BlogStars are HERE!!!

First, we must say that this was an agonizing decision! We wanted every single one of you!! I hope those that weren’t chosen will allow us to reconsider you for the next BlogStars term starting in June!

Second, so you can see how hard the decision was, I’m putting here links to all the applicants’ blogs. You’ll be so glad you visited their various art galleries, what talent!

http://www.missmollycreations.blogspot.com/ Molly R
http://www.stephaniescraps.blogspot.com/ Stephanie A
http://adayinthelifeofthepaperpoppy.blogspot.com/ Laura D
http://glitterinmyhair.blogspot.com/ Jennifer G
http://taylorusry.blogspot.com Taylor U
http://barbara-shepherd.blogspot.com Barbara S
http://madisonavenue.typepad.com Geny C
http://www.paperinkspirations.blogspot.com Krissy F
http://crafteeguiri.blogspot.com/ Shirl L
http://www.papertherapy-wendy.blogspot.com/ Wendy J
http://www.kscardcreations.com/ Kathryn M
http://stampingandscrapingincalifornia.blogspot.com/ Kristine R

We asked each applicant to email us some sample cards using their Stampendous stash. We looked at style, neatness, design, color, plus we took into account their photography of their samples submitted and on their blogs. We asked them to write directions for one project, and we took into account how busy they are on other design teams. We looked at their blogs and the kinds of projects they typically post. We had our permanent Design Team look at all of the above, then our Art Director, Lisa Hindsley, and I sat down and made the agonizing choices.

Then we decided to ask Taylor Usry and Wendy Jordan to join our permanent Design Team!  We were thrilled to get their applications, they’re both amazing as you’ll see above, and they are both designers that our other DT members have worked with on other teams. Plus, as they filled the holes vacated in our team last year, it allowed us to choose two other folks for the BlogStars! We were so excited today that they both accepted this offer! Yippee!

So… drum roll…. here goes… the March/April/May 2011 BlogStars, in no particular order, are:

Krissy Fossmeyer – Krissy is new to design team efforts, but she REALLY loves Stampendous, and we couldn’t say no!  She is a social marketing dream…she comments on our blog, she comments on our Facebook page, she follows us on Twitter and retweets our tweets. She enters all our contests (and often wins), and most importantly, she uses our products on her own blog all the time! In fact most of her posts use our products. We can’t wait to work more closely with this diehard Stampendous fan!

Laura Davis – Laura’s projects were “knock your socks off ” fabulous as was her gorgeous photography! Every sample was so beautifully prepared, staged and in focus. Plus her step outs and tutorials were thorough and beautiful. Her style is colorful, full of fun, and whimsical. And we love that she’s comfortable with 3D, out of the box, projects, and that she gets the altered art essence of  Fran•táge. We can’t wait to get our new vintage stamps in her hands…look out!

Genevieve Cassady – Geny’s projects were also so beautifully photographed they were irresistible. Her outdoor sets and natural lighting just made her cheery colors positively infectious. Her cards are simple, clean, and beautifully crafted, but each one had a twist that we didn’t expect, and we found ourselves completely delighted by them. Her project directions were clear and concise with very complete supply lists provided for all projects. Her blog is easy to read, and uncluttered with a clean background that puts the focus on her projects. We think Geny is going to have a blast with Jumbo Cling Rubber!

Kristine Reynolds – One look at Kristine’s blog will show you that her coloring is one reason we picked her! We’re so spoiled by our coloring experts on our regular Design Team! We naturally gravitated to Kristine’s colorful, beautifully shaded, and, again, beautifully photographed samples. We were also impressed that she’s been published several times. It really helps us when our DT members get published with our products. Kristine gave us a bit of pause because she’s sooooo busy already, but the fact that she has a Labrador convinced us that she can handle one more assignment.

So that’s that! Thanks so much to all of you who applied! If you weren’t selected this time, we’ll email you in early May to see if you’re still interested in particpating, then we’ll resubmit your same applications for the next round. I want you to know we wanted all of you! I appreciate so much the effort that went into getting things ready to email and sending them off. Thank you.

We hope everyone will stick around and enjoy these four new ladies and their terrific talents! Lots of great blogging coming up! Congrats to this term’s winners!

Laura Weed, Graphics Manager