PARCEL TWINE GIVEAWAY

PARCEL_TWINE_BACK_BB
Wow. I can’t tell you how inspired I was after I read your answers to the question, ‘What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?’ I felt a little embarrassed (and greedy) because I think I would try to do pretty much everything everyone wrote (and then some)-Write a book, fly, open a store, stop world hunger, travel the world, start a new business, go back to school, sing in front of a live audience, gosh the list goes on and on. I am now trying to figure out how I can help you turn those wishes into a reality, give me time, I am a great problem solver and it seems like all these goals are pretty attainable. I have some ideas. Check back with me and I will let you know if I have gotten any closer to figuring this out for us.

For today’s Bestowal I am giving away the Parcel Twine trio, I have had several emails that asked me to do so (and I am happy to oblige). It’s one of the items that sells out a lot in the shop and since I have it shipped in from Europe it takes like forever to replenish. I won’t be getting in anymore inventory until after our move. Move? Don’t worry, I will go into that in another post. So excited for another adventure! It’s also one of my favorite items in the shop, I can’t tell you how much I use this twine, maybe it’s my fault that there’s never any in stock? It’s beautiful, eco-friendly, dyed by hand with plant based colorants, it’s just good stuff. I thought I would steal a question I read recently for you to answer-‘What’s the best thing that happened today’ the author wrote, “It actually forces a certain kind of cheerful retrospection”. So, if you would like to enter to win, just leave your answer in the comments below, you will have an entire week to do so! Also, since I am in blog organizing mode I have added a new page so you can check each Monday and see if you are a winner, just click here. Good luck!

P.S. I know that the downloads aren’t working because I have exceeded my bandwith, which is both amazing and sad. Amazing because I know that you are able to easily access them now (finally) and sad because I am out of bandwith. I may have to start a bandwith fund, because I do like the ease of the provider (no weird ads and one click downloading).

GET FLAWLESS SKIN::L’OREAL MAGIC BB CREAM

BB Magic Besotted Blog

I thought I was going to implode all week not being able to write about this product!  I didn’t want to write about it until I had tested it for a full two weeks, in multiple situations. This is it friends, this is the product I have been dreaming  about.  It’s magic, for once truth in advertising from a beauty company–how novel?  I am going to go over all the pros and cons, but I think I may need to explain first that this product comes out of the tube a grey/white color and once applied to the skin will develop to match your skintone. I have tried a few of these color matching products and did not have the same results. The Josie Maran is very expensive, the pump breaks after a few uses making it impossible to use, the consistency is odd; it goes on oily and then dries to an extreme matte, which is not my thing, the color is nice though.  Almay’s was horrible (granted it’s not a BB cream), color, consistency, finish–don’t bother.  Dr. Brandt has one that develops into a shade too dark for your skintone (could be good for summer), again very expensive.  The L’Oreal Magic BB?  If I could afford it I would buy every one of you a tube so you could try for yourself, that’s how impressed I am with this product.

If I could afford it I would buy every one of you a tube so you could try for yourself, that’s how impressed I am with this product.

Okay, so some details, I have dry skin, this is supposed to be great for individuals with oily to combination skin. For dry skin you will need to use moisturizer first, since this doesn’t have a sunscreen (a con for a BB cream), you may want to use something with an SPF in it. The finish is matte, I usually prefer a more dewy finish, but I use the Tarte cheek stains and they add that sheen/glow that I like. The no SPF is really my only con (and the not so pretty packaging). The pro list is much longer and includes: the price-for under $8 it’s completely budget friendly. The consistency, it’s super light, but not too ‘liquid-y’ that you will make a mess everywhere (like the Josie Maran). It’s pretty goof proof, the color is seamless, so there’s absolutely no color differentiation from jawline to neck. Did I mention it’s light? It is. You won’t feel like you are wearing anything, nor will you look like you are either.  How is the coverage?  It’s completely buildable so you start light and add where you need more (for me it’s the hyper-pigmentation on my cheeks). It doesn’t settle into creases, which is perfect for me, I have major laugh lines around my eyes, I have always had them I laugh a lot and am not going to stop for a wrinkle free visage. The tube is nice and  compact and the tip is very narrow which really assists in keeping your hand light when you are applying. It doesn’t rub off as easily as a traditional foundation or even a BB cream. What have I forgotten? Did I mention it makes you look like your pores are non-existent? It doesn’t feel like you are wearing anything and now there’s no excuse to ever walk out of the house looking like this.

P.S. If you do use moisturizer make sure it ‘soaks’ in first. I usually put it on (here’s my fave) and then make my coffee or walk my girls, which give it enough time to not be sitting wet on my face.

Author / Miss Tristan B

Miss Tristan B. is the proprietress of Besotted Brand and the writer of this delightful blog. She feels like she has finally found her complexion nirvana.

