Mollie Makes magazine

Mollie Makes is a extremely cute monthly craft magazine. I absolutely adore this magazine! For starters, most of the crafts inside are things that you actually want to make such as fashionable items you'd actually wear. The magazine covers different types of crafts as well and also has features on thrifting, home decor and much more. On top of that, the journalist in me just likes to stroke the pretty pages because the layout and design of this magazine is just so darn cute and quirky!

At £4.99 per issue it's not as cheap as other magazines but you get so much with it and it's a lovely refreshing change to normal celeb mags and such. Both my mum, my sister and I adore this magazine so usually one of us purchases it and passes it on, however I am seriously considering paying for a subscription.

I'd definitely recommend picking up this magazine if you're a crafter of any sort :)

The Only Way Is Blogging

I was just wondering if any other fellow bloggers were planning to go to this event? If you don't know what it is, The Only Way Is Blogging is a meet up/workshop/event held every three months as a way to bring bloggers closer together and help them learn about new skills and new ways in which they can improve their blogs. It was set up by London Beauty Queen and has since become such a popular event that even Company magazine recently featured the event.

The next TOWIB event will be taking place on Saturday 16th June in central London, with tickets costing only £5.00. This will guarantee you access to the event which will see talks and demonstrations by top media savvy professionals, a session with Dr Linda all about body confidence (I LOVE this idea, so inspiring), and different workshops. Alongside this it's also the perfect way to meet your favourite bloggers, make some new friends, discover new blogs and finally just have a chat about other like minded people.

I've known about the event for a while but this year I am definitely thinking of going, especially with London only being a short train ride away from me. I was wondering if anyone else was planning to attend?

You can find out more at www.towib.blogspot.co.uk! 

Don't forget, myself and Bex from I Always Believed in Futures are also planning a bloggers meet up in June for bloggers in and around the South East (however anyone is welcome of course!), so keep an eye out for that as well!

Wreck This Journal

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.

But first of all you must promise me that you will use this information the way it is meant to be perceived - if you buy this journal then you must unleash your creative side and go wild whilst filling it out. Do not hold back. If it's not your type of thing then fair enough, just close the webpage and pop back another day when I might have posted something more to your taste :)

I didn't want to make this post. When I found this book, nestled amongst others in my ever favourite aisle of TK Maxx, I took one look at it and had to buy it. I turned the pages, smiling immediately and feeling inspired. What a quirky find! My heart beat quicker as I thought to myself how creative I could be with this project, how I can use it to represent pieces of me...okay you get the picture. Basically I was amazed. But I didn't want anyone else to know about this unusual bundle of creativity. Why? Because I found it and it was me all over. It was the perfect thing, it was arty, it was individual, it was like nothing I had ever found before. And I thought how sucky it would be if I told people about this and they tutted and rolled their eyes, deeming the whole thing immature? Or if they bought it themselves and attempted to complete it, only to never understand the true message or meaning of the project. It made me angry! Only really quirky people who would 'get it' should have the privilege of owning it.

And then I got home and had a look online and found out that it pretty much had a massive following anyway with various people of all ages beginning the project and posting their progress online, all feeling part of a rather large community.

So I thought, why not blog about it anyway?

(I was secretly glad that I found this book on my own accord, just a random amazing buy on a day out, rather then following a massive trend online!)

So, what exactly is 'Wreck This Journal'?

Wreck This Journal was created by Keri Smith and is basically a way to let go of any inhibitions and unleash your creative, destructive and daring side. The whole thing represents the fact that beauty can be found in destruction and that creativity can be found in mistakes. Each page offers a quirky suggestion or creative prompt as an idea of how to fill the pages of the book. However, the whole idea is to go against the rules - colour outside of the lines, use materials other than pens and pencils within the book, be a rebel! It's hard to explain but it's a really awesome different way to be creative.

Different pages in the books prompt you to do different things such as taking the book in the shower with you, poking holes in a page using a pencil, making a paper airplane out of a page..it is simply amazing. It's the perfect way to let lose and be inspired. I absolutely adore it and it is the perfect gift idea! 

Here are some photos I've found showing my favourite examples of how people have completed different pages of the journal.

