Introduction: How to Enter the Homemade Holiday Gifts Project Contest!

About: Eric J. Wilhelm is the founder of Instructables. He has a Ph.D. from MIT in Mechanical Engineering. Eric believes in making technology accessible through understanding, and strives to inspire others to learn …
Winners for the 2006 Holiday Gift Contest have been posted here.

Enter the 2007 Homemade Holidays Contest here!

Ok, I'm a super cheapskate. I won't pay for parking, full-price movie showings, or anything I can routinely find in a dumpster. Even the act of shopping fills me with hate. As a kid, the worst thing in the world was stepping into a department store with my parents; they could have punished me with shopping trips. I'd be tired, angry, hungry, sore, and bored all rolled into a tantrum ready to erupt. Today, I'm not much better: my tantrums have evolved into anti-consumerism diatribes.

Some stores, however, leave me feeling rejuvenated. Well-built tools, quality raw materials, or even weird bits of broken gadgetry provide the means, inspiration, and building blocks for an infinite number of creative projects.

Around the holidays, this presents a certain dilemma. Not everyone on my gift list is excited to receive tools and raw materials -- they need a finished product. So, I buy the silk swatches, LEDs, and sustainably-grown Chechen hardwood myself, and use them to make presents for my friends and family (and I save the lecture on why shopping for consumer products exhausts both me and the environment).

Grandma gets a digital picture viewer customized for her, Christy gets an LED light box and Escher print, the cousins get Marshmallow guns, and so on.

The number of great Instructables documenting homemade gifts tells me I'm not alone. Just a few:
Cheap 'n Easy Digital Picture Frame
Duct Tape Handbag
LED Popsicle Stick Picture Frame
Make a 100 page Notebook
photo cube - frameless, cheap and easy!
Save $200 in 2 minutes and have the world’s best writing pen (the standard Instructables team welcome gift)
Telephone Handset Microphone,
Walnut & Chocolate Covered Homemade Marshmallows,
and of course, the gift you just can't seem to give away fast enough,
A Free Yacht.

So, save Grandma another baffling discussion on the links between the Christmas card industry, the WTO, and the Illuminati, and instead make her and everyone else something nice and share how you did it with us.

First Prize
We'll give the three best Instructables documenting holiday gifts your choice of one of these really cool tools:
Cuisinart 7c food processor
Dremel 400-6/90 400 Series XPR Rotary Tool Kit
Fluke 115 True-RMS Multimeter
Singer 1525 sewing machine
(yes, I know, buying these undoubtedly fills the coffers of the Christmas-Industrial complex, but nice tools will let you make even better presents!)

Second Prize
Five projects will win Leatherman juice S2 pocket knives laser-engraved with the Instructables logo and your username, real name, email address, or whatever you want. Laser-engraving is our way to make a homemade present for you!

Second Prize prime!
Five projects will win Make Magazine Thomas J. Glover Pocket References Guides! These things are handy!

Third Prize
10 projects will win your choice of a water bottle or a flashlight laser-engraved with the Instructables logo and your moniker.

Honorable mention
15 Projects will be selected for honorable mention and will win an Instructables patch to sew onto your bag, jacket, or wherever.

Any project that documents a homemade gift and is added to the Homemade gifts group is eligible. Bonus points for introduction steps that clearly summarize the project and explain why your gift is perfect for the person receiving it. Instructables that show gift projects for kids to make are similarly eligible. All entries must be published and entered in the Homemade gifts group by end of the day January 1st, 2007.

Step 1: Contest Overview

How do I enter the Homemade Holiday Gifts Project Contest?
Any project related to Thanksgiving posted publicly and entered in the Homemade Gifts group on the Instructables website during the month of December 2006 will be automatically entered in the Homade Holiday Gifts Project Contest. If you have questions about specific project ideas, post them as comments and we will respond publicly. Users who wish to post a project and not be considered for the contest will be given the opportunity to decline any award they might win.

