3 posts tagged “event”
Vox has done it again, and it's pretty awesome this time around. Vox is currently helping to host the HP Themes Contest, an event that's being shared between some of the biggest (and best, in my opinion!) blogging sites around: TypePad, Vox and LiveJournal.
I got pretty psyched when I heard about this event because it reminded me of past contests Vox has hosted. Back in late 2006, we hosted our first banner contest, and the winners of the contest got the chance to host their winning banners on Vox so other bloggers could use the designs on their own blogs. I wasn't yet a part of the Vox team then so I was legible to win-- and I did! Two of my banners were chosen ("Beads Love" and "Bubblegum Skies" as seen below) to be used by other people, and I have to say: knowing that other people appreciated what I had to offer, both artistically and bloggingly (tee hee), made me feel pretty awesome. In fact, Team Vox back then liked so many of the banners so much that the team extended the winning number! That just shows how many talented people we have here at Vox. And now that the site is even bigger than before, I think we can expect even more spiffy entries. ^___^
Like I mentioned above, the HP Themes Contest at Vox is a little different. Not only will the winner get his banner chosen to be used on TypePad, Vox and Livejournal, but cash prizes are going to be given out to the three favorite banner winners-- $1800 worth! *dances* If this event would have happened back in 2006, I think I would have been antsy with anticipation to see how my banner was doing with the votes, haha.
Here's a confession. One of my favorite things about blogging at Vox is visiting the Design page. Even though I often host my own banners for my own blog, it's fun to see where Vox likes to go with the designs it hosts. Plus, I get pretty inspired by other peoples' banners, which sparks a lot of creativity with my own designs. Some things that I'd really like to see pop up on the Design page someday are:
- More banners containing photography (we have so many talented photographers here)
- More banners made with homemade art, like drawings and paintings
I guess what I'm really looking forward to seeing is the raw art that people can come up with. I like knowing that something digital like a blog banner can be made using tools that are both modern and traditional. I think a lot of people might immediately jump to banner ideas with fun ideas involving work done in Photoshop and Illustrator, which are great programs to use for something like this contest. Something that we don't see very often though are the talents found outside of the computer world, like using stencils or paintbrushes. As long as you have a scanner and a simple image/art editing program then, you can crop the images down to the right size.
I think what matters most is the inspiration that comes out of whatever a person enjoys doing. For instance, I'm fascinated with color-- how colors work together, how lack of color exists, the brightness or dullness of colors, etc. Being able to experiment with with my hobbies for a contest like the one going on for HP Themes is not just fun to do, but it's an opportunity for me to play with new ideas. I've used my photograph, my love of kawaii and even my favorite hamster ever, to create pretty banners. Some of my favorite hobbies have produce really wonderful results:
Of course, anyone who wants to enter will probably want to read the rules before entering a banner. I'm not sure if any of these would work because of the credit (kawaii.vox.com) I put on each of them. ^o^ The ones above are in my private little Kawaii at Vox database, but I'd still love to create a new banner (even though I can't win since I'm a Six Apart employee...) just to show how much I love the contest idea.
If anyone who reads this post submits a banner to the contest, please, please, please let me know. I'm anxious to see what my friends are coming up with. Also, if anyone needs help with any design ideas, I'd be happy to throw some ideas out there or give my personal feedback. And if anyone has questions about the HP Themes Contest, definitely submit some feedback by contacting the Vox team.
I guess the thing I really wanted to say about the contest is that winning something like this really is possible. Whenever I see a contest, I get pretty overwhelmed with the possibility of not winning but knowing that I've won something like this in the past, and seeing a lot of my friends win at the same time, makes me realize how possible winning this contest really is. If anything, have fun when you submit a banner entry. I can't wait to see what everyone makes!
Update: The Heart Day packages are being sent out in two batches. The first batch consists of everyone who lives within the states, and it was sent out this last Saturday. Several people have already written to me to let me know that their gifts arrived.
The second batch is made up of everyone outside of the states (which includes places from all over the world, like Thailand, Russia, Hong Kong, Canada and so many more!). This international batch will be sent out this week.
I'd like to ask everyone who particpated in this event to let me know that their packages arrived safely. You can either leave me a comment, send me an email or drop me a private message. I just want to make sure everything worked out for you.
Thankies to everyone who participated in my little Heart Day event here at Vox. For some reason, I didn't think there would be a huge turnout, but boy, was I wrong! As the first few days and then week or so passed by, I realized that I should have known better, haha.
