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  #51  
Old 01-05-2014, 02:15 PM
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Originally Posted by rach3975 View Post
I'm with you. I don't mind waiting to earn a bigger coupon, but I don't like that there's no choice of challenges. It will be a rare month when I find myself inspired by all 4 challenges, and I'm not going to scrap pages I don't care about just to earn a point. For now I'm waiting to see what the challenges are like, but if they're all as specific as scrapping resolutions I won't be participating much.
this. Going from 30+ choices to motivate me to 4 is kinda lame... not sure I will be doing any now and feel kinda lost as this was the only place I participated. And 3 months for 40% off is just ....wow It was not as if before you HAD to do all the challenges... if you wanted to do one a week so be it, but all those prompts had me scrapping things I never even would have thought of myself before.

Yes...I know you cant please everyone but it is SO different, just wow at this point.
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  #52  
Old 01-05-2014, 03:04 PM
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I totally understand where you guys are coming from, but for me I think I have a better chance of getting a 40% coupon with this new system. I just didn't have the time to scrap that many layouts for SSD challenges in a month. I love that I can spread out the layouts over a couple of months with only 4 each month and still get an amazing coupon a couple of times a year.
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  #53  
Old 01-05-2014, 03:24 PM
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Girls, I think you will be happy with it when you see each week's challenge. I have seen all of January and it is totally different each week. Not all are as specific or pages about yourself. Sometimes, it is just be inspired by this image or website type stuff. Others may be following a trend like a shape, pattern, ect. PLUS.....you have a chance to get FREE stuff each week just for doing it on top of the coupon code.

I think it will take you a month to see it all roll out to get use to the change. I am horrible with new or changes. I am impressed with how much easier this system is than in the years past though. Before I was a Babe, I would find myself being overwhelmed with HOW many challenges there were that I would not do much with it. I am hoping this brings a lot more of our community members into the challenge system due to it not being as time consuming and very simple w/ visual prompts.

I hope that helps with some reservations with some of this.
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  #54  
Old 01-05-2014, 03:31 PM
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Remember too - these challenges are to help you guys think outside of the box!

I don't scrap about myself much either - my first thought when I looked at this weeks challenge was that I would find a picture of my youngest doing something silly... which I have a LOT of a make a cute page and say something like.. resolution: don't ever do this again..

kwim? these challenges are up to you guys to interpret into what works for YOU and your scrapping!

another idea.. do you have a favourite moment from last year? a picture of your kids laughing doing something fun? resolution: laugh more
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Old 01-05-2014, 03:56 PM
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Remember too - these challenges are to help you guys think outside of the box!

I don't scrap about myself much either - my first thought when I looked at this weeks challenge was that I would find a picture of my youngest doing something silly... which I have a LOT of a make a cute page and say something like.. resolution: don't ever do this again..

kwim? these challenges are up to you guys to interpret into what works for YOU and your scrapping!

another idea.. do you have a favourite moment from last year? a picture of your kids laughing doing something fun? resolution: laugh more
Those are great ideas Kristin - I already did one for today's but I do need to remember not to take the challenges too "literally"
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  #56  
Old 01-05-2014, 04:02 PM
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another idea.. do you have a favourite moment from last year? a picture of your kids laughing doing something fun? resolution: laugh more
Great idea, thanks!
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Old 01-05-2014, 04:05 PM
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i loved to use the challanges for inspiration now i have only 4 that is not much to choose from
and i much say i am sad about that . i know whe can think outside the box with the challange but there are not many choises any more only 4
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  #58  
Old 01-05-2014, 04:49 PM
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I do need to remember not to take the challenges too "literally"
EXACTLY!!!!!
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  #59  
Old 01-05-2014, 05:35 PM
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I'm happy that there are those who really like the new challenge format and can benefit from the new approach. As for me, I don't think I'll be participating. My goal whenever I did the previous challenges was to work for the 40% discount for that month. For me, I could hardly wait till the next month to redeem my Sweet rewards and now I would have to wait 3 months before I could use them! In that amount of time I would probably add a dozen new releases to my wish list, but then would not be able to afford what I want when I finally had enough points. Also having a choice of only 4 challenges a month doesn't really inspire me. I liked the numerous choices of the previous challenge system. Oh well, these are just my thoughts and opinions on the new system.
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Old 01-05-2014, 06:49 PM
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I would love for everyone to try it before you make up your mind of participating or not. I don't think the 4 prompts limit you because like Kristin said, you get to think outside the box. When it was first brought to the babes to see, we were ALL blown away by it but we got to see a whole month at a time. Plus, you have the opportunity of winning something each week for free! So let's say that you are one of the lucky four during the month......you would get a product for free PLUS you get your discount of 20% - 40% depending on how often you shop. Not to mention all the shoppe special sales you get through out the year. Plus the new release discounts of 20% every Saturday. It just seems to me that there is a lot of free and discounted items that are available to everyone here all the time.

