I did it!
I finally won one of the challenges at the Hero Arts blog!!!!
I've won an honorable mention three times over the past six months but the actual places eluded me.
Until now - and I won First Place! Can you believe it?!
You should see the cheese-eating grin on my face!
The challenge this last week was to create a decorative item for the holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc). I have been meaning to make an Advent calendar for years, and I've been hoarding a stash of laminate tag samples (I got them from a hardware store that went out of business) for just this purpose. Also, the Hero Arts holiday stamps this year have been stupendous, so this challenge seemed like the right motivator to finally get down to some serious Christmas crafting.
I have NO DOUBT that my creative marathon would never have yielded such results had I been pegging away at my old crummy, plastic table. Because I had the space to spread out and actually act on my creative impulses, I stamped up a storm. I embossed...A LOT. (Something I rarely do because you really need to have enough room to lay out everything or you just get a big, fat mess.) In addition, I stamped, of course, but I also played with various kinds of stamping. A few tags ended up in the trash, but that's okay! I got into a bag of ribbons that I have been grasping like gold for over three years because I don't know who manufactures them and the scrapbook store that sold them is now long gone. (In short, I've been saving them for something really special, and this was the project that finally pried my fingers open.)
I got out all my buttons - and let me just say this: If anyone sees me going anywhere near a cash register with a bag of buttons in my hand, I want you to shoot me. Or, if you aren't packing, slap me upside the back of my head - HARD. Nobody should have this many buttons unless they're building costumes for a Cecil B. DeMille epic set in Victorian England (those people had buttons on their undies, for crying out loud!). I got into all kinds of stuff I haven't used because I simply didn't have enough table space in the past.
I didn't get all the tags done before the deadline that Sunday night, and I had to take a picture of them using artificial light, so the resulting photos stink. I made the last eight tags yesterday and added some finishing touches to the earlier ones, so today I traipsed out to the porch to take new photos outside in the beautiful natural light that smiles kindly on all its subjects.
HA!
After uploading them, they were washed-out and pale. So I tried shooting them on the stairs up to my attic - the light looked decent. Uploading revealed that the light was not decent and my photos were muddy and blurry and too dark. Since I had to go pick up Gigi from school and take her to karate, I gathered up my backdrop, camera, gorilla-pod, and the tags to see if I could get some decent shots while she was learning how to kick bad-guy butt.
You will never believe where I ended up taking the pictures. After trying about seven different shooting spots in and around the car, I stumbled upon the perfect location.
Are you ready for this?....
Scroll down....
Yes, the kid's car seat!
I wrapped my gorilla-pod around the driver's seat headrest and aimed at the tags on my folded-up backdrop by standing outside the car and reaching in through the window to press the button. I'm sure any random passersby had to be wondering what on Earth I was doing, leaning in the window, pulling out, opening the door, bending over, stepping back, shutting the door, repeat.
25 times.
Tomorrow I'll post the results!
Yeah! Totally deserved... I loved the set and was truly amazed that you could make 25 such beautiful creations! Can't wait to see all of them tomorrow!
Posted by: stampersuzz | October 10, 2008 at 06:33 AM
Congratulations, Deb! Truly well-deserved. Your calendar was gorgeous!
Posted by: Lisa C | October 10, 2008 at 10:25 AM
Congratulations! And, hey, a photographer's gotta do what a photographer's gotta do! Go for it!
Posted by: Anne Gaal | October 10, 2008 at 04:03 PM
Congralations on your big win- they are absolutely FABULOUS!!
Posted by: Lysa | October 10, 2008 at 08:19 PM
Congrats again! I couldn't believe it when you said this was your first 1st place win! So well deserved!
Posted by: Sarah M | October 11, 2008 at 07:46 AM
Congratulations, Deborah! Absolutely loved your advent calendar & it will be so fun for Gigi this Christmas. I got a kick out of your photography experience! I had sort of the same experience at my friend's wedding today...I made a basket full of goodies for her (notecards, candle, etc....and out of HA stamps, or course!) and wanted to take a picture of it before we went into the wedding. I had the basket on the ground, in the car, everywhere. Others were passing by as I kept moving the basket & aiming my camera. Ended up never getting a good picture of it! Buggers! At least I provided good entertainment for the onlookers! :)
Posted by: Jenn | October 11, 2008 at 11:39 PM