So sorry for the delay in posting the results of this challenge! We had a TIE! So we had to round up another judge to break the tie. It was soooo close! We loved all your clear albums, ladies. Congrats to the winners:

First prize goes to Kerry Wills!

Second prize goes to Vicky Flinchum!

Third prize goes to Linda Wilson!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in this challenge! We'll be mailing prizes out ASAP.

Congrats to Linda Wilson, another finalist in the challenge. Linda submitted this tiny little heart shaped album she calls "Gram". She made this mini album for her grandmother. The album measures only 2 1/2 inches by 3 inches and fits in the palm of her hand! We love the combination of vintage and new supplies and photos in this lovely little gem of an album.

Supplies:

• Clear Scraps Mini Heart Shaped Clear Acrylic Keychain Album
• Clear Scraps Acrylic Sheet (only a small piece was used so you will have some left over)
• Wild Saffron Tag by K & Company
• Alpha Stickers by Basic Grey
• Glue Dots
• Zip Dry Paper Glue
• Daisy D's Patterned Paper
• Prima Flower
• Black Brad
• Pen: American Crafts Cinnamon Brown Slick Writer

Linda says,

"The photo that is memorable to both of us is my favorite photo of Gram with my Aunt. My memento is the vintage cabochon with roses that was Gram's until she gave me her entire stash of jewelry supplies and beads. I wrote out more than 3 reasons why I love her. Thanks so much for doing this challenge, I should have done a project like this a long time ago."

We're glad you played along too, Linda! Thanks for sharing your lovely work with us.

Love Ya Baby Clear Album

For Vicki's Puppy, Rori

We'd like to say a hearty CONGRATS to Vicki Flinchum, who was chosen as a finalist in the "I Love You" Challenge With Clear Albums. We loved the playful, colorful, FUN album Vicki submitted. Rori is certainly an adorable subject for an album! Vicki really thought outside the box on this project...we never know what to expect to see when we do these challenges, and we certainly weren't expecting to see an album created for a dog! Very creative, Vicki! Thanks so much for playing along with us.

Supply List :

• Heart of Texas Studios “Baby” Acrylic Word Bloom Album
• From the Bo Bunny Sweetie Pie Collection: Patterned Paper; XOXO, Be Mine and Sweetie Pie Accessories Cardstock Stickers; Ribbon, Brads
• Bazzill White Cardstock
• Kaiser Craft Felt
• Prima Flowers, Whispers Felt Alphas
• Making Memories Glitter Chipboard, Epoxy Shapes
• Me & My Big Ideas: Icons
• Ranger Stickles: Crystal, Christmas Red;
• Ranger Crackle Paint: Faded jeans;
• Alcohol Ink: Lettuce
• Miscellanous Chipboard Shapes, Metallic Thread, Ribbon
• Studio G Stamps
• Technique Tuesday Stamps
• Staz On Ink Pads: Jet Black, Blazin' Red, Azure
• Cosmo Cricket Rub Ons
• Paper Punches: Creative Memories Leaf Punch, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Fiskars Threading Water Border Punch
• DoodleBug Buttons
• Queen & Company Brads
• Zutter Rivet
• Dymo Clear Label Maker
• CuttleBug Embossing Folders
• Sizzix & AccuCut Butterfly Die
• Martha Stewart Metallic Pen

Project Info:

Vicki says,

I love to paint the edges of Acrylic Word Albums with Alcohol Ink so they stand out. I stamped the edges with a stamp too for additional emphasis. I also cut a butterfly from acrylic using my Sizzix and an AccuCut Die. I outlined the wings with silver Metallic Ink, and added rub ons and stamped images to the wings. This is a hard and thick Acrylic Album, so I used a craft drill to drill a hole and attach a Zutter Rivet to hold the butterfly to the letter “B”. the butterflies and flowers are attached in such a way that some of them actually come through the previous page letter for added depth.

In case it is not readily apparent, the memento that is significant to both me and my puppy is the Heart Shaped Dog Tag on the top Jump Ring. She wore this with her rhinestone collar when we went to the beach last year. It's got her name and our cell phone number in case we were separated. She strutted around in that collar & would deliberately shake herself off to hear the tag jingle!! I have journaling throughout the album telling her how much I (we, the family) love her and how special we think she is. All the photos are special, but the most memorable to me (and to her, if she could talk) is the one of her looking up at my Husband with such adoration. She loves him soooo much!!

