What challenge makes you cringe? @kendrawalter started a thread with 1 photo layouts. What is yours? Art Journal? Blending? Clustering? filling your page corner to corner? The shadows? The Double?
for me it is the Double. Every year when this challenge comes I feel myself start to panic a little bit.... then the talking to myself starts.... you can do this... you can do this.... What I LOVE about MOC is every year I LEARN something NEW! It takes you out of your comfort zone and makes you learn to do new things.
Well since I don't know what's coming as this is my first year, it's hard to say. I've done all of the above and as long as filling the whole page is a PL page, I'm fine. It's pages with pattern everywhere that make my eyes cross. I'm not keen on double pages either though again, my PL is two pages so... Mostly with the challenges, I just shut up and do it. I may not like the challenge or my page, but I don't have to print them all!
The double is the one I take the longest on probably, but I don't dread it since I know that I can generally create the pages in whatever style I'm in the mood for that day. The one I dread more is the clustery ones since I feel like a crappy scrapper with that style. I'm not good at it & never think I improve. I ENVY the cluster scrappers that do it so flawlessly.
Art Journal for sure. They're just not my style and since I like to fit everything I do into a project I'm working on, it's a real challenge to figure out a way to fit them in!
oh last year I had the hardest time with a series of photos that tell the story...I fought dear Farrah, so hard...I was a royal pain in the neither regions...I couldn't get it in my head. Finally, I caved, and sat and thought about her hard work in the words to the challenge. She had done a lot of work to get the point of the challenge across, and I just whipped up a page, there done! oh boy, it sucked, that is all I can say....so I redid it. the funny thing is I am a journaler galore in my printed books. When people come to this page, they always go...oh my goodness, this page tells such a story, I love it! this is the page: I smile and think dang it @FarrahJobling you were right and I now, push myself to grab the challenge and learn, and push myself to stay with the spirit of the challenge.
From last years MOC, I think mine tend to be the art journal and pocket... but I've improved immensly in those areas. I'm not a great filler upper scrapper either. I try to put more on, and then end up taking off more than I had on to begin with. I think one of my most recent pages resembles a pocket style page, and that was fun to scrap. I've learned to make it my own, even when I'm scrapping in an unusual way.
Oh gosh, I really struggle with scraplifting & photography challenges. But, I'm not really having fun with all the journaling this year. At this point, I'm having to force it & that takes down the fun factor. Maybe something will spark my creativity soon.
The 2-pagers are tough for me sometimes, but PL and MOC has helped me with that. I love doing the art journal pages, but I never think I do them well haha. I totally agree with you that what I love most about MOC is that it takes me out of my comfort zone and teaches me new things. I learned with my first MOC to just not overthink the challenges. I read it, open PS, and do it. If I don't like it, I can redo it later or not print it or put it in a folder called "trying something new"...at least I gave it a shot. I have very few pages over the last few years of MOC that I don't LOVE. I have way way more that I do. And the techniques and skills go with me for the rest of the year and beyond!
Last year, the only challenge I frowned at was "where I stand." I just didn't want to take a picture of my feet! This year I've gotten a bit disgruntled by the one-photo rules we've already gotten twice but I've made the best of them. On one I made up for it by filling the page with journaling. The other I was planning to revise or throw out, but I actually ended up kind of liking it so I might just include it in my annual album as is. It will be one of Very Few one-photo layouts though!!! Overall, I really love MOC and have no real cringes or negative feelings about it. I love having a challenge to inspire me -- most of them are wonderful, either guiding me or teaching me or inspiring me -- and I love scrapping every day.
For me, it is the journaling challenges. So many of the photos that I scrap are ones that my kids took so I don't know a lot of the story behind them. I like the AJ ones because those are my stories.
I like them all, but pocket style is my less favorite, especially the version that looks like it has plastic over the photos. Clustering is also hard for me --- unless I "cheat" and use a template from @gonewiththewind that already has the cluster placement all figured out. Thank you Cheryl!
Clean pages with few elements (like yesterday's... Which I still haven't finished *ahem*) SO difficult for me. The pressure to pick just the right elements and just the right placement totally stresses me out. Lol.
Art journaling for me! I just admire the talent that's there in that gallery! Feel I can never match up to the quality!! Just amazing stuff there!
I dread the double pager every year, but usually end up happy with the finished page. The art-journalling pages are a little tricky for me as well, just outside my comfort zone. My faves are the technique challenges - I love learning new tricks!!
Although I don't like all the challenges, I love MOC because it makes me go out of my comfort zone. Last year I hated the pocket page that filled the whole page. I don't even know why except that it was towards the end and I was tired. I never really liked my page -- but I got it done! I'm not an artsy person at all, so the artsy pages throw me for a loop, but I was pretty happy with my ATC this month! Again, out of my comfort zone, but isn't that what MOC is for?
I love them all... each one stretches me just a tad. So far, the only one I'm struggling with is the inspiration board. I'm just not feeling it... I know it was meant to be interpreted however, but I'm getting stuck with the colors. I just can't move past it yet... but, I still have time.
I didn't do very much last year, I'm counting this year as my real year of doing the MOC I'd say I struggle with the vintage/art/photoless layout. I don't see a point of having them in my albums as they mean nothing to my kiddos, so why waste time scrapping it. Although I really did enjoy the ATC Challenge, whereas in challenges past (not at TLP), I've struggled. Maybe because they are like journal cards and smaller, not a whole layout, I didn't mind them? I don't know, but I really liked the ATC's this time around. I struggle using doodle-y doodles, although I feel I'm getting better with them, being able to incorporate them on to my layout and looking cohesive--like they belong. I despise challenges that have me scrapping about myself or having to use selfies. I don't care to scrap page after page, after page about me. There's more to me than just me! I have a family: children, husband, dog, I have a home, etc. One page every once in a while (maybe once a year, if that) is fine, but not challenge after challenge. Not saying TLP does this, but I dread coming on here and seeing "scrap a layout about yourself"
For me its the plastic pocket pages, they are just not my style at all!!! I don't think I could bring myself to include one in my printed book. To me, it just wouldn't look right. Oh, and as Wendy said, the all about me pages!