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Wanted New Cards: Coronavirus Back to School / First Day of School

July 9, 2020
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Wanted Cards – Coronavirus Back to School / First Day of School
 
Before we know it Summer will come to an end and school will begin.  Most students, teachers, administrators, and parents aren’t exactly sure what this school year will look like but there will be a first day of school – virtual classrooms, hybrid curriculum, smaller class sizes, who knows as we still cope with shelter in place, face masks, social distancing, and more.
 
Please consider creating new cards for Back to School and First Day of School under coping with coronavirus conditions.

 

These cards will go here:
Occasions >> School Days >> Back to School >> Coronavirus / COVID 19

Occasions >> School Days >> First / 1st Day of School >> Coronavirus / COVID 19

If you card does not fit the above back to school / first day of school occasions we have a School Days catch-all category here:

Occasions >> School Days >> Coronavirus / COVID 19

All COVID-19 specific cards should also go in the catchall category:
Collections >> Health Awareness >> Coronavirus / COVID 19
Since Stock Card Creation cards are automatically assigned a category, their categories should be as follows:

To expedite the review of these cards, please check Fast Track Review on the card image details page when you create your card and add a Note for Reviewers like “for BLOG– Wanted Cards”.

For standard front designs, consider using Stock Card Creations to create new cards quickly. These cards are automatically set for expedited review so no need to Fast Track.

Be inventive and creative!

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from → Wanted: New Cards

Freebie Wednesday: Free InkWerx Font & Extras.

July 9, 2020
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Freebie Wednesday:

 

InkWerx is a punchy uppercase font that comes in 2 sets of uppercase letters with different splatter, this helps your letters look that little more original. Also included is a complimentary dingbat font with a set of 26 swashes, drips, and splatter, just what you need to bring your design to life. These will also be available as transparent PNG’s, vector EPS, Ai & CDR format.

This font comes in both OTF and TTF versions, and full European language support.

This beautiful freebie is brought to you by SketchWerx. Only available on the Hungry Jpeg site for a week!

 

 

This product comes with a complete commercial license.

 

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from → Fonts, FREEBIES

Rainbow Connection: Art Nouveau Colors.

July 7, 2020
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Some Art Nouveau color inspiration I found on Pinterest this week:

 

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from → Rainbow Connection (Colors)

Nuts and Bolts: 2Q Earnings & Free Card Adjustment.

July 3, 2020
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Nuts & Bolts – 2Q Earnings & Free Card Adjustment
YOWZA … it was quite a dramatic quarter as far as world happenings and the impact to social and professional lives. GCU is overwhelmingly GRATEFUL to have the ability to continue operating with our HQ staff, card review team, artist community, printing partners, and mail delivery personnel. The icing on the cake was significant growth in 2Q sales. This was a serendipitous GIFT!

 

We are elated to be paying one of our artist’s an applause worthy quarterly commission of over $20,000!  Plus paying 20% more artists than last quarter which means 20% more artists met their minimum payout mark. And 50% more artists met the quarterly threshold bumping them up to premium earnings.  All good news!

 

GCU has never been so pleased to process our artists’ earnings than 2Q 2020!  See 2Q2020 Pay Day.

 

GCU has adjusted artists’ earnings on single card orders where the promotions were redeemed (STAYHOME or similar) that resulted in 0 earnings. The artists’ commissions for these transactions have been updated from 0 to 10 cents. This is reflected in your Earnings Report and reflecting in your 2Q earnings. As we continue these promotions, we will continue to adjust earnings at the end of the pay period. 

 

We are seeing the sales growth begin to flatten but are confident that many shoppers new to GCU will be staying with GCU and will spread the word. Read what they are saying! We are swamped daily with glowing testimonials and happy shoppers!

 

“Having the ability to personalize my cards and do this all from home has been immense!!! Thank you, GreetingCardUniverse.com for providing such excellent service. Thank the artists also for their inspirational designs.” 
 
“I absolutely love all the cards I’ve bought at Greeting Card Universe. High quality, great designs, speedy delivery. This is now my go to place for all the greeting cards I buy. I’m so glad I discovered it!”
 
“I’m so happy that I discovered Greeting Card Universe! Their prices are right and you can shop right online for amazing cards! Thank you. Also, my order is always right.”
 
“We are very pleased with the quality and price of the product we purchased as well as the quick delivery. We definitely will use your service the next time we are in need of it. Thank you for being there exactly when we needed you. Our grandson will receive his Eagle Scout award next month.”
 
” I love, love these cards! I will never shop for cards elsewhere”
 
Thank YOU for your creative contributions helping shoppers send well wishes, find some levity, send birthday and holiday greetings from afar, commiserate & CONNECT.  Thank YOU for delighting our shoppers and helping them get through these challenge times.  