I kind of don't even like looking at other peoples examples because I think how much better and prettier they are than mine! I've also actually realized that you can learn a lot about yourself by doing this project...I consider myself to be creative but not THAT creative. I like to find inspiration from other things and I enjoy doing the book the way it tells me to - I could never find a completely blank page in the book and do something 100% unique and creative. I guess, in a way though, most things we do come from being inspired by something!

Anyway, I've added a page here where I will update my personal progress with Wreck This Journal and you can also find this page at the top of the blog, among the list of pages.

I really hope some of you feel inspired to do this and if so I would LOVE to see all of your progress. It's such an exciting, fun project that you'd be mad not to take part in!

8 Reasons Why You Should Be On LinkedIn!

If you're not on LinkedIn then you need to get yourself over there now and sign up for an account immediately and if you don't know what it is - where have you been?!

LinkedIn is basically like a social networking website - but for professionals. LinkedIn is no Facebook - boozy pictures and booty-call arranging have no place on this website! LinkedIn is used to connect to, or link up with, old colleagues and friends who are listed as your 'connections'. If you aren't already signed up to this website, here's why you should be -

• LinkedIn is like a more detailed résumé or CV. You can use your profile to display all of your experience, your past jobs and employment details, any achievements or awards you might have and all your skills. You can also talk about your interests and what you are like from a professional point of view. 
• You can put as much stuff - and you can list as much experience - as you like on LinkedIn. This is perfect when applying for a job and it's always useful to direct a company to your LinkedIn profile. First of all it shows that you on the ball and eager to climb the ladder and second of all the detailed experience means the company can see ALL of your experience and not just the roles you managed to fit on a typical 2 page CV. I often find it hard to decide what experience to showcase on my CV (2 pages is usually the ideal length of a résumé) and find I have to leave out some experience because of this - even when some of this additional experience could help secure me the job. Thanks to LinkedIn, I can display all of it and when I apply for a job I can submit my CV AND direct a company to my profile.
• Many companies not only use LinkedIn to advertise jobs (especially exclusive high-end jobs) but they also browse profiles and can often find suitable candidates easily by using the website as it's so easy to find someone with the relevant skills and experience. Finally, you can apply to these jobs via LinkedIn easily by writing a cover letter and attaching your CV. Anything else they need to know will be on your profile for them to see.
• LinkedIn also offers groups like Facebook, but again, it is more professional. You can join different groups and networks for all different industries such as groups for bloggers or for internships. For some of these groups, your profile needs to be checked before you are accepted. This means that it's only professionals or people clearly interested in the subject at hand in the group - people that can benefit you.
• It is the perfect website for finding and reuniting with connections. What makes LinkedIn unique is that generally you have to know someone to connect to them, which stops unwanted random adds and means those connected to you are more beneficial. If you find you have people on your Facebook that you know run a business or are useful as a connection then it's ideal to invite them to LinkedIn and keep a record of all your contacts in one place. Contacts are important in all industries and especially in Journalism - it's not about what you know but who you know.
• If you feel you'd like to connect to someone who you don't know but you think you could be beneficial to one another then you can request an 'introduction' if you have a connection (friend) in common. This is very useful because if a friend is willing to do that then it immediately gives off the impression that it would be useful to know one another. The introduction consists of simply a brief message outlining that this person should connect to you. Although it's good experience meeting new people at meet and greets, getting to know people and possibly swapping business cards, this is another less daunting (and more modern) way to do so. 
• The website also suggests groups, jobs and companies that you may be interested based on what is displayed on your profile - but neatly on the left side of the homepage. LinkedIn isn't a website that will spam you constantly and you can as always control what emails you do and don't receive.
• On the homepage you can also find a brief timeline about what your connections are up to - so easy to find out and congratulate a friend when they have a new job or when they add new connections that you might also benefit from!

If you're not on LinkedIn by now, there are 8 reasons to why you really ought to be!

Emerald Street Newsletter

I'm currently in the process of sorting out all the ridiculous junk mail I receive to my email - I refuse to just change to a new email address because a) this one is smart and professional sounding and b) I just can't be bothered. In amongst all these pointless emails that insist viagra could help my penis grow bigger or that the great grandson of some random president wants me to share his earnings (or something like that), I get one daily email which cheers me up to no end and relaxes me. As soon as I open this email, I breathe a sigh of relief at it's content - I understand that yes, it's just a newsletter, but it's just the type of newsletter I like to grace the pages of my hotmail inbox and is a lovely change from everything else because it's just a bit different. And I don't mind receiving it everyday day (Monday to Friday but you can change the frequency of when you receive it) because its fun, interesting and bite size - it's not overbearing.








