{"id":4403,"date":"2026-01-12T20:29:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T03:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greetingcarduniverse.com\/blog\/?p=4403"},"modified":"2026-01-12T20:29:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T03:29:40","slug":"michelle-downs-of-mimmyds-design-challenge-winner-november-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greetingcarduniverse.com\/blog\/michelle-downs-of-mimmyds-design-challenge-winner-november-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelle Downs of MimmyD’s, Design Challenge Winner, November 2025\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Please list any awards or contests you\u2019ve won outside of GCU.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

None- this is a first for me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please list the URLs of your 3 favorite cards in your storefront and why they are your favorites.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other than the card that won me this challenge, here are a few of my favorites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Papercut\/collage style is really fun for me, and I especially love colors in this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This one has two of my favorite things- a pun and quirky hand lettering. I was very excited to earn Design of the Day honors with this card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I think this little bird is really cute and I love the mixed media look with the stitching effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please list any of your professional social media sites.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was your inspiration for your winning card? Please walk us through the process of how this card went from an idea to a greeting card.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was going for a bright and whimsical vibe with bold letters and I thought the XOXO was a good place to start. Then I started filling in the empty space with the flowers and shapes, using stamp brushes from a set I created for myself. And I love using textures and patterns, so as always, I spent a lot of time experimenting with those. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What sparked your interest in art? Did you start as a young child?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would say my creativity started as a child. My mom is very creative- sewing, baking and crafts of every kind. Back in those days, DIY wasn’t a buzzword- it was just life. So I think my siblings and I grew up being crafty. In my early 20’s, I started doing calligraphy and did a few paid jobs. Then I started an embroidery business, which really fueled my interest and skill with lettering and design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have formal training or are you self-taught?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self-taught. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is your work done by hand and then scanned or do you work entirely on the computer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am entirely digital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever\/do you currently have a job other than as an artist?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am retired now, but I have had two very different careers. I was a Medical Technologist, and have worked in hospital labs, a doctor’s office lab and even in a genetic testing lab. I also ran an embroidery shop from home with two commercial machines for about 15 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What GCU artist(s) do you admire?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few impressive artists that I have seen are Colleen Kong-Savage (her paper cut style makes me so happy!), Lisa Lorenz (beautiful colors and scenes!) and Ron Magnes (great pun cards).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would we be surprised to learn about you? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been designing cards for less than 2 years. But years ago, I had a desktop program (loaded from a disc!) for card making. You could choose your graphic, add text and print it out. Who knew where that would end up decades later \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ok, now for the fast five, fun questions … <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describe your first car and what you loved or hated most about it.  A VW Bug that I shared with my sister. It was just a fun little car. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s the most unusual item in your desk\/workspace?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A large wooden bookshelf with a bin at the bottom that was the toy chest my siblings and I had as kids. My great uncle built it to my mom’s specifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which is your favorite, puppies or kittens? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Puppies. I have a Great Pyrenees named Biscuit that was the biggest, softest, most adorable puppy you’ve ever seen! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u00a0is your greatest\u00a0irrational fear? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am irrationally scared of heights.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

List something that is on your bucket list.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not a big\u00a0bucket list person, but I’d like to see the\u00a0Grand Canyon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Please list any awards or contests you\u2019ve won outside of GCU. None- this is a first for me! Please list the URLs of your 3 favorite cards in your storefront and why they are your favorites. Other than the card that won me this challenge, here are a few of my favorites: Papercut\/collage style is … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[210],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-design-challenge"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t