All I am asking is that you try it for one month and then make a decision from there. I know everyone isn't going to be happy. I would just like to see people try it before forming an opinion. And please don't misunderstand, I am horrible about change. I get it. I would just hate for some of you to miss out on an additional discount just because you think the new system is limiting you. I hope you will see that is not the case at all.
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  #61  
Old 01-05-2014, 07:53 PM
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Hey chickies!

I'm sorry some of you are feeling disappointed in what you've seen so far. When we set out to revamp our challenges for the new year, we wanted to make them easier and more approachable than ever so that a larger number of people in our community could participate. Having to collect 30 points every month and choose from so many prompts was not only a lot of work for our entire team but it was overwhelming for the community at large and resulted in challenge participation being the lowest it's ever been.

Changing anything that people have gotten used to is always a challenge and a risk to be honest, but we really try our best to keep the reason you're all here in mind and that's to scrap the memories you've created with the people you love. With fewer prompts you HAVE to sift through to create a full portfolio each month, the more layouts you can create scrapping whatever you want!

So many people are already done with this week's challenge, and it's only Sunday! So I am excited to see more people earn discounts in the shoppe on a regular basis under the new system. Remember, our anniversary sale is in February, we have DSD in May, we have a Summer sale and 3 big sales in the Fall too, so saving your points for months we don't have promotions is a great way to make the most of everything going on at SSD.

Like Tara has said, I really hope you'll give it a try and get involved. I am already loving seeing the layouts posted for our first Think Outside the Box challenge and it's MY least favorite challenge we have coming your way this month!

In any case, I appreciate your thoughts and feedback and hope you can roll with the changes and give it a try as we'd hate to miss out on seeing layouts from some of you talented ladies!

Happy 2014!

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  #62  
Old 01-05-2014, 09:12 PM
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I foresee myself doing the challenge Sunday morning and then not thinking of doing anything else here until the following week. Last edited by gwany1999; I AGREE

Hi Gang,

I have been doing these challenges steadily since I came here 6 months ago I figured I would put in my two cents. I have to say I like the old way much better because of the increased challenge choices. I found all the challenges inspiring not overwhelming. I was always amazed at the great sites people found and the different ideas I would have never thought of!!


That being said, I have to admit the challenges I had set out do didn't always wind up to be the challenges I wound up doing sometimes because of pics, content or color necessary to complete. Some challenges I just couldn't do because of their content " be inspired by this GIRLS RULE blog" (I only have boys and don't like to scrap about myself) or " use this product" (which i didn't have). Which is why it was nice to have a lot to choose from.

I will miss being able to do more than one lo per sitting. I like to do more than one page at a time. Now I will have produced less lo's in a month.
That random winner is not an incentive. I have never won anything that way on this site. Not lucky. I would rather earn it than wait for fate...no, I don't play lotto. Just not lucky.

Also missing the hybrid project. They were fun too. They also gave you a way to stay in the game if you were running out of time.
All that being said I will still give it the old college try and see how it goes. I really love seeing what other talented scrappers have made so I hope more people do join because that does make it more fun. Either way Happy Scrapping!!
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  #63  
Old 01-05-2014, 09:23 PM
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That being said, I have to admit the challenges I had set out do didn't always wind up to be the challenges I wound up doing sometimes because of pics, content or color necessary to complete. Some challenges I just couldn't do because of their content " be inspired by this GIRLS RULE blog" (I only have boys and don't like to scrap about myself) or " use this product" (which i didn't have). Which is why it was nice to have a lot to choose from.

