The Blogcademy And MagCloud: Poster Crazy!

The Blogcademy MagCloud Posters

When you need to promote an event or get your designs printed on nice quality paper, we all know how quickly that can add up. And, screen printing posters is also very expensive, especially when you’re a smaller business. We’ve been looking for an alternative, cost effective way to print posters and we finally have a solution to share with you! At The Blogcademy, we’ve been using MagCloud since the very beginning to print our workbooks but we didn’t realize they also did double-sided 18 x 24 posters!

The Blogcademy MagCloud Posters

For those of you who aren’t familiar with MagCloud, it’s an on-demand printing service run by HP and you can print as little or as much as you like. They ship around the world, too. Sometimes you just don’t have the quantities needed to go through a traditional printer or you just need to proof a project to see how it’s looking. Having the option to order a single piece is so nice!

Late one night, we put together layouts of our two upcoming Blogcademy dates in Portland and Los Angeles along with posters featuring our fancy new manifesto. We expected the quality to be just okay for $2.00 a piece but were pleasantly surprised when the posters showed up. First off, each comes in its own protective plastic sleeve. Next, the paper is much heavier than poster paper — it’s more like a few steps down from card stock. And the finish is the equivalent of a satin.

The Blogcademy MagCloud Posters

If you don’t have an event to produce posters for, why not try the following:

• Make prints of your original photography. Create a collage on your wall or give out as gifts and promos.
• Posters of old school family photos would be really charming!
• Do a series of patterns you’ve created. Make your own mishmash of wallpaper!
• Print your artwork as posters to sell at conventions, shows or events.

* All posters printed on-demand through MagCloud. Templates can be found here.

* Tassels are courtesy of The paper Jar via The Cloud Parade, an official Blogcademy sponsor.

* Finally, we want to note that this post was in no way sponsored by MagCloud. We just really like the service and hope it is of use to you as well.

xo always,
Shauna, Gala and Kat

Stop The Presses! We Have A New L.A. Venue!

Mercury retrograde is notorious for throwing a spanner in the works… And it certainly did a number on us this week!

On Tuesday, we got the news that our L.A. venue had been double-booked.  Cue internal panic!  We had visions of trying to teach The Blogcademy on the side of a highway, or in our rented apartment, or at an In-N-Out booth… But thankfully, we found a replacement (and secretly, we think it’s even better than our original location)!

Located just a few inches from our original venue, we are so bloomin’ excited to kick it with you at the McCadden Photo Studio in Hollywood!

Just look at all this space…

Our favourite thing?  The psychedelic lounge area upstairs!  This exotic, mid-century modern wonderland is going to make for some amazing photo ops for sure. Stand by to use it as the perfect chill out area to munch your lunch, do your homework or gossip with your new blogging bffs!

…And let’s not forget the separate hair and make-up room with perfect lighting for practising your very best #bloggerface! Oh yes, dear blogcadettes, we really did lock down a goodie!

McCadden Photo Studio is located at 1041 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood, CA 90038, and we can’t wait to see you crazy cats there.

Oh, and by the way, we have a handful of spaces left, so if you’d like to join us on that amazing holographic couch (!!!) for a weekend of fun, we’d love to have you!

Lot of love from your resourceful headmistresses,
Kat, Gala and Shauna!

The Blogcademy Manifesto

A few weeks ago, I sat down at my desk and banged out a Blogcademy manifesto. It poured from my fingers fast and fluid, starting with, We believe in the power of turquoise…

Writing a manifesto is a fun exercise for anyone who likes to play with words. I wrote a radical self love manifesto for my own blog years ago, and it has served as a kind of cornerstone of the radical self love concept ever since.

See if you can make some time to sit down and write a manifesto for your business or blog this weekend. You might be surprised by what you come up with!

 

We curated a little Blogcademy-inspired treasury over on Etsy… Do you like it?!

 

Oh, and speaking of visual inspiration, we’ve also been pinning up a storm over on Pinterest! What can you expect to find? Plenty of turquoise, for one… But also oodles of tips for blogging babes. (Oh, and some cans of gin snuck in there, too! The perils of having an English headmistress!)

Only 24 days until we see you in Portland! Counting down the sleeps!

xo always,
Gala, Shauna and Kat.

Look who got a brand new forum!

Drumroll please!  We are so excited to announce the debut of our brand spanking new forum!  Only two days in and we already have 75 Blogcademy babes signed up, chatting and asking questions and getting to know one another!  It’s amazing and we’re so thrilled.

xo always,

Gala, Shauna and Kat.

