Contest The Great Triathlon Challenge #1: Retread Threads

I'm not done yet but the end is well in sight. Tomorrow will start early and be busy but I'm calling it a day tonight. I'm having a lot of fun and this competition has boosted me up out of a creative stall so that's a great reward already. I'm more than a little excited to see what Challenge 2 will bring...

 

DaughterofEden, that Goodwill clerk should consider getting into the hobby, he looks way too enthusiastic!

 

APPLAUSE ~ APPLAUSE ~ APPLAUSE to you finishers!!!

Haaa, isn't that clerk great@? We had a little bjd meet right there. A lady got all interested and wanted to see my girls joints. Made a point to remember "bjd" -- called her husband over...said she was going to look it up n-line when she got home. Yep artistic types were definitely drawn in. I took a few pictures of my Kun at the counter trying to decide which one to pick. "WE" ended up getting something for an msd size and tiny too.

Of course, as it has taken me until now to find thread, needles, pins, scissors, and that indispensable little needle threader gadget.
o___0?? I just might not finish in time. Or, I could get seriously into the spirit of deconstruction/reconstruction and forget all those tedious proper sewing steps. Hmmm...Can't wait to see what we get to vote on!

 

That clerk deserves a raise. Look how much he loves his job. XDDDDD

It's always so great to meet interested folk when taking dolls in public

 

What is the time frame for this contest? Is it too late to enter? Nevermind just went back through several pages and it looks like it ends tonight...drat wish I would have seen the posts about this sooner. Good luck everyone

 

2 questions about filling out the form.
1. Photo size? I don't see anywhere about what size/resolution the photos need to be. I thought I saw it when the contest began, but now I'm coming up blank everywhere I look.
2. Photo url. I'm very confused about this one (sorry). Um, we're not allowed to post our photos anywhere without being disqualified. I have them hidden uber-privately on flickr. Will you even be able to see them if I send you the url?

EDIT: found #1. 600 pixels max. Sorry about that. Still need #2 answered, though.

EDIT EDIT: So I can set up a guest pass on Flickr for each image. Hopefully that will work.

 

Glad you mentioned the size issue. I knew I had seen it somewhere as well, and then totally forgot about it. Went back and made sure all my photos were within the proper size.

 

MissEmily, thanks for reminding me of the guest pass option on flickr, that requirement was puzzling me too.

 

I'm not sure about my photo hosting site, if it's private or not. It belongs to my husband but I've always used it for showing pictures here, will there be a problem with it, and how do I know if anyone else has access to it? Sorry for the last minute question, I just don't want to get disqualified. Thank you for doing this fun competition, can't wait to see everyone's creations Edit: I just found out I can make a private album, but it wants a password for anyone who may be looking at it. Will this work? Can you pm me a password? ...or? Sorry to be so lame...

 

Oh yes, I didn't even think about an alias! I will ask in the Ask the Mods thread, and I will do that now! But if for some reason my entry does have one please get in touch with me to fix it.

 

Okay, I'm new to this contest thing, and had to move my photos to a private album which changed the address urls. Do I have to resubmit the entry form with the new addresses? I really want to do this right.

 

^^ I would resubmit just to be safe. If you'd like to doublecheck with us that your entry is all good, just post in Ask the Mods




For the hosting questions...
I'm unfamiliar with flickr, sorry guys, is there an option where you can upload a private photo and share the url? I only work with photobucket and this option is available.

 

Sizing question....sorry. 600 pixels on the longest side. So is 600 square ok? I'm cropping & collaging right now and was curious.

And as for Flickr, yes, but you have to do an extra step of creating a guest pass for each photo. Just making the url will ask viewers to login.

 

600 square should be fine.

Thanks for the info, MissEmily!

We'll discuss the photo hosting and get back to you guys with an official instruction. Sorry for the confusion, everyone !

 

You actually can share a private photo from Flickr without a guest pass, but you need to use the photo-specific link and not the photo-page link.

 

And...done.
Phew.

C'mon friends, you can do it! I can't wait to see your work!

Thank you mods for putting together an awesome set of contests!

 

We are getting some AMAZING entries rolling in! ^u^ This is just a public service announcement as a reminder for people to check their photo sizes meet requirements before submitting ~

 

I can't wait to see this! I'm just double checking, as many pieces as one likes to design, as long as they are one outfit? Right? To cover any part of the doll? I over looked one detail already, and just didn't want to make any more boo-boos.

 

Yup. Sounds about right

 

Ooh that public service announcement has me worried..I resized and double-checked everything, but now I'm panicked that something slipped through the cracks.

 

I think this is what I ended up using in the 2011 triathlon. Since we have an official guidance post coming up, though, I'll just wait for that.

Seven hours' lead is a luxury compared to last time! I know I wasn't the only one getting her pix in at about 11:45 PM =)

 

Done and Entry Form sent! I hope I and everyone else did everything correctly; whew it's a relief but there's that nagging feeling I missed something... best wishes to ALL the competitors of DoA's Retread Thread Triathlon!

 

For the showy photos of our dolls wearing the outfits, is it okay to photograph them holding props that we did not make from the outfit? An object that isn't part of the outfit?

