Hey guys!
Thanks so much for all of the feedback! There are some amazing ideas and interpretations in this thread, and that is what we really feel is the goal of our challenge system. I can't think of a single time we've looked through any of the layouts created for our challenges and thought "nope that doesn't qualify" because that isn't the point of this each month. The point is to get you to stretch your creative muscle, think outside the box and "challenge" yourself to scrap pages you may not have otherwise thought to scrap.
We really do encourage you to put your own spin on our prompts to make them your own! Here are some of my ideas if I were going to tackle some of this month's more challenging "challenges"...
For the peopling challenge, I've honestly had quite a bit of nerves sending my kids back to school in the classroom... the crowds of cars each day for pick up and drop off are insane... I'd probably scrap a page about that. I also might scrap about my dislike of crowds and my preference to do things earlier in the day or on weekdays when places are a bit quieter. 4:30 dinner out with my husband at our favorite restaurants... yep! that's me!
For the photography challenge, we do try to come up with prompts that actually challenge you to take photos with a new idea in mind. Birds Eye View, Interesting perspective, visual triangle, etc. Part of being a scrapper is being a good photographer, so I think taking a photo with a photography tip, trick or creative idea in mind is a fun "challenge". If you already have a photo that works for the challenge, great! If not, try to have fun experimenting with something new! I absolutely love this idea and would probably try to pull something like this off if I were doing the challenge myself. Not sure if it would work, but I think it would be fun to try!
I'm never late... I hate it. I would absolutely scrap about the fact that I'm never late. Another twist would be to use a title or quote like "I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date", and scrap around that idea. Both are different ideas. Both fit the concept and may work for you in a way you didn't expect.
As much as we would love to just say "scrap 18 layouts of whatever you want to earn 40% off" that isn't much of a challenge system in my view. It is difficult for us to come up with so many challenges each and every month, all with a different theme in mind, and some may be stinkers, but we do our best in an effort to bring you something that hopefully inspires and pushes you to new heights!
Like Loni mentions every month...
These prompts are written and created with fairly broad themes/concepts in mind and I think that personal interpretation is key. You can certainly approach a prompt literally, or I encourage you to think about it in a different way ... take a creative approach on ways to apply prompts so that they'll work for you and your family.
I really think this is key! You don't have to take our challenges literally and interpret them word for word. Get creative, have fun and get those pages scrapped! I promise we aren't going to punish you for putting a different spin on a monthly prompt <3
Seriously though, thanks for the feedback! We will continue trying to brainstorm fresh new ideas that are broad enough for you to really play with.
Much love,
R