I don’t know about you, but my creative spaces – both in my house and in my brain – are a total disaster these days. Time for some serious spring cleaning!
Starting today, and continuing every Monday and Thursday for a few weeks, join me over on Patreon for a simple yet grand adventure to get these physical and figurative creative spaces into shape so they can help us have the be our best creative selves.
I had so much fun talking with Sandi for her Crafty Planner podcast!
Sandi is a quilter, and we first met when she took my Mighty Ugly workshop at Craftcation last year. During the interview, we talked about that workshop, and also about what I wanted to be when I grew up (at various times when I was a kid), how I finally came to think of myself as a creative person after denying it for most of my life, why I’m focusing so much on the fun of creativity after going deep into the feelings of it through Mighty Ugly, the trajectory of my crochet career, and more.
Our chat is really fun, and I love how we managed to go all over the place while pretty much staying on topic. Have a listen!
I brought Mighty Ugly to UBC Maker Camp for the second year in a row, and it was a blast! The weeklong camp, associated with Make Media’s Maker Camp and supported in part by the Vancouver Maker Foundation, is for girls entering grades 7 or 8, and it’s the only exception I make to my adults-only rule for Mighty Ugly.
It was such a great group of kids, and I had almost nothing to do while they made their creatures. No prodding or prompting needed! Within a few minutes, they’d even invented a whole society for their creatures to belong to, complete with a supreme ruler, royal children, and a hierarchy of dignitaries and servants.
I love that there’s a girls-only Maker Camp in town, and that the organizer, UBC prof Dave Ng, includes crafty pursuits alongside the mechanical and coding projects.
Camp, man! So much fun!
A couple of months ago, I got a Twitter mention from the Chattanooga Public Library in Tennessee, about a Mighty Ugly workshop they were going to host for Valentine’s Day. And I nearly fell out of my chair. I mean, how perfect is that?! It’s totally perfect. So of course I told the librarian how excited I was, and I sent her a signed book to give away, and I recorded a wee video intro for the event.
Here’s the video (in which I explain why Mighty Ugly and Valentine’s Day are a perfect match, natch) and some tweets from the event that made my heart sing. (If you’re a librarian who thinks this idea is swell, or you’re just an average person like me and you’d like to ask your friendly neighbourhood librarian to host a Mighty Ugly event, check out this link with loads of info to help!)
@mightyugly thoughts from our inner demons on @4thfloorchatt @chattlibrary pic.twitter.com/yrmCbPD7TI
— bibli (@bibli) February 13, 2016
More @4thfloorchatt @mightyugly pic.twitter.com/kNmX3HH9L7
— bibli (@bibli) February 13, 2016
More @mightyugly on @4thfloorchatt @chattlibrary pic.twitter.com/Giq9T9UjBB
— bibli (@bibli) February 13, 2016
@mightyugly @chattlibrary @4thfloorchatt pic.twitter.com/Cg5pNiyVGq
— bibli (@bibli) February 13, 2016
@mightyugly @chattlibrary @4thfloorchatt pic.twitter.com/WDPAEr5GIW
— bibli (@bibli) February 13, 2016
I’m still finding my way around Periscope, and one of the things I love most about it is that people can comment as you record, so you can respond to what they say or ask. I just love it. Anyway, as I’ve been experimenting with the platform, I find I’ve been chatting with people more and more about daily making and Year of Making, so I did a scope highlighting five reasons to do a Year of Making. The video of my five reasons is below, as is the link to get the free worksheet I promised in the scope!
{The app that let me embed a Periscope video here went kaput! I’ll try to dig up the original and will post it when I find it!}
You guys, I finally did some serious number crunching with B.J., who owns my local shipping depot. She’s the best, and she has the patience of a saint. And because of her patience, I’ve been able to dramatically lower my shipping rates both within Canada and to the U.S. (and even abroad). Dramatically.
So I hope you’ll indulge yourself with a personalized signed copy of Make It Mighty Ugly, or send one to a friend or two for ye olde holidays that are coming up. Because as of today, it costs less than $5 to ship within Canada and just $7 per book to ship to the U.S.*
For the Black Friday and the Cyber Monday and all that, use code VANQUISH15 for 15% off all orders over $5, through December 4th!
* Dearest Americans: You will be delighted to know that because I live in Canada, prices are listed in Canadian dollars. The exchange rate right now is dramatically in your favour, which means that the book, though priced the same in the U.S., will cost you less.
Hi! I'm a writer and editor, and also like a camp counselor for grownups. I help people have way more fun making stuff. Learn more about how right here.