 

Woo, got everything done and submitted! Congrats to everyone who's already finished, and best of luck to everyone who's still going!

I can't wait to see everyone's entries.

 

Just got my entry in as well. I spent 2 hours making sure and reread and retaking photos (though I'm kinda out of luck for my starting photos ;- I hope i did it right!

 

oh, can't stand the suspense. I'm gonna go ahead and send it in now. =) Best of luck to everyone, can 't wait to see pix!

 

I'm not the most experienced with computers. I have flicker, but I don't want to lose time stumbling through the steps to do this secret process. Since I didn't buy my garment until 7:00PM YESTERDAY, I suspect I will need every last minute tonight. Would anyone mind posting the steps to submit the pictures? I would be grateful. I am having fun, but much of my plans for this outfit will be finished later, which is OK. I'm thrilled I caught on finally to these contests!

 

Please do not include props or objects that are not part of the outfit.

How to upload your flickr photos:
Upload your photo to Flickr as "private". You should be able to send just the link to us without problems. If set to private, your photo can't be indexed by search engines, isn't isible on the photostream and won't be searchable through Flickr's internal search engine. But if you provide a direct link, it can be seen by anyone.

Please provide a link to the actual .JPG file, not to flickr's host.

 

Sure! here goes:

When you upload the photos to Flickr, make sure you mark them as private ("Only You").
Open the contest submission form in one window; open your Flickr photostream in a second window.
The first photo the form asks for is the one of your doll with the original, un-altered garment. Go to your photostream and find that one.
When you click on your uploaded photo, one of the icons you'll see at the bottom is a little box with an arrow leading out of it ("more ways to share"). Click on that. You'll see a box with a block of HTML code. Copy THE WHOLE BLOCK of code.
(Make sure the size of photo you choose is "Original"! Just realized I didn't do that )
Go back to the submission form and paste the block in. Now this is the tricky part. You have to find JUST THE LINE that begins with http:// and ends with .jpg . (The same one you would use if you were posting a pic to the forum. ) Edit the block of code until only that line is left in the box - make sure not to leave any quotes, parentheses etc.
Repeat with the other photos.

Fill out the rest of the form and you're done!

 

First time ever my rock-solid doll fails miserably and becomes spaghetti limbs....unimpressed at how long it took to photograph... hoping my fail as a photographer doesn't put me out of the running
Entry in finally with just 1 hour and 3 minutes to spare... now I have to get back to painting the kitchen!!! *le sigh*

 

Finally, managed to get something put together. Sewing machines breaking and bad RL stuffs makes hand sewing frustrating. But at least I got something submitted!
Also, mods, just so you know New Zealand does dates differently to the US, so the day and month are switched - just in case you worry! I got my item on the 4th of August, not the 8th of April!!

Good luck to everyone!

 

LOL - I didnt even think of that one.... Same same for Australia... its day, month, year

 

Whoo hoo I barely got mine in a mad rush to even make an outfit! *dances* And now my cat is laying on the doll still wearing the outfit... At least if I don't win the cat likes it? Lol

 

15 minutes to go people.....

 

whew, got it....barely!

 

Bravo mimimontoya!! that defines down to the wire!!!

 

I have a little...editing problem...you see, can't stop!

 

I started at 7 yesterday and just missed deadline by 5 miniutes. I'm going to cry!!!! I had shoes and everything, was just racing to get my pictures into flickr right. wahhhhh


I had to fuss with trying to clone the changed doll into the original photo of the pre-cut dress to save my doll's anonymity I even had to change dolls mid=stream/

 

Aw, Eden, don't cry! You've worked hard on it and it's worth something!

Good job everyone! It was definitely a race to the finish and there were lots of last minute entries!! XD Are you all ready for part 2?

 

Ready for 2nd challenge!

Eden, I'm sorry you missed, you were so close! Will you play along with us anyway for the rest of you feel up to it, maybe? I am going to blog about the projects after and post a worklog, I think yours would be great to read, you work so fast...

 

I just wanted to share what I did, never expected to place for the prize or anything. So, do I go ahead now and post it anywhere I want? If my computer wasn't so slow up loading to flickr I would have made it. I really did LOVE doing it though. Do you want to see it here, just for us worker bees, outside the contest? Awwhwa, GW guy will be so disappointed, Haaa.

Maybe just a link here to another thread in case any one is curious?

edit: Huge thank you to Angelynx-prime for super instructions for how to do the secret posting deal on Flickr. Now, to figure out where to post my FAIL attempt at entering...

 

I definitely want to see!

 

mimimontoya -- ahh, THANK YOU. I'm brand new to sewing. I can't figure out which thread would be the right place to post the pictures I took for the entry. I would need a direct link, probably. I really a slow with understanding how to get around a computer sometimes.
I would love to show you. It is going to take a while for the adrenaline to work out of my system. My neck is tied in a knot.

Where should I put the pictures now?

 

Daughter of Eden, don't feel bad! I missed the deadline too, also by about 5 minutes. I had to take my dog to the vet this afternoon and that messed with my schedule. But regardless, making the outfit was fun. Having a deadline really lit a fire under me!

