Besotted - Page 109 of 266 -

October 16, 2013

STAMPING PERFECTLY ON COTTON BAGS

Technically you could use my technique to stamp on most fabrics, but for the purpose of this tutorial I will focus on the cotton drawstring bags since this is the fabric I most stamp on in my day-to-day fabric stamping adventures. Also, with the holidays upon us I think the fabric bags make a great alternative to packaging that will be thrown by the wayside. These bags tend to be thin and wrinkle quite easily so I always iron prior to stamping as you want to have as flat a surface as possible. Stamping is not as forgiving as other printing techniques and you do want your substrate (what you are stamping on) as smooth as possible so start with ironed fabric without a lot of texture (so nothing nubby, ribbed, raised, furry, etc.) My most secret of tools for ironing these tiny bags quickly and without dragging out my ironing board and iron is an old hair straightener, yes a hair straightener. You don’t need a fancy one, just a cheapy that heats up to a nice temp (mine goes as high as 450 f) that will actually iron out your wrinkles; I just clamp down on one end and pull it through the iron and it is perfect every time! The iron is now dedicated for crafting, which I would suggest for yours as well. Once you have a nice ironed bag you will want to put a piece of thick + stiff cardstock in it. This serves two purposes 1) it makes for a nice stiff surface to stamp on and 2) it will prevent the ink from bleeding to the other side. I just cut down a piece of scrap cardstock to size and use it over and over (if there’s no ink that has seeped through).Read More

October 15, 2013

PINTEREST CURATOR NICOLE FRANZEN

You probably have seen today’s curator work before in such publications as Martha Stewart Living and Kinfolk, or even on Pinterest where here work gets pinned by millions. Nicole Franzen has such a good eye for capturing beautiful and intimate images that it is no wonder that her Pinterest boards are also a reflection of that unique aesthetic. I don’t even like beards but I found myself loving nearly all of her ‘beards’ board, who knew that was possible? I repinned an embarrassing amount on her Flora board, such inspiration there! The Stills board is a perfect resource for any budding stylist, such restraint but still the images have such impact. I love that she introduced me to new photographers + stylists that I may have never had the opportunity to enjoy, such as Thomas Popinger, Idha Lindhag, Catherine Huckerby, Mikkel Vang, Sharyn Cairns and the talent behind the walnut photograph in the lower right of the curator board above– Dietland Wolf, amongst so many wonderful others. I am still shaking my head at how everything is so balanced-the color, the texture, the beautiful light and simplicity of Dietland’s image. I don’t think I need to sell you on Nicole, just go visit her and get lost for yourself.

What about you? Do you have a favorite photographer that you discovered is a pinning savant? Or are you one? Let me know in the comments or email besottedblog [at] gmail [dot] com, I always visit the boards you suggest and you just might find your favorite pinner or yourself here if you drop me a line!

P.S. Yes, I know I am late on the tutorial I promised; sitting for any period of time is not conducive with being this pregnant, things fall asleep, cramp up or my brain freezes and I forget what the heck I sat down to do in the first place, it’s all so very odd, but the tutorial has been shot and is forthcoming!

Author / Miss Tristan B

Miss Tristan B. is the proprietress of Besotted Brand and the writer of this delightful blog. She recently re-located to sunny Seattle with her handsome husband and two pups, they are expecting a baby girl in December (possibly November). Her lofty goal here is to make this a creative resource repository and to inspire you to fall truly, madly, deeply in love with your life.

October 14, 2013

INSPIRATION Rx | LISTEN

“I tried to discover, in the rumor of forests and waves, words that other men could not hear, and I pricked up my ears to listen to the revelation of their harmony.”

Inspiration Rx : This series is a remedy for blank walls, sparse reading lists and creative ruts.

This week’s prompt: Listen

Sometimes we are so inundated with noise that it’s easier to tune everything out rather than make the effort to listen. For this week, we’d like you to listen to someone’s story or concerns, to the environmental sounds around you, or even to your own inner voice and create something inspired by what you hear.

Try closing your eyes for 30 seconds or so and really listen to the sounds around you. I just stopped typing and listened for a couple of seconds, and was surprised at how many sounds I had been tuning out: an airplane overhead, the music on my computer, the furnace kicking on and the hurried footsteps of a neighborhood kid running down the sidewalk. Any of these sounds could provide a jumping off point for my project this week (the furnace is on – it’s getting colder outside .. maybe I should make a photo of someone bundled in a scarf, for example).

Our attention is precious and listening to someone can be such a generous act. You could take the time to really listen to someone this week, let them know they are important & hear what they have to say. This could include yourself! Is there a little voice nudging you to pursue an interest or passion? Maybe it’s time to listen.

There were some wonderful interpretations of the after prompt this week. Melanie saw beauty in foil candy wrappers and Ursula captured her family at the end of the perfect fall day.

Feeling Inspired?

Listen to that little birdie on your shoulder & start creating! You have until next Tuesday to share your creations.

Options for Sharing

Instagram/Twitter : use hashtag #INSPIRATIONRX

Your Blog/Flickr/ Pinterest : please share a link in the comment section of this post.

For an invitation to our group Pinterest board, please leave a link to your Pinterest account in the comments, or email for an invite. *We need to be follow friends on Pinterest in order to get you an invite to the board (we have to follow at least 1 of your boards & you need to follow at least 1 of ours, Pinterest rules not ours;)). Remember you can still participate by using the hashtag on Instagram & Twitter or posting a link in the comments of this post.

