Squidoo News

Archive for December, 2009

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While most of us are gearing up for an evening of special traditions, many are gearing up to protect themselves for just another day. Twas the Night Before Christmas – A Holiday Tribute for our American Soldiers by Crystal_Booth is a special take on a holiday classic.

Instead of stockings hung by the chimney with care, this poem features boots filled with sand. And in place of toys for sale, this lens asks only that you share the message. What makes this lens especially touching are the videos of soldiers wishing us Happy Holidays from afar.

It’s especially appropriate that this lens donates to Soldiers’ Angels. No matter where you are or what you celebrate, the freedom to pursue our happiness is something we can all agree on.

http://www.squidoo.com/soldier-christmas-poem

Celebrate LOTD on Facebook.

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On the first day before Christmas Squidoo gave to me…
…SquidU, this learning center is THE place to be!

It isn’t uncommon for websites to leave you hanging. You need help with something basic and don’t want to wait for tech support. What can you do? With all the helpful resources on Squidoo, the most popular place to ask a question, learn from others, and discover great new tips is our SquidU Forum.

If you’re not a regular, log in and get started. Our dedicated lensmasters are what make us great, and for that we thank them.

Have a holly, jolly, merry Christmas!

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Before I post this week’s list of Purple Star lenses I’d like to take a moment to wish each and every one of you a happy holiday filled with warm moments between family and friends and a double dose of joy in the coming new year.

2009 has been a rough one for many and yet our Squid spirit has thrived.  We continue to reward each other with compliments and blessings and star ratings.  We nominate each other for Purple Stars and Lens of the Day.  We donate to charity and we take joy in each others successes as if they were our own by way of Facebook and Twitter and our individual blogs.

We’ve proven that even a serious downturn in the economy can’t take away our community spirit and so I raise my virtual glass and sing a song of praise and pride, Here’s to you Squid!  Thank you for letting me be a part of this wonderful group of people.

And now here are the lenses that received a Purple Star during the week ending 12/25/2009:

• CB Radios – Pop Culture of the Past
• Christmas Cupcake Ideas
• Christmas Fruitcake – a Delicious Recipe for a Holiday Tradition
• How to Write Family Christmas Letters
• Everything New Zealand
• Midway Journey
• Adam Sandler – The Chanukah Song
• Traditional Christmas Pudding
• Inspirations
• Chocolate Christmas Ornaments
• Holiday Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo
• World’s Best Food Quotes and More
• Cheese Balls – Holiday Party Appetizers
• Ten Ideas for Tier 1 Lenses
• My Husband Brought Home a $100 Datsun
• Twas the Night Before Navidad or Christmas
• Top Ten New Year’s Eve Traditions
• Christmas Wedding
• How to Have the Best New Year’s Eve Party Ever!
• The Meaning of Chanukah

To those of you who celebrate,  Have a Merry Christmas!

And to those of you who don’t,  Have a wonderful day!

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When I asked Giant Squid Lensmaster StraySpay to tell me about her favorite lens, she had a hard time deciding.

Her final decision was to showcase two lenses instead!  Here’s why:

I am so happy to be part of the Squidoo community .. I’m tempted to say Squidoo family because that’s how I feel about a number of you. When I heard that one of my lenses had been nominated for the 2009 Giant Squid Award I was amazed. After all the great lens I’ve read mine has been picked? But when I received the notification that a lens about Gillis, a dog I had loved and lost, was chosen I went through stages. First disbelief, second numbness and third hysterical joy.

I can’t tell you one favorite lens because there are two I favor equally, they are my 50th lens and my 100th lens. ~Strayspay

50th:   In my Dream a Squid came by to Chat

100th:  Squidoo has Awesome Lenses

Be sure to visit StraySpay’s Lensography to see more of her wonderful work.

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Christmas, like most of life, is what you make of it. The biggest and the best doesn’t define how great your Christmas is, as lensmaster sandralynnsparks shows us in The Thorn Tree: A Christmas Story.

“We can’t afford Christmas this year. I won’t be getting anything. There’ll be no tree. That’s it.” He turned his back and went back to work cooking supper. It had been his job a long time. I had grown up with an invalid mother, and now things were so much worse.

I stood in the kitchen, thinking. No.

It’s never too late to get in the Christmas spirit and find your joy.

http://www.squidoo.com/thorntreechristmas

Read more great lenses at LOTD on Facebook.

