Blah,Blah,Blahg

BLOGGING YOUR WAY::HOMEWORK III

I mentioned a while back that I was taking Holly + Leslie's course 'Blogging Your Way'.  I have thoroughly enjoyed it thus far even though my time has been very limited because I work like a slave. On the bright side? At least I am still working!  Our homework for week three was to create an inspiration board (no computer generation allowed) that would best represent how you would like your blog to be (okay totally paraphrasing, maybe that wasn't even the assignment, as usual I saw something shiny and got distracted). I have mentioned for months that the Blahg will be going under the knife soon, it's going to make Heidi Montag's makeover look like chopped liver.  What she only had 50 surgeries in 24hours? Well, the Blahg has been on the operating table for months now--watch out world!.

The above is a fair representation more or less (more less, meaning there's much more). The new 'theme' will be very school centric, passing notes in class will be totally de rigeur, go ahead chew gum, talk to your bestie, I won't stop you, heck I may even join in. The Polaroids and their subject represent that I will have a photo focus, that's right Souvenir Foto, School of Creative Captures, will be in session soon. The twine? It is always my aim to help you see the extraordinary in the ordinary.  If even one person see's the sublime in the every day I have succeeded. I will be introducing more D.I.Y. and of course I will be doing a boat load of D.I.Y. with the new products in our Besotted Brand arsenal, because having the right tools and introduction to a new skill or new project may open the doors to all sorts of creative possibilities. The postcard of the bear represents that I will not be taking away the cute baby animals (never), and will continue to showcase new talent (the artist realm, not the dancing bear).  The most exciting part will be the guest lecturers and subs!  You don't have to just have me talk your eyeballs off, there will be others joining in.  Lucky you (and me!). I plan on printing this photo out and adding it to my gridded notebook (it's an accounting ledger I got at Staples) via photo corners.  I use the ledger a lot to house my inspiration and I always scan and print out my tears, scraps etc. on Staples matte photo paper.  It looks great and it prevents my inspiration from getting wonky.  There is nothing I detest more than wonky inspiration, you?

P.S. Some extras (just in case you haven't had enough of me):

These are mini glassine bags, I like most anything that comes in glassine.  I even love the word glassine, it sounds like a pretty French girl- 'this is mon amie Glassine...'. The label is from Besotted Brand, this is our 'archive' label (a personal fave) and we made a sheet of multi-sizes so you can use for anything from your tiny glassine bags to large packages but doesn't everything look cuter when it's made in its tiniest version? The vintage library card is from Paper Valise, it's in French because it seems I am a Franco-phile. I made a version of these for free download in bookplate size. The hand typed luggage tag is from my business partner/bestie Jules, I have begged her to pull out her 'old big blue' typewriter and add these to the shop. I love everything about it.

Below is what I couldn't fit in the inspiration board photo, trust me I tried!  We'll consider this photo an out take, k?...

FREE ART! JENNIFER SQUIRES

{elviage trees by jennifer squires}

Jennifer Squires is one of my Flickr contacts, I am always delighted to see a new upload from her, she has quite the eye.  I love simple, clean and above all great light.  She always hits the mark. When I clicked on this image I noticed she blogged about it as well and wouldn't you know she is giving copies of these away FREE?  Yes, FREE.  There's rules of course, she can't give a copy to everyone but if you think that this beautiful capture would have a nice spot in your home than go over and check out the deets here. Good luck!

WE HAVE A WINNER....

To say that I love the style of the Pictorial Websters is an understatement.  My whole design career is in fact heavily influenced by these intricate engravings and I own volumes upon volumes of ephemera with these lovelies in them. Above is the start of my 'Cabinet of Curiosities' series. I had them printed as giclee's on this amazing stock, scrumptious (for all those paper lovers out there). I did a Jack-a-lope, a pig with wings and had many more in mind.  They bombed in my shop but I still believe that one day someone will appreciate my efforts. for now I am using the ol' dodo to announce the winner of the giveaway.  I used the random generator but I do think it's funny that she mentioned moi in her comments as a crafty blog she likes.  I pinky promise that it had nada to do with choosing Miss Whitney and it was all chance.  Congrats to you Whitney, may you be duly inspired! If you are feeling left out of a prize hop over to The Bright Side Project, there's an AWESOME prize to be had today!

