8.06.2012

Tons of Juicy Challenge Details for Bloggers AND Non-Bloggers

Guess what? We now have about 50 people who want in on the Random Acts of Craftiness. This is awesome! But it also means that many of the details given in this original post are no longer true OR relevant—so dash them from your memory. Especially the part about toothbrushes being one of the items.

Read on for updated details that Kelly, Michelle, and I have finally pinned down some about how this whole thing will go down. It’s sort of a lot of information, but it’s all important, so you better read it. ;) There might even be a quiz at the end. But you’ll have to read it to find out. No skipping to the back of the book.


blog craft challenge details

Information Distribution: All information for the challenge (including the challenge item details!) will be posted here on my blog, so make sure you check back or are connected in some way so you don’t miss anything!

Timeframe: This whole thing is being cut from 12 to 6 months. The first link party will be in September and the the last one will be in March. We will be taking December off so you have plenty of time for all of the other obligations and activities that December brings.

Sharing Projects for Bloggers: Bloggers will share projects via a link party. This will usually be the last Wednesday of each month, and will be hosted here. Link up early to get the most out of sharing your project!

Sharing Projects for Non-Bloggers: We are working on a way to let non-bloggers get involved, too. We have some ideas, but nothing is finalized yet. If you don’t have a blog and are interested in participating OR have an idea about how you could participate, please let me know!

encourage the geniusSource

Monthly Challenge Items: All items are as inexpensive as you want them to be. You might already have them around the house, or you can find them secondhand. We don’t want you to spend much money. Also, I will announce each month’s challenge item right after the previous month’s link party. There will be just about 4 weeks between the announcement and link party for that item. That should be enough time if you don’t wait until the last minute. ;) But if for any reason you will want to participate but need more advance notice because of other obligations, please just email me. September’s challenge item will be announced here next Wednesday, August 15th. The link party will then be on Wednesday, September 26th, so for this first challenge, you’ll have a full 6 weeks of knowing that the item is.

Project Rules: Your project CANNOT be the copy of something that has already been done, to the best of your knowledge. This is a celebration of the new and original! For this reason, copycat projects will not be featured (see details further down). To help avoid the temptation to “get inspiration” from the Internet, I encourage you to not do a search for the item when you receive the challenge. Let your brain do its own thinking so that you aren’t confined by what has already been done. Furthermore, if you receive the challenge item and can think of something that you have seen done, force yourself to do something else. Be original! Stretch yourself! I promise it won’t kill you. Remember: Rick could do it. Which means you can, too.

eleanor rooseveltSource

In the event of a fail: To encourage you to link up even if your project isn’t as fabulous as you’d like, I’ve made a “What the $*%#@ is That?!” ribbon that you can award yourself.

Random-Acts-Fail-Ribbon_thumb4

 

Blog Feature Opportunities: We are excited to share with you that we have six guest cheerleaders lined up who will be visiting your links each month and then choosing their favorite projects to feature on their blogs. Since this is really a game, not a contest, they aren’t judges so much as encouragers who are there to provide extra motivation! Winners will receive a button that they can place on their project post. (Our 6 cheerleaders are Karah from The Space Between, Karianne from Thistlewood Farms, Kim from Newly Woodwards, Rachel from Maybe Matilda, Ange from The Blooming Hydrangea, and Cassie from Primitive & Proper. We’re honored that these lovely ladies agreed to help us out!)

Husband’s Choice Awards: In an effort to keep things non-threatening and non-serious, Michelle, Kelly, and I have recruited our husbands. Each month, one of our husbands (Nate, Andy, and Rick, respectively) will be selecting a few of their favorites that receive the “Husband’s Stamp of Approval.” Winners will receive a button that they can place on their project post and forever have bragging rights that someone’s husband wanted their project in his man cave.

rick dessert

Monthly Giveaways: Each month that you participate in the challenge, you will be eligible to enter a giveaway for that month! We’ve lined up some awesome Etsy sellers who feature unique, upcycled merchandise—which only seemed appropriate given the fact that you all are going to be upcycling toothbrushes. (There I go lying again. Must. stop. with. the. toothbrushes.)

“My Favorite Project” Link Party & Contest: After the final link party in March, I will host one more link party, the theme of which will be “My Favorite Challenge Project.” The creative Sarah of Thrifty Décor Chick has agreed to be the guest judge for that party, and she will be selecting 8-10 of HER favorite projects from that “best of” party! Those 8-10 will then be voted on by YOU, and the top project overall will win our final prize package, which contains exciting stuff from Krylon and gift certificates to Fabric.com and Cutting Edge Stencils! Woo hoo!

Perfect Attendance: We really want you to push yourself to try each month’s challenge, but we understand that such a commitment isn’t always possible. However, participants who complete all 6 challenges will receive a special little button. You know you will force yourself to craft with weird stuff if it means a super cute blog button, right? (Just go with it.)

Challenge Promotion: If each of the ~50 who have expressed interested were to recruit even just one more person, we could have ourselves a pretty cool blogging movement! So please, please, please share Random Acts of Craftiness with your friends! If you’re up for it, we’d so appreciate it if you could write a post about it at any time, or just include a link or short blurb in a post, or share it on Facebook, Twitter, etc. (And thank you to those who have already done this!) If you’re not up for any of that, no problem—but we do ask that you place the button below somewhere on your blog for the duration of the challenge AND include it (or a link to the party) in each of your project posts. (Not sure how to do that? Visit this tutorial for how to add the button to your blog post and this tutorial for how to add the button to your sidebar.)

random acts small button

(If the size isn’t working, please let me know. I don’t actually know what I am doing.)