Emerald Street (named after the street that the team's offices are based at) was created after members of staff from Stylist wanted an easier way to distribute tip-offs about sample sales, hidden fashion gems, quirky bars etc among their friends. And so Emerald Street was born - the idea quickly took the form of an exclusive newsletter that people can use to feel cultured and in the know.

It's kind of hard to explain what exactly these newsletters contain ; one day you might be reading about the benefits of a four day work week (like today!) or another you might be faced with a picture of a cat hiding in a saucepan then find yourself spending hours on the website looking at other cats sat in weird places. It's all very random. But fun.

Upon signing up you can enter your location as the team currently offers tips on the best bars and places to go in London and the South East, Leeds, Edinburgh & Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester.

And did I mention how pretty it is?!

I feel immediately 98% more cultured upon reading it (the other 2% coming from the belief that eating mushrooms makes me cultured!).

Check out the website at www.emeraldstreet.com which offers more brief but awesome features and where you can also sign up to the newsletter and become amazingly cultured like me.

How Adorable Is This?

I defy you to watch this video without tearing up!

That kid is smart! So adorabe!

Local Bloggers!

A few months ago me and a fellow blogger, Bex from Futures, discovered we live fairly near each other and she decided that it would be a good idea to arrange a local blog meet up. This meet up will still be happening of course, but in the meantime we've discovered a lot of bloggers who live locally in the Bedfordshire/Hertfordshire area! I had no idea that so many bloggers live so near so it's been lovely to find I'm not the only one.

So I thought it might be a nice idea to do this weeks 'Fab Find Friday' (I really want to change that name, it sounds so corny!) post linking to all these lovely ladies. I already have a page for other blogs I read on a regular basis but I've added a list of local bloggers to my sidebar as well as some buttons I've made for this blog! Therefore if anyone would like to take my button and have me link their blog back I'd be happy to - just leave me a comment or an email so I know :)

Anyway, this is the list of all the bloggers who live locally. I can't wait to get this meet up underway and meet you all!

Bex from Futures
@OhNoItsBex

Victoria from Victoria's Vintage
@victoriajane6

Catarina from What Cat Says
@CatttSays

Amanda from Say Anything
@Amandaabrooks

Zoe from Zozeze
@zoebxo

Charlotte from Charbuckss
@charbuckss

Lisa from Lisahh-Jane
@Lisahh_Jayne

Katy from Caught Up In Cake
@Kfedland

Sarah from Knickers and Nail Polish

I'd definitely recommend you check out all these blogs! Basically we are all from the Hertfordhsire/Bedfordshire area, so if there are any other bloggers from these areas or from the South East of England, please do get in touch :)

What I Wore Today Book

I mentioned last week in my Pictures Of The Week post that I bought this excellent book called 'What I Wore Today'. It's written/illustrated by Gemma Correll and the whole thing started with a Flickr group where people took and posted photographs of their daily outfits. It then turned into a blog and then finally this book!

The blurb reads ; 'Create a snapshot of your day and sum up your unique style in this brilliant book of doodles, scribbles and sketches. Part sketchpad, part journal, this is a totally customizable record of how you like to dress, what you love to do and who you really are'.


The book pretty much consists of three parts - it's part book, part sketch book and part notebook. Throughout the book there are opportunities to sketch your daily outfits but with additional inspiration such as your favourite part of the outfit or what your friends/mum/boyfriend also wore that day, where you wore the outfit to and what you got up to and any thoughts you had about the outfit. Additionally, the book offers further imaginative drawing opportunities where it asks you to sketch your ideal fancy dress outfit or design a bikini and much more. In between all this is style advice and examples of other sketches people have made.

It's a really quirky book! It's not at all aimed for kids, in fact its more popular among adults and if you take a look at the original Flickr group you'll find that even a lot of men took part in uploading photographs of their outfits. It's a really fun and artistic way to document your favourite outfits or style. It's ideal for anyone who likes to draw and just wants an excuse to draw daily, or even just if you fancy sitting down and doodling some of your dream designs!

