kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,369 
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Post by kitbop on May 2, 2021 23:29:15 GMT
A happy welcome to Linda , christinec68 , azcrafty , AussieMeg, schroema , teacherlisa , scrappyrabbit , Chinagirl828 , Neisey Does it feel like life is unfreezing just a bit now? Weather is better. Linda is done her move. Folks are getting vaccinated. I've been feeling fairly good in terms of scrappy mojo, but will probably have less time as the garden and outdoors will need attention. Just a short note tonight - I hope you all had some scrappy time this iNSD weekend? I'm heading back down to join the virtual crop for 30 minutes while I can!!! But the main reason I'm here is that WE NEED TO POST OUR MAY CHALLENGES! There are no "wrong challenges". If you expect to use a supply/technique/theme a lot this month, turn it into a hefty challenge. If you want to try to use a neglected supply/technique/theme, turn it into a hefty challenge! Remember to add points. It can be 1 point, 5 points, 1 point/item etc. You can make it fair. Or not  Up to you. I usually try to keep it reasonable The list will close tomorrow night so grammadee is itching to get people to post! |
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Post by Linda on May 2, 2021 23:37:57 GMT
Thank you for being our fearless leader this month kitbopSadly Linda is still not quite done with her move...still waiting on DH to hire movers for the last of the furniture (the sideboard, the hutch, my dresser and headboard, the couch, loveseat, recliner, my exercise bike and a few more heavy things). We did get another load out of the shed today and DD14's basketball hoop so some progress. DH and I (and DS) are fully vaccinated - DD20 (21 on Friday) will get her second jab this week. But DD14 isn't old enough yet so not much has changed for us - still mostly staying home, still masking and social distancing. I'll put my thinking cap on challenge wise - since I pretty much only do the easy peasy points, the challenges seem a little, I dunno, a bit weird for me to post. Maybe a no spending challenge would work or a photo printing one? |
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Post by Linda on May 2, 2021 23:44:51 GMT
ok - I found three to add
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,109
Location: New York, NY
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Post by christinec68 on May 3, 2021 1:50:30 GMT
Hello Divas!! I am so ready for May Flowers and spring and being outside. DH & I are fully vaccinated now so we're looking forward getting out more and enjoying the summer. I did a little scrapping yesterday and I am going to start something tonight but I won't finish in time for iNSD bonus points. It's getting a little late and I have a bit of a headache. I'll take a look at the challenges to see if I can come up with something. kitbop - I hope you enjoyed the virtual crop! And thank you for heading up the team!  linda - good luck getting the big items moved. I saw on the news tonight that they are pretty close to approving the vaccine for those 12-15yo. |
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,454
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on May 3, 2021 7:29:36 GMT
Hello team! It's been so long since I've played along with a team. I plan on taking the easy peasy points because I find the challenges so complicated these days, I really prefer the old days when everything was one point and it was quick and easy to add up. I'm sure it's probably not as difficult as it appears but I'd rather create than try and work it out.  We had some unseasonably warm weather this weekend so I didn't end up doing anything for NSD but I've been playing along with Shimelle's class and hope to get some more of those layouts done this month. |
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,369
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Post by kitbop on May 3, 2021 14:36:43 GMT
when everything was one point That's an interesting point. I will discuss further with the organizers. Actually - a good moment to ask for some feedback. Everyone uses challenges and enjoys challenges IN A DIFFERENT WAY! So I think we've just gone with inclusivity and hope peas can pick what they want out of the challenges. I really would love to hear what everyone here likes/dislikes, because it makes it easier to tailor the set up. The goal is to get peas playing along and involved. Here is my recent thought: Through the past years, every possible challenge has been posed. There are no "new" ones What if we put them ALL in a list, and chose 20-30 of them randomly each month. And boom, there's the challenge list. 1 point per. We could organize it so that there are 5 product challenges, 5 technique challenges, 5 theme challenges, 5 colour/number/other challenges.
How many challenges would you like to work from each month? I just picked 20. It could be 10. or 50.
