Congratulations to the winners from the second round of voting in the Gallery Collection Scholarship Contest!
10 Designs moved on to the finalist round as a result of them finishing in the top 10 in voting, plus, our scholarship team also used our 1 save available to us on the design submitted by Marcella Surjono. Our Scholarship team couldn’t help but fall in love with some of her subtle references to some past winning designs.
Check out the top 10 vote getters and the saved design that are moving onto the finalist round in the gallery below.
Congratulations to the winners from the first round of voting in the Gallery Collection Scholarship Contest!
10 Designs moved on to the finalist round as a result of them finishing in the top 10 in voting, plus, our scholarship team also used our 1 save available to us on the design submitted by Schuyler Bjork.
Check out the top 10 vote getters and the saved design that are moving onto the finalist round in the gallery below.
In today’s entry for our Scholarship Look Back Series, we wanted to give you a better look into some of the additions that were made to the 2010 Scholarship Winning entry that was submitted by Dawnee Burson. In the below image, you’ll see some of the enhancements that were made to the beautiful winter scene that Dawnee painted in order to really transform it into an amazing card.
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If you look at the below slideshow, which is zoomed in on the cottage on the left side of the painting, you really begin to notice some of the details that were added in. You can see that the trees in the background as well as the garland on the fence have been covered in gold foil in the form of glitter to really help give them a snow covered feel. You can even see that the window in the cottage has been filled with little ice skates. We look at every detail when we transform entries into cards!
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Below you can get a better view of the little enhancements that were made to the trees with the addition of the gold foil to really make the snow pop on the final card design!
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In the end, the entry only needed a few little touch ups to become the final image you see in the Log Cabin Greetings Holiday Card you see in our line today. That is a true testament to the amazing skill and creativity of Dawnee Burson. Come back next week as we continue to give you a behind the scenes look at our $10,000 Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest.
In our first installment of the 2010 Scholarship Contest Look Back Series, we wanted to give you a behind the scenes look into the very interesting and creative idea behind 2010 Scholarship Winner Dawnee Burson’s winning entry.
As Dawnee explained it in her letter that she submitted along with the entry, “I wanted to do a Christmas calendar card with four layers, one for each season that could be pulled off the front of the card as the seasons change”.
In order to accomplish this, Dawnee started with a base farm scene illustrating the fall season. She then provided us with acetate overlays (sheet of clear plastic laid over a background) which depicted different seasons for the same farm scene. Each overlay would have its own painted details which we would then use to lay on top of the base painting in order to change the seasons. In the slideshow below, you can look through Dawnee’s interpretation of the four seasons. Look at the differences in the details between each version from tire swings in the summer version to a scarecrow in the fall version. We think Dawnee came up with an amazingly creative way to show off different seasons all while using the same painting as the base!
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Below is the summer overlay which Dawnee provided. As you can see, the empty areas allow for the details from the original painting such as the mountains and forest to show through while also being overlaid with the new additions such as the tire swing and roof.
Acetate Overlay depicting Summer season.
We hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look into just how creative Dawnee’s winning entry really was. We hope you come back next week as we continue to reveal even more about the 2010 Scholarship Contest!
For the final post of our 2011 Scholarship segment of the Scholarship Look Back Series, we wanted showcase the beauty and elegance of our Religious Card lineup that Whitney Fuertes’ amazing 2011 Scholarship winning design has been added to. Her wonderfully depicted Nativity Scene and was an amazing addition to an already exquisite lineup.
You can browse through the gallery below to see a sampling of cards that we have from our Religious Christmas Cards Section depicting the Nativity Scene. Click on each image to get a more detailed description of the cards and their designs.
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It’s always amazing to see how many different styles and designs can be used to depict the same scene. In Whitney’s case, she chose to depict the three wise men as they surround the holy family with gifts in what was originally a beautifully detailed hand drawn image.
Our newest update in the Create-A-Greeting-Card ScholarshipLook Back Series is an interview with the 2011 Scholarship winner Whitney Fuertes. We love getting in touch with past winners to see how they are currently doing. In Whitney’s case, she has just finished up her first year at Grand Canyon University and is working part time on campus while volunteering at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital weekly. However, it looked like things might have been a bit different for her if it weren’t for the $10,000 scholarship prize. Check out the interview below to find out just how much the scholarship helped her.
