Thursday, November 12, 2020

Tag Exchange 2020 - Yes, you need this!


No need to pout because the 8th annual Paper Pickle tag exchange is ON.  Oh, it's ON!  I don't know about you but I have found such calm in my craft room this year.  It has been the place to escape and just lose myself.  Are you looking for a little calm or perhaps a little comforting routine?  Maybe the tag exchange is just what you need.  Please read on...

Tag Exchange 2020
Want to join in on our 8th Annual Tag Exchange?  No store.  No problem.  We did it last year and it was great.  Honestly, we can still have the incredible swap that you have come to love. 

Want to walk back in time and have a look at past creations? INCREDIBLE!  Every year I am blown away by the creativity. ♥
2019 Tag Exchange
2018 Tag Exchange
2017 Tag Exchange
2016 Tag Exchange
2015 Tag Exchange
2014 Tag Exchange
2013 Tag Exchange

Here are the rules:
  • You will make 12 tags of the same design to trade with the other participants 
  • You can use any product you like and the design can be as simple or elaborate as you like
  • Please email me (thepaperpickle@gmail.com) to register. You must register by end of day Wednesday, NOVEMBER 25
  • Your 12 tags are to be dropped off to me at my hubby's office (Hinnegan Law at 75 Thames Street, Chatham) between 9am-5pm DECEMBER 1-4 - PS...the boss says it is no problem ;)
  • You can pick up your tags at the office (75 Thames Street, Chatham) any day between DECEMBER 7-11 (9am-5pm)
  • There is no cost to register or participate other than the cost of your product that you use
I've missed you.  Hope you are keeping well.

♥ Kim

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Julia's Kingdom Assignment - Kits Available for Sale

Hello Everyone.  What an unusual time we are living in right now.  I hope you are keeping well and using your love of the hobby to calm your mind. Paper crafting has always been my stress reliever. I love escaping in the creative process.

So our little stamper is growing up! My daughter Julia asked me if I would help her spread the word about her Grade 8 Kingdom Assignment here on the blog and through social media. I am so proud of Julia's ideas and I am happy to share her project with you. Have a read and let us know if you are interested in helping!

♥ ♥ ♥

Hello, I am Julia, a Grade 8 student hoping to make a difference. For the annual Kingdom Assignment project, our teacher gave each student $25 to put toward making a difference in the lives of others. So I decided with everyone’s current situation, for my Kingdom Assignment I will be selling craft kits to help keep people busy and have a little fun. Each kit is $5 and includes a total of 4 projects. There are 4 different kits to choose from and all the money raised will go to ACCESS Open Minds Chatham-Kent.

Kit Details
Each kit includes: step-by-step instructions, various scrapbooking paper, and other needed craft supplies.

How to Order
You can order kits by emailing thepaperpickle@gmail.com

Delivery of Kits
I want you to have fun and keep busy while everyone is self distancing but I also want to keep everyone safe. We have decided to deliver the kits right to your house. Orders will be taken and deliveries will begin on March 27.




Here is a little information about ACCESS Open Minds - I chose Access Open Minds because it supports youth dealing with mental illnesses. This is a very important cause to me because it’s something I know many people could use. People ages 11-25 can go to “the one-stop-shop” to feel safe by talking with professionals. -♥ Julia


Have a look at their beautiful and creative space! More information can be found at: https://accessopenminds.ca/our-site/chatham-kent-on/


Here are the 4 different kits:

Kit #1 - Bright and Cheery (Spinner Cards and Bookmarks) - $5
You will receive enough supplies to make 2 spinner cards (including envelopes) and 2 bookmarks.  There will be detailed instructions and you will have so much fun making these bright and cheery projects!

Kit #2 - Easter Fun (Cards and Gift Tags) - $5
You will receive enough supplies to make 2 bunny cards (including envelopes) and 2 Easter tags.  There will be detailed instructions and you will have so much fun making these projects just in time for Easter!

Kit #3 - The Creative Baker (Cards and Gift Tags) - $5
You will receive supplies to make 2 cards (including envelopes) and 2 gift tags.  There will be detailed instructions and you will have so much fun making these sweet projects!


Kit #4 - Origami Bookmarks - $5
You will receive enough supplies to make 4 origami bookmarks.  There will be detailed instructions and you will have so much fun making these little monster bookmarks!  Here is a photo of the bookmark in action!

Thank you for taking the time to consider supporting my daughter.  She has such a kind heart and she makes me proud everyday.  Please note that we will be assembling kits in a clean environment and will be wearing gloves.  We are doing everything in our power to follow the rules of our leaders.  We want to keep everyone safe.

Take care of yourself.
♥ Kim

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Tag Exchange 2019


Oh my goodness.  I must apologize.  I have been keeping all of these wonderful tag submissions to myself all this time!  Show and tell time....

7th Annual Tag Exchange - 2019 Edition
This make me happy.  This makes me SO happy.  I had 10 beautiful girls/ladies enter my tag swap this year.  I know it was a little different with the physical store being closed, but let me tell you I was so proud of these entries that were created with so much love in true "Paper Pickle" fashion!

