Scoutie Girl

Chair and wagon photos by Heather Gardner
Three bears revisited print by Sarah Jane Studios
Spring gardening apron by Made Together
earringsby Jujulee
Abandoned Art House by Mile Marker 13

lots & lots of amazing comments this week! you guys have really kept me on my toes with my goal to reply to all (ok, most) of them. thank you! want to know more about what writing great comments can do for you? check out my post here and it’s follow-up, here.

your comments are truly appreciated. and when a few comments start a conversation? i get all giddy! thank you so much for taking the time to invest a little piece of yourself in scoutie girl. here are a few of my favorite tidbits from this week:

sewing machine pin by neogranny – found through a great comment!

new storque article

Tara, I did what I said, grabbed that hot tea and sat down for some reading. I took notes on what you had to say and once I get my new product line launched, I will hopefully be able to establish more of a brand and eventually participate in a show. I think you are right about building your brand first. I’d love to be someones etsy/blog crush one day! Thank you for all of your tips. And of course love Megan’s blog.
– natalie, love natalie

the art & business of crafting your online self.

Tara, thank you for sharing all of this information! For 2010, I wanted to increase my blog readers and get them to interact more. According to stats, I have lots more readers but so few comment. I’m still trying to find my own niche in blogging, but I do feel that I am on the right track by blogging / sharing what I know, what I like, what I’d like to know, and not try to be something / someone that I’m not. If I continue on that path (and I have since I started blogging), and put more of your tips to work, I think I’ll see more results this year.
– lana, simple joys paperie

Thank you so much for your insight into cyberspace. This medium of communication and social networking is so unfamiliar to me. As I get more involved in it, I find that remembering that you are not just typing words out into the great unknown is easy to loose sight of. The truth is that what you type is as important to who you are- as what you say in person.

Defining a cyberself is another great way to put your best foot forward walking towards the person you want to become, and redefining the person you are.

Thanks for saying it out loud.
– liza, 41park

diving lady necklace by neogranny

outfitting your coffee addiction

In a time when people are trying to curb their coffee addictions, I’m pleased you’re highlighting such excellent coffee swag. A Simon and Garfunkel lyrics paired with coffee art? I’m sold!
– elizabethspace

bowling girl necklace by neogranny

inspired by alice in wonderland

i loved your blog before but NOW you’ve made my day – wonderful pictures. thank you for making me smile, it’s brought back a very happy childhood memory of a dress my mum made for me when i was about 8 years old, based on alice’s pinafore dress
– vicky, soapstarcanada

Oh these images are so delicious! I never liked the disney version of Alice as a child, and I rediscovered the book in my late teens. Tenniel’s illustrations have such a wonderful weirdness to them that the Disney film just completely missed the spirit of….not so the superbly twisted Burton however! I am drooling with anticipation to get a closer look at the fashion and the environments created for this fantasy of a film. The previews have got my mind simply buzzing with ideas of pretty and fantastic fripperies to make! Thanks so much for sharing these images…I especially adore that first one.
– hope ava, the french mouse

thanks again for all the wonderful comments this week! i’ll see you right back here on monday. don’t forget to be a rockstar this weekend!

Let me announce a new series here, on Scoutie Girl: With Love from Europe. The basic idea is to travel around the old continent, and to get to know this multicultural place a little better while I share my experiences I collected over the years in most of the European countries. So fasten your seat belt: our first trip is going to be to the place I know the best, which is my home, Hungary.

alphabet journal by artractions

This not so big – rather small – country in the middle of Europe is blessed with a very difficult language: some say that it is the 3rd most difficult language in the world. I guess we are right after Japanase and Chinese. We not only have a hard-to-learn language, but weird eating habits. We eat poppy seeds with pasta: it is a delicacy. We also eat – a sort of – cottage cheese with chocolate: a delicacy that practically everyone in the country loves. (OK, there maybe some people who might not like it, but they are weird.) It is called Turo Rudi, which would be Cottage Rudolph in English. On the top of it all: we have sweet soups (not delicacy) mostly made of sour cherry. Once I had the chance to cook sour cherry soup for Spanish and Brittish people: they were astonished by the sight of a pink colored soup. As you might have noticed by now: Hungarians love their tummies, and I think this is one of our main characteristics … or just mine? Whatever.

dog leash by davir

Budapest, Hungary by panoramas on Flickr

I could talk about how beautiful the country’s capital Budapest is, or how many famous Hungarians are there in the world, but you can google this, right? (For those, who are interesetd in the bare facts, here is the relevant
Wikipedia article about Hungary.) Instead, I want to give you a practical tool to the Hungarian soul: so here is a list about how to recognize if someone is Hungarian, even if he/she speaks fluently another language. (This list is written by Hungarians as far as I know.)

leather flower bag by farragobags

Typical house in Budapest by David Prando on Flickr

1. When the person uses sour cream more than ketchup.

2. When you ask if the person still believes that Santa Claus brings the presents on the night between December 24th-25th… then the person answers somehow confused that Santa Claus brings the presents on the 6th of December and it is actually Little Jesus who brings the presents on Christmas.

3. When the person leaves his/her house for longer than 2 hours, and he/she makes sure there’s enough sandwiches, apples, bottled tap water, coffee in a thermos, and chocolate bars packed for everyone to survive (without spending a dime)! (Remark: Absolutely true!)
4. When the person calls a 79 km long lake (the Balaton) the Hungarian Sea.
5. When the person does not speak with his/her mouth full.
6. When the person thinks (or thought in his/her childhood), that eating lots of carrot makes you whistle nicely.
7. If the person says “dustkittens” instead of dustbunnies.
8. When the tales do not end with “…they lived happily ever after”, but “they lived happily until they died”.
9. When the person wants to give his/her seat to every old person on the public transportation.
10. When the person’s language has two words for love.

art doll by
mankabymonika

so yesterday, i took an hour out from what has become a completely crazy work schedule to begin purging my wardrobe. i did this to 1.) be more organized & neat – for my husband and 2.) to build a good foundation for some fashion revamping.

sadly, my style hasn’t changed much since college. i like to be comfortable and tend towards plain colors and few accessories. i’m always a bit self conscious when i go to a show to see some of you fabulous people – you’re so cute and funky with your style… i’d like to wave a wand, get a touch of that eye for fashion, and a dollop of that confidence! so if you have that kind of wand or know i spell – definitely keep me in mind.

but since my magic skills are lacking, i’m just going to have buy some new pieces from fabulous shop like minx shop. minkie, the designer, says, “I’ve been inspired by exploration, adventure, and my life here in Pennsylvania where vintage stores and antique malls abound.” these pieces are all so put together but mostly made from jersey – my favorite fabric in the whole wide world.

these (especially that tunic at the top!) are definitely on my list. what other shops should i check out for this wardrobe redo?

i find myself unbelievably inspired and in awe of the stunning makeup, styling and photography behind tim burton’s new movie, alice in wonderland. it’s not out for another week yet i have these terrible longing pains every time i think of how badly i want to watch it.

so i went searching. and look what i found…

young photographer brandon christopher warren has inspired me beyond belief. get acquainted with him and his work on flickr, facebook and twitter.

editor’s note: i know a lot of you are inspired by alice in wonderland right now. share your links in the comments!