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Nuts and Bolts: Corrections for St. Patrick’s Day

January 31, 2020

Nuts & Bolts – Corrections for St. Patrick‘s Day
 
Well, paint us green and call us a shamrock! It has been brought to our attention that GCU has missed the mark in two respects for appropriateness on St. Patrick‘s Day.
 
1. Paddy’s Day not Patty’s Day
As a nickname, St. Patty’s although seemingly a correct abbreviation for St. Patrick‘s in the U.S., is glaringly and offensively incorrect. The correct usage is St. Paddy’s.  
 
Why? Read here
 
Check your store to see if you’ve made this innocent error and get a head start by editing your cards. GCU will be returning cards with cover or inside text of “St. Patty’s” for edits.  
 
2. Shamrock vs Lucky four-leaved Clover
The four-leaf clover, although validly a symbol of good luck, is not related to Ireland nor St. Patrick‘s Day. The shamrock, three-leaved clover, however, is and here is why.  The plant was used by Saint Patrick to illustrate the doctrine of the Trinity (3). It has subsequently become a national symbol of Ireland. The word comes from seamróg, the Irish name for the plant.
 
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At this time we will let designs with four-leaved clovers associated with St. Patrick‘s Day, Ireland and Irish remain on the site.  We will leaf, I mean leave, it to the artists’ discretion to make edits to these existing designs noting that sales may be affected.  New cards will be held to the three-leaf standard.  Four-leaf clovers of course can be used for any “good luck” occasion.
 
This is a good reminder as to the importance of knowing the nuances of different languages, cultures and holidays to make sure you’ve hit the nail on the head. Even if you think you’re a subject matter expert, doing a little research can be good inspiration for a fresh take or different angle.

 

 

The difference is made in the details!

 

Mindy
GCU Community Manager

Wanted New Cards: Galentine’s Day Photo Cards.

January 30, 2020

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Wanted Cards – Galentine’s Day Photo Cards

 

February is coming and so is Valentine’s Day as well as Galentine’s Day!  This day celebrating female friendship with special Gals is still gaining momentum and popularity.

Please consider creating some new designs for this category especially Photo Cards allowing shoppers to feature a photo celebrating the sender and their “galentine”, name, and relation specific cards.

Remember, before creating your new card please make sure it’s different than current cards offered in the category.

 

Freebie Wednesday: Chilla Font.

January 29, 2020
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Freebie Wednesday:

 

Chilla (by Dani) is a gorgeous script font with an incredibly playful vibe. Its modern and classy look is perfect for logos, branding, invitations, social media posts and every other design that needs that special handwritten touch. It’s free for the next 5 days at Creative Fabrica so be sure to check it out.

 

This product comes with a complete commercial license.

 

Rainbow Connection: Pantone Color of the Year 2020 Color Palettes.

January 28, 2020

 

10 lovely Pantone Color Palettes  showcasing Pantone Color of the Year 2020: Classic Blue. To see all of them visit the Paper Heart Design site.

 

Dash of Inspiration: 2019 Founders’ Choice Awards.

January 27, 2020

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Dash of Inspiration – 2019 Founders’ Choice Awards
 
Well, here they are!  The Founders’ Choice Awards for 2019 in all their shining, funny, witty, creative, and top selling glory!  One thing different this year since Christmas and Chinese New Year and of course Birthday cards rise to the top of sales, they’ve been broken up into their own Hottest Sellers so we have 9 cards total to feature here (Hottest Selling – Christmas, Hottest Selling – CNY, Hottest Selling – Birthdays).

 

1. Best New Artist: Linda Gladman of Bright Star Cards

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Honorable Mentions Best New Artist:

Jamie Grob of Montana Design Studio

 

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and Bill Thomas of Thomastoons

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2. Best Overall New Card: 
Kathleen Johnson with Doctor’s Day#1559426

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Honorable Mention Best Overall New Card:

Greetings by Anne – #1563308

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and Kong Savage – #1583424

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3. Hottest Seller – CHRISTMAS:

Linda Gladman of Bright Star Greetings –  #1581774

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Honorable Mentions CHRISTMAS Hottest Seller:

Stephie McCarthy#1523736

and Ron Magnes#1587038

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3a. Hottest Seller – CHINESE NEW YEAR:

Doreen Erhardt of Salon Of Art –  #1580276

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Honorable Mentions CHINESE NEW YEAR Hottest Seller:

Teri Nelson Kuster#1585818

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and Kong Savage – #1553154

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3b. Hottest Seller – BIRTHDAY:

Judy Adamson – #1554506

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Honorable Mentions BIRTHDAY Hottest Seller:

Judith Gargone#1580244

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and Nancy Mink – #1570880

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4. Best Custom Front (Text):

Judy Adamson #1573536

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Honorable Mention Best Custom Front (Text):

Liz Van Steenburgh#1580162

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and Doreen Erhardt of Salon Of Art#1576862

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5. Best Custom Front (Image):

Pamela Jorgensen of PamJArts#1586882

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Honorable Mention Best Custom Front (Image):

Sandra Rose – #1569340

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6. Best Business Logo: Teri Nelson Kuster of Che Bella Nota#1583432

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7. Funniest Card: Bill Thomas at Thomas Toons#1574336

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Honorable Mentions Funniest Card:

Bill Thomas of Thomas Toons#1584620

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and Mike Seddon #1594430

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8. Most Creative Stock Card Creation (BigStock):