Would you be upset to not be posting challenges yourself? Should we do a random assortment of challenges, but also have each participant add ONE challenge? Or maybe add a few specific challenges for the month/seasons (like using "5" of something for the month of May; or using May FLOWERS, etc.) PLEASE know that this is just a random suggestion, brainstorming, but more importantly we need to know what would work for YOU! |
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Post by Linda on May 3, 2021 15:47:02 GMT
kitbop - I'll be honest - my layouts are so very simple that I almost always get more points from easy-peasy than I do from challenges. So as long as easy peasy counting is an option, I'll probably choose that over challenges unless challenges are worth enough to enable me to match/exceed the easy points with simple layouts. In general I do have mixed feelings about the easy peasy counting - I take advantage of it but it does take away from the challenge aspect. But as far as your idea? I like it - I think it's getting harder for people to come up with challenges every month. I do like the idea of having seasonal or month-related ones included. 10-20 challenges are good
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,454
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on May 4, 2021 8:33:40 GMT
Well that was me having a bit of a whinge but thank you for not taking offence I'll be perfectly honest and say there are two reasons I haven't joined the teams and challenges over the last few months: life has gotten in the way, and my perception is the points have become so complicated that I feel stifled by the challenges rather than inspired. I find it much easier to run down a list of challenges and count how many I've met and know that 12 challenges on my page equals 12 points + points for creating and sharing. While earning points and chasing higher scores is it's own sort of challenge, I don't enjoy having to count how many of each type of item I've used to calculate my points. I understand that's why the easy peasy points is an option, but as Linda said it does take away the challenge. I started reading the list of challenges for this month but then realised I'll be earning the same points for whatever I create so I don't even need to know what the challenges are and it doesn't encourage me to add any. I agree we've probably played every challenge possible several times over. I like the idea of everyone contributing all the challenges each month as increases the likelihood that everyone can meet some of the challenges. I think more challenges are better than fewer as it fits a wider range of styles which helps drive participation and removes the obligation of one person having to do the list each month. I'm also fine with the idea of set challenges each month, I know grammadee includes the other regular monthly challenges in the overall challenge list, and I think it would be quite easy to add in a "use 5 of something for the 5th month" type challenge into this regular list. I think the trick is finding the right balance between regular challenges and ones that change. There was a time just before I stopped playing regularly that the same challenges were being posted each month, which after three or four months became particularly uninspiring. It seems like the teams and challenges are still popular, so even if the current way is working for everyone but me, I'm still glad they exist. I love that so many more peas share there work through these challenges than we used to see, and it's nice to get to know you all a little better through the team chats. |
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,369
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Post by kitbop on May 4, 2021 12:40:39 GMT
Exactly the type of feedback needed! Thanks Chinagirl828 Linda. If anyone has any ideas concepts concerns loves/hates, just post them. It's the only way to find a balance |
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Post by AussieMeg on May 6, 2021 1:12:58 GMT
Personally I enjoy counting up my points, and I love the challenges where you can get bonus points. And I have to admit that I am guilty of trying to add bonus points into every challenge I post.  But after reading what @chinagirl said, I can see that for people who don't want to count points and prefer to do the Easy Peasy method, it almost renders the challenges useless if you're just going to take 20 points for each page. I like that some of the challenges, such as the theme ones, encourage me to scrap photos that I wouldn't otherwise have scrapped, or have been putting off scrapping. And others encourage me to use products that have been sitting there unused (eg. for last month's colour challenges I used two kits I'd recently bought but hadn't used yet). Even though I love the points and lots of challenges, I would be prepared to see the list shortened, or the points simplified to one point per challenge met. If we shortened the list and made each one only one point, would those who do Easy Peasy start counting points again? One of the digital scrapbook sites I'm a member on has the same 7 challenge categories each month, and a different person (on the Design Team) sets one challenge each month: Template Challenge - use free template provided Journaling Challenge - answering list of prompts, use journal strips, what brings you joy Photography Challenge - photos of daily routine, photo showing opposites such as big and small, photo of nature / change of season, photo with two thirds white space Style Challenge eg. using a grid design, vertical composition, clusters and layers, tone on tone Scraplift Challenge Inspiration Challenge - page inspired by pets, using a mood board Random Challenge - Use 5 photos, mix of fonts in title/journaling, use and decorate photo corner, two photos that compare/contrast, re-do an old page Some of them are specific to digital scrapping, but you get the idea. I've copied some of the challenges here, but I don't think anybody ever does them.  On the digi site they get about five pages of layouts for each challenge. |
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Post by Neisey on May 6, 2021 2:57:14 GMT
I’m a sporadic scrapper and join the teams occasionally to make me accountable.and push me to scrap. For me the challenge list and point system is a bit overwhelming so I just do my own thing and use the easy points. When I first joined I was amazed at the lists and spreadsheets - some of the Peas put a lot of work into the organization of it all. If others enjoy the challenge of the point system that’s fine by me, I’ll do me and you do you lol! I don’t know how the teams are chosen but maybe scrappers can sign up as basic points or bonus points and organizers can ensure they are evenly dispersed on the 2 teams to keep things fair for determining the monthly winner.