Allow me to share:

Oh, Annelyse!  Kell's little girl created these two tags ALL on her own.  I heard she created the first tag and completed all 13 and had enough time to create another.  What a girl!  The reindeer tag makes me smile with it's googly eyes and festive bell nose. Annelyse tied the two designs together by using the same festive bells on this penguin tag.  I love the torn card stock she used for the snow.  You are a natural, honey.  Keep up the good work, love Aunt Kim. ♥

I love these adorable polar bears looking contently into the night sky.  You can always count on Barb to create an incredibly detailed, over sized tag each and every year.  Barb has heat embossed a series of snowflakes in both white and silver embossing powder.  And you should feel the blue background!  It is so soft and almost suede like.  My guess is that she used oxide inks to create this background.  Just beautiful!

Debbie has brought back the tea-bag folding technique with elegance and class.  Do you remember this technique?  I always loved the beautiful dimension and interest this folding brought.  Debbie's colour choices are spot on and I really enjoyed the soft sponging of ink in the background.  The dimensional star and glitter background complete this tag perfectly.

Donna's tags always stand out with her beautiful choices in papers and use of dies.  The 3D embossed background is incredible.  And this snowman die!  He looks like he simply may come to life.  Thank you Donna for this elegant and playful tag.  PS...I adore the eyelet tag!

Simple designs can be stand out when top quality supplies are used.  This is SO true with Helen's tag this year.  The choice of gold mirror paper and shimmery ribbon against the navy is perfection.  Again I will say all you need are a couple of great dies, quality paper and  imagination and you have hit a home run.  Well played, Helen.  Well played.

I love the whimsy of this tag.  Hilary told me that this stamp set was from Germany and I could tell immediately that it was special.  I love Hilary's addition of the iridescent pine branch that she dangled down the tag.  This and the washi tape have added beautiful interest to this stunning tag.

It is hard to see here but Holly's tag is full of 3-D interest.  The ornaments, berries, leaves...well basically everything that is sitting on the kraft backing is popped up and jumping right out at you.  I also heard that many of these elements were hand cut!  That is a feat in itself.  Truly, this rustic tag speaks to me with it's subtle stitching details and colour choices.  Wow.

Any tag that includes a wreath die will hold a special place in my heart.  Honestly I absolutely love this die. Again if you look closely, all the little details that make this tag beautiful:  the subtle stitching on the black tag itself, the rhinestones on the wreath, the baker's twine and wink of stella on the word "joy".  Very nice, Jody.
Can you tell this is my sister, Kelly's tag?  Look at all the creative, rustic elements!  Kell cut apart a plastic doily and glued pieces to a kraft tag.  She then popped out a metallic star and added lots of fun, whimsical stands of twine.  A beautiful shooting star comes to mind.  I love everything about this tag....there is SO much texture and interest!
Well here is the first of my two submissions.  I was absolutely thrilled the way this tag came together.  I bought these fabulous drilled real wood pieces from DeGoey's Flowers here in Chatham.  I then strung a rustic bell through the wood (hard to see here but it is below the wood piece).  These too were from DeGoey's.  I then hid the wire of the bell between the layers of the sled die.  The frosted snowflake and little tag completed my project.  This design made me feel like the smartest girl on the planet.  Truly.  I was so proud.  Ha.

This was my second submission.  I will admit it is quite simple compared to my other tag but I was very happy with it nonetheless.  I tore pieces of sheet music and glued it to the base of my tag.  I then used various stickers from Simple Stories, trim and ribbon to add interest.  Everyone got a different tag based on the stickers on my sheet.  These were SO much fun to make.

Last but not least, here is the tag from Lou.  Oh, how I adore the shape of this tag.  The regal, winter scene stamp used under the dome is so elegant.  It is hard to see here but Lou added metallic touches to the image and the right amount of colour to the holly branch and leaves.  The little glittered berry and wood detailing on the stand complete the look.  This will hang from my tree next year.

So there you have it.  Twelve tags to remind you of the season that always seems to come and go in the blink of the eye.  Incredible isn't it? 

Oh and the winner of the $50 prize pack?  A random draw was completed and the lucky winner as picked by my son.......Donna!  Donna, shoot me an email and we will connect to get you your goods!  Thank you again to everyone who participated.  You continued this special tradition for me and I can't thank you enough.

Idea:  Everyday/Any Occasion Tag Swap
So I am feeling the love and wondered if we could try something new?  I adore our Christmas Tag Exchange and I hope to continue this for many, many more years.  But what do you think of doing a tag swap mid year?  We would make 12-13 tags but you could design a tag for any occasion.  PLUS I find Christmas to be such a hectic time of the year.  Maybe doing an any occasion tag in the spring would appeal to different people.  What do you think?  Leave me a note here or shoot me an email.  If I have enough interest, we will make this happen!

I hope all is well and 2020 is off to a wonderful start.  Let's keep in touch. ♥

Kim