GCU Community

It’s time for another challenge and this month we’ll be adding new and fresh designs to some categories in need …

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Theme: Gay and Lesbian Parents

Requirements:

• Category specific for those listed below for a gay or lesbian parent. This is different than two dads or two moms.
• Write your own verse/message, be creative and write a message that clearly speaks to your imagery, occasion and recipient.
• Blank verse will not be considered for entry in this challenge.

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Entry Deadline: Thursday, February 28^th

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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:

• Holidays > Father’s Day Cards > Gay / Lesbian
• Holidays > Mother’s Day Cards > Gay / Lesbian

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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: February 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 – over 57,000 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: 4K!
• 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!
• 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 6,800 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.
• NEW! – 10 free greeting card credits added to your GCU account. Apply them at checkout and they never expire.

2^nd 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 6,800 followers and counting!
• NEW! – 5 free greeting card credits added to your GCU account. Apply them at checkout and they never expire.

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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
• Dash of Inspiration – What’s In a Verse
• Dash of Inspiration: Design for All Cultures

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Be inspired to create and learn something new!

Doreen Erhardt©

Honorable Mention Best Overall New Card: Mindy Pierce – #1549658

3. Hottest Seller: Mindy Pierce –  #1508240

Honorable Mentions Hottest Seller: Kathleen Johnson of Encouragers for Christ – #1523736

and Doreen Erhardt of Salon of Art – #1539808

4. Best Custom Front (Text): Robin Chaffin of Simply Put by Robin – #1516744

Honorable Mention Best Custom Front (Text): Pamela Jorgensen of PamJArts – #1519542

5. Best Custom Front (Image): Doreen Erhardt of Salon of Art – #1545192

6. Best Business Logo: Valerie Waters of Valerie’s Gallery – #1542680

7. Funniest Card: Nobleworks – #1544470

Honorable Mentions Funniest Card: Sharon Dominick Photography – #1519434

and Ron Magnes of Creative Greetings – #1529412

8. Most Creative Stock Card Creation (BigStock): Anne Johnson of Greetings from Anne – #1532966

Honorable Mention Most Creative Stock Card Creation (BigStock): Doreen Erhardt of Salon of Art Exclusive Creations – #1508022

9. Rising Star: Barbara Schreiber – #1519078 

Honorable Mention Rising Star: Ness Nordberg of The XMAS Store – #1551084

10. Custom Request – Nailed it: Carol Kearns of WilBi Designs – #1548864

Honorable Mentions Custom Request – Nailed it: Cisillia Tay – #1524228

and Kate Taylor –  #1528192

11. Best Uncommon Card: Natalie Kinnear – #1523206

Honorable Mention best Uncommon Card:  Shoaff-Ballanger Studios – #1553536

12. Best Design Challenge Submission: Julia Bryant of JJBDesigns – #1513650

Honorable Mention Best Design Challenge Submission: Melinda Pritzel of Yowzers – #1518096

13. Simply Clever: Anne Johnson of Greetings from Anne – #1509634

Honorable Mention Simply Clever: Lisa Crisafi of Nest to Nest Greetings – #1513886

14. Reviewers’ Choice: Fiona, Reviewer #825 – Natalie Kinnear – #1539044

Ella, Reviewer #758 – Amy Hadden – #1533108

Mackenzie, Reviewer #528 – Stephie McCarthy – #1538578 

Desiree, Reviewer #121 – Sandra Rose Designs – #1519626

Phoebe, Reviewer #443 – Makiko Kimura – #1509282

John, Reviewer #233 – Kathleen Johnson of Encouragers for Christ – #1532386

Catherine, Reviewer #871 – Sharon Dominick Photography – #1544938

Victor, Reviewer #992 – Dale Simpson Design – #1548692

Sue, Reviewer #120 – Lyska Kitties Zone – #1517050

What an amazing line up and such a very difficult job for our judging team. So many great new cards to consider and simply not enough awards. It was a trip down memory lane reflecting all the new additions, artists and cards, that made 2018 another awe inspiring year at Greeting Card Universe. Thank you to our amazing community of artists for your endless creativity and support!

Mindy
GCU Community Manager