Paper Crafter's Library – Page 64 – A world of creativity at your fingertips

Winner of Fancy Pants Designs Trendsetter Collection

I’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to Fancy Pants Designs and to designer Great Hammond for sharing such a wonderful project and for their generous give-away of the Fancy Pants Trendsetter Collection.

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

Congratulations Lea. Be sure to email us at customerservice@papercrafterslibrary.com to claim your prize. Please be sure to put “Fancy Pants Designs Trendsetter 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 – so be sure to check out this week’s spotlight – Lawn Fawn.

Trendy Tuesday – Arrows

Trendy Tuesday – Arrows
by Katherine Elliot

Looking for a new direction to go with your paper crafts? I”ve got just the topic to guide you in the right direction – arrows! These relatively simple shapes easily highlight a special word, feature, or image on your project, or stand out as a fun pattern or design on their own, like in Andrea”s unique die cut and stamped project shown here…

Card by Andrea Walford image source Simply Stamped Designs

Andrea”s card used the Get to the Point stamp set and coordinating dies from Papertrey Ink. Stamp sets are a versatile favorite for any trendy theme or shape. Besides the Papertrey Ink set used on the first project highlighted today, check out other options that can help you create a straightforward design for your project. Simon Says Stamp, Stampin” Up!, Technique Tuesday, and Unity Stamp Company are just a few brands that have some arrow stamp options for you to consider.

Rad Stamp Set from Simon Says Stamp

Card by Joy Taylor featuring Rad stamp set, image source Simon Says Stamp

Card featuring stamps from Stampin” Up! set, Sent with Love, image source Stampin” Up! blog

Ali Edwards Beautiful stamp set from Technique Tuesday

Card by Teri Anderson, image source Technique Tuesday

A Little Grunge Love stamp set from Unity Stamp Company

Arrows are easy to find in many forms. One of the simplest to use are die cut stickers and embellishments. Stephanie Severin”s project below used some cheerful stickers from Studio Calico.

Card by Stephanie Severin, image source Ingenious Inkling

Snippets Printed Chipboard Arrows from Studio Calico

For more dimension and to amp up the trend factor, wood veneer or vellum type embellishments in arrow shapes can also lead the way to a fresh new look.

Card by Maggie Holmes, image source Splitcoast Stampers

Studio Calico 34th Street Scrapbook Kit

Scrapbook pages are perfect places to insert an arrow or two or three… Use them to focus attention as well as decorate your pages.

Scrapbook page by Renee Aslette, stamps and image source from Unity Stamp Company

The arrow on your page could be subtle yet focused, as seen on the simple Take Note arrow shown here…

Scrapbook page by Melissa Elsner, image source Two Peas in a Bucket Gallery

A big statement with a large arrow can really get to the point. Cut your own shape or find a fun die cut shape that coordinates with your project.

Scrapbook page by Judith Mara, image source Two Peas in a Bucket Gallery

Scenic Route Die Cut shapes, image source Scrapbook Heaven

Patterned papers offer another choice for incorporating this trend in your cards or other projects.

Echo Park Note to Self scrapbook paper, image source Blue Moon Scrapbooking

Banner shapes can create arrow designs that may not be quite as literal, but get to the point all the same. The shape works great with other pattern trends like chevrons.

Teresa Collins Arrows scrapbook paper, image source Two Peas in a Bucket

A chevron pattern makes a geometric arrow shape that looks crisp and fresh on Maggie Holmes” card shown here…

Card by Maggie Holmes, image source Creative Team Gallery at Studio Calico

Examples to share for paper craft trends are always at my fingertips when browsing Paper Crafters Library or Andrea”s various blog posts. I”m pleased to showcase a couple of Andrea Walford”s cards in today”s article. The last card I”ll share today was created a while ago, but I”ve kept as a favorite design for a long time. The focal sentiment on the card is from the Stampin” Up! set, Word Play.

Card by Andrea Walford featuring !, image source

Arrows obviously have some trend setting staying power. Head your crafts in the right direction and you can”t go wrong.

Hope you enjoyed today”s showcase of projects and have been inspired. Happy crafting, everyone!

