P. Kelly Smith

P. Kelly Smith

Welcome to Freebie Friday! I know it’s been a long, tortuous week for our Top 5 finalists, so I’m not going to make them wait, sweat or twitch any longer. (Belinda, Lizzie, Rae, Shanna and Tessa – are you all sitting down? Good. Now take a deep breath and slowly exhale. Now let’s get on with the results!)

After eight weeks and five rounds of nail-biting competition, you the Paper Crafts online community have chosen the grand prize winner in this third season of Gallery Idol. And she is… (drumroll, please!)

***RAE BARTHEL***

Congratulations, Rae! Your “Make a Wish” card received the most votes in the last and final round, therefore Paper Crafts magazine is proud to name you our 2009 Gallery Idol!

Let’s take a look at the five winning cards that propelled Rae to “Idol” status:

Open Auditions: Make a Wish Card - Birthday Theme

Top 20: Congrats Card - Wedding Theme

Top 20: Congrats Card - Wedding Theme

Top 15: Sweet Dreams Card - Around the House Theme

Top 10: Wish Big Card - Button Theme

Finalist 1: Rae Barthels Make a Wish Card

Top 5: Make a Wish Card - Humor Theme

I think this girl has a thing for pink and black! It obviously worked! In addition to the Cosmo Cricket, American Crafts, BasicGrey and K&Company prize packages, Rae will also receive this grand prize from Making Memories:

Gallery Idols grand prize winner will receive all of this!

Many thanks to Making Memories for donating all of this fabulous product!

As the grand prize winner, Rae will also receive these special perks: 

  • Winning cards published in the January/February 2010 issue of Paper Crafts
  • Name added to the exclusive Paper Crafts designer list
  • Free selection of special issues
  • Official grand prize winner certificate (our version of the golden ticket)

Prizes aside, a big round of applause goes out to all of the finalists who have stuck with this competition week after week, round after round. Your creativity, passion and dedication to excellence have really made this little contest bigger and better than we could have ever imagined! We hope to see you back next summer for Season 4!

In my very best Ryan Seacrest voice,
Kelly Out

P.S. If you would like to see how Rae reacts to this BIG announcement, make sure you hop on over to her blog. Last week she was “floored, flabbergasted and freaking excited” to have made it into the Top 5. I can’t wait to see what words come out of her mouth this week! (And make sure to check back here on Monday when Rae is our designer spotlight. She hasn’t agreed to this yet, but I’m hoping to twist her arm with that Making Memories Slice!)

P.P.S. I almost forgot today’s giveaway! It is Freebie Friday after all. I hope you enjoyed reading Cath’s farewell post to our art director Stace Hasegawa. Since Stace LOVES the color black and tattoo art like skulls, wings, guitars, etc., today’s giveaway incorporates all of her favorite things! (The only thing missing is Johnny Depp in the flesh!) To be entered to win, leave a comment telling me a few of your favorite things. It can be anything at all. I’ll pick four winners to receive an assortment of metallic papers from Rusty Pickle’s Brass Knuckles collection, as well as black chipboard and stickers from GCD Studios. All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Sunday, August 2.

Four lucky winners will each take home this black-tastic prize package!

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