Thing's I'm afraid to tell you...

{old photo -taken with my Yashica Samurai and Lomo CN 400 film}


Last week I saw Ez from Creature Comforts mentioned on her Twitter about a 'Thing's I'm afraid to tell you' blog challenge inspired by Jess from Make Under my Life's post of the same title. 

So here are a few silly and some serious things that I'm afraid to tell you:

~  If I didn't dye my hair, it would be very grey. I like it dark though, so it stays dark. But I do hate when my roots start to show. Also why people want to dye their hair grey is beyond me... ~

~ Sometimes I think about taking on sponsors again so I could buy a really expensive handbag, but usually I change my mind quickly back again. Hangbags (or shoes) are not a good reason to have sponsors really. Also, what if no one took me up on it haha, that would be awkward. ~

~ I hate the TV show Friends ~
(you'll be amazed by how many people get upset about that) 
(really, though, I hate it!)

~ Sometimes I wonder if you are just being nice and really my photos aren't that great, I'm not really very adventurous with them, I tend to play it safe and sometimes I worry that makes them boring (and that in turn I am boring.) ~

~ I still feel like this a lot of the time when it comes to blogging, apart from 800 is actually a lot scarier!  I read through your comments on that post often which helps,
you are all incredibly amazing btw. ~

~ I'm irrationally terrified of The Hulk, but I love Mark Ruffalo - I still haven't figured out how I feel about this

(We still haven't seen the Avengers though, maybe I'll figure it out after that) ~

~ I often wonder how people manage to stay so in control, be so reserved etc. I always feel like my emotions are flying apart - I get angry quickly, little things bother me (like bad manners), I sob at movies (proper ugly crying and for ages too -  I cried for hours after watching The Brothers Bloom) but at the same time, things make me laugh easily, I'm quick to smile and I love completely. So I think there's balance... just. ~

~ I'm heartbroken about my little LC-A not working properly, more than I probably should be about a camera. ~
 

So there we go. I'm an emotional wreck, sceptical of my own abilities and I have complicated feelings about The Hulk. (Also, I don't get the hype about Zooey Deschanel... I might as well throw that out there too.) And I perhaps use brackets and exclamation points in blog posts too much.

  I think Ez's post will be up a lot later than mine (time differences and all that) but do check out her blog - there will also be some other amazing bloggers taking part in this challenge and I personally can't wait to see what everyone has written.

A little blog layout update...

Again!!  Oops.

I didn't actually plan to update my blog this week, it just kind of happened but I will admit, I really love it, it kind of feels like this is how it's always looked and how it will always look... though I doubt that it will.

I love it!

p.s. if you're in a reader, come see!

Films I use on my blog...

As I got more adventurous with my cameras, I got more adventurous with the films that I started to use. Here are the films that I've used on my blog so far...

~ Kodak ISO 200 ~
A simple colour negative film that I buy in bulk whenever I see it in Poundland. It's the first film I tend to use in my cameras, as its so cheap and I'm always happy with the results. My holga loves this film, whilst my Diana Mini, not so much...

~ Lomography Colour Negative 400 ~
It took me a little while to realise that colour negative is just colour film, but it does sound posh I guess. This film has an ISO rating of 400 so is more sensitive to light than the Kodak 200 film. I really like the results from this film in all the cameras I've tried it in, and my Diana Mini likes it too which I like. It also captures yellow extremely well, hurray.

~ Lomography Colour Negative 800 ~
I've only used this film a couple of times and both of those with my actiontracker but I think its the perfect film for multilens cameras due to the tiny aperture of the lenses and the sensitivity of the ISO 800 rating of this film.

~ Lomography Redscale 100 ~
I'm a little undecided about this film. I love how dramatic it is with the bright yellows and the deep reds... but it does look a little creepy at times.

~ Lomography Redscale 50-200 ~
I will admit that I love this redscale film more than the 100 redscale film. So much more.
The tones are just beautiful and it works well in all weather conditions and I have had the best results with it in my Superheadz Wide and Slim camera. Love it!!

~ Ilford XP2 ISO 400 ~
Another film that I completely love. This is the first black and white film that I've tried and although its developed with C41 chemicals rather than true black and white chemicals, I still think its fantastic. The tones are soft, yet there are strong contrasts when you need them and combined with my Diana Mini, this film is truly artistic.

~ Expired film ~
Expired film is a bit of a risk but I love using it and so far my results have been beautiful, very soft with subtle colours and tones.
I need to use expired film more.

