why Instagram is so much more than pretty pictures
I just realised that the freaking amazing thing about Instagram is that it's a whole lot more than itself.
Huh?
When I talk to people, who are my Instagram friends, and my real-life friends, they get what I'm talking about. You might not be an Instagram person, so I wanted to explain it a little more to you. What Instagram really is!
Yesterday someone said to me that Instagram is for the kids, she meant teenagers. And yeah, for sure IG is for the kids, the teenagers. But so much more than that. Oh golly. SO.MUCH.MORE.
This is why I think you *need* to come along to the IG talk I'm hosting as part of Creative Business Talks. Some of the reasons anyway. I'd be here forever if I shared all the reasons. So I'm narrowing to the main reasons. Mostly they come from what I get out of my personal experience with IG, and from what I've seen other people get out of it. And what we all put it.
1. It's fun. So fun. Part of the best gang.group.club ever. But there's no horrible initiation rituals, there's only a whole lot of lovin'. For sure. Don't believe me? Join up to IG now and find out for yourself.
2. You'll meet people. Yep, like old fashioned penpals. Except you can say good night to these people with sweet thoughtful and lovely messages, and someone on the other side of the world will get it when they wake up in the morning. Or even your friend up the road who you haven't run into for a few days.
3. Every single day you'll be inspired. Not only by the amazing beautiful interesting unusual stunning images that people share - from everywhere, all over, all walks of life and all parts of the world - but by what you put into it. By what you give. It makes me think about my daily adventures in an excellent way. I want to share the beautiful in my life with others, and that makes me *see* it more clearly. {And no, it's not about ignoring the mess of life, or hiding the truth, or pretending we're all superhumans. It's about seeing the beauty in everyday}.
4. You'll get some great contacts that may or may not turn into customers / clients / collaborators / connections / cool fun people (that one yep, the cool fun people bit will happen for sure!).
5. People will support you. Having a bad day - let people know and they'll send you love. I know it - it's happened to me. A simple heart and x from one of my IG friends is sometimes the biggest thing that gets me going. There'll also be a lot of love for things you make. People are supportive and friendly and caring and sharing.
6. You have a record anywhere you carry your phone of all those inspiring things you do and make. You can show people what cool stuff you do and make. You can keep a collection for yourself, in a really cool and easy to access spot, of the cool-eo stuff you make, do, see....
Please send questions or comments. I know some of you may not be IG converts, but I'm on a mission to help us all find the beauty-full in every day and share that with our IG friends.
Ready to sign up? Book here for our workshop.
*All of these images are used with kindest thanks from the IG stream of Ally, IG Sapa, who blogs over here at everyday miracles. Check out her Instagram feed for so much more than floral love.
Insta-Love :: beauty & inspire
I started this week's Insta-Love with a notion to have a theme running through all my images. Hmmmm - something like endless Summer, or pink or black/white..... nope. I realised the theme is beauty and inspire - that's what I get from my Instagram feed; I visit to see beauty and be inspired.
:: beauty :: inspire ::
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| Chibi Instagram |
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| Meghan Plowman blog / Instagram |
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| willwamwhimsy instagram |
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| Infusion blog / Instagram |
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| Perennial blog / Instagram |
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| Miso blog / Instagram |
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| Edward and Lilly blog / Instagram |
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| Foxs Lane blog / Instagram |
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| Coriander Girl blog / Instagram |
I hope you find these images inspiring. I've included the blog links of those I know. I find Instagram a wonderful springboard for finding more amazingness to visit online.....
Insta-Love
{above} top left: stitch & hammer. top right: emmagracehawtrey
bottom left: alfalky. bottom right: melissagreenmachine
{above} top left + bottom left: paperrunway.
top right: sundaypeach. bottom right: nionioloppis
It's no secret that I'm a complete Instagram
addict. If you've not yet joined in, then please please do anything you
can to jump in. If you don't have a suitable phone, you can follow
along online (it's a bit harder, and not as immediately connective, but
you still get to see all the pretty pictures.... Check it out here.)
I
do all this "liking" on my IG feed, but never go and re-look at those
liked pictures. I've been wondering what's with all the like like like
like and then flip on to the next image. Sometimes of course I stop and
look at one image for a short while; but in reality that only means a
few moments longer than seconds. Let's be honest here - Instagram is
about change and we're given the freedom, in fact encouraged, to be
fickle and swipe on through to the next pretty picture. It's easy. Quick
quick quick!!!
But
some pictures I really really Like. More than like sometimes. And I
want to "keep" them, as much as one can actually keep an image. Longer
than in my mind. With that keeping I want to keep memory of who made the
image, and what they might have been doing/feeling/thinking.
So
- I take a screen snapshot of those images. The ones that really speak
to me. I want to share them here with you, and for me to have as memory.
I've also started a pin board with my insta-Love
if you want to follow along there, or if you'd like to pin your
favourite Insta-Love images there, I'd love to see them (send me an
email and I can invite you to add images: ellieabeck (AT) hotmail (DOT)
com).
{above} top left: sarah_cocolapine. top right:ksears.
{above} top left: darlingmagazine. top right: singthenoises.
bottom left: ingridweir. bottom right: beebees80
{above} left: hindmatar. right: paperrunway.
You can find everyone's websites/blog links from their Instagram profile, if you click over there.
You can find my Instagram feed (online) over here, or search me @petalplum
Can't wait to see / hear about your favourite IG 'peeps. And maybe, if you're so inclined I'd love to hear your thoughts on IG land and why is has such a grip on you, or why you don't care about it..
Happy Saturday to you friends!
