I've had a week of challenges.
A few of them were of the "I'll call it a 'challenge' when I really mean I would rather not be doing this thing" type.... and a few that were fun-filled "I'll do this even though it's difficult just because I want to" kind! It's the latter I want to talk about today.
I don't know if you've noticed, but I love design challenges! I love being in them. I love hosting them! I even love thinking about and planning what I would do if I was in one I'm not in! :-) (Can't do them all!) I'm planning to team up with others to host at least 2 design challenge blog hops this year, and hope you will be able to join us.
These past few weeks, I've been working on a couple of major design challenges. I won't tell all, but one is for a small group of people from the "Metals" group on Artisan Whimsy. We signed up, then were selected for this month's challenge. It has involved designing 5 pieces each. It seemed so easy when I volunteered! ;-) Our designs were due Thursday and I'll announce when the results will be released. I encourage you to join Artisan Whimsy so you can see these as soon as they are published! (You can sign up from the main AW page.) I'll also be posting my own results on this blog, but it may be days after the AW event.
In the meantime, I'd like to hear your thoughts and experiences about design challenges!
- Have you participated in a blog hop/design challenge yet?
- If so, what were some of your favorites? What did you like about them?
- About how much time seems right to you for developing your design(s) for a design challenge?
- If you haven't participated, is there anything preventing you from trying one (that you feel comfortable sharing)?
- Are there things you wish would be implemented in a blog hop to make things go more smoothly?
I learn something new every time I host a challenge or participate in one! I hope you feel the same way!
Thanks for sharing your ideas here! Have a great weekend!
~Sharyl
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6 comments:
I guess I must be a challenge avoider. For some reason they seem counter to my intuitive process and the whole idea of deadlines gives me the psychic hives.
I think it's the idea of committing to a project that makes me step back from entering challenges as I rather like to let my designs unfold on my worktable and don't like things hanging over my head.
Kudos to you folks that are inspired to enter challenges as I see it must be fun and a great way to share.
Hope this didn't come off as too negative but I thought you might want someone to weigh in that doesn't do challenges.
Thanks for asking!
Not too negative at all, Kimberly! I'm thrilled to hear your perspective!
I know there have been times when I've found myself creating funky things that didn't quite "feel right" to me just because it met the criteria for a challenge. That's when I know it's time for me to step back a bit. If I've created something I think is ugly just so it matches the colors for a challenge, I've missed the point! Better for me to be inspired by the challenge than completely ruled by it. That's my latest philosophy anyway! ha! And time, well, that is whole other factor, isn't it!? Thanks so much for sharing! I appreciate it!
I have the opposite problem - I love them and I "over" sign up for them! I need to pace myself! But I do really enjoy them, and do learn new things - which is all good!
This year I decided to take part in a few challenges and have just finished one where you made items from a selection sent to you adding what you want. I found this very difficult to work with beads so different to anything else in my stash. This was a large blog hop.
I've bought a pack where there are 2 packs to choose from and you add what's necessary. When it arrived the set of 5 main beads are huge but I've got some ideas happening. This one is just posting finished pic
Next is a destash challenge where you choose things from your own stash that have been there for ages take a pic of your "kit" then make something. From a design point I'm enjoying this one best using items I've been saving for something different. This will be finished pic. I think you need about 6-8 weeks particularly with other commitments and for blog hopping it takes time to read and comment so either limiting the numbers or putting in manageable lists of numbers or categories would help. Being really aware of the criteria at the start is good otherwise you can stress yourself unnecessarily. I'll take part in more challenges but being selective is important too.
Ha! I'm addicted to challenges! Before I know it, I will have signed up for 5 or 6 of them, all due the same week. Challenges do push my creativity, and having a deadline helps me to stay focused. Having said that, when I finish up with this round, I'm going to step back a bit, and work on getting some inventory together, so I can finally open a shop!
I have been on both sides of the fence, as a participant and as a blog hop hostess. I enjoy both! One thing that I enjoy is having some "creative room". In other words, having guidelines that provide some structure, without being so narrow as to limit creativity.
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