The Cold Hard Truth Critique Thread

I was inspired by another user asking for us to look in her gallery and give her some honest opinions on her pages. She asked that we not be TOO NICE and be honest. I told her that I feel like I would be a better scrapper if I had some constructive criticism. Hey, I'm not the best scrapper out there, and there is always room for improvement.
I sometimes have a hard time trying to be nice when looking at LO's that I don't like, so I usually don't post a comment because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but it seems that the point for making comments should be to give an honest opinion.
That's why I would like to start this critique thread. I'm not saying we should be down-right mean...but we should be honest. I won't tell you that I like it, if I don't. And I will offer suggestions. I think this would be especially good for new scrappers who are used to opinions that are nice instead of helpful.

Post any LO you would like 'the cold hard truth' about in this thread so everyone can give their honest opinions.
Or, if you would like me to critique your gallery, just drop me a PM.

I too would appreciate having people look at my gallery and give their honest assessment of what they see. I know I'm not a fabulous scrapper and some of my LOs are pretty lame, but I never get feedback that offers suggestions on what might make a page look better.. and that's what I want the most. I don't want people to just find one good thing about a LO to make a positive comment on. I want it all.. the good, the bad and the ugly. Give it to me straight.

Scrapzalot and I spend most every weekend scrappin' together. She got me into scrapbooking and has been my mentor all the way. However, she doesn't always give me her full and honest opinion because, for some reason, she thinks I'm a bit too sensitive and would take offense (PFFT)!... So, I need the folks here at scrapbook.com to give me the full-out opinion of what I do. I'm glad scrapz decided to open this thread and hope that everyone will be willing to post their LOs here for critique. I fully intend to post LOs here for everyone to give me their HONEST opinion of.

Tay, I only had a minute to glance at some of your most recent layouts, but I have to say that I truly be hard pressed to make any suggestions. I saw at a half-dozen or so that I thought were downright stellar, especially your "Baseball" layout. Very original!

LOL, when I have a bit more time, I'll try to get out the fine-toothed comb and go through your gallery again...

This is a great idea. Those who are afraid to hear, or are too sensitive can just avoid!

I'd like to join on both ends, having my gallery critiqued and also being a critic. How do I sign up?

I dont' really think we need to sign up but rather post that we'd like to be critiqued either on a particular LO or all of our gallery.
I'll have a look at your gallery Kay... think I've actually been there once or twice before. Expect comments... but not just yet... gotta go pick my little one up from the bus stop. LOL

This is great . . . I'd like to volunteer to get some honest feedback on this layout:
http://www.scrapbook.com/scrapbook_layouts/showphoto.ph...

This is a tribute layout for my first dog. I love the pictures, but sometimes I look at it and think it's missing something. Maybe you guys can help me figure out what that something is.

I left you some feedback HollyD

Hi! I'm open for critique...anything to creat better LOs. Thanks! I will also visit your galleries as well. Can't wait to read your comments.

Well I'm especially wondering about this LO. I mean I thought it was great when I finished it. Tell me what you guys think.

http://www.scrapbook.com/scrapbook_layouts/showphoto.ph...

http://www.scrapbook.com/scrapbook_layouts/showphoto.ph...

Perhaps instead of posting the critiques under the lo in the gallery, we can post them on the thread. That way your gallery still stays nice and full of compliments!
I have 2 I have not uploaded because the are not right yet!

I was just think the same thing. I are we suppose to send a PM, post in the comments, or the thread. If not posted in the comments section, how will we know which lo the person is commenting about. It will be really hard to remember the names of each specific LO one wants to comment on.

I'm not opposed to having negative feedback left in my gallery, so it's totally up to someone else for that.
I don't see why we couldn't leave the feedback here on the thread if the person requested that. We could simply be sure to address the person we're critiquing by name and LO title.

Once we go and look, we could just come back to the thread and post. You could quote the person whose lo you just looked at to help keep it straight.

Count me in. I don't mind comments being left in my gallery. No problem. This is a great idea!

SNOWBall pg 1
SNOWBall pg 2

I'm not sure if the pages balance between each other. I worry about the Doodlebug rubons as a font and the size of the empty space on the first page.

Any suggestions?

Ok, I want in on this! I have an album in my gallery titled "my family". The LOs were for the recent KI Memories contest which was my first official contest. I didn't have great aspirations for becomming a finalist but more so wanted to give it a shot to see what I could accomplish. My work doesn't hold a candle to some of the more seasoned scrappers I've seen but I do aspire to be as good someday & would LOVE to be critiqued. Brutal truth.... go for it! I'll give my opinion on your stuff on this thread as well!

