The Creative Life

In one of my many notebooks, I have a long list of post ideas.  Post ideas that are more than a list of things I currently like or games I'm playing or whatever.  The problem is, every time I sit down to write them, all my words disappear and I find myself staring at a blinking cursor.  Perhaps this is the advice I'm looking for?

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I don't know but hopefully I'll be back soon with something meatier.  

Now Is As Good A Time As Any

Happy Wednesday!  Here's some wise words to get you through the rest of the week:  

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This quote has popped up twice on my Facebook feed in the last week and a half and I think it's particularly good advice, especially for a procrastinator like me!

A Little Inspiration...

Today is Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday and it might well be the last time we can celebrate his life while he is still alive.  I love this quote and I thought it would be appropriate to share it today:

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Happy Birthday Madiba, we <3 you.

Terrarium Love

Right, so I have recently found myself utterly consumed by the need to own a terrarium.  We have a dead spot on our coffee table that some extra greenery would fill so nicely.  First, I thought about buying one.  I did some looking around and found that while there are some really pretty ones for sale, they are really pricey!  The ones on the lower end of the price range are just a little plain for my tastes.  I came home and did some googling and found a whole host of terrarium DIYs!  Yay!  Anyway, seeing as Monday is a public holiday, I thought I’d go succulent shopping and see if I can’t put one together myself.  I’ll keep you posted!  In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of my terrarium inspiration (thanks Pinterest) and the tutorial I’m planning on using.

This is the tutorial I am planning on using.  Looks nice and simple. If anyone has any suggestions or advice, please feel free to share!

Sources: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10 

Things I Love #16

So, I am typing this edition of Things I Love from a desk!!!!  Usually, I update this blog from the couch, with my laptop awkwardly balanced on my knees or a cushion, while crossing my fingers that I don't accidently dump it on the floor.  Anyway, yesterday we got a desk and a chair!  After rearranging our teeny, tiny lounge we have an awesome new space to work in.  It may seem like a silly thing to get excited about but when I look at how far Jason and I have come (no fridge and only cushions to sit on ) to today (nice flat full of things we couldn't dream of affording before), I can't help but be pleased.  Moving along, here are somethings I loved over the last two weeks:

My squishy-face dog obsession has reached a new high! I found these two awesome bulldog tumblrs during the week; one for French bulldogs and another for English bulldogs.  I swear if we don't get a puppy soon, I might just explode!

Everyone needs an anthem.  This is a pretty awesome article about how powerful music can be.  It got me thinking about what my own anthem might be.  I'll let you know when I decide..

This awesome picture of my very young parents and my grandparents in Paris.  Out of all the sidewalk cafe's they chose the one with English writing!

Stellar Four have created 12 awesome fictional fantastic birthstones.  My traditional birthstone is an Opal which I have always liked but my fictional one is Unobtanium from Avatar which is pretty awesome too!

Tim Tadder makes wigs out of water.  Don't believe me?  Click the link and check them out.  The best part is the first guys facial expression!

These ceramic toy sculptures by Rhonda Gushee are super creepy...in a broken down neglected sort of way.

Check out this tattoo flash with a South African twist by Ninjabreadboy.

And on the subject of tattoos, Contrariwise is a collection of tattoos inspired by literature.

The Phraseology Project is one of the coolest ideas I have seen in awhile.  You submit a word or phrase and they will create it using some pretty amazing typography.

I know this is kind of old news now but here is a great article about why the band Pussy Riot matters.  They may have been sentenced and the news may have moved on but I doubt that is the end of this story.   On a related note, this article about Making Punk a Threat Again is also worth reading.

Pop-up aquariums are a pretty awesome idea if you ask me.  These ones hold up to 5 000 goldfish and were created by Hidetomo Kimura.

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I love fireworks.  I also love these long exposure pictures of fireworks by David Johnson.

A little while ago I mentioned the prawn sushi salad I had for lunch.  This afternoon I cam across this recipe for a sushi bowl.  Definitely something I would like to try out!

I really like these life-like fashion illustrations by Jorge Roa.

I love this list of literature's greatest closing paragraphs.  The final paragraph of The Great Gatsby has always stood out for me and I am glad it's included here.

The Goths in Graveyards tumblr is pretty cool.  I really enjoy the imagery.

The writer of this article believes that W.H. Auden was the worst famous poet of the 20th century.  I am not sure I agree but it's an interesting read none-the-less.