PCL Membership Highlights Feb. 25th – Mar 1st

Paper Crafter’s Library was launched in January 2011 with the goal of becoming an all-in-one learning solution for paper crafters. With over 1200 videos in our library to date, and over 50 videos being added each month – we are the largest and most comprehensive online learning resource for paper crafter’s worldwide.

Each Monday we provide you with a behind-the-scenes sneak peek of the projects that were released to our members the previous week. So the sneak peek you see above is a snapshot of the video tutorials & pdf handouts our members received for the week of February 25th to March 1st, 2013.

Each week at Paper Crafter’s Library our full monthly members can expect to receive access to a minimum of 8 exclusive projects – totalling around 50 videos each month. In planning for our projects we ensure that we cover a range of project types so that there is something for everyone whatever their interest or preference – whether it be card making, stamping, scrapbooking, altered art, mixed media, 3D items, templates, techniques etc. Projects range in difficulty level – so there will always be projects in library for whatever your paper crafting “level” whether you are a beginning paper crafter, or a more advanced paper crafter.

Last week Sophia launched an amazing Pop-Up Card series. Each pop-up card has it’s own exclusive template designed by Sophia – and two versions are provided to Paper Crafter’s Library members – a printable template and a studio cut file that you can cut out on your Silhouette Cameo or Portrait machine. You can see last week’s pop-up easy chair that Sophia created last week HERE. This week we actually have two pop-up cards. The first is this amazing Pop Up Noodle Bowl card. Don’t the shrimp and fortune cookie look real? Everything you see there – the noodle bowl, chopsticks, shrimp and fortune cookie are all templates created by Sophia and provided to PCL members.

The second pop-up card is the Thank You Pop Up Plant Card. I just love the way Sophia makes everything look SO realistic!

Other highlights this week:

A scrapbook layout featuring products from Fancy Pants Designs
Coloring with Copic Markers
A Chalkboard technique
another release of our Creative Inspiration Sheets this time using the For The Birds Stamp Set.

To see a sample of our teaching style you can check out our Free Project of the Week – which is released every Friday. You can see this week’s project HERE.

Read about all the perks of being a Paper Crafter’s Library member you can visit our Benefits of Membership page HERE.

Free Project of The Week: Hello Card – 03 01 2013

Every week on the Paper Crafter’s Library blog we feature a different company/manufacturer and introduce you to one of their fantastic collections or product lines. This week we’re featuring Fancy Pants Designs and spotlighting their Trendsetter collection. Since they also generously sent us the Trendsetter Collection to work with I decided to create this week’s Free Project of the Week using their collection, as well as share with you a couple of other projects I’ve made for our Paper Crafter’s Library members with this collection.

First off, here’s the Hello Card. I created this card by layering three different strips of patterned paper from the Trendsetter collection. I layered them onto Kraft CS and then matted them onto a Vanilla 5 1/4″ x 5 1/4″ card. I used one of the banners from the Trendsetter collection banner die cuts as my sentiment and then embellished my card using their fabulous felt flowers.

Download the PDF handout HERE.

Supplies:

Paper: Very Vanilla CS, Crumb Cake CS (Stampin’ Up!); Trendsetter Collection Star Pattern, Price Tag pattern, Vogue pattern (Fancy Pants Designs)

Accessories: Felt Flowers and Banner Die Cuts from the Trendsetter collection ( Fancy Pants Designs); Red Baker’s Twine (Doodlebug Designs); Rhinestone Basic Jewels, paper snips (Stampin’ Up!); Tape Runner XL, foam squares (thermo-web)

You can watch the video tutorial below:

As I mentioned above, I also created a few more projects using their Trendsetter collection for our Paper Crafter’s Library members. The first card I created is this 5″ x 7″ card:

The second project I created was this scrapbook layout about my time with my sister this past January in Anaheim.

I have to say, I absolutely loved working with the Trendsetter collection. The patterns are fun and there are a ton of accessories and embellishments to choose from. Be sure to check our our Fancy Pants Designs spotlight because Fancy Pants is giving away the Trendsetter collection to one lucky winner.

Featured Artist: Charmaine Ikach

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

Today we’re thrilled to welcome – Charmaine Ikach!!