Interview with Whitney Fuertes
2011 Scholarship Winner Whitney Fuertes
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1. How did you hear about the scholarship contest?
I first heard of this scholarship through a website called Zinch.com, when I received an email notifying me about the opportunity.
2. How many scholarships did you apply for?
I have applied to about fifteen to twenty scholarships.
3. What was the idea behind your entry?
My grandparents had called us a lot from Mexico throughout the week asking my family about what we were planning on doing for Three Kings day, and my mom had suggested the idea about drawing an image about it.
4. Did you create the entry specifically for the contest or did you submit a piece you already had?
I did create the drawing specifically for the scholarship.
5. How long did it take to create your entry?
I worked on it for about a week with each day spending two to three hours on it.
6. Does your entry have any special meaning to you?
Yes it does, my Grandma was one of my inspirations when I was younger to draw and create what I loved. She always helped me create drawings before she passed away and learning to draw helped me out so much.
7. Where were you when you received the news that you won the $10,000 Scholarship prize?
I was at home getting ready to go to work when I received the first call letting me know that I had won the scholarship.
8. What was going through your mind when you found out that you won?
The first thing that popped into my head was, “Is this really happening? Did I just really win a 10 grand scholarship?”
9. Who was the first person you told after you found out that you won?
The first person I told was my Mom since she was the person right there with me then I called my Dad and told him what happened.
10. Did you celebrate in any way?
I went out to eat at my favorite restaurant with my family as well as going to celebrate with my best friend and play soccer.
11. Have you recommended this contest to other people you know?
Yes I have, I know a few people younger than me that love drawing and have the talent and potential to create beautiful art work.
12. Did receiving the $10,000 scholarship change your school plans in any way?
Yes it did greatly! I was planning on going to a community college and even considered joining the military since I was struggling at the time and wanted to better myself.
13. How did receiving the $10,000 scholarship help you with your education?
It helped me with paying for a majority of my tuition.
14. What did you use the $10,000 for?
I used it to pay for my tuition and housing.
15. Which school did the $1,000 prize go to?
It went to my high school La Joya Community High School.
16. What was your schools reaction to receiving the $1,000 prize?
They were very grateful and thankful for receiving the money.
17. What are you currently doing?
As of right now I just completed my first year of college, working part time on campus and volunteering at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital weekly.
18. What did you or are you planning on studying in College?
I am currently going to Grand Canyon University home of the Lopes, “Lopes Up!”
19. What are you planning on doing after you graduate school?
My two biggest goals are to be able to travel and help in third world countries and work at the children’s hospital as a registered nurse.
20. What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about entering the scholarship contest?
Never give up! Always try and try and don’t forget to create something different something you don’t see normally, something when people see it will think that is something different.
21. Were you always interested in art or design?
I have always loved to sketch and draw random things as a stress reliever since I was younger.
22. How did it feel when you first saw the card produced with your design?
When I saw my drawing as a card I couldn’t believe it, to this day I still cannot believe that something I drew was created into a beautiful card.
23. Do you still have one of your cards?
Yes! My family loved the cards so much that they ordered some.
This concludes our interview with Whitney Fuertes. We loved having a chance to catch up with Whitney and see just how much of an affect the $10,000 Scholarship had on her life. Moments like these really allow us to see just how much this scholarship program means to students and gives us the continued motivation to keep going!
Check back next week when we finish up our 2011 Edition of our Look Back Series with some of Whitney’s favorite cards from our own line!
The 2012 Scholarship Contest was a blast for all of us and was our largest contest yet! We received over 13,000 entries and were busier than ever sorting through them all. In the end, Kathy Zhou was selected as the winner with her beautiful design featuring an Ornament composed of various Christmas themed wording.
We invite you to come back soon to get a behind the scenes look into the 2012 Scholarship contest with things like an interview with Kathy Zhou, a look into the transformation process from the entry to the card and much more!
Congratulations to Kathy Zhou of Philadelphia, PA! She is the winner of our 6th Annual $10,000 Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest! Kathy is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania who is studying Computer Science with a minor in Design. She has created a beautiful design that features a unique and creative representation of a traditional Christmas image. Kathy submitted a design that is 100% original, and we can’t wait to see the finished product! Our judges had a truly difficult decision to make as there were so many creative entries in the finalist pool, but we think Kathy’s design will make a truly amazing card.
