Judging and...Bowling

Yesterday we got to start the long-awaiting judging process. First, let me say that you crack us up. You and your pets. You are a silly group of animals.

Second, here's how the day went down: We all met in a room lovingly dubbed "the bowling alley," because it is long, concrete has no windows...and as such has some serious (as yet unrealized) bowling potential. (By the by, our tiny, secret room from the first competition was way too small to handle the gazillion goofy submissions you sent us.) (You made us move. Thanks a lot.)

Visions of bowling aside, however, we rounded up a fine panel of judges to do some judging and they spent a long day of seeing-what-you-sent. I think it is safe to say that they went home dog-tired (sorry), but very happy. They laughed, they discussed, they even purred a little. (They told me not to tell you that.)

There are many, many more submissions yet to review (again, thanks for your enthusiasm - wow). And there are still quite a few days left to submit your ideas (don't hold out on Squeaker, he's depending on you to make him a star).

P.S. Go, Squeaker, go!

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

"Do people love their pets?" we wondered. You, America, have answered with a resounding, "HECK yeah." Actually, no. It's stronger than that. You LOVE your pets (all caps for emphasis). LOVE THEM.

And we think that's awfully nice. (Really.) (We also love your pet. Who wouldn't? Look at that face....)

How did we arrive at this conclusion? Your collective pet-love means we are now knee-deep in submissions (and by knee-deep, we mean "thousands"). See? You LOVE your pets.

Anyway, judging begins next week. That's when we judges get to start seeing all the magic you have created with Fluffy and Sparky's photos. It stinks to wait, but wait we must. All's fair in love and this here contest.

Oh and just so you know, in the interest of being fair, we are not going to be picturing "favorites so far" (even once judging starts) since voting won't begin until the finalists are picked. Every finalist gets an equal crack at the Grand Prize.

And when are the finalists revealed, you ask? Well, we're glad you asked...

67 (silly, adorable, hilarious) pet photo card finalists will be revealed on 3/3! (And not a moment sooner.)

Oh, It's On.

The next competition has officially begun and we do hope you think about sharing a photo of your nearest and dearest silly pet along with some birthday writing. (It's that easy to get you and Sparky into the running.) (You've got 20 days.)

The finalists' cards from this competition will not only be printed and sold online, they'll also be available for sale in more than 10,000 of our stores (!!). (See how much faith we have in you?) And, like last time, the world will vote to pick the Grand Prize Winner from the pool of finalists.

Do it for your pet or the fame or do it for the prizes: Each finalist will also take home $250 and the Grand Prize Winner will get a whole $1,000 plus a professional photo shoot with their pet here at Hallmark's HQ. Among other goodies.

Oh and we've snazzed things up a bit on our website. (Do you like the new design?) It's a wonder we've had time to sleep.

You have totally made all of our efforts on this end worth it: We were so hoping you would find these card competitions fun and interesting. (We know you have great ideas. You've been telling us as much for years.) (Teasing. We're teasing.) (But you have.) We're glad that you seem to be enjoying yourselves. We sure are, too.

Okay, go make some killer pet cards.

Erin McGuire is the Grand Prize Queen. The people have spoken.

It was a tight battle with a close finish and the happiest of endings for the talented Ms. McGuire. We received over 75,000 votes, 34% of which went for Erin's "Delivery".

Aside from all the happy and deserved attention coming Erin's way, we'll also be awarding her the grand prize cash - and donating the same amount in her name to the Global Fund, (RED)'s partner in the battle against AIDS in Africa.

Her card will remain on sale on our website for a whole year. (A portion of all of the contests' card sales are going straight to the Global Fund -- their cards are still for sale until the end of Feb.)

What else can we say, other than WELL DONE, Erin. Thanks for sharing your talent with the world.

World, how about a round of applause for Ms. McGuire?

Kitties and doggies and lizards, oh my!

We're just a wee bit away from officially announcing our next competition, so we figured what the heck - might as well tell the ten people who read our blog what's about to happen. Interested? Read on.

Our next competition will be all about PETS - specifically, making your favorite pet photos into funny, witty birthday cards. (This is your chance to make little Fifi a greeting card superstar.) We'll be accepting submissions for three weeks starting 1/14.

Start digging - or scanning - through your pet photos for something that would work during the summer months, would be amusing to people other than those who know you and your pet well, and that can either be cropped to about 3"x3" or be a vertical 4"x6" image. And start thinking about what your pet in said picture might want to say about birthdays (in general or as a wish to a particular sort of someone). (You know they're thinking SOMETHING.)

We're excited about this next one. (And we're still waiting with bated breath to find out which of our (RED) finalists will become the Grand Prize Winner from that competition -- only a few days away now -- last day to vote is 1/10.)

OK. So that was behind-the-scenes. For real. (Aren't you glad you're one of the ten who read this thing?) (We are.)

They're Printed & Ready To Go!!

Hooray! All of the finalists' cards are hot off the presses, ready for purchase on our site hallmark.com/you (until the end of February).

This is great for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is that a percentage of all sales go directly to help fight AIDS in Africa through the Global Fund.

And, speaking from personal experience, it's always fun and exciting to see your work printed on a real live greeting card. (And seeing your first card in print is a pretty big deal, I'd say.)

So, there you have it. All ten are for sale. And you can buy the whole set, too.

P.S. Are you getting your funny pet photos ready for our next card competition?

So Much is Happening...

...that we're not even sure what to share right now. We are spread across the country, celebrating the holidays with loved ones; yet at the same time we are gearing up for the voting finale AND the next competition announcement.