~Lomography Xpro Chrome ~
This was the first ever cross processed slide film that I tried and in a word it is gorgeous. Seriously, just gorgeous. The colours are deep, the tones are dark and sultry and the colour shift is subtle with beautiful blues and richer reds. Another film that I really love.

~ Lomography Xpro ~
After trying the Xpro Chrome I was very excited about trying other cross processed film but I'm still not convinced with this film, its very green. However, the colour shift with sunsets is impressive and the distortions are much stronger in comparison to the Xpro Chrome... I think it may be a grower.

~ Kodak Portra Neutral Colour (NC) 160 ~
This film is a dream. I'd heard so many good things about it before I used it and it turns out they were all true. The grain is fine, the colours are soft and gentle and it is happy with a SLR or a toy camera which makes me happy. A wonderful film, yet a tad bit expensive for my budget, so its my little treat to myself.

~ Kodak Portra Vivid Colour (VC) 160 ~
Like the NC version of this film, it is a dream. The colours are definitely more vivid in comparison but the grain is still perfect and the quality of the results is wonderful. Another amazing film.
(photos and link to come)


~ Kodak Elite Chrome ISO 100 ~
 I'm honestly a little bit disappointed that I've only just discovered this film, as Kodak have recently announced that they will stop producing slide film... and I absolutely love the results that I've had from this film so far. The colours are so gorgeous with warm orange tones and stunning blue skies. a truly delightful film that I'm sad to see discontinued.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So there is the round up of the films I've used so far. It was more than I thought but I can still think of others that I want to try. If you have any recommendations, definitely let me know.

p.s. I was going to make this a page but you can't comment on them and I like comments,
especially if we're discussing film.

Spring cleaning...

{beautiful wide instax photo by Ashley, I'll never get bored of blossom photos in Spring...}

Today I'm Spring cleaning my digital life... which consists of...

~ deleting the For the easily distracted... facebook and tumblr ~

~ reorganising my many USB sticks ~

~ making new social buttons ~

~ updating my little yellow ipod ~

~ planning to finish off my blogroll ~

(If I write it here, perhaps I'll do it....)

~ relabelling the blogs in my Google Reader ~

~ organising my sets and collections on Flickr ~

Imagine how productive I would be if I wasn't sat at a computer all day!

New blog layout...

Eeee, I'm excited about this.

So I mentioned a while ago that I was getting twitchy about my blog layout but all I did was update my post and sidebar font... well, but now I've completely updated it.

I wanted something fresh, clean, with less 'stuff' and I wanted a side header (it still changes when you refresh too, yeay). I loved Katrina's layout Lemon Meringue on Powered by Pastries with the smaller header on the side and I loved as well what Ana and Elle did with it - but it wasn't exactly what I wanted... but I think this is.

Some aspects still need tweaking but I'm in no rush to sort everything out straight away, so I apologise if the images to the right still look a bit messy, I think I'll be tweaking it for a while yet, my last layout took me months to get right.

p.s. I finally a have photoshop at work, woo (though I still think Paint.net is amazing for free) so the pretty sparkles are for C and because I've wanted to use the sequins from Pugly Pixel since I first saw them :)

Breaking down that brick wall...

I'm finally getting around to sorting out my blog tags and reacquainting myself with my blog - it's been so fun going through my old posts.

I thought I would share a few of my favourites with you... I like the idea of getting to know people better so we might as well start with you getting to know me better :)

~ 20 facts about Me and Thomas ~

~ Yellow, Yellow, Yellow ~

(the post that pretty much converted me to loving yellow...)

~ My first holga film ~

~ Fun holga surprises ~

~ Holga vs digital ~

~ One of the cutest etsy finds ever! ~

~ Before the camera collection, all I had was this post ~

~ Me and Harry love the beach ~

~ My first vintage camera ~

~ Who I am ~

~ Sometimes... ~

(and today, I feel like this too...)

I think that will do for now don't you?

I'm still completely overwhelmed that alot of these posts are over a year old - where has the time gone? Does time move differently when you hit 25 (faster...that is...)?

p.s. this has helped with the bloggers block a little, I like my blog lol...

p.s.s. Why was I so unorganised with my tags?!?!

You feel the same sometimes too right?

Hey! This is me...
and ultimately, this blog is me!

It's my little world.

I was walking to work this morning and as I got to the front door, my favourite boss (yeah I have favourites...) who was also approaching the door, said 'Hey Rhianne' and... I completely blanked him - I was listening to my ipod - I was thinking about this post - I was looking at the floor so I didn't slip on the insanely slippery slabs that Yorkshire has (is that just a Yorkshire thing? I think so...) I was in my own little world.