Thanks for looking!!

A big huge CONGRATS to Kerry Wills, who is one of the finalists in our "I Love You" challenge with clear albums. We are so inspired by the chic, sophisticated, guy-friendly album Kerry created for this challenge. We love how Kerry chose papers and embellishments that anyone, whether male or female could appreciate. We also love the clean lines and classic colors; this album looks current and trendy, but is also a classic look that will stand the test of time. Outstanding work, Kerry! Thanks so much for playing along with us on this challenge.

Supply List:

• Album: Scrapworks EXPOSED! 6"x6" Acrylic Album
• Patterned Paper: Making Memories 5th Avenue Embellishment Paper
• Cardstock: The Paper Company [blue]
• Vellum: The Paper Company
• Chipboard Alpha Stickers: Making Memories 5th Avenue Sophia
• Border and Tag Stickers: Making Memories 5th Avenue Sophia
• Epoxy Buttons: Making Memories 5th Avenue
• Metal Frame: Making Memories Honeydew
• Ribbons: May Arts [black], Heidi Swapp [black jet tulle], Jo Ann Craft Essentials [C1 White, C11 Lt. Blue, C13 Pistachio]
• Acrylic Letters: Recollections Acrylic Alphabets
• Clear Hearts: Heidi Swapp Ghost Shapes
• Pen: Staedtler Triplus Fineliner [black]
• Ink: Colorbox Cat's Eye [lime]

Kerry says,

When the book is standing upright or laid flat, all of the pages line up so that you can see all the way through the book. Each design on the following page takes up a little more of the page so that there's a progressive expansion of elements. I stuck with colors NOT typically for Valentine's Day so that the album can be out all year and blend in. I also wanted to be unique.

We had so much fun with our clear albums calendar challenge! We hope all you ladies who played along had a lot of fun, too. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in entries. They were all fabulous! We've finally collected all the judging from all our participating design team members and tabulated the points scores to come up with the final winners. Are you ready???

The Grand Prize Winner of the Clear Albums Calendar Challenge is.....

Drumroll......

Lori Slawinski!

Lori absolutely wowed us with her fantastic calendar created using the Clear Scraps Calendar Kit and papers from the American Crafts Everyday Collection. Way to go, Lori! WOOHOOOOOO!!!!

Click here if missed seeing Lori's fabulous calendar; we posted lots more photos plus Lori's supply list, and we think you'll be really inspired by her project.

Check out the awesome prize package that we'll be sending Lori's way!

That's a lot of scrapbooking goodies! These scrapbooking supplies are by Clear Scraps, American Crafts, Hambly, Magic Mesh, and Doodlebug Designs.

Most Creative Clear Calendar Album:

For the record, we think that ALL the clear calendars submitted for this challenge were pretty cool and creative! You ladies all sent some amazing calendars our way and we were very inspired by all of them. But, we had to choose ONE that was "most creative", and the winner of the most creative calendar album is....

Michelle McGee!! WOOOOHOOOOOOO Michelle!

In case you missed seeing Michelle's clear perpetual calendar, you can click here for the blog post where we show you Michelle's photos and her supply list for the project.

We'll be sending Michelle some fantastic prizes by Clear Scraps!

And Our Last Prize Winner....

We also awarded one randomly drawn prize from among all our entries. The winner of our random drawing is....

Debbie Olsen-Smith!

Congrats Debbie! We'll be sending you a copy of Clear Albums For Scrappin' by Janet Blair and the Clear Scraps Design Team. We hope this idea book will inspire you to keep creating clear albums for years to come! There are so many fantastic ideas in this book that I think you will want to try them all!

Thanks again ladies for participating in the clear albums calendar challenge!

New Challenge With Clear Albums! The "I Love You" Challenge for Valentine's Day (and Wedding Anniversaries or other Lovey-Dovey Gift Giving Occasions!

We do have another challenge in progress right now and we invite you to play along with us! It is The "I Love You" Challenge With Clear Albums! Click here for more information. We'll be awarding even more fantastic prizes by Clear Scraps, and we think you will really want to send in an entry so that you have a chance to win. Thanks in advance to everyone who participates! We can't wait to see all the creative clear albums you design.

