Embrace your inner Dork with Dork Diaries, the bestselling book series for tweens! Here's the official UK trailer for the series - check it out and get to kn...
OMG!! The WORST thing ever in the history of the world has happened!! My dad took away my phone!!!! Can you BELIEVE that??? I am pretty sure this is what my history teacher means when she talks about “cruel and unusual punishment.” Because taking someone’s phone away JUST because they were texting their friends is definitely up there with bread and water for life. I get why there’s no texting at school. It’s distracting or whatever. But EXCUSE me!!! I was in my own home!! I NEED to be distracted from the KA-RAY-ZEE all around me!!! UGH!!! I was minding my own business, texting Chloe and Zoey about how we should handle Twin Day, since there’s three of us. And I GUESS Brianna had been asking me to play her Princess Sugar Plum video game for a while, but I was choosing not to hear her. (BTW, my parents do this selective hearing thing ALL THE TIME. But when I do it, I’m “rude” and “unkind” and “obsessed with my phone.”) So, my dad LOST HIS MIND!!! He waved his arms around in the air and jumped up and down like an angry gorilla I saw in a documentary once. And he shouted, “No phones! No video games! No screens!” But, I was definitely going to need my phone to call for the loony bin to take him away!! I was pretty sure he was going to start picking bugs out of my hair next. If I had bugs in my hair. Which I DON’T!!! He told us spring had arrived and kids need fresh air and we better play together peacefully outside, or we’d never see a screen again. (My mom is away on a getaway trip with her college sorority sisters. I don’t think my dad is a huge fan of being a single parent.) So THEN I was shoved out the door with Brianna, who was wailing about her precious Princess Sugar Plum game. And let me tell you, spring is NOT the same as summer. “Duh, Nikki,” you say. But it was FREEZING out there! I’m just saying!! Also, I’m pretty sure it ISN’T spring yet. Like, technically. I think the spring equinox is later in the month, but I couldn’t look it up because I DIDN’T HAVE MY PHONE!!! I stomped off the porch, straight into a puddle. Of COURSE I wasn’t wearing boots or anything, since I had no plans to hang out in nature today, so my sneakers filled right up with water. My dad might have let me change my shoes, but Brianna was blocking the door and I had to get away from her hissy fit. I was kind of having a hissy fit too, but I also had the DECENCY to be quiet about it! Soggy shoes and all, I stomped further into the yard. Then Brianna screamed, “Nikki, FREEZE!!!” and there was no way I could ignore it. I froze. It sounded like Brianna knew something I didn’t, like I was about to step on a wasp nest. Or a sleeping MacKenzie. I looked around and didn’t see anything. “What is it, Brianna?” She’d completely forgotten about her video game. She ran over to me and got on her knees in the muddy grass. “What are you doing??” “Nikki, look.” So I squatted down and followed her crazy eyes to a flower. A crocus, I think. “The first flower of spring,” she whispered, reaching out her hand. “Careful,” I said. I mean, it was a really sweet nature moment, but I also know that Brianna is the kind of kid who gives a goldfish a bubble bath, so I was bracing for her to squash it without meaning to. But she just barely brushed it with the tip of her finger and stared at it in wonder. I kind of wished I had my phone to take a picture of it and send it to my friends. I also wanted to look up the kind of flower, to be sure. Also to check when the spring equinox is, so I could officially tell my dad he’s wrong about spring. But I didn’t have my phone. So I sat there with Brianna and looked at the first flower of spring. It was nice. For about a minute. Then we concocted a plan to sneak back inside the house without Dad noticing. But hey! We were working together! And we didn’t even use any screens!!!
Today’s question comes from a girl who calls herself “a sad friend.” She writes: Everyone at school is wearing makeup except for me. I feel really pressured to, but I don't want to. But whenever I look in photos of myself next to them, I always feel really bland and ugly! I really don't want to waste 10 minutes of my morning putting crappy expensive stuff on my face just to hide what I really look like! But I also don't want to feel left out. Help! My Advice: Hello my soon-to-be-less-sad friend! (At least, I hope you’ll be…) I can TOTALLY relate to what you wrote. I hate makeup! I don’t get why girls like MacKenzie fill their obnoxious designer bags with overpriced cosmetics. Why would anyone need 50 lip glosses?? Seriously, she could probably employ Tyra as a full-time beauty consultant with all the money she wastes on war paint. (Get it? Because she turns school into a battle zone? OK, back to you…) I know it feels kind of weird to be the odd girl out, but from where I’m standing, it seems like you’re different in the most amazing way. Not only do you not wear makeup, you also think for yourself and value how you REALLY look so much that you don’t want to hide it. I think that’s awesome! So I’m going to quote the wise movie What a Girl Wants, starring a pre-meltdown Amanda Bynes: “Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out?” Maybe it’s a good thing that you don’t look like everybody else. It doesn’t have to mean you look bland and ugly. It COULD mean you’re just totally aware that you’re beautiful just as you are. And trust me, other people will notice. I highly doubt anyone looks at you and thinks you’re not as pretty as them because you’re not holding your pores hostage under a layer of foundation. They probably think it’s cool that you don’t give into the pressure to be like everyone else. If after reading this you still feel left out and conflicted, maybe you could find a happy medium. Instead of spending 10 minutes doing your whole face, buy a lip gloss or chap stick to put on in the morning and bring to school. And then maybe, if you want after that, add a little tinted moisturizer to make your face glow. This way, you’re not making some huge anti-make up stand…you’re just doing it in a way that feels right for you. Whatever you decide to do, keep that totally beautiful confident-in-who-you-are-without-hiding-yourself thing going. That’s worth more than ALL the CCP’s cosmetics combined…and they’re worth a lot! What do you guys think? Do you have any advice for our new friend?
