The world of paper crafting is HUGE! Whether you are a beginner, or you’ve been creating for years, the sheer number of different products, tools, techniques and project ideas can be overwhelming. The good news is, you’re not alone!
Our Story
My name is Andrea Walford, and I’m the Creative Director and Founder of Paper Crafter’s Library. After spending 6 years helping thousands of paper crafters around the world become more successful in the creative space through my series of kits, digital tutorials and online classes, I began looking for a new approach to education.
While there were a number of sites that provided training on one thing or another, there was no ONE place I could go that offered comprehensive training on multiple techniques, tools, products and project ideas. Every time I would look for accurate, thorough, well-presented information on products, I would find myself spending countless hours searching the internet for the information I needed. Every time I wanted to learn a new technique or skill, I would find myself buying magazines & books, and signing up for workshops and online classes.
I knew that if I – an experienced paper crafter – was spending countless hours and thousands of dollars all in an effort to learn – there had to be lots of other people experiencing the same challenges and frustrations.
In 2011 – after a year of behind the scenes planning and work – I launched Paper Crafter’s Library – the first, and still to this day, ONLY website that provides an all-in-one learning solution for paper crafters. Whether your interest is in stamping, card making, scrapbooking, creating 3D items or altered art – you’ll find all the resources you need to navigate the world of paper crafting in ONE place, organized and indexed so that it’s quick and easy to find.
Our Approach
Often times, the hardest information to find is the basics: “What is it?”, ”What’s it used for?” and “How do you use it?”. These are all questions we answer in our teaching about the products and tools used in paper crafting. Hours of research goes into our videos in order to ensure that we are bring you the most accurate up-to-date and relevant information in the paper crafting industry. And while you’ll see that we have partnered with a a number of companies – we are selective about who we work with. Our opinions cannot be bought, and we pride ourselves on provided non-biased information, featuring both the pros and the cons.
But we don’t stop there! Our experienced team of designers/educators strive to look at all the different ways a product can be used, and all the different techniques they can be incorporated into – because we recognize that in our current economy, if you’re going to invest in a product, you want to make sure you get the most bang for your buck.
Our last area of focus is to combine those products and tools and use them in as many many different projects as we can – cards, scrapbooks, mini albums, boxes and gifts, altered art – and in as many different styles as we can – clean and simple, vintage, grungy, cutesy – so that whatever your paper crafting type or style – you’ll find help and inspiration.
What makes us different from everyone else – whether it’s online communities, classrooms, craft review sites or blogs – is that we have organized and indexed all of our videos (over 1000 to date with over 50 videos being added each month!) into a video library, so that everything is all in one place, making it easy for you to find what you are looking for!
Our Team
Andrea is an avid paper crafter and mixed media artist with a passion for teaching, sharing and inspiring others towards creativity. After 6 years of teaching in the paper crafting industry and helping thousands of paper crafters around the world become more successful in the creative space, she founded Paper Crafter’s Library. She also enjoys spending time in her studio art journaling and creating mixed media pieces. She shares her life with her husband Todd, 5 children (4, 6, 9, 12 and 14), her 92 year old Grandpa, and their dog Ginger. Irene joined the family as their full-time nanny 4 years ago, making it possible for her focus on building her online business. When she’s not working she enjoys date nights with her husband, family movie nights at home with her kids, reading, and working out at the gym.
Every since she was little, Sophia has had a passion for both arts and crafts. As early as the age of 10, instead of collecting Barbie Dolls like most young girls, Soph collected rubber stamps. She has a fine arts background in watercoloring, oil painting and pastels – and brings that into her teaching at Paper Crafter’s Library. She has developed many in-depth video series for our Paper Crafter’s Library members on coloring and watercoloring using a huge array of mediums, including Copic Markers, Prismacolors and Gamsol, Water-based markers, watercolors, Pan Pastels and more! As proud mom of 3 children (3, 6 and 12), and their Bouvier Juno, her life is busy. When she’s not spending time in her studio creating she enjoys cooking, baking and sewing.
After taking 12 years off work to raise a family, Tracy started creating and teaching in the paper crafting industry in 2006. In early 2009, she began working with Andrea – first with online classes and tutorials, and eventually becoming one of the key designer/educators for Paper Crafter’s Library. Her four children (8, 10, 13 and 14) and husband were very supportive of her coming back to work as they knew she has a passion for teaching and sharing her love of paper crafting. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with family, she is active in parent council, chauffeuring her kids to and from activities, and having fun with the girls at book club.
Michelle began as one our Design Team members and has now joined our main team as our newest Designer/Educator. She is proud to be a self-proclaimed artist! She strongly believe that each of us has unique creative gifts to bring into this world and tries to do her best to inspire herself and others to tap into that wealth of creativity! She lives in Denver, Colorado and is humbled by the gorgeous Rocky Mountains on a daily basis. She lives with here partner Michael and their four-legged kids: Willow the cat and Buddy the dog. She has been a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator for 4 years and has had numerous projects published in Paper Crafts magazine.You can visit Michelle’s blog Figments of My Imagination.
Office manager, website maintenance, video editor, customer service…Karen wears many hats and plays an essential role in keeping Paper Crafter’s Library up and running. Karen is the one that keeps our site organized and uploads all of our new videos. She spent several years teaching in the paper crafting industry before deciding that she preferred simply spending time scrapbooking rather than teaching. Family is important to Karen, so she makes sure she spends time preserving her family memories through her scrapbooking. As mom to 2 girls (8 and 12) with a husband that travels extensively for work, Karen’s life is never boring. Karen is also an avid reader and enjoys biking with her husband.
Michelle is the friendly face behind all the communication that happens here at Paper Crafter’s Library. If you’ve ever had occasion to email us, chances are you’ve spoken with Michelle. Michelle has worked as an Independent Contractor for five years, and has worked with Andrea since 2008. She is a wife and mother of two small children ages 8 and 10 who love crafts as much as she does. She is a former Stampin’ Up! demonstrator with a passion for paper crafting and all it entails. She has been working with entrepeneurs like Andrea for years and loves that she can help make their websites and businesses thrive. She started her business so that she could be home for her children and help them to thrive in their own lives as well.
