A Newbie's Questions about MOC

@ElizabethW
This year's MOC was my first and I jumped into the cold water because I had no idea what to expect. And I finished it, too. So if I can do it (I am not the best at finishing things right away) everyone can,

1. I have to be honest, a few of the pages are pages that I would not have done without the challenges and I might not put them in a photobook. There are some challenges that might not be your thing at all (e.g. art journaling when you don't like it, super clean when you like it messy) etc.) so you might end up with a few pages that you are not super keen on. That being said I more or less finished a whole vacation album during MOC. I scrapped tons of pictures from Italy, so the challenges are mostly broad enough to let you do your thing.

2. There are two things I did beforehand (others might be way more elaborate): I created empty pages ahead of time, named them MOC 0101, MOC 0201 etc. and put them into a folder. So if I skipped a challenge one day I knew at first glance which challenges still needed doing.
And: I went through all my TLP previews (this totally depends on how you organize your stuff) and marked everything that is available in the store. There are limitations during MOC (at least it was like that in 2017) as to how many products you can use that are NOT available in the store right now, so it helps to know which products you can use. Nevertheless it happened to me that I made a page with a product that was not in the shop any longer and I had to redo the page (I noticed right away after I was done) and that was such a bummer. So this time I will be super careful about this.

3. I think we hade a few days into February to finish the challenges and upload the pages. But it certainly helps to stay on top of things. I sometimes scrapped a little more on weekends but basically I didn't want to fall too far behind.

 

I think a lot of people use it to play catch up on pages they want to scrap ... but you just have to be a little open to trying new things. Like Julie said - there may be some that are pretty specific and might not work for backlogged pages. If you are rigid in what you scrap it might be a bit tricky for you.

One thing you could consider is that if a challenge just doesn't do it for you ... scrap it for the challenge - but just tweak it for yourself for your final page? This will let you complete the challenge & try/learn something new ... and then your final page can be more of what you like/want using the base of the page? For instance if the challenge calls for a specific photo that doesn't fit with your back logged photos - add the req'd photo for the challenge but just swap it out for the one you wanted to scrap for your album.

Also some people play along, but don't quite finish all of the challenges. Being able to scrap even 10 or 15 pages during the month is an accomplishment!

I definitely try to drop a bunch of photos that I want to scrap into a pre-MOC folder so I can see what will work and have photos "at the ready".

 

oh yes you can do pages you love...and you can learn new things to make the pages you create in the future be even more fun!!
I think the 31 days of challenges does something that all that complete will attest too...it creates creativity and the ooomph to continue scrapping at a quicker pace. It is very addictive, and the friendships and comradery that surrounds each day just is like a shot of mojo for scrappers!
Going in with a can do attitude and looking to have fun and scrap is the most important part!
YOU will love it!

 

Welcome, welcome! First, you can always try and see how it goes... there is no once you start you must complete all of the challenges. So, you can scrap and see how you feel. I have not finished all years, with kids, school, travel and sickness playing havoc on scrap time!

1. Challenges are general enough that you should be able to incorporate catch up pages... but I don't know that every page will be one that you include in your albums. There are always a few pages that aren't my style or don't really fit into my albums, but I have re-made them to remove things or add things, so that I can include them in my albums.

2. Photos to pick from, maybe favorite templates? I like Rikki's idea about checking stash availability in the store beforehand.

3. Yes... you can have catch up scrap days. Keeping up and scrapping a page a day really helped me, though when I did fall behind about 3 days, I was able to catch up right at the end.

 

This will be my third MOC and I'm so excited! Glad you're thinking about joining in... it's so much fun!

Yes! I'm the same way, I like the pages that I scrap to be used in projects I'm trying to complete. Not all of the MOC prompts will work with projects you want to complete, but many can. I did DYD pages, project life pages and trip album pages during last year's MOC. My Disneyland album from 2016 is made up almost entirely of pages I did for challenges (MOC and monthly challenges). I also started a broad "all about me" album to give purpose to other pages as well. Still, there were a few that I did just for the challenge and although those pages didn't end up as part of open projects, I learned techniques I used on other pages later.

For me, since I wanted to make pages to complete projects, I made lists of photos that needed to be scrapped to complete those projects. Once I read a challenge, I would scan my lists to see what photos would fit the challenge.

