintage vibe that looks great in the project featured below.

Sir Toad Muchas Gracias, image source Stampendous.com

Of course nothing beats the cute and simple for sweet CAS projects. The images from Hero Arts may suit the occasion you’re looking for. Hero Arts’ Adorable Creatures digital download includes this cutie…

Card by Shari Carroll featuring Lily Pad Greetings stamps from Hero Arts

Digital stamps, Adorable Creatures from Hero Arts, image source Two Peas in a Bucket

Looking for something other than a stamp? Lifestyle Crafts offers this sweet Frog die.

frog (leap frog)

QuicKutz Leap Frog die from Lifestyle Crafts

Froggy embellishments are fun, too. Eyelet Outlet offers some of the largest variety of brads, eyelets and “quicklets” I’ve seen (quicklets are like eyelets, just even easier to use). Check out their frog brads and lily pad quicklets…

Frog brads and Lily Pad Quicklets from Eyelet Outlet

The unique shape of a frog or toad makes it a great creature to recreate by “Punch Art.” A selection of punched circles, ovals, and small flowers created this lily pad posed frog on Josee Smuck’s card featured here…

Punch art frog card by Josee Smuck, image source Stamping Jo.com

A layer of patterned paper on this next punch art frog offers another option for this technique. And if you ask me, I’d have a hard time not adding a couple dimensional googly eyes to a funny fella like this…

Frog box

Punch, die shape art Frog Box from Fiskars.com

For an interactive, “fun for the whole family” paper craft project of the week, check out these origami frogs. Do you remember making these in school? I do!

Origami Frogs for passover

Origami Jumping Frogs, image source CreativeJewishMom.com

Check out a quick visual tutorial for how to make Origami Jumping Frogs at Nice Hobbies.org.

Now I must be hopping right along preparing for another trendy topic that I hope you’ll find ribbit-ing!
(I know, groan….)

Happy crafting, everyone.

Comments (5)

Categories : Latest News, Trend Watch

Tags : Trendy Tuesday

Featured Company: Fancy Pants Designs

By Andrea Walford · Comments (119)

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

I’m so excited to bring you this week’s Featured Company which is also a returning company: Fancy Pants Designs! At CHA 2013 in Anaheim, as I was walking the aisles keeping my eyes open for great companies and products to spotlight, I was immediately drawn in by the gorgeous products in the Fancy Pants booth. Which is why I was thrilled that Jodi (one of the owners) accepted our invitation! They have been featured before and we are so pleased to have them back with us. In today’s spotlight you’ll learn more about Fancy Pants Designs, see a fantastic project by one of their designers and have the opportunity to win the Park Bench Collection shown below (details at the end of this post).

About Fancy Pants Designs

With their combined knowledge, Jodi {the creative person} and Jared {the business person} took a chance on a dream and founded their own unique company.

Fancy Pants Designs premiered their first collections to the craft and hobby industry in the Winter of 2005. What started as a home-based business quickly flourished into an exciting opportunity of bringing creative ideas to life in many different mediums.

We are proud to offer high quality designs for a variety of industries through the production and licensing of original artwork. With a group of creative directors, talented designers and experienced staff, Fancy Pants Designs continues to provide the latest and greatest designs to crafters worldwide.

Be sure to visit us at our many “Fancy” locations online! We’ve always got something going on everywhere, so don’t miss out!

Special Fancy Pants Guest Designer

Today we also have a special Fancy Pants Designs Guest Designer. Vicki Chrisman is part of the 2013 Fancy Pants Design Team. We are so excited to have her showcase her work today on Paper Crafter’s Library. You can leave a comment below the post telling us what you like about her project for a chance to win a the package of Fancy Pants Designs Park Bench Collection.

You can see Vicki’s fabulous project below, but first, here is a little more about her:

My name is Vicki Chrisman. I live in Nebraska with my husband, and two sons. I have been a paper crafter for years, and love it even more now than when I first started (if that’s possible). What started as a hobby, has now become an obsession. lol! Always new exciting products to create with, and inspiration to be found everywhere. I am honored to be a part of the Fancy Pants Team, and to have the opportunity to design for such a great company.

Live Simply Canvas Project

Today I like to share with you how to create this simple but beautiful 12×12 canvas using the Park Bench line.

I chose to use mists to add a little color to my canvas background, but you could also use paints … or even choose to leave it blank. On my canvas I added blue around the edges of my canvas.
I then chose one of the patterns from the 3×8 Pattern Stencil Set and a Dijon colored mist to add some interest to the canvas background.
Cut three basic flower shapes, from this line, each 3 inches wide. If you don’t have a basic flower shape, there is one below you are welcome to use.FLOWER TEMPLATE
If you don’t feel comfortable hand stitching, before you add your flowers to the canvas, you can add small stitch lines, by making dashes around the edges of the flowers with a fine black marker. If you plan to stitch, start by adhering your flowers with a dot of hot glue in the center and placing them on the canvas where you want them. This will hold them in place while you stitch. ( for best results, use 2 strands of black embroidery floss and a small needle)
Cut three pieces of wire for your flower stems ( approx. 6- 7 inches). Add these by tucking them just under the paper at the base of each flower and gathering them with a ribbon in the center. Attach the ribbon to the canvas with a bit of hot glue. Add Buttons to the centers of the flowers. Trim strips to add border to your canvas.

ETA: Winner announced on the post here: http://blog.papercrafterslibrary.com/winner-of-fancy-pants-give-away-2/

We hope you have enjoyed today’s feature. We want to extend a sincere thank you to Vicki Chrisman for her fabulous project and Fancy Pants Designs for sharing their company with us. Be sure to visit Fancy Pants Designs to see more of their great products.

In order to enter the give-away to win the Park Bench collection shown above, please leave us a comment in the comments section of this post. Winner will be announced next Wednesday on the Paper Crafter’s Library blog!

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Categories : Company / Manufacturer Spotlight, Latest News, Spotlights

Winners of Bella Blvd Give-Away

By Andrea Walford · Comments (1)

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

I’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to Bella Blvd and their designer Laura Vegas for sharing such a wonderful project and for their generous give-away of their feathers. The good news is that they are giving away 9 packages of feathers.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…….the winners are all listed below……!

Congratulations to all the winners!! Be sure to email us at customerservice@papercrafterslibrary.com to claim your prize. Please be sure to put “Bella Blvd Winner” in the subject line of the email, and then in the email itself, be sure to include your full mailing address and phone number.

For those of you that didn’t win, each week on PCL we feature a different company, and each of those companies generously sponsors a prize. This week we are featuring Fancy Pants Designs. Be sure to check out their give-away.

Comments (1)

Categories : Give Aways, Latest News

Archive for Latest News

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Winner of Fancy Pants Give-Away

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Winner of Fancy Pants Give-Away

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Featured Company: Fancy Pants Designs

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