Start to Finish Week Kicks Off Here With a Challenge!

It's Start to Finish Week, friends! The week started over on Paper Crafts Connection, we're sharing a day today, and it will finish here in the Moxie Fab World. Get it? Start to finish? *wink* Oh, there's nary a shortage of cleverness over here in our neck of the woods, I tell ya.


I'm super excited to start talking about this moxie fab special issue! I mean seriously, your eyes will be bugging out--and not just when you see all the amazing projects that grace its pages, but also when you see all the inspiration it offers for completing the card. I mean, let's face it, a card with just a front is only half-way done. In magazineland, we typically only show you the fronts of cards because we can show you more unique ideas that way, but if you want your cards to be cohesive--and perhaps even more importantly--if you want the recipient of your cards to get that extra special surprise when they open the card up, it only makes sense to carry out some of your ideas from the outside to the inside as well.

Today I've got something really special for you as we celebrate! I've asked some of the designers from the issue to create never-seen-before complete cards just for you as inspiration for our next challenge here in the Moxie Fab World--our Start to Finish Challenge! Check it:

Pearty Great Card by Teri Anderson

Moxie Fab Alert: Notice how Teri takes those cute pears from the outside and puts the punny statement relating to pears on the inside. I also love how Teri has carried the vertical panels from the outside to the inside as a way to make the design cohesive. Moxie fab, Teri, moxie fab!

Such a Blessing Card by Lisa Johnson

Moxie Fab Alert: In this moxie beautiful card, Lisa has re-emphasized the sentiment on the inside. The statement, "Many thanks for your thoughtfulness" on the front stands alone just fine, but the inside sentiment, "You are such a blessing" hits the thought home.

You Make Me Hoppy Card by Betsy Veldman

Moxie Fab Alert: In this cutie-pie card, Betsy has taken two major steps towards finishing her card completely. First of all, she's split the sentiment. It begins with "You make me..." and it ends with that punny surprise on the inside, "...hoppy." Second, she's taken those super cute hearts from the front, to the inside left to the inside right, emphasizing an important design element that also gives us the sense that the frog is actually "hopping." Love it!

I'm Thinking of You Card by Courtney Kelley

Moxie Fab Alert: This card is completely cohesive in that the design has been carried through to the inside. The front has a lot of pow with the meaning of the card centered there, but then you open it up, see those joyful flowers again, that fun graph paper, and the bottom scalloped border and "surprise"! Someone just got wowed!

Sweet Pea Card by Kim Hughes

Moxie Fab Alert: This fun card shows one of the easiest approaches to creating a cohesive card. She's put the design element on the front (see right image) with the words "little sweet pea" which give us an inkling as to what the card is about, then she puts the full sentiment on the inside (see left image.) She's also carried important design elements throughout including cardstock and ink color, but by adding the three buttons on the inside that mimick the three buttons on the outside, the card becomes wonderfully cohesive.

A Day Without Laughter Card by Maren Benedict

Moxie Fab Alert: Again, this fun card splits the sentiment and carries the design throughout. I love the color combination Maren's used in the patterns she's chosen--and really if you've got a good thing goin' why not continue it onto the inside?

You Give My Heart Card by Heidi Van Laar

Moxie Fab Alert: I love window cards because they just give you a "hint" as to what lies behind. In this card, you know you're going to get to peek at something yummy, and sure enough, you do!

B Mine Card by Julia Stainton

Moxie Fab Alert: Here again, we've got a split sentiment and a follow-through with design elements. When you first see this card, all you see is "B." Be what? B good? B safe? B true to yourself? Nope, it's B mine. Delish.

Piece of My Heart Card by Kim Kesti

Moxie Fab Alert: This super cool card by Kim Kesti could only work on a card where we can see the outside and the inside. We see the patchwork heart with the small heart punched out of it on the outside only to find it on the inside with that heartfelt sentiment. Now that tugs at your heartstrings!

Whaddaytink, friends? Are you ready to give this a try? I'd love to see your takes on creating the complete card. Whether the inside of the design coordinates with the outside of the design, the sentiment is split so the punch is on the inside of the card, and/or an interactive element takes us from the inside to the outside of the card, I can't wait to see what you can come up with! Link up your projects below using Mr. Linky and if you don't have a blog, upload your photos to this flickr group. When you take your photo, so we can really see the inside and outside up close and personal, take a separate shot of the outside and the inside and load them up separately on your blog.

You have until midnight on Monday, January 25 MST to enter. The winners will be shown on this blog on Wednesday, January 27, will receive an "I'm Moxie Fab" badge for their blogs, and will receive a moxie fab prize as well.

But wait! There's more! Leave me a comment telling me which of these projects speaks to you the most and why, or what you love about the Start to Finish issue, and I'll choose one lucky winner to receive all 9 of these cards! Now that's a big finish!

Before you skeedaddle, make sure you stop by Paper Crafts Connection to see our last-but-not-least cover girl and have another chance to win a moxie fab prize!

I love Start to Finish Week,

~Cath

PS We've got another challenge going on in the Moxie Fab World at the same time! Be sure and enter our Jan/Feb Color Play Challenge by this Monday at midnight! It's time to play in color!