Girl Guides of Canada’s website gets a facelift

The official GGC website recently underwent some design changes (care of the Canadian web design group c-Seven Media Inc.) and now has a fantastic new look. Returning visitors will immediately notice that the introductory flash page is gone (thank you!), and that instead you’re greeted warmly by a stylish, modern homepage that points you towards in-site pages, while also featuring fun GGC themed photos and graphics, as well as a quick “what’s new” section on the right hand side of the page.

Fun graphics such as this one – which
encourages people to check out
the GGC Girls page – greet
visitors to the recently revamped
Girl Guides of Canada homepage

I’m really digging the new look and can’t help but think that it may be a precursor to the national online Girl Guides of Canada/Guides du Canada (ecommerce) shop that is scheduled to go live in September of this year.

If you’d like to read more about the design update, check out the official GGC article about it.

Updated the Girl Guide Patch Collecting Directory

It’s been a few months since the last time that I checked on the validity of all of the links on the Girl Guide and Girl Scout Patch Collecting Directory page, so while waiting for my building’s maintenance worker to come check out a problem with our plumbing this afternoon, I decided to update that page.

It’s always a little sad in a sense to do this task, because inevitably I find links that are no longer active (in other words, pages that have been taken down or hosting sites that have folded). This time around, I weeded several “dead” links, but am happy to report, that overall most pages still appear to be in good shape. Granted though, it is worth mentioning that just because a site is currently online, it doesn't guarantee that the person (or people) behind it are still actively updating it or trading patches.

It seems that as time goes on fewer and fewer people are actively trading GG and GS patches (and there is likely a multitude of reasons – not the least of which is the current economic situation – as to why this is), yet this should not deter new and veteran collectors alike from swapping with one another. In fact, if we are to keep this wonderful hobby alive in the long run, it’s crucial that we connect with one another online, and in the real world. I highly encourage you to contact fellow patch traders (myself included, I’m always looking for new swap partners!) via their websites and on Yahoo groups.

If you have a patch related site, blog or online group or know of one that is not listed in the directory, please contact me and I’ll be delighted to add it right away. Thank you, and happy patch collecting to all!

Example of a GGC crest from Ontario – just one of hundreds
upon hundreds of fantastic patches from Canada,
each of which is a reason to keep on collecting :)