Presenting the Clear Albums "I LOVE YOU" Challenge! Want a little motivation to get started creating a heartfelt, handmade gift album for someone you love? Here is a little challenge from us to you. This challenge comes just in time for Valentine's Day...create a lovely new clear album for your Valentine sweetheart, or for someone in your family, or for your best friend, or for anyone you want to express your love for. When you are finished, you will have a gift that is truly worth giving!

Our Challenge To You!

The challenge: Create a gift-worthy clear album expressing your love for someone special. Just to make it challenging, be sure to include:

• A memento that is significant to both of you in some way
• Journaling that tells that person 3 or more reasons why you love them!
• At least one photo that is memorable to both of you

This project must be completed in such a way that it fits the theme of clearalbums.com, using your choice of clear albums or sheer albums. (Any shape. Any size.) You could also use other clear materials in creative ways if you prefer- put together several transparencies, die cut your own clear shapes, or dazzle us with your other creative ideas! We'd love to see how creative you can get with this challenge!

Where To Buy Love Themed Scrapbooking Supplies, Stamps, Papers, and Embellishments:

If you’d like to take a look at some brand new love themed scrapbooking supplies, you have come to the right place. We put together a page featuring heart shaped clear albums, the new Love Letters collection by Making Memories, and heart stamps, and other assorted supplies you will LOVE. Please click here to see the love supplies page. We hope you will find it to be a useful resource.

The Prizes!

We will be awarding 3 different prizes!

One winner will win their choice of brand new Clear N Chip sets by Clear Scraps!

One winner will win their choice of brand new Clear Scraps minis!

One winner will win a new idea book: Clear Albums for Scrappin' by Janet Blair & Design Team, published by Design Originals.

Challenge Rules:

• You can use any manufacturer's clear albums. We don't care whose clear albums you choose to work with; we love them all!
• Your finished clear album can be any size or shape you choose. If you're feeling especially creative, you can design and make your own! If you do, be sure to tell us all about how you did it! Don't forget that Clear Scraps acrylic sheets can be die cut into shapes using the Sizzix die cutting machine, and also the Accucut die cutting machine. So if you want to create your own custom shaped acrylic clear album, keep that in mind!
• You may submit as many entries as you like, but please send one separate email per entry.
• International entries are welcome, and encouraged!
• If your entry contains photographs, you must submit model releases and photographers releases along with your entry. In other words, you must get permission from the person or people who appear in the photographs to use their photograph(s) in your contest entry, and you must get permission from the photographer who took your photos to use their work in your contest entry. This is because, if you are chosen as a finalist, their photographs will be posted on this web site, and we wouldn't want to do that without having their permission! Click here for the model release and click here for the photographer's release.
• The Deadline for submission is February 14, 2009, midnight at Pacific Time. Entries received after the deadline will not be considered.
• Incomplete entries may be rejected at our discretion.
• Entries that do not follow the rules and guidelines will not be considered.
• Members of the clearalbums.com design team are not eligible to participate in this challenge.
• The judges' decisions will be final.

How To Enter Your Love themed Project in the Challenge:

Here is the email address to send your entry to:

Email all of the following:

• Your name
• Your email address
• Your snailmail address (so we know where to send your prize if you win one!)
• Your Favorite New Clear Scraps Clear N Chip Set! (If you haven't seen them yet, click here to see the sneak peek.) We need to know which one to send you if you win.
• Your Favorite New Clear Scraps Mini. (If you haven't already seen them, click here to see the sneak peek.) We need to know which one to send you if you win.
• Supply list for the supplies used in your calendar. Please be specific! Here is an example. Good: Album- Clear Scraps 6x6 tabbed acrylic album. Paper- Making Memories Heart Doily 12x12 From the Love Notes Collection. Not so good: Album- Clear Scraps. Paper- Making Memories.
• Any other information you'd like to point out about your project- for example, if you used a technique that needs explanation, etc.
• Photo releases if applicable.

How Judging Works:

After you submit your contest entry, our preliminary judges will evaluate your entry on a points system. Here are some of the things we are going to be taking into consideration:

• Design: composition, balance, placement of elements, cohesiveness, harmony, beauty, and overall aesthetic appeal.
• Creativity: including but not limited to an innovative project theme, creative use of supplies, creative interpretation of the challenge etc.
• Use of Color: effective and harmonious use of color, whether you choose to use brights, neutrals, pastels, shades of black and white, or a mix of all the above!
• Craftsmanship
• Techniques: Use this challenge as an opportunity to show us all the creative, unique, innovative, wild, and crazy techniques you can do with clear albums!

