Locketship Mad Tea Party Collection with original artwork by Amber Renee (of Miseducated). This set will be featured alongside Marialia‘s new Wonderland Collection in Fashion Week Los Angeles at Project Ethos LA (9107 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 450 Beverly Hills, CA) on Friday, March 19 2010.
Stay tuned in to Miseducated for more sneak peeks and information about getting your hands on these Collections in the future!
Crocheting is quite a fun and addictive hobby, unlike knitting it seems like the sape possibilities and graphics are endless, it’s just perfect for crafting little plushes (amigurumi) and graphic designs.
I’ve become addicted to both knitting and crochet living in cold, cold Indianapolis and even more so now with a baby on the way. I can’t imagine all the rainbow kitty afgan cuteness that will erupt!
So how do you do it? Not sure where these notes originated from, possibly Craftster, but they’re quite useful for new cute-crochet lovers!
Such a beginner you still can’t get it? A great way to learn crocheting and knitting skills is to watch tutorials online, you can pause and take as long as you want.
The Hello Kitty pattern is quite elusive, it takes a bit of a search to find it. The book is out of print, hard to find and expensive. If we simply learn to crochet Hello Kitty to scale and the rest of the granny square the possibilities are endless! They seem to attach the white head to quite a lot of the projects, so this is absolutely necessary to learn for any crochet kittiness.
“To love what you do and feel that it matters–how could anything be more fun?”
– Katharine Graham
In Part One of this series we learned how to target our dream careers and in Part Two we sussed out the skills required to start achieving it. In Part Three we are going to focus on increasing your appetite and ability for learning, and how this translates into a fulfilling career.
It is a common, often subconscious, belief that learning stops when you remove yourself from a traditional academic environment – be that school, college or university. But, for your dream career, this is absolutely not the case. You should always look at your career as a path, not simply a destination (if you saw the movie ‘Click’ then you’ll know the danger in that!)
However, this doesn’t mean you should constantly be striving ahead, rather than being content where you are – it is actually quite the opposite, it’s knowing that, when you reach a milestone, it is not the be all and end all, but merely a glorious bonus in a tapestry that stretches far beyond and around it.
When we stop learning, or being open to learning, in many ways we stop trying, we stop feeling challenged, we stop being creative and hopeful in our work, and therefore that work becomes dull, wearing, and a slog. Life is a continuous puzzle, and it should always be that way. The moment you feel you have it all sussed is the moment life becomes monotonous.
When thinking about learning within the framework of your dream career, it is necessary to look backwards as well as forwards – what type of learning got you to where you are now? What is the best direction to take the results of that learning?
Got a conventional education? Fantastic.
Just because you did what everyone said was the ‘sensible’ thing and got a qualification, doesn’t mean you aren’t still destined for a creative and unconventional career path. Standard curriculum education may have its faults, but it also has many benefits.
Take a wider look at your education – what has it taught you beyond the course title? Have you gained confidence, people skills, and a power for problem solving? If you start to look, you’ll realise there may be far more to your education than you thought, and you may start to see how those skills can transfer into a more creative, ‘designed’ career.
Not got a conventional education? No problem!
Learning is a personal journey, and it is certainly not found strictly within the confines of a classroom, or out of a traditional textbook. Find a genuine love for learning and you will find there are many avenues for self-education.
The likelihood is that you have built a wealth of real-life experience in place of a conventional education, and this can be just as much, if not more, value to your self-fashioned career than you think.
Learning comes in different formats. Learning can be alive and interactive and exciting – not just dusty equations on a blackboard. Learning is a frame of mind and, when you start to illustrate and intertwine your dream career into your life, you’ll realise there are lessons to be found all over the place.
Books – Fiction and non-fiction, books are perhaps the most straightforward way of gaining new insights within your field. Aim to read at least a book a month that is relevant to/impacts your career.
Internet – It’s easy to take the internet for granted, but we have more knowledge literally at our fingertips than we have ever had before. Take advantage of that.
Museums – Our culture, our ideas and our businesses are all built on our history, so educating yourself about the world you come from is a great tool for shaping the world you want for yourself.
Art Galleries – It is important to feel we are learning creatively just as much as it is to feel we are ingesting facts and figures. Gaining inspiration or knowledge from any creative medium can really help to inspire various elements of your career.
Film – Not merely a brain-dead way to pass a Saturday evening with a bucket of sweet or salted, cinema is a powerfully animated tool for teaching yourself about various careers, cultures, continents and more.