As I realised he was there, I looked up (jumped) and said 'Hey! Sorry, I was in my own little world' and he said smiling.

'That's alright, we should all have our own little worlds...'

Gah! Most perfect response ever?! And I believe him, we should!

Anyway, the point of this now rather wordy post (sorry) is that really I haven't been honest in my little world... and I think thats why I've been struggling to post...

So here is a little honesty...

Approaching 500+ followers absolutely terrifies me!

(theres more of you through reader, eep!)

I wrote on Nicole's anonymous post recently about how I felt... and thinking about it, I don't know why I shouldn't share it on here - so here goes...

"I constantly worry about my blog, it's the only thing keeping me sane at the moment and the only thing I really put alot of effort into (my job sucks) But I worry that people will find me boring or that they think I'm just copying someone else... Having more readers has made me worry about it even more, I get upset if I lose followers and I'm sad that I don't get more comments then I did when I had less people read it...I know I shouldn't be bothered and that my blog is for me (and it is, I love it) but putting something out there in the internet world that you truly love, something that balances out all the negativity in your life is pretty scary... I wish it didn't bother me but I love reading other peoples blogs and I guess I just want people to enjoy mine as much as I enjoy theirs... "

I should probably also say that my job doesn't suck that much - I was having a very bad work day... I quite enjoy it when it's a good day.

This isn't about being a 'popular' blog or statistics - in fact I haven't checked my stats properly since I stopped my sponsors - its been a huge relief to me not to have to worry about them. It's about putting your world out there and making connections. Right now I feel a little like I'm on a podium in front of a massive 500 strong brick wall and I don't want that - I want to be in a 500 strong crowd, mingling, saying hi...

When I first started getting followers I used to say hi to each one - it was fun, I got to see people's blogs and share them with everyone else, I got to make a connection and say "Hi, I'm so glad you're here!" but honestly, a few other people started to do that too and it didn't seem as personal to me anymore - then I hit 200 and completely lost track of everyone - keeping track of 200 people is hard... also the blogger followers thing is rubbish - there's not always a link to blogs and new people don't always show up when I click on them... why isn't there a nice list somewhere of who follows you so I can just say hi?! Bah!

I read constantly about people saying that your blog should be for you and this blog is for me - but now it's also for you - and I don't think there is anything wrong with that - I'm not ashamed to be a little sad that people stop following my blog - they essentially stop being in my little world and I'm sad they didn't want to stay... I'm not ashamed that I want more people to comment... and I don't think there should be a stigma about wanting people to enjoy your blog and make a connection with you.

Essentially this post comes down to why I blog and where I want to go with my blog...

I started my blog because I was lonely and bored and I really don't cope very well with either of those two things... the posts stop me from being bored and the comments stop me from being lonely... I want comments because I want to talk to people - I want to comment back, I want to visit people's blogs - I want to have the 'conversation' that I hear so many pro bloggers talk about...

and as for where I want to go with my blog - I don't want to go anywhere - I love it how it is - if anything I need to find myself again and make sure it stays true to me and what I love...

it is my own little world afterall...

If you've read this all, thank you - and if you don't leave a comment (I hate the word lurker) that's fine - I can imagine you're not here to hear me emotionally splurge all over my blog - but if you want to just say hi - make a connection - then please do.

I truly do appreciate everyone who reads my blog - I just think we should get to know each other a bit better, don't you?

p.s It's the 1st of Oct and I should be featuring an etsy shop right now but I needed to get this out... I'll post it on Monday instead...

p.p.s. Happy weekend :)

p.p.p.s. I finally got a pic of me as a bridesmaid on here, haha

My name is Rhianne and I am easily distracted...

From Notebookdoodles to Me

Can you believe its nearly October?! I'm hugely surprised by this and honestly a little caught unaware! I meant to write this post ages ago... oh well.

Last year when we went on holiday to Wales I asked for some bloggers to help with guest posts under the title 'My name is ..... and I am easily distracted...' and this year I would love to have more people guest post for me whilst we are away following the same theme...

So are you interested?!

I had a great response to this and have guest posters all lined up - thank you to everyone who wanted to help me out :)

I really hope people are excited as I absolutely adored reading the guest posts last year and I love a good blog series!

It's September!

I don't know about you but I am excited about that!

1. It's my birthday month!
2. August Break is over... *
3. I've been busy planning exciting things over August and now its time to impliment them!

* I enjoyed August Break - but I'm a talker and boy have I missed 'talking' to you guys!