It's really fun and definitely something I'd recommend whether you are into fashion or not. The book was only released earlier this month so it's very recent too. It's a perfect gift for someone as well.

You can buy the book from Amazon here or take a look at Gemma Correll's blog here.

I will make sure to post any entries I do in the book as I go along :)

Fab Find Friday - Music & Draw Something

Just some ace bands/songs I've been listening to a lot lately :) Some of them are pretty old songs but still check them out if you so wish!

Btw, isn't it so awesome that they've written this song for a rollercoasters themetune?!

So yeah sorry about so many videos but this is just some awesome music I've been listening to. Plus its completely coincidental that every lead singer of the bands above are hot ;)

Also if you're not already addicted to it, make sure you download Draw Something! My username is Lady Louise, add me :)

Fab Find Friday - Olan Rogers

This guy is absolutely hilarious! He's YouTube famous for all the videos he uploads, most notably for the way he tells funny stories about stuff that has happened to him. Again, that may not sound particularly funny, but I'd recommend watching a couple of videos anyway! There's no way you won't laugh. I first saw this video of his posted on Tumblr -

and I literally laughed non-stop all the way through. I checked him out on Youtube, subscribed and immediately became addicted. I just love the way he tells the stories, he's so over the top and funny! I love the funny phrases he uses as well. I think he's pretty cool and I wish I could be as funny as him as I certainly have some of my own funny stories like the ones he tells! Here are some of my favourite videos of his..

Check out his channel here!

Fab Find Friday - The Date Guy

I know the majority of my blog readers are not from London, but for those who are or who live down south then I'd suggest this website.

The Date Guy is run by a guy who suggests different dates around London. Not only does he suggest different dates though, he also goes into detail such as how to suggest the date, topics of conversation that can be used on the date, activities to do, where to go afterwards if you don't want the date to end and how to act after the date when contacting the person again. It may seem a bit much but it's perfect for people who struggle with finding things to talk about on dates or who are bored of straight forward dates at the cinema or going out for food.

The best part is though all the quirky places he suggests going to and doing. He suggests places around London that aren't very popular, those quirky hidden away gems that you may not have heard of. One of the recent places he suggested was a restaurant where to gain access you have to use a certain phrase when talking to the waiter, then enter the area by a door hidden in a fridge! Very random!

He also suggests ways to get speaking to strangers and how to be more open. It's a really, really cool website that I absolutely adore because I love anything that's a bit different. Even if you are not dating at the moment, it's great to look at for ideas of things to do in London or places you can go to when you meet someone special.

http://www.thedateguy.co.uk

Fab Find Friday - Ross Kemp - Folded

This week I'm featuring a website that really makes me think WTF?! I'm not even entirely sure what it is or how the craze has gotten so big but all I know that it is absolutely hilarious.

So basically this website features photos of actor, author and journalist Ross Kemp and they've taken these photos and er, folded them up. Then they've posted the very weird results with hilarious descriptions.

If you're bored you'll end up giggling at this website for hours, trust me. Do not go on it when you are about to go to sleep as some of the photos are pretty freaky!

http://rosskempfolds.tumblr.com/

Funny E Cards

I've decided to do this new weekly (hopefully, we'll see how often I find awesome stuff!) feature! I'm usually browsing the internet randomly when I can't sleep and often find pretty cool websites, videos etc. So I thought I'd start doing a feature on an awesome 'Fab Find' each Friday!

I've seen these floating around the internet for ages now and saved my favourite ones after having a browse on the website too. These are hilarious!

(This is me all over! If I'm in a relationship that isn't dysfunctional then chances are I'm not as into you as you think I am, haha!)

(Future rock star boyfriend - take note!)

www.someecards.com

Disney Cover Stars

How cool is this?! I spotted it on Tumblr the other day!

Male Minded

Check out this awesome (and hilarious) website called Male Minded that gives you a real insight into the mind of a man. It's especially good for straight to the point relationship/dating advice. Here are some of my favourite things taken from the website -

(Haha this one especially applies to me, I know I'm getting there when I start checking their FB less and less each day lol!)

http://maleminded.tumblr.com