Goals For 2017

Happy New Year! 

This year I have a lot of things that I hope to accomplish ( as I do Every Year) but this year I am more dedicated to getting these done then ever before! 

I am calling these goals rather than resolutions because it seems like resolutions never get done and I don't want these to be blown off a month from now as most resolutions are. Most of these goals are constantly continued things that need to be worked on so they can never necessarily be checked off of a list but I just hope that at the end of this year I can look back and be proud of what I've accomplished. So with out further adieu-

1. I want to continue to grow and get better at writing

2. I want to get better at posting and get to posting at least once a week but hopefully more like 3 times a week

3. I want to get my camera working and do more videos

4. I want to make cherish notes the multi-video weekly thing it was originally going to be. 

5. I want to grow as an artist/ designer/ and creator

6. I want to create and finish more incredible projects 

7. I want to establish a more stable income doing the things I love

8. I want the KNITche or/ and the other shops I work at to grow and be more successful than the year before

9. I want to be able to continually add to and revise this list as I get better and find more things I would like to accomplish

10. I want to become more organized and set a steady flow for my work and life 

11. I want to continue to learn and grow in every aspect of my life

And that is it, hopefully I can comment on this list as the year goes on to reflect and revise, I would love to hear your guys lists and your thoughts on mine! I hope to talk to you all again incredible soon! 

I'm ready to set sail (and start the year off right), 

                                 Ms. Sinking Ship

Bow-Badly: Trying the Bow Square

It's not as easy as it seemed.

 I took an attempt at the seemingly easy bow square I posted about this Sunday, I had all of my supplies ready, I was going to use a basic white cotton for the underneath and four different fabrics that I had gotten in a fat-quarter packet I had bought.





 Everything seemed like it would go pretty smoothly and so I set it all up and got right to cutting not giving it any thought really, before I knew it everything was cut out and ready to be sewn together! Super Easy!



I had the squares of the basic cotton, the centers of the bows cut, and the squares that will make though and I was ready to get sewing. I sewed all of the pattern squares to the cotton squares and was ready to pull the center together and make the cutest bows you'd ever seen.

 HOWEVER, when I tried to make a bow it just wasn't budging no matter what it wouldn't come together it would pull everything together crumpling up all of the fabric rather than just the first layer like it was supposed too. It was then that I realized my simple and very very silly mistake. In order for theses bows to have worked and pulled together correctly the base square and the pattern square couldn't be the same size. It's easy to realize and understand that when you actually sit and think about it but me being me, got very excited and did not think. I just acted, and so I had a bunch of awkward squares lying around that could technically be fixed but in a time of frustration were useless. I did not take a picture of this stage sadly because I was over the project and I was ready to make something good out of my ridiculous mistake rather than fix it.

So after some time of these pieces just sitting there, I finally figured out what to do with them and put them to use. 

I've been turning them into little envelope bags (or another word I can't seem to remember right now), they're the perfect sizes for pencils or as a cash keeper, so even though they weren't what they were supposed to be, all hope was not lost and at least they are still cute. 

I'm ready to set sail (and possibly lay off the 'easy' blocks for a while),

                                                                                                     Ms. Sinking Ship

Best Book(ish) Apps Right Now,

Other than the obvious nook, kindle, dc comics, apps as such, there are few apps that are actually decent when it comes to trying to find good stories, mangas, comics, the whole shebang to read. So here are apps for each category that are ensured to feed your book hunger.

1. WattPad 

I have talked about WattPad before, but it is an incredible sources to read story from thousands of authors, plus you can comment and be apart of group discussion on the books as they are being written. The book selection is very wide as well from well known classic to ridiculous fan-fictions they have it all in all genres so really can't ever go wrong. 

2. Manga Bird

I've used plenty of Manga sites and Apps but this one is so far the best, hands down. They have an incredible selection and an ridiculous amount of chapters for each manga you find, they even have some pretty rare ones that I haven't been able to find any where else. If you are looking for manga, download this app before any of the others it will save a ridiculous amount of time.

3. Tapas

I found Tapas recently and they are absolutely adorable, they are very similar to Wattpad, but they have a much stricter policy on who they choose as authors, but they have a very wide variety and all of the stories I have read so far are amazing, and the comics are beautiful and adorable every time. If you love the goofy comics you see all over the internet you will love the comics on Tapas.