I will miss being able to do more than one lo per sitting. I like to do more than one page at a time. Now I will have produced less lo's in a month.
That random winner is not an incentive. I have never won anything that way on this site. Not lucky. I would rather earn it than wait for fate...no, I don't play lotto. Just not lucky.
Just wanted to mention just b/c something was an inspiration for a GIRLS RULE blog or something doesn't mean you can't adapt it to scrap your boys Our challenges have always been made to be interpreted how you see fit to fit YOUR scrapping needs

Also just b/c there's only 1 challenge doesn't mean you only have to scrap 1 layout per sitting..yes it's only 1 layout for a challenge but you don't have to be limited to only scrapping for challenges right?
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  #64  
Old 01-05-2014, 09:38 PM
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I foresee myself doing the challenge Sunday morning and then not thinking of doing anything else here until the following week. I really am bummed about this.
See... this makes me feel sad. After finishing your challenge layout for the week, you are FREE to create layouts about anything you want! Be inspired by your own personal to-do list of scrapbook pages you want to finish. The wonderful freedom of this system is that it doesn't 'force' you to weed through 30 prompts to find the ones that you can apply to pages you already want to make... then churn out dozens of layouts just to get a discount.

There is now ONE challenge per week. Which some might say is too restrictive... but I find it freeing. It's only ONE hurdle. And if it's not the type of page or theme you like to scrap... well, that's the part that will be a challenge for you. And when you're done and you want more ideas to keep you scrapping, the old pinterest portfolio boards haven't vanished... there are still plenty of prompts to be found in there for you to sift through if you want to. Also, our galleries are full of inspiration and ideas.

I understand that for the handful of you who actually made the 40% on a monthly basis, this feels like a step down. But the reality is that very few were even able to get to that discount. With this new system, it is more attainable for even people who lead very busy lives or are slower scrappers. It's a more 'fair' system in general, I think.

Anyways, I hope you all will give this a fair chance and see how you feel about it after a few weeks.
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  #65  
Old 01-05-2014, 09:44 PM
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I don't feel limited as though I can ONLY scrap for challenges... but I do wish that I could have more than one inspiration piece each week. As I mentioned before, I'd LOVE to see 2-3 choices of challenges each week.

I have TONS of pics to scrap, sure. But the challenges helped me when my motivation and mojo was nothing. It frustrates me that, now that I'm done with this week's challenge (finished it within hours of it being posted), I have no challenge inspiration for the rest of the week without going to another site. Yes, I know, there's inspiration all over the web and all over pinterest and even in the SSD gallery. And yes, I LOVE the way the new challenge system is set up as being low-key and allowing you to stay inside OR outside of the box.

I will say that people may have taken the resolution challenge less literally if more examples of a less-literal approach (like Kristin's) were shown. Not that the layouts we were shown weren't fabulous-- they were! Total stunners! But I feel like, since this is SUCH a new system, it would have been cool to see a more outside-the-box approach in addition to the literal ones (to appeal to ALL kinds of scrappers).

I think that over time, the kinks will be worked out, the opposition will die down a bit. I remember the uproar when the Pinterest challenges were introduced. I remember customers learning to love it, AND I remember SSD compromising with a PDF list. I think if both sides find a way to work together, this will be a great system. As it stands, I think the challenge system is being met with opposition for a reason-- that there simply aren't enough choices or discount incentives.

There are TONS of great freebies and sales on the site. But for a lot of people, that extra 40% off that they counted on every month was an incentive not only to scrap more, but to buy more. I don't think anyone here is trying to be a greedy grub or anything by wanting that discount back. It isn't always feasible for me to shop during the 20% off on Sweet Shoppe Saturday-- sometimes I'm away from the computer ALL day and don't get back until the sale ends for the day. So, I either wait for a sale, a coupon, or just skip altogether. As a single mom, it just isn't feasible for me to pay full price all the time. Are the prices fair here? Totally. Are we totally lucky to have the great sales, freebies, free with purchase items, and more? Abso-freakin-lutely. That's why I spend ALL of my scrapping budget at SSD and don't even shop elsewhere.

