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Nuts and Bolts: Stock Card Creations ONLINE

April 26, 2019
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Nuts & Bolts – Stock Card Creations ONLINE

 

We are pleased to announce that Stock Card Creations is back online!
The tool now uses the new image library from Shutterstock offering millions of high quality stock images at no cost to GCU artists.

 

NEW improvements to the tool / process:

 

1. HEX Code – there is now a hex code entry for the Border Color. This will assist artists in matching border and font colors with precision.
2. Stock Image Id # – in Manage Cards, Stock Image cards have a new field “Stock Image Id” which helps relocate a specific image when needing to recreate/edit the image or create a new card with the same image.
3. Return for Edits – the review team can now return a Stock Image card to the artist for edits. This will be a big time saver by not having to start the submission from scratch. The stock image will still need to be re-created if that is the reason for the return, but elements like meta-data, inside verse, etc. can be edited vs recreated.
 

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR EXISTING STOCK IMAGE CARDS (BigStock):
GCU has identified which BS images are (matched) and are not (unmatched) being offered in the new Shutterstock library.

 

MATCHED:  If the image has a match ARTISTS DON’T NEED TO DO ANYTHING
UNMATCHED*:  If the image does not have a match – YOUR CARDS WILL BE RETURNED FOR EDITS TO YOU

 

*The process for UNMATCHED images, using the Return for Edits feature, allows the artist to choose a new stock image (Change Image in Manage Cards) from the new library that is close to or similar in theme to the original image and resubmit it without having to recreate the submission and all of the meta-data. This will preserve not only the card’s PID# but valuable sales history and search engine indexing. If the new image you chose differs greatly from the original, please be sure to update your card meta-data (title, keywords, artist’s notes, etc.) to reflect the differences. 

 

Other than that, it is pretty much business as usual. We have worked diligently to make this a smooth transition for artists and we thank you for your patience!

 

Please see this original post:
https://gcucommunity.com/2019/01/04/nuts-and-bolts-stock-card-creations-update-bigstock/

 

And here on the forum where you can post if you notice any issues:
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/forum/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1556227309/0

 

The difference is made in the details!

 

Mindy
GCU Community Manager

 

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Wanted New Cards: Second Semester Senior/Senioritis.

April 25, 2019
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Wanted Cards – Second Semester Senior / Senioritis 
 

You may be quick to consult WebMd but not need.  If you have school aged kids, or remember being a school aged kid, you can understand and relate. Use some of that parental experience to create fun cards for students nearing the end of their senior year, particularly high school.

With graduations in May and June, senioritis reaches epidemic proportions … NOW!
These cards are found here:

 

A quick definition:
Senioritis is a colloquial term mainly used in the United States and Canada to describe the decreased motivation toward studies displayed by students who are nearing the end of their high school, college, and graduate school careers, or the end of the school year in general.  
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Freebie Wednesday: Hand Drawn Vector Ribbons

April 24, 2019
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Freebie Wednesday:

 

The Hungry Jpeg has a set of free hand drawn vector ribbons on their site for you to download for the next 6 days. Don’t miss out and click the link for a freebie of the week!

 

 

 

This product comes with a complete commercial license.

 

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Rainbow Connection: Edible Colors IV

April 23, 2019
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Here are some more Edible color inspirations I found on Pinterest this week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nuts and Bolts: Artist Interview Lisa Crisafi.

April 19, 2019
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Nuts & Bolts – Artist Interview Lisa Crisafi


One of the many perks of being a GCU Design Challenge winner is an interview.  These mini-interviews are fun reads and a peek into the makings of the winning card.

 

Congratulations to Lisa on her winning card.


Note: Read about the other rewards and the two new rewards for 2019, in addition to bragging rights, of being a Design Challenge winner.

And remember to enter April’s Design Challenge.

 

 

The difference is made in the details!

 

Mindy
GCU Community Manager

 

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Wanted New Cards: Gorgious Grandma Day

April 18, 2019
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Wanted Cards – Gorgeous Grandma Day 

 

Uncommon and unusual, that’s us!

 

A shopper has requested more choices for the following category:

There are currently only two cards in the category. Please consider grandmas of all different ages, shapes, and colors. Also consider custom front designs that allow the shopper to personalize the front with their grandma’s name or nickname (ie: Nonna Kate)

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Freebie Wednesday: Wattever

April 18, 2019
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Freebie Wednesday:

 

Wattever is a bold and unique handwritten script and it’s free at Creative Fabrica for another 4 days so you better make sure you don’t miss out!

 

 

This product comes with a complete commercial license.

 

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from → Fonts, FREEBIES

Rainbow Connection: Tulips bring Spring!

April 16, 2019
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Tulips form a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes. The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different coloured blotch at the base of the tepals, internally.

The meaning of tulips is generally perfect love . Like many flowers, different colors of tulips also often carry their own significance. Red tulips are most strongly associated with true love, while purple symbolizes royalty.

 

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Nuts and Bolts: Give Your Low to No Sellers a Facelift

April 12, 2019
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Nuts & Bolts – Give Your Low to No Sellers a Facelift

 

Do you have some cards that have been hanging around for a while with low to no sales? Putting a fresh touch on low performing cards that you’re not 100% happy with is a good idea.
Here is a recently updated card by GCU artist Stephanie Laird:

 

Here are some tips:
https://gcucommunity.com/2013/10/01/tips-and-tricks-updating-old-card-designs/

 

And a helpful posting on when to edit an existing card vs starting from scratch:
https://gcucommunity.com/2016/04/29/nuts-and-bolts-change-or-new-submission/

 

TIP: Changing the image of an approved card does carry some risk as the review team does not give it a once over.  If you are changing images on approved cards you are welcome to send an email to the review team with a list of pid#s and ask them for a review.  A second set of eyes never hurts.  If intending to update a like-image collection we suggest you update only one card first and have the review team give it a review before proceeding with the balance.  This will save you time and grief in case your edits to not meet the Submission Guidelines.

 

 

 

The difference is made in the details!

 

Mindy
GCU Community Manager

 

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Wanted New Cards: Beddian and Golden Birthdays

April 11, 2019
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Wanted Cards – Beddian and Golden Birthdays 
 
There are many novel and auspicious dates.  One of which for a birthday is called a Beddian Birthday, which simply means turning the same age as the last two digits of your birth year. So if you were born in 1967 it’s the year you turn 67 (which would be 2034).  You on only have one beddian birthday.
So what if you were born in 2000?  Not much to look forward to as you’ve reached your beddian birthday on the actual day of your birth (age 0).

Similarly there are Golden or Champagne birthdays which is turning the same age as the numeric day of your birthday. So if you were born on the 12th, it’s the year you turn 12. You only have one golden birthday as well.

To add more choices and variety for shoppers, please consider adding new cards to both of these categories.  Your submissions can be generic or age/date specific.

 

The cards will go in the appropriate sub-category here:

 

These are ideal occasions for custom front text designs allowing the shopper to personalize with their desired age and date.
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