Round 1 Chatter

[Cabalistic]

I didn't see it till after, but I only put CC (for Cabalistic Creations) in my filename/zip with the kit name of course, I hope that's okay! Fabulous work everyone, will be leaving love over the next day or so after I take a much needed rest.

[tanteva]

Originally Posted by Chrismar

I wonder what the next round will bring? For those who goes through I mean! Will it be much the same with just a different color scheme/palette ... or what? Maybe some of the more seasoned veterans/gurus can give us some idea of what to expect? Just from previous experiences naturally.

Well I don't know, but I'm guessing we're/you're moving on to lunch time

Toiny says in the instructions for last week:
"all our challenges this year will revolve around a common theme 'It’s all in a Day' "
which is all I'm basing my guess on

[lpoore]

now that the round1 is over and I can relax again, I just want to say,thank you to everyone who left me such sweet comments. waiting to see who moves on is so hard. I wishIi did not have to go to work tonight, want to stay right here ha

[SnipsNSnails]

Originally Posted by mrscwooddell

I am shocked at how many there were! WOW! I so feel sorry for those voting...OUt of curiosity, do those voting have to download all the kits, then vote, or just look at them? Thats a LOT of downloading...lol
Thanks for the great fun Toiny and team!

When I voted I did not download them all, you're right, that would be a lot of downloading! I narrowed it down by looking at previews and then downloaded to look at quality etc. Previews are a VERY important part of designing! A customer buys by looking at previews and the information you provide about the kit in the description.

[Toiny]

Huh. I can't "thumbs up" or "like" Stephanne's post LOL. And I completely missed this question in all the excitement. To answer it simply: No. I do not download them all. I rely strongly on my right-hand 'man' to give me QC & technical feedback (tou, count, etc.). And I rely very strongly on the previews to narrow my vote.

I do download my favorites, and I do look at those closely. Even with that, it does take an awful lot of time to decide!

[vadkins]

Yeah, Stephanne, I hate that my preview was such a rush job.

Also, I don't think I ever introduced myself... I'm Virginia, and I am fairly new to designing - just started in the last year or so. I have missed all the other big designing contests this year for personal reasons, but have been really excited about getting involved for the chance to better my design skills. My fellow contestants seem like great ladies - I'm so excited to see how this all plays out.

[vickyday]

It's good to have round 1 over............I agree, so we can relax a bit and gear up for Round 2. I am hoping we will have access to each round, even if we are disqualified? I am fairly new to designing, too, and want to learn more than anything else. Does anyone know from past experience if the rounds will be open to us even if per chance we don't move on?

I know one thing FOR SURE..............SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad I'm not judging! Best wishes to all! Everything looks AMAZING from everyone! And thanks for the wonderful comments. I haven't had a chance to do any commenting yet............I'll get there!

[amplantier]

Chrismar

I'm not a seasoned veteran but I did participate last year. Based on that, I'm quite sure Toiny has some interesting and different things for every round, each one geared towards very specific things designers need to do to be successful. So I would be very surprised to see another round with a mini kit with just a different theme or palette. But hey, I've been known to be wrong.

Ann

Originally Posted by Chrismar

I wonder what the next round will bring? For those who goes through I mean! Will it be much the same with just a different color scheme/palette ... or what? Maybe some of the more seasoned veterans/gurus can give us some idea of what to expect? Just from previous experiences naturally.

[Enchanted]

Now that i think on it..this year *seems* to be in line with how it's gone previously. It DOES get more challenging each round. So, yeah, DO try to relax and not stress over what will come next. If Toiny says this year's will be a theme "it's all in a day" we could guess that the next pieces could be an afternoon/evening theme, or a bedtime theme.. maybe just a large paper pack, or element pack in this theme.. but who's to say?
This is the 3rd time i've entered..and it's always a FANTASTIC learning experience. I've gone from having preview nightmares..to just really getting stumped with elements..i'm just not good with that part lol!

So good luck y'all!

[Heatheranne]

On the last thread, it was mentioned that the name of the product should start with our name. I felt that my name would just add too much length to the product name, so I use my initials, "HAW". Is this a problem? I have to go and LSL in the gallery now. Catching up to posts and love leaving is keeping me very busy. lol :-)

[Enchanted]

Originally Posted by Heatheranne

On the last thread, it was mentioned that the name of the product should start with our name. I felt that my name would just add too much length to the product name, so I use my initials, "HAW". Is this a problem? I have to go and LSL in the gallery now. Catching up to posts and love leaving is keeping me very busy. lol :-)

Using Initials is fine. my file names look like this PFC_Wintermorning_paper

as long as it's tagged with some identifying name you're all set.