**Please Note: the group Pinterest board is only for things you have created. We want your work to be the star!

photo: © Steve Mackay

passage: © Gustave Flaubert, November

Piqued your interest?

If you are dreaming of having our featured photo in your home, Steve Mackay (who is very nice by the way) tells me that he does sell prints. Simply contact him via his website & he will be happy to give you all of the details.

This prompt made me think of a book I read recently: The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon. It’s both a love story & a heartbreaking peek into mental institutions of the past. The main character rarely speaks but obviously does a lot of listening. It’s the sort of book that stays with you for a bit after you put it down. Have you read it?

P.S. Miss B. is due soon and the holidays are upon us, so we will be taking a brief hiatus on new Inspiration Rx columns until the new year. We will still be allowing people to join in on former prompts and make sure the group is still open to new and current members to work on past prompts. We can’t wait to see your inspiration for Listen and hoping that if you haven’t already, join in and get inspired!

Author / Miss Michelle P.

Miss Michelle P. is a photographer, designer and co-professor for Souvenir Foto School. She lives in the Pacific Northwest. Her muse is light.

VICINITY STUDIO | PINTEREST | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER

October 13, 2013

TORRIE ASAI FOR BESOTTED BRAND

I can’t tell you how proud I am to start introducing Torrie Asai for Besotted Brand! Torrie is a new to lettering and by some twist of fate I have ended up becoming a bit of a mentor to her. I saw that she had not only talent, but drive; what she lacked was confidence in her role as ‘creative’. I believe everyone has the ability to be creative (one of the main motivations behind this here blog), it just manifest itself in different ways for each individual (some people are great cooks, good with computers or numbers, organizing, even getting dressed, etc. There’s many variations of creative!), it’s recognizing what you are creative at and working on it that will make your gift shine. I honestly can not believe how far she has come from our first correspondence, she’s worked so hard to develop her lettering practice (note she doesn’t even do this for a living!) and it really shows. I even tapped Torrie to do the lettering for my last branding client, which is where she developed the style we used on this first offering, we call it ‘Sofia’. We wanted a feminine, modern flowy hand that was still legible and Torrie nailed it. We have more offerings coming before holidays, but I was just too excited after I received the sample above that I didn’t want to wait! A huge congrats to Torrie!

Since I am anxious to show her work off I urge you to tweet and pin it, why? Well, it would be nice to support a fellow creative but also because I will be giving one away of course! Just answer the following question by Sunday, October 20, 2012:

What are your creative talents?

I will announce the winner next Monday, October 21, 2012. Good luck!

P.S. I will be back later today with a tutorial on stamping like a pro on the cotton drawstring bags!

P.P.S. Use the code freeship01 to get free shipping on any of the stamps this week!

P.P.P.S. Torrie just turned me on to this new blog by some powerhouse internet celebs, I think you’ll like!

Author / Miss Tristan B

October 10, 2013

JOSIE MARAN ARGAN INFINITY INTENSIVE CREAM OIL

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Josie Maran’s line. It’s hard to find a natural line that works (sad but true), but Josie’s line continues to deliver. I recently had another birthday, sigh, the best part of my birthday (no, not getting older) is the Sephora or Ulta gift cards that I usually get. I am impossible to shop for and I rarely will splurge on myself, but I love using the gift cards on beauty products that I am coveting. I am a fan of Josie’s Argan oil and have been using it on my growing belly since Argan has a high concentration of vitamin E (see my pregnancy survival kit), which supposedly is the only thing that makes a remote difference in stretch market prevention. Yes, I know that if you mom had stretch marks you will be more pre-disposed, yada yada, but I am not going to go down so easily and have been using the oil diligently since my 2nd trimester, that is until I was introduced to the Argan Infinity Intensive Cream Oil. There’s not a whole lot I love more in a beauty product than a work horse. The Intensive cream oil (which is really a balm in a tube) does everything but make you dinner. You can use it as a nighttime moisturizer in place of your night cream, you can use it in place of your eye cream, for your lips, taming your brows, for flyaways, use before you apply cheek stain for smoother application (I use before I use my powder mineral foundation, it gives a really nice finish) and so much more! I am sure there are other products such as the Elizabeth Arden 8-hour cream that are similar, but in my current (very pregnant) state I want as natural a product (that works) as I can get (you can actually read and understand all the ingredients listed on the packaging). A little of this product goes a long way, a pea size amount is enough for my lips, under my eyes and my belly. I anticipate this product lasting me until the end of my pregnancy.

I am going to admit that if I had the energy I would make my own balm, I usually do, but I don’t have any extra energy to spare right now with growing a human and all and my iron so low, I am quite zombie-esque so Josie’s offering is an excellent find for me. Some other balms I love that will last you forever (definitely a splurge), are from Infiore, they are rich, silky and smell amazing. You can see their balms here.

Let me know if you have tried this product or if you know of an alternative that works and that may be better budget wise. You know I love discussing beauty products with you!

P.S. For those that have asked–8 months now and no stretch marks! I still have a little more time to go and I am growing larger daily, so hopefully I can continue this lucky streak!

Author / Miss Tristan B