We have the fire burning tonight - the first fire of the season, as it's been raining again today.
xxxx E
happy making
I decided yesterday that I needed some happy making happen'.....
So - I washi-taped some little bottles. I coloured the water with paint. I gathered some flowers and the most wonderful moss, lichen, mushroom covered twigs. And I made some happiness.
{These moss covered sticks are all around in my garden. Whole trees covered with them. Wonderfulness. I saw something similar in a magazine once; these things sell at specialised city florists for $5 a teeny branch. It's like buying tumbleweed from a shop, or bamboo..... Not that I have tumbleweed, but oh do we have bamboo. If you want some - come and ask!}
I also made some little happiness bags and pouches. Pure goodness these are. Heart swelling happiness. The making of them was fun. The looking at them. And then the possibilities of what else they evolve into. That's super good. I'm learning that being creative is creative inducing - you need to make to be able to keep making. Sometimes the making isn't neat.good.art.your best, but that doesn't matter, because it makes more making happen.
So - happiness is easy to make. If you only try. The process of the making was happiness in itself, but the having and looking at and enjoying. That's pure happiness. Yah to finding some happy on these rainy, dismal days.
It's Thursday. So, here's to Our Creative Spaces today.
And in other SUPER exciting wonderful happiness making news. Look where I'm being *featured* this week - one of Brisbane's Finest Intagramers on The Weekend Edition! Super YAH!!
hooked! addicted!
Despite telling other people (myself really!), that I don't have an addictive nature. I think I do.........
umm...........
:: addicted ::
while I haven't been around these blog-parts lately, I've been in Insta-land. I've made some new friends over there, and deepened relationships with others (who I made in this here blog-land). As it so happens - both Jacqui and I now know that our daughters have the same Barbie doll, yet in different colours!
You know what, I've also taken some really cool photos in Insta-land. Some I really love! I think, seeing as how it's my blog and all, I'm allowed to blow my own trumpet about how good the photos are.
Also - I'm having a relationship with my husband on Instagr.am. We 'like' each others pictures, sometimes he's in the kitchen and I'm on the verandah - a mere metre away from each other. Isn't technology good!
I'm sending all my photos to flickr, if you want to see them. Or over here, as well. Or, if you have one of 'those phones', you can follow me. If you want........ And then we can be Insta-addicted together!
:: hooked ::
a couple of weeks ago, I went with a friend to do some crochet with the very talented and witty Helle Jorgenson. She has a sweet little studio space in my town, Murwillumbah. To be honest, when I moved back down here (to this little country town), I didn't know if there were any (well, many) cool and crafty people. So, actually are. Helle is one of them! {Check out her blog, she makes the most amazing crochet coral and sea creatures using the tiniest hooks, and some great alternatives 'yarns'}.
While I knew how to crochet before the class, what Helle did was take my hand and show me some new things, and helped me overcome my fear of using teeny weeny tiny crochet hooks. Some of her work is done using a .5mm. That's tiny!
So - since last Thursday, I've barely had the 2mm hook and some cotton yarn out of my hands. Well - we did have to do concreting on Friday; I couldn't really crochet at the same time as that! (photographic proof below - I wheeled that heavy barrow of concrete for a solid most-of-the-day)!
Helle and I made little crochet covered beach stones, like Margie's. There's a pattern on Purl Bee (it has some errors, so I just made bits up and went along merrily......).
With hook and yarn in hands, and the light of a candle, I've been doing some experimenting at home (late at night), some unraveling and some stitching/hooking/crocheting. I made myself a little necklace of crochet flower shapes (and promptly Instagr.am-ed it!). And then some more. I finished one for my sister to wear to work (we stayed up chatting until 1am one night; of course the kids got us up at 6.30 the next morning....). I'm currently working on one using some op-shopped cotton yarn, in a colour I'm calling berry. It's a bit of a thicker weight, but is still turning out very pretty.
And now, seeing as how my sewing machine has decided it doesn't want to play (when I really MOST need it for my market making), I'm wondering if I should make these little necklaces for selling at the market.......... {what do you think? Would you buy one?}
Oh yes - I'm probably addicted to chocolate too. But really, that's all..... There's nothing more to reveal.
I'll see you on Instagr.am with a hook in hand!
overview
a small selection of images i've snapped (on my phone) lately.
a small selection of life.
from top -
1)the boy wanted to have a sweet biscuit, i said no sugar, so he crossed out 'sugar' on the ingredient list. i so so so wanted to give him one, just to let him know how fantastic he was, and how much i love the way his head works.
2) a scene driving into town. afternoon. sun setting after the briefest of rain showers. heading on my own, out to dinner + a play with my sister.
3) on our window sill this morning. collections that Sam + the kids brought home from school athletics carnival the other day (which was held near the beach, hence the beachy type plants).
4) on the window sill - blossoms from our stone fruit trees. never any success with the fruits, so i think it's okay to pick and enjoy the blossoms.
5) as #2
6) the bees from HoneyWorld. school excursion yesterday. was quite amazing standing a room with all those hives - a most delicious sweetness of honey-smell.
7) a little piece of coral set into the stonework of the wall in our kitchen.
and below) is a fuzzy shot of those bees. i love the "mess" of their wax. and the colour. i'm so curious about the wonderful, complex world of bees - what an interesting, important creature. do you know much about bees? we have a native stingless beehive at our house (my brother put it there). they don't produce much honey (about 1kg per year), so i'm considering another hive of imported bees so we can maybe 'steal their honey'. i have to do the research about how imported honeybees might attack / take over from the native defenceless tiny little bees.
[talking about bees, look at this amazingness! what a lovely mama bee, making baby nests inside flower petals.].
