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Shoshana is simply beside herself after seeing her ugly mug on Today Show style editor Bobbie Thomas’s blog this morning!

Bobbie put out a call last week for DIY (do-it-yourself) projects involving upcycling – using materials that might otherwise be thrown out, and using them in new and interesting ways.

Here’s the email I sent her and her producers, which will also sum up the project for you:

Hi Bobbie and The Today Show,

A couple of months ago I started a project that’s a lovely compliment to upcycling old stuff into new stuff. It’s called Mighty Ugly, and the gist is that you take a couple of hours and some supplies that would otherwise end up in the trash, and you make a totally hideous creature. Why? Because we put so much pressure on ourselves to create beautiful (cute, pretty, attractive) things, and that pressure can be totally paralyzing.

By using scraps, we remove any inclination we may have to consider our materials precious. By making something ugly, we challenge our general crafty mindset but also set ourselves free – which is especially awesome for people who don’t consider themselves crafty in the first place.

There’s no pattern, and you can use any materials you want. Just make an ugly creature. It’s pretty amazing that almost everyone who’s taken one of my workshops ends up saying they’ll keep their ugly creature. The people who come in saying they’re intimidated by making stuff leave with a spring in their step, and the crafty people overcome feeling threatened and end up feeling inspired.

You can see some examples and hear some stories from crafty people at https://www.mightyugly.com. Attached is a photo of Shoshana, the mascot of the project.

Thanks for your consideration!

Cheers,
Kim

Take a look around the site, and set aside a couple of hours to make something ugly. Then take some photos and drop us a line and tell us about your experience. We bet a hundred ugly crocheted scarves you’ll enjoy yourself, or at the very least you’ll think about crafting from a new perspective.

Keep up with people’s stories and our musings by subscribing to this blog, or by following us on Twitter and/or Facebook.

If you live in the Vancouver, BC, area, we’ll be starting up with workshops again in September.

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