How to Win
All contest entries will be judged for merit. Projects will be evaluated for at least the following:

  • instruction quality, including:
    • completeness (photos and text for all important steps)
    • clear, concise text description including a properly summarized introduction with the motivation for doing the project and the rationale for why the project make an excellent gift.
    • clear photographs (2+ megapixel preferred), use macro mode for close up shots
    • use of photo-notes where appropriate
    • list of parts and tools required (if appropriate)
    • safety notes (if appropriate)
    • usefulness
    • originality
    • technical merit

See: Tips for Project Authors

Projects not written in English will be considered at the discretion of the judges.

Project Contest Prizes:
First Prize
Three projects will win your choice of one of the following:
Cuisinart 7c food processor
Dremel 400-6/90 400 Series XPR Rotary Tool Kit
Fluke 115 True-RMS Multimeter
Singer 1525 sewing machine

Second Prize
Five projects will win Leatherman juice S2 pocket knives laser engraved with the Instructables logo and text of your specification.

Third Prize
10 projects will win your choice of a water bottle or a flashlight laser engraved with the Instructables logo and text of your specification.

Honorable Mention
15 Instructables patches

May I submit multiple entries?
Yes. You may submit as many entries as you want. Each project posted to the Instructables website during December 2006 that is related to Homemade Holiday Gift giving is a separate eligible entry in the contest. Entries may also be split into multiple Instructables Projects when appropriate.

Who is eligible for the contest?
The Contest is open anyone who is 18 years or older as of their date of entry, regardless of your place of residence. (see notes in contest rules for foreign entrants).

Step 2: Official Rules

And the lawyers make us say...


Instructables Project Contest
Official Rules and Regulations

General Submission Rules
Projects must be entered using the Instructables web service. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Decisions of Instructables (Contest Administrator) are final. All taxes including but not limited to national, federal, state and local are the responsibility of Contest Participants. No responsibility assumed for lost or misdirected entries. By virtue of participation, the Participant:

*represents and warrants:
1. that the Participant is not bound by any intellectual property agreement or any other agreement or obligation, with an employer or otherwise, that prohibits or limits in any way the Participant's right to participate and/or the Participant's right to submit material, or that may limit the Contest Administrator's rights in any way to such submission in the event the Entry is chosen as a winner.
2. that the Participant or Participants are over the age of eighteen (18).
3. that the Participants submission does not contain or incorporate the intellectual property and/or confidential information of any third party;

  • releases the Contest Administrator, affiliates, employees and agents from any form of action or claims of damages, costs or losses of any kind resulting from participation.

Who may enter
Any individual or group of individuals, age 18 and over as of the date of entry, may enter the Contest. Direct employees of the Contest Administrator, contest judges, or their affiliates, advertising, promotion, production agencies, members of their immediate families, or those with whom they are domiciled are not eligible. In addition, anyone living in a country, province, or state where the Contest is prohibited, taxed, or otherwise restricted under national, federal, provincial, state and local laws, rules, or regulations is ineligible. Participants who are residents of a country, state, or province that prohibits unregistered contests or requires the Contest Administrator to post a bond are ineligible. The Contest Administrator expressly disclaims any responsibility or liability for any Participant who enters when it is illegal for them to do so. By entering this Contest, Participants agree to waive any additional rights granted in regard to Contests by the country, state, or province in which they are domiciled. Foreign entrants are cautioned to review the laws in the country or province in which they reside to determine if they are prohibited from participating.

How to Enter
Each Project entered in the Contest must be the original work and sole and exclusive property of the person or team who submits it. Entries must be submitted using the Instructables website.

Participants may enter more than one Project.

All Entries must be made publicly visible on the Instructables website on or before 11:59 PM ET on January 1, 2007. The Contest Administrator assumes no responsibility for lost, late, or misdirected entries.

How to Win
All Contest entries will be judged by a panel of judges selected by the Contest Administrator on the following:

  • instruction quality
  • originality
  • usefulness
  • technical merit

Participants agree to abide by all decisions of the Contest Administrator and the judges, which shall be final and binding with respect to all issues relating to the Contest.

