Goodbye Blogger, Hello Wordpress!

I'm taking that leap. I am leaping off of Blogger and onto Wordpress. And I'm almost there. It's only a matter of hours!

The whole process has all gone rather smoothly too. Want to know why? Because I took the internet's advice and hired a professional, my friend Abby, to help me out. She's doing all the heavy lifting - the actual move - while I've been able to focus on the more tech-free aspects of the new site, like designing a new header, updating my "About" page, and replacing labels with categories. I can't tell you how nice it has been to have someone there to answer all my fiddly questions. It's been great!

It's a different world over on Wordpress. A little scary, but a lot exciting too. There's so much to learn, eep. There are definitely challenges ahead but you know what? I'm up for it. In fact, I think I need it.

So if you're a Google Friend Connect follower and you want to keep up with all things Michele Made Me, you may want to find an alternative way to follow me. Here are some ideas for you:

1. Sign up for an email subscription.
2. Follow me on Bloglovin'.
3. Subscribe to my RSS Feed.
4. Follow me on Google+.

I'm also present on YouTube and Pinterest, so check me out there as well.

Update: Oh, and by the way, the url of the shiny new blog is: www.michelemademe.com!

I hope to see you on the flipside, my friend. Until then, take care eh?

♥︎M

Pouf, Published.

Hi there.

I thought I'd briefly share this newsy tidbit before spring arrives... Though, I must say, it's very cold and snowing here at this very moment, so no worries, right? Anyway, I contributed an article about my denim pouf to a magazine. I'm happy to report that it was published in the 2014 Winter issue of Stampington's GreenCraft. See that? Cool beans eh?

Do you know much about Greencraft Magazine? Well, it nicely parallels what I've always tried to do here on Michele Made Me, which is to focus on making things from re-used and rescued items. It's a beautiful quarterly creation full of crafty eye-candy and do-able projects. I encourage you to check it out. Presently, the Spring 2014 issue is available, I hear, so I'll be looking out for it.

In other news, I was blind-sided by the 2014 Winter Olympics. I don't normally watch sports of any kind but I got sucked into the Sochi Olympics big time and enjoyed every moment. I cried at least once every day while watching. I think what gets to me is the commitment of these athletes to their sport. I yearn for that kind of commitment and dedication in my own life and work so when I see it embodied in someone, I'm in awe. And because of that I cheer for everyone not just my fellow Canadians. So much fun!

In other news 2, I've been working on song-writing lately, something I haven't done in a very long time. The process of writing songs is not unlike handcrafting actually. You get an idea and you begin to tackle it from different angles. If it all makes sense and has potential, you flesh it out, you mold it. And then you just work it, work it, work it, to make it as beautiful as you can. It's interesting... and satisfying too when it works.

I hope you're having a lovely day. I must get out for some actual air, but it's SO cold here. Wish me luck and warmth.

♥M

Disclosure: There are affiliate links contained within the above post. Also, I received compensation for the aforementioned article. Opinions shared here are my own.

Second Chance Workroom

If you lived here, you'd know that having a clean workroom is more exciting than it sounds. Let's just say, my workroom was in "a state" up until a few days ago. I've spent the better part of two weeks wrangling it into something worth showing you. Don't you remember? It was only last year that I told you I'd give you a tour eventually.

FYI: For future reference, the definition of "eventually" is 11 months.

In retrospect, I blame my messiness (far too embarrassing for before-pictures) on the darkness down here. There is nary a window in my little space, you see. Any craft project photo has to be taken in daylight which means hauling the project upstairs where the sun lives, taking the picture, and hauling everything back down again. Such a hassle. After awhile, except to get the occasional supply or add to the growing morass, I stopped working down here altogether.

Problem is, because I gave up on the basement workroom, my craft stuff was scattered all over creation. The basement was the dumping ground, yes. But I used the dining room table as my craft table, I used the living room as my computer desk, I used the couch as my quilting space. In short, there was craft-related stuff everywhere and because there was craft-related stuff everywhere I was forever in a craft-related frame of mind. I couldn't get away from it, you know?  I felt the tug constantly, even when my family was around. It was like being in permanent limbo: never knowing when to stop working and when to start not working. That's one of the reasons I took August off. I needed to find a healthier division between work and family time again.

In my mind, the solution involves having a space dedicated for work exclusively, a place that allows me to focus, and one I can walk away from at the end of the day. I knew it was time I give the basement a second chance.

So for the last couple of weeks, I have rounded up all the piles of craftiness, I have tromped up the stairs and down again, I have scrubbed, I have dusted, I have rearranged the furniture, I have purged,  I have organized, I have labelled even. I am making myself a tidy work nest. It's a little bit exciting.

I look around the room today and I feel okay to let you in. I still have a whole slew of loose ends to tie up (not the least of which is possibly painting the shelves and the whole lighting issue... ) but isn't that always the way of things?

Without further ado, here it is: my basement workroom. Welcome!

♥M

P.S. By the way, when Lo and I bought this little house, the basement was a useless mess of fake brown panelling, exposed cinder blocks, wicked-scary wiring, and yucky old carpet. We've since ripped everything out, installed a beautiful new laundry room, and created this work space. Lo also built me the shelving unit. We're not quite done yet... Hello? I need trim! As usual, we hope to get it done soon...