I just think that compromise will help. From a customer standpoint, as someone who isn't on any CTs, and has zero affiliation with Sweet Shoppe other than I love the store, I think that the SSD team is doing a GREAT job of trying to make fun, exciting challenges that are open-ended enough to inspire everyone.
BUT, I also feel there are a lot of legitimate customer concerns. Obviously,going from the ability to earn 40% off every month to 40% off every 3 months is not fun. If I were designing here, and I were hearing customers say they'd stop shopping as much if they aren't getting coupons, I'd be concerned... simple marketing seems to dictate that you'll earn more by selling items at a slight discount by creating a "sale" mentality than you will charging full price for items more of the time. In the current economy, I think if it means having to wait every 3 months for that coupon, people are going to spend less money here, EVEN IF there are big sales here regularly.
I also think that, if there are fewer challenges to participate in, people will be spending less time here. As great as the conversation is, not everyone wants to participate in the conversations or chatter. There are people who come to stores for inspiration and challenges, and only offering one a week may throw people off.

I think the system concept is great. I just think that, with a few tweaks, it'll be something customers AND the SSD team can be proud of and excited about. In the meantime, I'll keep giving it a try, participating in the challenges, and possibly eating my words later.

Sorry for the novel. I just wanted to really flesh out how I was feeling about this.
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  #66  
Old 01-05-2014, 09:48 PM
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I understand that for the handful of you who actually made the 40% on a monthly basis, this feels like a step down. But the reality is that very few were even able to get to that discount. With this new system, it is more attainable for even people who lead very busy lives or are slower scrappers. It's a more 'fair' system in general, I think.
I'll agree with this to an extent. As someone who rarely made it over 20% discounts, I found my coupons went to waste (I mean, Saturday is the same discount). Now, the ability to save points to get to 40% off is GREAT! ...for me. And a few others who were smaller-scale scrappers who didn't earn the 40% off every time. That said, I feel bad for the fact that some people will have to shop less because they're still here to scrap... but earning less of a discount.
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Old 01-05-2014, 09:57 PM
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I just finished up my first week challenge. I am liking the new system. I loved the portfolio challenge and I love this system as well. I really liked that the portfolio gave options but as my job grew more demanding and my children get older, I am finding less and less time to sit and do enough layouts to qualify. And I love scrapping. I like this current challenge because 4 layouts a month is very doable for me. And even though there is just one required layout per week. It helps spark my creativity juices to scrap more throughout the week. For which I am grateful because I have a hard time getting started and getting that first layout out the way is a big help for me. The rewards are a sweet incentive but honestly they are not why I do challenges. I want to thank everyone for their hard work on the new system and I can't wait to see what new inspirations await!
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Old 01-05-2014, 10:45 PM
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I think the new challenges are a very different mentality. Not bad, just different. The new system will undoubtedly get more people involved, because it encourages participation by people who scrap less and people who want to be active at many different sites. And that's a good thing, of course, for both SSD's business and for increasing traffic in the forums and gallery outside of the challenges.

But the flip side (and please understand that this isn't meant as criticism or decrying the new approach) is that it also has the reverse effect of encouraging some people who made this their only digital home to look for additional sites to participate at.

It isn't all about the coupon for me. I have no problem with the new system of coupons and discounts, and I feel lucky that we have the opportunity to earn discounts at all. This is a business, and too many deep monthly discounts on top of sales probably make it hard for Robin and the designers to earn a living. But for me, having to complete a larger number of challenges and choice of challenges pushes me to overcome distractions (hello, internet!) and spend more time scrapping. It's also what keeps me sharing my pages in the gallery.

I'm planning to give the new system a shot, and I'll see how it goes. Maybe between my Project Life pages, my CT pages, and the 4 challenges a month I'll stay motivated. Maybe I won't and I'll need to find a 2nd source of challenges elsewhere. Either way, I'll still love SSD. This is a great community and shop, and I know that any changes to the challenges were made with the best intentions to get more scrappers active here.
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Old 01-05-2014, 11:45 PM
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I have gone back and forth with how I feel about the change, but the more I think about it the happier I am. For me it will be great. I always have big plans of doing the challenges and earning 40% coupons, but it NEVER happens. I end up doing one or two layouts and feel totally overwhelmed. I waste way too much time on pinterest trying to decide which to do. With the new system, I can make 4 layouts a month totally happen. And I don't think that has happened for over two years, since the older challenge system.

