Dash of Inspiration: October 2017 Design Challenge
Judging for last month’s Big Stock Challenge has begun and it’s time to lift off with October’s Design Challenge.
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Theme: From the Cat
Requirements:
- CAT(S) must be the visual focus in your imagery and message.
- FROM the CAT – write your own verse/message, be creative and write a message that clearly speaks from the cat.
- Blank verse will not be considered for entry in this challenge.
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Entry Deadline: Tuesday, October 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 From the Cat 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: October 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 55,000 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.
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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!
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Winning card will be posted on GCU’s Instagram with 2,000 followers and counting!
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Tips:
Check out these tips, tricks, freebies, and tutorials from our own GCU Community Blog which might be helpful in this month’s Challenge.
- Nuts and Bolts: The Right Image
- Nuts and Bolts: Writing Funny Greeting Cards
- Dash of Inspiration: It’s All in the Type
- Dash of Inspiration – What’s In a Verse
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Be inspired to create and learn something new!
Here’s my entry.
PID # 1496418
https://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/welcome-home-cards/from-pet/from-the-cat/custom-welcome-home-from-cat-1496418
Hello M.M. Anderson – Your entry has bee received and logged, good luck! Is this your first time joining our monthly design challenges?
Hi Doreen,
here’s my entry for the October challenge.
PID # 1497002
https://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/holiday-cards/christmas-cards/from-all-of-us/merry-christmas-from-the-gang-1497002
Thanks, Susan
Hi Susan – entry official received and logged, good luck! Really nice to see you joining us again.
Adding my entry for the October challenge.
PID #1496962
https://artist.greetingcarduniverse.com/holiday-cards/christmas-cards/from-pet/christmas-cat-with-gifts-and-1496962
Liz
Hi Liz – Your entry has been received and logged, good luck!
Just want you to know I’ve seen your entries and am not ignoring you. The September stock challenge has not completed voting yet and until it does I can not officially enter October’s into the system. I’ll post when I do. There is nothing else for you to do.
THANK YOU for your patience!
Hi, Doreen, another great challenge! I can’t believe the last quarter of the year is here already! Here is my entry for the month pid#1496536 https://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/holiday-cards/christmas-cards/from-pet/christmas-from-the-cat-cut-1496536 Good luck to everyone, Laurie
Hi Laurie – yep, time flies faster the older I get! LOL! Entry received and logged. Good luck!
Entering this month for a change. The pid# is 1496154 and the Store Front is
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/rosiecards I could not bring up the individual card as it just clicks into Christmas Cat Cards. Thanks Rosalie
Hi Rosalie! You can’t access the card because it’s not in the public marketplace yet – 24 to 48 hours after approval. Please post the link the card in the public marketplace when it’s available – at which time your card will be entered. Thanks!
Thanks Doreen, here is the link: https://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/holiday-cards/christmas-cards/animals-pets/cats/christmas-card-sent-from-cat-1496154
Hi Rosie – Entry received and logged, thank you! Good luck!
HI Doreen, happy October! I love seeing everyone’s great entries. Here is mine for this month’s challenge. Good luck fellow artists!
https://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/invitations/christmas-holiday-party/breakfast/greeting-card-1497844
Hi Michelle, entry received, good luck!
Hi Doreen,
Here is my entry for this month’s challenge:
https://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/animals-pets-birthday-cards/cats/feisty-cat-with-empty-bowl-1498570
PID# 1498570
Good luck, everyone!
Julia
Hi Julia! Nice to see you again. Entry received, good luck!
Hi Doreen, Below please find my entry for this month’s challenge.
Great designs, everyone!
https://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/invitations/party-general-party-/party-invitation-humorous-cats-partying-1500422
Hi Betsy – entry received, good luck!
I like to be part of this challenge. But just now only I uploaded the file. It is in process.
Glad you were inspired to join us. I will check with the review team before closing the challenge to see when your card was actually created. Knowing that fast-track can take up to 48-hours, challenge cards should be in the review cycle at least 2-days before the challenge closes.
Thanks everyone for the entries. Judging is now in the hands of the jury! Good luck, everyone!
Chidhambararaaja, your card was in the review cycle as of the morning of Oct. 31st, it has been included in the challenge, good luck.
Hello, Just now got the approved Product Id: 1501568. Hopefully will update the Product link soon.
Hello, Color Shadows – the review team has informed me that your entry has a submit date of Nov 1st at 12.36am, therefore it was not eligible for entry this month. We do hope you’ll keep tuned in, another challenge begins soon!
Hello, Actually a small confusion here. Chidhambararaaja’s store named as Color shadows. And I submitted my card on October 31st morning. And yes my product link is
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/holiday-cards/christmas-cards/animals-pets/cats/merry-kissmas-cat-and-dog-1501568
Product ID: 1501568
Thank you 🙂
Yes, thank you! The only confusion was in my comment, your card 1501568 was indeed entered, so no worries! Thank you for keeping me straight. 🙂