Phew. This takes the award for the most word-heavy, bra-lacking post I’ve ever done. Do I still detect a pulse, dear readers? Or has your heart rate just increased dramatically? (Read this post to help calm your fears.)

Oh, but I did promise a quiz. So here you go.

What questions do you still have? Concerns? Suggestions for how to let people without blogs participate? I will answer all questions in the comments below.

Go here for answers to frequently asked questions!

42 comments :

  1. Idea for the non bloggers: you can still use a linky party for them to link up - they can maybe post a picture and description of their project on Facebook or in Photobucket and then instead of their blog link they can upload the link to the picture/album to the linky party! :)

    Stoked!

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  2. I can't wait until next week. I love that you are hoping for all original projects. You selected GREAT cheerleaders. Let the games begin :)

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  3. I am so pumped! Button added to my blog!

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  4. This is going to be great! I'm so glad so many people have shown interest! Thanks for putting so much work into this!

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  5. Gotta love a man in a Reese's® shirt!

    Now I have to go throw away my stash of used toothbrushes...

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    1. Bad button. It should be fixed now! Let me know if it's still eating your poor blog.

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    2. We're all good!

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  6. Count me in, and I also told Mich L about it, this sounds right up her alley. Nervous, but excited! LOL...

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    1. I also love that he is in a Reese's shirt looking at the sweets ;o)

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  7. OMG RULES! I was wondering if I would have to sign a contract or something in the end LOL. no I am excited...still a bit nerv..but more excited!

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  8. I blow at crafts so this should be interesting. Posted a little love on my blog about the challenge. En guard!

    http://themcbaileys.com/monday-madness-random-acts-of-craftiness/

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  9. I'm so pumped for this! I'll definitely share on my blog :) Quick question...after you reveal the first item challenge does it matter when we post about it or do you guys want us to wait until the link party to show what we made?! I want to make sure I follow the rules ;)

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    Replies
    1. Hmm good question. I'd say wait until the week of the party? It doesn't have to necessarily be posted the same day the link party opens, but maybe that Monday or Tuesday?

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  10. Hmmm...I just found about this fun time! Can I still join in the fun? Say yes. say yes. say yes!

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    Replies
    1. Yes! Yes! Yes! The more the merrier. :)

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  11. Wow! This is serious business. What is your home address so I can mail Rick some baked goods? ;)

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  12. Super exited! I found you via someone link on FB ... hmmm, someone, anyhow I love a little motivation!

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  13. I'm a non-blogger who would love to participate!

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  14. so excited!

    I love how big this has become - it's going to be great. hilarious for sure. maybe we'll all start the next pinterest trend. :D

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  15. I am SO excited!! This is going to be amazing!

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  16. Nate has that same shirt. I hate it. I think they should wear them in their month review photo.

    Oh yeah, I just told Nate about judging right now. Except I made the mistake of showing him Rick being bribed with desserts. Doh.

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    Replies
    1. If Andy happens to have that shirt, their fate is sealed. They won't have a choice but to wear them.

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  17. oh how i love the husband's choice award!

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  18. 3 of my favorite bloggers + constant propaganda = I'm (finally) in. Fear be gone!

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    Replies
    1. bahaha propaganda. We would never stoop to such unscrupulous techniques to recruit you. ;)

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  19. This is keeping me up at night already and I don't even know what the first item is! This is going to be so much fun - I am not creative in the crafty sense so I'm looking forward to the challenge.

    Love the rules, love the awards and the cheerleaders!!

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  20. You gotta love cheerleaders and husband's choice awards.

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  21. So awesome that I can't even think of a clever scenario in which to describe said awesomeness!

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  22. This sounds FUN! Is there something we need to do to get "registered" other than popping the button on our blog? Can't wait to see what the first challenge is. I'm thinking that's gonna be the hard part...coming up with the challenges! More power to ya!!

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    1. Nope--no official "registration"! When we announce the challenge item, I might just have everyone who's "in" leave a comment so we know what numbers we'll be looking at, but that's it! No binding contract or anything. :)

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  23. I've got my pom poms in hand and I'm practicing my jumping splits as I type. #BestCheerleaderEver

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  24. This is going to be so much fun! And, I have a baby due at the end of Nov; I'm totally pretending we are skipping Dec just for me :)

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  25. I must be stupid, but... count me in.

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  26. Bad news: Andy doesn't have that shirt. Do you think the whole project is doomed?!

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  27. Woo hoo, let's do this!! Can't wait! I keep looking at random objects around the house and imagining what I could do with them. (So I guess I'm practicing or something.)

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  28. We FINALLY posted about this challenge today!! This looks like fun - but I suck at crafts so it might not be fun. Or it actually might be funNY. Or something.....

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  29. Can I still join the fun with toothbrushes??

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    Replies
    1. Yes! There is no end for entry. All are welcome, whenever!

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  30. I'm crafting roller blades out of toothbrushes right this very minute. Making a craft is so up my ally.

    And I'm so full of sh!$. Can we enter our projects even if they look like hell? Sign me up, but I have my doubts I can craft something.

    ~Bliss~

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    Replies
    1. bahaha no doubt you will craft in those roller skates? And yes, you can still sign up. We are actually going to make a "What the %@# is that?" ribbon that bloggers can award themselves in the event of a fail. Fails are funny, anyway.

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