After making it to the finals of Season 17 of Dancing with the Stars, Bill Engvall went home last night.
Arguably, Bill Engvall and Bill Nye the Science Guy were the most interesting contestants this year. Not the best dancers, but certainly the most interesting. There are a few things we can learn about our scrappy hobby from watching the way each attacked their adventure in to dancing.
1. It takes all kinds. If you are looking for prime dance potential, you are probably not going to start with the middle-aged white guy demographic. Yet, when the season started Bill Nye had more mentions on Facebook and Twitter than all the other contestants combined. Bill Engvall's been told on more than one occasion he's the heart of the show. Of course it's a dance show and you want to see fantastic dancing, but having an underdog to root for makes the experience more complete.
Scrapbooking Takeaway: There are all kinds of scrapbookers out there. Simple scrapbookers. Scrapbookers who embellish to the hilt. Artsy scrapbookers. Clean scrapbookers. Paper scrapbookers. Digi scrapbooker. Scrapbookers who use as many photos as they can fit on a page and scrapbookers who only use one photo at a time. We are not all the same and that's a good thing. The variety makes our hobby more interesting and there is room for everyone at the scrapbooking table. Be sure to cheer on your fellow scrapper as she tells her stories in her own way.
2. Be Yourself... One is a comedian. One is a science teacher. They were not dancers when this journey started, but they played to their strengths. Bill Nye's first dance was to Weird Science and he was dressed as...you guessed it...scientist. Bill Engvall, who is use to being on stage and in front of people, took an entertaining approach. He found being a character during each dance helped to connect him with the dance of the week. His enjoyment for entertaining people showed through.
Scrapbooking Takeaway: Bring your style to your pages. Your pages don't have to look like they came out of a magazine or a design team gallery. They just need to look like you.
3. ..But Don't Be Afraid to Try New Things. Both Bills were true to themselves in their dances, but the very act of joining the cast of Dancing with the Stars was a step out of their comfort zone. And, doing that in front of millions of people, well, we should all have so much courage.
Scrapbooking Takeaway: Try something new. What intimidates you? Clustered embellishments? Paint? Spray? Doodling? Find a class or online video and do something out of your ordinary. Why not give it a try? After all, you don't have millions of people watching you scrapbook!
4. Work with What You've Got. Bill Nye the Science Guy (Is anyone else singing that in their head?) was voted out in Week 3, but not before he suffered an injury to his knee. His doctor told him he shouldn't dance because his leg needed to remain immobile. That didn't stop Bill Nye. He found a way to dance and keep his leg immobile. He put his leg in a brace and became a robot character for his dance. He found a creative way for the show to go on!
Scrapbooking Takeaway: Get creative! Maybe you don't have the latest patterned paper or the on-trend embellishment everyone's talking about, but what do you have? Trends come around again and most ideas can be recreated with supplies you have on hand. If you can't run up to the store and grab the latest thing, take a look at your stash with fresh eyes and see how you can make something similar.
5. Your Audience is Full of Your Biggest Fans How did Bill Engvall get to the finals when he was consistently one of the lowest scorers? Simple. His fans love him. The viewer votes got him to the finale where he gave one of the most entertaining dances of the night. (Hello, Indiana Jones!) The judges weren't always kind but the fans continued to call in for Bill and support him throughout the season.
Scrapbooking Takeaway: It's your fans that matter. Your fans are your family and friends. When they look at your scrapbooks, they are rooting for you. They are not looking at the technical stuff. They are not judging you against what other scrapbookers are doing. They want to see your pictures and your stories. They are going to love them because they came from you.
6. Have Fun! This is pretty self-explanatory, isn't it? While putting in a ton of hard work, both Bills seemed to be having a marvelous time. For Bill Engvall, it showed through in every dance he did and how giddy he was each week when he was safe. It's dancing - it should be fun!
Scrapbooking Takeaway: It's scrapbooking - it should be fun! Put in the hard work, but enjoy your hobby. Your love for what you are doing will come through every time!