Meet Our Portland & Los Angeles Scholarship Winners!

Image by Danielle

Planning two workshops at once may be double the work but it’s also double the fun – especially when it came to picking our scholarship winners for both cities at the same time.

The three of us trawled though all your amazing entries late one night, emailing back and forth with our favourite ones. Although we were pretty unanimous that our Los Angeles winner had to be Danielle. Her entry was so cute, creative and fun. We can’t wait to meet you (although shh, Kat already has – and yes, she’s just as adorbs in real life!)

Then for Portland we picked Jessica. Her creative design skills really shone in her video. We love how she took a completely different approach to her entry by using her skills as a graphic designer to really show us what she’s about. We know she’s going to be a fantastic addition to the Portland class.

See you both soon ladies!

Lots of love, squeals and over excited kisses
Your headmistresses, Kat, Gala & Shauna

Ch-Ch-Changes!

Photo by Hannah Webster.

Good things take time, or so they say, and The Blogcademy is no exception!  After three rollicking sold-out classes, we’ve decided to make some changes to the curriculum… and we couldn’t be more excited about it!

Our weekend attendees in London may have noticed the dapper and talented Richard Wakefield of FX Films creeping around Curtain Road Studios.  In addition to making a video showcasing the atmosphere (and fabulous headgear!) of The Blogcademy, he also filmed the entirety of Lisa Devlin‘s photography lecture.

The reason for this?  As much as we love (and secretly worship!) Lisa, packing her into our turquoise suitcase and toting her all over the world with us isn’t totally practical!

We’re thrilled to announce that all Blogcademy students will receive a link to this video with their ticket purchase, which is perfect for any graduates who desire a little “extra credit”! Think of it as a little way we’re giving you even more bang for your buck!

By shifting this segment to the online space, we have an extra two hours to learn and play together!  This will vary slightly from class to class, and will be tailored for our individual mix of students and their needs, but we’re going to pump up the volume in a segment on non-sleazy networking, info on savvy image use, as well as some excellent and immersive activities (to remain secret until the day!).

We know it’s going to be great, and we’re psyched about making some fabulous new changes. As always, if you have any questions, please hit us up on Twitter!

xo always,

Gala, Shauna and Kat.

Scholarship Reminder…

Illustration by Veronica Dearly

Just a little reminder that you have until next Friday (15th February) to get your scholarship entries in for either the Portland or Los Angeles workshops. To read more about the scholarship and how to enter, check out the bottom of our FAQ page. We’d love to see you there!

Love from your always-excitable headmistresses,
Kat, Gala & Shauna

London Recap & Sponsor Love

With 60 eager bloggers waiting, the three of us were a heady mix of nerves and excitement before the two sold out London workshops. But we need not have worried. Our ‘blogcadets’ (as they’re now calling themselves – cute!) are definitely the coolest, spunkiest and most passionate guys and girls around. Not scary at all! In fact what a talented bunch of babes they are.

So instead of us banging on about it over and over, we thought we’d share exactly what some of them had to say about the whole thing…

“Well I have to say that it was officially the greatest weekend I’ve ever experienced! I have never in all my days, felt so inspired or excited in my life. My head is jam packed with ideas, my notebook is full and my head is now covered in sparkly bows and bunny-ears”. Emma Rose Black

“Something inside has clicked. I’ve done B-School, I’ve read numerous books & listened to countless voices, but the bringing together of like minded souls is something really special. So for now I just wanted to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the time, energy & love you put into The Blogcademy. It truly feels like a gift that will keep on giving and one that will enable me to grow and pass on the gifts I have for the benefit of others.” Jayne Rusby

“When I initially booked in for my Blogcadet training, I was concerned about the cost – but I left utterly satisfied, and genuinely convinced that the time, effort and sheer volume of actual applicable, real-world advice that you packed into our little London jaunt was worth its weight in gold. The result: I feel so well-equipped with the guidance I need to take my blog to lofty, Eiffel Tower-ish heights, and invigorated and energized to get my butt into gear and do it!” Caroline Gallatly

“Just being in the same room as Gala, Kat and Shauna makes you feel like you can do anything.” Emily Fisher

“I don’t think I learnt as much in a year at Uni as I did from The Blogcademy girls in two days. That’s where I think The Blogcademy really shines, we were given real life scenarios and case studies and things were explained in perfect detail. It is blatantly obvious that the three lovely teachers know what they are talking about because they have lived and breathed it for years.” Stephanie Hind

