Only with HP digital cameras, now photo shooting yourself won’t make you want to do the real thing. Instead of adding 10 pounds (which I swear happens), certain digicams by HP can actually reverse the effect. You don’t have to be a professional photographer, and no—not even a skilled graphic artist, to produce this *wow* effect. (And I can’t even do it that well or easily as a graphic designer, myself!)

It’s not done through a magic setting (like the macro flower or something), but with a quick click of a button as a photo editing feature, which is right on the cam, not on your computer. You really can get the results yourself and no one will have to know.

And the effect is natural too—the minimal setting is subtle, but you can up the drama if you’re really feeling bloated and/or *cranky*.

I really feel like I need this camera! Especially when I take photos with my hands in them for shooting bags or items I made to sell (isolating the body part seems to add 10 lbs only to my fingers and wrist!). But I have a great camera (which is pink!) that already has tons of amazing other features, and I want to keep it. What about you, too?

Well is one of the cameras by HP with this feature selling for a budget price? The cheapest is $179.99, which isn’t bad. Great for a nice camera, but it costs almost as much as my everyday one.

Perhaps the fatties (I say nicely!) of your family and friends can chip in to share one. And you can use it when photographing yourself, and not say your kids, dog, scenery, crafts and purse collection. Hey, that’s an idea.

Or maybe we’ll throw it in our “Sale Stalk” wish list and save up. The holidays are coming soon, it could even be an early gift, before any family photos are taken. Wait - don’t shudder, if you have this cam, you’ll think more along the lines of *shutter*.

Of course, if you’re already in dire need of a new cam, then the HP ones are a great obvious choice, ranging in price and power-punching from the one linked above to the fully-loaded R967 version, still around only $270!

Never be camera shy again!

The Fall season is pretty much upon us in the fashion hemisphere, and many of us - I know - can’t wait to get started on shopping and even wearing Autumn-toned goodies.

Now how to wear a gorgeously warm looking scarf in the dog days of August, a month that also celebrates the hot hot reds of the Earth?

An Hermès silk scarf in a sharp graphic print is perfect, and don’t get too scared, this Silk Twilly is only $115. That’s not bad for a die-hard fashionista or a moderately-budgeted H. admirer. The print is too fashionable and the price only tells you this accessory will last.

I’m out of touch. It’s been a struggle blogging and working through the on and off heat waves, having no boss, doing other work, with that site outage, etc. etc. And with my interest in indie and less blogging, I’m not even up to date on the trends.

It’s impossible to research and post with current information and style in one short night (especially as the cookies are calling me, the chocolate chips have my name spelled out) so I propose we play a little game.

Type a list of fashion and accessory trends for Fall and hot topics; celebrities, companies, anything. You can even start a thread at your favorite forum and link to that back here.

At the end of the week, I’ll make up a visual presentation or a few, and hopefully we’ll all have a little more information.

However you choose to use it though is up to you. Read at your own risk and trend responsibly!

I’ve been putting off debuting my shop and my own items, thinking, “I’m not ready!” and “I want the optimal day/time/exposure!” Oh bah. Stop procrastinating. My readers need to see this! I’m going to feature one of my items every week, so as not to over do it.

My designer company name is Milly & Nans, and I stress everything yarn, knitting and crochet accessories. I have lots of jewelry made and eventually will have lots of great purses.

What you see here is a large coin purse, knitted, with a zipper and a bracelet wrist strap and decorative button. It features a gathered design and is fully lined. It measures 4.5″ x 3″. Price: $14. Buy here on Etsy! Craving another colour? “Convo” me through Etsy!

This was the first purse I’ve ever made, but I have more in the works for Fall.

*Update* What I meant was it’s the first purse I ever designed and made. It’s still the only style of which I’ve brought to life, but I’m working on another and more are waiting to be made!*

My shop address is www.millyandnans.etsy.com and the blog is at www.millyandnans.com! (The ad to the left is moi, easily clickable anytime!)