Music – Music and its history tells a story, it arouses our creative side and it is a thoroughly pleasurable way to learn about the world, so you’ve got no excuse to avoid it!
Travel and Real Life Experiences – These are perhaps the most valuable ways of learning as they remove you from your comfort zone, challenge you, and ultimately teach you about yourself.
People – That’s right, actual conversation and the ability to listen will pay dividends in almost any career. Always strive to learn from the people in your life, new and old; they have first-hand experiences you may never get the chance to live yourself.
Short, evening or residential courses – If you like the group learning environment then there are courses available within almost any niche. If you haven’t got the time or opportunity to physically attend courses, e-courses are becoming more and more popular.
Community Events – Getting involved in community events is the perfect way to tie together all kinds of forms of learning and, hopefully, build your career.
So where does love come into all of this? Well, if you truly love your career, then an inherent hunger for improving within it is a given, and this is just another way of learning. Your dream career should feel fluid, organic and always fresh and exciting; that’s when you keep your appetite for it; that’s when you love it; and that is only achieved when you are open to learning.
The next and final part of this series will be all about making your passion pay – how to earn an income from doing what you love – so don’t miss out.
So, you were lounging around in a comfy dress and ran right into your incense? You went out dancing and your best friends cigarette went missing for a second? It happens!
Luckily there are always cute ways to snazz up a boring dress or to repair a fallen dress. Mine is a lounge dress I got for my pregnant-belly, but you could use any number of dresses.
A simple method, and the one shown in the tutorial here, is to cut shapes out of a contrasting color iron-on-patch and iron it on.
Other great replacements would be pompons, sequins, embroidery, cute beads or handmade patches! Make your own patch by cutting favorite designs out of tshirts or painting a blank iron-on patch. The possibilities are endless if you have the creativity. I can’t wait to see how you use this method!
It’s easy for us to feel down with the daily grind of life. Especially if you’re working a full time job or constantly busy with school. It’s important to keep individuality in your life, regardless of your hectic schedule. It brightens up your world and makes you feel a little cheerier. So, what should you do?
Update your wardrobe, and don’t be afraid of color. Sometimes when I peer into the depths of my closet all I see is black, gray, and more black. Color is your friend, even if you’ve got the professional hat on. Don’t be afraid to buy something that catches your eye. If you’ve got a uniform to wear, put on some bright nail polish or find some lovely under things.
Change your hairstyle. Cut? Color? Go for it. Hair grows out so don’t be afraid to do what you want with it. One of the best confidence builders you can get is a great hair day.
Are you a hard working student? Get yourself some adorable school supplies. Check out Kawaii Gifts!
Keep a little journal with you to write down all the positive things that happen in your life. You can keep another one to vent too, but keep it separate. This one’s all about the positive. You can even write yourself little love notes to read on a rainy day.
Make like a Japanese school girl and give your cell phone a makeover. Check out Strapya World.
Start working some leg wear into your attire. Take a peek at Sock Dreams.
Find a pen pal. Send each other letters and cute little things in the mail. Instant day brightener.
Plan out your meals a little better. Working hard, being starving when it’s time for lunch, resorting to some greasy fast fast food & then feeling awful about it is an ultimate mood killer. Don’t skip breakfast either! Maybe it’s time to get into the art of bento boxes.
Clean out your life! Get rid of everything you don’t need. Donate! Your first assignment: clean out your wardrobe. Get rid of everything you don’t wear. This makes room for all your colorful updates.
Stop focusing so much on “practical” and “sensible” 24/7 and start caring more about what makes you happy. Don’t let things stand in the way of your joy! Happiness is the secret to life, after all.
When I first talked with Aunty Yochana I was absolutely charmed, her appreciation for food (namely sweets!) and the aesthetic decadence of it was so inspirational. Always having been addicted to sweets and cuteness (my sweet tooth is deadly!) I was immediately drawn to her and her love of expressing herself by creating mouthwatering masterpieces.
I couldn’t wait to know her secrets and of course I had to ask if I could share them with you as well, with these on your cake platter (don’t forget to adorn with raspberries and macarons as well!) you’ll make quite an impression. Tea party anyone?
90 gm. fried glutinous rice flour
10 gm. wheat starch
30 gm. shortening
40 gm. powdered sugar
200 gm. ice-cream soda or 7-up
a little pandan (green), pink and lemon yellow food coloring
600 gm. lotus paste
30 gm. melon seeds
* convert grams here
1. Sift the glutinous rice flour and wheat starch into a mould.
2. Add in icing sugar and shortening and mix till thoroughly mixed.
3. Pour in ice-cream soda and mix into a soft pliable dough.
4. Divide dough into 4 portions. Add colouring to each portion, leaving one portion white.
5. Place each dough between plastic sheets and roll into a rectangular flat piece of the same size. Stack the dough on top of one another, then roll into a swiss roll.
