Write & Illustrate a Hallmark Greeting Card--win $500!

I don't know what you could write that would go with this photo and make a teenager laugh, but that's kind of the idea behind the current Hallmark Cards contest: Create a greeting card that uses one of your photos (or an illustration) and your text to make a teenager laugh out loud. Piece of cake, right?

This is a part of an on-going series of contests from Hallmark (with a different theme for each one) and the open dates for this one are August 2-22, 2010. Winners will be contacted in August and published online in October. And there's a nice cash prize: $250 if you win and they publish the card online, another $250 if they sell your card in stores! Not bad.

There's a winner's gallery online, so you can see what others have done creatively in past contests. Hey, you've bought a gazillion cards in your life probably, now is the time to create your own! All of the software and design templates are online and, of course, it's free to enter.

Contest Tip: Remember to always read the "official rules" of any contest so that you know what rights you're expected to grant should you win. I try to be very careful about only running legit contests by major companies on this blog, but it's up to you to read and know the rules. NEVER enter a contest that requires you give up all rights to your photos and always write and ask for clarification if you don't understand the rules.