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

Charmaine lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and 4 children. . .Savannah, 9, Arwen, 6, Isaac, 5, and Isabelle, 3. She spent her life as a musical theater performer, which is how she met her husband of 12 years. They met while performing in a show together, though she hasn’t done much performing since having children. She does keep active in the field through choreographing, teaching dance and singing locally from time to time. Stamping has filled that creative void. Charmaine currently designs for Taylored Expressions and Verve Stamps and absolutely LOVES it. She loves being able to share her work on her blog Oodabug Alley and is thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to share her work with you here at The Paper Crafter’s Library.

Below you can see a couple of Charmaine’s projects with a supply list and general directions for each:

You Make Me Smile!
Besides cards, my favorite thing to create is little gifts. I love filling little treat boxes with a little something to make someone feel special. For birthdays, holidays, any occasion at all. For this project, I started with the Baskets & Blooms Bigz Die from Stampin’ Up. I die cut the box out of pink cardstock and then again out of patterned paper and attached the patterned paper on top of the cardstock, minus the handles. I die cut and stamped the focal frame and then stamped the sentiment and attached it to the gift box. The flower was stamped and die cut and attached to a pipecleaner. After adding filler to the box, I tucked in the flower.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Surely Goodness, Sunny Days, Twitterpated (Verve Stamps)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Cherry Cobbler (SU), Ripe Avocado, Sweet Blush (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: For the Record 2 Tailored Collection (Echo Park), Sweet Blush (Papertrey Ink), Bazzill
Accessories: Goodness Flowers Die Set, Hearts & Swirls Frame Die, Twiggy Branch Die (Verve Stamps), Baskets & Blooms Bigz Die (SU), bling (Want2Scrap)

Hoot Hoot Hooray!
For this project I started by die cutting the pillow box out of pattered paper and then die cutting a window in it. Before assembling, I attached a transparency over the window so the candy would show through. I stamped and colored the owl then die cut that and the branch and attached them to the pillow box with foam tape. I filled the box with candy and wrapped it with Baker’s Twine to finish it off.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Hoot Hoot Hooray (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Jet Black StazOn
Paper: Happy Day Collection (Simple Stories), transparency
Accessories: Hoot Hoot Hooray Coordinating Dies (Taylored Expressions), Pillow Box Die (Lifestyle Crafts), Baker’s Twine (Doodlebug), Copic markers, googly eyes (Darice)

We hope you have enjoyed today’s projects courtesy of Charmaine Ikach. We also want to extend a sincere thank you to Charmaine for sharing her creations with us. Also, be sure to stop by Charmaine’s blog to see even more of her beautiful work (and let her know we sent you).

Winner of Art of Layers Book by Ronda Palazzari

I’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to Ronda Palazzari for sharing her beautiful project with us as well as for her generous give-away shown below. You can read all about Ronda on this blog post: https://blog.papercrafterslibrary.com/featured-artist-ronda-palazzari/

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…….the winner is………..Tricia Dee.

Congratulations Tricia. Please email us at customerservice@papercrafterslibrary.com to claim your prize. Please be sure to put “Art of Layers Book 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 and would still like to pick up a copy of her book. You can visit Amazon here.

Featured Company: Fancy Pants Designs

I’m so excited to introduce you to this week’s Featured 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! 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 Trendsetter 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! And, for those of you interested, we are holding an design team call now through March 4th. You can read all about it on our special blog post here!

Special Fancy Pants Guest Designer

Today we also have a special Fancy Pants Designs Guest Designer. Greta Hammond is part of the 2013 Fancy Pants Design Team. Greta is new to our list of past guest designers and 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 TrendSetter Collection.

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

I began scrapbooking over seven years ago after the birth of my son. I needed an outlet after deciding to be a stay-at-home mama and scrapbooking proved to be that and so much more. I have since embraced the hobby as both a creative outlet and a vehicle to record my families memories. I have shared my passion for scrapbooking by teaching at my local scrapbook stores and have also had the privilege to work with a number of manufacturers in the industry. I was thrilled to have been inducted into the Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame in 2006 and chosen as a Memory Makers Master in 2007. Currently, my work can be seen in Creating Keepsakes, Memory Makers, Scrapbooks, Etc, Scrapbook and Cards Today, and Scrapbook Trends.I live with my husband and two children in Northern Indiana. They have been the subject of thousands of photographs and are the main inspiration for my pages.