[Heatheranne]

Originally Posted by Enchanted

Using Initials is fine. my file names look like this PFC_Wintermorning_paper

as long as it's tagged with some identifying name you're all set.

Wonderful! Thank you! I've been listing mine with my intials, then the product description and never thought to check if there was a preferred method. A typical listing would be HAW_ProductTitle_PaperEmbEtc_Colour and sometimes I even remember to put CuPuEtc on the end. :-)

[Enchanted]

Originally Posted by Heatheranne

Wonderful! Thank you! I've been listing mine with my intials, then the product description and never thought to check if there was a preferred method. A typical listing would be HAW_ProductTitle_PaperEmbEtc_Colour and sometimes I even remember to put CuPuEtc on the end. :-)

You're welcome

[vadkins]

Phew, that's a lot, Heatheranne... I usually just put vrwa_productname_itemname.extension LOL! But I know some scrappers like their file names to be that detailed.

I did have my first design-centered nightmare last night. I was working on papers and none of the overlays matched their previews. I was on a deadline and I couldn't finish because I couldn't find the file I wanted.

Scary, but unrealistic. I always make the papers first.

[tanteva]

I name my files like this:
EVA_[4 letter abrev. of the products name]_item.jpg/png/whatever

[Heatheranne]

Originally Posted by vadkins

Phew, that's a lot, Heatheranne... I usually just put vrwa_productname_itemname.extension LOL! But I know some scrappers like their file names to be that detailed.

I did have my first design-centered nightmare last night. I was working on papers and none of the overlays matched their previews. I was on a deadline and I couldn't finish because I couldn't find the file I wanted.

Scary, but unrealistic. I always make the papers first.

I'm sorry that you had so much difficulty with your products. I did find that I was watching the clock and at times was so flustered I couldn't think straight, especially when I started to have software issues. I actually took elements out of my kit and replaced them, then wondered if I should have left them in. lol I've put all the removed elements and extras into a RAK add-on, which is in the same download area as the mini.

I have found that the more detail that I can fit in a product name, the easier it is to find. I have saved them in the wrong files accidentally and have been able to find them because of the way that I name them. :-)

[vadkins]

That does make sense.

And thanks, I've gotta say, it was nice to wake up from a nightmare about work to my baby girl's smiling face. She definitely knows how to chase the night terrors away from her mommy.

ETA: Is the gallery messing up for anyone else? It will only show me 2 pages of previews, but there are five pages showing in the gallery... After that it gives me weird messages...

[Heatheranne]

Originally Posted by vadkins

That does make sense.

And thanks, I've gotta say, it was nice to wake up from a nightmare about work to my baby girl's smiling face. She definitely knows how to chase the night terrors away from her mommy.

ETA: Is the gallery messing up for anyone else? It will only show me 2 pages of previews, but there are five pages showing in the gallery... After that it gives me weird messages...

I can't think of anything more uplifting to the heart than the smile on the face of a babe. :-)

I'm not have any gallery trouble, other than it's slow. I figure it's either the amount of tabs that I have open, how busy the gallery is, or a combination of both. :-)

[Toiny]

I'm not having gallery issues. I'll try to replicate your error again in a few minutes.

[SnipsNSnails]

I sometimes use the initials for the kit name too. For instance Spring in the City is a long kit name so all files started with sns_sitc_ and then the file name. I always use my "initials" as well. The most important thing is to keep you naming consistant, choose one thing and stick with it so that customers can always easily identify any file that you have made.

Organization and designing can be a tough balancing act. Most of the time, I'm OK with knowing what needs to be done and what I need to work on next. I very rarely work on two things at once to keep my focus. I might finish a kit and then do another before coming back to previews or stacked papers for the first one but I rarely start something new in the middle of something else. When I have month's like this month, LOL I keep a simple To Do list in my designs folder where I list the things that need to be done by due date. Since I'm going on vacation this month, I have a bunch of things that need to be finished before I leave that I otherwise would have had a few extra days. I get great satisfaction each time I erase something on that list when it's completed! I also keep a sticky in my CT Forum that lists my upcoming release dates and projected availability to the CT for those kits, this list is longer term and is updated as needed. Those are my simple planning tools.