 

I have managed to make just about every challenge I've ever done (MOC or otherwise) be a page I'd actually like to have in my album. Even when it's a style I don't like -- particularly one photo on a mostly empty page -- I go ahead an include it in my album. It's just one page amongst many, and trying something different feels like good brain exercise. Also, like others have mentioned, a few times, I have made my own version of pages after submitting the first version for the challenge, just making small changes. I'm the sort of scrapper who never uses a template as is, too. Usually the change is to add more photo spots.

I do no pre-planning or organizing ahead of time. My regular scrapping methods have worked just as well for the last two MOCs. I just browse my photos and Lilypad folders, using the search function when needed.

I hope that in the second half of January I'll be able to scrap two pages per day because we're going on a weeklong trip in the first half. In the last MOC I made a page every day. If I remember correctly I only got a day behind once. So I think I can do it!

Give it a try @ElizabethW . Like Jenn said, you aren't committed to finish all the challenges once you start. And chances are, you'll have so much fun you'll get a lot done. Good luck!

 

Elizabeth, I am new to MOC to a certain extent. I came along too late this year to be able to catch up on the ones I missed but I did do some of the last week of challenges and really enjoyed it.
I also like to create my pages for memory albums but then I do also like to dabble in Art journaling.
I am going to get some old photos from my childhood ready in case I get to work on pages about that as I want to create an album so my grandchildren can know a little about my early years and also I am trying to get past major vacations scrapped and into albums. So far I only have my very first major one printed in an album. If I have these different photos scanned ready I can pick and choose which challenge suits which project.

 

You've received a lot of great answers above!
For my first MOC, I had two open projects I was working on. I found that all the challenges except one worked with my photos. That one, I made a title page instead.

Getting organized ahead of time - I love Rikki's tips! I always keep a bunch of photos ready to go, so I can browse them and see what I'm wanting to scrap.

Go for it! The worst that could happen is you take part, have a blast and get 31 pages done!

 

I have an Art Journal album and some day I will just print them all. So the AJ pages went into that. The others were in my family album and a vacation album. So of the 31 challenges, about 26 of them were completed pages in my albums.

I changed 2 pages last year. One I knew ahead of time I would change. The challenge was to scrap just one pic and a very minimum number of elements. I actually scrapped a full page and then hide most of it so that it met the restrictions of the challenge. After MOC, I un-hid the extras. The other one required items to be in specific places on the page. It bothered me, so after MOC I moved things around until I had an arrangement I liked.

Otherwise, you have already gotten some good advice. Have fun! The shopping spree is soo worth it.

 

There's some really great advice here and I echo what everyone else has said!! Even if they don't all fit your album, you may learn something new or discover a new technique that you love. Like Courtney said, nothing to lose and 31 pages to gain (and a $20 TLP gift certificate!) . This will be my 5th MOC. I was scared to do the first year, but so wish I had. My MOC pages are some of my most favorite ever. There are a few here and there that aren't, but that's ok, too!

 

So well said, Anne! I found it was a fantastic bonding experience and so much more than a scrapping challenge. It reinforced how much I love this community. The Pad really does feel like home to me, and so much of it is because of my friends here. No other forum can hold a place in my heart like The Pad's community, and I truly owe my start to the MOC!

 

I'm going to follow this thread since it will be my first time playing. There are some great tips and tricks here.

I will be making a list with all kits I want to use during the month.

 

I have completed every MOC since it started and yes you can create pages for your travel album. When I went to the UK in 2015 I did a lot of pages in Jan 2016 MOC for my book. If you look in the gallery at a lot of members media pages for Jan of each year, you can get an idea of the MOC. You will love it. It really is amazing and you can really learn a lot too, not only about the program you use, scrapping, but of yourself too! Just have fun with it!!

 

Thanks @ElizabethW for asking these questions - I was wondering the same things. This will be my first MOC too.

 

thank you for asking those questions Elizabeth. I'm new to this too. Also thank you to everyone who has replied - I'm feeling less daunted and more excited about MOC now.

 

I'm super excited to see the first timers jumping in this year! I really think you will all find that you'll get swept up in the excitement that just buzzes around this place and that you'll find MOC to be the most rewarding experience for so many reasons!

I've done MOC every year and I think the best thing I do every year to prep is to just have a list of pages I want to scrap (like a list of events or photos I want to scrap) and then like Tracie @tkradtke said when a new challenge is posted, I scan my list to see what photos will work well with that challenge.