Any entry that receives more than a 75% total points score in the primary round of the challenge will be posted on the clearalbums.com web site and recognized as a finalist. After the deadline for entries has passed, our design team will evaluate all the finalists on a point score, and the points awarded to each project by all the judges will be totaled.

If all goes according to plan, we anticipate that the winners will be announced on or before the week of March 1st, and that prizes will be mailed out shortly thereafter.

We hope that this challenge will inspire you to get busy creating! We cannot wait to see all your amazing and creative challenge projects! Thanks in advance to everyone who submits a project for this challenge.

Some Love-ly Scrapbooking Inspiration For You!

Our design team has been hard at work creating their own interpretations of this challenge! We hope you will be inspired by their love themed clear albums.

"Love: Gifts From My Kids" A Clear Acrylic Wordbook Album by Cathy Schellenberg

Cathy Schellenberg has created this meaningful, heartfelt love-themed wordbook album documenting some of the sweet little drawings, cards and gifts her children have given her. The photos that Cathy has included in the album enhance and complement these mementos to make the album even more special. Things like this are so important to preserve in your scrapbooks, because those moments and memories can be so fleeting. If you don't make an effort to remember them, they could easily be overlooked and forgotten. We hope Cathy's lovely wordbook will inspire you to document and preserve your own important mementos too.

Cathy Says,

I used the Clear Scraps L-O-V-E wordbook as the feature on this project but it ended up being just the front. I also used 2 of the 12x12 sheets of acrylic (also Clear Scraps) to make the front and back covers of a scrapbook that would house all the little cards and poems my kids write me over the years. I decorated the LOVE wordbook as I would have usually (patterned paper is from the Hello Sunshine Collection by Cosmo Cricket, a few rub-ons, a journaling stamp, some pictures of me with my kids, and a few handwritten sentences about how much I love them). I also decorated 2 sheets of acrylic that I cut to 8 1/2 x 11 with Staz-on ink inked on through a piece of KI Memories' Lace cardstock (as a mask). Then, with my Zutter Bind-it-All Machine, I punched coordinating holes in: the left-hand sides of all the LOVE album pages, the 2 sheets of acrylic , and about 30 pages of white/cream cardstock (also 8 1/2 x 11). I assembled and bound it together in this order (from bottom to top): Back acrylic cover, cardstock pages, front acrylic cover, Love album. And the result, is a short look at a few of my favourite pictures of my kids with me....a few handwritten statements about how I love them, and then a great place to house all the little Mother's Day cards and Valentine treats that come home from school with them. On a few pages, I even wrote notes beside their creations so I'd remember where, or when they were made. And of course, many of the pages are blank so I can add more.

Hint: When you child brings home something enormous and you don't want to throw it out but you have no place for it....take a picture of it, or scan it in and keep a record of it that way.

We'll be adding more photos of Cathy's delightful Clear Scraps Wordbook album to our project page shortly, so I hope you will check back soon to see it!

You Are The Pieces of My Heart: A Romantic Puzzle Shaped Clear Acrylic Album by Jodi Ethington

Jodi Ethington has created this fabulous, romantic, and very creative 3-dimensional clear acrylic album using a Puzzle Shaped clear acrylic album by Apple Pie Memories. Jodi made this album for her husband as an anniversary gift, but you could easily adapt this idea for gifts for Valentine's Day, birthday, wedding day, or other special occasions. Her album is titled "You Are the Pieces of My Heart". The album includes lots of glitter and pretty little details, plus hidden journaling. The memento she included is a ticket stub from a memorable evening out. This album is so romantic! If you are looking for some sweet ideas for Valentine's Day or a wedding anniversary, this album is sure to inspire you. Jodi has shared complete project instructions, so if you aren't up for the challenge but you'd like to create your own version of this album, you can follow her step by step directions and make your own puzzle piece album just like it. Click here to see more photos of this clear album, plus Jodi's free step by step project instructions.

You can click here if you'd like to see more puzzle shaped clear acrylic scrapbooking supplies.

I Love You: A Heart Shaped Clear Acrylic Album

Amy Solovay created this heart shaped clear album called "I Love You" for her husband. The album is by Clear Scraps. This album features a pocket that was made for holding love letters; the love letters are the memento that is significant to both of them. The journaling is hidden .

Check back soon to see more photos and project instructions for this heart shaped clear album. We will be posting it as a project on our Projects Page shortly.

