CALLING ALL BLOGGERS!

No matter where you live, what kind of blogger you are, how many followers you have etc etc, you are ALL welcome to the Bloggers' Christmas Party!

"Come along to our Christmas Party and Fashion Show at 7pm on Friday 16th December at Java Bristol, where you'll be able to meet your fellow MyStreetChicas, receive an exclusive goodie bag packed with gorgeous treats and see the latest partywear from Boohoo.com live on the catwalk. Afterwards, our DJ will spin the tunes, leaving you to crack out those dancing shoes."

There is a ticket price of £5. We tried really hard to do it for free, but it just wasn't possible to do so. But included in the price is a complimentary drink on arrival, a goodie bag, and entrance to the Fashion Show and After Party. Also, you must be over 18 I'm afraid!

THE DETAILS!:

WHEN? 7pm - 10pm, Friday 16th December
WHERE? Java, 9 Park Street, Bristol, BS1
PRICE: £5 per ticket
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
South West Bloggers Network
MODE
Boom Bristol

GET YOUR TICKET HERE!

We have found some pretty good hotel deals (I think most of us are staying in a very nearby Travelodge!) and good travel deals can be found too with a little investigating! Please please come, we really want to make this a good event so that we can have more in the future! It's bound to be a good night!

Please spread the word, even if you can't make it, and if you're on Twitter, we're using the hashtag #xmasbloggermeet !

glossybox.

To be honest, I forgot to blog about my last Glossybox... sometimes life gets on top of you. Anyway, here's what I thought of each product I got this month...

ARBONNE FC5 ULTRA HYDRATING HAND CRÈME: I love this hand cream. I always seem to have dry hands, so I love having lots of little tubes I can keep in my bags. The product is moisturising, not greasy. And, after a few hours of smelling my hands trying to work it out, I realised it smells like satsumas! YUM!

PHILIP KINGSLEY ELASTICIZER: Okay, to be honest, I can't be bothered to use this product. It seems like soooo much effort. You have to wet your hair, then section it and rub the product in to your hair, then leave it under a plastic cap for like 20 minutes. I know I'm laid up at the moment, but even I feel like that's a waste of time. I can't imagine that it would make that much difference to my hair..

ETRO FRAGRANCES: All of these smell yummy! Again, I like having little perfumes to chuck in my bag, and these will all be in there at some point!

NAIL ROCK DESIGNER NAIL WRAPS: This was the first time I'd tried to apply nail wraps myself and I found them really fiddly. I think with practice you could probably get a good effect, but mine didn't sit flat to my nail, and started peeling up at the edges pretty quickly. I've had nail wraps applied professionally (Nailease ones) and they lasted a couple of hours at the most before they started coming off. I can understand that nail wraps are a quick and easy way to get crazy nails, but they're not for me.

DEAD SEA SPA MAGIK BATH SALTS: I've used these once so far, and I don't really see a difference in my skin. I put 2 handfuls into my warm bath, and didn't really notice it. Next bath I have, I'm going to pour the rest in and see what happens :)

Have you tried a Glossybox yet? What did you think?

artist showcase #5

This week I'm featuring one of my most favourite girls in the whole world. Not only is she beautiful and fun, but she's also ridiculously talented and hard working :) Anne Bengard (aka Blondie)

1. Can you give us a little bit of your background?

I was born in Leipzig, Germany, raised in Berlin and came to England in 1997...to sunny Devon! I've been living in London for the last four years. Last year I graduated from Central Saint Martins with a BA (hons) in Performance Design and Practice and now I work freelance in many fields including events, art curation and as an artist myself.
I'm currently (and always have been) really into mermaids...or merms as I now like to call them and have been focusing my art on all things merm.
Mermaids have been portrayed as evil seductresses luring sailors to their death in old tales but also as a sad little creature full of dreams who's heart is broken through being in love. The mermaid is an interesting character and creature to explore and I like creating my own little characters and worlds to get lost in.

2. Did anything in particular make you go into your field of work?

Pure love! I've always concentrated on creative subjects throughout education trying out different creative fields and disciplines...illustration, performance, photography, product design, set and costume design, graphic design...I've had a little go at them all but I always seem to come back to drawing and painting. That's what I want to do and where my passion lies. Plus i have been drawing mermaids since I was about four.