Nikki
A blog for Doctor Who and other such fun.
Tegan M Brozyna, a Philadelphia area native, splits her time between Brooklyn and Philadelphia. She received a B.A. in Painting from Messiah College, and recently completed a Post-Baccalaureate Fellowship at New York Center for Art and Media Studies in Manhattan. She has exhibited throughout the northeast at such institutions as LGTripp Gallery in Philadelphia, PA and Porter Contemporary in New York, as well as internationally in Orvieto, Italy. Tegan was a recipient of the Daniel Vollmer Art Scholarship from 2003-2007. You can see more of Tegan's work on her website. Drawing from both her painting and textile background, Tegan's current work focuses on the relationship of place and boundaries. By dissecting and reconfiguring old landscapes in the form of paper maps, Brozyna examines everyday borders while also creating new spaces and terrain. In 2014, three of Tegan's pieces will be on exhibit at the Philadelphia International Airport. I get the best creative ideas when I'm.... simply observing the world around me. I love finding small but beautiful objects from nature, seeing how light changes in the leaves of trees depending on the time of day, and observing how scraps in paint or cracks in the sidewalk create amazing abstract compositions. You never know what you will find and that fuels me. My favorite space to create looks like....I currently work out of a small home studio, but regardless of the size of space it needs to be clean, calming and organized (perhaps a rarity for many painters). Often you will find ideas, lists and inspirational images taped to the wall along with small paintings and mockups. My top 3 sources of creativity are... A. Observing my habitat/the world around me B. Figuring out color palettes especially those in textiles C. The act of making. Process is important to me, and while I am working on piece I often get ideas for other works or other techniques. When I need a new idea I.....go outside and explore! I have an inquisitive nature and if my internal environment feels a little constrictive or dry I like to go for a walk, look at other people's artwork for inspiration and/or I sketch in my sketchbook. You never know where ideas will come from so I think it's important to be open and take things in. Since youth I've kept a folder of inspiration full of magazine clippings, show cards and other images from nature and art I love. I know that a piece is finished when...it feels balanced. Although it's not necessarily a conscious effort my work tends to strive for a sense of peace. Even if a piece is organic or asymmetrical it needs to have a sense of visual balance in its composition and coloring. When something isn't working the way that I planned it to I...let it go. I think art making is as much about learning what works as it is about discovering what doesn't. If a piece is not working sometimes I put it aside and tackle it again months or years later. Sometimes time and distance gives you new perspective and a work can be saved or incorporated into something else. If all else fails I think it's important to accept defeat, learn from it, and either whitewash a painting or chuck it! I create because...something in me needs to. Picasso once said that all children are artists, and I think perhaps there is something in me that never quite grew up; I still maintain a certain type of curiosity with the world around me. I am constantly asking questions and seeking answers and art making helps me to make sense of the world. It makes my world more vivid and beautiful. My work is about...seeing the world in the round. I want to see how things connect and I am particularly interested in how cellular forms come together to form a larger whole. I love creating and exploring relationships between place, form, and color. In my currently body of work I am particularly interested in how humans dissect the world around them. Mainly working with maps, I am exploring boundaries and creating new landscapes and terrain.
You might recall the lovely Tegan and Jordan from Issue three of Hello May but for all our new readers (hello!), we’re excited to share these images by Shane Shepherd Photography, that are jammed packed with killer wedding ideas and enough DIY to make Martha Stewart proud! In the hair-pulling, mudpie-making, tree-climbing school environment, Tegan and Jordan met […]
Tegan & Joshua, 22nd May 2015, Sheraton Fiji Resort – Photographer Sam Momota Let our Craftsmanship tell your Story…
While it was a bit difficult at first to secure the ideal location for their big day, there’s no denying that high school sweethearts Teags and Brad (first seen in Issue 16) eventually found their perfect match. “We ended up using the field across from the one Brad proposed on, which looked quite similar. We loved […]
These playful polymer and sterling jewelry pieces are by Washington artist Tegan Wallace . To see more of her work go to her blog ...
Tegan and Garrett are officially married! Man, I was waiting for this day for a long time. Or what felt like a long time. The anticipation was crazy knowing just how amazing their wedding day was going to be. These two special people are the most fun and caring people I have ever met! We had such a great time getting to know each other last fall at there engagement session. We had so much fun exploring Guanella Pass with their adorable puppy. The wedding day was perfect. Although it’s hard not to have a perfect wedding at The Barn at Raccoon Creek. The sun was shining but there will patches of little clouds that made the blue skies pop. Those are my favorite Colorado days. When I arrived all the bridesmaids were anxious to see Tegan in her dress and the boys were off playing foosball having a great time. The ceremony was perfect as well. Their dear friend officiated the wedding and it was clear he knew their relationship so well. All the deep feelings, the things they have overcome together, and of course all the goofy things they say and do. It was heartwarming and they were ...
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Tegan’s wide variety of product lines include Interior, Exterior, Pendant and Wall luminaires. Our meticulous attention to detail is reflected in our perfectly styled glass, scaled architectural shades, jewel-like Gems and beautiful finishes.
