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What do y'all do to prepare for MOC?

AJK

AJK

I plead the 5th ...
Joined
Apr 18, 2012
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What do y'all do to prepare for MOC? How do you prepare your folders/files so that qualified product is separate?
 
I love store collabs and BYOCs. These are what I call safe products.
Getting my photos in order are top priority before the MOC and New Year. It is my goal.
Also to see where I am in completing ongoing year books. Having that in my head, helps me make pages I need.
but..................
MoC is a month of Challenges, and I want to change and learn thru the challenges, new techniques or genres of scrapping will happen, and I want to take in the full spirit of each day. If this means making a page that may never be printed, but I am proud of and LOVE with all my heart is the most important!
 
I double-check if product is in store when I sit down to make a MOC LO. But having said that, I don't mark stuff as retired because ... well, tbh, probably because I'm lazy lol. As far as photos: usually I don't plan those out because I like to let the challenge speak to me (wow, could I sound more goofily zen about digital scrapbooking?! lol).

One thing I do that helps during MOC is to have a list of the challenges on a TO DO notepad I picked up from Staples. During the last week of December, I take out the notepad and I number a pages 1 through 31--one line for each day's challenge. When a new day's challenge is posted, I write the challenge title (well, my version of the title lol. It's usually one or two words, like "AAM journaling" or "photo--bokeh," etc). When I make and post the page, I put a check mark in the box next to it. Having a numbered, check-marked list lets me know (1) what day something was posted and (2) I can scan the list to see if I'm caught up. One year--a year I didn't finish, but hey, what can ya do?--I also had a list on my laptop. I figured having it there would be nice because I'm scrapping on the laptop ... but the paper list worked well for me. It makes MOC feel a part of my IRL world. :)
 
Tree City said:
I double-check if product is in store when I sit down to make a MOC LO. But having said that, I don't mark stuff as retired because ... well, tbh, probably because I'm lazy lol. As far as photos: usually I don't plan those out because I like to let the challenge speak to me (wow, could I sound more goofily zen about digital scrapbooking?! lol).

One thing I do that helps during MOC is to have a list of the challenges on a TO DO notepad
Click to expand...

This! I do all of the above! ;) Sara & I are like scrap twins...

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Last year I went and checked all my TLP products before MOC. If it wasn't in the store I renamed the folder and added NIS to the end of the folder name (NIS = Not in Store) so I knew not to use it. I also this year moved all designers no longer at the store into a different overall folder so my software is looking only at current designers' products.

Other than that, I do nothing to prepare for MOC other than making sure I have time to scrap and I will write each challenge on my daily to-do list.
 
Sara, @Tree City - Oh, I am zenning right there with ya!!! :giggle And I like the tangible paper lists too.
@bonnenuit -Judy- I like the NIS idea. That's kinda what I was looking for- a way to eliminate looking things up once MOC begins. Since it seems we will find ourselves (Hubster and me) alone this Christmas I have time to get it done in advance. :thumbsups
 
I have been contemplating where my ongoing projects are, as Anne explained. I also do a list as Sara explained... but mine is on my computer and/or in my planner. And as far as product goes... i don't usually check until i go to look for links when i credit, which has led to at least a couple not-in-store issues over the past few years. *shrug* then I fix it with an in-store product and move on. I know i personally have enough to choose from. I can't believe i haven't purchased the entire store by this point. it feels like i have with the sales the past few weeks... :giggle
 
I generally check for active products as I'm scrapping (or if I'm scrapping live, then Courtney @bestcee checks for me LOL).

I just made these charts to keep track of the challenges in my Happy Planner. If anyone wants them, I can share a link to download. :) The circle under the date is for me to color in when I'm finished, and then the box to the side is for the name of the challenge and any special note.

The second page I left for miscellaneous notes on the bottom.

fdd_MonthofChallenges8_ChallengeTracker_Page1.jpg
fdd_MonthofChallenges8_ChallengeTracker_Page2.jpg
 
gonewiththewind said:
I generally check for active products as I'm scrapping (or if I'm scrapping live, then Courtney @bestcee checks for me LOL).

