We saw our shadow, too! Who's ready for another 6 weeks of creative uncapping?

Why not take a look back and reminisce with friends and family as you ring in 2012 and leave a wish for the new year? Personally I think its truly a “winning” idea.. c’mon you can’t talk about 2011 without a good Charlie cameo.

So, to take a page from Real Simple, how about a little Sharpie scribble to bring in 2012 in style…

Image courtesy of Real Simple

To recreate this New Year’s wreath of well-wishes check out Real Simple online!

What better way to show your friends and family how much you care by sending them something more… Sharpie… than the generic “happy holiday” card? Inexpensive and creative, these funky fresh tidings are guaranteed to bring spectacular Sharpie season’s greetings to one and all!

Make your holidays BOOM!

Want a closer look?

have a rockin' christmas

B-b-b-b-b BOOOM

Happy Holidays!

And to all a goodnight!

 All through the month you can count on us to showcase our favorite holiday and winter inspirations and to start us off; how about a Sharpie tablecloth that says more than “dinner’s ready.”

D.I.Y Blog, Big Cricket Design, recently showcased a table worth giving thanks for, and it was completed all with Sharpie! Now, it may be a little late for turkey talk, but just change the words around and you have a holiday hit.

Want to know how to create this wordy winter wonderland? Head over to Big Cricket for the full tutorial!

Let’s review the prizes, shall we…

Grand Prize: One grand prize winning business will recEIve a $1,000 Visa gift card to be used for an internal office party and $200 in Sharpie products. In addition the person who submitted the winning photo on behalf of their business will receive a $100 Via gift card.

First Prize: Five (5) first prize winning businesses will each receive $200 in Sharpie products.

And the winners are….

A panel of expert Sharpie elves got together to review sleigh-fuls of entries. After eating one too many cookies and drinking hot coco till we sweat, a decision was made!

Congratulations to our GRAND PRIZE WINNER, Jacquie Wiggins of Advanced Bionics in Santa Clarita, CA! Donning her office with holiday flair and Sharpie accents, Jackie went the extra mile spreading the spirit of the season in creative ways such as Sharpie wreaths, Sharpie snowmen, decorated trees and one loooooooong letter to Santa.  Here are a few close up pics:

First Prize Winners (in random order)

• Nancy Kevorkian of HOLDstor
• Shannon Evans of Freedman’s
• Shannon Angle of Tristate Office Products Co
• Kris Long of Drs. Bost & Manganello
• Judy Cole of Cherokee Lanes

Thank you to all who participated and once again, CONGRATULATIONS to all of our winners!

Now onto the next holiday – Anyone making Sharpie Valentine’s??

This season, Sharpie challenges you to bring that holiday joy into your work place for the chance to win a $1000 office party and an assortment of Sharpie products!  

December 2, 2010 through January 15, 2011 email a photo that clearly shows how you and your co-workers have brightened up your office for the holidays using Sharpie products along with a completed entry form (found below) to SharpieHoliday@gmail.com. The entries will be judged by a panel of Sharpie reps. at the Sharpie headquarters based evenly on three (3) criteria: Originality/Creativity, Holiday Spirit, and Quality. On February 1, 2011 we will announce the winners.

Prizes

Grand Prize Winner: One Grand Prize winning business will receive a $1,000 Visa gift card to be used for an internal office party and $200 in Sharpie products.  In addition, the person who submits the winning photo on behalf of their business will receive a $100 Visa gift card. 

First Prize Winner: Five (5) First Prize winning businesses will each receive $200 in Sharpie products. 

Entry Form

(Click the links below to download the entry form. If you have trouble viewing the PDF file, please try the Word format.) 

• PDF format: Sharpie Holiday Contest Entry Form
• Word format: Sharpie Holiday Contest Entry Form

Official Contest Rules

(Please click the link below for the complete rules and regulations.) 

• Sharpie Office Party Contest Official Rules

Contest begins 12/2/10 and ends 1/15/11.  Open to a legal Business registered and located in the 50 United States/DC. Void where prohibited.  

*** 

Looking for inspiration to bring in some holiday cheer to your office? It’s as easy as seeking out items that could use a POP of color. Look for things that will brighten up your desk and bring a joy to your co-workers’ day. 

Below are some small scale ideas to get you started but there are so many big ways to turn your office into a Winter Wonderland. For the winning entry, we are looking for something BIG, BRIGHT and COLORFUL! Show us what you got – Knock our ugly holiday socks off! After all, the Grand Prize is a pretty sweet deal!

Using your favorite Sharpie colors, turn a square pencil cup into a Nutcracker.

String a collection of Sharpie Mini markers & dangle them along your wall.

Alli runs through a simple step by step how-to for making these festive candleholders. With just a few simple supplies and Alli’s “Sharpie Stencil Technique“ your home will be glowing all season long.  

What You’ll Need:

• Glass cups – Anything that will fit a votive or tea light candle will work – from thrifted cups to old jars.  
• A doily (Alli used two – one small and one large)
• Spray adhesive or water-soluble craft glue
• Sharpie metallic paint pens.

Step 1: Spray a light coating of adhesive onto the back of the doily and stick it onto your cup.  Or, if you’re like me, discover that your spray adhesive has adhered its nozzle shut, be too afraid of getting adhesive in your eyes to try to fix it, and use a glue stick instead.  Whatever works!

Make sure to press all the little pieces down firmly!

Step 2: Following the directions from my Sharpie Stencil Technique, use the paint pen to color all the open spaces of your doily.

