New Challenge! :)

Good morning, TPV friends!! Welcome to a new challenge at The Paper Variety :) We think you're going to love it!

We know paper crafters create all sorts of goodies with their paper, scissors and glue!
And for this challenge, we'd love to see anything and everything with the exception of a layout or card.
Show us your creativity! :)


Your challenge prize will be this gorgeous 
Crate Paper "Pretty Party" collection 
complete with 8 double sided papers, phrase and border stickers and the most adorable buttons! Pretty Party, indeed!

You can start submitting your paper projects RIGHT HERE for a chance to win the Crate Paper prize. Our challenge runs through midnight June 13th.


We also have a Facebook giveaway going on right now, don't miss your chance to win! Click here :)


We hope to see you tomorrow when we welcome our Guest Designer, Tracy Mittleholtz! :)

Have a great weekend!!

A *Special*Sketch* Challenge! :)

Good morning, paper crafters! 

Welcome to a new challenge at TPV. We have an extra special guest designer with us... Diana Fisher!! Wahoo! You probably know Diana from the beloved sketch challenge blog, Sketchy Thursdays. Stop by tomorrow to read more about Diana and see her work.

We are so lucky to have her join our team this challenge AND design an exclusive sketch just for US! :) That's right.. it's SKETCH CHALLENGE week!

Doesn't that just rock your socks?! Wait till you see what the design team did with it. You can check out their blogs today or stay tuned over the course of our challenge time for daily inspiration. We are excited to see what YOU create with it!

One lucky entry will receive this Bo Bunny "Sunkissed" collection!

Doesn't this scream "summertime!!!" You know you want this bringing joy to your mailbox.. so play along with our sketch challenge by linking up RIGHT HERE! :)

Entries are due by midnight May 27th.

And.. don't forget about our design team call going on! We want to work with YOU! :) Send us your app!

Happy scrappin!!

April Showers Bring...

....May flowers!! Can it really be MAY already? Sheesh.. where is the year going?! Nonetheless, we have a great challenge for you:

That's right! Show us your *handmade* flowers!

We'll have tons of design team inspiration for you over the next two weeks OR you can check out previous tutorials for ideas.

Our prize is sponsored by The Paper Variety and is one of my favorites:

Doesn't Authentique make *beautiful* papers?? This is the "Journey" line, complete with double sided papers, coordinating diecuts, journal blocks, and letter stickers -- PLUS a few extra goodies. What a fabulous kit put together for one lucky winner.

You can link up your handmade flower projects HERE before midnight, May 13th.

Before you go.. we have a winner and guest designer to announce!

Are you our friend on Facebook? Every month we have a drawing for people that "like" us and "share" us with their crafty friends. We want to spread the word about TPV! Our April winner will receive Echo Park's "A Boy's Life" kit:

And our winner is: Heather Peterson!! 

Please contact us Heather at thepapervariety@gmail.com with your snail mail address so we can get your prize to you :)

Join us tomorrow to meet our next guest designer, Jessica Pascarella!

Have a great week.. happy scrappin'! :)

*New* Challenge!!

Good morning, paper crafting friends !! Welcome to a new challenge at The Paper Variety :) We think you're going to love it (we did!)





That's right! It's SCRAPLIFT week! :) 
Do you gain as much inspiration from our daily posts as we do your entries, blogs, and sweet comments? It's time to put those ideas to paper and show us your stuff!


Over the next two weeks, you'll have daily inspiration of how your TPV designers have taken on our fellow DT member's projects and tutorials. It was so fun (and so hard to choose!). What projects or tutorials have inspired you?


You'll find our "labels" towards the bottom of our right sidebar to be helpful -- you can browse previous posts by designer or specifically tutorials. Remember, to be eligible for our sponsored prize, you must include a link to the TPV post that you lifted.


We are so excited to announce our next sponsor!!

At Studio Calico, we hope to encourage the creative process by providing the best supplies on the market as well as a community that is supportive every step of the way.

