PAISLEE PRESS DIY BOOK COVERS

It’s a fair assessment to say that I am obsessed with books, both the content and the organization of my copious collection. I have written about creative covers on more than one occasion and could probably dedicate my blog to the subject. Most covers are aesthetically appealing but are not very functional, which is a problem for me as my books aren’t there to hang on the arm of my bookshelf like some trophy book, but are there for my perusing pleasure. When I caught wind of this gorgeous + simple tutorial by Paislee Press, I was a goner. I loved the slight white paper, the typewriter font titles, the extra clever twill tape labels and her red border labels (a free download!). The whole scheme put together is perfect for me and my obsession. Perhaps it is good for yours as well? I think if you are short on cash this holiday, but big on motivation, this would be a welcome project for the bibliophile in your life. I know I would be eternally grateful and appreciative if someone came over and conquered my library, but I just may be giving this to myself for Christmas.

ORIGINAL FLAG LABELS BACK IN STOCK!

The flag labels are back in stock! Seriously, it took long enough. I have thoroughly stocked up on inventory on these babies again. Starting a new retail enterprise, one hopes to know what will sell, but honestly I had no idea what was going to. I thought the Archive labels in a classic color would be more popular than say the ones in the vintage aqua. The flag labels, well I didn’t realize these would be the belle’s of the Besotted Brand ball or I would have been ready for the onslaught of flag fever.  This was actually one of the first products I designed for Besotted Brand. That was many moons ago and a pretty hefty initial investment in something I wasn’t even sure would work.  I justified the investment by telling myself that if they didn’t sell I would be happy to have these labels in my stationery stash. I am wondering now if I should try the Archive label in another colorway? I love muted colors but they don’t always translate well.  I am thinking greige, vintage red (almost a muted pink), blush or…? I am always open to suggestions, because gosh knows I’d do just about anything for you.  I am super co-dependent that way and my world revolves around making you happy.  Healthy, right?

KORRES WILD ROSE MINERAL FOUNDATION

I mentioned last week that I found a new foundation that I was going to share with you, I wanted to use it for a few more weeks before I did to make sure it wasn’t just that first flush of love that had me in rapture. I bought this foundation for my wedding. I had been wearing this amazing drug store brand the entire summer, but my complexion has been positively ghostly and the drugstore brand doesn’t stock a color for sheet pale skin. I went to Sephora in a panic two nights before we were going to leave for tying the knot.  A sales girl had me sold on one brand and I knew I was going to be practicing the next morning to see if I could re-create her look. Well…the sales girl must of either been A) hyped up on my anxiety or B) sniffing glue on her break.  The foundation, concealer and powder were all for a girl the color of caramels or whom had a propensity for sitting in the sun with tin foil under her chin, not for a girl that if she passes a white wall becomes invisible.  I went back the night before my wedding and begged for a non-sadistic salesperson. I found him applying a magic powder to a girl with severe acne, within minutes the girl had a flawless and luminous visage.  I don’t care if this magic formula had cost as much as my rent, I needed what she was having. I still balked at the $28 price tag when he brought me out the little vial, but after he applied it to my face, I was sold times twelve. It’s a mineral powder base, which I am usually weary of because my skin is so dry, but it goes on so creamy, it is magic I tell you. It’s completely natural, an added bonus (even though where I was mentally when I bought it I wouldn’t have cared if they used bald eagle eggs to make it). You don’t need a lot to get complete, flawless (but natural) coverage.  The best part you won’t need a concealer or powder, so it’s a one-stop-shop.  The only drawback is that the color choices are limited (only 4), but with the reviews flying around the interwebs giving it such high marks I am sure they are working feverishly to add more. If you never tried mineral foundation and were wanting to, I don’t think you could go wrong trying the Korres Wild Rose one, it feels like liquid foundation just really silky on first application. The results are very natural, you only better. It’s the only mineral foundation that I found works with my favorite cheek stain.  It’s important for me in my advanced years to still be able to pull off dewy and natural.

PYGMY HIPPO HOLIDAY

I suppose it wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone if I told you the #1 search term to find my blog right now is pygmy hippo. The runner up is baby polar bear. I need to take a screen shot one day for posterity. 
I hope you all had a great weekend. I finished my DIY desk.  I can’t wait to get some photos up for you this week.  The project which I had mentally planned out, (because it’s not like I don’t own piles of papers and pens to write down my concept), came out surprisingly well. It could have been a big ol’ DIY fail, it has happened to me a lot lately which crushes the DIY spirit. I don’t know what is wrong with me, but I was under the misguided impression that it would only take me a couple hours to prime my walls, paint them two polar opposite colors, build a desk, sand it, stain it, finish it and install it all without measuring or knowing how to find a wall stud (I even have a stud finder, useless in my hands). When I was finished I had my friend come over and help me with Besotted Brand orders.  The one thing she kept asking me was how? How did I figure it out?  I don’t know. All I know is that I needed this desk and counter (Oh, did I mention that I built a counter?) I didn’t have a budget for what I wanted so I built what I needed. I did ask for help, I had a handyman come in, but a handyman is handy, not quite a carpenter. He figured out studs, but left a lot to my own devices (not always the best plan). We are planning on moving sooner than later (me and my husband, not me and the handyman) and the pieces aren’t particularly mobile, but I’ll cross that bridge when the time comes. Until then I will revel in my success.  I am so darn excited to have a shipping area that I don’t have to hunch over and develop a hump in my back.
P.S. This pygmy hippo image was politely stolen from a new to me blog called Weird Animals a.ka. the Ever So Strange Animal Almanac.

HOW TO WALK A TIGHTROPE IN HIGH HEELS

This image may sum up perfectly how I am feeling right not–like I am alternately walking on air or walking on a tight rope in cute (albeit impractical) shoes. I had plans to post this earlier, but as luck (or incompetence) would have it, I neglected to take my post from draft to scheduled. I have actually done this on several occasions since I moved to this new blog home. It seems it takes me longer than 6 weeks to establish a habit. I have been thankfully very busy with Besotted, which is the walking on air part, but I am also working a freelance job pretty much full-time which is the walking on a tight rope in high heels part. I did a soft launch of apothecary yesterday at a school holiday sale. I thought I was sharing a booth, but my booth partner never showed up so my inventory looked a bit  anemic. I asked for a smaller table which then made me look like I had an abundance of product–nice. I had no sales  (that’s zip) for nearly THREE hours.  I watched as my booth neighbors signed sales receipts left and right, I wondered if I had a dud on my hands. I am happy to report that by the end of the day I nearly sold out of everything (remember though that I didn’t have much inventory to begin with, so not as impressive as it might sound). It was still rather exciting. It was a great test market for the apothecary offerings both product + packaging, even though ideally I would have tested first with the ladies who so generously signed up to be my testers. I couldn’t exactly grill my customers about all the questions that I was dying to prod them with. The name of the apothecary offerings didn’t go over very well, it confused potential clients (again this is something I would have posed to my testers). For a branding professional such as myself I should have predicted this pitfall. It seems that only a few strange souls had an appreciation for antique science shorthand, go figure? Back to the drawing board on this one little (big ) thing.
I wanted to mention to you yesterday that I wrote a guest post at Melissa McCardle’s Reverie Daydream blog. If you have ever read her blog and wondered if she was as nice, optimistic and pretty in ‘real life’, I can assure you that she is all those things ten fold.
photo by::tristan b.