For the record I LOVED all the responses and if I had 30 more dictionaries to give away I surely would.  I am so happy to have found so many new ways to procrastinate!

PICTORIAL WEBSTER'S :: A REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

 

{photo's stolen from anthropologie}

Do you know what this is?  My dears it's a new offering from Chronicle Books (my fave) and it has zipped and zoomed through the blogosphere like a rocket out of control.  It even made it to my in box via my bestie Jules (or 'Jukes' which is often my typo in emails to her) she knows that this kind of tome would make me weak in my knee's. They have coined it Pictorial Webster's: A visual dictionary of curiosities.  Oh how I love the word 'curiousities'. You could have filled this book with blank pages and I would still give it a thumbs up for the name and cover but alas they didn't leave the pages the blank, they filled 512 pages with everything from acorn's to zebra's and everything inbetween.  In a word, this book is delightful.  Hopefully it will do what it was intended to do and that is spark a stream of crazy creativity. Well let's find out. I am giving one of these beauties away because I have friends in high places that know I am a blabbermouth so here we are at another giveaway crossroads.  Excited?  I will make this easy, I want to spark my own creative revolution so in order to enter to win please link the best d.i.y.. blogs, sites or projects in the comments below.  I will announce the lucky winner next Wednesday. Good luck!

P.S. If you can't wait to win and need this STAT (and who can blame you?) Chronicle Books gives Bright Side Project readers 30% off + free shipping--GASP!  Just click their ad when you are at the BSP! Promo code GET BOOKS.

GLAMOUR DOGS DEUX

Okay, so the above is not 'cute' per se.  It is glamorous though, no?  I am a huge fan of the photographer Slim Aarons, and this image of Joan Collins and her pink poodle has always held a place in my heart.  It's just so darn girly chic. I even owned the travel makeup bag with this image by Anya Hindmarch--in pink. I will have you know I usually go for a neutral palette (like white, gray, clear) but I love that image and I figured it was a make-up bag, it was for me to enjoy. The bottom images of Osborne & Little wallpaper? Well they add to the glamour quotient don't you think?  What if we did this equation: Great photography + Cute dogs + Sublime wall coverings=???????

Here's the hint:

"But Miss B you wrote about this already?"  I know . BUT the last time I wrote about it I hadn't a chance to review it and tell you how perfectly awesome it is nor did I have the opportunity to give away a copy. No, you didn't read that wrong.  Yes, I am giving away a copy! Well, not technically me but our friends at Chronicle books! They like Monday's at The Blah, Blah, Blahg as much as we do.  They want to share in the cute fest and this is a cute fest showdown. All you need to do to try to win is leave a comment with a link to a cute animal (mini usually works). The person that finds the cutest link will have their link featured next Monday AND will be the new owner of this fab book! If you can't wait to win, we have a 30% discount + FREE shipping at The Bright Side Project just click the Chronicle Book ad and at checkout the code is GETBOOKS. 30%?!  That's practically free! Good luck and may the cutest pup, kit, ellie, etc. win!

Q & A WITH YOUR FAVORITE BLAHGER (ONLY BLAHGER?)

Since I was a kid I have had the most interesting ability to be walking truth serum.  Wonder Woman's lasso has nothing on moi, I mention this not to brag (although I don't know if that is necessarily bragging mind you) but to let you know where I am going with this.  I have the ability to make people feel like they 'know' me and there is an immediate comfort zone, I get treated like family, not in a faux family way but people feel they can say anything to me and I will still be around.  Example?  If you told your sister she was an a-hole, she would still be your sister.  If you told a friend that than she/he may not be your friend anymore.  People always feel they can say/tell me anything (and they do) and that I will be here or that I am here for them.  I am pretty much a hermit so I have no idea why I bring this out in the masses but so be it. Being a Blahger has not changed that, in fact as I come to my Blahg and see I have zero to five comments and get sorely disappointed I know that I can open my Blahg email on any given day and have:

It seems that most of my readers (and I consider you all 'friends' really because I like to use that term loosely and it makes me feel popular) decide that they would prefer to email me than leave a comment.  I've asked other bloggers I know if this is the norm, because after all what's the 'norm' in the blogosphere? No one else experiences this, so yet again I have to acknowledge my place in the world.  I think it would be easier to answer these questions here than there because I am lazy, so here are answers to some of your burning questions, in no particular order (these are real questions, I can not make this stuff up...)