I just made these charts to keep track of the challenges in my Happy Planner. If anyone wants them, I can share a link to download. :) The circle under the date is for me to color in when I'm finished, and then the box to the side is for the name of the challenge and any special note.

The second page I left for miscellaneous notes on the bottom.

View attachment 365524 View attachment 365525
Click to expand...
That's very generous!
 
This isn't specific to MOC, but I have a little stack of notebooks (I'm a paper kind of person when it comes to keeping track of things) with my in progress albums listed in them. I have listed out the photos I have to be scrapped for that particular album. Like @AnneofAlamo, I don't limit myself to only using these photos or working only on these projects, but it's nice to have a list to pull from when starting a challenge. So my prep is just to make sure my notebooks are up to date! I need to add our trip to Disneyland last week to my trip book :-)
 
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As far as photos and knowing what's available to scrap, I do mark my photos in Lightroom when they have been used on a page so I know to skip those. Additionally, I keep an Excel file for each year with the dates I took photos, what transpired that day, and then tuck in a thumbnail of the completed layout. It makes it easy to see the events that took place in a specific year without getting lost in Lightroom (which is easy for me to do).

EXCEL.JPG


You can download the blank Excel sheet HERE.
 
I have a folder called Photos to Scrap. They are edited copies of my best photos from an event. Right now I am behind, so it has July to now in it. As I scrap the photos, I delete them from the folder which allows me to see what it left to be done. I pick the pictures based on the what the challenge asks for.

Did we have a retirement sale this year? In the past, when we did, I went through my stash and marked all of those kits with a "retired" to the end of the folder name.

I do have my TLP art separated from my non-TLP and I have moved the retired/gone designers to the non-TLP folder.
 
I pull out images and put them in a file so I have a nice assortment handy to pull from. I move NLA product into a separate folder as soon I know someone has left, so don't really worry about that. I do keep a paper list that I can list out each day's challenge and cross off as I finish. Other than that, I don't do much.

So excited!
 
So... Every year I've done things a little differently depending on how organized I feel.
I always do my MOC list in my planner, on paper. I keep a tracking list where I mark created and posted (since I sometimes do a challenge with a new release kit). I do avoid that because I like to post as soon as I make it.
Store collabs are mostly safe for me. I double check any that I've collected this year for in the store. The not-safe part is the blog hop parts. Not all of those are in the store, it's up to the designer.
If a designer retires or leaves, I change their folder to start with XRET. x, so it falls to the bottom of my list.
If I'm not sure about a kit, I'll do a quick check in the store. I don't count it as wasted since I link kits (hosts love that!!!), So I save the link for posting.

Photos: I keyword my photos in Lightroom, sometimes with emotions like mess or silly. Most of my MOC layouts are one off photos, that I print in a Shutterfly book as an accomplishment. This helps me not worry about photos fitting a challenge. That said, I want to get our vacation photos done this year if they fit the challenge. I figure it was pretty varied in locations and events, so it might work. But regardless, I will be able to find any photos I want because of my Lightroom keywords.

Sorry this was so long!!!!
 
I go through and move all current/qualifying kits to a separate folder - it cuts down on so much time, and really makes things go more smoothly. The other helper is my word doc of all store products with hyperlinks - that way when it's time to list credits I just have to copy and paste. Stg that list is one of the best things I've ever done for myself, and it's easy to keep up to date; when I buy a new kit I update the page while I'm downloading. (It also helps me sort through qualifying kits more quickly - if there isn't a hyperlink I know it's retired).

Other than that I fly by the seat of my pants. I don't have a wad of photos (yet!) so there's not a lot of time spent picking. Well, unless I don't want to use what I have on hand and have to dig through web sites, but that is a great way to get inspiration so it usually works itself out.
 
Not great at planning - but I do try to get some pics that I want to scrap ready in a folder. This way I can grab quickly and hopefully not have to spend too much time thinking about what picture to use. Then I can concentrate on the challenge itself.
 
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