Inland Lapidary's Cabochon Contest

Each contest will have a different material, stone, or design theme which will be posted here. Each contest winner will receive a $50 Gift Certificate toward any purchase at inlandlapidary.com and will be featured in our Gallery of Cabs and as the featured lapidary artist in lapidary section of inlandcraft.com. Please make sure to read through the rules and submission process and we look forward to seeing your work! The previous contest winners can be seen below and many of the entries in the Gallery of Cabs.

The Rules

• There is no purchase necessary to enter.
• The cabochon must be the sole work of the submitter and the submitter must own the rights to the image.
• Only entries submitted during a contest date range can be considered for that particular contest.
• Since your entry is judged on the image submitted it is important that you email the best picture possible of your work. The image must be a high resolution digital image taken with a 3 mega pixel or better camera and with an area of interest at least 1054 x 768 pixels in size. (There are some tips below to help you get the best picture)
• The cabochon can be loose or set.
• Submitted images can be used by Inland for internet purposes only such as in the Gallery of Cabs; featured artist, or similar.
• All decisions are final and at the sole discretion of Inland Craft.

Submitting Your Entry

Entry into the contest is done done by submitting a single image of your cabochon. The image should be crisp, clear, and of high enough resolution to reproduce well. We can crop and scale to fit, so when in doubt, just send us a good, crisp, large format image and we'll do the rest. The image should be well lit, clearly in focus, and free of background distractions, reflections, and people. Here are some tips to help you get the best image possible:

• Steady the camera using a tripod.
• Use the spot focus or macro focus feature of the camera to better focus at the spot you are aiming at.
• Turn off the flash, it will create a glare.
• If you can use a light tent, diffuser or similar set up to soften shadows.
• Pay attention to your light source. Daylight balanced lights will give best colors; other bulb types may require you to adjust the white balance. A north facing window can also work.
• Shooting on a white background can cause under exposure and result in a dark image. This can be corrected using the exposure compensation setting on your camera.

You will email your image by clicking here which will open your email program and generate a new email with our address and subject line filled in. Copy and then paste the text below into that email, filling in the required information. Then attach your image file. Please DO NOT change the subject line of the email - 

1. Your Full Name:
2. A Contact Number:
   include area code please
3. A short description of piece:
   Must include the stone it is made from, size, any unusual features
   Can also include special techniques used to create it or other details you would like to share.
4. A short description of your lapidary history:
   How long you have been involved, a club you belong to, etc.
5. COMPLETE URL of your website (if you have one): http://www.
6. By sending this submission I certify that I am the creator of the cabochon featured in the attached image, that the work done to make it was solely mine, that I own the rights to the attached image, and give my permission to Inland to use the image for promotional purposes (whether it wins this contest or not): Your Full Name Typed Here
7. DON'T FORGET TO ATTACH YOUR IMAGE FILE!
   If you have problems sending the email, check the attachment limit size on your email system and make sure your image is not larger than that. Our submission Gmail will accept an attachment up to 25MB.

If you have questions or problems submitting, please contact us for further assistance at InlandPics@gmail.com.

Past Cabochon Contest Winners

	Deborah Laun Shapes of Spring (3/1 - 4/30 2013) Shale with a seam of calcite running through it set in  a 2 part construction in sterling held together with a tab and one miniature brass bolt and nut. Total length, about 2"
	Colleen Croniger Show Us Your Ice (1/1 - 2/28 2013) Sonoran Dendritic Rhyolite rough in a sterling wire wrap setting. Dendrites look like ice covered branches.
	Tracey Field Moore Handmade Holiday Gift (11/1 - 12/31 2012) Hand crochet snowflake, white cotton thread with iridescent monofilament. Amethyst cabochon, stone 3/8″, flake 1 3/4″, cabbed on both sides with a groove into the girdle which the crochet cinches around.
	Steve Adams It's All About Agate (9/1 - 10/31 2012) Lace Agate with Drusy, cut in a bold projectile shape. The huge Drusy canyon is open only at the top and bottom (darker-appearing areas). Dimensions: 54mm x 28mm x 6.5mm. Weight: 74 carats.ts.
	Ward J. Monterosso Patriotic Contest (7/1 - 8/31 2012) Hematite in Quartz (red), Russian Nephrite Jade (white) and Afghani Lapis Lazuli (blue). The three are lapped flat and married using 303 epoxy. It measures 9mm wide x 13mm long x 5mm thick and weighs 5.65 carats.