Yes, congratulations to me, I’m starting my dream! And I’m really enjoying it.

I apologize for KM*S being down all week. The reason is all so very technical that it took me nearly the entire down time to understand what I do of it (I don’t completely, and never could), but it’s important to discuss this in detail. However you bloggers will know what I’m talking about, if just a little bit, and it’s important you, especially, read this.

You know when your content gets “scraped” and put up on a splog - spam blog - and you get that rude trackback, to boot? That’s apparantely called referrer spam. And it’s made possible by evil (and I mean EVIL) spam types sending “bots” to crawl pages for content, but I still don’t know how it’s posted to the splogs.

But the truly damaging point IS in fact that crawling. It takes “CPU time” and bandwidth and can drain a domain’s entire shared server, causing on and off 500 Internal Server Errors on any and all domains hosted on one machine with your company. (This is the part in which I feel guilty even though I’m quite innocent.)

And the next part is the point that should make you bloggers using your own hosting nervous. My host had to shut down Kiss Me, Stace until we figured out why it was such a drain and then set up a script to prevent it. It took 5 days. Of downtime. And a Final Warning letter from an advertising service I use (eek!) notifying me the ads could not be found at the location (well duh, nothing could be).

But the bright spot is there in that script. It can be used with any blogging script, even! I believe it’s necessary for any blog getting lots of posts published elsewhere in this manner. It’s helpful for any blogger, even (as long as you host your own blog so you can actually upload the files).

Get it: Referrer Karma

And I’ll be posting again starting today, not Monday. Let’s hope things flow normally from now on!

Spam is not chic. It’s not even fabulously ugly. It’s a nasty, falling-apart, little child-hands-bleeding, terrorist-supporting counterfeit. It’s evil.

I love handbags, I was even addicted to designer purses and got myself buried in debt because of it. But that’s exactly why I’m against purses that cost $20,000, $200,000 (um, we’re getting close to buying a whole house there!) and even more expensive bags. Lavish materials seem luxurious and enviable, but there’s really no point past a certain extent. Diamonds are nice, diamonds on a purse may even seem like a good idea … but an accessory, albeit an essential one, costing the price such extravagances bring them to—is completely overboard and past any sensible reason. There’s no excuse for a purse ringing in at over $1 million!

The new record breaking purse price is one-million point 63 dollars! It is adorned with diamonds, oh and it’s also made of platinum. Yes, it’s an evening purse, and not the least bit practical.

Heck, I’m not even sure I like the looks of it. (That strap appears far too fragile, for one thing.) By jewelry designer, Ginza Tanaka, it boasts over 2,000 diamonds totaling 208 carats, and let’s not forget the platinum shell body.

It’s beyond words.

What do you think?

*Via Bag Bliss*

Is just really stupid.

Hopefully by accident, Miu Miu (by Miuccia Prada) has put out a common-styled black heel. Okay, no big “designer design” in that, not her own or anyone’s … but then - yes, that’s the red sole of famed Louboutin!

Hmm, now I bet the entire shoe is starting to look a tad familiar, perhaps.

Caught “Red Soled!”

OK no-name bargain cheapo companies ripping off IT looks is a no-brainer. People want the “cool” look effortlessly, and businesses want their cash.

But even as an accident—and who doesn’t know about Christian’s red sole? Come on!—a big name designer copying another brand’s claim-to-fame detail is really .. really .. really dumb.

It’s about advertising. Only the hugest of fans will probably recognize your shoe on the street. Most people who know anything about designer fashion might just think it’s Louboutin (or a copy, but they still think of that designer). This is advertising for the competition. I guess, since this was approved and is now for sale, you guys get what you deserve if this turns back on you.

(Oh and by the way, I don’t think this pump would have fooled me. Uh-uh, no, I don’t think so. No sir. )

*Via* Counterfeit Chic

*Update:* Louboutin’s camp is now trademarking the red sole.