So, it's been a month...

[Robin Carlton]

...what do you guys think of the new challenge idea book?

Did you enjoy the inspiration and challenges last month? Are you looking forward to the rest of the year?

I LOVED looking through the portfolio thread this month to pin layouts from you guys so keep scrapping - your take on the challenges last month was amazing!

Robin

[nesser1981]

I did. I love the more broad challenge ideas you girls did last month. That I can scrap any kind of picture with. Those are my favorites, since I scrap chronologically most of the time, I don't have to try to search for something to "fit", or scrap a page I'm not going to keep just for the sake of the challenge. I did 40 pts and all of the pages I did were keep & print pages.

[rach3975]

I liked the challenge system in 2012, but the changes you've made this year were great improvements. Thanks for all the inspiration and for being so thoughtful about what could make the challenges even better!

-I love (seriously, truly adore) that there's a downloadable booklet. Pinterest is too much of a distraction for me to visit during my scrapping time.

-It's so nice to have most of the pages worth 2 points! I only scrap about 10-12 pages a month, and with the old point variety I sometimes had to take point value into consideration when choosing which challenges to do.

-Having all the challenges revealed at once makes it much easier for me to get started right away. With the gradual reveal, there were some months where I had to wait a few days until there was a challenge that inspired me.

[carrie1977]

^^^What she said^^^

[coopert]

I like it! I only finished one page, but I think starting at the beginning of the month for February, I will actually earn a sweet reward for the first time in a couple of years.

[joelsgirl]

It's ssooooooooo pretty, that Jan. pdf!

[Lindsay]

Didn't look at pinterest once, absolutely loved the book and everything on the first so I could get started immediately.

[mariewilcox]

Originally Posted by Lindsay

Didn't look at pinterest once, absolutely loved the book and everything on the first so I could get started immediately.

This... although I started strong and then lost interest this month. Will try again for February and see how it goes.

[MommaTrish]

I love having the PDF and really love that all the challenges were worth at least 2 points. While I didn't get all the points, I did get 17 which is way more than I've been getting.

What I liked the most was the example pages. I had a really hard time last year with the Pinterest set up because I'm such a visual person I'd have trouble looking past the pin to just the directions. Having the example keeps me from getting so hung up on the way the pin looks.

[chastml]

I agree, the idea book was really helpful understanding how you could interpret a pin. I decided to give the challenges another go after not participating for a few months. I had a lot of fun and made some pages I feel really good about.

[DogwoodMama]

I did two pages, but I had a busy month and I'm still trying to carve out time to scrap regularly. Just because I can check in here for a few minutes doesn't mean I have 1-2 hours to scrap, unfortunately. But I really LOVED the Portfolio PDF! I scrapped 2 pages that I wouldn't have scrapped otherwise. Even if I don't earn a discount ever, I do think that I will get inspiration from it.

[alinalove]

since i am a newbie i cannot say a lot about improvement (haven't looked up the older ones).
what i can say though, the booklet inspired me a ton. i have 41 points now and i love all the pages i did. i always love when my stash is getting a workout and it surely inspired me to buy some new stuff, too ;-)
i also love that all challenges are available at the start of the month in one booklet because i get in deep trouble when i have to keep track of what challenges i already did.

to sum it up: i love the format :-)

[calvinawalsh]

I really loved the new challenge idea book-very classy and inspirational. I downloaded it to my iPad and loved looking through it any time I wanted. I think you gals here at the Sweet Shoppe have done a Fabulous job of revamping everything! It seemed like last year, your were improving and sprucing up every aspect of the store and forum! It has been appreciated. Thanks for the great discount via the challenges!

[LJSDesigns]

I love the idea book, it is so inspiring and even though I didn't stick with the challenges this month like I did in the past year, I think it is a great system.

[Stacey42]

I agree with Rachel. I love the new booklet format and having all the challenges at once again is great. Going to Pinterest daily just did not work for me. Pinterest is just too distracting for me to be visiting it just for a specific reason. I work better with lists anyway. I like the general topics as well

[kresta]

Being a former Babe, I know how much hard work must have gone into making the PDF and creating this addition to the challenge system. GREAT WORK!

I'm still having a hard time carving out *any* time to scrap (or just breathe even, lol), so I didn't complete any of the challenges, but I did download the PDF and thought it was stunning!

Keep up the incredible work, ladies!!!

[adrianka]

I enjoyed January very much.

The inspiration booklet is great for letting go of the pin visuals, seeing what you can do with a challenge which, at first sight, seems like it's not for you, and it's also pretty. :-)

I also loved that they're worth 2 points now and that we can see all of them on the 1st. The portfolio was also very well structured, at least it seemed so to me. :-)

And I also like that many of them are general in character - I've always preferred vaguer ones that leave you more freedom, so this makes me very happy.

