Flashback Friday // That Time I Was Blonde

It's time for another photoshoot flashback! This was April 2008. I had had red hair for 8 months and decided that I should bleach all the red out to lighten my hair even more, to make the red brighter. When I saw it just bleached, I decided I liked it, even though it was so different for me. So for couple months I was a blonde before going back to red.





My Birthday Wishlist

I'm not actually expecting any of these presents from anyone, it's just a wishlist. ;)
But these are three things I would really love. And I might just get for myself someday.

Massage Gift Certificate


I blame my lame cashier job. I spend all day standing, hunched over the cash register and counter, scanning and bagging. Sore shoulders everyday. :(

N64

I think this might be my favorite game console. I've never owned one, but I always loved when I got to play it. I've got a Super NES and PS2 now, but Super NES is quite limited and PS2 doesn't have Nintendo games, like my favorite; Mario Party.

Grey Wolf Spirit Hood

I just love it. And it will keep me warm. I love anything that will liven up my dull Winter.

P.S. My birthday is October 31st, so remember to wish me a Happy Birthday then. :)

Passions

This post is part my own self-realizations and part advice for you, so you might find it interesting. If not, well, I just need to write this for myself...

Do I Know What's Really Important to Me?
I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do in my life. (Notice how I didn't phrase it "What do I want to do for the rest of my life"? Eek- I hate when people ask that question. It's impossible to answer!) I've always been a creative person, working on some sort of project at any given time. So, when I talk about what I want to do in my life, I'm referring to my creative loves; video/filmmaking, cakes/baking, graphic/web design, etc.

I was thinking about current projects I have going on, future plans for them, and new projects I want to start. I quickly came to the realization that one project I have going, that I claim to be important to me, has been almost completely neglected by me. I think about it quite a bit, but I haven't actually done anything for it lately to move it forward, keep it going, or promote it.

I might as well say it; I'm talking about my cake "business", Skullcakes.

I say I love it. I have lots of ideas for it, yet I've had no motivation to make any cakes! This made me realize that I need to re-evaluate my priorities when it comes to my creative projects and what's really important to me.

Realizing My Passions...
I can say with certainty that I loved working on the website for Skullcakes. It consumed my free time for about a week. I genuinely loved putting in the work to make it look awesome and I'm so proud of it.

My best friend, Addie, has recently started her own business, Nature Mama. She asked me for help with her logo and website, etc. I believe this is what would be a big sign pointing out what I'm good at and what I like to do. If your friends come to you for help with something, that something must be what you're good at and they know you'd like to help with. I started brainstorming ideas for her business, with my other friend, Kelsey, who drew her logo. We quickly came to the conclusion that we were marketing geniuses and appointed ourselves Addie's branding and marketing team. (Another big sign that this is what I love to do.)

And, so, these realizations led me to face up to something I've really known for years; I often enjoy the imaging/branding/marketing of a project/idea more than actually having to do that project.

I've always loved creating an image and brand for my own projects. But, now that I've realized maybe those projects aren't so important to me, I can try to find other ways to put those skills & passion to use, like helping Addie with her business.

The first step is figuring out what you love doing. The next step is figuring out how to use those skills & passion for something practical (and, if possible, how to use them to earn money).

What You Want vs. What You Think You Want...
Sometimes not wanting to work hard at something isn't just laziness. It's just not what you want to do. For me, realizing that it's not my laziness stopping me from working on a project, but my lack of passion, has freed up a lot of guilt and creative depression I've had over projects. If you find yourself uninspired and unmotivated to work on something you think you want, it's time to take a step back a re-evaluate what it is you really want and love.

A lot like cleaning out and organizing your home/workspace, I think we need to do some life cleaning once in a while. Just like all that useless stuff you hang onto in your closet, it's time to let go of what you don't need, want or love, so you have more room for the things you really love and want to work on.

I guess the conclusion of all this realization is that I may be letting go of my cake business. (I'm not letting go of the Skullcakes name & logo, though. I'll use it for something, someday.) I still enjoy baking occasionally, and would be willing to make a cake for anyone. I'm still considering making "The Bakestress" instructional videos. But, I think it's time to stop fooling myself and let go of things that I'm not giving my full attention.