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On the second day before Christmas Squidoo gave to me…
…volunteers to help me be the best I can be!

There are many ways to get one-on-one help on Squidoo, for any niche or goal.

There are:
1. peers in the forum to critique your lenses and suggest ideas
2. our Citizen Squid Mentors to help in specific areas
3. Mentor Matches for as needed help
and dozens of casual volunteers everywhere you look.

Try one today!

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Hot off the press.

“You, your friends and family and fellow Squids voted up a storm and now it gives us great pleasure to present you with your 2009 Giant Squid Award winning lenses.”

Do you know who won Best Baking Lens 2009? How about Best Pet Lens. Best Tech Lens. Best Green Living Lens. Even the Best Potential Giant Lenses, from people applying to the Giant Squids program by next week’s deadline.

Just a fun way to see the year in review, Giant Squid style, and revel in some of the great lenses they’ve created.

Thanks, Giants. And thanks, all.

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Today’s Squidoo Spotlight interview finds us talking to 100 Club Member MeltedRachel.

1.   Talk to us about your fascinating textiles art and specifically about melting.

I’m a full time textiles artist (well when I’m not doodling, writing or making lenses) and wanting to show off my textiles art is what brought me to Squidoo in the first place. This was my first ever lens when I only wanted to use Squidoo for pimping my art (shame on me):  Rachel’s Melted Fabrics

Basically I create layered, sewn textiles pieces and use heat to melt through the layers. It’s enjoyable to walk through fabric stores and ask “do you think this would melt?” and watch the shop assistants’ expressions.

I’ve been creating these melted fabrics since I finished my degree in costume (which you can find out more about here:  Costume Degree Year One

After unpicking a seam for the fifth time I decided that costume construction wasn’t for me. I can’t sew or draw in a straight line!

I first discovered “melting” by accident when I was experimenting with a fabric sample for one of my costume designs for this costume project: Revelation Costume Designs

I was using a medium called “puff binder” on my fabric sample – basically this is a medium that’s used for creating raised printing on fabric, but if you dollop it on it creates a popcorn effect. You need to use heat to make the binder puff up and that’s how I had my little melting mishap.

Several burnt textiles pieces and a nasty cough later I had perfected the art!

This sounds pretty nerdy but one of the most valuable reasons for making lenses for me now is evaluating my work. When you work for yourself it’s hard to take a step back and look at things from the outside but once I started making lenses I had to analyse things I’d done and why I’d arrived at certain points or design ideas. I’ve even had to evaluate the way I run my business whilst making this lens: Online Craft Business Tips I hadn’t been following my own advice, but setting it out in a lens brought to my attention the things I needed to work on to be more successful.

2.    On your lensography you mention several artists who inspire your work, which of those do you most admire and why?

With regards to my textiles work specifically I think it has to be Gustav Klimt. I’m a great fan of things that look pretty and what’s better than lots of gold sparkly paintings? I love patterns and fuss too and he’s the King of patterns and fuss. I also “borrowed” a couple of poses from his paintings which you will find in this lens, where I compare my work to his: Klimt Inspired Textiles

I’m working on a few lenses about Frida Kahlo at the moment. I think I find her very inspirational because she spent most of her life in a great deal of pain and yet still kept on painting. I’ve been very lucky *touch wood* with my health which is good because I have trouble being creative if I get a splinter! Well these are the three occasions where I sewed through my finger but I won’t go into that now!

3.   Which of your many lenses is your favorite and why?

I’ve got a soft spot for my Tower of London lens.

I think this was the first lens where I thought “OK, I’m making a lens about the Tower of London and I’m finding it excruciatingly boring. What can I do to amuse myself?”

If I was finding it boring then there was no way anyone else would find it interesting.

I decided I’d go “mad” and just write (and draw) about what I’d thought the tower was going to be like and how it disappointed me, and write an irreverent summary of some of the more interesting aspects.

I’ve always loved those drawings you get in kids’ books where there are cut away sections of buildings so I thought I’d make a doodle of what I thought the Tower should look like.

I suddenly had one of those “Aha!” moments. I could make doodles for my lenses! If I couldn’t find the perfect image then I could draw it!

4.    Prince William or Prince Harry and why?

Prince Harry definitely! He strikes me as being more fun and also I could fake as much A level Art coursework for him as he wanted.

Learn more about MeltedRachel by visiting her lensography:  The First 100 Melted Lenses

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