• Sherrise Said:

The 'cold hard truth' is subjective. There are basic elements of design to follow. When I studied clothing design ions ago...I learned a few small tricks that flow into scrapbooking; but each of us has our own style in scrapbooking. Just as we do in the way we pick our wardrobes or decorate our houses. What looks good to one, is not for the other... I've only posted two lo's so far and it's not really to be critiqued, just to share the hard work. It's not that I'm too sensitive to accept criticism, I just see it as 'your opinion'...not that I'm wrong. I did leave Holly a comment but again...she's not wrong, I just suggested what 'I'd do'. I'm one of those people who needs 'white space'. My friend commented a year or so ago that I scrap as I live: solid colors, accenting with a few small patterns, no clutter. I don't like angles....and to put a picture on a page without rounding the corners is torture. I do it for 'mixture', but very hard. I dress the same: solid colors, some accents of 'pattern'. My eyeballs can't focus on bizziness (sp?), and it's like they twirl in the sockets with no place to land. So is my scrapbooking style wrong; no....it's just me. I think that needs to be remembered by all of us. The suggestion that Holly distress the edges of the red 'film strip' piece is good: it's all about balance/design. Of course someone can ask for help, and usually all they really need help with is balance and the elements of design; not their personal tastes in colors or patterns. We don't want anyone to feel trashed. We all do good work and it is fun to look at galleries and pick up ideas from others.

I think the point is to gain perspective through the eyes of other scrappers, not to say that so and so's scrapping style isn't good.
Take the LO I posted for the RR scraplift as an example. When I completed it, I showed it to Scrapz. I was happy with it, but she suggested adding the anchorettes to the photo. I placed them on top of the picture just to see what it would look like and it really was a good suggestion....so I secured them to the page.
No suggestion has to be followed. Everything is a matter of opinion... But, if you're looking to discover other perspectives and expand your scrappin' style, I think this is a good way to do so. I love all the critiques. I've really learned a lot from the suggestions of others.

I've posted critiques up to this point!

I have posted also. and Ya'll can just have a free for all in my galleries. I will upload soem new ones today

I am jumping in too!!! I have always been shy about posting layouts!!! I finally posted a few Sunday night hoping to get a few comments but so many layouts get posted that by Tuesday morning they were buried and pushed back to page 25.

I am open to any comments/critiques as I am always looking to improve.

Thanks.

A suggestion is just that...a suggestion. Something someone else's eyes noticed. It is not an order from a superior that must be instituted. I would love to get some suggestions on ways to improve my pitiful pages....if I could only get one to upload!!!!!

bmn0616, Beth, I looked all through your gallery and tried to leave some constructive criticism. I was not successful at that, because I really, really liked everything you have done. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

You have a very appealing style and a way with colors and patterns that I like very much. Keep it up.

Please help me too! I've found that I learn faster hands on - I have some friends who scrap but they're still at the basic, basics of it so they usually ask me for help!
Always up for new learning expierences and this site has so many creative souls! I would love some helpful tips etc.
Thanks!
Leah

Okay ladies. Some of y'all seem to be upset about this whole thing and that isn't the point. The point is...we all want good comments, we all want to leave good feedback to others. But I like to know what others REALLY think. I know our styles are different, and mine is very busy and I like it that way. But we can all learn and grow as scrappers by the comments from others. We all want to evolve in to GREAT scrappers, and I think it's hard to do that when everyone keeps telling you that your pages look great just to be nice. That's why this is here, for those who want "The Cold, Hard, Truth" Those who are more sensitive don't have to ask for the critiques.
Thanks ladies, I will be busy for awhile looking at your galleries. The participation is great.

I would like to have my LO's critiqued.

I think I am just kind of jumping into scrapping. I am reading a lot of magazines, and looking at tons of LO's and every now and then I read one piece of information that makes me say OOOHHH there is a PROCESS to this, not just slap the stuff down so it looks pretty.

Constructive criticism, where people explain the reason behind the comments is how I learn to grow.

hey I think this is a great idea. I always feel like I can't say what I really think on some work. I don't ever want to hurt feelings but it is great to help someone grow...I have left some comments and anyone is free to leave comments in my gallery I would be so cool with that.

To CatScrapFever

I just looked at the album you requested. Since there's so many I could PM you on each page. Most of them are a very good start, just need some embellies. I really like the "just 1" If you'd like help on the others, let me know and I will pm you my thoughts.

To bmn0616:

I looked at your gallery and I wouldn't change anything. Your LO's are really good. They are clean and well put together. Great job.

Sure, I'd love to see your thoughts on what I could do to spruce them up. Some of the LOs were very obviously "thrown" together due to time constraints & to meet the min requirement for submission but there are a couple that I put quite a bit of work into. Thanks for looking!

