i’ll be headed to the portland festivities, being hosted by the prolific, inspiring and amazingly kind people known as susan beal and sister diane. sunday march 9, 1 – 4pm @ twisted.

btw, make sure to hit crafty wonderland while you’re out and about. it’s a great event and a big part of why the portland craft scene is so happening.

for more info about all the launch party events, get thee to craftzine, stat!

photo credit: mquest

having mentioned before what i refer to as my “perverse, white-knuckled humility,” regarding accomplishments of any kind, i’d like to take a moment also to speak of the seemingly widespread inability to accept compliments.

a friend mentioned to me recently that when someone tells me they like my work, “shut up” might not be a a gracious or appropriate response. i am genuinely enthusiastic about other people, making sure i tell them how i feel, and have come to realize that i’m not the only one who has a hard time accepting that kind of attention. (k…and b…i’m talking to YOU.)

we could get into all kinds of reasons and therapize all day long, but i came across this post on lifehack that deals with some concrete yet nurturing list of compliment-accepting techniques. here’s a snippet from the intro:

Think of the good we might do ourselves by easily accepting every compliment that’s offered us, even if we’re not entirely sure the person complimenting us is totally earnest. Instead of undermining our self-confidence, we would feed it. Instead of denigrating our achievements, we would promote them. And instead of tearing down relationships, we would strengthen them. A compliment is, after all, a kind of gift, and turning down a gift insults the person giving it, suggesting that you don’t value them as highly as they value (soon to be “valued”) you.

it’s a great read and, even better, completely actionable. clicky. <via>