Creativity

10 Photos that will make you want to visit New England in winter

February 20, 2018

Chris and I recently returned from a month in Connecticut, near the city of New York, and each weekend we went exploring in every direction. I’ve put together ten of my favourite photos – and this was a challenge to get it down to only ten! – in the hope that the cold weather doesn’t put you off from visiting the New England area of America. I thought it was absolutely beautiful!….

Being demoted back to work-experience girl by YouTube

January 18, 2018

I’ve been showing up to work at YouTube for close to three years now on a part-time basis. I didn’t start doing it for the money and I didn’t expect to get paid to begin with. I did it for the chance to get my name out there and reach people who might be interested in reading my blog or purchasing clothing from Threads of a Fairytale and hopefully entertain everyone along the way. I didn’t realise quite how much of my life it was going to consume. Each video takes a minimum of two hours to edit; and the longer ones such as travel vlogs; well that can be up to ten hours. It’s a lonely hard slog. Filming can take anything from half an hour for a quick sit-down and chat video (plus the time it takes to put on make-up, tidy up around me and sort out lighting) to several hours over a period of weeks for the more in-depth ones. Then there’s the head-space vlogging takes up – working out how you’re going to tell the story of your day; remembering all the little transition shots; giving a good blend of talking and showing; making sure there’s a comfortable mix of slow and fast pace to the video etc. It was a joy to get to the point where YouTube started to pay me a little money – maybe enough to get the bus to work and go halves on a coffee once a week. It’s not much at all, but it’s a little recognition of how hard you’re working and you start to see a little opportunity – a glimmer of hope that there might be some financial reward for your efforts. And then I received an e-mail from YouTube this morning telling me they are going to take this away…..

Choosing a word to live by in 2018

January 12, 2018

I’ve heard of this erm…what would you call it?…A theory? A challenge? An idea? I’m not entirely sure, but I’ve heard of this thing before, where you choose a word to guide you for the coming year. It’s a word you go to if you’re stuck; not sure which decision or choice to make; to inspire you; to basically help you out when you’re not sure where to turn or what to do. I’ve previously thought this wasn’t really an idea for me – I’m too haphazard and never really know where I’m heading or what is going to be important to me in the months ahead. However, this December I took part in the Instagram challenge set by Emily Quinton at Makelight, in which she set us the task to plan our word for 2018. Surprisingly, it didn’t take me long to think of mine…

In memory of a lost friend

December 31, 2017

Only last week we talked about her – I joked that Jude had to become friends with her daughter again just so I could reconnect with her Mum! I thought that we were more than just Mum-friends – we went ice-skating and held gloved hands round the rink. I remember her hugs so vividly. They were not polite, brief, pat-on-the back sort-of hugs; they were long, lingering, squashed and intimate. I miss those hugs…..

How to shop at Craft Fairs – Advice and 10 Dos and Don’ts

December 8, 2017

Christmas is on its way! You may start to see more posters going up at the school/church/town hall/community centre etc for craft fairs. It’s the perfect chance to support local people, businesses and the event, which is usually for charity or raising funds for a community group, but before you go, please read this…..

How to go to a blogging event as a shy introvert. My Next Blogger Network event experience

December 5, 2017

I recently went to the Next Blogger Network event in Shoreditch in London, and I’ll be honest, it’s one of the most scary things for me I’ve ever done! The week leading up to the event was spent either putting it to the back of my mind and pretending it wasn’t happening, or feeling so worried I got a massive ulcer on the inside of my cheek! However, I knew once I’d forked out the money for the train fare, I would have to go, so I went ahead and did that first so I couldn’t change my mind! In the end, I feel it was a very successful day and I’ve come away from the event feeling very proud of myself and ready to go out and find another blogging event to go to! Here’s how I managed it…..

How to make a simple beautiful rustic advent calendar

November 27, 2017

I don’t know about you, but I’ve really struggled to find nice (and affordable) advent calendars in the shops this year. I haven’t seen any from Cadbury at all in Tescos, so I don’t know if there’s a general shift away from the chocolate advent calendar, or whether there’s just a short supply in my area. Anyway, it doesn’t matter too much to me, because I’d already planned on making a rustic pretty advent calendar for my kids. (By the way – this last point is a “blogger lie” ie. I made it last year, but was too late to write a blog post about it!) This one is pretty quick and easy to make, and is really effective….

How to take control of all your photographs

November 6, 2017

About this time last year, I worked with a company called Printerpix – it’s one of those online places that print your photos on all manner of gifts as well as your standard prints. I actually had two photo books printed by them and was very pleased with the quality and ease of use of the website. My parents recently came to stay, and I produced my most recent one for them to have a look at, and Mum asked if I had seen her Italy holiday photos yet. I hadn’t; and I knew it would mean squashing up next to her while going through all her photography files on her small laptop. It got me thinking how strange it is that in a time when we are taking more photos than we ever have done before; we’re actually getting far less printed. They remain a fleeting post on Facebook or Instagram, but are rarely printed and displayed or treasured in a large and heavy book. Has our old family tradition of passing around the photo album at Christmas or after a Sunday roast been lost?….