There are quite a few sales, and that's when I buy most of my kits. After, usually spending too much at the Black Friday sale, waiting until February for the anniversary sale is perfect. A summer sale might be great idea

Anyway, my two cents is that I like what I see and think I will get more done each month. Thank you Robin for trying new things. Now going to work on this weeks challenge.
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Old 01-05-2014, 11:49 PM
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Like Rachel said, I'm afraid it's going to make people scrap and shop elsewhere. Any time I've decided to participate at other stores, I've bought a couple of products, but then always left and came back here.

Unfortunately, if there aren't as many challenges, and if I'm done with my 4 pages a month and the PL I'm trying to do.... I may find another place to go. The unfortunate thing is I'll be splitting my scrapping budget between two stores-- meaning SSD will be getting less. While I highly doubt my budget is going to break SSD (trust me, I know it won't), I don't think I'm alone, and seeing Rachel mention the same feeling makes me SURE I'm not alone in that.

While I think it may bring some lurkers out of the woodwork, and I think it will bring new scrappers and new customers, I also think that it'll possibly harm some of the current customer's willingness to continue scrapping/spending here as much as they might have previously.

I'm still holding out hope for middle ground. I think it's doable... I think there's a way to make BOTH perspectives happy.

I wouldn't stay at SSD so much if I didn't love the store, love the community, love the challenges, and love the inspiration. I wouldn't be here as opposed to other stores if I felt like I could get from other stores what I get here. But I have to say that inspiration is a HUGE part of why I'm around here-- I leave, and I come back for the inspiration. And yes, I know the gallery is crazy inspiring. I just... want more.
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Old 01-06-2014, 12:06 AM
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I'm still holding out hope for middle ground. I think it's doable... I think there's a way to make BOTH perspectives happy.
I've been around SSD for a long time, and I've seen a few major changes in the challenge format. Every time things have changed there have been positives and negatives, and people are very vocal about the negatives right after the roll out. But I can't remember changes ever being made mid-way through the year. The things people complain about early on have often been addressed the next January, when things are tweaked again.
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Old 01-06-2014, 12:10 AM
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Aww, I am sad I will lose my monthly 40% off coupon. Guess it'll help me save some money though. I get why it happened, the challenges were not be participated in as much any more. Just sad for those of us that did.
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Old 01-06-2014, 12:13 AM
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I wonder with the new 3 months = the 40% off coupon could we get a longer time frame to use it? I usually wait for the big store sales, but years ago I did the challenges all the time.

I'd love to see like a 2 week or a month or even longer experation date on the coupon. Just a 1 time use thing that can't be combined with any other offers kind if deal.

I think this does make the challenges much more do able for those of us that are crazy busy these days.
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Old 01-06-2014, 02:26 AM
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I haven't read everything here. I will say that I am looking positively at the new system. I like having less challenges required to earn the discount. I also like that I can basically choose WHEN to get the discount. I can't tell you how many times I earned the 40% off and then only bought one kit with it because I just didn't have scrappy money in the budget that week. Now I can wait until I do have that money set aside in my budget and then shop! There were also several times that I earned and was so excited to get my SR's only to realize there was a sale going on either right before or right after that week. It made earning the coupon worthless, IMO, because I could shop before or after and get the same discount. Kinda discounted all of the work I put in to earn the coupon, you know?

Since there aren't as many challenges now, I think I am going to take this time to go back and tackle some of the challenges before that I missed. Things I wanted to scrap and just didn't get a chance to.
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Old 01-06-2014, 06:05 AM
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I understand that the change is not welcomed by everyone and I also understand that some are disappointed about not getting the 40% discount each month. My scrapping budget is very low so I actually did shop like every 3 months anyway, and I would get 2-3 kits, so I actually used rather other sale opportunities than the Sweet Rewards, but I do understand the disappointment.

I'd like to mention two things:

About giving money to another shop because I get the discount there and not here... I personally buy most of my kits here at SSD simply because I love them the most. It's not about the discount, it's about the quality of the kits and the style that resonates with my scrapping.

