Bi-Weekly Sketch Challenge #22 Winner and Top Picks + A Few Exciting Announcements

Well, someone ended up sleeping in and getting messed up by the time change ;o) I'm so tempted to get some more ZZZzzzzs, but work beckons. That, and we gotta announce the winner and top picks for sketch #22! Thank you so much to all the lovely ladies who shared their beautiful creations. Deepti had the tough job of choosing this round's winner and top picks. The entries were all so fabulous that she's got a couple of special mentions as well. Plus, we've got a few announcements so make sure to read to the end of this post :o)

STAMPlorations Sketch Challenge #22 Winner

1. Kim M.

"The framed winter scene looks so dreamy and beautiful that I couldn't help falling in love with it."

Congratulations, Kim! Please grab your winner badge below to display on your blog! We're looking forward to having you as a Guest Designer in a future sketch challenge!

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STAMPlorations Sketch Challenge #22 Top Picks

6. Julie B

"Talk about watercoloring...Love what Julie did with the daisies!"

11. Sue V

"I love the beautiful glow in the focal image of Sue's card which was created with superb sponging."

Congratulations, ladies! Please grab your top pick badge below to display on your blog!

And Deepti has a couple more special mentions:

I would love to mention two more cards that stole my heart!

#14 Elaine - "I love the fabulous and clever use of newsprint in Elaine's design."

#16 Heidi Weaver - "The Halloween scene created in Heidi's card is pure brilliance, love the corner of the room look she created."

And we've got a few more announcements:

We're just 7 entries away from drawing our first winner of a stamp set (or $10 gift certificate) in the STAMPlorations Never-Ending Anything Goes Challenge! If you used our stamps in your projects, make sure to link them up. There's no limit to how many times you can enter. In fact, the more projects with our images that you link up, the higher your chances of winning.

This month, we're sponsoring a few challenge blogs. Check out one of them: The Mixed Media Card Challenge. We're offering 2 prizes to challenge players. Create a mixed media card with a Christmas theme and you could win your choice of stamp set. Create a mixed media Christmas card with the optional element (bells) and you could win a $15 gift certificate to use towards products in the STAMPlorations shop. Check out the mixed media cards created by the design team...4 of them are by STAMPlorations girls ;o)

And speaking of prizes...who's the lucky winner of a stamp set based on comments left in the Spotlight Projects for October? There were 173 comments left on the 14 spotlight projects. We so appreciate everyone who left encouraging comments. It's wonderful to read what you think and how our projects inspire you to create your own as well!

For this one, I wrote down the names of commenters on strips of paper (1 comment equals 1 entry, so if you commented on all 14 spotlight projects, you had 14 entries) and placed all the strips in a plastic container. I had the hubby (let's call him Mr. STAMPlorations, shall we?) draw the winner: Lee Anne Barrett! Congratulations, Lee Anne! Please send an email to sheryruss@gmail.com with the subject, "October Spotlight Project winner." Include your complete mailing address so we know where to send your prize. Please claim your prize by Wednesday, November 5.

On Tuesday, Cornelia will be sharing the first Spotlight Project for November, and again, we'll be drawing a winner of a stamp set from all comments left on the Spotlight Project posts for this month.

And last but not least...get ready for the November Stamp Release Blog Hop! Yup, we're doing it again! From November 17 to 21, we'll be sharing projects featuring the 5 new sets we're releasing this month. We've bundled up the sets too for those of you who want to score a great deal on stamps. Until November 11, all 5 stamps are 30% off. Check them out here. Oh, and for those of you who just want to buy one or two from the new release, check the shop tomorrow because we'll be making each available at 10% off.

This is our last official stamp release...for 2014! However, we have one more set coming out in December for the STAMPlorations Bi-Monthly Stamp Club! And because we'll soon be adding a new product to complement the stamp sets we put out for the club, the club price will go up from $21 to $25 starting January 1. So if you've been thinking of joining the club, this year is the perfect time to do it! You'll be locked in at the current $21 club price and you'll enjoy a bunch of perks, including free shipping worldwide, a special 15% off coupon code just for your use, a free 4" by 6" stamp set every 3rd shipment (every 6 months you remain a stamp club member), and new perks added (e.g., new products) at no additional cost.

That's it! Tomorrow at 6 a.m. PST (GMT -800), Sketch Challenge #23 starts so we hope you'll check back in and play along!