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Fingers crossed this is the right place to post this thread. I am sure it will be flicked over to the correct place if not. So apologies in advance if I've picked the wrong spot.
I just wondered what you thought about crafting challenges.
Do you partake in them? If so why? If not, why not?
I ask really because I have be caught up in the allure of challenges of late and have found myself questioning myself as to why? I am always very inspired by the other entries and thrilled to bits if I happen to get anyone to stop by my blog to have a look and perhaps comment on what they see. Absolutely. But lately I have found myself feeling less inspired by my actual creation or by hopefully meeting and satisfying the challenge criteria but starting to self doubt. I don't think that this is meant to be the point of challenges at all, but to stimulate and to help inspire, right? I guess for me, the inspiration is generally based on what I get from others more so than what I offer others (sounds rather parasitic now doesn't it?) :oops:. This last statement is really why I wanted to inquire as to why you clever crafters partake or abstain from challenges? Just hoping to understand the challenge beast a bit better really. I don't really know any other card makers in the flesh that I can ask so I will have to rely on my internet crafting buddies to hopefully gain better insight. So, I hope you don't mind me asking, but know that I do value your input considerably.
I don't participate in as many as I'd like, but when I do it's because of one or more of the following:
- I need some inspiration or a little jumpstart to give me some direction for a project
- I stumble on a challenge and get a good idea for a project that would fit
- To support a friend who is hosting the challenge
- Find new blogs to read and get new traffic to my blog
I don't participate in as many as I'd like, but when I do it's because of one or more of the following:
- I need some inspiration or a little jumpstart to give me some direction for a project
- I stumble on a challenge and get a good idea for a project that would fit
- To support a friend who is hosting the challenge
- Find new blogs to read and get new traffic to my blog
I joined the CCC11 Christmas Card Challenge as a starting point for me to start a gallery after all these years. This is the first challenge I've done. It is helping me get my cards done well before December. Don't be intimidated about joining a challenge. I've found it to be a rewarding experience. Good Luck!
I participate mostly in the challenges here on SCS. I like them, not just for the challenge on the card-making side but also for the sense of community. I guess that's probably true for all the many blog-land challenges too, but with a finite amount of free time I tend to stick mostly to the forum. On the actual card-making side, I enjoy learning different techniques and having to think outside my own comfort zone - but I also enjoy just sitting down and making a card just because. I would see the point of a challenge being, as you say, to stimulate and inspire - if it's a chore to complete a card for a challenge it's probably not the right challenge .
- I need some inspiration or a little jumpstart to give me some direction for a project
- I stumble on a challenge and get a good idea for a project that would fit
- To support a friend who is hosting the challenge
- Find new blogs to read and get new traffic to my blog
^This
And sometimes I feel I want to make something but I don't really know what. In those cases, doing a challenge gives me that initial focus for a project.
Finding a challenge where there's a real culture of commenting is great; as Sabrina says, it can create a sense of belonging to a community. If you want constructive criticism on your work, you can say so in your blog post or gallery description and you may get people offering ideas for how you could change things or try out something to stretch you even further if you try something similar in the future. I think the best challenge I've come across in this regard is the "Less is More" challenge - the two hostesses will both offer up suggestions and many of the participants will too if you say you want them.
Further to my original post, do you ever participate in challenges in the hopes of winning one? Or do you consider winning or getting a mention not at all important?
My idea of participating in challenges is not so much as to win any prize but more of a showcase of my work and I like to read the comments pple post on my work. Sometimes I will ask a question in the post but most of the time only 1 or 2 will answer it.
I don't usually enter challenges that have any concept of a winner or "best of" in any sense so no, that's not a motivator for me. If it's there, fine but it's the challenge itself that's likely to pull me in, not the prospect of a prize or having my project picked out for a showcase of some sort.
My daughter teases me that I've turn papercrafting into an Olympic event because I like challenges so much. I'm not picky, I'll join any of them. I get a little overwhelmed starting a project from a blank canvas, so I go to challenges for inspiration, especially sketch challenges. They keep me from doing the same things over and over again and infuse some new ideas. And, yes, I like them so much, that I started a recipe challenge of my own.
To the OP, there's inspiration absolutely everywhere. If challenges don't do it for you for now, take a brake from them, and challenge yourself to find inspiration in other places. Whenever I go to an antique store, I go with the idea of finding something to inspire me to create.
I play along with the ODBD challenges because I like their stamps, and being lucky enough to win a gift voucher covers international postage. And I love that, of course , who wouldn't; but to feel you've won by merit and not just by being lucky enough to get drawn is a different thing again. I know most challenges work using random.org rather than somebody or a group of people trying to choose a winner - and of course I can totally understand why, on the logistical level apart from anything else.
It's one of the reasons I like the challenges here - they're more a challenge to you personally to do something, not a competition.
I only participate in those that spark something for me creatively. I subscribe to a lot of challenge blogs, even if I never participate. I gain a lot from seeing how their design teams, participants, and winners interpret each challenge. As a rule, I only participate in those that spark something in me or give me a push when I need it.
My daughter teases me that I've turn papercrafting into an Olympic event because I like challenges so much.
Thanks for the chuckle!
I try to do a challenge a week so that I actually stamp -- it motivates me to make a card. I also like seeing all the different cards that come from one challenge.
Understanding Crafting Challenges.
