<center>*Good day Steemians! Today, I am going to present to you the entries and announce the winners of this week's #clayartcontest run 8 - One of the Best Gifts You Received. Click [here](https://steemit.com/clayartcontest/@josejirafa/clay-art-contest-8-one-of-the-best-gifts-you-received-or-entries-and-winners-for-last-week-s-josejirafa-clay-art-contest-7) for more details about last week's contest*</center>



<center>![banner clay art.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmW1nmPpWxurYgBcwSgKmbYkTcjjNYgbaVYnP4ypbBYZRd/banner%20clay%20art.jpg)</center>





#### <center>On Clay Art Contest Run 8</center>

I expected a scarcity of upvotes for this week and I was not mistaken. To all the entries, I am sorry for the low rewards. I did receive such positive comments saying how much they enjoy making clay art. It's such an honor to be a catalyst for that. Keep honing your creativity guys!



I am also thinking of temporarily stopping the contest for the next 2 months. I will be graduating this Saturday but my journey as a student does not end here. For the months, I would like to focus on reviewing for my board exams. This would means less time spent on Steemit, less posts, less author rewards to fund the contest and less time to review the entries of clay artists. Luckily, I still have two weeks to spare which is just in time to last the contest until its 10th run. 



Thanks to all the clay artists out there who have made this contest run this far :D





<center>![gothique page break.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeZw72c5XofyXCe91tKxHDRMu6f51rn4SvjpGpqqNFfAs/gothique%20page%20break.png)</center>



#### <center>Commitment to Reward Quality Clay Artists</center>



With that being said, I continue to pledge my dedication to rewarding quality clay art in Steemit. This wouldn't be possible without the generous offers and support from our sponsors, local community, fellow steemians and loyal contestants. I do hope we reach a much bigger audience in time. I owe my gratitude to everyone who helped me with this contest and who are with me in rewarding clay artist on this platform.





<center>![gothique page break.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeZw72c5XofyXCe91tKxHDRMu6f51rn4SvjpGpqqNFfAs/gothique%20page%20break.png)</center>





## <center> Announcing the Winners </center>



Without further delay, I proudly present the contestants and winners for this week's #clayartcontest:







### <center>1st place</center>



#### <center>@purplemagic</center>



<center>[Clay Art Contest # 8 - One of the Best Gifts You Received](https://steemit.com/clayartcontest/@purplemagic/clay-art-contest-8-one-of-the-best-gifts-you-received)</center><center>![purple.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbHPp73yYaGjhxLk3szrcNW3x2UjtXPnw81J28M3ye2pk/purple.jpg)</center>


Besides the wonderfully crafted and intricate design of this necklace pendant, check out @purplemagic's story on how this necklace evolved. It's amazing how a well-thought of gift can go a long way. Her post is just really inspirational; how a gift represents a very important moment in your life.


### <center>2nd place</center>

#### <center>@carine1988</center>

<center>[Little Teddy](https://steemit.com/clayartcontest/@carine1988/little-teddy)</center><center>![carine.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWW5GjUDx4DhQ5R5jP8UPCmEy4C5hkWBP2PoqeiLCycqH/carine.jpg)</center>



This teddy bear is a replica of her 6 year old cousin's gift. I quote:

> What makes it special is that she saved her allowance for a week during that time just to purchased these little bear.She was just 10 and now shes graduating junior high.She knew I loved these cute stuffed toy and I never imagined at that time that she'd go all the way to buy it,it also comes with a thoughtful meassaged written in a piece of paper expressing her greetings,I was really moved by her sweet gesture that time.She's now all grown up yet still so chldish and sweet towards us(her older cousins).





### <center>3rd place</center>

#### <center>@grace44</center>

<center>[One of the Best Gift I received -Clay Art Contest #8](https://steemit.com/clayartcontest/@grace44/one-of-the-best-gift-i-received-clay-art-contest-8)</center><center>![grace44.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmThxJ8cMRL3VJJLL3YnNeMvAgEY6ejPMpb8AP5a86EAay/grace44.jpg)</center>



Again, this submission was inspired from a loved one's gift: @grace44's husband. Here she wrote, 

> I am here again to share the best gift that I received a teddy bear. I got few material gifts from my first lover and now my husband. But this teddy bear is very special for me, because this was the first gift that I received from him 10 years ago.