Doreen Erhardt of Exclusive Creations#1573538

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Honorable Mention Most Creative Stock Card Creation (BigStock):

Shoaff Ballanger Studios #1571340

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and Janet Pallagi#1574644

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9. Rising Star:

Puppy Valentine by Diane Deiderich#1592750

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Honorable Mention Rising Star:

Cat Easter by Sharon Dominick#1558822

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and Cradle to Cross by Caryn Brame – #1561622

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10. Custom Request – Nailed it:

Laughing Hippo Studio – #1582500

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Honorable Mentions Custom Request – Nailed it:

Gail Pepin#1572686

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and Cisillia Tay –  #1569198

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11. Best Uncommon Card:

King Kahmeha Day by Ron Magnes#1565444

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Honorable Mention best Uncommon Card:

Father’s day to be by Cheryl Jones#1568928

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and Construction Management Grad by Kate Taylor#1563258

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12. Best Design Challenge Submission:

Betsy Bush of Dragonfire Graphics#1575656

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Honorable Mention Best Design Challenge Submission:

Pamela Jorgensen of PamJArts – #1554942

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and Michelle Lanoue #1587624

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13. Simply Clever:

Synonym Rolls by Doug Hill#1589538

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Honorable Mention Simply Clever:

Keep Believing by Lisa Crisafi#1584006

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and College Miss U by Judith Gorgone #1576564

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14. Reviewers’ Choice:

Fiona, Reviewer #825 – Mindy Pierce#1539044

Ella, Reviewer #758 – Maria Forester#1586208

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Mackenzie, Reviewer #528 –Stephie McCarthy#1584754

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Desiree, Reviewer #121 – Kathleen Johnson#1589756

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Phoebe, Reviewer #443 – Stephanie Laird#1564840

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John, Reviewer #233 – Greetings from Anne#1569702

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Catherine, Reviewer #871 – Tam Moody #1583540

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Victor, Reviewer #992 – Wotto#1593846

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Sue, Reviewer #120 – Christine Quimby – #1593294

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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 2019 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

Nuts and Bolts: January Design Challenge Deadline.

January 24, 2020

 

Nuts & Bolts – January Design Challenge Deadline
 
Don’t miss entering the first design challenge of 2020!  We hope you’ve been peeping Pantone’s color of the year, Classic Blue, all around you and have found some inspiration.

 

Theme: Classic Blue Pantone© Color of the Year for 2020 – The Classic Blue Pantone© color of the year for 2020 must be primary in your imagery. Color of the Year for 2020 PANTONE© Classic Blue

Submission Deadline is Friday January 31.

 

NOTE: The 2019 Founders’ Choice Awards will be announced on Monday, January 27 so stay tuned!

See January’s Design Challenge details.

 

The difference is made in the details!
Mindy

GCU Community Manager

Wanted New Cards: Priest Ordination Anniversary.

January 23, 2020

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Wanted Cards – Priest Ordination Anniversary

 

Once GCU shoppers find the perfect cards they become fans and come back for more!  For that reason, it is important to offer many designs to choose from as well as fresh designs especially in niche and smaller subcategories.

 

A shopper has asked for more choices for the category below which currently has 8 cards and she’s purchased them all previously.

 

These cards should go here:

 

We’d like you to create at least one card using the Stock Cards function (Bigstock) or your own graphic designs.

Remember, when you’re submitting your new card, add a little note about the intended category in your Notes to Reviewers. Be inventive,  be clever, be creative. Go for it!

 

Freebie Wednesday: Free Buffalo Font

January 22, 2020
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Freebie Wednesday:

 

Buffalo Font (by HanzelStudio) is an elegant and timeless serif font and is only available for the next 6 days at The Hungry Jpeg. Don’t miss out!

 

 

This product comes with a complete commercial license.

 

Rainbow Connection: Trends Senses for 2020/2021

January 21, 2020

 

Trend Senses shows us the hot new color trends for 2020/2021.

 

Nuts and Bolts: Papyrus Removal.

January 17, 2020

Nuts & Bolts – Papyrus Removal
 
GCU is keen to inside verse legibility.  Many factors come to play like font style, size, color, line breaks, and alignment.

 

Over the years there have been and continue to be shopper complaints about the font Papyrus.

 

It is described as:
Papyrus has a number of distinctive characteristics, including rough edges, irregular curves, and high horizontal strokes in the capitals. Created in 1982, it was hand-drawn over a period of six months by means of calligraphy pen and textured paper.

 

Apparently Papyrus tops the list of most hated typefaces after Comic Sans and is the butt of many a joke:
SNL Papyrus YouTube https://youtu.be/jVhlJNJopOQ

 

We know that it has an intentional aged and ancient look with incomplete edges. However the common shopper complaint is “it looks like your printer ran out of ink”.  As GCU takes care of unhappy shoppers, we either re-order for or refund the shopper. This is costly and unavoidable. Due to this repeated issue we have decided to remove Papyrus from the fonts offered on the site – inside verse, custom front, Stock Card Creations.

 

This change will not impact existing cards using Papyrus, unless the shopper attempts to change the font, they will not be able to reselect Papyrus.

 

This notice is to alert you of its removal by mid 2020 and serve as a suggestion to no longer use Papyrus in your new submissions.

 

Here are some related posts about:

 

The difference is made in the details!
Mindy

GCU Community Manager