Step 3: If you’d like, trace a line around the outside edge of the doily.

Step 4: Wait a minute for everything to dry a bit, then peel the doily off of the cup (my favorite part!).  Don’t worry if some pieces are stubborn.

Step 5:Let the cup sit for a few hours to set the paint.  When it has thoroughly dried, run it under warm water and rub gently to remove any excess glue and paper.

Step 6: Place a votive or tea light inside and enjoy the glow!

Big thanks to One Pearl Button for this clever Sharpie DIY! Do you have any Sharpie holiday tips and tricks up your sleeve? Tell us about them!

You can check out more Sharpie creations on SharpieUncapped.com and stay connected 24/7 with us on Facebook & Twitter!

Gather up boxes that you can neatly and carefully pack everything up into.  Here’s a tip: Re-organize storage bins to maximize space and re-use the gift boxes from the holidays instead of buying new ones to store your things in (Pictured below: a shirt box, a box that came with a mug and one large mailing box).

Label your boxes with the coordinating items inside and when putting away, arrange them so that labels are easily seen and organized for your convenience when you take them out next year! 

If you pack smart now you’ll be able to spend more time later doing the things you really love with family and friends!

Some holiday items to consider organizing to keep you ahead of the pack:

• Special plates & dishes
• Ribbons and Bows
• Wrapping Paper
• Greeting Cards & Gift Tags
• Indoor/Outdoor Lights
• Indoor/Outdoor Decorations
• Fragile Ornaments
• Kid-made Ornaments
• Garland
• Wreaths
• Tree
• Tree Skirt

Any questions? Ask away! 

How do you use Sharpie markers to stay organized?  Leave your comments here or on Sharpie’s Facebook page!

Most likely, you have had your tree up and decorated for some time now, right? Yeah, me too.. but I had an idea after throwing a Sharpie DIY holiday party with some co-workers, where we customized and designed holiday gift wrap, cards, boxes, ornaments and more.  Ornaments, being the biggest hit, got me thinking that this would make for a fun activity to do with friends and family on a day like Christmas!

What you’ll need:

1. Plain ornaments (Matte-style work best)
2. A sleigh-full of Sharpie permanent markers

Take this in whatever direction you feel like!  If you’re a group of artists, go to town and get all artsy on the ornaments.  If you all have little to no artistic talent, scribble down favorite holiday memories, funny stories or write each other’s character traits on the ornaments (hah that one could get interesting!)  Whatever you decide make it fun! With Sharpie markers and your imagination, the direction you take it is completely up to you!

These are some of the ornaments that my co-workers and I made.  As you can see, some are more detailed than others and they all still look great!

Ornaments made with Sharpie!

Close up!

Lookin' good Ornies! (we're on a nickname basis)

Sticking with the ornament theme, you may remember these bells from back in the day or maybe your kids are at that age now and have brought them home from school.  I actually made these when I was in grade school and thought since I’m older, actually have control over my hands and have legible handwriting, I could take a second stab at this..

Every time a bell rings...

What you’ll need:

1. Small terra-cotta flowerpots (found at any craft store)
2. Tiny bells (also at craft stores)
3. Ribbon
4. A slew of Sharpie markers (I used a combo of Sharpie Water-Based Paint markers and good ol’ fashioned Sharpie Permanent Markers(not pictured))

Materials

Color the pots any color you’d like – and be sure to color a little on the inside too so that you don’t see any clay from an outside view (I had a ton of silver, red, blue and black, hence the color scheme – even Sharpie employees run low own product from time to time).  After coloring, embellish however you’d like!  When finished, thread the ribbon through the drainage hole to make a loop for hanging, then loop another ribbon inside the pot and attach a bell.  Now, start obnoxiously ringing your bells (heehee)!

These are the ones that I made…

O Christmas Tree

Draw your fav mascot or go with a college theme like this! (Rock Chalk)

Anchors away!

Lights. CAMERA. Action.

Now, just for fun I wanted to include this…   When I was out to lunch the other day with a coworker, the restaurant we went to decorated their tree with Sharpie-made ornaments!  In a timeless and classic style, employees names were handwritten on ornaments in metallic gold Sharpie.  Take a look..

Don't mind my brown gloves!

Oo I like the lighting in this one!

Sideways stocking

The Tree! Can you spot the ornaments?!

So what do you think?

How did you decorate for the holidays?  Post your pictures at www.Facebook.com/Sharpie, leave your name, favorite holiday memory, as well as how you used Sharpie markers this year! I’d like to write up a blog post and feature your Sharpie creations!  Can’t wait to see the pictures and hear how you celebrated!

Unwrap What’s Inside!

Happy Holidays!!

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Bored with your plain old laptop cover?  Well, not anymore!  You can design one just like this using Sharpie markers.  Susan Wassel (Sharpie PR/Social Media) has come up with a creative and inexpensive way to design interchangeable laptop art with packing tape and Sharpie markers!   Susan uses her favorite snowflake stencil, provided by the one and only Stencil 1, to give her personal computer a seasonal touch!  Watch as she takes you through the quick and easy step-by-step process!

Share your thoughts and all the ways you use your Sharpie markers to make your everyday objects stand out!

Vist SharpieUncapped.com to get more seasonal tips to make your holiday one to remember!

UNWRAP What’s Inside This Holiday Season With Sharpie!!

Happy Holidays!

Follow @Sharpiesusan on Twitter and become a Fan of Sharpie on Facebook!