Introducing the 2021 Card Design Superstars!

It's the day we look forward to all year long! We're closing the book on another Card Design Superstar contest, and just like every year, we're blown away by your talent, ingenuity, and attention to detail. We know you put your heart into every project submitted and we appreciate you sharing your vision with us — every entry is special and a testament to your creativity.

Our judges have been hard at work narrowing the entries down to fifteen winners. They have to make a lot of hard choices to make their final selections, and all wish they could pick more. But, we're ready to debut our 2021 class of Superstars!

When choosing our winners, we were looking for cards using My Favorite Things supplies that embodied the following characteristics:

• Great design
• Superb execution
• Clever uses of our product
• Fresh approaches

As a reminder, we have five $250 winners from each category, and one randomly selected $100 winner. All of our winners will be emailed today regarding their prizes. Congratulations to you all.

Without further ado, meet your 2021 Card Design Superstars! 

Clean & Simple Genius

WHAT WE LOVE:

This minimalist design from Aiysha features bold colors paired with a subtle sentiment — truly clean and simple. The surprise that makes the card a standout is that splash of snow that grounds the car and provides contrast. Knowing *just* how much snow to add to complete her little scene is what makes Aiysha a Superstar.

WHAT WE LOVE:

The placement of those tweet birds separated by the dramatic black sentiment strip draws the eye from the top left to the bottom right of the card beautifully! Recognizing that the negative space created by the speech bubble frames would serve as such an impactful design element without weighing down the card is what makes Debby a Superstar.

WHAT WE LOVE:

To understand the genius of Hanh's card, you should know that this mouse was originally holding a candle! Adding some strategically placed drips and highlights to the stamped sentiment emulates paint perfectly (and would work with a variety of greeting stamps!). Resisting the urge to fill the top corner and letting that cute mouse do the work for her is what makes Hanh a Superstar.

WHAT WE LOVE:

An effective clean and simple look depends on the details...the details are everything. We love the subtle blend Lien's created with soft color in the center of her that slowly intensifies at the outer edge — it almost looks 3D! Her careful consideration of her sentiment placement positioned just so at the widest point of her blended background is what makes Lien a Superstar.

WHAT WE LOVE:

A close-to-monochromatic palette makes this card so elegant. A stamped image grounded by simple shadowing, an embossed sentiment to add the barest touch of texture, and a neat stitched edge to contain the scene...a healthy respect for the confines of the space makes Zubaida a Superstar.

$100 randomly selected winner: Sam Olden

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Coloring Virtuoso

WHAT WE LOVE:

Colored pencils can be a tricky medium — understanding how to build layers of color without that telltale shine pencils can produce is a real skill! A deft hand for layering colors to produce realistic dimension (especially on kraft!) is what makes Chitra a Superstar.

WHAT WE LOVE:

The hand-drawn ice floes Elin has created to support her cast of characters add such a light-hearted touch to the finished card! Her coloring talent is obvious but it's the custom touches — the ice and the way the water meets the sky so seamlessly, that make Elin a Superstar.

WHAT WE LOVE:

Where to start? Kavya's card is based on a time-honored premise — the idea of a good story lighting up our imaginations. Employing a unifying color strategy and a hand-cut story frame to bring all the stories together into a cohesive narrative contained within a single intertwined image is what makes Kavya a Superstar.

WHAT WE LOVE:

Inside and out in one frame — imagine receiving a card featuring this stunning black & white snow scene! You'd be thrilled, right? What if I told you that upon opening the card, you'd find the same scene rendered in vivid color? Amazing! Cultivating the ability to replicate her scene in both black & white and full-color in identical tones and saturations is what makes Liz a Superstar.

WHAT WE LOVE:

From the rushing rapids to the waving grassy plains, the incredible detail featured in Olga's entry is a dream — you can almost hear the gentle breeze rustling the leaves! Her coloring skills are undeniable, but the ability necessary to create motion in such realistic fashion is what makes Olga a Superstar.

$100 randomly selected winner: Tallie Clewley

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Innovation Master

WHAT WE LOVE:

Don't you love the sepia tones Christine chose for her design? She's recreated the nostalgia of a classic western so perfectly on her fun slider card. A simple pull of the tab and her charming cowboy has rustled up one cute cow! Thinking outside the box and using a simple mechanism to tell a story is what makes Christine a Superstar.

WHAT WE LOVE:

The spookiest season of all is right around the corner so it's only appropriate that one of our winners features a frighteningly cute scene. The outside of the card is inviting but the inside is where the magic happens — BOO. Using the card exterior as a pretense for a fun surprise to be discovered within is what makes Heejung a Superstar.

WHAT WE LOVE:

So much thought and planning went into Kathrin's interactive card! From the custom garland to the creative masking for the back of her charming window gazer, to the double-paned window to the scrolling backdrop...just wow! Having the forethought to bring all of the individual elements together into one coherent look is what makes Kathrin a Superstar.

WHAT WE LOVE:

The gentle sway of the lion and bear are mesmerizing — that simple swing element is such a fun way to integrate motion into a card. Don't sleep on the rest of the characters, though! That sunbathing frog, snorkeling turtle, and tree-dwelling toad and bird are the perfect foils for the action of the other two characters. Understanding the balance between static and active elements is what makes Mardi a Superstar.

 

WHAT WE LOVE:

We've used the phrase "party in a box" to describe box cards before but Wendy's entry truly epitomizes that description! It's actually comprised of boxes *in* a box...along with springing butterflies and confetti. And all done with MFT images, dies, and a few household items. Integrating some basic items into a clever box design is what makes Wendy a Superstar.

$100 randomly selected winner: Katie Coggins

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HUGE thanks to each and every one of you that participated and made this year’s contest everything we dreamed it would be. We hope you were inspired by our challenges, and love the projects you came up with. You should all be so proud of this accomplishment. ❤️

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