Second, the inspiration and limiting one's scrapping inspiration to challenges only. Yes, it is directly served "do this and this" which can be nice but there is gallery full of layouts that you can simply scraplift - you can find scrappers with different styles that you can be inspired by, then there are tutorials for new techniques to try, there are challenges on the designers' blogs, where you can also win some coupons and get inspiration. So many ways to learn, grow as a scrapper, get some photos scrapped and have fun...
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Old 01-06-2014, 06:17 AM
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adrianka adrianka is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pomi View Post
I understand that the change is not welcomed by everyone and I also understand that some are disappointed about not getting the 40% discount each month. My scrapping budget is very low so I actually did shop like every 3 months anyway, and I would get 2-3 kits, so I actually used rather other sale opportunities than the Sweet Rewards, but I do understand the disappointment.

I'd like to mention two things:

About giving money to another shop because I get the discount there and not here... I personally buy most of my kits here at SSD simply because I love them the most. It's not about the discount, it's about the quality of the kits and the style that resonates with my scrapping.

Second, the inspiration and limiting one's scrapping inspiration to challenges only. Yes, it is directly served "do this and this" which can be nice but there is gallery full of layouts that you can simply scraplift - you can find scrappers with different styles that you can be inspired by, then there are tutorials for new techniques to try, there are challenges on the designers' blogs, where you can also win some coupons and get inspiration. So many ways to learn, grow as a scrapper, get some photos scrapped and have fun...
Wonderfully put. I don't do challenges much anymore (not because I don't like them, it's more a question of having less time and my priorities having shifted), so I don't feel like I should be having a say, but I think Majda has a point. When it comes to inspiration I feel like there's so much of it here at SSD that I can never manage to scraplift everything and try every technique that intrigues me, because there's simply only one of me. :-)
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  #77  
Old 01-06-2014, 09:28 AM
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zakirahzakaria zakirahzakaria is offline
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I actually like the new challenge system because I can space out my shopping & scrapping time. I used to fall out on the old challenge system because of the 'overwhelming' amount of inspiration - not a bad thing actually, it's just that I'm the kind of person who'd get anxious when I see so many options in front of me. The new challenge system is much more focused and simpler for me.
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Old 01-06-2014, 09:44 PM
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suladesign suladesign is offline
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I've been following the discussion here these days, and I just want to give a word of encouragement to the SSD team and staff. It seems like some of you feel unhappy about some of the "negative" comments you're reading here, but all in all, I think the discussion is going pretty well. Yes, there are those who are a bit disappointed about the new system (and just the fact that the voices quiet down after a while doesn't mean their opinions have changed; it's just not worth it becoming known as a complainer around here), but so far I haven't seen any mean spirited comment. I don't think anyone here is trying to attack SSD or the staff, some people are just voicing their concerns and I think there should be room to allow this and hear them out, esp. since the criticism is done fairly without bashing anyone or anything! I believe the reason why all of us are here is because we've come to love SSD and appreciate all that's going on here (both in the shoppe and in the community). So, all the more, I think the SSD staff should appreciate people's honest feedback rather than feeling down because of it. As sad as I personally am about the changes, I'm glad to be part of a community that is respectful of each other and cares about one another!
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Old 01-07-2014, 01:01 AM
Jengerbread88 Jengerbread88 is offline
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Right on, Sula! I totally agree! I think it's very clear that we all really love SSD-- I think it's why we're all so passionate.

I agree-- designers, babes, Robyn, feel encouraged! We love you enough to talk about how we feel. This will sound cheesy, but good communication is important in any type of relationship. I think the fact that so many people are commenting, even with concerns, in such a positive, communicative light is showing that this community is a gem.
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Old 01-09-2014, 08:50 AM
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wow, there is something going on here, i totally missed out on!
when i came here last january i was impressed with the challenge system. it was an outrageous lot of inspiration and i could see that there was a lot of work and love going into it.
i always asked myself if this pays out for the community because in the end there was a tiny amount of girls getting the discounts.

i think that ssd really had a big thing going compared to other shops and it was a deal breaker for me to stay here.
i want to say thank you robin and the ssd girls for raising this big effort EVERY month!

i did earn the 40% for some months and then i simply didn't manage to do all the stuff i had to do to earn the 40% and i didn't even care to look up what's in the portfolio. it made me sad.
as far as i am concerned the new system may spark a new beginning of challenge participation at ssd.
and yes, i would be happy too, to see more than one inspiration for the week. but i am happy to be able to concentrate on and hopefully can be consistent enough to earn the coupon after 3 months.
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