[LeeAndra]

I love it! I so appreciate the PDF and the easier point system.

I just wish that I didn't have to work so I could scrap more of the challenges.

[xboxmom]

I downloaded the PDF and it looked amazing but I didn't do any of the challenges. I appreciate all the hard work that when into the book and know that if I did do the challenges that book would be very helpful!

[eve11ne]

I really love the challenge idea book

[tsbegley]

Love, love, love.

[lovely1m]

Uh, I forgot about the book, I just kept using Pinterest. Jeez. Need to check out the idea book for next month. I love that they all came on the 1st rather than waiting. I would like to see more open. I love the challenges that give me unusual topics to scrap, but I also need some general ones that leave the topic open so I can get some done of my son, too.

[kristijoy]

I really like it too! The PDF is so helpful visually for me. Love the examples a TON. And the simplified challenge list has really helped me just start scrapping! I've changed my tactic for this year, scrapping more about me and art journalling techniques (with a few LO's thrown in for my son). I was afraid the new format wouldn't fit with that, but I'm pleased to say, it's worked out wonderfully, since the challenges are alot more flexible!

Thank you!!

[kristijoy]

Just a picky thing...

23 - Check out this photo pool of cool
patterns and use one (or more!) as inspiration
for a bold layout background! Link up your
chosen pattern in your credits. - 2 pts

I believe, if I went to the pinterest page, there would be a link to check out a website. Would be nice if that was in the PDF too

[Robin Carlton]

Hey Kristi,

The .pdf does link up to all of the pinterest pins. You just need to click the image above the text for each challenge and you'll be taken to the various inspiring sites. The layouts all link to the gallery and the credits link to the kits in the shoppe too if you see any must have products in the Babes layouts too!

Hope this helps

R

[kristijoy]

Originally Posted by Robin Carlton

Hey Kristi,

The .pdf does link up to all of the pinterest pins. You just need to click the image above the text for each challenge and you'll be taken to the various inspiring sites. The layouts all link to the gallery and the credits link to the kits in the shoppe too if you see any must have products in the Babes layouts too!

Hope this helps

R

Really!! Oh that is SOOOO COOOLLL!!!! Thanks Robin!

[Sherri Tierney]

I love having the challenges all at once. I also like browsing over the PDF file to see some inspiration. I will say though that I end up going to Pinterest instead. I like having them all on one page, so to speak, instead of flipping back and forth through a PDF while I'm deciding which challenge to do at the time. Options are nice though.

[missmarcy]

I've never participated in challenges til this month, so I don't know about improvements but I really like looking at the PDF vs. the Pinterest board. Well done composition of the "book", more inspiring to me

[Txcorey]

Like the others have mentioned I like having all the challenges from the beginning and I like the PDF. Some of the challenges in the past have been kind of vague and I had no idea where to go with them, so the PDF will help with that.

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned that the number of points you have to earn has gone up. Honestly, I'm a bit disheartened by that. Under the 2012 system I earned the 40% discount once and that was because I did the hybrid challenge. I very rarely do hybrid, nor do I have a desire to, so I can't count on getting that 10 points. I'm a very slow scrapper and I would have a VERY hard time earning the 40 points so I didn't even try the challenges last month. I may give it a go this month, but just thought I'd throw that out there. I know I'm not the only one who was discouraged by the increase in points you have to earn.

[Laura_A]

I LOVE that we get all the challenges up front. I'm also loving the sample LOs and that we don't need to go to pinterest to find the challenges.

[kristijoy]

Originally Posted by Txcorey

Like the others have mentioned I like having all the challenges from the beginning and I like the PDF. Some of the challenges in the past have been kind of vague and I had no idea where to go with them, so the PDF will help with that.

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned that the number of points you have to earn has gone up. Honestly, I'm a bit disheartened by that. Under the 2012 system I earned the 40% discount once and that was because I did the hybrid challenge. I very rarely do hybrid, nor do I have a desire to, so I can't count on getting that 10 points. I'm a very slow scrapper and I would have a VERY hard time earning the 40 points so I didn't even try the challenges last month. I may give it a go this month, but just thought I'd throw that out there. I know I'm not the only one who was discouraged by the increase in points you have to earn.

I didn't get 40 points either. But I did get 30.