Thanks so much for dropping by. Hope you are having a lovely and creative day!

Jessica Ball Jan 17th, 2009 at 9:28 am

I love Disney like many have said above. We take a trip to Disney World every year. My daughter does not have a growth chart at out home but we just take a picture of her in front of the castle every year, so that has become her growth chart of sorts. So I would use this album to tell that story. Oh and I am raising my right hand and saying “I, Jessica Ball promise to use this album, take pictures of my finished project and send the pictures to you via email”

CONGRATS JESSICA!!! You win!

Please email me with your mailing address and phone number so that we can get your sand castle shaped album sent out to you. We cannot wait to see how your new Disney album turns out. Hope you'll enjoy creating it!

The email address is:

Thanks so much to everyone who played along and posted comments. Hope you all had fun. We loved hearing all about your ideas for what to make with the album.

If you didn't already get a chance to see how Janet Blair decorated her sand castle clear album, please make sure to click here and take a peek. And we've also posted some Clear Scraps CHA sneak peeks too.

Please stay tuned to the blog for even more fun with clear acrylics...we'll be posting the winners for the Clear Albums Calendar Challenge shortly, and we will also be unveiling a brand new challenge with more chances for you guys to win some fun prizes. Hope you'll check back soon!

If you've been following our blog for the past several days, you've seen us post sneak peeks of the new acrylic and chipboard sand castle shaped albums by Clear Scraps. People have been sharing so many amazing ideas for things to do with these albums (read the comments here in this blog post for some fantastic inspiration and ideas, if you haven't already.) You ladies are having visions of oceanside vacation memories, beautiful princesses, Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom, knights in shining armor, seaside retreats...it's been so delightful reading through all your comments! Thanks for sharing them! And please keep them coming, for the next few hours anyway. We're going to leave the commenting open through midnight tonight (Pacific time) and then we'll be choosing a winner within the next few days (hopefully, if all goes according to plan.)

Well, I managed to actually get a hold of some "eye candy" to add to this blog post, so I will leave you with some more inspiring sand castle album ideas. Janet Blair, who is one of the owners of Clear Scraps, and also a fabulously talented designer in her own right, has shared these pictures of a sand castle clear acrylic album that she made up with her own photos plus Magic Mesh and other assorted scrapbooking embellishments. I think you are going to love it. Hope the photos inspire you!

You can click here to buy the Clear Scraps Sand Castle Acrylic Album at Scrapbook.com. There is also a chipboard version of this album too!

Updated to add: Don't forget to click here and check out the Sneak Peeks we posted of BRAND NEW CHA Clear Scraps Albums and Scrapbooking Supplies!

Would you like to win a BRAND NEW Clear Scraps Sandcastle Shaped Clear Acrylic Album? Well, here is your chance! In honor of the CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) Trade show taking place January 24-27 2009, Clear Scraps is hosting a giveaway of one of their latest, greatest, brand new clear albums. Check it out!

We'll be randomly choosing one winner to win this clear album!

Here's what you have to do to be entered in this random giveaway:

1) Tell us all about what you plan to make with the Sand Castle Clear Album! We'd love to hear your ideas for how to use it!

2) Promise that you will actually make something with the Sand Castle Clear Album if you win it, and that when your new creation is finished, you will email us photos of your project so that we can post them for everyone to admire!

The fine print:

• One entry per person, please.
• International entries are welcome and encouraged!
• Clear Scraps employees and design team members are not eligible for this giveaway. Clearalbums.com employees and design team members are not eligible for this giveaway either. Everyone else is more than welcome to participate! The more the merrier! Please don't be shy! And tell your friends too.
• Please post your comments on or before Wednesday, January 21st. Winner will be chosen within a few days afterwards and will be posted on the blog.
• Winner will be required to provide a non-PO Box mailing address and phone number so that we can ship your new Sandcastle Clear Album to you (we typically ship by UPS ground.)
• Please allow approx. 2-3 weeks after we receive your mailing address for us to get the set in the mail to you. It might or might not take quite that long.

Thanks in advance to everyone who participates. I can't wait to read all about what you would make with this if it were yours.

Click here to see Clear Scraps January 2009 CHA products sneak peeks and project ideas!

Updated again to add that the Sand Castle Clear Album is now available for sale at Scrapbook.com. You can also buy a chipboard version of this album as well.