In the past 2 years we've grown from an idea, to a small boutique of sorts, to manufacturing our own products. As we've grown, we've stayed true to the basics, while looking to the future.

Each month, Studio Calico combines the latest scrapbooking products with unique finds from a variety of sources while staying true to the basics. You'll find kits filled with products from a variety of manufacturers, coordinated for ease-of-use by both the advanced and novice scrapbooker. 


Thanks Studio Calico!


Look at this fabulous prize!
Oh my do I spot a super popular date roller stamp???



You can start submitting your paper projects RIGHT HERE for a chance to win Studio Calico prize. Our challenge runs through midnight April 27th :)


We hope to see you tomorrow where we welcome former TPV design team member, Mel LaFavers, back as guest designer.


Have a great Sunday!!

*New* Challenge!!

Good morning friends!! 
We have a fabulous new challenge, sponsor AND facebook winner - NO foolin ;) Are you our friend on Facebook? Every month we have a drawing for people that "like" us and share us with their crafty friends. Our March winner will receive this new Bella Blvd spring collection:

And our winner is:   Brenshevia Lloyd Baker :)

Congratulations, Brenshevia! 
Please email us at thepapervariety@gmail.com with your snail mail address.

Now.. onto our latest challenge! 
It's a card challenge, with a twist:

Keep in mind that your matching envelope must have 2 different elements to qualify for our prize. And it's an awesome one! 
Sponsored by..

Paper and Such is an online store that opened in May of 2011.  Shortly after opening, we decided to begin our own stamp line, and it's been nothing short of exciting.  Our stamps are clear photopolymer, and are made right here in the USA!  Our HOT SHOT line is a line of chicken stamps - if you haven't seen them, be sure to check them out.   We are constantly adding to our stamp line, and love to hear what our customers want.  We also love to see what you make with our stamps!  We are trying to carry a variety of stamps and supplies to suit everyone's style, and we are constantly adding to our inventory with different manufacturers. You can check out the Paper and Such store: right here.

We are so excited to have some of the Paper and Such designers share their take on our card and envelope challenge:

Stephanie:

Here’s a card and envelope ensemble using one of the new Paper and Such April release sets called Patriots and Friends.  On the envelope I used two more coordinating stamps from the same set as the card and I embossed both on the front so any kind of rainy weather won’t smear the ink.  The little butterflies indicate the placement of the address and the return address.  You can read more details about this set on my blog: http://www.stephaniemino.blogspot.com

Janice:

My card is a sneak peek of  a new Giggle Bunch kids set called Tenderhearted being released on April 9th at Paper and Such. You can see more details on Janice's blog: http://journalofamadstamper.blogspot.com/

Mindi

I'm not fooling when I say that this set is absolutely a MUST for all animal lovers!  Patriot and Friends is a new set from Paper and Such!  I used the Lab puppy for my card along with a butterfly punch and rhinestones.  For the envelope, I used the tiny butterfly from the set and some rhinestone accents. You can see more details on Mindi's blog: http://journalofamadstamper.blogspot.com/ 

Wow - what great inspiration from the Paper and Such designers!! Thanks ladies!


Paper and Such most generously provided stamps for all of the TPV design team to use on their cards/envies! We'll be posting those in the coming days! 
Thank you, Paper and Such!!!

Tomorrow, we welcome our latest Paper Variety guest designer, Doris Widder!!

You have until April 13th to enter our card challenge with a twist RIGHT HERE for a chance to win the Paper and Such prize :)

Have a great week!

*New* Dual Challenge with ScrapFIT!

We have a special papercrafts challenge for you today! The Paper Variety has teamed up with ScrapFIT to offer you 2 challenges in one!

The Paper Variety is providing a sketch challenge and ScrapFIT has offered up a jounaling challenge. Put them together and you will get an awesome layout and a chance to WIN prizes from both places!

Our sketch challenge...

and ScrapFIT's Workout #64 journaling challenge- 

Its Easy as 1, 2, 3...