6. Cut into 6 equal pieces. Divide the lotus paste fillings into 6 portions.
7. Roll the spiral part into a flat piece and wrap with lotus paste filling. Press into a mooncake mould then knock out.
8. Chill before serving.
“No one can ever duplicate your personality, the way you do business and your attitude towards other people.” – Problogger
Having been recently approached by well-known companies about Miseducated, I began wondering, “should I begin to write more seriously?” I’d always used my artist blog to write professional articles about Indianapolis.. and Miseducated was always used as my true self — how I act with my close friends. I often make up words and expressions all the while using slang, jargon and nonsense. My articles here are all that stands of my ‘blogging life’ anymore, but I wonder, should I tone down my character a bit?
Then I decided that’s what Miseducated is, being true to your self. Experiencing your life to the fullest.
I could always write less personally, but if I did that then I’d have changed everything I enjoy about what I do. I have written many serious pieces in the past both for education and personal purposes, they sit for months unnoticed in a folder marked ‘work’ and rarely see light. (I insisted as an undergrad that I could not write yet my professors adored everything I churned out.) I get bored easily and I must be doing what fuels my creativity. Thoughts onto paper. Sometimes unorganized thoughts onto paper but nevertheless, honesty and personality.
Go ahead and start a blog for hobby or sheer entertainment, see where it goes. In this amazing world wide web we all have the opportunity to publish our thoughts and work, if you catch the eye of others it can be endlessly shared and enjoyed around the world.
Working Girls by Gala Darling
7 Reasons Why Personal Blogs Rock at Problogger
Adding a Personal Touch to Your Blog at Problogger
Ever lounging with friends at home and whip out coloring books? It’s a collective moment where everyone (no matter how dazed) can relax and focus on colors and (usually) cheerful illustrations. I enjoy doing this with my friends while listening to music or watching tv and also at parties. Coloring pages can be fun at any age~
Sailor Moon, Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears are all copyrighted characters.
In order to focus on the positive aspects of my life, one of my main goals (and a tough one to tackle most of the time) is to get rid of the negativity in my life. As you know, negative can come in many, many forms and a lot of these forms are out of your control. Negative thoughts are sneaky little devils, creeping into our minds and trying with great persistence to lead us away from the positive. And, unfortunately, once we open the door to one negative thought, a bunch of others seem to sneak in.
So how can you stop the negativity from taking over? Here are some things I try to remember when I’m tempted to embrace negative thoughts:
Negativity is boring. For most people, it is easier to be negative than it is to be positive. Most people give into (and, in fact, often embrace) negativity, and end up giving up negativevibes. Their attitudes and actions become negative. If you are thinking negatively, you are like so many other people — taking the easy path. The easy path is not only uninteresting, but it is also detrimental to your well-being (even though, at the time, it may feel satisfying to giveinto that negative emotion or thought).
Negativity is unattractive. People like happy people; it’s a fact. Would you rather be around someone who is grumpy and moping and complaining or would you rather spend time with someone who is uplifting and always looking for the good in a situation? Exactly. People don’t want to be around negative people so you will be a lot more popular (with others and with yourself) if you keep a positive attitude.
Negativity is pointless. Being negative does not get you anywhere. There is absolutely nothing to be gained from looking at the negative side of things. While the positive may, at times, be idealistic, it forces your brain to think about happiness and increases the positivity in your emotions and actions. Thinking negatively does not. It does absolutely nothing for you, so why do it?
Negativity is tiring. Think about about happy thought. Now think about a sad one. Which thought was more draining? Emotionally and physically, thinking negatively can take it’s toll on our minds and bodies. While it sometimes feels like the easier thought to embrace, the more negative thought will ultimately cause more harm than good because it will allow your mind to be open to other negative thoughts. One negative thought can lead to another and before you know it, you are emotionally drained from thinking thoughts that make you upset, sad, or angry.
Negativity is time-consuming. Even though a lot of the time it is a negative thought jumps to the forefront of our minds, it actually takes a lot more time to think about things from a negative perspective. For example, if you allow yourself to think about what might go wrong in a situation, it’s very likely that your mind will wander to all of the other possible scenarios in which something could go wrong. You will then begin to worry about those scenarios and attempt to think about ways to solve potential problems. You will have spent time stressing about situations that may or may not happen — all because you let in one negative thought. Not only will you be wasting time and emotional energy, but you are also allowing yourself to live too much in the future, a place that is completely unknown and completely unworthy of your worrying thoughts.