3. What inspires you?

Soooo many things. I'm loving all the pop surrealist art that's emerging from Japan and America at the moment. Some of my favourites are Audrey Kawasaki, Gary Baseman Junko Mizuno and James Jean.
I'm a huge fan of Japanese culture. I grew up with anime and have been collecting Manga since I was 12. I think that shows in my art.
At the beginning of this year I was living in Berlin for a couple of months. There I was spending a lot of time with my flat mates little daughter and she really opened my eyes and made me remember the beauty of childish optimism, innocence and imagination.
I've been involved in London's fetish scene since I've lived here too and have been working for Torture Garden since 2008. You see some really amazingly creative outfits and styles there which is awesome.
Fashion heavily inspires me too...I get so inspired just flicking through a magazine and looking at pictures. I have watched Alexander McQueen's 'Plato's Atlantis', spring/summer 2010 on youtube so many times now. I love the story and concept behind it and advise everyone to watch it...it is mind blowing!. I like how he started that collection by looking 'Plato's Atlantis' up on wikipedia...that's the kind of approach any university course would frown upon. The man was a genius.

4. How do you work?

Firstly I clean...everything has to be clean, tidy and ordered otherwise I can't focus and explode. Then I'll put on some music. I really love the podcasts from a record label called Minus and one called Leisure System. Then I gather some visuals to inspire me and get to work! I have regular tea breaks and stuff myself with wasabi peas or ginger nuts whilst taking pictures at different stages of my work which I then put on my blog. I think the process is as interesting and valid as the outcome.

5. What's your favourite medium to work with?

That's a hard one...my work is very mixed media. But I love painting with Quink at the moment. You get some really great colours from it when you use it with lots of water.

6. Which piece of work are you most proud of?

I really like all my colourful little merm pictures but recently I did a tattoo design for my friend Kreios who recently passed away. It's a piece going from his chest over his shoulder and down his back: a flow of different worlds and creatures merging into one another. I gave it to his family after his funeral and it made them really happy which in turn made me really happy. I'm pretty sure Kreios would have liked it too.

7. What are you upto right now (work-wise)?

I'm working on a couple of tattoo designs for some people. One sleeve design which is going to be epic and two leg pieces. I'm also organising the art exhibition for the next Rumpus (www.rumpusparty.co.uk) which will be in London on the 2nd December and will be making a shrine to honour Kreios, my friend who passed away. I'm also working on finishing my website and making more paintings on card board which I have some big plans for...

8. Anything else you think we should know?

I have fins.

See more here:
Blog.
Website in progress.
Facebook.

sunny afternoon.

Some photographs from last week. It was such a beautiful day, I took a little walk down to the harbour wall. I could still feel a little bit of warmth in the sun, and I almost wanted to jump into the sea! I felt very colourful.

We're still selling tickets for the Bloggers' Christmas Party, please come and pleeeease spread the word!!

dixi jewellery giveaway!

The lovely ladies at Dixi are offering you lot the chance to win a piece of jewellery from their Christmas Jewellery Shop, up to the value of £7!

They have some awesome jewellery in the shop, there really is something to suit everyone's tastes.

All you need to do is:

- visit Dixi's Christmas Jewellery Shop and then comment here with your favourite jewellery item.
- make sure you leave your email address so I can get in touch if you win! :)

This competition is open to all readers, international included, and will run until next Sunday the 4th December when I will pick a winner at random!

And if you don't happen to win, or can't wait that long, you can still use the code BEINGLITTLEDIXI to get 10% off your order!

Good luck!

red wine.

shirt - charity shop ; trousers - new look ; shoes - primark ..... haha awesome pose.

I took these photos a few days before my operation, so that I'd have an outfit to blog about while all I'm really wearing is pyjamas... it seems I'm a little obsessed with this red wine colour at the moment, it's just so rich and warm.

I got these trousers from New Look a couple of weeks ago when they had £10 off all trousers (not sure if they're still doing that deal, but it meant they were only £12.99!) and I LOVE them! The fabric is really soft and I love the shape. They really nip you in at the waist, and I somehow managed to fit into a size 8?!