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,454
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on May 6, 2021 9:38:06 GMT
If we shortened the list and made each one only one point, would those who do Easy Peasy start counting points again? Yes, I'd absolutely count points if the challenges went to one point per challenge. I don't mind so much about the number of challenges posted. I think there is still a place for bonus points, and if you're the type of person who likes counting how many enamel dots or die cuts you've got on your page, have at it. I'm sure part of my problem is that I'm secretly competitive so if I'm counting points I want to make sure I don't miss any, while at the same time resenting all those individual pieces I have to count. I had a quick look at the challenges this month and below are a couple that jumped out at me as having bonus points but also easy to count. * Use arrows or chevrons on your project. Take a bonus point if the arrow is curvy or wavy. * Grass green and Sky blue. One point for either of these colours. Five points if you include BOTH on the same project. Maybe this is where the happy medium lies: a challenge that is one point (or two, or five, or ten points), and a variation to earn the bonus points. |
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,369
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Post by kitbop on May 6, 2021 11:28:48 GMT
I'm sure part of my problem is that I'm secretly competitive LOL, I understand! But I wonder if it's more A-type personality - if you are going to do something, do it thoroughly? That's my secret problem. So to be clear - you don't mind if a challenge is 1 point, 5 points, or 10 points. As long it's straightforward (eg make a title that's 5 or more words long = 5 points, instead of 1 point per word beyond 2 in your title)? I think "straightforward" could easily be a good change in challenges. |
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Post by Linda on May 6, 2021 14:17:56 GMT
So to be clear - you don't mind if a challenge is 1 point, 5 points, or 10 points. As long it's straightforward (eg make a title that's 5 or more words long = 5 points, instead of 1 point per word beyond 2 in your title)? yes- that would work better for me also. I'm an overthinker as well so some of the challenges that aren't super clear...I'm not sure if what I'm doing actually counts and I tend to err on the side of no when I'm not sure. Oh and I really struggle with old/new product challenges...I don't know HOW old my older products are (are they 3 yrs? 5yrs? 10yrs? more?) and I'm never quite sure how recently purchased equals new (this week? this month? this year? last time I shopped?) |
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,454
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on May 7, 2021 3:54:05 GMT
So to be clear - you don't mind if a challenge is 1 point, 5 points, or 10 points. As long it's straightforward (eg make a title that's 5 or more words long = 5 points, instead of 1 point per word beyond 2 in your title)? I think some of the challenges should be worth more because it doesn't seem fair that someone who completes a multi-part recipe challenge earns the same number of points as someone who sticks one star on their page. I think "straightforward" could easily be a good change in challenges. You know, this could be why I've struggled with the challenges and stepped away from participating regularly. My brain finds it much easier to count a title at 5 or more words as 5 points, than to add 1 point for every word beyond 2 in a title. I think part of this too is the ambiguity in the second part of the example: is a 5 word title worth only 3 points because the initial 2 words don't count, or do I get an additional point for having a 2 word title so my points then become 4? I've appreciated reading everyone's perspective on this, partly to know I'm not alone but also to better understand other viewpoints. |
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,109
Location: New York, NY
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Post by christinec68 on May 9, 2021 2:49:26 GMT
Hi Diva's! I hope you're enjoying the weekend! It's been a long week which ended with a little mishap cooking dinner last night. I melted a cutting board in the oven so we had to go buy a new one today.  We lucked out and were able to find one that suits our needs, on sale and can be delivered this week! I am going to unwind a little and do some scrapbooking. I'm enjoying the challenge dialog and agree with a lot that has been posted. I also find so many challenges overwhelming and some of the point calculations confusing. It's been a while since I have signed up for a team and I like how they are grouped now, it's so much easier to narrow down point earning possibilities. But there are a lot! 71 including the regular monthly and other challenges but not including the multiple sketches posted each month. I like the idea & point of a more straight forward way to count points but to keep it fair in terms of complexity. Also, if the challenges are intended to make or share something, some of the other challenges seem out of place and just a way to boost points, not creativity. Enjoy the day/evening/weekend! |
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,454
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on May 9, 2021 5:23:05 GMT
I melted a cutting board in the oven so we had to go buy a new one today. Yikes! That sounds messy and horrible. I've spent some time creating this weekend so I've managed to get some points on the board and have another couple of layouts nearly finished. |
