Contest The Great Triathlon Challenge One: My Angel!

If this wire, fabric and trim were things i already owned that i didn't have receipts for, would screenshots from an online shop showing how much they cost be sufficient instead of a receipt?

 

What if we bought stuff awhile back and dont know where the receipts went and have had the stuff laying around for awhile? Can we use those types of things without receipts/proof of purchase? I probably have the receipts lying around somewhere since I hardly ever throw them away... but it has probably been over a year since I got the stuff so I dont know if I will be able to find the receipts... and the prices have probably changed since I got the stuff... I dont know if I'd have time to go back to the place I got it to get a picture of the prices now either. I also dont know if it would be online anywhere since I went to the actual store to get the supplies back when I thought I'd be using them, but never wound up using any of it.

 

Just a couple questions, but -

1) "Participants must be members in good standing. Members may not participate if they have a marketplace suspension, marketplace ban, unresolved transactions or a paging status." I haven't sold anything so I know I should be fine, but how would I know if someone pages me? I haven't been active much on DoA in a while because of crazy RL, and I don't remember a paging system at all X_X

2) Is there a size limit for dolls? Any restriction for how big/how tiny they are, or if they are hybrids, anthros, etc, or is really any doll ok so long as they're on topic?

3) thought of another - considering users usually have photos on their profiles/sigs of their dolls, won't people be able to identify entries that way? Or am I missing something important? >_<

 

When you have a page out, it shows up under your user name in blue? I believe. It usually says something like "being paged" and sometimes is accompanied by the orange? market place unresolved transactions banner thing. So if you dont see any of those things under your name or a big red "marketplace ban" then you are fine ^^

 

I'm so excited about this challenge! I've been thinking of making some wings for a while, it was one of the things I decided I was going to do before i even got a doll, I've been saving (something secret that I'm not planning to use but I won't mention it just in case change my mind) for it for a while, but I don't think that's creative enough, so I'm gonna have to step up my game!

 

If we go out and buy things to take apart, does that count as part of our budget for this challenge or is the budget only for things like fabric, wire, and other raw materials?

 

Would placement of the wings matter? - Can the wings be placed anywhere, like on the head, arms or feet..?
Or what about placement on clothes or shoes - do the wings need be of direct "skin contact" kind..?

 

My user name where? Up at the top of the page in the header? Or on the left side where it shows up next to a post I make?

 

on the posts you make ^^ I'm not sure if it shows up anywhere else because I've never been paged/suspended/banned etc. but that's where it shows up when I've seen it on other people's names ^^

 

I wonder how paint counts as a material in this contest. If you already have it lying around (I think quite a few people do from face ups...) does it count as a "basic tool"? What if you buy a new tube but only use a few drops... do you still count the cost of the whole tube ?

 

I'm still a bit confused about items you have had that you were planning to use for other stuff/decided to use for this instead vs. new purchased items just for this.... since it appears we have to include the cost of the items we already own.... I found some prices for a couple of my things just in case... but I'm already at $11 for stuff I already have (only 2 things x.x) that I might use parts of (and I dont know how to figure out the "part of" cost for these things) and there could be another couple things added to that... and I wouldnt be buying anything new using this stuff O.o... so if I needed to buy something new, I wouldnt be able to with the $20 budget :/ I dont think I'll need to buy anything... but if I did... yeah I need some more clarification. lol

 

Just going to run through these questions real quick:

If you buy something new that comes out of your budget, so shop smart! Try a flea market or second hand shop or something similar. The point of this stipulation is that it's really about making something cool out of what you've got around already. The extra budget gives you some wiggle room just in case you need paint or magnets or something.

There is no restriction on doll size or type as long as it is on topic for DoA.

There is also no restriction on where to place wings or how many wings you can make, but other than their attachment method they should be independent of any clothing your doll happens to wear. (Your doll is not required to wear clothing.)

Anyone who has marketplace restrictions that would bar them from competing can't even see the Events subforum, so if you're in here you're good to go!

