Chattanooga times free press wrapping paper contest

Erin Knocke used paper cutouts of snowflakes in her winning wrapping-paper design in 2010.

HELPFUL HINTS* Be original.* Use bright colors.* Fill the entire page.* Choose paint, crayon, chalk, markers or pens, construction paper or other creative materials.* Remember: Your design will be repeated to make a real sheet of wrapping paper.

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all was fine, because people were wrapping presents with your design.

That will be the scenario for some elementary school student this December in the annual Chattanooga Times Free Press Holiday Wrapping-Paper Art Contest that begins today.

In fact, that's what happened to Erin Knocke of Tennessee Christian Preparatory School in 2010. The mixed-media design in traditional holiday colors by the then-9-year-old was selected from more than 1,000 entries in the contest, which is co-sponsored by Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga and Chattanooga Kids on the Block.

This year, in addition to the winning wrapping paper being printed in the Times Free Press on Nov. 27 and Kids on the Block wrapping presents with the design at Hamilton Place mall Dec. 8-24, the winning design and those of 10 to 12 runners-up will be displayed at the Creative Discovery Museum.

Complete rules are below, but the contest is open to students in grades 1-5, and entries must be received by the Times Free Press by 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17.

CONTEST RULES

Who can enter: Any elementary school student in grades 1-5.

Deadline: Entries must be received at the Times Free Press by 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17.

Grand prize: A special arts package from Allied Arts, a goody bag from Kids on the Block, $25, a photograph published in the newspaper, and the Christmas design printed as wrapping paper in the newspaper Sunday, Nov. 27. The winner will be contacted no later than Tuesday, Nov. 22.

Judges: The Times Free Press design staff and representatives from Allied Arts, Kids on the Block and Creative Discovery Museum will select the winners.

Entry format: Use an 81/2-by 11-inch piece of unlined paper. One entry per child. Entry should have the child's name, age, address, telephone number and school printed on the back. (A teacher's name is also helpful.)

Mail or hand-deliver entry to: Wrapping Paper Art Contest, Times Free Press, 400 E. 11th St., Chattanooga, TN 37403.

Note: Entries will not be returned.

For more information: 757-6282.

It's time to enter the Lin C. Parker Wrapping Paper Design Contest.

Here's what you need to know.

* Who can enter: Any student in grades 1-5 (public, private or home school). One entry per child.

* Deadline: 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20.

* Mail or hand-deliver to: Wrapping Paper Contest, Chattanooga Times Free Press, 400 E. 11th St., Chattanooga TN 37403.

* How to enter: Use an 8 1/2- by 11-inch piece of unlined paper. On the back, print the child's name, age, address, telephone number, grade and school. A teacher's name is also helpful.

* Helpful hints: Be original. Use bright colors. Fill the entire page. Use paint, crayon, chalk, markers, pens, construction paper or other creative material.

* Judges will represent the sponsoring organizations: the Times Free Press, ArtsBuild, Creative Discovery Museum and Untied Way of Greater Chattanooga.

* Where to see the designs: The winning design will be enlarged to the size of a newspaper broadsheet and printed on premium paper, with several finalists' designs on the reverse side. The page will be inserted in the newspaper on Sunday, Dec. 8, and on view at www.timesfreepress.com for the Readers' Choice voting. All of the finalist designs will be displayed at CDM, 321 Chestnut St., in December and will be available in the United Way's gift-wrapping booths at Hamilton Place, 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd., Dec. 6-8 and Dec. 13-24.

* Grand prize: The winner will be featured with a story and photograph in the newspaper and also receive a cash prize of $25 plus an arts package and goody bag from the sponsors.

* The founder: The contest was the idea of Lin C. Parker, a longtime writer and page designer for the newspaper and an accomplished artist. It was renamed in her honor after her death in September 2017.

* Information: Call Dylan Chesser at 423-757-6593 or email him at dchesser@timesfree press.com.

December 9, 2018 at 1:00 a.m. | Updated December 7, 2018 at 1:40 p.m.

Seven-year-old Anna Shadrick, winner of the 2018 Lin C. Parker Gift Wrap Design Contest, poses with her design in the studio at the Times Free Press on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn. (Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter)

An afternoon art project at Nana's house produced more than just another keepsake for the refrigerator for 7-year-old Anna Shadrick.

Her colorful drawing of peppermints and holly has won the second-grader the 2018 Lin C. Parker Wrapping Paper Design Contest. A tradition at the Times Free Press since 2002, the Wrapping Paper Design Contest was renamed last year in memory of its founder, who died in September 2017.

Anna's original design is included in today's newspaper inserts as a real sheet of wrapping paper that readers may use for their Christmas gifts. On the flip side of the page are five honorable-mention designs from this year's competition, which drew more than 500 entries from students in grades 1-5.

Seven-year-old Anna Shadrick won the 2018 Lin C. Parker Gift Wrapping Paper Design Contest with her peppermint design. The grand prize was $25 cash and an arts package and goody bag from ArtsBuild, Chattanooga's Kids on the Block and Creative Discovery Museum.

"Anna's bright peppermints immediately caught our eyes," says Sara Jackson, design team leader at the Times Free Press. "We love how she made such precise circles, but then added a whimsical touch with swirls of red. The green leaves of the holly complement the red and white candies well. Taken all together, it just looks like Christmas."

Works by 15 finalists are on view at the Creative Discovery Museum, a co-sponsor of the contest with ArtsBuild and Chattanooga's Kids on the Block, which has Anna's design as an option at its gift-wrapping stations at Hamilton Place mall.

Works by the finalists, selected by representatives of the sponsoring organizations, also were posted online for public voting, earning a Readers' Choice win for 10-year-old Sadie Hernandez, a fourth-grader at City Park Elementary in Dalton, Georgia.

The eldest of three children of Chris and Abby Shadrick of Chickamauga, Georgia, Anna began her design knowing she wanted to draw peppermints. She wasn't sure about the secondary image. She started out with triads of holly, then tried a garland of bows and bells, but those lines were difficult to repeat.

"When I couldn't draw the lines good, I got frustrated," she says.

So it was back to the holly.

The Magic Marker peppermints dance across the page in random sizes. Her secret for those perfect circles? Lids from Nana's old medicine bottles and beauty products, Anna says. Nana is Patsy Shadrick of Rock Spring, Georgia.

Both motifs offer reason-for-the-season reminders that Anna learned at school, Oakwood Christian Academy in Chickamauga, her mom says.

Sadie Hernandez, a fourth-grade student at City Park Elementary, Dalton, Ga., was the Readers' Choice winner in the 2018 Lin C. Parker Gift Wrapping Paper Design Contest.

The white and red peppermint candies represent the purity of Christ and the blood he shed on the cross. Likewise, holly's prickly leaves and red berries represent his crown of thorns and drops of blood.

Anna has taken an art class at Hobby Lobby, and she and her siblings, Amelia, 6, and Owen, 3, love to see what's in store when they visit Nana, who also loves to draw. "They do projects all the time at my mom's," Chris Shadrick says.

Abby Shadrick says she's especially proud of her daughter's gracious attitude toward winning.

"When I asked her, 'Did you want to win?' she said, 'I wanted God to decide.'"

Contact Lisa Denton at or 423-757-6281.