And finally, I came across David Foster Wallace's commencement speech the other day.  I don't know much about him and I haven't read any of his books but I still found it very inspiring and very relevant. The things he says are definitely things that I need to learn to keep in mind.  

And that's it.  Have you found anything cool you'd like to add?

Fail Harder

Back in March or April I watched a movie called Art and Copy.  Its about the advertising world and it's incredibly interesting.  I'd recommend watching it.  Anyway, at one point, David Kennedy of Wieden+Kennedy takes the camera on a tour of the Portland office where we get a glimpse of this:

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It reads Fail Harder and it's made entirely using clear push-pins.  Over 100 000 apparently.  It took students from the Wieden+Kennedy advertising school 351 hours to put together.

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I read that the idea behind this piece of office art is to remind people how important failure is in the creative process.  It's an interesting and inspiring reminder that sometimes you have to fail to get to where you want to be.  That failure isn't always a bad thing but something that you can learn and grow from.  That's a pretty good reminder if you ask me.

Oh Pinterest! How do I love thee?

We have established before that I am late to the party when it comes to new and awesome things.  With Pinterest though, it's definitely a case of better late than never!  I requested an invite awhile ago but with our dodgy old internet connection, I could never really play around with it.  Now we have shiny new internet and I have a shiny new Pinterest obsession!!  The time I have wasted already!  It's glorious!

Gushing aside, Pinterest is a great way to keep all your ideas and inspirations in one place.  You can follow me here if you like:)

Make Good Art

On Sunday evening, I watched the commencement speech that Neil Gaiman gave at the University of the Arts.  I thought it was awesome.  I may be a good few years out of varsity but there were so many things in there that I needed to hear.  So many things that I wish someone had mentioned to me when I graduated.  Like if you honestly feel that you were put here to do something, then you should just go and do it!  And how you should imagine what you want to do as a far off mountain and then make choices that move you closer to that mountain.  I have always wanted to write.  I studied Media and English literature but it's been harder to get where I want to be than I imagined.  Sometimes working as a technical writer feels very far off from that ideal but after listening to the speech, I've realised that I am learning valuable lessons about writing every day (like DON'T overwrite)!  Anyway, there are two things that I've taken away from that speech:  to keep moving towards the mountain and to make good art no matter what!  Who knows where that might take me.




Have you watched it?  What did you think?

A Whole 2 Months (and a day)!

I actually meant to post this yesterday but, after Jason cooked me an amazing dinner, I succumbed to a combination of laziness and a new episode of The Marvellous Misadventures of Flapjack!  Luckily I can just change the tense;)

Yesterday Bye Bye Blackbird was a whole two months old.  It may seem like an insignificant occasion to mark but considering I procrastinated about starting this blog for such a long time, I am pretty proud that I have kept it going for two months.  Here’s to many more months of blogging in my future!  Anyway, as a way of celebrating, I thought I would share some of the blogs that inspired me to stake out my own claim on the internet.

Chocolate & Cream Cake

This is one of my very favourite blogs.  Mandy has a feature called Nerd News which I unashamedly look forward to every week.  It provides me with endless nerdy eye candy (aka links to stills from The Hobbit and Star Wars pics).  Thanks for all your comments Mandy...I most definitely appreciate them!

Kyla Roma

This is one of the first blogs that I ever read and I am yet to tire of it.  Kyla Roma is incredibly inspiring and her stories, advice and features make me determined to live a more creative life.  Her dogs are the cutest too.

Sometimes Sweet

Best thing about this blog?  Tattoo Tuesday.  I love, love, love this feature!  As an added bonus, Danielle  always has such interesting posts, the cutest outfits and a beautiful little family.    

Gem Fatale's Style Blog

This girl has seriously great hair and such a unique style.  While I am fairly sure that I can’t pull off half of her outfits, she is definitely an inspiration. 

Glossary

This was the first Durban blog I discovered and I was very excited to find it.  I love Lauren's style, the way she writes and her photos.  Plus, seeing a local girl doing what I was trying to work up the nerve to do was pretty awesome. 

Peppa-Jo Patterns

Before I started Bye Bye Blackbird, I help my mom setup the Peppa-Jo Patterns blog.  I had a lot of fun helping her think up content and playing with the design so I am including it here as the blog that pushed me over the edge!  Thanks mom <3

And there you have it!  If you look to the left of my page, you can find permanent links to Kyla Roma, Chocolate & Cream Cake and Sometimes Sweet.  I am busy putting together a links page which will include everyone else.  Enjoy.