 

Oh noooess! [Is your dog OKAY?] My cat didn't help me go along faster, that is for sure. Haaa. He's never seen me sew. I just got a huge china cabinet into my house that is going to be turned into a doll hang out/display and my people house is upside down trying to accommodate that. So every time I dropped a needle, etc. it was a dash searching for another one. blah, blah...all those little delays that kill you when you are in a race against time. I'm also a perfectionist, so I spent half the day carefully reinforcing all the beading. It was going to be under a completely enclosed lining so I wanted that part to be ready for the hard life of a doll's dress. I'm still hyper. I talk a lot when I have extra adrenaline, translates into writing a lot too.

Are you going to post yours somewhere else now? I want to send my out for someone to see.

 

DaughterofEden, ^u^ Feel free to share your work with us here! It obviously won't be up for voting, but we'd definitely love to see you continue with us along this triathalon road!!

This goes out to any and all other entries that didn't quite make it tonight, we'd still love to see what you've all come up with!

 

Eep. So I uploaded my pictures to flickr, went "oops, where's the dang private option" and then set them to private after I had pasted the URLs... and I just wondered does that change the URL for the images? IT DOES. Ugh.

What should I do about this, if anything?

 

Hi AlphaCow,

Unfortunately you're correct, it does change the URLs. ^^ Please pm me with the direct links to your private photos. I'll fix up your entry immediately.

 

Just sent it, thank you so much for your help!

 

No problemo !

It's about 3 am my time though, so I'm heading off to bed! I recommend rest for everyone who's putting it off if you are right now XD.. Don't worry, the next leg will be up there in the morning when you wake up! After all, there's still two more weeks of madness and sleep deprivation for the next rounds!

[I just imagined a doll leg floating in the air, greeting me in the morning. Yup, definitely time to sleep.]

 

Oh no, midnight eastern time? I thought it was on pacific time. I missed that one badly. T_T I thought I would have enough time to send in my entry after work. At least my outfit is lovely, and my girl is finally well dressed... I'll play along for fun, but it is a shame I missed out...again. Can't wait to see everyone's photos! I still have plenty of fabric, maybe I'll make her something else...

 

Yep, that private thing on Flickr was what cost me the 4 minutes I went past midnight. After every picture, I would forget how I did it. Didn't help that I was about to have a heart attack. So here's the grand unveiling: My photography was horrible. I have the worst little dinky camera, so do your best to see. NO edit this time. [I'm queen edit lady because my photography quality is not up to par yet] -- and no time was left to go for a good details collage. ****drum roll***

After I was all finished, I was running around trying to find something quick to put on her and make a shot to clone into the dress picture. Sorry about the immodesty factor under the flash. <-- and this killed me. REallY I lost it last night when I posted funny pictures of my Kun doll and then today today had to select a different doll because I gave away which doll was mine. That's what I get for being "class clown" -- I had already cut up the dress when I found this out, so VERY LAST MINUTE I remembered I'd have to hide Kun and get Supia in as accurately as I could...
Originally, and the doll who "helped pick out the dress" was: * I made a major change in the design of the top when I found out this was not going to be my Volks Kun's dress.

Dah entry would have been:
At least now I can finish the top. I wanted it to have beading too. I spent half of today reworking all the beading. On a second-hand beaded dress, that is a must. Had to rob from other parts of the dress to fill in every spot properly,
Vision was for it to have rows of the black seed beads dangling down from the top, to the waistline. Guess I can work on that later now. ...my tag for purchase proof was the GW guy shots, and then my girl making her selection: [If there weren't so many bills about to descend on me, I'd go back to see if I could get that little pure silk dress with the rhinestone buckles on the sleeves for my Kun. It was "her" second choice, and since she got bumped this time ~ Price for the dress I used was $6.00 plus 6% sales tax.


I had a lot of other accessories in mind. I always have unrealistic expectations of what can be done in any span of time.
But it was fun, and if I can figure out how to maneuver the sewing galleries...I should be hanging around there now! That is the coolest part.

 

...I understand if you want to move it all to a proper thread. I wasn't sure where? Thanks mods. {You do a great job!} -- Will there be [maybe already is?] a link to where we can see the entries now?

! And what am I already behind on next?

 

You're absolutely welcome, I'm just sorry fate worked against you! Your outfit is so pretty!!

(One last Flickr tip: next time, use the batch option when you upload, then you can set privacy on all of them at once. Saves a lot of hassle. )

 

Intro post says that voting begins on the 15th, so sometime today there will be a place where we can see all the entries. So exciting! (And i get you 100% on the adrenaline factor, yay caffeine!)

 

Can't wait to see everyone's entries....and can't believe how much work the mods are doing just to get all these entries prepped and posted and anonymous for us! Thanks, guys! The contest is awesome and you're doing great work!

 

I am looking forwards to seeing all the entries! It is half the fun of the contest for me!

 

Your dress is very pretty. Sorry you did not get it in on time. Hope you will play along with the rest of us. Can't wait to see everyone's creations.