[KateD]

Originally Posted by Txcorey

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned that the number of points you have to earn has gone up. Honestly, I'm a bit disheartened by that. Under the 2012 system I earned the 40% discount once and that was because I did the hybrid challenge. I very rarely do hybrid, nor do I have a desire to, so I can't count on getting that 10 points. I'm a very slow scrapper and I would have a VERY hard time earning the 40 points so I didn't even try the challenges last month. I may give it a go this month, but just thought I'd throw that out there. I know I'm not the only one who was discouraged by the increase in points you have to earn.

Everyone's been so positive about the challenges; I didn't want to be the one to bring up the points. I agree with you, Corey. I tend to be a slow scrapper, at least when it comes to the SSD challenges, and I'd have a really hard time getting 40 points. I did get 30 points a few times last year, and each time was with the hybrid project - which I don't want to do every month. So, yes, I'm a bit discouraged, too. Having said that, it's reasonable to have to work hard for a 40% discount. What's discouraging is that they've make it more difficult than it was for the last couple of years that I've been doing the portfolio challenges.

There are plenty of positives, too. The SSD team obviously puts a lot of time into putting together the challenges and they're a good source of inspiration. The PDF is beautiful, and it's nice having all the challenges on the first. It's also nice having most of the layouts being worth the same amount; it makes it more straightforward. I'm also happy that they made the hybrid project 10 points again.

[lovely1m]

Oh, I forgot about that, Corey, as someone who gets the 40% off each month, I was pretty surprised by the change in challenge points, too. It even made it more difficult for even me to get the full amount. I had to struggle.

[LJSDesigns]

I gave up last month. I'd done the challenges every month for a year, so maybe I just ran out of steam. But, since I don't do hybrid, I'd need to do 20 layouts a month for the 40 points and that is rather daunting. I don't want to struggle to finish the challenges each month. I would rather just enjoy the process, use the challenges that inspire me and scrap for fun. But I will miss the discount as my scrapping budget did not change.

[abm234]

Originally Posted by Txcorey

Like the others have mentioned I like having all the challenges from the beginning and I like the PDF. Some of the challenges in the past have been kind of vague and I had no idea where to go with them, so the PDF will help with that.

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned that the number of points you have to earn has gone up. Honestly, I'm a bit disheartened by that. Under the 2012 system I earned the 40% discount once and that was because I did the hybrid challenge. I very rarely do hybrid, nor do I have a desire to, so I can't count on getting that 10 points. I'm a very slow scrapper and I would have a VERY hard time earning the 40 points so I didn't even try the challenges last month. I may give it a go this month, but just thought I'd throw that out there. I know I'm not the only one who was discouraged by the increase in points you have to earn.

I agree with the above. I usually did the 10 points for 20%. I used a combination of one and two point challenges and NR points and would usually make 5 to 10 layouts to accomplish this. Now, I have to have 20 points for 20% which would make it too many layouts for me to accomplish in one month. For this reason, I did not participate in January and won't be able to in February either.

However, if I were able to participate again I would LOVE having all the challenges on the first of the month. I've enjoyed viewing the PDF book for inspiration even though I didn't participate in the challenges--it is beautiful.

I'm not trying to be negative - just providing honest feedback. Still love my SSD!

[Sherri Tierney]

I agree as well that it was a little disappointing to see the raise in points needed to meet the discounts. I felt like I scrapped my butt off last month and only hit 30% where it seemed like I got to the 30 points needed for 40% much faster before. I even had the 5 NR bonus points and still barely made it to 31 points. I'm going to keep trying though. I love challenges as they inspire me to scrap things I ordinarily wouldn't get around to scrapping. The rewards are sure nice too though.

[Robin Carlton]

Thanks for mentioning the point concerns ladies.

The reason we bumped the points this year is because we raised the value of all of the challenges to 2 points each for this year whereas the portfolio was primarily comprised of 1 point challenges in the past. If you ONLY did the 2 point challenges in the past then yes, you would have gotten to the lower point levels quicker, but this way you can do any of the challenges you'd like and rack up points fairly quickly by not being limited to what we think is worth 1 or 2 points. Add in New Release points, hybrid points and the 10 point hybrid challenge we think it's a pretty fair system to potentially earn the biggest discount we offer on our newest products.

That said, we dont want reaching the discount tiers to be impossible, so I will be keeping a close eye on things to see what's working and isn't each month.

We really value your feedback <3

Robin

[MommaTrish]

Huh... I guess I'm one of the few who didn't mind. I know that more than likely I'm never going to hit the huge percent offs, so maybe that's why. Last month though I got more points than I have in like a year or two because of the challenges all being worth 2 points. Which means I got a higher percentage.

I dunno. I mean I got why the points/percents went up. It just seemed to go hand-in-hand with the actual challenge points going up.