 

The purpose of this challenge (other than making your doll some fancy flappers) is to help you think resourcefully. Look around at what you already have before coming up with a concept. Don't go out shopping for a concept.

If you have paint that you've been using for something else, repurpose it for this project. Don't go buy fresh paint - that will come out of your budget.

There is a built in reward system for not consuming new goods.

 

I don't know - I've got enough fabric, trims etc to open a small fabric shop, collected over 40 years. You want what I paid for it then or now.... A LOT of it I got at thrift shops as well. But if this gets me to make a pair of wings, well cool....

 

I have a question about recycling materials. I sew for myself as well as friends/family, and I obsessively keep scraps of fabric that might be large enough for doll clothes. Some of them I have had for years, or they were donated by people to my stash - do those count as recycled, or do I need to work out costs for them?

Also, a favourite charity of mine has a shop where businesses donate unwanted goods and they sell them. It's called Creative Junk, and they have a lot of really awesome things there. A lot of my craft stash came from there - they charge $8 to fill a grocery bag with anything from their warehouse. If I go and find things there for materials (or have things at home which I got there) how should I cost those?

 

Um currency conversion question - I don't think it'll be an issue for this build, but for future reference rules-wise would it be ok to use 20GBP as the budget if all items were bought from UK-based shops only? Cos 20USD works out as only 11.89GBP right now

 

Ok, so I know we've gone over this a couple of times in questions here, but please, just set my mind at rest. I just clicked over to the entry form, and saw this

We've all been talking here about using stuff we already owned, and it was agreed it was okay, but this says differently. Please confirm I can use the awesome thing I found in my craft room that I bought years ago and would be perfect for this! There's nowhere locally that sells it so if I wanted more I'd have to buy it online and it would take ages to get here, and would be a waste seeing as I'm only gonna end up using probably less than 10% of it.

Eek, I really don't wanna be a pain asking all these questions, but I don't want to be disqualified just because I was confused about the rules!

 

I am confused about the budget as well I have many materials, paint, feathers, wire etc. that I have accumulated over the years, if I use them, I have to deduct from my budget? That makes things so much more difficult >.<

Is it possible to keep the budget specifically for things that are bought new for the contest?

 

Yeah, I'm also worried I won't be able to figure the cost out of a lot of my stuff that I have lying around for crafts that I may use. Like paper, for example, if I use paper would I have to figure out the cost of how many sheets of paper I use based on the price of a new pad of paper? I have so much old paper just sitting in my room! Also 'creative use of materials' implies voters will be able to know what we made our wings out of, so do we need to take a picture of all our supplies before we start?

 

The rules state that we need to include a picture of all materials before we start.

I actually just posted in ask the moderators asking whether paper counts as a repurposed item. I can make a case in my head for it either way, because when you buy paper it's not like you buy it for one specific project then have leftover... but then again, you already bought it...

 

Looking at the entry form, I think it looks like a case of doing everything at once; meaning we don't pre-register with our intention to enter, rather we just make our wings and do the entering when we are ready with the pictures. Is that correct?

 

This sounds really fun

I have a question... So the triathlon has 3 parts to it and we pick just one of our dolls to be the contender for all three parts? Or can a different doll take part in each trial. Also can only one doll be in a photo?

 

Adding to the chorus of confusion over pricing. I'm intending to buy absolutely nothing new if I actually enter, unless I run out of glue or something. I've been collecting bits and pieces for over 50 years; can you imagine that I have a *clue* what any of it cost? Snippets of material left over from who knows where or when - some purchased, some inherited, some bits of old clothing of indeterminate age...

I understand pricing out what you've purchased specifically for this contest but "stuff around the house"? My concern is that if I have to do research and guesswork it may take longer to price out the materials than it does to actually make the wings

Edit: Helps to actually read before we ask the questions, yes? I just went over the criteria for this phase of the triathalon and right up front it says

So yeah. Answered my own question right there! ANY repurposed goods, plus if we need to buy something else it can't go over $20.

