Martina Mail

I wanted to share a very fun piece of mail I found in my mailbox this year! A little letter/package by Martina from Croatia, one of my favorite and at the moment also one of my only penpals. I love LOVE receiving mail from her, and thought she was worth a blog post!

I actually like not having too many penpals, I feel it's easier to reply in a true manner better, then if you have a gazillion of them. Also my health doesn't allow for too many anyways. So I am very gratefull to have found such a creative and lovely penpal as Martina <3

Pippo's cupcake/cookie workshop

Today me and a friend and her sister ( and a fellow blogger) went to a cupcake, cookie easter design workshop! We actually had never worked with roll fondant before so we wanted to try it out before we bought the stuff and this workshop seemed perfect! I had been looking forward to it for weeks and it was defenitely worth it! I loved !!!!!!!! it.

here is the result! I'm mostly fan of my hippy bunny!

The cupcakes and cookies where pre-baked and we had to pay 5 euro's in advance to enter. I think it's a great way to spend a few hours, I am thinking about organising days like this with some of my own friends. I think it would be great fun!!!! We could pitch together to get more colors and it would be awesome!

Virgin#2

Yet another zine related topic ! Sorry folks but my life is all about zines right now!

I got a mail this week from the author of Virgin zine, saying that she finished Virgin#2

Of course I got really excited since this number has the first piece I have ever written for a zine submission before and I couldn't wait to get it, and the post didn't fail me 2 days later I got it! And here it is VIRGIN#2 an issue full of people's stories on how they see Virginity. I am very proud to be a member of this zine, since it gives a true unique view on the subject of sex and virginity. I am glad I did a piece for it, and I loved reading other people's stories too!

If you want an issue please contact

virginzine@gmail.com

Chronic fatshionista #1

My zine Chronic fatshionista #1 seems to be going okay. I even got a distro offer that I'm working on right now to round up that deal, and I've had some other people show interest in it. For me it's important to get this issue out there because it deals with the beginning of the diagnose of FM and EDS and I think for my of us out there it's a long road to travel before you can find someone that believes you! And that says " hey! We can't heal this bitch, but we can sure help you tame it down"

So anyone else interest in this zine ? Or updates on the next issue please just contact me, I don't bite, specially right now. (Toncilittis)
I'm thinking of either making the next issue about what went on the six years I went without a proper diagnose. The way doctors treated me, friends, family. How I dealt or better how I didn't deal very well with the disbelief, that SURELY will come your way when you have FM.

Wish me luck, that the next issue wont take me months to complete! Also I just got word that Virgin #2 will be coming out soon, I did a little piece for that zine about how I don't think I actually lost my virginity , since it was taken from me at such a young age, I never felt like I had it go give, later in life.

swapbot swap

I am a member of a swapping community called swapbot! if you like swapping, mail packages! Go check it out

And I am involved in a swap to get more viewers on your blog.

Visit my blog & blog about it - Max 20 partners!

This posts is my review post for that swap. it featered a great range of different bloggers! If you're interested in them go check them out! there are some great bloggers on swapbot!

http://consciousness-collection.blogspot.com/
Crafting, traveling, MASKING TAPE!!!!!! do I need to say more ? This is just a very fun blog about bits and pieces, crafting and live! I especially love all the paper references to decotape, ephemera…. A very nice blog go take a look!




Recipies! Fun to read, mom, crafting tips and tricks, swapbot swaps.

http://www.betwixxt.blogspot.com/

A very fun blog, from the layout to the content. A lot of different topics, inspiration , a little herb garden inhabited by a lovely gnome!











A very useful blog! She shows a lot of offsite links to great causes, products, swaps etc. And tutorials people! We all love those!



A great blog for family people and mom's out there! I love that she puts up links for products on diaper covers and cute baby pictures! I'm not a mom myself but I would love blogs like these once I am. And just a great all around life blog!







Giveaways, 5 question fridays, Book reviews <3 Another great blog for a fun read!

http://nasreensthisandthat.blogspot.com/
A very nice and lengthy blog, but a south african blogger! I love that she really puts a lot of effort into her texts, i enjoy reading her entries and I also love the the crafty items she blogs about. It's also nice to read about the life of someone living in south africa! PLUS AMIGURUMI people!!! go read!

http://bpositivebfree.blogspot.com/
I love love love the vintage layout of this blog! Again this is a blogger who puts a lot of effort into her text posts and again i really enjoyed reading some of her entries!