Sponsor Changes!

Some of you may have realised that the sidebar on the right is now titled 'Etsy love'... unfortuntely sponsoring did not take off for me. However I didn't start sponsors for the money... I started it to help advertise etsy shops - so I have taken it upon myself to add some of my favourite shops onto my sidebar free of charge (don't they look pretty) and every month I'm going to feature a favourite of mine in a post.

I am all about the etsy and blog love - so I hope you all are too!

First up is Alyssa's new shop It's Olive!

Some of you may know Alyssa from her blog 'Just putting it out there' or her amazing project 'Project You' (which incidently is having a rather Spectacular September with an amazing giveaway - you should check it out!)

You may not have known that Alyssa is one creative lady and her shop is a collection of her hard work over the past few months. I love her work (I'm particularly fond of bows) and I really think that you will too!

{click on each photo for the listing on etsy and to discover their fun names!}

I hope you enjoy this monthly feature as much as I do and please check out the shops in the sidebar - they are my favourites!

p.s. Do you have an etsy shop? If so, why not send me an email with your link AND a paragraph introducing yourself with an explanation of why I (and my readers) will love your shop... I might even decide to feature you if you're lucky!

It's nearly August...

Which means it's nearly time for The August Break...

I missed a blog post yesterday - it shouldn't be a big deal but I am completely gutted with myself - I only had two days left for full posts this month and my life overwhelmed me - I'm busy at work, I'm busy planning our move (we found a house, it has a garden but I'm saving pictures for August!) I'm busy balancing my life around our families (which shouldn't really be so much hard work should it?) and my blog suffered.

I know its only one post I missed and I shouldn't be upset but now that amazing post (which is currently still amazing but only in my head) will have to wait until I have the time to do it which will probably be September... and I don't have the time to put together a great post today... The last thing I want to suffer is my blog - its my baby, my safe haven, my access to other blogs and amazing friends... My blog is one of the main things I want to thrive and grow and although I know I will be posting photos - taking this teeny step back right now feels like a leap away.

I know I need it - the fact I'm completely overwhelmed by everything and almost crying over a couple of missing posts (and the fact I can't decide on what to have for lunch...) means I need to break from one of the aspects of my life but now its come to it - I don't want to... I need to, I'm ready to, but I just don't want to...

I guess I'm posting this as a reminder to myself that my blog will still be there - you guys will still be there - I'm not leaving, just prioritising right now... and although prioritising sucks, I do aim to catch up on all your comments (you all leave the best comments!) and catch up on my reader (which is pretty shocking right now...)

So... happy weekend and happy August, I'll see you on Sunday with my first photo!!

Finally...

A post on blogging that I totally agree with... written by the lovely Christina at Down and Out Chic.

It's funny really as alot of people have been writing posts about blogging and some I have agreed with to a point and alot I have just been left feeling frustrated with... I haven't written anything before as I have been trying really hard to ignore the negativity but I have to be honest with you now...

I love blogging, I love my blog - I work incredibly hard on it - and I love the people who read my blog! I love the comments, I love the interaction, I love that I have made friends all around the world... and some close to home. I love that I made something from nothing and that I have found out more out about myself through blogging than I ever imagined I would.

Christina's post focused on being kind, working hard and measuring your success through your own happiness and right now its nice to love my blog without worrying that someone maybe be judging it negatively... or even feeling guilty about it's increased readership.
(I'm honestly still stunned you've all stuck around...)

Blogging is what you make it - there is always going to be negativity but personally I choose to ignore it - there is more positivity within me, my blog, my readers and the blogging world to concentrate on - so lets celebrate that instead!

It really is nice to be nice.

p.s. I hope this makes sense - I don't normally go for opinionated wordy posts.

Any questions..?

Last week, Mollyhill asked if I had any advice for new bloggers and Ruth said she would be interested in hearing how I built up my audience in one year.

So... I was wondering if anyone else had any questions about blogging (be it anything from giveaways to less pixely images) or if people would be interested in me writing a post with little bits of advice from my blogging experience so far?

I feel a little bit silly asking as I always forget that I have a bigger blog now - I still see myself as a fumbling blogger with perhaps 20 followers struggling to think of posts everyday - I obviously don't have all the blogging answers and I am sure some people's opinions would differ to mine but I would love to help people out if they need it...

So if you have a question then pop it into the comments on this post and I will put together an answers post next week.

So....

{May all your wishes today come true, by Toomy☺}

...tomorrow is my little blogs one year birthday/blog anniversary thing

and today I just reached 300 followers

how amazing/ridiculous/fantastic/bewildering/exciting is that!!

