Christmas Cards & the Winter Wonderland Sign Winner!

I hope all of my snow bunnies are staying warm after the big snow storm this weekend! I thought of all my Minnesota bloggers as I watched the footage of the Metrodome caving in - Stay safe and cozy, girls!

After a fun week of hosting a giveaway for the "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland" wooden sign I hand-painted as part of a Christmas craft blog post for 25 Days of Christmas, we finally have a winner!  Random.org chose lucky #62 out of 84 total entries as the winner. I will be mailing the sign to Jessica @ My Simply Complicated sometime this week!  Jessica is currently in school full time and runs her own graphic design business as well.  She attended the SITS girls' Bloggy Boot Camp earlier this fall (which I am so jealous of!) Make sure to check out her gorgeous blog and try the Bacon-Cheddar Pinwheel recipe she recently posted!

Quotable Cards

It's already day 15 of Star & Jmo's 25 Days of Christmas - I cannot believe it!  December is flying by, but my shopping list is 98% complete and all of my cards have been given to/sent via snail mail to friends, family, and co-workers.  
Today's topic for 25 Days of Christmas is "Christmas Cards".  This year, I purchased three designs: a UNICEF card featuring deer in a snowy field for close family and friends, a fun and lighthearted glittery snowman note-sized card for co-workers, and a clean, colorful, pop-inspired square card featuring a fun quote by Walt Whitman for the blogging buds I've swapped mailing addy's with over the past few months.  I carefully choose Christmas cards each year; I understand that it would be a lot easier and way more cost effective to head to the local dollar store and buy a few boxes of the same exact card for all of my recipients, but that is zero fun! I take pride in signing each card and addressing the envelope with pretty handwriting.  As I fill them out, I take a minute to actually think about the person I'm sending or giving the card to.  Preparing Christmas cards to give to my friends and family is one of my favorite hobbies during the holiday season.  If you get a card from me, just know that it is sent with love and warm wishes! Really!

Cards by UNICEF.

I chose these UNICEF cards for the close friends and family I exchange with every year.  I thought the design was very wintry and peaceful. The light glittery iridescent shimmer isn't visible in the photo to the left, but it - along with the sweet and simple wording inside ("Wishing you beautiful winter moments, Happy Holidays") - sealed the deal on my purchase.  Yes, I'm one of those "Happy Holidays" card senders.  I believe it's the simplest way to acknowledge all of the holidays that one may celebrate during the winter season.  When I send or give a card that says "Happy Holidays", that is exactly what I mean. Whatever it is you're celebrating, whether it be the New Year, religious holidays, or in my case, family birthdays, have a happy time! 'Tis the season to be jolly, ya'll!

Notecards by Artworks, available at B&N Stores.

I love being part of a workplace that is all about celebrating the season.  We enjoy great food and fun mingling during our annual luncheon that's held in December, and share our favorite dishes and swap gifts during our Christmas potluck and gift exchange.  Most of us share more personal gifts and treats with each other as Christmastime nears (which reminds me - I have a huge batch of Oreo Truffles to make! Hello cream cheese!)
I absolutely love the first day of December, when I stick Christmas cards in everyone's mailboxes at the office.  They always tease that I'm "on the ball" or "too early!" but I know they love the cards - they display them ASAP! This year's "co-worker" cards are definitely the best yet - I actually think the envelopes were almost as cute as the card itself! 

Hallmark Contest Winner
Jen McQuinn, Cincinnatti, OH

Become a Hallmark Star!
This past Spring, I took advantage of a really cool opportunity and entered Hallmark's "That Says Christmas" card design contest (read about my experience - and being named a finalist - here!)  Although I wasn't chosen as a winner, I had a blast networking with the other Hallmark fans and Hallmark staff on facebook.  I made a few cool buds and now, when I'm out card shopping for a specific person, I only choose the Hallmark Contest winners' cards! I'm sure you've seen 'em around.  Check out the winners for this year's "That Says Christmas" contest - and if you're looking for a single card to suit someone on your list, show my Hallmark friends some love and choose one of their designs!
If you're into photography and/or illustration, and think it might be neat to see your very own design in Hallmark stores and card displays across the country (and win a few hundred dollars, too!), I highly suggest entering Hallmark's card design contests! Visit http://www.hallmarkcontests.com to get the scoop on upcoming events, details, how-to's, and past winners.