These are the three so far I have found to always save the day when I'm in need but never fear I'm always on the look out for apps that help me read on the go.

Ready to Set Sail (and keep reading),

                                                 Ms. Sinking Ship

A Terrible Book Club and an Even Worse Attempt at being SparkNotes,

{ Aka CherishNotes }

I'm not quite sure how to completely express what Cherish Notes is, it's kind of like me goofing off with books and recording it. This isn't a project / series I plan to post on here very often but if you enjoy them then you can follow along on the Youtube or the Tumblr both also called - Cherishnotes. 

The first book we're reading is a love story told from 14 different perspectives called Something a Little Different, it's cute a quirky but the beginning kind of drags, the man male character has some secrets up his sleeve but I don't think that will keep the two love birds apart. 

You guys can read a long with me or just take my word for it but either way I'd love to hear what you guys think,

I'm ready to set sail (and read October ),

                                               Mrs. Sinking Ship

A Woman to Watch in 2016,

{ Possibly a new series of sorts, but it needs a better name }

You've probably seen these posts floating around Pinterest and Tumblr recently and have just sat in awe while you stared at them, well these dresses as well as tons and tons of other stunning dresses have all been created by 18-year-old Angela Clayton. She's brilliant, talented, and working non-stop to create all of her incredible master pieces that have been displayed all over the internet lately. Now, before you get discouraged (or seriously inspired) by these works of art and spend the rest of your day analyzing every detail of them to try and see how they work, know that not only does she have an awesome Tumblr and Wordpress blog that you can follow to keep up with her many projects, but you can also find her on youtube where she has tutorials and vlogs, along with incredible fabric and other crafting utensil hauls for you to follow and drool over as well (all of those links will be below the post).

I have had quite and obsession with dresses lately, and her works are absolutely inspiring to watch and read about being put together, I can't wait to work on some of my own ideas and projects for dresses this next year and her creations are just what I needed to keep me going even when I don't have the least bit of motivation, I am in love with everything she has done so far and can't wait to see what she'll come up with in 2016 and once you see her in work I'm sure you will too. She is someone to definitely keep an eye on this year,

    Ready to set sail (and sew), 

                                Mrs. Sinking Ship

Back On Track,

It truly has felt like forever since our last encounter, and it has been forever since any actual posts have been made, however, we're finally back (For now at least)! MY computer troubles seem to be no longer and how relieved I am for that! As well as, I don't know how many of you remember, but I few months ago I spoke of some changes that were going to be made with the lay out of the site, this is also under way and is very close to being ready! And the new year is coming as well, and with that other exciting changes, I will be doing a lot more collaborating with SWAT Entertainment for those that enjoyed the halloween vlogs back in October / November, and next year I am going to be starting a series similar to the daily drawings I did of my outfits earlier this year, except with an Art Journal I am going to be working on. 

I hope to get back on track with everything after all of the ups and downs this year has brought with the blog and I can't wait for the new year, I have a few posts that I want to make over the next few days about the new years and things like that, and I will also try to start up some of the videos again sometime soon as well! 

Ready to Set Sail (and get on with things  so this post will eventually have some point),

                                                                     Ms. Sinking Ship

Halloween with SWAT Entertainment,

{So blogging for October was a bust I'm sorry about that and i'm also sorry I haven't gotten up every thing I've promised to get up lately. Things are about to get pretty awesome though, just wait! }

Hey Mates! How was your Halloween? Mine was fairly interesting, I spent the night with a portion of the Youtube team SWAT Entertaintment and that was pretty neat, we vloged through out the night and I thought it would be cool to share with you! Also, check their other videos out as well, they're a pretty funny bunch, and I'll be helping with some of their upcoming videos to which are going to be pretty spiffy if I do say so myself so keep and eye on them. Along with that, a short update, there will be several posts out over the next few days that I am pretty excited for as well so keep an eye on the blog for that!

Ready to Set Sail (and with out a further au due),

SWAT Entertainment and Mrs. Sinking Ship

We've Been a Blog for a Year Now?

