And the Winner Is....

Michele P. 

Congratulations! This morning my son picked her name out of a hat (well actually a kleenex box, as you can see by the picture. We're in the middle of paper macheing---how would you spell that?---it to make a mini mailbox). Anyways, I didn't take a picture of the actual drawing of the name, so I had my kids recreate it, quite the actors.

Above is the picture that Michele P. submitted, drawn by her 7-year-old daughter. I had a few questions for Michele. This picture will work well as a 5x7 or an 8x10 piece, so she can choose either size. Also, I wanted to know if she would like to keep the colors the same, or maybe add a few more (I'm already planning on making a blue sky to green grass fade in the background). Michele said she will wait until her daughter comes home from school to ask her opinion, which I think is great. She's keeping her daughter involved in the whole process. When I do my kids' pictures, many times they will sit at the computer with me and help pick out the colors. Kids are usually really good at that!

Another option I gave Michele was to send me a jpeg of her daughter's name in her own handwriting, and I can incorporate it somehow into the finished piece. This adds a nice personal touch. Once we work out the details, I will e-mail her a proof. Once she approves that, I will print it (with raised bits and all, to give it that unique Raspberry look) and send it out.

I'm looking forward to working on this piece and posting it here as soon as it's done!

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest. I am planning on having another giveaway next month, so keep checking back!