HOW-TO USE ALPHABET STAMPS

ALPHABET STAMP TUTORIAL IHappy Valentine’s Day to you!  I have received a ton of requests on tips on how to best use alphabet stamp sets and I am happy to oblige.  I love alphabet stamps (or ‘alpha’s’ as they are also known).  My biggest tip before I get further into this tutorial is if you start using these sets a lot then you might want to invest in more than one set of the same alphabet, it will make life so much easier.  If I needed a duplicate letter in my word above, say I wanted to spell ‘lovee’ then I would have to print what I have above then go back in with the ‘e’ and there’s a major chance (if you are me) that it will come out all crooked and wonky and ruin what I was working on. Granted, using alphabet stamps does not give you a perfectly straight word, by the nature of the stamping medium you will have very organic/rustic results, but you probably still want some control of the effect, right? Step. 1-I start out by finding the letters I would like to use for my word (like the example above), once I have the word I want I set the stamps as close and straight as possible to make it easier for Step. 2.

ALPHABET STAMP TUTORIAL IIStep 2-I cut a piece of artist/drafting tape long enough to wrap around the entire word.  This is important, if your tape is not long enough the stamps can bow, or become misaligned making this whole process futile. I use artist/drafting tape because it is re-positionable and is easy to remove and does not leave a sticky residue.  You could also try washi tape which also has a low tack adhesive and in a bind you could use masking tape, but it’s a bear to remove from your stamps so I wouldn’t recommend it.

ALPHABET STAMP TUTORIAL 3Step.3-Wrap the tape firmly around the stamps and get to printing!  I tried all sorts of techniques and this is by far the easiest + most convenient way to work with the alphabet sets.  If you have any other questions or requests feel free to email me or leave the request in the comments!

Author / Miss Tristan B

Miss Tristan B. is the proprietress of Besotted Brand and the writer of this delightful blog. She believes hand stamps are akin to owning miniature printing presses.

PINTEREST CURATOR | MEG FISH

Pinterest Curator Meg Fish

I felt like I wanted to showcase some soft + dreamy inspiration and knew exactly who would be able to satiate that desire–Pinterest Curator Meg Fish. Meg is a photographer (and one of my favorites).  I think Meg’s description of of herself is so accurate-Minimalist artistic visionary in love with details. Her boards have such an ethereal light going through them, you can tell that it’s a photographers curation. Meg doesn’t have a lot of pins currently but I am hoping with this post that it motivates her to curate more. My absolute favorite board of hers is the ‘Pale & Interesting‘, beautiful soft muted palettes, textures and light–sigh.

On another note, I have been receiving emails from you that have asked to be considered for future Pinterest curator posts, I LOVE that, thank you! I am so thrilled you are enjoying this feature and I am happy to take a peek at your boards.  I do request that you have over 1,000 pins (it’s easier to get there than you think) and that you pin on a regular basis to be considered. So feel free to email me or leave your link to your Pinterest in the comments below. Speaking of comments, if you have a site, blog, instagram, Tumblr or what have you make sure you fill out the space for that in the comments box. I won’t always be able to visit when it gets busier with the shop, etc. but I always try to visit at least a few new links from the comments each week.  I am always so grateful for your visit to my little spot on the web and would love to see what YOU are up to as well!

Author / Miss Tristan B

Miss Tristan B. is the proprietress of Besotted Brand and the writer of this delightful blog. She’s a little obsessed with Pinterest and tries to convince her husband that she is ‘working’ when she spends more time than she should on it.

SKILLSHARE | LEARN ALMOST ANYTHING

Skillshare Besotted Blog

The internet has changed my life, indeed it has and it continues to do so on a daily basis. I am so happy to be alive during this exciting time in the world.  I have been around since before they had touch tone phones, remote controls (you would have to actually get up off the sofa and turn a dial), before color television sets and even before mobile phones. Computers when I was a kid were so huge they took up an entire room!  Every time I use my Iphone I feel like I have become part of the future I only dreamed of when I was a kid. Although, as a kid I was hoping that I could take a pill that would be a meal instead of having to sit down for dinner. Food was not of interest to me back then and only impeded my ‘me’ time, a dinner ‘pill’ seemed like it would be something they should have in the future. I digress. What I am trying to get across is the many opportunities that are now available to both you and myself and the latest one is Skillshare.  You may know about this wonderful place already, or heard of it and have neglected to check it out or like me just recently came upon it. It’s a brilliant concept wherein people share their knowledge either via on-line courses or live ones. The classes are all very reasonably priced (think in the $10-$35 range) and some are even miraculously free! I haven’t taken one yet, but as part of my 2013 goals I want to learn more (of everything), I will be signing up for some. I plan to take some web design courses as I hate to feel so out of the loop on web design and I am sure my web coder could use a few less annoying S.O.S. emails from moi. There’s a cool video class that’s coming up that looks right up my alley, I have high hopes to get better at video this year and add that element to the blog via tutorials, interviews and the like.  I missed the flower arranging course, but I have always wanted to learn that skill. I love the variety of courses that are available, the community looks nice and active and the price is right.  Have any of you ever taken or taught a Skillshare course?  I would love to hear about your experience! Or any on-line classes that you may know about that I can add to the directory would be great!

Miss Tristan B. is the proprietress of Besotted Brand and the writer of this delightful blog. She is grateful for the interwebs. She recently re-located to the country with her handsome husband and two pups.