Album Project

You can see the album project and the instructions to create it below (there are more pictures of the completed album at the bottom of this post):

fancypantsGreta Hammond_Trend Setter album 1 web

1. Start with 5 frames from the Trendsetter line. Figure out which one will be on the cover and then back the frame with a piece of coordinating patterned paper.

Greta Hammond_Trendsetter album steps photo 1

2. Add photos to remaining frames and add coordinating patterned paper to the backs of the frames to finish them off.

Greta Hammond_Trendsetter album steps photo 2

3. Add embellishments to frames and cover frame, including buttons, felt flowers, stickers and chipboard pieces.

Greta Hammond_Trendsetter album steps photo 3

4. Neatly stack frames and figure out where to punch hole in upper left corner.

Greta Hammond_Trendsetter album steps photo 4

5. Add office ring to stack of frames. Finish with a ribbon and die cut key on the ring.

Greta Hammond_Trendsetter album steps photo 5

Here are some additional pictures of the completed album:

fancypantsGreta Hammond_Trendsetter album 2 web

fancypantsGreta Hammond_Trendsetter album 4 web

fancypantsGreta Hammond_Trendsetter album 5 web

fancypantsGreta Hammond_Trendsetter album 6 web

fancypantsGreta Hammond_Trendsetter album 7 web

ETA: Winner of Give-Away posted here: https://blog.papercrafterslibrary.com/winner-of-fancy-pants-trendsetter-collection/

We hope you have enjoyed today’s feature. We want to extend a sincere thank you to Greta Hammond 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 Trendsetter collection shown below, 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!

Winners of Ribbon Roll Control Give-Away!

I’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to Ribbon Roll Control, and to owner Trish N. for sharing her wonderful product with us as well for her generous give-away of 3 Ribbon Roll Controls, shown below. You can see the original feature post here: https://blog.papercrafterslibrary.com/featured-company-ribbon-roll-control-plus-giveaway/

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…….the winners are………..Peggy, Edna Burgess and Joanne.

Congratulations Peggy, Edna and Joann. Check out Ribbon Roll Control to pick the holder of your choice. Then pease email us at customerservice@papercrafterslibrary.com to claim your prize. Please be sure to put “Ribbon Roll Control 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 as well as the holder you would like.

Trendy Tuesday – Ombre

Trendy Tuesday – Ombre
by Katherine Elliot

Ombre, or the graduation of color from light to dark (or vice versa), is a popular trend in hair color, fashion, and home decor, so of course it”s popular in the paper crafting industry, too. You may remember this Paper Crafters Library post sharing this beautiful card by Karen Baker from May Arts…

May Arts Ribbon card by Karen Baker, image source Paper Crafters Library

Ombre (pronounced “ohm-bray”) can be accomplished in many different ways as today”s examples will show. Different colors of ribbon, embellishments, paper and ink are all great ways to create the ombre effect you want to achieve. Don”t have a lot of different shades of ribbon or trim on hand? You can always dye a neutral color trim by misting, inking, or sponging with your own inks to create your own custom embellishment.

Card featuring dyed flower trim from Stampin” Up! by Lydia Fiedler, image source Understand Blue

Ombre ribbon on canvas for a Maya Road mini album by Ania, image source Little Corner of Ania

Maya Road mini organza roses trim was used on the projects, stained to create the beautiful ombre effect on Ania”s projects. Check out her Maya Road Design Team post to read how she customized the white trim.

Ombre flower box decoration and basic instructions on dying the trim by Ania, image source Maya Road Design Team

Stamping a repeated image in gradual tones of similar colors can also give you a nice, subtle ombre effect. Papertrey Ink”s new set of Ikat design stamps seem very well suited for this extremely decorative technique. Hmmm… do we sense another potential trend? What do you think?

Card by Jessica Witty, image source Jess Witty blog

Inking directly on paper may be the most dramatic way to create an ombre background. Check out these well executed projects that show how pretty your inks can stand out on their own…

Ombre Neon card by Lisa Spangler, image source Sideoats & Scribbles

Card by Dawn Wolestagle, Stamp Away with Me

W Plus 9 Design Studio, LLC, image source Stamp Away With Me

If an entire background of color overwhelms the project you have in mind, use the direct ink coloring technique to color a bit of paper then cut or punch shapes and adhere in the order of shades of color you desire.

