It is with bittersweet emotion I type these words to announce that this week will be our final Mojo Monday challenge. I have loved bringing you these 500 weekly inspirational sketches over the last close to 10 years. It's been an incredible ride to see so many amazingly unique cards from the same sketch, to get to know you through your blog posts, to watch your grow as artists, and to see so many cards in publications inspired by these sketches. These things have made my heart swell with joy. Thank you so much for your participation and for letting me do what I've felt called to do... inspire. One of the things I love most about sketches is that they give the freedom to discover your own style and uniqueness without worrying about creating a balanced layout as well. They're the jumping off point for a new creative journey and I hope you have found joy in creating from them.
And while I have loved these challenges for so many big and small reasons, the landscape of my life has dramatically shifted over the course of these 9.75 years. As a full-time company owner and Mama to two curious, incredibly intelligent, and busy 5 year olds, I'm finding myself heartsick by the precious little moments that are slipping through my fingers while I spend time prepping for this challenge each week. Echoes of "WHEN will you be done, Mama?" haunt me and I find myself wanting to spend less time stamping, commenting and creating new sketches and more time with my boys. So here's to new adventures, to joyful creating, and to precious times. I'll still be blogging over at Poetic Artistry and running Verve, so come see me there!
Much love,
- Julee
PS. I'd love to read YOUR story of what Mojo has meant to you - feel free to add it to your blog post if you play along or in the comments below.
It's also time for one last contest! Since this is our final challenge. and it's a busy time of year I thought we'd extend the deadline to two weeks, so everyone can have a chance to play.
How to play: Upload a creation using this week's sketch to your online blog or gallery. Then leave a direct link to your project in the InLinkz widget at the bottom of this post. If you upload to online galleries, please tag them with MOJO500. Our challenge is open to everyone, Verve stamps are NOT required to participate, and you can enter as many times as you want. If you don't have a particular shape, feel free to substitute.
The Prizes: We'll have one winner for every 50 entries! Winners will receive the Verve Stamps set of their choice. You can play as often as you like, and the more entries the more winners!
Deadline: The InLinkz entry widget will close at 8PM MT {Click here for time conversion} on Sunday, June 18; so all entries need to be in before then to be eligible for our prize drawing. Winners will be announced on Wednesday, June 21.
I'd like to give a ginormous THANK YOU to the incredible Mojo Makers design team! These incredible artists never cease to amaze me with their creations, faithfully providing samples week after week, lately with very little advance notice on the sketch! And the deepest heartfelt thanks to Teresa Kline, who has been typing up many of the blog posts for the past 5+ years since the twins were born. I could not have done it without her. Big puffy heart hugs!
For this last challenge, I thought I'd add each DT member's card to the post, like we did in the past. I hope you will stop by and give a shout out to each of these amazing crafters.