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It's that time of year again. Diane (fionna51) will post CAS Favorites Best of 2018 on January 1st. I'll, hopefully, be posting the general Favorites Best of 2018 January 5th. Cross your fingers that site issues are fixed by next weekend.
So, how do you choose your very favorite cards for the entire year?
It's the cards that cause me to scroll back up repeatedly to see all the details. Marvelous coloring, interesting layouts, fabulous backgrounds or something new to me. Something draws my eyes back up to look at the card again and again. That's when I know it's going on my Best of 2018 list.
I keep that list on a secret Pinterest Board, Best of 2018. I try to remember to check My Favorites gallery each month and pin the ones that knock my socks off to the board. It's sure a lot easier to do it gradually instead of going through it all at year end.
Now I'm to the hardest part, pairing that loooooong list down to a reasonable size.
I go back through all the favourites I have saved for the year and try to pick my favourites from each month. I try to look for a variety of styles and a variety of artists because I know I am often drawn to the same persons work. I really try to whittle down my list so I only have one entry per person but I am not always successful. It is a challenging, fun and inspiring task
__________________ Janine (aka Jay_Bee) Find a few favourites and share some love - check out theFavorites ForumDirty Dozen Alumni
First, like Carla, it's going to be a card that I want to keep coming back to. It really catches my eye. It's almost always way out of the ordinary (to me). I kind of think of these as "the perfect card". Design matters.
On the other side, I really like to include cards from as many people as possible. Not that I go for numbers of people. (Well, my list is usually pretty long, but not repetitive!) I love to see the reactions of all of you when you are on the favorites list! They are still going to be stunning cards.
And for the CAS annual thread, I strictly follow the definition of Clean and Simple, which means that there is:
...One focal point on the card
...Lots of open, "white space" (which doesn't have to be white, but no pattern)
...Limited layers and embellishments.
That requires careful design.
I save many hundreds of cards for the favorites threads as the weeks go by each year. Then I go through those cards and save many to my computer ideas files, deleting from my favorites folder all but those special stand-out cards to be considered for the annual thread. By the time I get to this time of year, there's about 200 or so left in my favorites. (Still too many, unfortunately!) I don't have any problem though, going through those to make my annual list. After the first of the year, I clean out my favorites folder and start again!
I have a self imposed rule to select one card per maker, but sometimes rules need to be broken and I pop an extra one (or two) in. Just like Janine I am often drawn to the same persons work, this is how I prevent having 10 cards from the same person on my list.
When I am doing My Favourites list each week, creations that knock my socks off are immediately pinned to my secret 2018 Pinterest board. When a cardmaker is on my pinboard and they create something else that knocks my socks off, I decide which one to keep on the board. I find this method a lot of fun throughout the year and I end up with a list of an individuals Best of 2018.
I only put cards on my Best of 2018 list that I have already faved in our weekly Favs thread. I missed a huge chunk of creations while on holidays - that's why I love going through the final SCS Best of 2018 Pinterest Board.
__________________ Susie
Please don't take your organs to heaven - heaven knows we need them here.
Choosing just one per crafter is really hard. It’s what makes getting my list to a reasonable size difficult. Lately my list has been growing as I go browse through people’s galleries. Events like DTGD and VSN add even more to my list!
I am one of those people who looks at the whole year (in batches) and narrows it down to say a couple per month so that puts my list between 24-36 ish.
( which in reality is a huge huge list for me) I try not to have ten cards by 3 people
( which is pretty obvious if you look at my favorites I could do that very easily :mrgreen: )
I have a harder time picking CAS then everything else so,
that list if I make it will be smaller for me. I tend to error on the side of it has lumps toss it to the everything goes list.
Simple. I don't choose favorites. I think it causes some hard feelings, and I don't like the idea, so I don't do it. Plus, there are so many lovely cards that it would be impossible and overwhelming.
Jeanette, the idea behind the Favorites threads is to encourage other stampers. There's no intent to cause hard feelings. It is difficult to choose with the amount of cards posted each week. I'm sad to say there are many that slip by without comments and little views.
Jeanette, the idea behind the Favorites threads is to encourage other stampers. There's no intent to cause hard feelings. It is difficult to choose with the amount of cards posted each week. I'm sad to say there are many that slip by without comments and little views.
I make my lists by looking at my Favorites list per month and choosing the cards that really grab me. It's so hard! Because I am one that chooses a lot of cards each week (when I can make a list) I try not to add the same person twice so that I can share the love and the notifiers won't be too overwhelmed. When the same designer pops up again and again as my favorite I will add them to the BEST of CAS list!
It would be really helpful for me if I started a private pinterest board. There is a goal for me in 2019!!
After reading this thread, I think I'm doing it wrong. I must be overwhelming notifiers I guess because I have no rules.
For the weekly favorites: I fave according to how unique and neatly crafted. I don't pay attention to the crafter until the end of the week.
For the yearly favorites, I simply go through my favorites each week and narrow them down by one criterion: Does it wow me so much much I need to come back and see it again for inspiration later?
My lists are usually big. If more people participated each week at posting favorites, I would probably shorten my lists.
__________________
Miss Boo - a.k.a. jen70
SCS Fan Club Member since 2005
Retired Challenge Hostess (2005-2014)
Limited Supplies, Featured Stamper, Clean & Simple
There isn't a right or wrong, Jen. There's what's right for you and that's right.
Your longer lists and mine balance each other out ;-).
Same applies for Best of the year as to the weekly, no rules (except working links, and spaces and colour coding help), no right and no wrong. Just what works for you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Miss Boo
After reading this thread, I think I'm doing it wrong. I must be overwhelming notifiers I guess because I have no rules.
For the weekly favorites: I fave according to how unique and neatly crafted. I don't pay attention to the crafter until the end of the week.
For the yearly favorites, I simply go through my favorites each week and narrow them down by one criterion: Does it wow me so much much I need to come back and see it again for inspiration later?
My lists are usually big. If more people participated each week at posting favorites, I would probably shorten my lists.
I always have long lists - I love so many cards and admire so many card artists! Jen, your lists and mine are usually about the same size give or take a few, and I always love your lists as you always find people I don't. If you love the card, you should list it. The notifiers break up the notifying by alphabet groupings so that no one person gets overwhelmed.
I live in a puppies and kitties world so I chose to think of the list as spreading around love. I imagine every favorite as something that will make that person feel really special because that is how I feel when someone mentions my card, clicks the faves button, or takes the time to comment on my card.
__________________ Nancy Williams - Hope your day is Spirit-filled and ink-filled (in that order)!DRS Designs-DT, Punchkateerforever, Dirty Dozen Alumni
I enjoy your lists too, Jen! One of the benefits of being on the Favorites Team is seeing cards I would have missed. There’s been so many times I’ve posted “I don’t know how I missed this!”
Our team is chomping at the bit to start the Favorites Best of 2018 thread. Hope people participate in spite of the later date. The Pinterest boards are so amazing, all that creativity in one spot!
Favorites of the Year - How do you choose?
