This was emailed to me this morning. I thought I'd share in case anyone wants to give it a go!

http://jbcupcakechallenge.com/

I entered! Did anyone else? I'd love to see them.

Cool, thanks for posting! I could definitely use $10,000...

I would even be okay with the runner-up prize ("What's New, Cupcake" and a $100 Jelly Belly gift card)...I already have the book, so I could sell it...haha.

We have until July 10th to enter.

Time to put on my thinking cap! Hmmm....

Wow, thanks! I loved going to the Jelly Belly Factory as a kid and this is something I definitely want to do; now the hard part...what should I do?

I think that's the hard part too! The judges are picking five finalists based on orginality/creativity, appeal, and use of Jelly Belly Beans. I've looked through the contest gallery, and it was hard to find something that wasn't already done.

Lisa I know what you mean. I've been looking at the submissions too and everything does seem to be taken; I'm getting a migrane just thinking this lol.

Thanks for sharing. I'm going to give it a try!

Also, if you don't have a discount store nearby that carries Jelly Bellies, I got mine on Amazon.

Kirkland-Signature-Jelly-Belly-Flavors

This flavor guide also helped me figure out what colors I needed.

Flavor Guide

Good luck!

Did anyone notice some of the entries didn't use the jellybeans? And I wonder if it has to be a typical cupcake. Hmm... Thanks for sharing

I did notice that. In the FAQs, it says you can use other candy but, when picking the finalists, the judges are awarding 30 out of 100 points for use of Jelly Belly beans. I think not using them would exclude an entry.

Also, it doesn't look like it has to be a typical cupcake, just uses cupcakes or cake in a cup-type fashion. The inspiration page shows pound cake layered in glasses, and I've seen a few cupcake cakes that were really good.

http://jbcupcakechallenge.com/inspiration/

I also looked through some of the comments and it seems people weren't submitting their own work so that narrows down the pool further. Thanks

True. Some people just submitted pictures they found online. It's not well received as you probably read. The rules prohibit it, but this is just a gallery. From what I can tell, the pictures are only sorted to keep obscene material off the site.

There are also others who think the gallery voting is part of the contest. They lobby hard for their cupcake. It isn't. The judges pick the finalists based on the criteria mentioned earlier. It makes sense since a cupcake uploaded on the last day will have little to no votes. It's not until the 5 finalists are chosen in July that the public gets to vote for a winner.

The point is, don't sweat it if you upload a fabulous cupcake and someone gives you one out of five stars. It doesn't matter. My goal is to have fun, do my best, and see what happens.

Well said, Lisa! It's pretty frustrating--and disappointing--to see people "cheating" left and right. Oh well! I'm off to start practicing now...

Yes it is, but it happens especially when $10,000 is on the line.

I've also learned that the gallery is filtered to remove trademarks other than Jelly Belly. Two of my entries were removed because I modeled them after Jelly Belly flavors, A&W Root Beer and Sunkist Orange Soda, thinking it'd be okay. Not okay I guess. I don't think they were winners, but I liked the idea. I'll post them in my photos.

The finalists have been chosen by the judges! Vote for your favorite...

http://jbcupcakechallenge.com/vote/