I think they're really versatile too. Here I'm wearing them really casual, but they'd probably look awesome with a sparkly top and some heels at Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas - please please come to our Bloggers' Christmas Party! All details can be found here!

bonus photo of me pulling my trousers up! headscarf - vintage (mum's) ; top - primark ; trousers - new look ; slippers - primark

recovery.

The wall next to my bed at my flat :)

I'm currently recovering from my tonsillectomy at my Mum's house. As I'm sure you can imagine, I'll be good for nothing for a day or two, so please be patient while I sleep it off. I have lots of things to blog about while I'm laid up, so don't you worry!

See you soon.

fluffy doctor.

Please excuse my dark circles! This was when I'd just got back from hospital!

El Hefe is just so good at making me feel better. Mum brings me food and painkillers, and the cats bring the fluffy cuddles and purrs.

get rid!

As you can see, I'm very scared about my tonsillectomy. I've been worrying about it for two weeks and it's finally really happening today. I can't wait for these pointless tonsils to be gone, but I'm really scared about the process and the pain! :(

candle light.

Yesterday, just as it was getting dark, our electricity ran out. After the little machine thing stopped beeping, it was kind of nice living by candle light. Really cosy. I started reading All My Friends Are Superheroes, and fell asleep until my landlord arrived!

artist showcase #4

Life got in the way of this feature a little.. but I have three or four of these badboys lined up for the next few weeks! Kicking off with Alex Digard...

1. Can you give us a little bit of your background?

Im Alex, 24, originally from an island called Guernsey and now based in Bristol. I make a mixture of pictures and words for various people.

2. Did anything in particular make you go into your field of work?

I started taking photos of my friends riding BMX when I was 14, I haven’t put the camera down since...The Dischord records artwork was what first gave me an interest in design and wanting to learn more about it...I don’t really know, I do what I do because I can’t do anything else, not that I’d want to...

3. What inspires you?

Be-Bop, New Journalism, record shops, wood cut typography, vinyl freaks, Detroit Techno, fresh coffee, DIY culture, House music...In short, records...everything about them from the smell, to the artwork on the sleeve. They are far more than just music pressed into them, it’s an entire way of life. Analog Love.

4. How do you work?

Late at night mostly, I share a studio on Stokes Croft with a few other people, most of the ‘work’ gets done there but the ideas seem to come around while I'm reading a book in the cafe down the road...

5. What's your favourite medium to work with?

Photocopiers, typewriters, ink-stamps and Kodak portra 800. Basically all the ingredients for making a zine...They are my favourite thing to make by far.

6. Which piece of work are you most proud of?

The ‘Worth The Weight’ CD cover and booklet stands out but then so does the ‘Analog love’ zine that I made for my first solo exhibition...That was the first time I felt I had made something that was really in my own style. There’s still a couple of copies left here too ;)

7. What are you upto right now (work-wise)?

I'm currently the art director for a Bristol based record label called Gutterfunk, our first record is due to hit shelves late November so that’s been keeping me pretty busy, its been very satisfying seeing the project develop from a rough idea on the back of a cigarette packet to something tangible that people are keen to get their hands on. I'm also working with a few other people on the first edition of an independent newspaper covering underground and experimental electronic music, but more on that another time...

8. Anything else you think we should know?

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.
Charles Mingus

See More here:
My portfolio.
My Flickr.
Contact - Alex@tape-echo.com

buttons!

Lovely Abby has made a couple of buttons for the Christmas Party that Bee and I have been dreaming up. If you're coming, please please include one of these buttons on your blog, and encourage more people to come! We really want to make this a success for you guys!

<a href="http://littlebeinglittle.blogspot.com/2011/11/bloggers-christmas-party.html" target="blank" title="Are you coming to the christmas blogger meet up? Click for details!"><img src="http://i883.photobucket.com/albums/ac35/abbzzw/design/freebies/xmas-blogger-meet-11.png" width="200px" alt="Are you coming to the christmas blogger meet up? Click for details!" /></a>


<a href="http://littlebeinglittle.blogspot.com/2011/11/bloggers-christmas-party.html" target="blank" title="Are you coming to the christmas blogger meet up? Click for details!"><img src="http://i883.photobucket.com/albums/ac35/abbzzw/design/freebies/xmas-blogger-meet-11-2.png" width="200px" alt="Are you coming to the christmas blogger meet up? Click for details!" /></a>

Thanks!