The difference is made by people like YOU!

Mindy
GCU Community Manager

 

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from → Wanted: New Cards

Dash of Inspiration: July 2020 Design Challenge

July 2, 2020
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Happy summer, every one! Sorry this is a tad late to post. Our rescue dog had to get her shots a few days ago and as it turns out is one of the rare few that has severe side effects from the Rabies vaccine. She’s fine as of yesterday, but it threw my schedule off a few days playing nurse maid … LOL!

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Theme: Hair or Hare

Requirements:

  • Hair or hare as part of your card design and/or message with supporting imagery and be creative! Don’t tear your hair out over this one, just have fun, after all we won’t split hairs over this one! See the tips section below for some ideas to spark your imagination.
  • Any category which your card speaks to.
  • Blank verse will not be considered for entry in this challenge.

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Entry Deadline: Friday, July 31st

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How to Enter: Post the PID (card number) and the URL (public storefront link – please WAIT for the card to be available in the public marketplace, please DO NOT post a link to your Manage Cards area) as a post in the challenge blog. We’ll forward your entry to the jury.

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Category:

Any category that is well-suited for your Catch of the Day themed design.

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Rules:

  • Submission must meet GCU’s Submission Guidelines and be Approved through the usual Review Cycle– Fast Track your submission with this in the Notes to Reviewer: July Design Challenge Submission here is the link to the blog post: (include THIS blog post URL)
  • Only ONE card per artist per challenge.
  • Submissions must be NEW, no existing designs.
  • Your entry must meet the Challenge Requirements and Theme or it will not be included in the challenge.
  • Stock Card Creations entries will not be accepted.
  • Your designs should differ from those already offered in the category of your choice to offer shoppers a variety of choices, not more of the same.

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BLIND Judging: We hope each of you enters every month. Entries are submitted anonymously for judging by the GCU Challenge Jury which means that before and during the challenge, judges do not have any way of knowing what artist is behind each entry. This eliminates any and all concerns with ‘favoritism’. Results will post on the Community Blog. The jury will judge the entries on the following criteria:

  • How well the card meets the Challenge Requirements and Theme.
  • How well the card speaks to the Category the artist chooses for the card submission.
  • Creativity, Execution and Marketability.

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Winners: 1st Place:

  • The winning designer’s card and store will be featured on the GCU Public Blog – the blog which customers view and follow.
  • As well as featured on the GCU Public Facebook Page – nearly 56,000 followers, now THAT’S exposure!
  • The winning card will be Design of the Day following the announcement of the winners (within 48-hours).

    EXCEPTION: Horizontal (landscape) cards may not be featured as DOD due to GCU Home Page space restrictions. In these cases, GCU will choose a different vertically oriented card from your store to feature as DOD. Thank you for your understanding and apologies for this limitation.

  • The winning card will be added to the Greeting Card Universe Design Challenge Winners Pinterest Board – currently GCU’s Pinterest Page followers: 2K!
  • The winning card, should the artist choose, may be referenced in a new series by the winning artist and he/she may Fast Track all cards in the new series (being sure to give the Challenge URL and winning card PID in your Notes to Reviewer for each card in this series).
  • Winning card will be included in a marketing email to over 100,000 customers!
  • NEW starting this month, GCU will create a Meet the Team board for the winning artist under the Pinterest GCU account where the winning artist will be able to pin and promote her own storefront and all that makes them a unique card designer and one of GCU’s artistic community team member.
  • Winning card will be posted on GCU’s Instagram with 2,000 followers and counting!
  • GCU will create a Meet the Team board for the winning artist under the Pinterest GCU account where the winning artist will be able to pin and promote her own storefront and all that makes them a unique card designer and one of GCU’s artistic community team member.

2nd Place:

  • Your submission will be Design of the Day the following week of announcing the Challenge winners (within 7-days).

    EXCEPTION: Horizontal (landscape) cards may not be featured as DOD due to GCU Home Page space restrictions. In these cases, GCU will choose a different vertically oriented card from your store to feature as DOD. Thank you for your understanding and apologies for this limitation.

  • Your card will be added to the Greeting Card Universe Design Challenge Winners Pinterest Board.
  • Winning card will be included in a marketing email to over 100,000 customers!
  • Winning card will be posted on GCU’s Instagram with 2,000 followers and counting!

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Tips:

BE SURE to check that ANY quote or saying you may find and choose to use is in public domain and that you provide that link to the review team in your NTR. Below are for inspiration …

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Be inspired to create and learn something new!