Thanks Tay and scrapzalot - always looking for new ideas and help out of a creative block!

I'm going through some of these now. Trying to offer helpful suggestions and compliments.

Great work, everyone. And thank you for the comments left in my gallery already.

Hi y'all! I have a page that I would like some info on. The photos in the scan came out a little dark, so I am aware of that problem. (they are not in reallife, my scanner has been doing funny things!)

If anybody out there could just give me some opinions beyond "that's nice dear", I would love to hear what you really think. I think the design works myself, but I am here in my house with no other scrappers to bounce stuff off of. It could really stink and Ijust don't see it!

Feel free to comment in the gallery!
Katie and Zinnias

Okay ladies, thank you for the great responses. You guys have kept me busy today. But, it's 11:30pm my time, so I will have to sign off for tonight. Keep the requests coming. I am thrilled that some of you are finding this helpful. I will respond to others after my post in the am(my time)

I am all about this thread! The "Nice LOs" I get from people are nice and I'm definitely not complaining about them, but if anyone has suggestions or critiques about things I've done, I'm more than welcome to hear them.

We all have different styles, so I've felt a little uncomfortable when I've left people suggestions in the past. I hope I don't come off as mean to those who only just want to hear compliments, but just knowing how I am, posting LOs on here means hearing all sorts of comments.

But this doesn't mean that you should write "I HATE THIS" on all my LOs! Constructive things only!

Thanks for all the comments left in my gallery. I appreciate it. It encourages me to post more as I do them.

i have been looking through some...i hope to comment more tommorw.

• Quote:

Don't tempt me!

I'm in one of those moods right now that this statement made me want to just go to your gallery and start jabbin'.. 'what were you thinkin', this is hideous', etc. LOL
No worries, I know scrapzalot very well and she would never totally slam a person and their style. She doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings and I'm sure if she had some critisism or suggestions that one might deem insensitive, she would PM that person rather than have it in the gallery comments.

• dashe79 Said:

Lol!! Is "What were you thinking??!!!" constructive?
Heehee! I don't want any of that if it is!

I'm so loving this thread. Thank you to everyone who left comments or suggestions on my gallery. But the only thing is I don't think I'm any good at criticism. Everytime I go to a person's gallery I see anything I would change. I had to question myself. Like, am I just being too nice, but I think I just like the LOs...oh well.

It might be a good idea to add at the top of our comments: "CH Truth Critique" so others who read the comments later and haven't read our thread won't think we're just going around being "mean" to everyone.

What do you think?

This has been a great idea.

It's okay if you like what you see. There are a lot of really good scrappers here. I am mostly trying to help those who are learning the craft. It's hard to progress when nobody offers any suggestion. Sometimes we all get stuck in a rut. Like me, I love to 'over-embellish' I just can't quit. Some of the comments I have received will make me re-think my next LO. Not that I am a bad scrapper...but we all could use some new ideas.

The title Cold Hard Truth was just to capture your attention. We're not trying to be mean, just helpful. The response I have received so far has been great. I haven't had anyone say they were offended, or that we are 'mean' Most of the participants have been thanking me for posting this thread..But we can always ask what everyone else thinks....I want everyone to be happy, not scared.

ok here are a few I could use some feedback on.

http://www.scrapbook.com/scrapbook_layouts/showphoto.ph...

http://www.scrapbook.com/scrapbook_layouts/showphoto.ph...

• Quote:

There is a difference in being 'mean' or offering constructive criticism. Nobody should go into a gallery and flat out slam someone's work. Suggestions/comments can be given in such a manner that nobody gets their feelings hurt. I will PM comments to a person if I feel my opinion is not suited for the gallery comments. It's just the simple.

This is exactly what I have been looking for - please, please stop by my gallery and give me some constructive critism (it is small, so won't take you long)!! I am very new to this, and want to know what I can be doing to improve my LOs!! Not sure if I qualify to give anyone advise at this point, but I will certainly stop by your galleries and take a look. Thanks in advance!!

• Manda_K Said:

haha, no, "Wow, this is the butt-ugliest thing I've ever seen! You call THIS scrapbooking?"

I love people who have a sense of humor about things

I'm know I'm benifiting from the helpful comments/tips! Sometimes I just need to hear ideas from others to really get the creativity going...
This is just one REALLY big classroom!

So I am working on my very first scrapbook. If anyone has any suggestions for anything, feel free to leave them! I can take it.

Ladies, this is a great thread. I'm at work right now (imagine that), I'll be home in a few hours and then I'll be able to start going through some galleries. I'm so glad there are so many of us willing to participate. Including myself, if you wish to leave a critique in my gallery please do so under comments (for easy reference). And I'll check back when I get home. =)