I have to be honest, too. Receiving so many great comments, emails and private messages probably had to make up the best bunch of Valentines I've ever received. So many thanks are going out to everyone who sent such sweet words. ^____^
Heart Day has come and gone (very quickly), but I just wanted update everyone on how the whole process went. Due to the crazy and horrible Wisconsin weather I've had to deal with for the past month or so, I had to delay a lot of the happenings for the event. Since so many Voxers expressed an interest in getting a little card, I had to make sure that every expectation was met. ^^;
I had all my Valentine Day cards, but what I really wanted to do was include a small gift to each person. Of course, the gifts couldn't be any old objects laying around! They had to be totally and completely kawaii. In order to do that, I made a special trip to my "local" Sanrio (which is about an hour away from my house). Bad news soon hit me hard, because I found out that my beautiful, lovely and much needed Sanrio store was gone. All that was left in place of my Hello Kitty Haven were empty walls, no lights and a huge iron gate. *cries* I was devastated. Not only did I not have a place of kawaii to go to every now and then when I needed it most, but I started to worry about where I would find my presents for Voxers.
After a lot of thinking, I decided to go to another store that had a Sanrio section. I was extremely grateful for the chance to redeem my kawaii standing, tee hee. By last Saturday, I finally had all of the gifts, so it was time to write out the cards and package everything up.
Everyone will be happy to know that not only will they be receiving a very adorable Heart Day card, but they will also be getting a small kawaii gift-- and everything is packaged in a very stickered-up envelope! *grin* I had so much fun personalizing each and every package. With over 35 people who participated in this event, over $150 was put towards Heart Day this year. I figure that this amount equals out what is usually my December/Holiday event anyway, so it all evened out in the end. Yays.
The gifts range anywhere from small notepads to sticker sheets to little booklets to small stationary sets. I tried to make sure that everyone received an equal amount of gift-giving. ^o^
Even through all of the bad weather and the disappointment of the disappearance of Sanrio (which I'm still mourning), I'm very happy with how this event turned out. I really hope that I could help spread the kawaii love at this time of the year.
Please note: As for everyone who was interested in sending me back a present, I thank you very, very much. I might be sending out an email to everyone who asked for my address, but if you're still interested in sending me a letter/package, you can always refer to the envelope I sent to you, which has my new, spanking P.O. Box address. I'm now an owner of my very own mailing address. This is very exciting for me.
To make up for my absence during the December holidays, I decided that I wanted to make up for my lack of cards and gift-giving by sending out something for the next holiday: Heart Day!
I have to be honest. I'm not really one to celebrate something like Valentine's Day. Even Shawn and I don't go out of our way to get each other extravagent gifts. My feeling on the subject is that if you care about someone, you'll show him/her that type of love all year 'round. With that said, I have to be a hypocrite and change my beliefs around this year.
I feel like I missed out on a lot of the holiday fun. Everything seemed a bit dull this year because of all the work I was wrapped up in-- no fun! To spice up my life and the Vox atmosphere a bit, I'd like to offer a little Valentine to anyone that reads this post. ^__^ I've even stocked up on a ton of kawaii cards for my friends this year, which is something I haven't done in many years.
This invitation is open to everyone, whether you're in my Vox neighborhood or you aren't, whether we know each other or not. I think that Heart Day is a great time to get to know both old and new friends.
If you're interested in having a pretty Valentine sent to you within the next few weeks, you need to do two things:
-
Leave me a comment in this post and let me know you're interested. (Depending on emails alone in the past has proven to be troublesome, so an extra note in a comment always helps!)
-
Send me an email (milkeyes@gmail.com) and provide the following:
Your Vox Name:
Your Real Name (first and last):
Your Address:
Once I have this information, I can go ahead and send you a fun Valentine. (I'm still trying to think of a little gift I could send along with each letter. Hopefully, I can think something up before Heart Day gets here.)
If you're not interested in having a letter sent to you, it's no problem. ^^ Just know that I wish you a happy Heart Day 2008. Try to remember that Heart Day isn't about being in a relationship or being part of a couple; it's about loving yourself and those around you. Heart Day is about brilliant independence just as much as it's about sharing your time with a loved one. That's what I've learned throughout the years.
Anyway, I hope to hear from some of you Voxers. I'd love to spread a lot of love around this time of the year-- as much as possible! ^0^