Winning
Winners will be notified via e-mail by the Contest Administrator using the e-mail address associated with their Instructables user account. Winners will be notified on or about January 15, 2007. Winners may choose whether to accept any award. The list of winners, identifying only Instructables username, will be posted on the Instructables website. If you are chosen as a winner, you will be asked to supply your name and mailing address and other details needed to transfer your prize to you. Failure to respond within 10 days will constitute a forfeiture of any award.

Prizes
The following prizes will be awarded: 3 choice of tools, 5 Leatherman knives, 10 water bottles or flashlights, and 15 Instructables Logo patches. The contest administrator will make every effort to award all prizes, however if insufficient projects are submitted, not all prizes will be awarded. Total cash value of all Contest prizes is $2,000. Foreign entrants may be responsible taxes and import fees on any prize they might win. We may substitute cash or a gift certificate at Amazon.com instead of a prize when shipping a prize is impractical.

Address
To contact us: info@instructables.com

Legal Considerations
The odds of winning depend on the number of acceptable entries received and the decision of the judges. The prizes will be awarded and mailed to the winners. The Administrator is solely responsible for the payment of all prizes. Upon delivery to the winner's address, the Administrator will be deemed to have awarded the prize to the winner with the winner assuming full responsibility for the prize. There will be no substitution for prizes other than as offered. Each winner, and not the Contest Administrator, is solely responsible for all other arrangements, costs and expenses associated with and receiving their prize, including without limitation, any taxes or other fees imposed by a government authority. All participants and winners agree that entering a project into the Instructables website constitutes agreement to the terms and conditions of the Entry rules. Winners will be notified by e-mail on or about January 15, 2007. The Contest Administrator's decision is final. If a winner fails to respond within 10 days of notification, an alternate winner will be selected. Prizes are not transferable.

Entries made on the Internet will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of Entry. In the event of a dispute, potential winners may be required to provide proof that the potential winner is the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the potentially winning Entry. By submitting an Entry, the Participant certifies that the Project entered in the Contest is their work, or that they have written legal permission from the property owner. Furthermore, they have read and understand the complete rules of the Contest and agree to abide by them.

By entering, Participants agree to release and hold harmless the Contest Administrator and their affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, representatives, agents, and employees, from any and all liability whatsoever for any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising from or in connection with, either directly or indirectly, 1) the awarding, acceptance, receipt, possession, use, and/or misuse of any prize awarded herein; or 2) participation in the Contest or any prize related activities, including but not limited to traveling to or from any prize related activity. The Contest Administrator is not responsible for incorrect or inaccurate entry of information including, but not limited to, technical malfunctions, human error, lost/delayed data transmission, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, line failures of any telephone network, computer equipment, software or any combination thereof, Entry materials that have been tampered with, or e-mail or mail-in entries that are illegible, late, lost, damaged, postage due, or misdirected. The Contest Administrator is not responsible for any injury or damage to the Participant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any material in this Contest. Entries that have been tampered with or altered are void.

The Administrator reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend this Contest if it becomes technically corrupted or if for any reason the Internet portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infections by computer viruses, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Contest Administrator that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest promotion.

This Contest shall be interpreted and governed by the substantive laws of the State of California and any applicable laws and regulations of the United States. The Participant agrees that any and all disputes which cannot be resolved between the parties, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively, before a court located in Alameda County, CA having competent jurisdiction, which Court shall apply the laws of the State of California without regard to any principles of conflicts of laws, and submission of said Entry constitutes acceptance of such laws. The Participant further agrees that no claims, judgments or awards shall exceed the amount of the Contest prize and under no circumstances shall include attorney's fees; nor shall any Participant be permitted to obtain awards for punitive, incidental, consequential or other similar damages or have any damage awards multiplied or increased for any reason.

Contest Administrator
Instructables, Inc is the contest sponsor and administrator.