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Me Made May 16 Sign Up Here!

Me Made May 16 Sign Up Here!

• The Me-Made-May challenges are NOT all about taking daily outfit photographs. However, many participants do choose to document their challenge with daily/weekly/as-often-as-you-like photos and share them on their blog if they have one or on Flickr, Pinterest, Instagram or Twitter if they are a member. The challenge is about wearing your handmade clothing more often than you usually do, if you choose to take documentation photos, then that is fabulous and wed love to see em, but taking photos isnt necessary or compulsory and really isnt the point of the challenge. 
• Me-Made-May also isnt reason to panic-sew/make anything. This challenge is about wearing the items that you have already created, not about stock-piling more makes. However, if you want to use taking part in the challenge as the kick in the butt you need to finally hem that half-finished skirt, or rework an ill-fitting garment, then great. Remember, this challenge is meant to be fun, and panic-anything isnt fun! 
• A competition. It doesnt matter how many self-stitched items you already have or havent. You can take part even if you just have one solitary self-made item! You just need to set your pledge to make it challenging for YOU, no matter what criteria other participants have set themselves. 

• Help yourself get out of a wardrobe rut by focusing on your lesser-worn items and creating new outfits that include your makes. 
• To start integrating your self-made items into your regular wardrobe rotation. 
• Find out what the holes in your wardrobe are so that you are able to use your garment-creating time more usefully in the future. 
• Begin wearing the clothes that you really want to be seen in, rather than the same old things you usually reach for most mornings.  
• Enjoy the excuse to finish off any lingering UFOs (unfinished objects), or to finally start a project that has been on your mind for ages. 
• Discover what the rest of this large community of makers has created and is wearing in their day-to-day lives, and enjoy the support, advice and inspiration that they will provide. 

• If the answer is Yes: Then youll have lots of fun again this year, whilst challenging yourself in a different way and learning something new about yourself and your style/skills/preferences/wardrobe. You just need to think about how you can alter and/or amp up your pledge specifics to get the most out of this years challenge.
• If the answer is No: Well if thats a no because the challenge you set yourself was too hard, then that is easily rectified this time round; set your pledge so that it is tricky but do-able. If its a no because you didnt enjoy the pressure you felt to take photos each day, then simply dont worry about documenting your challenge with photos. Youll learn lots of lessons and get satisfaction from taking part in the challenge and completing your pledge, not from the documentation of it (although some participants have found that seeing the daily images of themselves has really helped them figure out what suits them and what doesnt work so well). If youd like to do a little bit of documenting, then why not just photograph your favourite outfit/garment that you wore at the end of the week, or some other version that doesnt make you feel under pressure. But seriously, if you didnt like taking part in it and dont want to try again, fair enough! 

• This is YOUR challenge, write the pledge any way you want, just remember: IT IS A CHALLENGE and not meant to be easy or what you do usually. In the past I have received the odd comment saying Oh, I already do this so I may as well sign up, however those people had clearly missed the point which is to challenge yourself, and therefore they would be unlikely to learn very much or feel much satisfaction at the end of the month. 
• THIS IS NOT A COMPETITION. It is a personal attempt to achieve a better relationship with your handmade creations, which you may or may not choose to share with the creative online community. What I mean is, dont set a pledge that youve seen other people make that sounds good but in reality is unobtainable for you and your lifestyle. For example, if you have to wear a uniform for work each day, you may prefer to pledge to wear self-stitched items at the weekends or days off only. 
• Theres no rush to sign up immediately, as long as you do so before 1st May. Have a think for a while about your current relationship with your self-made items, then think how you might want to improve that relationship.
• If you have taken part before, or already wear a fair amount of self-made clothing and/or accessories, think how you can up the ante from the standard one self-stitched garment a day pledge. How about wearing two or more self-made garments each day? Or pledge to try making a new type of garment by the end of the month to wear on the final day? Or pledge to finish all your UFOs by 31st May? Pledge to focus on wearing your meh garments to see if you can fall back in love with some of them? Pledge to only wear separates to force yourself to get creative with your mix-and-matching? Pledge to only wear each garment or garment-combo once? Pledge to wear an outfit including one sewn or knitted garment AND one refashion each day? There are near-infinite ways to amp things up for yourself. 

• Blogs. If you have a blog, then why not tell/show your readers what you are up to? Reading about others experiences of these challenges is always so interesting and inspiring. If youd like to discover some new-to-you blogs of other participants, you will be able to find lots by looking through the comments section of this sign-up post. Some participants like to post their outfit photos on their blogs, and remember if you want to do that but dont have the time or desire to post daily, you could post more manageable summaries once a week or even just at the end of the month.

• Flickr. If you wish to be a part of the Me-Made-May16 Flickr group, head over there and request membership. Ill let you in before 1st May so you can begin posting your outfits/garments from 1st May. If you wish to start a discussion over there before 1st May, please feel free to do so! If you choose not to sign up to the Flickr group, you will still be able to see all the photos added by other participants and read the discussions being had over there, however you will not be able to comment on the photos or add to the discussions. The Flickr groups are always heaps of fun and such a lovely way to see lots of participants all in one go participating in different countries and climates. Plus it can be a fabulous way to discover new inspirational bloggers and blogs to follow, and generally make some new e-friends!

• Pinterest. We also have a Me-Made-May16 Pinterest board, set up and managed by the lovely Jennifer Lauren Vintage who is kindly helping me out with the organisation this year. To pin your garment/outfit pictures on there, you will need to follow the board. Itll take up to two days for you to be allowed access, so dont panic if you cant pin on there immediately. Please add the #MMMay16 hashtag to your pins. 

•  Instagram and Twitter. No doubt due to its visual nature and how easy it is to use, Instagram is becoming a major venue for sharing and enjoying Me-Made-May documentation pics. Please use the #MMMay16 hashtag so we can see all your amazing handmade outfits. 

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