Mateys, I have been waiting for October for a lot of reasons, (its like the greatest month ever) one being that I thought it was around the time I start my blog last year and I was super excited to do something really fun and cool for it and it was going to be awesome, how ever, when I was looking today I noticed that I actually started my blog earlier this month on the 10th and so I missed it. Who cares though I'm going to celebrate anyways,



and to add to that, I'll tell you a few fun things that will be coming!
First off, there are going to be some updates on the site because I have been working on that, once I get it how I like it there will be some more fun stuff going on and the little bit of everything we have on the site will be easier to find.
Second off, more videos are coming, I have been working on that as well, most of them will be more makeup tutorials because those were super fun and you all seemed to enjoy them, but there will be a lot of other things as well.
And lastly, I will doing something fall / halloween-like at least once a week for the entire month of October so get ready for that bundle of joy. I don't know if you guys love October as much as I do but   if you don't your probably going to enjoy it even less after I shove all of this October joy down your throat.

I can wait to get started and spend another year with you guys! I'm sorry this post was all of the place, but I'm just super stoked for all of the things that are about to start coming, I hope you guys enjoy them just as much as I do.

Ready to Set Sail (and get my Halloween on),
                                                        Ms. Sinking Ship

Blogger Tips From Someone who Blogs: Best Blogging Sites!

From someone who not only reads blogs but keeps one up as well, I am constantly on the look out for the best websites to keep my blog up on (other then maybe having your own domain) because the worst thing in the world is having to try to make the best out of something you can't stand using because you can't find anything else. 

I have tried a decent amount of them, and I've come to conclusions about which ones are the most fun and efficient to use, for me any ways.  I'm making this today to help any one else that also seems to have the worst of luck finding something that fits well with them and their blog starting from the 

best-ish to the worst-ish. 

                                                                                                                

1. Blogspot

 I have had problems with Blogspot, it is not always the greatest thing ever but it is reliable and very customizable, along with that there aren't any hidden fees or anything and there are ways to make money off of your blog as well. The  only downsides I've seen are complications with coding when it comes to customization, it takes some time to get used to and figure out how to do those things but it is nothing a little problem-solving can't fix. 

2. Tumblr

The only reason this isn't number one is because it's more of a social media site than a blogging site, but I made one early today because it was the only think I hadn't tried but I constantly hear awesome things so I decided to try it out before I made this post and I love it. It's a little bit difficult to navigate right at first but once you get this gist of it, it is really easy and pretty fun. Above is mine and you can follow me on there as well as mssinkingship of course, I'll probably do a decent amount of blogging on there as well. It is pretty customizable and there is tons of things to work with, if you're looking for something not quite so serious for a blog this is definitely the first place you should try.

3. Wix

So I tried this site the other day and it is pretty interesting, there are quite a few downsides though and it ends up getting complicated. For one, there isn't a trash can so you are unable to get rid of anything that was on the original template you might not have wanted. Also, it does have an apps section where you can add all kinds of cool things to your blog, but a decent amount of them you have to pay for and if you are on a budget you can't always afford all of that. 

The only other downside is that for your domain name it gives you it lists their site before yours and that can seem less professional the other way around. Wix has some cool things to use like some of the templates they have and animation effects, things like that etc, but it the long run there is more hassle than anything else when it comes to this site.

4. Weebly

For those of you that have been reading my blog for it's pretty close to entirety, you will most likely know that it originally started out on Weebly. This site is perfect for a blog just starting out, if you just want to dip your toes into the whole thing, or if you're unsure you really want to commit to any type of thing that's this nature. It is fairly easy but really isn't all to customizable. Weekly isn't the worst but it really isn't something you would hold a blog at for a long period of time.

5. WordPress

I had always heard that if you want your blog to be successful use Wordpress, so eventually a few months ago I had been irritated with bloodspot and I thought it might be a good time to give it a try. I was so frustrated with all of it after the first 10 minutes I have never gone to the site again. I'm sure it's a lot easier and customizable if you buy the packages for your websites from them BUT not everyone (me included) has the money to drop $50 on a website so I can change the layout. That is ridiculous for one and two I've done decently well on Blogspot and never had to shell out large amounts of money to do so. I know people who use it and love it so this one is purely biased as most of these are but for someone who can't spend a bunch of money and want something to be even the slightest bit personal, I wouldn't use Wordpress. 