That makes me feel much better. And I submit my humble apologies for wasting my time and yours freaking out over having to hit up the archives for what I paid for a scrap of stuff ten years ago I'm going to consider a snippet of fabric from a fat quarter (remember when I was going to make quilts? *sigh*) as repurposing it from a hobby that never took off to an actual item. Unless we're told otherwise.

 

I'm also still a bit confused x.x... so paint we already had lying around doesn't need to be calculated, but wire we already had lying around does?

I also have tons and tons of craft bits (fabrics, beads, clay, glitter, buttons, yarn, deco supplies, wire, wood... you name it I probably have a bit of it) in my house. I don't see the need to buy much, if anything, new if I use all that... but I don't think they count as "tools" ....but I also have no way to figure out the price on the stuff accumulated over years @_@.

Also, can we use donated materials? There's one specific material I'm thinking of using that almost everyone has in their house but I might be just a bit short. If I ask friends if I can have their un-needed *insert material here* is that OK?

 

So if I take apart my daughter's feather boa for the feathers, that counts as recycled?

 

What if you have material that you've had lying around but is untouched, but you bought it at a great discount and any approximate price finding wouldn't reflect that? More specifically, I have a couple of bins of fabric remnants, and remnants are always at least 50% off of the regular price. I don't have the receipts, so how can I prove the price, if I find myself using some of them?

 

^pretty much all these questions. I hoard craft supplies. Everything I have at home is "stuff I had lying around". At what point does something count as repurposed?

 

Retail pricing for most craft items is roughly equivalent (ie cotton yardage that is $10/yd here is 5GBP there, same with feathers, tape, etc.) so your budget is 12GBP.

The Mod Team will discuss this, since it is clearly becoming convoluted!

That is correct. Get it done and submit before the deadline. You don't even need to enter all three contests if you aren't competing for the prizes!

It needs to be the same doll for all three challenges. Not sure why there would need to be an additional doll in any entry photo. The submission photo size is fairly small so you might want to just focus on the doll wearing your entry so that voters can see it clearly.

 

Okay, the budget interpretation has been simplified! Please re-read the rules! I'm going to remove all of the now obsolete answers in this thread to avoid confusion. Yay, less work and more fun!

Volks, Iplehouse and Crobi are all very excited to be contributing the prizes this year, and since they all have accounts on DoA they'll even be able to see the entries and cast a vote if they'd like. So dress to impress!

 

Thanks St. James - especially for taking the purchase price things to discussion. It really is hard to imagine what I spent for a fat quarter 17 years ago, etc. And who the heck knows where all the string and trim and such came from or how much it cost? Clueless. Makes it almost not worth the time it would require, especially if you're just entering for the celebration of it all.

On the other hand, I did just buy a few pieces of things (nothing like a good excuse for a run to Michael's, yes?) that may or may not be used; I definitely will be able to figure those out and show you guys the receipt.

 

Indeed! And frankly, I had no desire to squint at at all those receipts and tally the estimated cost of goods on my weekends. That's what I do at my day job!

 

Okay, just so I'm clear, this means that anything we've had lying around (like wire, fabric stuff, cardboard, paper, clay?, etc) can be used as "re-purposed" and NOT count towards our budget now? If so... thanks! That was all confusing for a bit XD

 

Yes, that's correct!

 

Thank you St. James for fixing the budget issue!!

 

Ah cool - thanks for the clarification there rules-wise! (Though since I've got a garage full of ...stuff hopefully I wont need to go anywhere near that budget)

 

Hehehehe... Seriously, that's how I was looking at it from the "raid the paperwork archives" standpoint :P No joy in that.

 

I supose ripping the wings off a 10+ year old tree topper angel is a no no ?

 

Not really sure it'd be against the rules, but it probably won't gain you many creativity points in the voting ^^;

 

Thank you so much for answering the budget questions! I think I have everything I need here without buying anything,but we'll see!

 

It doesn't matter to me at all for this contest, but I thought you might want to know that this is sadly not true. Craft supplies are in general considerably more expensive here than there. I did a bit of googling and came up with a few examples.

