For those of you that weren't aware, I have not been on dA for some time, so many group activities are behind. I know there were a bunch of you who were aware and were worried, and I'm sorry for being the cause of that anxiety If you want to know the reasons for my absence, they're on my own journal - it seemed a bit personal/unprofessional to put them on the group page so I put them there instead.

I have messages from as far back as March that I need to catch up with - I will start this in earnest from Monday. I know also there are a bunch of you waiting for gifts to be sent to you in return for those you sent out - I will get that arranged as well, but in order to do so of course I need people willing to make and send the gifts. (Here's the Send Art how-to if you need it.) I might assign a few over the weekend but a lot of them will probably wait til Monday too.

If you've sent something and want to know if it got there, or received something and don't know who it's from, please be patient and I'll get through all those updates as soon as I can (starting from Monday or Tuesday, depending on how much of the other stuff I get through on Monday). It'll be more efficient if you let me inform everyone of the stuff they don't know has been received and then if you haven't had a note ask me where it is, rather than asking me now if it's been received or not.

What else? You can resubmit deviatons to the gallery and so on, but they probably won't get accepted til later in the week next week (it'll need to come after I update the "gifts that've been received" blog, which will come after I've gone through all the notes saying what's been received and have updated all those people). Join requests are back on again (they temporarily stopped). Um... that might be it?

Thanks everyone for your patience whilst we get things back on track. Particular thanks to ~art-of-amie for doing her best to hold the fort whilst I was gone.

Whoops, I counted up all the winners for the February contest but forgot to actually post the blog telling you all who they were!

Here we go...

Most popular gift
With 33 votes, Whiskey and Timhop by =tiny-tea-party was overwhelmingly popular.


=tiny-tea-party, you have won

• 150 points from *UnSeelieScarlet^†
• 100 points from ~Zhiah
• 50 points from *ChaoticSkye
• First pick of the prize list below
• Fifth pick of the prize list below
• 15% off coupon for #GlowDen's store
• A permanent place in the Featured folder (also featured on the #Artcrossing homepage)
• Features from #Artcrossing, =Lucky101212, ~psto1464 and ~art-of-amie.

Joint second most popular gift
~Zhiah's Bunny plush  and ~fungostine's Butterfly sketchbook were joint second with 10 votes each.


~Zhiah and ~fungostine, you have won

• 100 points from *UnSeelieScarlet^† (each)
• 25 points from *ChaoticSkye (each)
• Second and third pick of the prize list below (since ~Zhiah's total votes on all her gifts was higher than ~fungostine's, she picks before fungostine)
• Sixth and seventh pick of the prize list below (order as above)
• 10% off coupon for #GlowDen's store
• A permanent place in the Featured folder (also featured on the #Artcrossing homepage)
• Features from #Artcrossing, =Lucky101212, ~psto1464 and ~art-of-amie.

Fourth most popular gift
And finally in fourth place was ~Kaninano's Artcrossing gift from Kaninano (kindly submitted by ~peanutjester) with 7 votes.


~Kaninano, you have won

• 50 points from *UnSeelieScarlet^†
• Fourth pick of the prize list below
• Eighth pick of the prize list below
• 5% off coupon for #GlowDen's store
• A permanent place in the Featured folder (also featured on the #Artcrossing homepage)
• Features from #Artcrossing, =Lucky101212, ~psto1464 and ~art-of-amie.

^{†These points have been donated in advance and will come from `Itti.}

Art prizes
As well as the points and features mentioned above, the following prizes will be divided amongst the winners, with first place picking first, second place picking second, etc*. If there are more prizes than winners, everyone gets to pick once before starting again from the top.
Since these gifts are all handmade, and people offered the prizes in March when they may have had more time, this list is subject to change. I am going to check in with all the donors to see if they are still okay to make the prizes. Offers of backups might be nice, just in case.
(still ok) Crochet prize from ~Vivacia18 (either amigurumi or small clothing/accessory)
A guardian plushie from ~Chelliusbee - examples [link] [link] (you can choose from dragon, bear, cat or rabbit)
(not ok) Handmade soap from *LaJolieFille - [link]
(still ok) A surprise craft based on your profile from ~Zhiah
(still ok) Candies from *amour-interdit
(still ok) Crocheted goods from ~wingedalchemist2961
(still ok) A full coloured animal drawing from =Lucky101212 - examples 1 2
(still ok) A handmade bookmark from *RedFieldsOfNone
(replacement) A handmade hat from ~Mellowed-Mushroom (your choice of about 5-6 already made - here are a couple of examples [link] or [link] )

^{*If you win a prize but take more than 10 days to get back to my note asking which prize you would like, you may be skipped over and the next person gets to pick before you.}

Big thank you
A big thank you to all prize donors

Donations needed! We currently only have four prizes on the art prize list. I would like to have at least six to give to the winners Donations for the next contest (March) are welcome too if you're a bit busy this month. Winners will be announced in a couple of weeks from now for February contest and around 16-20 April for the March contest. Features are also very welcome


Any new members who don't know how our contests work? It's pretty simple. Everyone who made a gift that was received in February is automatically entered - and winners are voted on by you guys!

