Saturday, July 30, 2011

Challenge #2 - Metamorphosis

Update!

I have received a few clarifying questions regarding this challenge. Hopefully this clears up any confusion!


1) You do NOT need to make something for this challenge, just send a "before" and "after" picture of something... this can be a literal "before" and "after," or a less-than-literal interpretation. Anything goes!


2) You do NOT need to upload your own images; I will take care of this. You should e-mail your pictures and a brief description to: grossfamilychallengeblog (at) gmail (dot) com


3) You do NOT need to provide a step-by-step description of the change or pictures along the way (though you can if you'd like).


4) The deadline is now MONDAY, AUGUST 8!! 


Please feel free to send any more questions. There is a sweet prize for this challenge (think "repurposed" goods).


Times, they are a changing. The theme of this challenge is metamorphosis, evolution, change, recycling... basically I challenge you to transform something "old" into something "new." Here is a sample to get those juices flowing. I recently purged my closet in an effort to stay organized (insert laugh track). Midway through I came across an old dress that has miraculously managed to escape the donation pile for what I assume is close to six or seven years! And I'm positive I haven't worn it in at least five. So I got to thinking; why is it that I haven't been able to part with this admittedly outdated frock? I really don't know. There isn't a good reason. But again, I didn't want to throw it away.

The dress - before.

Thus, the metamorphosis challenge. Instead of getting rid of it, I decided to turn it into something new!

First I cut the dress in half.


Then I adjusted the darts...
who knew I needed to do this to make the skirt fit?
Then I sewed up all of the seems.

Ta-da!! Dress becomes skirt.

Now, this challenge is NOT to become a low-skilled fashion designer (though the first part of this post might certainly suggest that); it is to e-mail me two images, namely a "before" and an "after" image depicting the change of something into something else. Send your images (by August 8, 5 pm CST) to:

 grossfamilychallengeblog (at) gmail (dot) com

Be sure to include "metamorphosis" in the subject line along with a brief description of your item's "change" in the body of the e-mail. I will compile all images and post them, along with the randomly selected winner, on Monday, August 8. Remember, be creative!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Challenge #1 - The Winner Is...

Thank you to everyone who followed the blog this week! We had a lot of fabulous song suggestions; who knew we were so creative? Though most of the fun has been reading everyone's posts, we do have a winner to announce, selected at random, along with an "editor's pick." I had to choose the winner randomly because there is no way I could evaluate and rank the posts with the expectation that somehow one would be better than the others, so... I put all 14 qualifying posts into a random number generator and then chose the winner based on the generated numberblahblahblah.... I've included the screen-shot for those purists. 


So, congratulations LAUREN!! 

Lauren's post reads:

Song: With A Little Help From My Friends
Artist: Joe Cocker

Lyrics:
What would you do if I sang out of tune
would you stand up and walk out on me
Lend me your ear and I'll sing you a song
I will try not to sing out of key

I get by with a little help from my friends

My rationale: Although this song is about friends, my best friends are my family and they are always there for me. It's about getting by with help from friends/family and I know that I can get through anything the help from my family. Plus, I sing a lot of songs out of tune and my family never stands up and walks out on me :).


I'm giving our winner Lauren the job of "editor's pick"... good luck! I'll  update with those results as soon as she's done collecting bribes! (I have just been informed that Lauren chose Dominic for her "editor's pick." Enjoy your treats!)


The winners will each receive a small token for their efforts this week.


Our new challenge will post tomorrow! Thanks for playing!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Do you accept the challenge?

Welcome to The Gross Family Challenge Blog, a place of foolish challenges and good-old fashioned family rivalry! My vision for this blog is to provide followers with a variety of weekly challenges matching the spectrum of interests, talents, and obsessions um... interests of the Gross family! Though I plan on using this site to elicit robust family conversations, anyone is welcome to participate in the weekly challenges. This satisfies the first condition of Gross Family membership; everyone is family and anyone can join.

That being said, it's time for our first challenge. Drumroll please...

Gross Family Theme Song

Now, I'm sure it's tempting to suggest the cliche, but please be warned that songs like "We are Family", though upbeat, joyous, and otherwise passable, do not meet the requirements of this challenge. So what are the requirements you ask? Read on:

1. Become a follower of The Gross Family Challenge Blog (GFCB).
2. Choose a song that does not include the word "family" but does include a message that describes membership in our family.
3. Comment on this post with your pick for the Gross Family Theme Song and be sure to include: name of the song, artist, specific lyric (not the whole song), explanation of how chosen lyric exemplifies our family.
4. Post your pick by Friday, July 29, 5:00pm CST.
5. The winner will be randomly selected from all entries and will receive a PRIZE!!
6. Questions? You can e-mail me with any questions regarding this challenge. Send queries to:
grossfamilychallengeblog (at) gmail (dot) com
7. A sample entry is included in the comments below; no, I can't win my own prize!

Have fun, be creative, and thanks for playing on The Gross Family Challenge Blog!