### <center>Other Entries</center>

#### <center>@chellelbaguio</center>

<center>[Clay Art Contest # 8 - One of the Best Gifts You Received ''A BAG''](https://steemit.com/clayartcontest/@chellelbaguio/clay-art-contest-8-one-of-the-best-gifts-you-received-a-bag)</center><center>![chellel.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXUT3j8oGRz97ifKaSuQhBSR34VtBNQk853GebA6tkbpt/chellel.jpg)</center>

> The best gift I received is a bag from my ex boyfriend now my husband that i until now I used it 

#### <center>@tonie</center>



<center>[Clay Art Contest # 8 - One of the Best Gifts You Received](https://steemit.com/clayartcontest/@tonie/clay-art-contest-8-one-of-the-best-gifts-you-received)</center><center>![tonie.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQMGS1MrdT4Vdyk9CvZ3kyhn4HH2DMaeAXD4oX2YYAuQw/tonie.jpg)</center>



> The best gift I received is a bag from my ex boyfriend now my husband that i until now I used it 

### <center>A Big Thanks to all the previous sponsors and supporters!</center>


![Killerwhale.PNG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbx2xarBbRn6jW9dEYkdWDevqSmA6y4KnNpgRgJxhwC7A/Killerwhale.PNG)



<center>![kim.PNG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmb6xQquQYqUVyiRfx9gdcX6WdSbiXmqdrFGrWi1JDDzYu/kim.PNG)</center>



![jassen.PNG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbu77EtEvAFdzDm9SuejGvrZcVTcJAHvdU75Vpoi5KbU9/jassen.PNG)



![sheila.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPca5Fk9s7d9zEg2kmPmtsyk4KyBmvZdwsg79sjP2SPWo/sheila.png)</center>



![girl.PNG](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYgrprpSeSFK7tJK7oBi2UoJp1qjLS7KrTjuB4UBFFv8b/girl.PNG)</center>



<center><sub>My appreciation to @killerwhale, @ybanezkim26, @jassennessaj, @smaeunabs, @girlbeforemirror. These are such great Steemians which is why I invite you to check their blogs and see for yourself</sub></center>





<center>![gothique page break.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeZw72c5XofyXCe91tKxHDRMu6f51rn4SvjpGpqqNFfAs/gothique%20page%20break.png)</center>





### <center>This Weeks Clay Art Theme: Something That Reminds you of School </center>



###### <center>A lot of students are graduating at this time of the year. For me, the month of March brings a lot of memories from my High School Graduation and now I am graduating in a university once more! I would love to know what thing reminds you of the times when you used to be in school. Let your imagination run wild with the texture, colors, sizes and designs. Please add in a short story in your write-up. Have fun!</center>





<center>![gothique page break.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeZw72c5XofyXCe91tKxHDRMu6f51rn4SvjpGpqqNFfAs/gothique%20page%20break.png)</center>







## <center>About This Week's Contest</center>



Here are the details for this week's #clayartcontest:



**Inclusion Rules**

Like all contests here in Steemit, I need to lay down a few ground rules for everyone. I will use this as a basis whether your entry is considered official or not.

* *Upvote this post*: Hope that doesn't sound too much. I believe more upvotes on this post will merit more rewards later on :D

* *Resteem*: Not everyone is totally on board with this one as it disrupts the delicate layouting of their blog. But I do need a bit of exposure. You may resteem before making a post so your latest post appears on top.

* *Make a post and use #clayartcontest as your main tag*: This will make it easier to look for the entries

* *Post the URL of your entry at the comments section below.* I would also appreciate it if you upload the photo with your comment and URL so everyone can see your work!





**Other Rules**

* As of the moment, you may use any type of molding material. But I do prefer if you use modeling clay.

* Your post should include a short write-up. It could easily be a short explanation on how you made your entry. It does help to make your post more appealing. We are after Quality Content after all ;D

* Please nominate someone who you think would love to make clay art with us. Tag his/her name in your post for the nomination. He/She doesn't necessarily have to make an entry but it does make the game so much better. 