A little quote from her blog that I loved
'When you stumble and fall there's always some way to get back up again. It's just up to you to decide what you will do when you're back on your feet again? Will you succumb to pity or own the situation with strength? My humble stumble really taught me a lesson yesterday. It reminded me that I do have the option to keep going and to push right to the finish. Things may not be perfect. I may fall sometimes. But I don't want to feel sorry about that. I want to be thankful for the opportunity to become stronger because if it.'

http://beastybeast.blogspot.com/
A blog after my own heart, one that speaks the truth and doesn't filter anything out! Speaks about depression, life, tattoo's and baking! I think this blog is high on my love list, just because it reminds me a bit of many per zines out there! A great read!








Voor mij een heel leuke blog omdat ze zowel in het Nederlands als in het Engels blogt!
For me this is a very fun blog because she blogs in dutch as well as english!
Blogging about swaps, recipes , product reviews and creativity!

just a quick outfit update, threw this together to go out shopping, having icecream, enjoying the sun int he city yesterday.

Lush review: mask of mangaminty

Everyone who reads my blog, will probably know that I am a huge fan of lush products! Not only are they good for the enviroment, they don't test there problems on animals and it's just really good for your skin! Especially, people like me who have a sensitive and difficult skin.

Mask of magnaminty

Boy does this mask stick to it's name, it smells like the most delicious peppermint scent. At first it feels really cool on your skin. i keep mine in the fridge, but since this isn't a 'fresh' mask, you can keep it in a normal place as well.

Slowly you'll start to feel the tingle and burn of the pepperminth and you can just feel your skin getting treated by this wonderfull mask.

You'll look like a monstor of the lagune, but for me this just ads to the apeal of the mask. After rinsing it off with luke warm water, and making

circles on my skin, since this mask has a bit of a build in scrub as well. I felt my skin and it's

extremely soft now, and it feels so clean! Defenitly worth it to check it out! And since t

his isn't a mask you use everyday, it's a nice buy and lasts a long time. I bought the small pot. Since I am only using it on my face, but it's also great for your neck and back! I might try this out on a really warm day to cool down my skin!

All in all another great lush product to add to my growing lush collection!

Bag love

As many of you, I am a bag NUT I love bags! I love them in all sorts and sizes. And when I find one it's usually love at first sight! The same with this little beauty it's a tiny bag, 25 cm long, from I Am. I love love love it! Only 19,95 € of course I had to buy it! After I kept fluttering back to it while being at the store. I literally hugged it all the way home!

My perfect little, summer bag, It holds my wallet, cellphone, lipstick, ipod and medication purrfectly ;)

Lecture by Rob Hornstra

Just got home from a lecture by this man (see above) a Dutch artist, from the Netherlands, that does documentary photography, combined in books, with several different , graphic designers, writers etc... It was an interesting lecture since he spoke a lot about how he got to be a selfpublishing author, he talked about crowdfunding and also about in-takers.

So he would just ask people in advance if they wanted to take part in his book before it was published, he got the money for the book, managed to get a fund to publish it and the people in return got there names published in the book itself. It's actually a very smart way to work if you think of it. You reward the people that believe in your book, you boost there ego, and in the mean time you gather the neccesairy capital to get your book out there!

He also talked about his work as a photographer, the different projects he was involved in and how he worked. What he said about not wanting to please his subjects was interesting. He gave the example of a famous Dutch actor, that he wanted to get photographed in a certain angle, but that Rob wasn't interested in those kind of pictures, so he actually pissed the man of to get the photograph he wanted. Arogant people need to be photographed arogant... it's how he sees it. And as an artist point of view I do agree, but my human side isn't so much into that way of working, I do believe in building up a relationship with your subjects /Clients.

http://www.borotov.nl/ ------ His website

He also talked about the importance of blogging in the artist industrie, and this I am a huge fan of, getting featured in a blog is so much better, publishing wise, then getting featured in a local newspaper, blogs just reach a bigger public.

Blog readers

Hey followers, readers, hidden creepers....

I have noticed a lot of new faces around here lately, this has something to do with a swapbot swap I am doing, more about that later. I just wanted to say " Hi" And tell you a bit about this blog. On the outside it looks like a very fun and normal , craft/food/shoplog/fashion blog, but you'll learn that there's always more then meets the eye with me. You will find posts about FM and my battle with chronic illness, or the fact that I had a rough childhood. But all in all i try to keep the 'heavy' stuff for my zines. And keep my blog happy , but real!

I hope you enjoy reading and fell free to get in touch me with about anything and everything you want!

Love
Kaatje

cupcakes

These cupcakes where so yummy, I should make them again! I just made some normal vanilla cupcake batter and added some almond powder and almond essence. Then I put a layer of the batter in the cup and then added a teaspoon of peach marmelade., filled the rest with batter, baked for 25 minutes and then let cool, adding a icing of powdersugar and a little bit of lemon juice.... DELISH!