The 'Its Easy as 1, 2, 3..' Workout is here and all you have to do is list out numerically your journaling on your layout! This could be a list of your Top 10 favorite moments from last year, a list of goals for the new year or the countless reason you love ScrapFIT (Just kidding!). Show us your numbered list!

Be sure to incorporate this journaling workout with the TPV sketch above so you can enter your layout at both places!

The randomly chosen challenge winner at TPV will receive Bo Bunny's Alora collection kit!

Also! 

TPV will award a random commenter this fun Echo Park "A Boy's Life" collection kit! 

For your chance to win A Boy's Life, just leave a comment below on this post AND also at todays ScrapFIT Workout #64 post HERE.  Be sure to tell them TPV sent you! :) You needn't enter our dual challenge to win this prize. This is simply a giveaway just for leaving a comment at each of our blogs! 

Our design team ROCKED this dual challenge!
We can't wait to show you their awesome layouts in the days ahead!
Here's a sneak :) :)

It's not nice to tease! lol If you don't want to wait to see and be inspired by their projects here at TPV, you can visit their blogs today! Just go here for all the designers' blog links :)

Join us tomorrow when we introduce you to our guest designer, Tiffany Call! And also in the days ahead as we bring you daily challenge inspiration and tutorials! :)

Now hop on over to ScrapFIT to see how their team worked this Sketch Workout! Enter your layout at TPV and ScrapFIT for a chance to win prizes at both places! 

And don't forget 

to comment below and also here to win EP "A Boy's Life"! :)

Both challenge and giveaway winners will be announced on March 28th.

Fun! Fun! Fun!!

*NEW Challenge & Facebook Winner!*

Good morning! And hellooooo March! I'm not sure I'm ready for two months of the year to be over already, but then again I'm ready for what the rest of 2012 holds ;)  We have a new challenge for you today.. our popular..

 

That's right! You pick the 3 criteria for your paper project :) A quick reminder of our rules, you must post a NEW blog post or gallery link that is dated March 1st or later. Link back to The Paper Variety in your description, with your "tic tac toe" combination to qualify for the prize.

We welcome back a fabulous sponsor, Crop Chocolate! 

At CropChocolate.com™, we sell all-things scrapbook. But here's the catch, we only sell one item at a time – at a delicious price. Every day several items will be posted – so act fast – a limited quantity will be sold at deeply discounted prices. No time to let it temper.

Several times a day, items will be sold on CropChocolate.com at delicious prices. It may be an embellishment shelf with all the works, a scrapbook kit, scrapbook tools or an organizer with some added goodies. What ever it is you can count on this – you'll get great products at outstanding prices.

Chocolate à la Carte (“la Carte”) was introduced by CropChocolate.com as a way to help scrapbooking customers save money on shipping. It’s a shopping cart tool that lets you store all the scrapbook product you want but don’t want to pay multiple shipping fees for.

What’s more, it’s simple. Just click the Buy Now button on the home page and select “Add this to my Chocolate a la Carte!” Online shopping couldn’t be any sweeter or simpler. When you’re ready to check out just click la Carte tab and select the items you want to purchase. You can purchase all the items on your la Carte or just a few of the items.

They are offering a $20 gift certificate to one lucky winner. 

We can't wait to see your projects with our "tic tac toe" gameboard. Link up HERE before March 13th midnight EST time :)


We have a winner for our Facebook Giveaway! 
This lucky gal chosen at random will receive these two gorgeous collections!!

Congratulations
Steffanie Seiler!
Please send us your mailing address so we can get these collections to your door soon! :)


Check back tomorrow to meet our latest guest designer, Sheila Burns, and see her project! :)

Have a great day!!

*New* Challenge!!

Good morning! Welcome to our second challenge for February and it's a FUN one! This year is a LEAP year, so how about a little photo inspiration??





Have you seen the movie? It's so cute! Here's the preview...