These are the blogs I've used and the major pros and cons I've had with them.  A lot of the factors in this has to do with customization because that is a big part of blogging and creating a brand for your self, I hope this gives any one who is thinking of starting a blog or wanting to switch from the site they use now.

Ready to Set Sail (and keep playing with my Tumblr),

                                               Ms. Sinking Ship

Story Time! (kind of),

Ahoy-o fellows! 

    So lately I have been working on the beginnings of illustrating a manga for my boyfriend and I have also very slowly been working on a sister-type series of novels, and just for funzies I was wondering if that would be something you guys would be interested in seeing. We do a large variety of things here at Ms. Sinking Ship and I thought it would be cool to show you guys the process of how this manga will be made and put up the chapters and everything as they come? and if you guys wanted me to put the chapters of my books up (because I do really need to get back to writing those)? Also, along with that I was thinking about updating the site a little and maybe changing things and moving some stuff around making it more organized with pages and stuff any ideas with that? and lastly, what did you guys think of the videos and do you want more, if you do what do you want to see more make up tutorials or other things as well? Sorry this actually wasn't much of any story I just named it that because it was originally just about the books and manga, but it is things that I would really love to hear you guys opinions on since there are becoming more and more people that read my blog every day. Please comment, snapchat, tweet, what ever your ideas or even email them to me if any of that seems to indirect, I would just love to hear some feed back on all of this stuff so we can get things going. (:

Ready to set sail (and never put a smiley face in a blog post again),

                                                                                            Ms. Sinking Ship

   

What Having My Wisdom Teeth Removed Has Done,

Friday morning I had the joy of having my wisdom teeth removed, though it has probably been one of the lamest experiences of my life there has been some good that has come out of it. I've gotten to do nothing for a few days, which has been heaven, but I have also had a lot of time to sit and think about things, watch Netflix and catch up on Pinterest.  All of which has opened my eyes to some things (and has also given me some cool ideas of things I want to work on).

One of the things I watched was a documentary on Youtubers and as you guys know I have been using Youtube lately for some of my blog stuff and just testing it out because it just always looks like so much fun, Well, I realized while watching this that I make myself so 'professional', for a lack of a better word, here on the blog, I'm almost putting up a wall between us and that is the least amount of fun ever. I am always precise and careful (or I unintentionally try to be) instead of just being myself and I really don't like that I am being that way. I want to share my perspective of the world with you as we venture through all kinds of fun things instead of just shoving some words on a page in hopes you might get what I am vaguely trying to accomplish. 

So as an odd Wisdom Teeth being removed kind of resolution or how ever you want to say it, I am over trying to be anything but my already awkward self. 

Ready to Set Sail (and live a little),

                Ms. Sinking Ship

P.S.

 On another note though another movie I watched was a french romantic comedy based in the 1950's and it was absolutely adorable, if you ever want something off the beaten path to watch this is certainly it,  the story is engaging and the style is spot on and beautiful through every seen. 

If you ever have the time it was called Populaire and it is an eventual must see, not only is it fun to watch but it is inspiring in every crafter way.

The Final Grab Bag of the Sale!

                                   

Okay guys the last bag of the sale is here! This months sale went by so fast, I really hop you guys check out this last grab bag because it was definitely my favorite back to make and it's pretty cool in my opinion as well.  It includes:

One Crochet drawstring bag that can be customize with any two colors just list which ones you'd like when you buy them. 

One long circle scarf that will match the bag, perfect for keeping you warm when it starts getting chilly on fall nights.

One Elegant bow, the one shown is an example but you might not end up with they are personalized to fit with the colors of the bag as well and were created to add the perfect accents to you hair on those special days.

and lastly,

One Crochet Teddy Bear, also created to match the bag and the other contents inside.

I hope you guys enjoyed the sale, I have some new stuff coming up as well that I hope you guys like and check us out again tomorrow for some awesome stuff I have inshore for you guys!

Ready to Set Sail (and add this to etsy),

                          Ms. Sinking Ship

Tutorial Tuesday on a Thursday?

Ahoy Friends, I'm sorry but this weeks tutorial will not be coming out, at this moment in time at least, it will happen eventually but not right now. I do want to do a natural look and I am trying really hard to keep on schedule, but this week was a definite bust. 