That's it for this snowy and blustery Monday! Dress cute and cozy, use plenty of moisturizing balm underneath and on top of that long-wearing lipstick, and get those Christmas cards out if you haven't already!

Card Finalist!!!(???)

As my lovely blog readers may recall, I entered the Hallmark "That Says Christmas!" greeting card contest a couple of weeks ago. It was my first Hallmark card design contest, and a chance to have my card design sold online and in stores - and I have to say... it was a terrific experience.

When I received the receipt confirmation email from Hallmark after submitting my design online, I noticed a link to a Hallmark facebook fanpage. I clicked it, thinking "of course I"ll be a fan of this". I didn't realize that I would be joining a fabulous network of card designers, many of whom are past contest winners! The HFB (Hallmark Fan Brigade-cute name, huh?) Facebook page is absolute complete total awesomeness. At nearly 3,000 fans, it's a source of info for current contest participants, future participants, and everyone is so nice and supportive! It's a great place where you can share your contest entry with everyone and get feedback/advice. It's also where Hallmark judges share their exclusive info on behind the scenes contest info, finalists, and winners! Here's a contest run-down:

1. I submitted my design to Hmark on Tuesday, 5/18, and became a fan of HFB/Hallmark Facebook World. I started conversing with fellow fans a little bit, complimenting their design postings, etc.
2. I eventually posted my card design, after realizing this is what almost everyone was doing - and what everyone wanted me to do. The comments came pouring in, and that's when i realized how nice people can be! No jealousy here - at least, as much as I can tell from a bunch of photo comments. I also jumped in on wall conversations, and made some fast FB friends - terrific people!
3. The past winners and contest veterans provided so much helpful, informative advice to all the newbies :)
4. Hallmark periodically posted status updates regarding the contest deadlines.

Here's where it got REALLY crazy and awesome:

5. FLURRIES - once per week, the contest judges would post a trazillion comments about contest entries as they sorted through them. They would post things like "too many dogs with antlers", or, "nice headless frosty", just little clues that would make you wonder... are they talking about MINE? Of course, the HFB peeps were right there, commenting back. Total. Excitement. And so much fun to wait for and anticipate when the flurries would start!

6. BLURRIES (total freaking torture)- on the day of final judging, H-mark posted photos of the finalists' entries (and eventually the winners), but the images were blurred - so what did all of the participants do? Blurred our contest entry images ourselves, to compare to the photo of the finalist board that H-mark posted up (I learned to do this from the contest veterans.)

"Blurry" of the top 37 finalists

(Mine is in the top right-hand corner... I think?)

7. OMG. I. am. a. finalist. I had to be. I knew as soon as i saw the blurred board. Then... i blurred my design myself and compared. Yep, I'm 110% positive.

8. When the finalists were narrowed down and the winners were posted, I did not see my design... bummer, right? Well, sort of... but there were a ton of other people in the same boat, posting away on the FB wall, with such positive messages, lots of humor, and of course - reminding one another that the next contest is only a couple of weeks away (there's one every month or so.) And the winners? They were very gracious and so nice - and i can't wait to go and buy their cards (and say... "that person is my Facebook Friend!!!)

So, in the end, I made lots of awesome new FB friends, found a virtual community where tons of others love art, photography, and being creative - and i even found a fellow HERD/BOBCAT fan who lives all the way down in Texas City, TX! Out of nearly 1700 entries, I think I did pretty well - I was pleasantly surprised! I did notice that Hmark really goes for original photography - ya know, those random, interesting moments when you just happen to have a camera handy. I'm going to give that type of design a try in the next contest (June!) and see how i do.

Regardless of the end result, it was FUN. And I think many of us neglect having FUN. So I would like to encourage all of my friends to give these contests a shot (and.. have... fun!) If you're creative, artsy, and/or love photography, you've gotta do this - it's a great time! I am completely 146% addicted to Hallmark card contests now - I will never miss a single one. Take my word for it - Visit the Hallmark Contests website and read more about it! I'm also including the link to the contest website on my sidebar--->

Entries will be accepted for the next contest, "Crack 'em up", beginning June 7th... so start brainstorming, create something amazing and funny, and submit it!