* **ADDITIONALLY**, you could also suggest a theme for next week's contest. I want you guys to take part in the success of this endeavor. I surely wouldn't want to command anybody to just make clay art as I wish. So if you have an awesome idea, leave your thoughts below.





**Judging**

* The contest will end 7 days after posting.

* I will be the judge for the contest.

* Criteria 1: Quality of clay art. In terms of intricacy of design, color match, fine details, effort

* Criteria 2: The Write-up. How you present your entry will affect your entry as well. Go for winning posts as well.

* The more out of the box the entries are, the better chances of winning





**Rewards**

I received a suggestion from @thealliance family to reward contestants with this post's payout instead of a defined value. I know what you are thinking, there is a lack of security to it. Of course, the effort you put into your work is proportional to the reward you want to reach. Am I right? Trust me, I have been in a lot of contests in Steemit as well and I know how it feels when contests mention "rewards as post payouts" but for the mean time, I hope you guys bear with me. The price of Steem is really low right now which may be one of the reasons why our post payouts are so minute. I will however be setting a bar with the prizes as a fail-safe mechanism in case this post does not reach the usual payouts. 

* First Place - 0.5 SBD (Minnow Food) + 40% of post payout

* Second Place - 0.3 SBD (Minnow Bite) + 30% of post payout





**Benefits**

* It's fun! How therapeutic what that be to spend a few minutes of your time molding clay into the desired theme. It won't take you long.

* All the entries will be featured in the next posts. I will also be occasionally resteeming a few entries which I find to be really spectacular so everyone can see it.

* Minnow Food awaits you.



If you want to see more Clay Art Entries or why I started this, you may click here:

* [Clay Art Contest # 8](https://steemit.com/clayartcontest/@josejirafa/clay-art-contest-8-one-of-the-best-gifts-you-received-or-entries-and-winners-for-last-week-s-josejirafa-clay-art-contest-7)

* [Clay Art Contest # 7](https://steemit.com/clayartcontest/@josejirafa/clay-art-contest-7-3-sbd-prizepool-a-childhood-toy-or-entries-and-winners-for-last-week-s-josejirafa-clay-art-contest-6)

* [Clay Art Contest # 6](https://steemit.com/clayartcontest/@josejirafa/clay-art-contest-6-5-sbd-prizepool-something-that-scares-you-entries-and-winners-for-last-weeks-josejirafa-clay-art-contest-5-1519656879)

* [Clay Art Contest # 5](https://steemit.com/clayartcontest/@josejirafa/clay-art-contest-5-5-sbd-prizepool-your-favorite-meal-entries-and-winners-for-last-weeks-josejirafa-clay-art-contest-4-1519049188)

* [Clay Art Contest # 4](https://steemit.com/clayartcontest/@josejirafa/clay-art-contest-4-5-sbd-prizepool-your-favorite-cartoon-character-entries-and-winners-for-last-weeks-josejirafa-clay-art-contest-3-1518454219)

* [Clay Art Contest # 3](https://steemit.com/clayartcontest/@josejirafa/6upklg-clay-art-contest-3-7-5-sbd-prizepool-or-entries-and-winners-for-last-week-s-josejirafa-clay-art-contest-2) 

* [Clay Art Contest # 2](https://steemit.com/untalented/@josejirafa/clay-art-contest-2-25-sbd-giveaway-entries-and-winners-for-last-weeks-josejirafa-clay-art-contest-1517244018)

* [Clay Art Contest Initial Run](https://steemit.com/untalented/@josejirafa/clay-art-contest-2-5-sbd-giveaway)





### <center>Again, I urge every participant to share this with their local community and fellow clay artists so they could be rewarded and featured for their great work as well</center>





<center>![gothique page break.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeZw72c5XofyXCe91tKxHDRMu6f51rn4SvjpGpqqNFfAs/gothique%20page%20break.png)</center>



<center>This is Aaron, Jose the Giraffe</center>

<center>![JOSEJIRAFA Banner.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXgWTnBFdS8gZxyiftamryGZz4hfJ1n8up2Hi3arRV8Gx/JOSEJIRAFA%20Banner.png)</center><center><sub>@steemph.cebu | @steemiteducation | @air-clinic | @thealliance | @steemph </sub></center>