scrapdolly
09-01-2008, 04:28 PM
I thought it would be an appropriate time to post something about the weekly challenges that take place here on UKS as there are, as always, a lot of newbies who may not know quite what they are.
Firstly can I thank MaryAnne for giving over the space for these on the boards and to her and Fi for sorting them out for the front page each week.
Secondly can I thank all the teams who either have hosted, or plan to host, a weekly challenge.
There are many challenges posted on UKS but one of them is always a weekly challenge hosted by one of our teams.
It is always posted on a Monday and usually appears on the front page / home page as well as in the sub-forum of the Inspiration and challenges forum.
Every team has the chance to host a challenge if they want. There is a thread called weekly challenges and someone from the team just has to post in there that they would like to host one and ‘tis done.
And I do rely very heavily on this to make it all work. I have been known to beg, pitifully, for teams to volunteer. Without hosting teams the challenges, quite simply, wouldn’t happen. And an awful lot of people would miss them. I know how eagerly the challenge is watched for on a Monday LOL.
The challenges are always optional. I think, sometimes, people get too hung up about the whole points system. The points are great, but as soon as they stop being fun and start to take over your scrapping, it’s time to listen to those alarm, bells. So no-one should ever feel they have to do every single challenge ever posted. Some will simply never be for you. If you loathe yellow for example, and the challenge for the week involves using yellow, it’s fairly pointless to do it if you won’t like what you end up with. However, they can also be a real challenge – a take you out of your comfort zone challenge. Encouraging you to try something new you don’t usually do can be a good thing. I guess, like everything, it is just a matter of choice. Some you’ll want to do, some you won’t.
The challenges are meant to be a bit of fun and a way of encouraging people to think out of the box. It is pretty hard to come up with new things all the time, so inevitably there is a fair bit of duplication over the years. If you want to use specific materials as part of a challenge or specific techniques, for example, there are a finite number of things that you can select from.
However, I think the people who set the challenges are very innovative in what they come up with. I know, when a team is given their challenge week, there is a real buzz of activity as ideas are suggested, discussed, thrown out, new ideas discussed etc. Then the team make their own pages ready to support the challenges.
I am often staggered at the different ideas teams come up with, perhaps linking the challenge to dates, events, specific quotes, sketches etc.
Once the challenge is live the teams are then diligent in making people feel valued for taking part in the challenge, commenting on challenge pages etc.
It can be a pretty thankless task at times, encouraging teams to take a challenge week, reminding them of dates and chivvying for the challenge as the time draws near, but I am constantly amazed – and gratified – at how generous people are with their ideas and time. After all – we are all just here to have fun and enjoy our scrapping. We all have limited time and so giving up time to make things fun for others is something to be applauded.
So here is a suggestion – let’s keep this thread good and positive. Let’s applaud the work people do in creating fun for the rest of us and let’s give them a helping hand by posting any suggestions that might be useful for future challenges. If you have what you think is a great idea to incorporate in a challenge, post it here. Then if a team is stuck for ideas they can have a browse through this thread and it might kick start their process.
Thanks to all the teams who have set – or who have been nagged to set in the future – the range of challenges we have here on UKS You are all stars.
Firstly can I thank MaryAnne for giving over the space for these on the boards and to her and Fi for sorting them out for the front page each week.
Secondly can I thank all the teams who either have hosted, or plan to host, a weekly challenge.
There are many challenges posted on UKS but one of them is always a weekly challenge hosted by one of our teams.
It is always posted on a Monday and usually appears on the front page / home page as well as in the sub-forum of the Inspiration and challenges forum.
Every team has the chance to host a challenge if they want. There is a thread called weekly challenges and someone from the team just has to post in there that they would like to host one and ‘tis done.
And I do rely very heavily on this to make it all work. I have been known to beg, pitifully, for teams to volunteer. Without hosting teams the challenges, quite simply, wouldn’t happen. And an awful lot of people would miss them. I know how eagerly the challenge is watched for on a Monday LOL.
The challenges are always optional. I think, sometimes, people get too hung up about the whole points system. The points are great, but as soon as they stop being fun and start to take over your scrapping, it’s time to listen to those alarm, bells. So no-one should ever feel they have to do every single challenge ever posted. Some will simply never be for you. If you loathe yellow for example, and the challenge for the week involves using yellow, it’s fairly pointless to do it if you won’t like what you end up with. However, they can also be a real challenge – a take you out of your comfort zone challenge. Encouraging you to try something new you don’t usually do can be a good thing. I guess, like everything, it is just a matter of choice. Some you’ll want to do, some you won’t.
The challenges are meant to be a bit of fun and a way of encouraging people to think out of the box. It is pretty hard to come up with new things all the time, so inevitably there is a fair bit of duplication over the years. If you want to use specific materials as part of a challenge or specific techniques, for example, there are a finite number of things that you can select from.
However, I think the people who set the challenges are very innovative in what they come up with. I know, when a team is given their challenge week, there is a real buzz of activity as ideas are suggested, discussed, thrown out, new ideas discussed etc. Then the team make their own pages ready to support the challenges.
I am often staggered at the different ideas teams come up with, perhaps linking the challenge to dates, events, specific quotes, sketches etc.
Once the challenge is live the teams are then diligent in making people feel valued for taking part in the challenge, commenting on challenge pages etc.
It can be a pretty thankless task at times, encouraging teams to take a challenge week, reminding them of dates and chivvying for the challenge as the time draws near, but I am constantly amazed – and gratified – at how generous people are with their ideas and time. After all – we are all just here to have fun and enjoy our scrapping. We all have limited time and so giving up time to make things fun for others is something to be applauded.
So here is a suggestion – let’s keep this thread good and positive. Let’s applaud the work people do in creating fun for the rest of us and let’s give them a helping hand by posting any suggestions that might be useful for future challenges. If you have what you think is a great idea to incorporate in a challenge, post it here. Then if a team is stuck for ideas they can have a browse through this thread and it might kick start their process.
Thanks to all the teams who have set – or who have been nagged to set in the future – the range of challenges we have here on UKS You are all stars.