Tish.TV DIY // Duct Tape Dress Form

As I recently mentioned, my friend Kim and I made a video of how to make a dress form out of duct tape. We had made one two years ago, but after being asked to write the instructions for BUST magazine, I wanted to make one again. I wanted to make it better than last time so I could actually use it and make a better video for it.
So, we finally did it! It took us/me three different days over two weeks, but I finally finished it off. We had some disasters (insulation foam is the devil), but I've decided my slogan will have to be "Welcome to Tish.TV DIY where I make mistakes, so you don't have to!"
See for yourself how you can make a dress form your exact size with duct tape, newspaper and a very helpful friend!

And just yesterday I got a message from Copper Etiquitte, saying that they featured both Duct Tape Dress Form videos on their blog. That's pretty cool. Take a look.

Oh, for reference, here is our first video. Hopefully you find my new video much more helpful.

I Wrote an Article for BUST Magazine...

I've been dying to share this exciting news since May! I was contacted by an editor at BUST magazine to write a DIY article of how to make a duct tape dress form for the August/September issue. She had seen my video (P.S. A new & improved video is on its way!) and then checked out my blog, and I guess liked them both enough to think I was the girl for the job!
It was such an exciting experience to be contacted by a real-life publication to write for them! Even though it's just a short instructions article, it's such a big deal for me. I can say I've been published!




If you're interested in making your own dress form using duct tape, you can watch my video to see how it's done. But- stay tuned for my new & improved video, which will be much more helpful than the first video and the article. It should be up in a few weeks. :)

There's Something About Mondays Five Year Reunion

Okay, so you probably definitely haven't seen the YouTube show my friends and I made in high school called There's Something About Mondays. So, let me get you up to speed: three girls (with nicknames, LC, BB and Lo) sit in front of a computer (iSight) and talk about stuff, all silly and funny-like, and then dance at the end.
That was when we were 17. I now present us at 22. Not acting as silly, plus one baby, minus one iMac.


There are links at the end of that video to these videos, but if you can't manage to make it through that one, I've put them here for your viewing pleasure.


And then I went through our old footage from our original episodes and found even more goodies that never made it into our shows.



If you're actually interested in seeing the original show, I present our first of ten (well, really seven) episodes.


Okay, so aside from really not caring about me and my friends five years ago, or even now, what did you think?
I know the content's probably not that appealing to you, but this is my first video in a YEAR and my first video edited with Final Cut Express (used to use iMovie). So I'm pretty excited and proud of it/them.
I'm working on editing a DIY video now, so that should be ready in a couple weeks! And then I'm going to start doing Tuesdays with Tish and trying to get some cool people let me interview them!
I'm really shifting my focus to videos, so I apologize for the lack of blogging. I'm still trying to fit it in, but when I get excited about a new creative project, it consumes my life!

Tish.TV

You may have noticed that I've had a link to Tish.TV in my sidebar for a while now, which links to my YouTube channel. But there's nothing about "Tish.TV" on my channel. In fact, I haven't posted a video in nearly a year! So, what's going on?

I'm getting back to making videos! *applause* I can't believe I haven't posted a video since September! That's craziness! I had such a creative slump of a Winter, but over the past few months I've been overflowing with ideas for all sorts of creative projects. I decided to get over my embarrassment of my really old, poor quality camcorder and just go ahead and start making videos. I'm not going to be able to afford a new camera any time soon, so I'm not going to let that stop me from having fun!

I'm sort of "re-inventing" my YouTube channel as Tish.TV. (Clever- I know.) I'm going to be doing interviews with interesting & creative people (artists, musicians, etc), DIY projects, Style videos, baking & cake decorating videos (as The Bakestress), covering Ottawa events & places, and a weekly video called Tuesdays with Tish.

I've got endless video ideas organized in my Evernote that I will hopefully get to eventually, but I do have a few that I'm currently working on...

What you can look forward to from Tish.TV in September...

There's Something About Mondays 5 Year Reunion!!!
What am I talking about, you ask? Back in grade 12, my two best friends and I started making a weekly YouTube show after school. It was basically just us being silly and whatnot, but we (and some friends) found it amusing. I've been wanting to do a reunion episode for a few years now, but for a while we weren't all friends. But now we're all friends again! Yay! And, perfect timing, it's been 5 years! Even if you don't care about the original TSAM, this will be a cute and funny video about us.

Tish.TV DIY // Duct Tape Dress Form (v.2)
Kim and I made a video of how to make a duct tape dress form before, but we never finished them properly and since then, I've been answering so many questions in the video's comments about what it's for and how to improve it. After writing an improved version of the instructions for BUST magazine, I realized it was time that we did it properly on video. We're going to take everything we've learned from the first experience, from watching other videos and our own good ideas to create a more comprehensive and helpful DIY video.