Q: What is your real name?

A: I don't remember. I kid. My name is Tristan, like Dristan (the nasal spray) with a 'T' or Kristin with a 'T'. Tristan was the male lead character in a tragic love story/opera called 'Tristan and Isolde'.  I am neither male nor tragic, but I do like opera.

Q: Do you make money blogging and if so how much?

A:  Yes, people ask me how much I make, it must be my uber professional attitude, absence of typo's and my perfect grammar that make people believe that I can turn prose into cash, right?  I don't make money blogging, but I am lazy so I haven't pursued it although I do get asked quite often for my ad rates but since I can't be trusted to answer my emails in a timely manner these requests disappear into the ether. I do have another blog with Jules of Pancakes & French Fries called The Bright Side Project and Jules answers her emails and if you want to run an ad that is a fine place to do it because you can feel really good about it and The Bright Side Project has a wider demographic unlike the Blahg that has a handful of visitors (hi Mom!) Again I kid, I am like in the top ten blogs in Romania according to my Google feed burner--so there. Va multumim frumos! I feel really special, kinda like how David Hasselhoff must feel in Germany. 

Q: Why is your blog called 'The Blah, Blah, Blahg' but your url is www.leblahg.com?

A: Well, the short witty answer is--Have you ever tried typing in Blah, Blah, Blahg? It's a mess! I always develop an extra case of dyslexia when I try to. The truth is somebody else got to it before me, a boy who doesn't even update his blog, sheesh.

Q: I want to start a blog too, can you help me, give me advice, write it for me, anything?

A. First, I should tell you to do everything the complete opposite of me and you should be on your road to blog success. Second, I pinky promise that I am going to elaborate on this sooner than later and I have some truly AWESOME bloggers that have agreed to participate.  I really, really want to because I must get a gajillion emails with this question every day and because I don't answer my emails in a timely fashion you must think I ignore them and understand what the 'B" in Miss B really stands for.  I am not ignoring you, never uh uh.

Q: When are you getting married, it seems like you have been engaged forever?

A. I will get married when the Fancy is gainfully employed. No let me start again, I will get married when hell freezes over. No that's not it either, hmm?  I will get married when I am ready.  I quite like having a Fancy, it feels so fancy and people coo and awe and fawn over me. Me likey. The Fancy says we should get married before I turn 40.  I will think about it, but sooner than later I will make an honest man out of him. You Romanian lasses don't get any ideas, the neurotic man that looks like a male model is mine all mine..

Q: Where do you live?

A. When I was dating I didn't mind stalkers, at least that was a guy that I knew could commit (bah dah dum) but now that i have snared my man I don't have a need for stalkers anymore so answering that might  give certain people the wrong impression.  I do live on earth, this much I can tell you and I have already shared that I live in the world's tiniest apartment where elves feel claustrophobic and refuse to visit. Okay, I live in La La Land but not because I chose to, I was born here and am too lazy to move.

I hope that answers a few of your burning questions and I have single handily wiped out the need to answer 815 of those emails in one feel swoop. I know there are many others (about 999 more) that I need to address and I will--in due time, because I am good like that...

A TROVE OF TREASURES FOUND...

{image + game via marta writes}
play along if you please.
link it up. spread the love.

I received an email yesterday from Megan of Pink to Green.  Why did I open Megan's email when I am sitting on 2500+ unopened emails? Well, flattery will get you everywhere with me and so is telling me that I inspired you to do anything (that wasn't dangerous) and Megan did just that in a previous email so when I saw her sitting at the top of the in-box I clicked to hear what other praise she may have in store for me (funny how easily I am influenced). Megan turned me on to this 'blog hunt' game from Marta Writes, in which she so kindly mentioned moi (merci!) (Megan not Marta).  I took liberties as I am known to do by adding some more categories (what blogger makes juice, coffee or soda fly through your nasal passages on a regular basis?) and taking some out (hey, contrary to popular belief I am very busy...) this is so much fun that I urge you to play along as well (but use Marta's version as she did invent it and all..)  I tried to skew my answers to blogs you may not be so familiar with so I can have the pleasure of being the one to have turned you on to them.  Happy hunting my pretties...

