LOVE HANDCRAFTED | LIMITED EDITION VALENTINE’S SET

Valentine's Set Besotted Blog iiSometimes I feel like one of the only people that truly loves Valentine’s day.  I have heard the cynics cry that it’s a made up holiday to move greeting cards, but to me the ever optimist I like the idea that it’s a day to stop and let people you love  know it. I am not much for pomp and circumstance in general, I think you can deduce that, I like simple things. I don’t view Valentine’s as a day for hokey candlelit dinners, cheesy drugstore cards or bad chocolate but a day to just spread the love. You can send an email, note, carrier pigeon (which would be awesome) or pick up the phone but as we roll heart first into Valentine’s 2013 try to think of it as day to tell the people you are closest to you that you are thinking of them, love them or that they are your favorite.  To help you send that note or decorate that tag that will adorn your batch of freshly baked sweets I am giving away 2 sets of the Limited Edition Petite Valentine’s.  In order to enter to win just answer the following question in the comments below-What’s your favorite love story? It can be from a book, film or real life. eg. When Harry Met Sally, Jane Eyre & Mr. Rochester, Napoleon and Josephine or your parent’s, etc.  I will announce the winners next Monday, January 28, 2013.  Good luck!

P.S. Thank you EVERYONE who played last week!  Thank you does not seem good enough, please know that I appreciate all your thoughtful feedback and I will be showing off the ‘from’ I chose in the shop soon!  I will be creating a download for you this week since I can’t afford to give away a set to everyone which I surely wish I could!  The randomly chosen winners for last week are Sarah Widman and Jillian I will make them the ‘from’ that they chose!

Author / Miss Tristan B

Miss Tristan B. is the proprietress of Besotted Brand and the writer of this delightful blog. She loves love and her fave love story is yours, but she also thinks Paul & Linda McCartney run a close second.

MMXIII WEEK 3

MMXIII Week 3 V Besotted BlogI have made it to week 3!  Not much of an accomplishment if you are thinking, ‘it’s only one photo a week Miss B. ‘. True, it’s only one, but it’s amazing how even one, becomes a mind numbingly difficult task in my hands.  I have been shooting all week, here and there, but what I was anxiously anticipating  was a snow day.  The news reports this week would have you believing that we were in for a storm that would blanket my world with layers of beautiful, fluffy white snow vistas. I could barely sleep the night before said storm was supposed to land, making a mental checklist of the types of photographs I was going to create.  I awoke early the next morning to find the world outside looking less winter wonderland and more apocalyptic. I don’t have much experience with snow, so I was unprepared for snow that ‘doesn’t stick’, meaning it lands in clumps and then melts leaving your yard and the surrounding areas messy, squishy mud piles of gook.  I went from blissfully inspired to freaking out about walking my two white dogs through this mire. I have become pretty adept at working with the light I have instead of ruing it, but I have to be honest these moody shots are bringing me down.  I am not embracing the dark & mysterious, in fact I am resenting it.  I like the storm shots, they feel modern and abstract, but really there’s only so many I can take, right?  When I was in a photo rut before I would shoot florals and I felt very inspired doing so, but flowers are hard to come by where I am. The only flowers I can get at the store are ugly mixed bouquets of tight mass manufactured roses mixed in with the saddest daisies this side of the Mississippi. Farmer’s markets are no better, I missed out on Peony, Ranunculus and Tulip  season.  I honestly did not know that flowers would be an issue here, I thought that if I went to a Farmers market I would be able to get the flowers I wanted, I was wrong.   I am not going to stop my 52 because of a little light or subject issues, but I am going to have to try even harder to produce something that happy with. I did win a much coveted film camera in an online auction, I still can’t believe I got it for under $30! It’s worth a lot more, so I am hoping it works and I can explore more film with this project.  The two images that I developed with my last roll of film are amongst my favorite to date.  What about you?  Are you doing a photo project?  Are you struggling with what to shoot? Have you been exploring film or want to?

 

GOOD TO KNOW:: CHALK PENCIL

Chalk Pencil Besotted BlogI re-designed this blog with the intention of it becoming a creative resource destination, I had this grand idea that I would create a series called ‘Good to know’. My idea was that I would present information and/or products to you that would be equal parts ‘aha!’ and ‘I am so happy to know that’.  Being that I have been on this earth much longer than most of the visitors here I have aggregated quite a storehouse of info in my little brain.  Most of the time I think, ‘this is lame everyone knows about this already, don’t they?’  After being told time and time again from people that they were so excited by the tid bits I shared in my personal life, I thought what the heck?  If even one or two of you are excited than I am pleased, but secretly I am hoping that more of you are all like ‘whoa, no way’. To that I would counter–‘way’. I wasn’t planning on sharing my first ‘Good to know’ on my Lettering Love post, but it fit and I like order, you?  There’s a current chalk typography frenzy that has blown through the blogosphere like polyester on fire, I don’t know about you, but traditional chalk and myself are not compatible. I have tried and tried, I have even followed a Pinterest suggestion of taking a traditional chalk stick and using a large pencil sharpener to create a point.  I know, this sounds like genius, but it’s stupid, don’t try it, it’s messy and still looks like you wrote out your typographical masterpiece in chalk (but bad chalk). Lately, I have been teaching myself to draw (I will go more into that soon) and was buying some pencils with soft lead when I spied the white charcoal pencils or chalk pencils; yes, the angels indeed started singing and beams of bright light shown (shined?) down from the heavens above. Chalk pencils are exactly what I needed (and perhaps you too?) to create beautiful and legible chalk art.  I love that I can get extra thin strokes, yet I can still get a nice thick stroke as well.  This is brilliant folks!  The best part is that they are very inexpensive and there doesn’t seem to be a difference between brands.  I bought both The General’s Charcoal White and Giocanda’s White Chalk (you can can find them in singles as well) and felt that there wasn’t much quality differential (within the parameters I am using them for).  So, if you were planning on using chalkboard art for your next event or even home decor, I hope I saved you from pulling out all your hair or committing hari-kiri--you are welcome.  Next week I am bringing you an interview with a very admired lettering artist Meredith C. Bullock of Hazel Wonderland so stick with me, k?