Now that we’ve looked at some of the reasons not to be negative, let’s think about some ways to avoid negativity. One way is to concentrate on your thoughts and emotions and take control of them. Focus on remaining positive and living in the present moment. For more on these, see my post on mindfulness. Another way to avoid negativity is to communicate with others. As I have mentioned, clear communication often avoids conflicts and avoiding conflicts can avoid reasons to stray into negative territory. In addition, negativity can be avoided by having something positive to focus on other than your thoughts. If you like to walk, take a walk. If you have a favorite TV show, watch it. If you have a friend who always cheers you up, call him or her. Sometimes the easiest way to avoid the negativity creeping into your life is to distract yourself from it. There is a fine line between distracting yourself and ignoring a problem, but if you are certain the negative thoughts will not lead to a productive understanding of a situation, person, or problem (which is most often the case), it is best to avoid the thoughts altogether.
Negativity can be hard to escape. Not only do we have our own minds to contend with, but we must deal with those around us who can be negative, we must tackle negative environments or situations, and we must deal with negative images in the media. However, there are many ways to avoid negativity. Whether it is removing yourself from a situation or taking the time to think about your own viewpoint, removing (or, at the very least, lessening) negativity is an essential step to embracing a positive life.
Valentine’s Day, an excuse for us to spoil the ladies in our lives most often and also the men. If you’re feeling lonely this Valentine’s Day do something fun with someone you love, no matter who it is. Brighten their day and they’ll brighten yours! I almost think Valentine’s Day is just a little reminder for us to be more thoughtful to each other (and to be overwhelmed by hearts and candy).
Lucky for me I have an unhealthy obsession to hearts (it was the first thing I learned to draw as a toddler!) because my birthday happens to be the day before Valentine’s Day — which means eating out at two nice (and Japanese) restaurants and getting way too many (impossible!) hearty gifts.
So no matter what you do this Valentine’s Day enjoy a heart-shaped lollipop in a pink champagne bubble bath just for you.
Valentine Soda a Valentine favorite! (xoxo, Amber Renee & Ashley Galliher)
Carbonated beverage
Strawberry sorbet (or ice cream)
Whipped cream
Strawberry preserves
Dispense ginger ale or any carbonated drink above strawberry ice cream in tall glass and top with whipped cream and strawberry preserves.
Valentine Omelet (ala Doe Deere)
Tomato & Mozarella Valentine’s Day Omelet (to surprise your sweetie in the morning)
Makes enough for 2.
Mix 3 eggs, a cup of milk and a pinch of salt together
Pour mixture onto the hot, lightly oiled pan
Slice cherry tomatoes in halves and arrange them in a pattern (feel free to make a heart, a smiling face, etc.)
Sprinkle shredded cheese (such as mozzarella) on top. Season with dried or fresh basil & pepper.
Cook under the lid for 4-5 minutes.
Serve on a contrast plate (I got mine at Target).
Heart Pumps & Shoe Lust ala Audrey
Shabby and Sweet by Papercakes
Open Letters to my Heart from Glass of Win
Customize your Accessories with Doe Deere
Pink Box
Cupcake Store Online
Celebrate Valentine’s Day Without Spending Money
Raising Emotionally Healthy Children
Valentine’s Day on the Cheap
Life & love require experience… or just let Miseducated writer Michelle Shea Walker lend you hers.
Experience Preferred
One of the best things about Valentine’s Day (in my opinion) is the abundance of pink, red and heart themed specials online and offline everywhere.
Find love in Pet Society, Country Story, Restaraunt City and Hello Kitty Online
Twinkiechan‘s lovely Valentines
Sugarpill Launch (code: “hello15” for 15% off your order through Valentine’s Day)
Hello Kitty Valentine
Lime Crime (code: “bemyvalentine” for 10% off your entire order)
Valentine’s Day at fredflare
Life on lovely days.
Original electronic music to soar to.
Audrey Kitching’s handpicked goodies and one of a kind merchandise in an adorable shop online.
Support Miseducated
Indie businesses and non-profit organizations can take advantage of targeted advertising for Miseducated viewers.
Tease
Miseducated is going to be offering hand-painted tees for a limited time. Miseducated members will get first pick and the remaining shirts will be sold online.