Here is the design Kathy submitted:
Kathy Zhou’s winning design for the 6th Annual $10,000 Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest
The 7th Annual $10,000 Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest will begin on March 18, 2013. Be sure to visit the entry page to reacquaint yourself with the rules and guidelines. You may also check out our newly updated winners page to view the designs submitted by our previous winners and to get inspired.
We have arrived at the third and final part of our “Making a Winning Doodle into a Dazzling Christmas Card Design” series. So far in Parts 1and 2, we’ve gone through the process of scanning the image, cleaning the image up, changing the artwork to fill space, and separating the image to determine colors and finishing techniques. We’re almost done, and soon we’ll have a beautiful holiday card.
The creative team has gotten together to give critiques and advice on how they feel the design should look. At this point in the process the Creative Coordinator decides which colors and styles will be tested. There are many different colors of paper stock, and some of these different colored stocks will be tested with various inks or foils, depending on the design. The card is sent to production so the creative team has a chance to actually see all the different choices, and decide which will be the best-seller.
Here is a look at the design in the early process of separation to see which colors or foils would look best.
When the cards come back from production there are many different styles to choose from. This is an important step in the design process, as the Gallery Collection is always looking for the most visually appealing and creative Christmas cards. Here are some examples of the different foils and colors that were tested to determine the final appearance of our winning card.
Some of the different color combinations to choose from included buff cards with green foil, and white cards with multi-colored foil.
The Gallery Collection also offers a wide array of beautiful dark stock cards. Since there were so many options we just had to test them all!
The creative team will once again gather to review and discuss the different holiday cards. They will decide what works and what doesn’t work in terms of color, style and finishing. They will also decide if any revisions need to be made to the final design. With so many choices and options, this isn’t always an easy process. But in the end it’s worth it, as the Gallery Collection has some of the most visually stunning cards available.
After much discussion, a final design is chosen. It combines the beauty of Lauren’s winning artwork with the amazing skills of our creative team. Two amazing cards were made from this one beautiful design, and they will truly take your breath away!
Design #798CW - Holiday Tree Christmas Card
Design #730CW Snowman Surprise Christmas Card
Every design that graces the cover of our catalogs and is displayed on our website must adhere the high quality standards of the Gallery Collection. Changes are made to most designs, whether it’s sizing, color, or addition of foil. So whether the design has been submitted by one of our talented artists, or the design is a scholarship winning contest entry, they all go through the same process. This ensures that we always have the most beautiful, high quality greeting cards around.
In Part 1 of our “Making a Winning Doodle into a Dazzling Christmas Card Design” series we discussed the scanning process of the original artwork from the scholarship contest. Now we delve further into the process of creating a card.
The original artwork is given a Hi-Res scanning into our system, where a graphics program makes the image nice and crisp. This cleaning process makes the art suitable for reproduction. Once the image is set the production person, or Imager, gets to work.
The Imager has many different things to do at this point. Lauren’s artwork needed to be changed to fill space. The original piece was vertical, and the personalized Christmas cards that will feature this design will be both vertical and horizontal. The artwork is proportioned for a horizontal holiday card so that all the aspects of the original design are not lost.
This is Lauren’s artwork after it has been scanned, cleaned and revised.
The image then goes through a separation process. The Imager prepares the file, determining the different colors and finishing techniques to be used on this particular Christmas card design. There are many different options for each piece of art, including ink color choices, die-cutting, foil stamping and foil embossing.
The creative team will gather together and discuss these choices. Everyone will share their insights and give critiques and advice on how they feel the design should look. This creative input helps to make the final design a unique vision for the Gallery Collection and the Christmas card itself a thing of beauty.
The artwork that Lauren submitted to the scholarship contest is coming to fruition through the hard work and creative minds of the Imagers and everyone on the creative team. This design will become personalized holiday cards that Lauren, and everyone at the Gallery Collection, will be very proud of.
Coming up in Part 3, our final installment, we’ll share how the final decisions on colors, foils and the appearance of the card as a whole are made. You won’t want to miss this!