I'll be honest, my blog started off pretty rubbish - I've never done anything like this before and it took me a good couple of months to get into the swing of it but now I am incredibly pleased with it, with all the amazing people I have met through my blog and some of the great projects and swaps* that I have been involved in through my blog.

Tomorrow I have a great giveaway planned which I am so excited about, so I thought I better get the gushing, teeny bit of crying and amazement out of the way today :)

A massive thank you to everyone who reads my blog - I probably wouldn't have continued to blog if Jessica, Jamie and Amy didn't start to follow my blog way back when. I always try to read everyone's blog and reading other blogs is definitely an inspiration for writing mine.

Here's to another year!

*talking of swaps, have you seen Megan's stationary swap? I love stationary, what a great idea!

Dearest blogging world...

You are amazing!

But sometimes I bite off more than I can chew.

Before Christmas I was completely overwhelmed with blogging - the constant 800+ in my reader despite how much I read, the huge number of comments that I hadn't replied too, the followers blogs that I hadn't looked at or commented on...

...and although I was energised and ready to sort this head on once I got back - being sick has once again left me totally overwhelmed and I honestly feel so stressed.

I want to reply to everyones comments, I want to look at all my followers blogs but these things take time and time is something that I seem to have less and less of.

So... I'm clearing out my reader, the blogs I follow and my head - too many blogs that I don't really read properly are taking away my time from the ones I love and taking time away from enjoying my own blog (and the photoswap, I haven't forgotten about it...) which really is why I'm here.

Being a good blogger is incredibly hard work and I want to be a great blogger - not a good blog skimmer and I want to enjoy blogging again. So bear with me for a while whilst I clear out all the cobwebs and hopefully my blog, my shop (which I have woefully abandoned for a while) and I will be ready to face 2010 properly!

Thank you again for being so patient with me, I am still amazed by all the lovely comments I get and amazing followers that I have :)

love Rhianne

New year... new adventures!!

{ Drawn by Notebookdoodles for me, I love it and will probably post it again and again}

As I mentioned yesterday I am so proud of what I accomplished last year and especially my blog - it started off so small (and a bit rubbish if I'm honest) but with some hard work, excitement, new friends and fun times it has now become my little haven and an important, creative part of my life.

So I've thought long and hard about this and I've decided that I am just going to go for it:

For the easily distracted... is now accepting sponsors!

Update 2011: For the easily distracted... is not accepting sponsors. Although I enjoyed it at the time, I didn't feel it suited me or my blog. If you're interested in working with me in some way then please contact me on rhiannelouise@gmail.com perhaps we can work something out.

p.s. Thank you so much again to all my readers for your continuous support, you really have been amazing!

From Notebookdoodles to Me

Check out the rest of the From Me to You 100 Doodles set here!

A few things...

So I feel like this week has been a bit of a non week on my blog but I have been busy, I promise - here are a few things I've been up too and a couple of reminders :)

~Check out my Dear 16 year old me letter on Red Boots today - I love this idea and think you should definitely send a letter to Wendy as well~

~I am guest posting today at A Simple New Something! I love Shokoofeh's blog so I was so excited to share some of my holga photos celebrating Autumn in Leeds~

~Nicole's giveaway of my prints finishes on Monday,
so if you haven't entered yet, head on over and do so ~

~Don't forget about my giveaway of a Lola's Room print as well ~

~Today is the last day to email me if you want a christmas card from me
I can't wait to start writing them!~

~The Photo Swap deadline is Monday so hopefully everyone's films/cameras will be in the post soon, yeay! I can't wait to see the results~

~oh and thank you to everyone who has voted for my little blog here,
I love you guys~

Little Blog Awards

Eeee, my little blog has been nominated on Dorset Cereals Little Blog Award - how exciting is that? A massive thank you to Wendy at Red Boots (I love her!) who nominated me for it!

So I'm going to be shameless and ask for you to vote for me...

Please vote - I could win a highly coveted Little Blog Awards egg cup!

Thank you!

Help wanted...

I know that I am planning ahead but...

Does any one fancy guest blogging on for the easily distracted... whilst I'm on holiday in September?

I can't bear the thought of leaving my blog empty for a whole week!

Ideally I would love 5 guests - 1 for each day of the week and maybe it could have some sort of theme? I duno - what do you guys think?

If you're interested in doing a guest post then please email me at rhiannelouise@gmail.com or leave a comment here with your email and I can get to you :)

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