On Tuesday when I was going to record it and post it I ended up having to do all kinds of stuff because there was a family emergency (things ended up going awry there to but alls well that ends well I guess), then on Wednesday I recorded the video outside, I thought it would be fun to be in nature for our natural look, but surprisingly trying to do my make up in extreme heat was not fun, (who'd have known right?) my make up was melting off my face as I was putting it on. Then even though everything turned out okay seemingly, the video was all messed up from me trying some different angles, and in the end I just decided it was best to not put it up. This next weeks will be here for sure I hope it all goes well and you guys in joy it. 

until then or before then actually for a few other posts that are planned,

Ready to Set Sail (and get this figured out),

                                              Ms. Sinking Ship

Only Two Weeks Left and This Weeks Bag Is,

                                                                                                                

   

This weeks Grab Bag is here and it is super awesome, it comes with

• 4 of our yet to be released purple line bows, all perfect for adding something to your hair to make it a little bit more magical than it already will be, even on those hot days where you'd rather be in the air condition but you're not.

• 1 Cable-knitted waist belt accented with a vintage stones, to add pizzazz to outfits made for those classier moments.

• 1 Pencil Pouch with a vintage brass button, to keep all of your items nice and neat even when everything else during your school year anything but.

and all items will be made to match the specifications of your pencil pouch, you can specify the color you want used in the letter to me at the end of your purchase rather than in the variations to keep all of your options and varied as possible.

If you aren't familiar with where to get this bag and your interested it check out:

etsy.com/shop/theknitche

To find this and all of our other sweet items.

Along with that I do have some fun new items that will soon be in store for The Knitche and some cool stuff I'll 'be doing here as well so keep an eye on that. I'll be back tomorrow for Tutorial Tuesday where we are going to be doing an awesome natural look.

Ready to set sail (and see you all tomorrow),

                                                       Ms. Sinking Ship 

Tutorial Tuesday and This Weeks Grab Bag,

Hey guys! This weeks' grab bag is finally out! Along with the tutorial for this week as well! I apologize for the lateness of both I've been having some electronic complications yesterday and early today but hopefully it is all worked out now. This weeks grab bag doesn't have a lot to it but it has plenty of personality to make up for it! This weeks tote is completely customizable from all of the colors used to the embroidered initial in the front, and long with that tote comes to crocheted collars, one scalloped and one original to compliment any shirt, to match, this tote comes with one more thing to add to those and that is it's soft ball style bow, this bow will keep you accessorized while your hair is up and out of the way on hotter days, you can get this grab bag on my Etsy of course and the link for that if you do not know it already is
etsy.com/shop/theknitche

Now on to the tutorial! (Didn't you love those salesmen skills) This week I did a modified classic look, it still has your basic light eyeshadow and winged eyeliner but instead of red lipstick I went for a bright pink just for fun. I want to apologize for the lips portion of the video, like I said I've been having technology problems and that was part of it but I hope you enjoy it anyways, next weeks will be a natural type look and will hopefully turn out better than this one if you guys have any ideas or comments for that let me know. The products I used for this tutorial were:

Base Eyeshadow: NYX Avant Pop Palette, surreal my heart, white
Crease Eyeshadow: NYX Avant Pop Palette, surreal my heart, silver
Eye Liner: SmashBox Gel Liner in Deep Black
Lip Liner: NYX Lip Liner Crayon in 835 (Pinky)
Lip Color: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in 18 (Prague)

So just so you are all aware I didn't actually mean to use all of the same brand it just kind of happened, so just enjoy that there. I'll be back later this week with a back to school shopping clothing haul which should be fun, and if you really miss me until then you can check out my snapchat: cherishhornbeck
for every day stuff and possibly some fun promo codes for those who add me!
Ready to Set Sail (and get everything working,)
                                                             Ms. Sinking Ship

Books, Haircuts, and Business,

So this post has been written as many different things already but everything sounded weird when written down and I realized it was because you fellows have no idea what is going on in my life anymore. SO, I'll let you in on what's been going on and all of the crazy things that are in motion at this moment.

1. I'm writing a series of books on WattPad

So lately I've been working on a horror/thriller love story on WattPad (sounds kinda messy but it's not that horrible I promise). Along with that story I've been writing another book that is another main characters point of view of the same situations, they are being written at the same time so you can see both reactions and both sides to every situation around the same time. If you are interested in either, there named IdolIzed and Her Eyes, they are updated every Thursday and Wednesday (or that's when they're supposed to be updated. You guys know how awful I am at deadlines).

