The Practical Solutions Week Challenge Winners

I'm posting a little late this morning as I had a busy busy busy day yesterday.

• I got a mammogram (yay for gettin' 'em squished!)
• I rushed home to Skype with the Paper Crafts team to plan the November/December issue (the call goes out next week!)
• I dashed out the door to get my hair cut and colored (gotta look good for the upcoming Editorial Board meeting, dontchaknow)
• I ate a PBJ in my car as I waited for my hubby to join me
• ...for a lecture on the history of rock walls in New Hampshire at our local library (we are lucky enough to have a wall around all 3 1/2 acres of our property)
• And before I knew it it was beddy-bye time!

So, I've spent the morning taking a look at the projects for this challenge (there are 342 all totaled!) and have agonizingly narrowed it down to these winners. Check it:

From the Household Items Challenge:

 Bring on the Happy Card by Virginia Lu

Moxie Fab Alert: Virginia stamped the flowers on coffee filters. I love the light, airy dimension they give this colorful card. I also like the way the filters accept the distress ink she used, giving the flowers a watercolor effect that is irresistible.

Bright Thanks Card by Piali

Moxie Fab Alert: Not only is this a fun card with great design, but Piali stamped the flowers with...can you guess? Okra! How incredibly innovative! I love that she used different colors on the okra, creating a random, delightful pattern. But even more, I love that she also incorporated a butterfly stamp in her design, which breaks up the okra flowers and gives our eyes a place to rest. Bravo, Piali!

From the Paper Scraps Challenge:

 Truly Grateful Card by erin t

Moxie Fab Alert: When I first gazed upon this card, I gasped out loud. Erin used a digital stamp on a paper scrap she just adored. The effect is so soft, so subtle, so lovely, and so well-composed that if I were her, I would frame it.

Eclectic Thank You Card by N@

Moxie Fab Alert: The beauty in this card's evolution is that the butterfly focal point and the floral circle are both paper scraps from a different project. N@ had die cut the butterfly from the main piece of patterned paper but still really liked the heart to the left, so she kept it. There was a big chunk gone from the upper left hand part of the same square (click on the link to see what I mean) which she hid with another scrap (the teal flower.) What I like most is that she tied it all together with the black ric rac and emphasized that with the vertical sentiment. And the rhinestones? Icing on the cake!

Butterfly Hi Card by Keren

Moxie Fab Alert: I love that Keren has used her paper scraps to punch this trendy confetti. What sets it apart from other cards is the amazing motion she's created in the card. Your eye is drawn from the tiny bits of confetti on the left to the wonderful visual explosion on the right, where your eye is not just treated to the main event--the fun "hi" sentiment, but a sweet butterfly and a delicious morsel of decorative tape at the same time!

From the DIY Embellishments Challenge:

 Easter Bloom Card by Laura Bassen

Moxie Fab Alert: What can I say except oh my heavenly flower embellishment! Not to mention how clean, crisp, and flawless are the colors, the font choice, and the execution!

On a Roll Card by Amy W (Aimes)

Moxie Fab Alert: I am in awe of the out-of-the-box approach Amy has taken to create this punny, punny card. She stitched toothpicks together to create the rolling mat, and she quilled the cute little sushi guys. To put it simply, this is about as moxie fab as moxie fab ever gets!

From the Don't Throw It Away Challenge:

 Age is a Number Card by Colleen Dietrich

Moxie Fab Alert: In this delightfully masculine card, Colleen die cut the background panel from a cereal box. Now that's what I call resourceful! :)

A Note Card by Jinny Newlin

Moxie Fab Alert: Jinny used the back of some Jenny Bowlin packaging to serve as a template for her background paper in this super fun card. And note the diverse elements she's used--it takes a lot of skill to be able to combine this many embellishments without overloading the design. To see what I mean, start at the bird focal focal point and see where your eye is taken. No element is wasted. Each serves to drive your eye around the card until you are able to take it all in in its delightful, cohesive whole.

And last but certainly not least, the winner of the 5 for $5 Challenge:

Beautiful Card Set by Julie Day

Moxie Fab Alert: Julie took advantage of a clearance sale at her LSS to create this lovely card set complete with 3 friendship cards, a thank you card, and a hello card; proving that you don't have to spend a lot of money to create a moxie fab set of cards perfect for your own personal use, or for a thoughtful gift. Total cost to Julie: $4.49.

And there you have it, friends! Congratulations to these ten winners and thanks to everyone who threw their hats into the ring! I just loved looking at ALL your creative approaches to these challenges!

Winners, please send me your address in an email to cedvalson@papercraftsmag.com and I'll set you up with your "I'm Moxie Fab" challenge winning buttons for your blogs as well as a copy of Practical Solutions for Paper Crafters.

Whew! That's a whole lotta practical solutions!

~Cath

PS I'll announce our next challenge next week! It will be so much fun, I can see clearly that all of you will want to focus on playing! ;)