BlogBloghttp://www.hoperevo.com/blog/2008-06-06T14:04:14ZSquarespaceSewing the Seeds of Hopehttp://www.hoperevo.com/blog/2008/6/5/sewing-the-seeds-of-hope.htmlKrystyn2008-06-05T20:53:55Z2008-06-05T20:53:55ZI confess, I harbor a huge artist crush on Renee Garner of Wolfie and the Sneak. Not only is her work visually inspiring, but it's layered in recycled materials and found objects, a concept I admire. I love the thought of creating sustainable art. Recycling in a physical sense (as opposed to the recycling of ideas and styles that is unfortunately typical of much art we're exposed to nowadays.)

When Renee offered plant advice in her column at Modish, I threw her my urban garden challenge. The thought of planting seeds, nourishing the soil, and growing my own garden got me to thinking about how huge one small seed can be. "Look how these weeds have grown in this stale dirt", I thought. "Imagine what this will look like when I actually put effort and love into it."

hopeREVO Renee Garner hopeREVO Seed Bombs


This is what inspired the summer Hope Revolution -- Sewing The Seeds of Hope. Here's the challenge. Make some seed bombs and find public patches of dirt that could use a little love. Plant it and leave behind a hope note. You can make your own, or print off one of these lovelies Renee created.

Every time you pass the spot, even after the note is long gone, you'll be reminded of your secret operation, and the power of a single seed. Or in this case, seed bomb. :)

]]>Blogher 2008http://www.hoperevo.com/blog/2008/5/27/blogher-2008.htmlKrystyn2008-05-27T15:58:11Z2008-05-27T15:58:11ZI'll be on the BlogHer Beautiful Blogging and Positive Posting panel on Day One in lover-ly San Francisco.

More details here!

]]>En Routehttp://www.hoperevo.com/blog/2008/5/14/en-route.htmlKrystyn2008-05-14T17:51:30Z2008-05-14T17:51:30ZI just gave 100+ hope notes to UPS to bring to Jen to bring to Rwanda.

I feel like I might throw up. Hopefully I'll feel less anxious when I know they got to DC okay.

]]>Last Week to Send Your Rwanda Notes!http://www.hoperevo.com/blog/2008/5/4/last-week-to-send-your-rwanda-notes.htmlKrystyn2008-05-04T16:30:30Z2008-05-04T16:30:30ZThe first wave of notes hit my post office box last week -- thank you for the love, energy and creativity you have put into them. Keep them coming! We still need a lot more. If you can get them finished and mailed by next Wednesday (May 7th) that should give them enough time to arrive.

I will be sending her an overnight package on Monday, and she'll be headed to Rwanda at week's end. Have a Hope Revolution party this weekend and recruit your friends & family!

]]>hopeREVO goes to Rwandahttp://www.hoperevo.com/blog/2008/4/18/hoperevo-goes-to-rwanda.htmlKrystyn2008-04-18T16:15:53Z2008-04-18T16:15:53Zli { padding-bottom: 7px; }

Jen and Odette are making hope happen in Rwanda! They've raised enough to cover the travel expenses, book publishing and other materials needed to spread hope while Jen's there.

Now that the resources are in place, there's a long laundry list of things to do. And that's where you and I come in, fellow hope revolutionaries! We're going to create hope notes to send with Jen to the girls of Rwanda. Here's how you can participate:

  • Create or purchase a blank 3½" x 5½" card. (This is US index card size, a standard we're using to help keep things uniform for transporting and distributing the cards.)
  • Choose one of the phrases in this text document for your card. Write the English version on one side, and the translated version on the other, in your own handwriting. We want each card to have the energy of the person who created it, and for the girls to feel like it came from a person who was thinking of them specifically when they wrote it.
  • Add decoration, illustration, whatever your heart desires!
  • Mail your card(s) [Address Removed]

Update: This project has been closed. Thanks to everyone who participated!

]]>If not you, who? If not now, when?http://www.hoperevo.com/blog/2008/4/8/if-not-you-who-if-not-now-when.htmlKrystyn2008-04-08T15:38:01Z2008-04-08T15:38:01Z

I've had this brave spirit in my thoughts since my soulsister Jen first told me of her heartbreaking journey almost a year ago.

When Jen first met her on a schoolyard playground, she learned Odette, a genocide survivor from Rwanda, was in a very difficult and dangerous situation with few resources and limited access to proper help. Her activist heart and compassionate soul went wild, and over time the two women forged a friendship and found a way for Odette to start over again. I can't be too specific about the situation as there are ongoing issues related to Odette’s future and her safety. But I can say that what she has experienced is beyond imaginable to me. I admire not only her strength and courage, but that of Jen as well. Many of us would have distanced ourselves from such a situation.

You'll read more about it when you click the link below, but the big news is that Jen has the chance to go to Rwanda (where Odette's daughters are) and do some good on her behalf not only for her Grace and Lillian, but for everyone she meets along the way.

I'm so excited for her, and for the light she will bring to Rwanda! I can't think of a better person to send. You can read more here:

http://jenlemen.com/blog/?p=368

]]>New soulhttp://www.hoperevo.com/blog/2008/3/31/new-soul.htmlKrystyn2008-03-31T22:53:57Z2008-03-31T22:53:57ZOne of my new favorite people, Brené Brown, sent me this heart-tugging story and video about her experience creating hope notes with her mother-daughter book club, influenced by Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Little Princess and set to Yael Naim's New Soul.
Click here for the full entry on Brene's site »

]]>Add a hopeREVO banner to your sitehttp://www.hoperevo.com/blog/2008/3/21/add-a-hoperevo-banner-to-your-site.htmlKrystyn2008-03-21T19:31:58Z2008-03-21T19:31:58ZJoin the online Hope Revolution by putting a banner on your website! To add a top right corner banner as featured on this site, just copy the following code:


If you've created your own web pages, paste the code directly below the <BODY> tag.

If you're using a publishing system such as Squarespace or Blogger, paste the code into your footer.

Myspace profiles will also accept this code, just paste it anywhere in your "I'd Like To Meet" section.

If you need further help with how to use this, please comment on this post and I'll be happy to help!

]]>The Generosity Gamehttp://www.hoperevo.com/blog/2008/3/13/the-generosity-game.htmlKrystyn2008-03-13T14:41:40Z2008-03-13T14:41:40ZAmy sent me a link to this little site with a big idea:  cards that create a chain of generous acts, in sort of a chain-letter fashion.

You do something good for someone, and you do it anonymously. For example, you could pay the toll of the car behind you at a tollbooth. One thing we've done is go to this wonderful bakery, and buy a treat for the next person who walks in the door after we leave. Be creative!

You pass on one of these cards to the recipient of your good deed. On one side, they say "It's Your Turn" (and) on the other, they give instructions to do something good for someone else.

Check out the official site at www.generosity.org for more information!

]]>Knitted Graffitihttp://www.hoperevo.com/blog/2008/3/6/knitted-graffiti.htmlKrystyn2008-03-06T19:33:26Z2008-03-06T19:33:26ZKnitted Graffiti

Sarah-Ji snapped this shot of the "knitter's version" of the Hope Revolution. "There are knitters around the world who are adorning tree branches, fire hydrants, door knobs, and poles of all shapes and sizes with their knitted goodness," she says. "This one is outside a popular cafe in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. It's been there for MONTHS, and it used to have a tag on it explaining what it was."

You can see read more about this project and browse photos at www.knittaplease.com.

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