2. I cut off all my hair

This one was supposed to be an entire entry on it's own but every time I wrote it out, it sounded like an informercial and that was weird, the reason I am writing it in the first place is because of the impact it made on me. I have had my hair short before, but I was young and did not take a lot of care of my hair when it came to doing it, so it was horrible. This is the first time since childhood that I have had it short at all. My hair was below my chest and almost to the end of my back, when I cut it, it came to right above my shoulders I instantly felt some type of relief (mostly because my hair was heavy) but also because I was no longer doing my hair for everyone else it was for me, and as the days grew I became more and more relieved, then I became confident My haircut gave me that pushed I needed to feel free with myself, and to push my self to become more of who I wanted to be. It sounds cliche and even a little bit silly I know, but it's true. It made me feel good and in return I did everything else good as well. 

3. I've been working on getting my business together

As you guys know I am the owner of The KNITche and lately I have been working hard to get it out there and getting things sold. We now have an Etsy, a Facebook, and as of yesterday we now also have an instagram. New things are being made daily and new items are posted as soon as possible after that, so hopefully, with that production rate and all of our out put on social media we should be going at a steady pace soon, a steady pace that I am definitely excited for.

All of this has been keeping me from writing often but so has the fact that I'm not exactly happy with blogger and I feel like my writing is not accomplishing quite what I'm trying to get across, I do enjoy blogging and would like to continue to do so, but with all of that in might at the moment, I might not post as frequently as I would in other situations. I hope you understand and continue to enjoy the blog even with these minor setbacks.
- ready to set sail,
                          Ms. Sinking Ship

My crazy (and exciting) Month,

Hey sailors! (see what I did there? because I'm Ms. Sinking Ship. It sounded like a good idea in my head, I don't know if it actually played out well.) January has been a very busy month and a lot has changed and happened leaving me with little time to finish the blog posts I had been working on, so I apologize for that; But I do have big and exciting news! My Etsy is finally set up and ready to go! If you want to check it out here's the link: 

etsy.com/shop/theknitche

          I'm still in the process of adding all the listing and finishing up all the maintenance that needs to be done but it is now accessible, and along with that there are many posts to soon come out about new products, DIYs, and more. I'm so excited to finally get everything on a consistent, up and running basis. The first of many posts will be coming out later this week, but while you're waiting for that  you can always check out my Etsy page, the Facebook page, tweet at me, email me, or even comment on my Instagram. I can't wait to see how the rest of the year plays out based on this exciting month and I can't wait to share all of that with you all as well,

 Ready to set sail (and get going),

                                      Ms. Sinking Ship

What I Wore Today : 1/6/15,

Today I wore a Sheer Collared shirt, with a floral sheer striped skirt, and ripped tights. I also wore a long Salmon colored cardigan as an over coat but it is not in the drawing.

I wanted to start this on the 1st but I had a few set-backs, no worries now though because it's finally up after a week of trying. I plan to have this segment every day if everything runs smoothly along with the over posts that will be added normally. 

Ready to set sail (and get the new year full of new outfits started),

Ms. Sinking Ship

What I Wore Today 1.1.15,

So This is going to be a little segment for the artistic side or for the fashionable side, or both maybe.  Usually there will be an artsy type picture, wether a drawing, a painting, etc. of the outfit I wore that day and it was supposed to start today but do to an overly large turn of events I could not get the picture done. So I hope you enjoy this little notice and the new look of the page instead because it took a ridiculous four days.
                        Ready to set sail, (and start this segment)
                                                                  Ms. Sinking Ship
               

Merry holidays! See you in the new year,

Why hello, I want to first apologize for the lack of words this past month, but I plan on making it up to you all. Starting this new year we will go on plenty of exciting new adventures and try out thousands of new ideas I already have planned. I hope you all have a great holiday and a happy New Years eve. Also, I'm sorry for the vague and short structure of a statement you are receiving but I'm busting planning and preparing for the end ofnthis year and the beginning of the next, see you on the new year,
         Ready to set sail (and restart)
                               Ms. Sinking Ship