P.S. The background is a faux chalkboard d.i.y. by Jenny of Hank & Hunt (a fave).

Author / Miss Tristan B

Miss Tristan B. is the proprietress of Besotted Brand and the writer of this delightful blog. She likes the look of chalkboards but not the mess–never the mess.

HELLO MONDAY!

hello monday besotted blog iiI know the title of this post seems suspect as it is Tuesday (or maybe even Thursday or Friday depending on the day you come upon this), but every day is Monday at Hello Monday Creative!  There are some of you who are groaning because Monday’s are about as appetizing as eating live worms, I was right there with you a year + ago, but now and to the future you Monday’s will always be awesome, you will look forward to Monday’s and it will be blissful.  How do I know this?  Because if I made it out alive and happy to see Monday’s you can too!  Hello Monday is the new creative studio/duo of Sarah Kim and Lindsay Pruitt two of my fave ladies of the blogosphere.  I have been a fan of Sarah’s for about a million years, she has impeccable taste and an equally impeccable wit. Lindsay may seem a familiar name to you that read this blog as she has been the genius/Jedi that has coded this here blog and my previous one (trust me no small feat to work with me).  She is so patient, smart and has a great eye.  After she finished my last blog I asked her if she worked on Word Press and at the time she didn’t, I loved her so much that I waited until she did (I am not known for being a patient person, she is that worth it). When I heard that Sarah & Lindsay were going to team up I knew that they were a perfect fit.  If you have wanted to take your blog or business to the next level then you need to get on their soon to be waiting list (I am sure people will be lining up around the block to work with them). I am so happy for them and their new endeavor and have no doubt it will be a huge success.  I asked them for their elevator pitch and they were happy to oblige:

Hello Monday is a graphic, branding and web design studio that just recently launched this New Year’s day. Lindsay from Lindsay Nicole Design and Sarah from Truly Smitten decided that based on how freakishly well they worked together in the past and agreeing that two creative heads are certainly better than one decided to start their design studio together. The whole concept behind Hello Monday is to brew up fresh, positive and optimistic designs for clients. Every project they work on is created with a well thought out process, pay attention to every detail, and have a discerning eye for typography and color. Ever since the launch, arriving to work on a Monday morning has never felt this enjoyable!
Congrats Lindsay & Sarah!  If you are looking to create some interweb awesomeness than contact Hello Monday today!
P.S. We’re giving away some Big Love over on Art Social, go visit!
Author / Miss Tristan B

Miss Tristan B. is the proprietress of Besotted Brand and the writer of this delightful blog. She loves Monday’s and wants a bunny. She recently moved from the city to the country with her husband and two pups.

photo by monica wang

FROM ME TO YOU…

FROM BESOTTED BLOGBeing a small business owner I get to make my own hours; being me I choose to work as if I am under a malevolent dictator’s rule, there are no days off and I am basically an indentured servant.  It is one of my goals for 2013 to break away from this mentality and join the ranks of the living, but not just yet. Baby steps.  I worked all weekend as I usually do, and after work I spent a nice chunk of time practicing my lettering.  You see, I received an email from a potential wholesale client that asked if I have a ‘from’ to go with my ‘to’ stamp.  I do not.  The reason I did not offer a ‘from’ stamp previously is because this lettering is all very new to me and well, I have hated all my previous ‘from’ incarnations.  I am so new to lettering that the basic ability to link letters together thus creating words is a little over my head. Before I wrote back and said, ‘no’ I do not have a ‘from’ stamp, I decided I would spend precious hours trying to create a ‘from’ that did not make me cringe.  I am sure these will one day do just that, but for today they are far better than what I could have come up with in December of last year. For today’s Bestowal I am going to ask you (of fine taste and refined eye) to help me choose a nice ‘from’.  Just let me know in the comments below which one you prefer (or if none tickle your fancy).  I will randomly select 2 winners to receive a set of to/from stamps with some Parcel tags thrown in for good measure. I will announce the winners next Monday, 21, 2013.

For last week, gosh it was so hard to choose, I loved so many of your answers but I couldn’t stop laughing at Sarah Kate believing after her boyfriend complimented her that she was potentially ‘all that’ because people were staring at her only to find she had a craft googly eye stuck to her forehead.  Congrats Sarah Kate & a huge thank you to everyone that left a comment, don’t worry if you didn’t win this week no one reads this blog besides you and my husband so chances are really in your favor for next week, good luck!

Author / Miss Tristan B

Miss Tristan B. is the proprietress of Besotted Brand and the writer of this delightful blog. She loves lettering, but not the letter ‘B’ as it’s too difficult, which is too bad since it’s part of her name. She recently moved from the city to the country with her husband and two pups.