Tuesdays with Tish
I probably will start off doing one every other week, until I get back into the swing of frequent filming & editing and/or I get some viewers who want more of me. ;) I have a very long list of silly things to do for these videos from getting to know me, answering questions & comments, silly how-tos, reviewing, and hopefully the occasional guest! We'll see where this one goes depending on the response I get from people. But with all the crazy ideas I have, I think I'll be happy making these videos whether they get 100 views or 100,000.

I hope you're all excited for some videos! Video has been my main creative outlet since I started when I was 13. I really feel good about this new chapter in my life/YouTube career. I'm getting really serious about creating original content that will attract viewers other than my friends. Up until this point I've almost exclusively made videos by myself, with no help. I'm ready to put myself out there and work with other people on videos. I'm hoping that I'll be able to create a lot of different video content for you and maybe even make some friends for myself along the way. (Did I mention I have no friends?) These are just the beginning of my video ideas and plans, so stay tuned! Good things are coming!

Photoshoot Outtakes

I did a photo shoot the other day to have cute "Bakestress" photos. I wanted a baking-themed photo for my Skullcakes site, and also for "The Bakestress" videos I'm planning. I've just started going through the photos, choosing the best ones to edit and use, but some of them were so hilariously awkward, I had to share.

I'm walking away now...                                                            Oh... My bowl is empty.

What am I doing with this?                                                            Welcome to Baking with Crazies

It's so bright!                                                            Uh... How do I use this thing?

Tish, you're facing the wrong way.                                                            Wrong hand...

And now you know... For every good photo, there are about 10 awkward ones like these. I'm no supermodel. ;)

Flashback Friday // Perfectly Imperfect

I was looking through old photos (longing for my long hair- sigh) and I came across this little photoshoot I did circa October 2009, just before my 20th birthday. I love it because I didn't do my hair or makeup, I just put on my badass wayfarers and leather jacket and rocked out! I just wanted to share these cool photos.







Links & Likes

Audrey Kitching has started doing Video Diaries, showing us her fabulous, fashionable life.

I don't really understand tumblr, it seems like lame alternative to proper blogging, but this tumblr, Fuck Yeah the Universe, has some amazing images...


I love this girl. And I have totally hair envy for her in this video. That's my dream hair.

These boys are too pretty to be in such a cool band. It's usually nerd boys in cool bands, but these guys look like pretty boy models. Where did they find them? An Ambercrombie & Fitch ad? A Cosmo centerfold?

I love these Live the Language videos. Learn some words, see some pretty people and pretty cities. This is Paris. The others can be found here.

Skullcakes

This is what I've been busy working on for the past few weeks! I'm launching a new cake biz! I previously had one with my friend, Kim, but now that's she's moving away, I'm going solo!



Even if you're not a potential customer, please check out the site! I worked really hard on the design and graphics. Not to mention, the cakes!



You could also help me out by liking my Skullcakes Facebook page. I need 25 likes to be able to get a username!

Go Tubing!

I've discovered some great YouTubers recently! Let me take you on a journey of discovery...

It all started with this lovely lady, Marie Forleo. She runs a blog designed the help women entreprenuers be Rich, Happy & Hot. She does a Q & A Tuesday video every week. I had just discovered Marie's website thanks to Gala Darling, and was going back through her videos watching any that peaked my interest. I watched one in which she talked with Michelle Vargas, the young video producer/director/DP/editor who makes all of Marie's videos.


So, I heard Michelle's story and went to check out her YouTube channel(s). One of her channels is Grace n Michelle, made with her hilarious friend, Grace. They had some pretty funny, cute videos.


I went on from that channel, to check out Grace's other channel, Daily Grace. Jackpot! This girl is so hilarious and cute, I watched all of her daily vlogs within a few days. I'm addicted! Grace has the best job in the world. She vlogs for a living. She has been working for MyDamnChannel.com for about three years, vlogging every weekday. I find it amazing that this girl can make so many videos and manage to be original and hilarious every single day.

[This video is hilarious if you pay attention and watch it through to the end. Seriously. You'll get it.]

Also from Grace n Michelle, I found Michelle's boyfriend's channel, idointernet. He's got some pretty hilarious, silly videos as well.


So, I really suggest checking out all of these lovely ladies' (and gentleman's) channels. They're all extremely talented and have something different to offer. But, most of all- check out Daily Grace. It will just make your life better, I guarantee it.

Marie Forelo
Michelle
Grace n Michelle
Daily Grace
idointernet