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,369
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Post by kitbop on May 9, 2021 13:14:08 GMT
Happy Mother's Day everyone! We don't really celebrate much. I've never been one for a fuss and it's smack dab in the middle of our "birthday season" so nice meals or goodies aren't high on my agenda I kinda get to call the shots today, but that includes maybe an hour in the garden, and maybe a walk in the park! Yes anything melted in the oven is a terrible mess. I think we've all done something along those lines! I spent several hours on my "retirement book" probject last night - her last day is Friday, so the book is essentially finished except I still have some people sending me well-wishes and I've reserved a few photos to use on their pages. My plan today was to scrap, but it's so lovely and sunny I'll probably wait until evening. |
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Post by Linda on May 9, 2021 14:13:34 GMT
I melted a cutting board in the oven so we had to go buy a new one today yikes -I'm sorry - melted = such a mess I've spent some time creating this weekend so I've managed to get some points on the board and have another couple of layouts nearly finished. woohoo! Happy Mother's Day everyone! We don't really celebrate much we don't either - there's still leftover cake and ice cream from DD21's birthday on Friday so more cake etc...seems overkill. My mum was really the only one who ever marked the day and this is the second year without her. Happy Mother's Day everyone! (((Hugs))) to those who are finding the day hard. I have grocery shoppping today and gardening and housework and maybe a little scrapping? I would love to finish up DS's Hawaii album - it's only needing a handful more layouts. |
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,109
Location: New York, NY
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Post by christinec68 on May 13, 2021 13:26:36 GMT
Hi Divas!! How is everyone's week going? I had a pretty decent week. Our new oven is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. It has some new features I am anxious to try out. A couple of long term projects at work made a turn yesterday so there's a light at the end of those tunnels. I have a four day weekend and while I have a bunch of doctor appointments, I also have a nice amount of time to myself including a 90 minute facial.  I finished two layouts earlier in the week I still need to point & post and one in progress. I plan to have some scrappy time this weekend too. kitbop - how did the retirement book turn out? I bet they'll love it! |
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,454
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on May 14, 2021 7:50:04 GMT
Work has been crazy for me lately but I don't have any plans this weekend and it's meant to be cooler weather so I plan on hiding out in my scrap space. I'd like to catch up on some of Shimelle's prompts and I have about a month of pocket pages to do so hopefully I'll make some inroads in at least one of those. Probably though I'll end up watching youtube videos and achieving nothing.
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,369
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Post by kitbop on May 14, 2021 22:40:37 GMT
I'm tired! It has felt like a busy week with work, cleaning out my Dad's apartment and finishing that dang retirement book. I'm SO GLAD it's done. 61 pages! I got to claim 30 pages worth in April, now I'll have 31 for May too. I just used easy-peasy points for it obviously Here's a couple of examples of what I did. Some people chose to write in the book and I worked around that. Some people e-mailed and texted and I printed out and worked around that. Other "low importance" people wrote in the WRONG SPOT in the book (such as, I had specifically designed a page for a coworker with a special photo of her...obviously for her...and they wrote all over it and I had to pull it apart and figure out a fix!).  retirement book stephanie and joanne by kirstendrew, on Flickr  retirement book val and johanna by kirstendrew, on Flickr  retirement book joan and julie by kirstendrew, on Flickr So this weekend brings good weather, meaning gardening. Plus continuing to empty the apartment. I'm hoping to get some scrapping done too. |
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,454
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on May 15, 2021 4:19:20 GMT
I've spent the last couple of hours resizing and printing out photos for my pl album. I was a month behind and I now have almost everything printed out, including a bunch of photos for this week even though I haven't quite finished living it. Now I get to play with the fun stuff! kitbop well done on finishing the retirement book, it sounds like it was a huge project. |
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,369
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Post by kitbop on May 18, 2021 11:29:43 GMT
Chinagirl828, it's a lovely time when your photos are caught up and printed! I'm currently fretting over lack of photos. Between winter season, kids being older/grown, covid lockdown, and life being full of things I don't WANT to photograph, it's not been a good photo season. OTOH, this makes me realize that I need to take photos of life even if it's not the fun stuff. Checking in with the team: how is the scrapping? the cardmaking? the organizing? the shopping or lack of shopping? the Spring weather?
