Organising How I Enter Challenges and Submissions - plus a challenge for you!

The Challenge is now CLOSED! Thanks to everyone who entered. The winner will be announced on Thursday 5^th July!

I like to enter scrapbooking challenges, and occasionally submit layouts or cards to magazine calls for submissions, or submitting an application to be on a design team. It's a nice way to share my work with more people that may not normally see it, and even if I don't get accepted for the magazines or design teams, I still get a sense of satisfaction from submitting instead of just reading about it - at least I'm trying, right?!

The only trouble is there are so many challenge sites that I love, and not as many, but still quite a few, ways to submit to magazines and apply for design teams. I've had to get organised about how I enter them, so I don't feel overwhelmed!

These are some of the layouts I've submitted to challenges so far this year... 'Adorable Birthday Girl' was for a sketch challenge at the Sketchbook365 blog, 'Every Excursion' was for a National Scrapbooking Day challenge at Big Picture Classes, 'Baby Boy' was based on a challenge at www.shimelle.com, and 'My Best Friend's Wedding' was based on this colour challenge at the Crate Paper blog.

To organise the way I enter challenges and submissions I've had to do two things: 

1. Limit the amount that I enter 
2. Keep track of what deadlines are approaching

To limit the amount I enter, I decided that I should only submit to a maximum of two challenges, and one design team or magazine submission per month (on top of my regular design team work for SJ Crafts, and writing for the Popular Crafts magazine). Any more than that isn't practical for me. If I ever find that I have some spare time I could always enter more, but limiting myself at the start of the month means I don't feel pressured to enter every interesting looking thing that pops up! 

I also try to alternate which sites I'm entering at - one month I'll enter a challenge at the Crate Paper blog, and enter a submission to the Scrap 365 magazine; the next month I'll enter a challenge at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog, and submit to a design team call that I've spotted at the Design Team Calls website.

And to keep track of what deadlines are approaching, I use this Day-A-Page diary, that I picked up cheaply in the supermarket:

I jot down all the details on the deadline date, so when I have some time to enter something I can flick forwards to see what is coming up. I even inlude a little sketch if it's a sketch challenge. It means I don't have to keep checking the internet (and therfore get distracted by social media!) every time I think I'd like to make something to submit.

Do you submit to magazines or design team calls? How about entering challenges?

Here's your chance to do the latter - I challenge you to enter a challenge! 

At some point between now and Monday night at 11.59pm GMT, you need to enter an online challenge, one that requires you to either blog about it or post it to an online gallery. Then come back here and link it below. One randomly chosen participant (if I have any!) will be chosen to win this Bazzill Basics Paper 'Avalon' kit:

Including a 12x12" collection pack of papers, a set of pretty buttons, and some brad jackets.

Do you need to find a challenge to enter? Here's some links to current challenges:

A Challenge to use 'Negatives' from The Studio Challenges

The June Sketch Challenge at Sketchbook365

The 'Celebrating Groups' Challenge on the Scrapping Everyday Miracles blog

A Cardmaking Challenge to use 6 Different Patterned Papers on the Daring Cardmakers blog

And another card making challenge to use blue skies and clouds on the Do You Stack Up blog

There's a few ideas to get you started, but you can enter any online challenge that you like. Do you have a favourite challenge site? 

Just make sure that when you've entered the challenge at the host site, you come back and link it here too.

But hurry, you need to enter by 11.59pm GMT on Monday 2nd July! {NOW CLOSED}

And don't forget, that commenting on this post, or any post from this weekend, will enter you into the Grand Giveaway {NOW CLOSED} - but only if you've registered your interest in winning it here.

I'll see you again in an hour's time! x

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