You can make any type of project for this challenge (a card, a layout, a 3D item, etc.) but you must explain in your post or description what inspired you :) For example.. it could be...


-green/grey/white pop and pop of auburn color palette
-engagement/wedding theme (she's holding a ring)
-project featuring a couple
-include a froggie (leap!)
-use a movie theme
-Irish theme (the movie is set in Ireland!)


Over the next 2 weeks we'll have fabulous projects from our 10 designers and guest designers so check back everyday for more ideas :) Lots of VARIETY!


Our sponsor for this challenge is a returning favorite, Apron Strings Designs!

Apron Strings isn’t your typical monthly kit club.  Oh, we have all the newest goodies but  we mix them up to provide you with three kits to choose from (two scrapbook kits and one card kit.)  There’s a kit for you no matter what your style or experience is.    Apron Strings has a simple goal:  help you combine your stories and your photos by making pages easier and faster to create.   We do that by providing kits with everything you need in the kit; you don’t need to purchase separate add-ons to make fast, fun and fantastic layouts.   Sketches and examples come with each kit in a full-color newsletter, and challenges and contests on the blog keep you inspired.  Come let Apron Strings help you get your stories and photos in one place for your family to re-live and remember.

Lori has provided this SWEET prize to one lucky winner:

We can't wait to see your projects with our "Leap Year" movie poster photo inspiration. Link up HERE before February 27th midnight EST time :)

Check back tomorrow to meet our latest guest designer, Tenny Kusuma, and see her project! :)

Have a great day!!

New Challenge! (& Facebook Winner!)

Welcome back to TPV!
For this challenge, we bring you
a fun sketch created by our own, Abby!

The Paper Variety design team has really rocked this challenge!!
We can't wait to show you all of their awesome layouts following this sketch. We'll be featuring those layouts in the days ahead so be sure to check back here for awesome inspiration! 

We are super excited to team up with a great new sponsor for this challenge!

My Scraps & More is a new online scrapbook store featuring many of your favorite companies such a October Afternoon, Bella Blvd. and My Mind's Eye to name a few. We offer low shipping rates and fast shipping, most of the time your order will ship the same day! My Scraps also has an active message board and blog, both full of daily inspiration and challenges to inspire! The blog also has "Giveaway Monday's" you won't want to miss. 

My Scraps & More is excited to be a sponsor for The Paper Varity this month and is offering an exclusive coupon for it's members. Use code TPV211 and receive 30% off your orders the entire month of February! We hope to see many of you soon on our board, sharing your talents with us!

Tammi Bennett

My Scraps & More

Thank you so much for your generosity and support, Tammi!

Tammi has kindly donated this Authentique "Splendid" collection kit for the winner of our challenge! Isn't it gorgeous!?!

AND!

Just because My Scraps & More has become one of my (Abby) favorite places to shop,
I'm adding a  $10 gift certificate 
to this already great prize! Tammi has the best deals and sales, the best blog giveaways, the best products...  I really hope MS&M will become your favorite store, too!!


Did you see Tammi's special MS&M offer???
A 30% discount on everything in the store for the entire month of February!? Just for YOU, our TPV followers!? Woohoo! Let's remember, new CHA products are already being added to My Scraps & More and more will come soon! Where else are you going to get 30% off already low prices on all those brand new collections that you love?? I hope ALL our TPV followers take advantage of this FABULOUS deal!!


One more order of business..

Our first monthly Facebook giveaway was a great success,
thanks for all your comments! One lucky random facebook follower has been chosen to receive this beautiful Fancy Pants collection!

Congrats to
Charlene Becker! :)

Charlene, please email us with your mailing address and I'll get that prize sent out to you very soon! :)

We can't wait to see your projects following our sketch!

Enter your project within this link. Or click on the image icon at the top of our sidebar.

Tomorrow we welcome our new guest designer (Yay!)

Challenge inspiration & great tutorials will follow daily! :)

New Challenge!