5 excuses not to do Blogtober this year – Blogging advice

October 2, 2017

Are you a blogger and feeling the pressure to take part in Blogtober? (ie publishing a blog post every day for the month of October.) Well worry no more; I have five good reasons why you shouldn’t do it! You don’t have the time. No seriously, you probably don’t. Unless you’re my friend Kathryn, who, in the space of twenty minutes at our village writers’ group, can write a well written, fully plotted short story of about two thousand words; or you’re that girl who put her hand up for seven extra sheets of paper during her GCSE English exam, really think about how long it takes you to write a blog post. Particularly if this isn’t your full-time gig and you’re also doing a ‘proper’ job and/or looking after a family. Unless you’ve been planning Blogtober for a while and have a stash of posts ready to go in advance; when exactly are you going to do all this extra work?…..

How to make a woodland fairy wedding gown – The story behind the dress

September 21, 2017

If you’re new here, I should begin by saying that I make dresses for my business, Threads of a Fairytale. My husband, Chris and I had the photoshoot in mind before I even started making the dress, so I knew exactly what I wanted to begin with, which is fairly unusual for me! So the dress originated as a vintage pure silk Indian tunic that more-or-less fitted me. It’s a gorgeous mottled moss green pure silk fabric with lovely metallic dots – called Mukesh work – which give a beautiful shimmer in the light. Then I went round my various stashes of fabric round the house, gathering bits and pieces that would blend well with the colour…..

Cultural Appropriation in Fashion. Should it really matter?

September 7, 2017

If you know me, then you’ll know I am a person who happily trundles on in life, getting on with things as pleasantly as I can, doing as much as possible to avoid drama or confrontation. However, I think someone linked to a blog post I wrote over year ago, as I’ve come back from holiday to a flurry of angry comments on the post called OSHUN – THE STORY OF MY CLOTHING BRAND, AND THE YELLOW DRESS INSPIRED BY BEYONCE’S IN LEMONADE. I thought I would respond to those comments in a blog post, rather than reply to them individually, as hopefully I will explain myself and my opinions in a more complete and thought-through way. So to understand what I’m about to talk about, you might want to have a look at that post first and have a read of the recent comments below it. In summary though, it was written at a time when Beyonce appeared to be channeling the ancient African deity, Oshun, so I wrote a bit about her for those who hadn’t heard of her before, and explained how I came to choose her to name my clothing business and a dress after. I wrote a brief message a couple of days ago addressing this on my Threads of a Fairytale website, and if you don’t mind, I’ll quote it now as an introduction: “Hello! I’m back from holiday and had a wonderful time exploring the Acropolis and other ancient remains and ruins around Greece and Albania and have come home full of inspiration. Three new goddess dresses influenced in design by ancient Greek attire will be appearing in the Threads of a Fairytale shop very soon – one in pink, one gold, and one in a mottled green and grey – all pure silk chiffon. I will continue to be inspired by religions and cultures from all around the world; ancient and modern, because that’s the way art grows, develops and nourishes one’s soul and interest. The term “cultural appropriation” seems to be more in fashion than fashion itself at the moment….If you’re a regular visitor to this page, you’ll know that I changed my clothing business name from Oshun to Threads of a Fairytale a couple of months ago and explained my reasons here. And no, the change had nothing to do with cultural appropriation because I’m sorry, I simply don’t agree that it’s a problem here. We have been influenced by our neighbours of all colours and heritage since time began and I think that’s a wonderful thing. Segregating oneself and not allowing this to happen comes from a place of ego, not from a place of good”. If you are going to comment here or on facebook (or anywhere), I would appreciate it if you take the time to read this whole piece to fully understand where I’m coming from, and hopefully even take a minute to think about some of my points. I haven’t written this to try to get anyone to change their opinions – of course we’re not all going to agree, but I want to say at the beginning that I have listened to your comments; looked into them further, and really given it some thought from all points of view before writing this……

A sneak peek at Glastonbury Festival 2017 a week before the fun starts!

June 16, 2017

This is mainly a photography post as there isn’t a great deal to say about it really! I had the opportunity to have a walk around the Glastonbury Festival site last night, so of course I took my camera with me! I also vlogged it, so when I’ve had chance to edit the footage, I’ll add that too. I’m pleased to report that the ground underfoot is very firm and the grass very green. It amazes me how much there is still to do in the next six days, but so much has happened in the last week, I’m sure they’ll manage it!….

Creativity

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