[KateD]

Originally Posted by Robin Carlton

Thanks for mentioning the point concerns ladies.

The reason we bumped the points this year is because we raised the value of all of the challenges to 2 points each for this year whereas the portfolio was primarily comprised of 1 point challenges in the past. If you ONLY did the 2 point challenges in the past then yes, you would have gotten to the lower point levels quicker, but this way you can do any of the challenges you'd like and rack up points fairly quickly by not being limited to what we think is worth 1 or 2 points. Add in New Release points, hybrid points and the 10 point hybrid challenge we think it's a pretty fair system to potentially earn the biggest discount we offer on our newest products.

That said, we dont want reaching the discount tiers to be impossible, so I will be keeping a close eye on things to see what's working and isn't each month.

We really value your feedback <3

Robin

I totally understand why the change was made. It's just going to be tougher for me, that's all. I'm not saying the changes are necessarily a bad thing from a big-picture perspective, but it is discouraging from my own personal perspective. I tended to do about 5 of the 2-point challenges each month that I got 30 points. Take November, for example. I did 5 of the 2-point challenges and 5 of the 1 point challenges and had 5 NR points, plus did the hybrid project - getting me to just 30 points. Under the new system, those same layouts and hybrid project would have me at 35 points and needing to complete 3 more layouts to get to the same discount level.

Is 13 layouts plus a hybrid project a reasonable amount of scrapping to earn a 40% off discount coupon? Yes, it probably is. Am I likely to try to do that many of the portfolio challenges in a month? Probably not. That's just me and the choices I make, though. The new point structure may work well for other people.

[calvinawalsh]

I was a little surprised by the Total points to earn for January. I had determined that I was going to have a scrap budget for January and I was going to earn the discount. It did seem that I had to work harder to get the top points that I had in the past. I enjoy doing hybrid because I love to make things so I definitely focused on those points as well as new release points. I like that most layouts are 2pts. I think the only thing I missed were challenges that were worth 5 pts. Overall I'm thankful for the work that you put into the challenges to make them fun, inspirational, and worth the discount for more new goodies! I'm looking forward to Sweet Rewards Shopping!

[adrianka]

LOL I never noticed there was a change in the point count! Means I have 30% instead 40% for January. Go me. :-)))

[dgreenshield]

I was disappointed in the point change. I worked my butt off for the 30% discount in January. I used to be able to meet the 20% every few months but now I don't know if I will be able to even do that much.

I like the PDF booklet, it was nice to see examples.

[LJSDesigns]

Robin, perhaps when you all are looking at things to see what is and isn't working, you could give some thought as making a challenge or two, besides the hybrid one, worth a few more points? I am betting that the scrappers who are able to get 40 points each month complete the hybrid challenge for the 10 point boost. While I have nothing against hybrid, I have a crappy printer and readily acknowledge that some people like myself should never be allowed to play with scissors, so I am never going to do it. Really, my lack of finesse with scissors is why I am a digital scrapper. Thanks for your consideration, I appreciate how hard you all work to come up with the challenges month after month.

[Robin Carlton]

Hey Lorie,

That's actually something I'm considering. I do think it's interesting that people have pointed out the 5 point tasks being gone is something they miss. Personally, I thought those were hard because they were usually 3 layouts required for 5 points and now 3 layouts would be worth 6 points. We've also been trying to put in several '2 pts per layout up to 10 points" challenges into the mix each month which I thought were better and easier than some of the 5 pointers we've had in the past. I've got my thinking cap on, I promise

R

[Txcorey]

Thanks for listening to our concerns Robin. We wouldn't be hanging out here if we didn't love the site and the store.

[kristijoy]

Originally Posted by Txcorey

Thanks for listening to our concerns Robin. We wouldn't be hanging out here if we didn't love the site and the store.

We love you Robin!

[KateD]

Originally Posted by Txcorey

Thanks for listening to our concerns Robin. We wouldn't be hanging out here if we didn't love the site and the store.

This.

[adrianka]

As for the new points: I'm hopeless at math, so unless I try to do 40 points, I won't be able to tell whether it's more difficult or no.

I noticed one thing though - the number 40 works as a sort of psychological barrier to me. For 3 years we've been doing 30 points and now suddenly the number is higher, so it seems to me, subjectively, that it's more difficult to achieve. Before, when I was at 20 points, I was already half-way through, now I'm just at the beginning. That's where the subconscious (or something like it) sets in and tells me "it's difficult", regardless of the reality. I don't know if I'm making sense. ;-)

It works the other way round as well, though. Since all challenges are worth 2 points, I feel like they're easier to make - even though I used to mainly do 2-pointers before, so there's not a huge change for me. :-)