A Challenge Good-Bye, our Final Top5 and Future Plans

 Servus, hi and welcome back to our last post on this particular blog, my dear and true steampunk and industrial style mixed media friends! 

Several circumstances and developments in the last one and a half years - some concerning Maura's and my health, others affecting our generous prize sponsors' production processes and shipping (and therefore forcing us to stop the give-aways) and also the latest trend that sees most of the creative social media activity having moved from blogs to other faster paced platforms like Instagram for example - well, all of these together have led to our decision to end the challenges, but we will still keep our public SASPC Open Studio group on facebook. We will also provide a platform for sharing/searching your and our makes on Instagram via the hashtag #steampunkspiration.  

So these both will stay up and open! This way we can all keep sharing steampunk and industrial style makes to inspire each other and get shared on a platform. What I really love about this is that this way we are all equal - no more design team members here and players there, but all of us contributing equally to one pool of incredible inspiration! 

The challenge blog will also stay up (only without new challenges being added) to act as a library of inspiring projects of all thinkable kinds of steampunk and industrial style art (as the Top5 in the Top5 posts and the design team makes are always linked to the projects' post sources, you can simply browse the blog whenever you are in search of some mixed media inspiration, a technique tutorial or a quick boost for your steampunk crafts). 

This way SASPC will not be totally gone, your future makes will still be seen and inspire and the good-bye for now is not too hard as it isn't a total one. ;)

Maura also wants to let you know that...

...It has been such an honor to work on the design team to inspire all of you. I am in awe of the wonderful and amazing talent you share with us each challenge. You are truly an inspiration to me, and keep my love of steampunk going. I'm looking forward to continuing our creative journey together on new paths. Our airship is rising on a new adventure and I am looking forward to the journey! Maura

Couldn't have said it any better... XXX

Really hard in fact though was picking our final Top 5! As we had several picks with equal votes,  I have decided to do a

 Top7 

this time. Well worthy of a final Top post, don't you think? 

So without further ado here they come (as always in no particular order): 

Yulia

from

Fox's blog

wowed us with her amazing steampunk watch!

inka-art

blew us away with this incredible piece:

Senna

from

becreative

created a wonderful piece of mixed media steampunk poetry

Louise aka Zuzu

from

Zuzu's Blog

enchanted us with this heavenly rusted piece: 

Angela

from 

Felix the Crafty Cat

has shared this amazing underwater-steampunk themed beauty with us: 

Yulia

made it into our Top 5 with another project - 

two gorgeous steampunk balloons! You can tell the team loved these a lot! 

and finally

Chaitali's

incredible astrolabe with the even more incredible surface treatment!

Very well done, ladies! 

Please, feel free to grab the "badge of honour" for display on your social media. 

***

Our last prize bundle - generously sponsored by lovely Glenda

from 

boozybear - 

goes to 

entry #18 - Zoe 

I also promised to draw a winner of a special prize (a little something, handmade by me)

among those who would share one of their older but still favourite makes (and tell me why they still love it so much) - and at least a few persons have obviously read my blurb on the last challenge post and shared their favourite makes with me... ;)

This little handmade something goes to...

entry #31 - Yulia from Fox's blog

Congrats on your prize wins, Zoe and Yulia! Please, contact me under the vonpappe Email address given in the right side bar to claim your prizes! 

***

Well....it seems I've reached the end of our last Top post...but before I say good-bye on behalf of the whole SASPC team I would also like to take a last look back and shout out a massive THANK YOU to all those who were part of our challlenge journey: 

Sandra aka SanDee (without whom this journey wouldn't even have begun), Brigitte, Susan, Agnieszka, Kerstin, Niki, Maura, Dee, Zoja, Laura, Nate, Alexa, Retro Kraft Shop, DecoArt, Glenda aka boozybear, Drycha from 3rdEye, Chris and Sharon from ReadLead, Tusia from Mixed Media Place/7 Dots Studio, Iris from Irishteddy's, Tando Creative, many wonderful guest designers and (please, forgive me!) whoever I have missed to put on this list. Be assured - I will be forever grateful for your help and contribution! 

And to my wonderful team I would like to say: thank you all so so so so much for making this the most rewarding and inspiring challenge blog journey I could ever have imagined! You will always stay "my creative family" and in my heart and I will never forget the incredible design team work you have been doing all these years or the many times you have jumped in and saved me! I may have been the brain of this whole thing, but you have definitely been the heart of it!!!! Love you loads, ladies! Mwah! XXX

The team and I would like to thank everyone, our sponsors and all our wonderful true players, for being part of this indredible and rewarding adventure! Without you and your fabulous makes or prizes this challenge blog wouldn't have become the creative and inspiring spot is has been throughout those last wonderful nine years! You all rock and will always keep you in our creatives' hearts! 

We hope to see you on Instagram and/or our Open Studio on facebook! 

Stay safe and creative and keep inspiring us! 

Hugs and wishes,

Claudia & the SASPC Team

xxx