I know, poor us.

Just wanted to let you all know that we haven't forgotten about you or the blog. And that we can tell you that the voting has taken on a life of its own. So many people are getting involved and routing for their favorite. Really fun to watch.

Oh and guess what else is happening? We're very nearly ready to get those wonderful (RED) finalists' cards for sale online as real, live printed ink-on-paper cards. Yes, it's true.

Okay, pardners. Stay tuned. Hope you're all enjoying yourselves and are nowhere near any laptops. :)

Calling All Finalists.

Well, now we have a little bit of a glimpse into what it must be like to be Ed McMahon.

On Thursday night, on speaker phone - the night before the "top ten" were announced to the world - we called all of the finalists to let them know the good, good news on their good, good work.


What happy responses we got. Here are a few:

"That is really awesome. You guys have made my day."

"That's so crazy!"

"I'm like in shock that's so awesome."

"That is just the neatest thing that has happened to me so far."

"It's been driving me nuts. I've just been dying to know!"

Of course, you are all winners to us - and to (RED) - because you cared enough to get involved and particpate the way you did.

Now, go vote for your favorite finalist card and remember, this isn't the end of our greeting card competitions, but the beginning....

Lookie Here.

This is the big moment. The big to-do. The big deal. Here are the TEN finalists, in all their glory. (They really did an amazing job, don't you think?) In a few weeks (12/28), each of these cards will be for sale online. For now, the action is all around voting for the grand prize winner -- to be revealed on 1/11. Go to our website (see link over there) to be heard.

Which one do YOU like best?

eek

Today we literally risked our lives taking fabulous PR shots of what will soon become the ten finalist cards. Perched atop a (fairly sturdy, abnormally tall) table, one brave "volunteer" snapped away at every angle. Luckily, I'm here to report, said volunteer is unharmed.

And the picture is pretty nice to boot. Wait and see. :)

P.S. Only 4 DAYS UNTIL THE BIG REVEAL!!

Working Hard

We may have mentioned that this is our first time doing this sort of thing. (Yes, I'm sure we did.) Well, it is and that makes every day an adventure. The latest adventure is figuring out what we want our "vote for the grand prize winner" and "learn more about the finalists" web pages to look like and what they should say, etc. etc. It may all look (fairly) pretty when we finish, but it's a heckuvalot of work. (You're worth it, though.)

Anyway, here is one of our merry band of Hallmarkers, designing the "learn more" page at this very moment.

How's THAT for a behind-the-scenes peek?

Calling the Semifinalists

It was so much fun to deliver the news to our semifinalists by phone! People were so happy and excited. And we were so proud of them for doing such good work. Why am I rambling? Here a few quotes from the semifinalists themselves:

"I just love the way you've handled all of this, it's been so much fun"

"This is pretty rockin'."

"I have goosebumps."

"I think i'm numb."

Rockin', indeed. :)

Next Up: Semifinalists Chosen

Here's a picture from our call with (RED) to pick the semifinalists. After making sure our (RED) pal had received the packet of submissions we overnighted, we sequestered ourselves - along with another local (RED) rep. here in KC! - back into our (locked & secret & tiny) room, called up (RED) in Cali. and dove in.

It was a long (but fun) process and we have to say that we all continue to be impressed with the range and quality of the submissions. We debated, discussed, celebrated and smiled a lot; laughed, sighed, reflected, you get the idea.... What a great competition, filled with great people, for a great cause.

Warm fuzzies all around.

(Since then, we have been busy calling/emailing the semifinalists to go through that second round of legal stuff we need to do before we can name the TEN FINALISTS!) (on Dec. 14)

Oodles and oodles of submissions...

Just wanted to let you all know that we did, in fact, get oodles of submissions for this here contest. It's been really fun to see all the different ways you interpreted the (CONNECTING)RED theme and to get a glimpse of your individual styles.

We hope that even if you don't win this time around, that you'll enjoy the voting-for-the-Grand-Prize-Winner portion of all this (to be unveiled on 12/14) and then will try your hand at our *next* competition.... :)

P.S. All turkey leftovers are now safely gone.

Replies

Hi, there.

It's fun to hear your comments. Glad you're sharing.

To answer a few of them:

(1) We agree with you guys -- you really are all winners already, just for having the heart, creativity and drive to enter this for-a-really-good-cause card competition.

(2) The contest theme was "What's (CONNECTING)RED to you?" (see image above). We've sinced realized that that was a bit "abstract" for our first contest. Next time, we plan to make it simpler, clearer and to the point.

(3) If you were too late for this one, we are planning (and hoping and working on) having others. So, stay tuned.

(4) Does anyone else still have turkey leftovers? I think I'm turning into a turkey.

Gobble gobble.

Sorting, sifting and singing.

When one of us is overwhelmed, she tends to sing. She is not singing in this picture, but is darn near close. The judging room is locked again and she is off taking a walk.

(It's a good sort of overwhelmed.)

Stay tuned!

Did we say well done? Well done.

Hooray! You did great!!

We've printed all your submissions out (!!) and got it all up in our (very secret and very locked) little judging room. And are happily looking through your submissions and just thinking that you all are mighty talented.

We're proud to know you.

Let the Judging Commence!

Woah.

It's almost time for us to get to see what all you creative, smart people have put together for this (RED) contest. We are super excited for such a fine post-Turkey-Day treat. (Right now, however, we are mostly excited about Turkey.)

Contest ends this Sunday night if you are feeling an itch to create a fabulous card design in the (RED) theme for it. By the by.