Creative team participation is a fantastic way to contribute to the community, develop deeper relationships with designers and other scrappers, and of course, receive some of your favorite goodies for free.
But there is a downside too with all this responsibility. Your time and scrapping choices are not completely your own.
So let’s discuss!
- Are you on any creative teams? For how long?
- What is a manageable number? Is this a high or low number for you?
- Has your approach to CT participation changed over time?
- What are the biggest rewards and drawbacks of CT membership?
I’m only on one CT, Kristin Cronin-Barrows and I have been since December 2007. That’s a long time to be with one designer but I’d been stalking her for years and finally wore her down… lol. Her style fits perfectly with mine so it’s a great fit.
Personally I’d never take on another full time position, and would only take on guest spots on top of KCB. And I’d only take on one guest spot at a time, but that’s because I’m always so busy that I don’t feel I can give the designer everything they deserve if I divide myself up any more than that.
I think some people get a little too caught up in the thrill of joining CTs and getting the benefits (free kits)… but you have to be carefull that you aren’t spreading yourself too thin. You need to give that designer the best quality layouts you can.
The biggest reward is the free kits you get for working on a CT. I also like the time spent in the forums talking to fellow designer fans. I love organizing challenges for fellow CT members to boost creativity.
A drawback to being on a CT is the need to create layouts with kits that may not “speak” to you. Because of this I love it when a designer says you have a certain number of layouts to make regardless of number of kits released, this allows you to skip using a kit here and there if it’s not quite your style.
I am on 2 CT’s and find that is enough for me. I have been on one at Pretty Scrappy since March of this year and for the last month been a CT for Lorilei Murphy at Rosey Posey Studio. Between these two I work with anywhere from 5 to 7 kits a month. The DLing & unzpng alone can take up a lot of time. For that reason alone I know I could not handle anymore CT’s and do them all justice.
Since being on a CT I have certainly improved in my skills & techniques. Mostly because I have a wonderful designer who has helped me along the way giving me tips & advice. Not to mention the forums….such a great place for information & help. I have recently started hosting challenges and find that is such a great boost as you see folks join in on a challenge you are hosting.
My biggest drawback is working with a kit that just doesn’t really talk to me or have enough elements to make me feel my LO is complete. I have certain elements I love using over & over in LO’s and it bugs me when they aren’t in a kit I am working with, lol. Thankfully, that really doesn’t happen that often to me for those I CT for….but, occasionally it does.
Helen, as a designer I really appreciate when my CTs tell me they’re missing stuff in a kit. It’s hard to know what to put in and leave out, and while everyone’s needs are different, it’s still helpful to hear. I’ve added stuff to kits at a CT members request, and never regretted the extra work, it always makes the kit stronger!
I am on two teams: Chrissy W Designs (Elemental Scraps) and Sugarplum Paperie (her own store and The Digichick). I’ve been with Chrissy since November 2008 and Nicole since December 2008.
I think 2 is a good, manageable # for me. I’m a slow scrapper, and I tend to go in waves. One week I’m more interested in photography or blogging and the next week I’ll scrap 1 or 3 pages. Since I’m not consistent, I’d hate to be in a position where I always had to “force” my creativity just to make a deadline. Then I wouldn’t be happy with the pages I submitted.
I don’t think my approach has changed. I have been invited to two other teams, which I declined. If I’m not a huge fan already, I shouldn’t be on your team. Your designs need to speak to me and fit my “style.” Also, if you’re giving me your designs for free, I want to be able to give it my all in return. If I’m on too many teams, I’m spreading myself too thin and I may not be able to do a decent job promoting your products.
The biggest rewards are, of course, getting new products to play with on a consistent basis without having to enter your Paypal password! Also, I love being part of a “special” community. Chrissy is very caring and laid back, she is an awesome “boss” and I’ve never come across another template designer who’s designs inspire me more. Nicole is also very caring, and she has built a special forum just for her CT, which is very active. She is also an amazing designer with the cutest papers and paper elements in the industry:) Both these women are going to have to kick me off their teams if they want to get rid of me!
I really can’t think of any drawbacks to being a CT member. I think if I were on more teams, I’d feel more pressure, but this system is working out great for me.
Also wanted to add: since Chrissy does a lot of templates, sometimes I can scrap with Chrissy’s templates and Nicole’s kit and “double dip” that way. Major bonus!
I’m only on 1 CT for Lisa Minor of Scrapdebris. I personally wouldn’t do more than 1 at a time. I think the number a person could do would depend on the amount of time they had to devote to scrapping.
I think there is a benefit to working with all sorts of kits. It sort of forces you to try new things. Of course, the major benefit is that you get free kits. The only drawback would be if you had too many commitments and couldn’t meet your deadlines.
I’m on one CT for Joyce Paul Designs. One CT is all I can handle and sometimes I can’t even handle that! Joyce creates beautiful scrap stuff. I just don’t always have the time to create all the LOs I feel she deserves to get in return for sharing her beautiful works with us.
I am on 4 CT’s right now (was up to 7 at one point, lol), Scrapable, Pretty Scrappy, Wimpychompers and Gettin Scrappy With Britt. I love all my ct’s! I started scrapping digitally in March of this year, so having these teams take me on was a huge leap of faith on their part and it really helped me learn everything i know now. I think that being on 4 teams is good for me (2 are store teams), 7 was kinda stressful. To me the biggest rewards are being able to work with some really really amazing kits. Everyone likes a free kit, but i am lucky enough to work with designers whose kits i would actually pay for if i had to. The only downside to me, is being on a store CT, there are always 1 or 2 designers whose style doesn’t always mesh well with my scrapping style. So that can be hard sometimes.
I’m on one CT plus I design & sell quickpages with her products & just recently I have been selected to be a store’s Advertising Team Leader.
I would never do more than 1 full time team and maybe 1 guest spot at a time as I also work part time & study full time.
I don’t release kits often, but would like to have people scrap with them when I do. I no longer have a regular CT though. Has anyone done the guest CT thing with a particular kit? Any designers used guests? How has that worked for you?
I can’t speak as a designer Jenn, but I’ve participated in a lot of one kit calls. Many of these resulted in the designer contacting me again when she had a new kit or something special she needed. Some of these occurred before a kit was released and some after. Most of the designers didn’t have CTs at that time, though many of them do now.
Obviously the risk in doing a one shot thing is that you’re going to get more freebie hunters than scrappers who really want to do a good job for you. I don’t mean to be a pessimist, but in speaking with a lot of designers, that’s a big complaint I hear. I also even hear that of month-long guest CT spots – that too many guests run away with the product! You just have to look at the applicants gallery, blog and how they interact with the forum to see if she might be a good fit.