“Words like fabulous, inspirational, glittery, engaging and epic are all accurate descriptions of The Blogcademy but they do not come close to describing the life changing experience that came in the turquoise packaging.” Georgina Webb

“Being a bit of a natural cynic, I was a little worried about spending a not-insubstantial chunk of money on a two day course. I need not have feared. This was, and I’m not exaggerating, the best money I have ever spent – an investment in my blog, yes, but much more importantly, in myself.” Lucy Loves

 

“I didn’t realise just how much I learned until I found myself slipping advice learned from The Blogcademy into everyday conversations that didn’t have anything to do with blogging. I’m totally going to be ‘that girl’ who keeps talking about ‘this one time at The Blogcademy’…” Xandra Burns

“I would love to tell all the bloggers out there who are writing in any other language than English that The Blogcademy´s awesomeness totally translates and that there is so much to learn, regardless of one’s language.” Julia Safronova

“Don’t be fooled by the pink sparkles and bunny ears, there’s nothing frivolous about The Blogcademy. Real business advice from three successful professional women who are doing it their way… in fabulous shoes.” Scarlett Nymph

If you couldn’t already tell, our Blogcademy graduates are an energetic, enthusiastic bunch and have a lot to share about their workshop experiences! We’ve been keeping touch with them through our private Facebook forum and gathered up their blog posts below:

1. You Can Wear Fluffy Cat Ears When You Grow Up 2. Glitter Bows and Bunny Ears Galore! 3.Blogcademy Chit Chat 4. One Of The things That Impressed Me The Most… 5. When Is The Reunion Party!? 6. Four Big Reasons I Loved The Blogcademy 7. Where Dreams Become A Reality 8. Surround Yourself With The Right Influences 9. Inspired to Action 10. Confessions of a Blogcadet 11. Words of sparkle 12. Things I Learnt at The Blogcademy 13. Be Inspired 14. Take The Initiative 15. Dreaming Big 16.The Best Dream I Ever Had 17. Blogcademy: Who Needs University? 18. How To Get The Most Out of Blogcademy. 19. The Blogcademy 20. We Were Taught… 21. The A-Z Of The Blogcademy. 22. What she did 

Some of the girls even went for ‘extra credit’ and made these awesome videos! Awwww

1. Confessions of a Blogcadet 2. One Big Huge Thank You and 3. Emma Talks The Blogcademy.

London 1 (Class Two):

London 2 (Class Three):

Photography: Emily Quinton

Sponsor Love

Of course we couldn’t have pulled it off without our incredible sponsors! Unless love to you all…

Branded tote bag from Awesome Merchandise 

Rings were courtesy of Finest Imaginary, Thimble & Fred and Pugly Pixel, Moleskine notebooks were from Finest Imaginary, phone cases were by Awesome Merchandise sparkly hair bows were courtesy of Crown & Glory, the glitter collars were handmade by Alexandra King, the eye shadows were courtesy of Sugarpill, the shoe clips were by Head Full of Feathers and the CD of Photoshop actions was courtesy of Lisa Devlin.

We even had delicious cakes from Charlotte of Restoration Cake who braved the snowstorm (and still arrived immaculately dressed!) to deliver them, each individually wrapped for the students. She also brought a unicorn cake as an extra surprise!

We would like to thank the following folks for making our event extra memorable:

Photography (except where stated): Shell de Mar Photography
Video: FX Media
Venue: Curtain Road Studios
Decor Items: The Tea Set and Peach Blossom
Cakes: Restoration Cake
Flowers: Hayford & Rhodes
Guest Speaker #1: Lisa Devlin
Guest Speaker #2: Emily Quinton

Tickets for the Portland (March 30th & 31st) & Los Angeles (April 6th & 7th) Blogcademys are on sale now. We’d love to see you there!

Lots of love from your tired but happy headmistresses,
Kat, Gala & Shauna

Snowdrifts, Sequins & Sparkly Ears A-Plenty at The Blogcademy, London

London, you really turned it out. We had the best time ever getting frisky with 60 fabulous graduates, or as they like to call themselves, “blogcadettes” (So cute!)

We were so lucky to have our exceptionally talented friend Richard Wakefield of FX Media came along to our weekend class to capture the magic on film…

Don’t forget we’re off to Portland & LA next. If you’d like to sign up for either of these events you can also do so right here!

Lots of love and snow-covered kisses from your chilly but oh-so-happy headmistresses,
Kat, Gala & Shauna

No boredom. No blathering. No bullshit.