Card by Dawn Wolestagle, Stamp Away with Me

Annette Witherspoon had a terrific idea to create an ombre design. She re-purposed some paint color samples (you know, the color samples you find at your home improvement store in the paint department) and adhered the colorful strips on her love themed card.

Ombre Love card by Annette Witherspoon, image source Splitcoast Stampers

The same effect can be made by using your cardstock, of course. The yellow chevrons on this project were cut and adhered for a fresh, modern look on these grey and yellow projects, great ideas for both for scrappers and card makers.

Ombre Chevrons by Xanthippe, image source Two Peas in a Bucket gallery

Maile Belles used a wide washi tape with a lovely blue to green ombre effect in her Studio Calico project. The wide washi tape was offered in a Studio Calico Front Row kit available this month. I”ve not seen the washi tape sold separately, but I sure hope to find one like this soon. Isn”t it lovely?

Card by Maile Belles featuring wide ombre washi tape, image source Simply Stamped

While the washi tape may be elusive for now, you can find other Studio Calico items with an ombre effect, such as their vellum ombre frames, and Sundrifter papers.

Studio Calico Ombre Vellum frame, image source Studio Calico

Sundrifter Sunbeam Vellum from Studio Calico

Digital scrapbook papers also offer ombre options. The dip dye paper from Sarah Stearns has a very authentic ombre dye effect.

Ombre Dip Dye digital scrapbook paper from Sarah Stearns, image source Etsy

Looking for other embellishments? Ribbon, twine and glitter offer more even ombre options.

Ombre paper twine, image source Beautiful Revelry

Handmade glitter strips, shown here in graduated colors of pinks & reds, provide some sparkle to your ombre project.

DIY Ombre Glitter tape by Tan, instructions and image source Squirrelly Minds

Other home decor projects are also great for paper crafters. Check out these samples and the DIY posts for the instructions on how you can add one of these trendy items to any room in your home.

Ombre Chevron Braided Paper DIY project, image source Not Without Heels

Ombre Paper Garland, image source Royal Marigold

See even more Ombre Crafts Projects for Home Decor at Martha Stewart Crafts, or be inspired by the scraps in your stash or seasonal items in your local craft store.

St. Patrick”s Day decoration from Hatter and Hare Events, image source Life in Wonderland

Ombre projects can help take some of the guess work out of color choices for your project. Undecided about what colors complement each other best? Just choose different shades of the same color. Easy choices make for quickly made projects, and you”ve gotta love that! That”s all for now my paper crafting friends. Enjoy and happy crafting!

PCL Membership Highlights Feb. 18th – Feb. 22nd

Paper Crafter’s Library was launched in January 2011 with the goal of becoming an all-in-one learning solution for paper crafters. With over 1000 videos in our library to date, and over 50 videos being added each month – we are the largest and most comprehensive online learning resource for paper crafter’s worldwide.

Last week Sophia finished off our Shadow Box Easel Card series and this week she’s launching an amazing Pop-Up Card series. Each pop-up card has it’s own exclusive template designed by Sophia – and two versions are provided to Paper Crafter’s Library members – a printable template and a studio cut file that you can cut out on your Silhouette Cameo or Portrait machine. This week’s card features an adorable pop-easy chair.

This week we continued on with another 3D Easter project – this time with this Bunny Bag – a cute punch art bunny that is being used as a cello bag topper.

Another benefit of PCL membership is access to templates for shaped cards. This week we had this birthday present card. The template was made available to members in 3 formats: a printable pdf, a .studio file as well as an svg.

Other highlights this week:

A scrapbook layout featuring products from American Crafts & Studio Calico
How to create a tinted gel card
How to create your own flock
Using Distress stains on wood veneer

To see a sample of our teaching style you can check out our Free Project of the Week – which is released every Friday. You can see this week’s project HERE.

Read about all the perks of being a Paper Crafter’s Library member you can visit our Benefits of Membership page HERE.