What to do

1. Visit the February gallery folder and take a look at the deviations you like.
2. You have five "votes" which you may distribute as you like between any number of deviations across both gallery folders: five votes to one; one vote each to five; two each to two and one to another; three to one and two to another, or whatever.
   (You don't have to use all your votes, but if you don't want to use them all it helps to say that it was deliberate.)
3. Send a note to #Artcrossing entitled "VOTE FEB" with your list of deviations and the votes, e.g.

   Something by ~someone - 3 votes
   Snowman by =Santa - 1 vote
   Llama by #fella - 1 vote

4. You may vote until March 17th.
5. You can't vote for yourself - although you can of course vote for gifts made for you! Voting is open to all members

Past winners:
Dec-Jan
For 2012 winners see list here
For 2011 winners see list here

Prizes!

All winners:
A permanent place in the Featured folder, which is also featured on the #Artcrossing homepage.
Features from #Artcrossing, =Lucky101212, ~psto1464 and ~art-of-amie.

First place:
100 points from *UnSeelieScarlet^†
100 points from *Zhiah
50 points from *ChaoticSkye
First pick of prizes from the Art Prize list
Fourth/fifth/sixth pick of prizes from the Art Prize list (depending on how many runners up there are)

Second place:
100 points from *UnSeelieScarlet^†
30 points from *ChaoticSkye
Second pick of prizes from the Art Prize list
Fifth/sixth pick of prizes from the Art Prize list (depending on how many runners up there are)

Third place:
80 points from *UnSeelieScarlet^†
20 points from *ChaoticSkye
5% off coupon for #GlowDen's store
Third pick of prizes from the Art Prize list
Possible further pick of prizes from the Art Prize list (depending on how many runners up there are)

Runners up
Fourth/fifth/etc. pick of prizes from the Art Prize list

^{†These points have been donated in advance and will come from `Itti.}

Art Prize list

To be split between all winners (first place gets first pick, etc.)*
Crochet prize from ~Vivacia18 (either amigurumi or small clothing/accessory)
A guardian plushie from ~Chelliusbee - examples [link] [link] (you can choose from dragon, bear, cat or rabbit)
Handmade soap from *LaJolieFille - [link]
A surprise craft based on your profile from *Zhiah
Candies from *amour-interdit
Your choice of either crocheted goods or a byzantine stainless steel bracelet from ~wingedalchemist2961
A full coloured animal drawing from =Lucky101212 - examples 1 2

^{*If you win a prize but take more than 10 days to get back to my note asking which prize you would like, you may be skipped over and the next person gets to pick before you.}

Not eligible? Start making gifts and you will be entered in the next contest!
Donations for the next contest are very welcome, just let me know what you can donate!

Most popular gift
With 16 votes it's Castle embroidery hoop by ~Mellowed-Mushroom.


~Mellowed-Mushroom, you have won

• 150 points from *UnSeelieScarlet^†
• 50 points from *ChaoticSkye
• First pick of the prize list below
• Sixth pick of the prize list below
• 15% off coupon for #GlowDen's store
• A permanent place in the Featured folder (also featured on the #Artcrossing homepage)
• Features from #Artcrossing, =Lucky101212, ~Kaninano and ~art-of-amie.

Second most popular gift
*Selunia's Tiny steampunk hat got 11 votes and came in second


*Selunia, you have won

• 100 points from *UnSeelieScarlet^†
• 30 points from *ChaoticSkye
• Second pick of the prize list below
• Seventh pick of the prize list below
• 10% off coupon for #GlowDen's store
• A permanent place in the Featured folder (also featured on the #Artcrossing homepage)
• Features from #Artcrossing, =Lucky101212, ~Kaninano and ~art-of-amie.

Third most popular gift
Just one vote behind with 10 votes, it's Artcrossing for NAOWM by *the-carolyn-michelle.


*the-carolyn-michelle, you have won

• 50 points from *UnSeelieScarlet^†
• 20 points from *ChaoticSkye
• Third pick of the prize list below
• Eighth pick of the prize list below
• 5% off coupon for #GlowDen's store
• A permanent place in the Featured folder (also featured on the #Artcrossing homepage)
• Features from #Artcrossing, =Lucky101212, ~Kaninano and ~art-of-amie.

Joint fourth most popular gift
Hot on the heels of second and third, these two had nine votes each. Princess Fuschia by ~Chelliusbee and Leaf Mask by ~Zhiah.


~Chelliusbee and ~Zhiah, you have won

• 25 points each from *UnSeelieScarlet^†
• Fourth and fifth pick of the prize list below (since you both had the same number of gifts, which is normally the tiebreaker, I tossed a coin. Chellius gets fourth and tenth; Zhiah gets fifth and ninth)
• Ninth and tenth pick of the prize list below
• A permanent place in the Featured folder (also featured on the #Artcrossing homepage)
• Features from #Artcrossing, =Lucky101212, ~Kaninano and ~art-of-amie.