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,454
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on May 19, 2021 11:32:48 GMT
It's certainly been a weird year for photos. I've been lucky enough to continue working from home so I've tried to take lots of everyday photos, which has resulted in lots of my feet on my walks and the cat and my food. I probably shouldn't confess it in a public forum, but my office has a regular Monday morning meeting where I just have to listen in so I often balance my laptop on the laundry sink so I can watch while I do the ironing <-- definitely took photos of this. Basically my album for the last year has been full of all the photos that don't normally make the cut.
I haven't done any shopping this month. I joined the 50 layouts no spending challenge and I'm currently on my third attempt at it after bombing out the first couple of times. I'm a long way from 50 (unless you count all the layouts I made on my last two attempts), but it has definitely curbed my shopping this year which has been a good thing. I'm working my way through the photos I printed last weekend, mostly pocket pages which are full of details I can't share online, but I'm feeling good about the pages I'm creating and enjoying using up lots of little bits and pieces along with my scraps.
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,369
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Post by kitbop on May 19, 2021 20:52:28 GMT
I joined the 50 layouts no spending challenge and I'm currently on my third attempt at it after bombing out the first couple of times.  I did it the first time - had a calendar to create (13 "layouts" right there) - and I counted my photo editing backlog as a challenge to get up to date (it worked) and I scrapped like crazy. I keep thinking I "should" do it again. But you'll notice I haven't rejoined!!! It's actually a good time to join - there is little new out there to buy. |
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,454
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on May 21, 2021 5:48:05 GMT
It's actually a good time to join - there is little new out there to buy. It's definitely making it easier right now for me, especially I've only made a couple of smaller purchases so far this year which is much (much!) less than I was buying over the last year. Even though I have shopped a couple of times this year I can definitely see some space opening up in my stash, especially in patterned papers and 3x4 cards, but I'd like to reduce my stash down further. |
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schroema
Full Member
Posts: 496
Jun 24, 2019 14:58:49 GMT
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Post by schroema on May 21, 2021 15:01:44 GMT
Jumping in late this month… I hit up a garage sale this morning and got this for $7!  |
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Post by Linda on May 21, 2021 19:38:08 GMT
Checking in with the team: how is the scrapping? the cardmaking? the organizing? the shopping or lack of shopping? the Spring weather? scrapping - at a standstill creating - ditto organising - still waiting for DH to arrange movers for the rest of our furniture. I'm tired of not having any furniture in the living room shopping - no spring weather - it's cooler than typical for May but...still hot |
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kitbop
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,369
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Post by kitbop on May 24, 2021 13:50:16 GMT
Hi Divas! Checking in to say "hi"! It's our May long weekend here in Canada - our long weekends sometimes coincide but not this year. I got my veggie garden planted yesterday - keeping it small this year - cukes, lettuce, carrots, peppers and tomatoes. Plus some herb pots of course! But half my yard needs a serious weeding (yuck) and all my shrubs/trees need serious pruning. DH does the pruning, but bagging the bits/branches is the worst. I've been on a great scrapping streak (for me) but I do notice that it cuts into family and outdoors time. In the winter, it's less obvious because everyone is kinda "hibernating", but in the summer it means we're not sitting out on the patio, or going for a hike... Hard to give up scrappy time when the creative juices are flowing tho. Linda - if my house were "incomplete" it would make me feel really antsy. I like getting a job DONE and over. Altho that leads me to procrastinate often because I know if I start something I will have to finish even if it's too big a job. schroema - that's a great haul! The album alone! (I have 2 or 3 in that very pattern). And everything there is almost an "essential". |
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Up to you. I usually try to keep it reasonable 
But after reading what @chinagirl said, I can see that for people who don't want to count points and prefer to do the Easy Peasy method, it almost renders the challenges useless if you're just going to take 20 points for each page.
On the digi site they get about five pages of layouts for each challenge. 