 

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from → Community Challenge, Contests, Dash of Inspiration, Design Challenge, Design Contest

Wanted New Cards: Grandparents Day Coping with Coronavirus.

July 2, 2020
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Wanted Cards – Grandparents Day Coping with Coronavirus
 
Well, another month and another holiday.  Here we are still coping with shelter in place, face masks, social distancing, and more.  Although routines are sloooowly returning to quasi-normal, not much as changed for those in the high risk community like seniors.
 
Grandparents will most likely not be able to visit with their grandchildren this Grandparents Day.  If they are lucky, perhaps from a far and through a window.  Many may be technologically challenged and not able to enjoy the zooming many people have been using to virtually get together.  The feelings of isolation and depression as a senior citizen have never been so pronounced.
Let’s really wow the grandparents this year with inspirational and uplifting cards!

 

 

Please consider creating new cards for Grandparents Day under coping with coronavirus conditions. Think of grandparents that are together (couple), a grandparent, in their own home, in group living / care, younger grandparents as well as older grandparents. As we all know, grandparents come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicities. Also consider variations on nicknames – mimi, nana, papaw, poppi, etc.

These cards will go here:
Holidays >> Grandparents Day >> Coronavirus / COVID 19

To expedite the review of these cards, please check Fast Track Review on the card image details page when you create your card and add a Note for Reviewers like “for BLOG– Wanted Cards”.

For standard front designs, consider using Stock Card Creations to create new cards quickly. These cards are automatically set for expedited review so no need to Fast Track.

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from → Wanted: New Cards

Nuts and Bolts: In-Store Pick Up Temporarily Unavailable.

June 26, 2020
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Nuts & Bolts – In-Store Pick Up Temporarily Unavailable

 
GCU’s In-Store pickup option has been a great solution for shoppers who need their cards on the same day or next day.  A great option for last minute shoppers. These orders were printed and picked up in the stores’ photo departments. The majority of GCU’s In-Store pickup locations were Target stores. Unfortunately most Target locations have closed their photo departments.

 

Thus, GCU’s In-Store Pickup option is temporarily unavailable.  We are in the process of building a relationship with another partner to offer this service in the near future.

 

In the interim, shoppers can upgrade their shipping options for cards mailed back to them with blank envelopes.  Cards mailed directly to recipients are not eligible for upgraded shipping.

 

When communicating with shoppers, please do not recommend in-store pickup if they are in a rush but instead expedited shipping. Thank you for your understanding.



The difference is made in the details!

Mindy
GCU Community Manager

 

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from → Wanted: New Cards

Wanted New Cards: Congratulations Team Signing / Recruited / Drafted.

June 25, 2020
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Wanted Cards – Congratulations Team Signing / Recruited / Drafted

 

Athletes at competitive levels and professional to semi-professional levels deal with the pressure, stress, and joy of trying out for and making the team.

 

Please add to our existing category designs for a higher level of “making the team” along the lines of pro to semi-pro signed, recruited, or drafted.

 

These cards should go in the existing “made the team” sports specific categories found here and differentiate themselves in not only their design and message / verse, but also of course metadata:

Consider custom front text cards allowing the shopper to personalize the team name as well as photo cards.

NOTE: professional and franchised team names, mascots, logos, and even some slogans are not permitted as they are registered trademarks.

To expedite the review of these cards, please check Fast Track Review on the card image details page when you create your card and add a Note for Reviewers like “for Forum – Wanted Cards”.

For standard front designs, consider using Stock Card Creations to create new cards quickly. These cards are automatically set for expedited review so no need to Fast Track.

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from → Wanted: New Cards

Freebie Wednesday: Nightfall Feathers Watercolor Collection.

June 24, 2020
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Freebie Wednesday:

 

Nightfall Feathers Watercolor Collection is this week’s freebie! Each print has a transparent background, you can simply add a background to your liking. You can create abstract compositions and drawings in a Boho style. Ideal for interior decoration and items. Watercolor textures look great on packaging and gift wrapping: boxes, folders, wrapping paper, and fabric. original wild prints are perfect for goods and events in Boho style. Just put your text or quote.

YOU WILL GET :

12 exotic feathers – PNG, 300dpi, transparent background
12 exotic feathers – PNG, 300dpi, transparent background
3 golden feathers – PNG, 300dpi, transparent background

7 seamless patterns – PNG, 300dpi, transparent background

This beautiful freebie is brought to you by Cat in Colour. Only available for a week on The Hungry Jpeg site!

 

 

This product comes with a complete commercial license.

 

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from → Fonts, FREEBIES

Rainbow Connection: Color Inspiration.

June 23, 2020
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Some color inspiration I found on Pinterest this week:

 

 

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from → Rainbow Connection (Colors)
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