link a blogger who...
has an online shop: Papernstitch
takes fantastic photographs: Cannelle et vanille
has flawless taste:  This is glamorous
has admirable qualities: Scoutie Girl
crafts up a storm: I d.i.y.
is an artist: The wish jar
daily read: F*you penguin
lives far away: Paper valise
is an old favorite: the paris apartment
is creative: 100 layer cake
features fabulous ideas: inch mark
features loveliness: twig & thistle
features fantasticness: the speckled egg
features weddings: Ritzy Bee
writes about life: Baking with  Plath
is funny: The Blogess
recently added to google reader? Darling Dexter
gives fabulous tips: what about orange?
makes you believe in the goodness of people: the bright side project {I heart the readers and contributors so}
Makes you want to be her best friend: Pancakes & French Fries

THE BRIGHT SIDE PROJECT ON DAILY CANDY TODAY!!!!!

KNOCK ME OVER WITH A FEATHER!!!!!

Click the cute logo and see for yourself!!!!

EMAIL-- ISN'T JUST FOR VIAGRA SOLICITATIONS ANYMORE...

I want to thank ALL of you that have been so kind to take the time and email me.  I am floored and flattered (unless of course it's to complain about something I did or didn't do than I apologize in advance...) You see I get an awful lot of email:

That there image above is a screenshot from this morning. Yesterday it was over 1800 and I am darn proud of myself for even making the dent that I have! I just want you to know that I LOVE your emails and if I get more than one on the same subject (and it's not too personal) I will try to answer it on the Blahg because maybe there are more of you that want to ask questions but are too shy, tired, motivated to ask...I got your back...I just wanted you to know if I missed your emails and you were on a tight deadline to have me answer I am so sorry, maybe in the subject line you can put something along the lines of : S.O.S? Although I do know one blahg buddy that did so and it still took me 3 days to get down to her S.O.S. and by the time I did I missed the boat...I would consider alternate email addresses, maybe one for submissions, gotta  know, how-to, what have you.  If your subject line stands out I am easily distracted I may just open yours first, not for any reason but that you caught my slow attention span on park for a sec. I am open to suggestions if you ahve any on how I can get through these faster so no one feels like I am ignoring and now the know what the 'b.' stands for ....

Kisses,

Miss B.

P.S. I put this in the blog like a rock star series because it's probably a real smart move to answer your blog emails and if you can't let it be known that you really, really want to but you need to wash your hair or some other great excuse. 

P.P.S. I really, really, really am going to try to answer them all....

HAVE A DREAM...

{HAVE A DREAM}

When I was in the 4th grade our school librarian Mrs. Keyes did a presentation on Martin Luther King and civil rights .  Mind you when I was in the 4th grade not a lot of technology existed.  We did have paved streets and Starsky + Hutch, but no internet, no video, no tivo, no push button phones, not a heck of a lot. So when Mrs. Keyes brought out a reel-to-reel it was the height of technology.  She had a tape she had recorded during Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech. For me it was on par with being there as I had never met anyone prior (that I knew of personally) that had been a part of history and then was able to share it with someone else, it was magic.

I was in what one would consider a very ethnically rich school.  My brother and I were perhaps the only 'white' children in the entire school, which isn't saying much since we were Latin, just a different version of Latin than the kids were used to (read--pasty white and hair the color of dishwater). This is perhaps why the presentation touched me so deeply and profoundly, I was for all intents and purposes a 'minority'. What the kids didn't know was my Mom spoke broken English and looked like Pochahontas and my father was Black. My mom re-married when I was a toddler to a Black man (yes, I said Black, read here to know what my father thinks about the pc versions).  When I would come home in tears and tell my 'Mama' (my step grandmother) that the kids teased me and were mean, she would say this, and I hope y'all take this bit of wisdom to heart.  She would scold, "Girl, now don't go and pay them no never mind." Exactly what I believe MLK did, he didn't give a flying donkey about what others thought or said and went on to have his own flippin' National holiday.  So take that mean kids, betcha you don't have your own holiday.

Today really feels like a holiday since tomorrow I will be able to record and perhaps share with some random nine year old that I too was part of history...

NOTE:: I posted a link to the image above for you all to download and share to your hearts desire.  You can't re-sell it because the folks at 'Life' say no way Jose, but you can put it up on your bulletin board or something.  Oh, and what the heck does this have to do with the price of tea in China or blogging like a rockstar?  Well, if you post often Google likes you more and if you post something relevant to a current affair there's more of a chance that someone will find you and love you and you will win the lottery. So there.