Feathers from big box store. £3.50 vs $2.99
Name brand fabric from fabric store. £13 a metre vs $9.50 a yard
Beading wire from big online bead store. £14.76 a spool vs $16.03 a spool
Basic 60" wide muslin from ebay £4.40 a metre vs $4.50 a yard

On average, the prices I pay for craft supplies here are the same in £ as my US friends pay in $ there, so in terms of the actual things you could buy with it, $20 would get you a lot more stuff there than the equivalent of £12 or so here.

As I said, it doesn't apply to me at all for this challenge, I'm repurposing stuff I've already got, so I'm not complaining or anything, but I just wanted to let you know that Europe is expensive, our 20% sales tax probably has something to do with it. I used to always load up on cool stuff when i visited the US because things were so much cheaper. I'm not sure if there's any easy way to make things fair anyway because prices do vary a lot between countries totally independently of exchange rates, and we can't expect you to do a load of work checking relative prices. And really, so what if US people have an advantage over UK people in terms of purchasing supplies? Just means we need to get more creative with what we have

And thanks for clarifying the rules, makes things much easier. Now to get on with making my wings!

 

So let's say we just tend to have lots of craft and office supplies that we've collected over the years that haven't been used. Do these count as recycled materials?

 

Yes.

From the first post

 

I'm not sure why you'd want to sabotage yourself that way?

 

Well I can imagine how a ten year old tree topper angel's wings might have wire supports already made in a wing shape that could then be repurposed to have other wings built onto them.

 

That could work! Again, there probably wouldn't be too many votes for creative use of materials, but it's not against the rules.

 

Hello, I have a question. In the submit form there's still this slot to fill:

'Photo of purchased materials and receipt:*'

We just leave it blank if we don't have to purchase anything for the contest because all the supplies are recycled materials?

Thank you!

 

The form won't let you submit unless there is something in that text field, so just write in N/A or "I didn't buy anything" and that will be sufficient.

 

YAY! That's so much clearer. Thanks!

 

WOOHOO! Now to get busy designing and building!

 

I knew my hoarding would pay off someday

EDIT: Also, the doll I want to make the wings for (and subsequently the other two challenges) isn't the best at standing because of his shoes. Should I pick a different doll in case the other challenges require doll "acrobatics" (or you know, really good standing)?

 

This sounds like fun!

 

thank you mods for the clarifications on the rules as far as what counts as recycled/re-purposed.
very excited about this, I think it's going to be a lot of fun~!

 

nvm I was replying to a thing that was cleared up. Thought I was on the last page. sorry ^^

 

I'm so excited! I knew immediately who I would be entering with.
I just know it will show in everyone's photos who their most spoiled and beloved child is.

 

Really good standing is always good, but not essential for the Triathlon. Perhaps he stands better without shoes? It's more important that he be your favorite doll.

 

I had great success today with this challenge - all recycled materials! Had forgotten some of the awesome things I had lying around in my craft room. Hoping that tomorrow I can get some nice photos! (Cause, you know, 6pm in the middle of winter means pitch black outside, and my flat is rather dark even with the lights on!) The most interesting part is going to be convincing my BJD to stand up - I have never been good at that, I managed today with the wings on, but I can guarantee I will have trouble when it isn't a test run! (Seriously, normally I just pose my dolls sitting because it is far less complicated >.<)

 

I actually was worried about mine standing for pictures with wings and went ahead and just hot glue seuded the hips and knees. Perhaps some seuding would help? I'm debating about seuding mine's ankles too XD I surprisingly got mine to stand on one foot after that! Never could do that before XD

 

You know what I had the hot glue gun out today and didn't even think of that! That can be a plan for tomorrow XD

 

Yeah I was wondering if I'd need the hot glue gun to make the wings for this and then remembered that my doll also needed to stand so went to work on seuding instead of getting supplies together for this XD oops... got to get all the supplies together tomorrow (really later today... eek 2am! I gotta go to bed!). I went ahead and seuded mine's ankles, chest joint, neck, and elbows... though the elbows didnt really help much :/ But posing is so much easier now! Should have done this a long time ago XD