Our next challenge is another fun one! Don't you love fun prompts? We all do! :)

There are so many pretty embellishments that you can buy to adorn your paper projects but it's so much nicer when you can make them yourself! :)

We'd love to see your fan fold embellishments!

The Paper Variety is honored to team up with a fabulous new sponsor for this challenge!

BoBunny Press is an industry leader with its innovative paper and embellishment lines. Starting with 2 designs in a single store 16 years ago, BoBunny products can now be found in over 39 countries around the world.  Long a favorite of card makers and scrapbookers, Bobunny papers, stickers, albums, brads, buttons, trinkets, jewels, ribbons, stamps, and kits are always hot topics on consumer message boards. BoBunny’s team of graphic designers, each with different styles and expertise, help to create the variety of product lines that BoBunny is known for. Whether your taste is whimsical, elegant, classic or playful, there’s something for everyone with BoBunny.

Check out their website to see all their beautiful collections.. then visit their blog for endless inspiration, challenges and latest Bo Bunny news!

Megan from Bo Bunny has generously donated the Bo Bunny "Enchanted" collection for the winner of our challenge! Isn't it gorgeous!?!!

This collection includes 10 BEAUTIFUL patterned papers (most glittered) along with 12x12 chipboard shapes, cut-outs, combo stickers and layered chipboard!

Megan also kindly supplied a couple of our designers with Bo Bunny product to use for their challenge inspiration projects. Be sure to look out for those in the coming days! 

Thanks so much, Megan & Bo Bunny! :)

So to recap.. a fun challenge.. a fabulous sponsor.. and a gorgeous prize!

What are you waiting for? 

Enter your project within this link. Or click on the image icon on our sidebar :)

Tomorrow we welcome our new guest designer (Yay!)

Challenge inspiration & great tutorials will follow daily.

Also... you might want to check out our previous "Winner!" post! 

There may be a little giveaway tucked in there ;)

Let's see your fan-fold paper projects!!

*New* Challenge!!

Happy New Year !!!


Wahoo!! Time to ring in the new year with a new challenge {and new format!} at The Paper Variety!! We hope you'll join us in our 2012 resolutions to create more :)

Our first January challenge is a color challenge!

That's right, black and white with a *kiss* of color! Your project should be mostly black and white; with just a "pop" of a third color.

Our prize for this challenge is the "Farmhouse" collection

by October Afternoon!!

Gorgeous, no?

Our rules for playing:

• one entry per person per challenge
• your project must be NEW and dated after our challenge post
• your project may be a card, layout, altered item, etc. but it must include paper
• link back to The Paper Variety in your post
• we don't mind if you link to other challenges, however, your entry should clearly follow our prompt to be eligible for the prize; entries that are a stretch to "fit" will not be included in the prize drawing.

Get acquainted with our 

New Schedule:

• 1st & 15th - a new challenge will be announced along with sponsor feature and sponsored prize. when you return to enter your project, use the "challenge & entries" tab at the top of TPV or click the image icon on our sidebar for a direct link back to that page.

• 2nd & 16th - guest designer feature! read about our invited guest designer and view their projects following our challenge.

• 3rd through 12th & 17th through 26th - daily inspiration as we post our challenge projects and random tutorials for you to learn and enjoy.

• 13th & 27th - our design team is always inspired by what others post and create. we will feature our Top 5 favorites from your projects entered in the challenge. entries are also due by midnight of these dates.

• 14th & 28th - randomly chosen challenge winner is announced!

• 29th - our Facebook page hosts a monthly contest for your chance to win a nice scrappy prize. just comment to win. randomly chosen Facebook winner will be announced before the next TPV challenge begins on the 1st.

You can email us anytime thepapervariety@gmail.com with your questions or suggestions about challenges, entries, sponsoring, prize claims etc.

We hope you'll enjoy the changes we've made to keep The Paper Variety a fresh & fun paper challenge blog! Come play along this year :) We'd love to see your projects. We hope you are as inspired by our design team and challenges as we are by your entries!


-Suzanne & Abby