Thank you to all who have weighed in on both sides. I will be honest - the negative comments are tough to take. The Pollys, the designers and admins all put their heart and soul into MOC, long before it actually happens. Planning starts in November, and runs through the holidays. We have heard the complaints and suggestions from years past, and try to take those into account. We work hard to keep the challenges doable, but still challenging. And while we know we will not please everyone, it is still hard to hear negativity after the work that goes into this. I know you all know this, and you appreciate the work involved. And I don't expect everyone to love every challenge. In fact, if that happens, we haven't done our job to "challenge" you all. It is okay to be scared, or nervous, or uncomfortable about certain challenges. We are prepared for that. But I do ask that before you "vent," think about how you would feel if you were the challenge host and read your comment. Because truthfully, there have been some comments that feel downright nasty, about the challenges, our designers, and our product. MOC is entirely optional, for those who want to expand their scrapping and have fun. If you're not having fun, then MOC might not be your thing. And that's okay. But we do ask that you be respectful of the work by the hosts, and the effort put in by the other scrappers.
Thank you for this post, Anne! Some of the challenges have been a challenge, lol, but I love the sense of accomplishment went I get a hard page done. And I have posted pages I don't love. It was really hard for me at first, but it's getting easier! I had to let go of the hope of making a masterpiece every day! No way that's going to happen with the business of life at the moment. The freedom to post something you don't love is great.
This is the most important thing for people to remember... I for one, do not enjoy participating in MOC but I do like looking at the challenges and will sometimes do a challenge if it interests me and fits into what I am scrapping at the time. I love seeing those that embrace the challenges and there are some gorgeous pages out there, so for those that are participating keep on and HAVE FUN!!!
This is my first MOC and I've been enjoying all kinds of challenges so far. Appreciate all the positivity I've seen in all posts, thanks for all you guys do for MOC! ****GO CHIEFS!!!!!!****
As a long-time scrapper I want to say thanks to all of the people who help plan and put on MOC every year. I've done my share of planning and hosting challenges at sites around the interweb over the years and I know that MOC is a huge undertaking. I've never officially participated for lots of various reasons, but I look forward to seeing what the challenge is each day and thinking about how and what I would scrap with that technique. I appreciate the variety of the challenges and even though I've been scrapping for 24 years there is always something new to be inspired by during this month- and every month with all of the regular monthly challenges too. I've even scrapped with a couple of the techniques this year because I found them intriguing and seeing some of the pages others did helped me with a vision of how to use it in the album project I'm working on currently. I still have a page with a wall 'talking' rattling around in my brain from a previous year of MOC - one day I will actually get that page completed too
Amen, Anne! We are THE MOST AMAZING community in Digiland. Our love and support for our fellow scrapper are what set us apart. I know it can be a very real struggle to finish MOC when life knocks you around, but you guys are Pad Scrappers, and I know you can do it!!! As for all the work that goes into MOC, I’ve been in the back room many times, and I can tell you that these ladies work their tails off trying to make each MOC the best for each and every one of us. You have no idea how much they actually do for us every single day. So, I would respectfully suggest you remember The Golden Rule before venting because there are real people on the other end of your rant.
Please could you share your system? I’m always ending up with three or four takes with a single photo. Lol. I love MOC. The work behind the scenes must be incredible because the work we see is stunning. I’m planning on working the remaining challenges at my own pace, and getting them done leisurely this year. I have about 15 done but only a few posted. I do appreciate having an awesome challenge available like this.