^{†These points have been donated in advance and will come from `Itti.}

Other popular gifts
Since it was a bigger contest across two months and therefore the competition was stiffer, I decided to feature a few of those that almost made the prize list. These all had six or seven votes each.


Art prizes
As well as the points and features mentioned above, the following prizes will be divided amongst the winners, with first place picking first, second place picking second, etc*. If there are more prizes than winners, everyone gets to pick once before starting again from the top.
A pack of the following from ~pinkkiapila:
* handmade pair of earrings * handmade mini notepad * handmade bookmark * small drawstring fabric bag with embellishment
A second pack of the above from ~pinkkiapila!
A handmade hat from ~Mellowed-Mushroom (your choice of about 5-6 already made - here are a couple of examples [link] or [link] )
A beaded necklace with polymer clay pendant from =Lucky101212
This 3x5 inch sketchbook from *Pepper-Dragon
Your choice of candies or decorated half-pint jar of honey (from her own beehives) from *amour-interdit
A guardian plushie from ~Chelliusbee - examples [link] [link] (you can choose from dragon, bear, cat or rabbit)
A watercolour ACEO commission from ~TheDutchesse
A surprise craft prize based on your profile from ~Zhiah

^{*If you win a prize but take more than 10 days to get back to my note asking which prize you would like, you may be skipped over and the next person gets to pick before you.}

Big thank you
A big thank you to all prize donors




Please contact the winners to arrange the prizes, or winners feel free to contact the donors as well

Since there are often less gifts received at this time of year (due to less being sent in Nov-Dec; many people are busy with holiday things), I decided to make the December and January contests one joint one.

However, this does mean we could use a couple more prizes to make up for the fact that the competition will be a little stiffer. Art/craft prizes of any kind are particularly welcome, but we could also use more features as we don't get so many of those offered these days. Winners will be announced in a little under two weeks - if that's too soon for you to be able to donate, we could also use prizes for February as there are none at the moment!

Any new members who don't know how our contests work? It's pretty simple. Everyone who made a gift that was received either December or January is automatically entered - and winners are voted on by you guys!

What to do

1. Visit the December and January gallery folders and take a look at the deviations you like.
2. You have five "votes" which you may distribute as you like between any number of deviations across both gallery folders: five votes to one; one vote each to five; two each to two and one to another; three to one and two to another, or whatever.
   (You don't have to use all your votes, but if you don't want to use them all it helps to say that it was deliberate.)
3. Send a note to #Artcrossing entitled "VOTE DEC-JAN" with your list of deviations and the votes, e.g.

   Something by ~someone - 3 votes
   Snowman by =Santa - 1 vote
   Llama by #fella - 1 vote

4. You may vote until February 16th.
5. You can't vote for yourself - although you can of course vote for gifts made for you! Voting is open to all members

Past winners:
Jan-Feb
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
For 2011 winners see list here

Prizes!

All winners:
A permanent place in the Featured folder, which is also featured on the #Artcrossing homepage.
Features from #Artcrossing, =Lucky101212, ~Kaninano and ~art-of-amie.

First place:
150 points from *UnSeelieScarlet^†
50 points from *ChaoticSkye
15% off coupon for #GlowDen's store
First pick of prizes from the Art Prize list
Fourth/fifth/sixth pick of prizes from the Art Prize list (depending on how many runners up there are)

Second place:
100 points from *UnSeelieScarlet^†
30 points from *ChaoticSkye
10% off coupon for #GlowDen's store
Second pick of prizes from the Art Prize list
Fifth/sixth pick of prizes from the Art Prize list (depending on how many runners up there are)

Third place:
50 points from *UnSeelieScarlet^†
20 points from *ChaoticSkye
5% off coupon for #GlowDen's store
Third pick of prizes from the Art Prize list
Possible further pick of prizes from the Art Prize list (depending on how many runners up there are)

Runners up
Fourth/fifth/etc. pick of prizes from the Art Prize list

^{†These points have been donated in advance and will come from `Itti.}

Art Prize list

To be split between all winners (first place gets first pick, etc.)*
A pack of the following from ~pinkkiapila:
* handmade pair of earrings * handmade mini notepad * handmade bookmark * small drawstring fabric bag with embellishment
A second pack of the above from ~pinkkiapila!
 A handmade hat from ~Mellowed-Mushroom (your choice of about 5-6 already made - here are a couple of examples [link] or [link] )
A beaded necklace with polymer clay pendant from =Lucky101212
This 3x5 inch sketchbook from *Pepper-Dragon
Your choice of candies or decorated half-pint jar of honey (from her own beehives) from *amour-interdit
Handmade soap from *LaJolieFille - [link]
A guardian plushie from ~Chelliusbee - examples [link] [link] (you can choose from dragon, bear, cat or rabbit)
A watercolour ACEO commission from ~TheDutchesse
A surprise craft prize based on your profile from ~Zhiah

^{*If you win a prize but take more than 10 days to get back to my note asking which prize you would like, you may be skipped over and the next person gets to pick before you.}

Not eligible? Start making gifts and you will be entered in the next contest!
Donations for the next contest are very welcome, just let me know what you can donate!