Word of the Day #3 - Loquacious

It's the end of yet another busy Letterbugging week and I thought I'd dive into the weekend with another Word of the Day post.

 

Word of the Day #3:

Loquacious [lo·qua·cious] adj. 1. Talkative: tending to talk a great deal. 2. Given to fluent or excessive talk : Garrulous.

Most days this is a word that could be used to describe me, but generally this loquacious tendency is finite. There's a certain point each day where I either run out of steam or simply run out of stuff to say!

Have a great weekend.

Jen x

BUG BITS - The Letterbug writes for real estate!

I have always loved interior design, and adore looking at people's houses. During high school I had a thing for designing houses. I would sit at the kitchen table with my ruler and a trusty HB pencil and create floorplans of my 'dream home'. Mum kindly built a house when I was about 17, which thrust my designing activities into super-turbo-charged-overdrive.

So you can imagine how giddy with excitement I was when in 2010 I began writing for real estate. My passion for houses is now indulged every single week. Yes, nowadays my working week is dominated by real estate projects. And. I. Love. It!

[source]

Of course I still write for an array of other industries, and I love a creative challenge.

[source]

It's all good, people!

Jen x

Word of the Day #2 - Amnesia

It sounds so much more serious than forgetfulness, and I have chosen 'Amnesia' as Word of the Day #2 for a good reason.

A little while ago, I met somebody who said they'd been looking at The Letterbug's blog. When I say "a little while ago", what I actually mean is AGES ago - Lordy have I been neglecting the Letterbug's blog!



Anyway, this valued client of mine said he had enjoyed reading about Word of the Day #1 - Ubiquitous.

"Really?" said his companion, who turned to me and said,
"What does ubiquitous mean?"


Long silence, crickets chirping, a dog barks somewhere in the distance...


I couldn't remember! Gah!!!!


There's nothing like being put on the spot to make me go completely, tragically, and gut-wrenchingly blank. Let's just say it was one of the lower points of my day - and for now I choose to blame amnesia, hahaha!


Word of the Day #2:

Amnesia [am·ne·sia] n. Partial or total loss of memory, usually resulting from shock, psychological disturbance, brain injury, or illness.



Note: In my case, the shock and psychological disturbance came after the amnesia.


Let's never mention this incident again, okay?


Another note: Candidate for Word of the Day #3– hypochondria!


Jen x


PS: Happy New Year - let's hope I can manage to squeeze in a WHOLE LOT more blogging this year :)

Word of the Day #1 - Ubiquitous

Welcome to The Letterbug's Word of the Day! There are some words in the English language that are nifty, or interesting, or weird, or just fun to have rolling from your tongue. Whichever category they fall into, I thought it would be fun to share a few of these words with you.

I won't be so brazen as to suggest that I will be posting a new word every day - it would just never happen. However, when the planets align and I find a spare 5 minutes in my day, I promise to devote them to finding you a 'Word of the Day'. Okay?

So here we go...

Word of the Day #1:

Ubiquitous [u·biq·ui·tous] adj. Being or seeming to be everywhere, or in all places, at the same time; omnipresent.

This word just looks so handsome, and could do with being used a whole lot more often. See if you can casually throw it into a sentence or two today - I dare you!

EG: "Mosquitos have become an ubiquitous presence on Grammar's porch just after sunset this year. Alas!"

Until next time...

BUG BITS - Forcefield Electronic Security

I love newspaper clippings. If any of my family or friends happen to make it into a newspaper or magazine I feel compelled to take the clipping and keep it. Old fashioned? Perhaps. But for me it's like trying not to close your eyes when you sneeze - near on impossible to control.

You can imagine then, how excited I was to write an editorial piece for Garth Heywood of Forcefield Electronic Security. Just before Christmas he had a 300 word slot in his local paper, the Blue Mountains Gazette. Here's what we wrote:

For more information about Forcefield Electronic Security, you can email Garth by clicking here.

Stay tuned for more of my hopelessly belated Bug Bits soon!

Jen x

One day...

I sometimes dream that one day my office will look like this:

[Source]

Instead of this:

Tee hee - happy Friday everyone!

Jen x

Happy New Year everybody!

Wow! What a whirlwind end to 2010. It was more than a relief to take some time to relax and enjoy family and friends over the Christmas period. Santa left some wonderul gifts for us under the tree, and we have been working overtime to eat up all of the leftover ham.

And now it is time to look ahead to the sparkling new year ahead. I can't wait to get stuck into my first round of Letterbug projects, commencing Monday 1oth January.

Whenever it is that you decide to leap back into 'business as usual' for 2011, consider the copywriting you undertook last year.

• Did the task of producing a monthly newsletter feel like a constant weight around your neck?
• Did your press releases fail to get the results you were hoping for?
• Was blogging a never-ending item on your to-do list?
• Did your business writing simply take up too much of your valuable time?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, perhaps it is time to consider getting more help.
Perhaps you could do with a little bit more Letterbug in your life!
Start the business year off with a positive step forward - contact me about your copywriting needs for 2011. Don't be shy!
I look forward to all of the wonderful writing journeys that I know you all have in store for me in 2011. Let's get cracking!
Jen x

BUG BITS - Cake Face

If there's one thing I love almost as much as chocolate, it is cake. It is my lighter, more spongy best friend. So you'll understand when I tell you that I was more than a bit excited when the delightful Mignon from Cake Face came my way a little while ago.

Mignon wanted to spread the word about Cake Face, and showcase her flair for bespoke wedding and special occasion cakes. In short, Mignon needed a media kit.

Here's a deliciously light, melt in your mouth taste of what we came up with:

...and the bio page:

If a taste of Cake Face is simply not enough, you can find out more here.

I never knew it was possible to create cakes like these. Mignon's gallery of cake extravaganzas really is a sight to behold. Treat yourself and take 10 mouth watering-minutes to take a look.

I am a cake face!

Jen x

Dot's Gigglespot #12

What message are you sending to your audience?

Is it relevant???

Jen x

Grammar on the Porch #10

Is it just me or do high school English classes slide further and further away with every year? Thank goodness we have "Grammar on the Porch". Good old Grammar loves to visit The Letterbug from time to time for a nice cup of tea and a natter about the English language. She knows you know - really she does. But just in case...

Image kindly supplied by Toni Grote - visit http://www.artisttonigrote.blogspot.com/ to see more of her beautiful artwork.

Good morning dears! Grammar is so pleased you've joined us here on the porch this morning. Don't you just love the scent of freesias hanging in the air on such a sunny spring morning? It reminds me of a high tea I once attended at a manor house as a young lass. My my, spring fever was in the air that day... but that's a story for another day, he he he.

Today let's chat about the past. I hope by now that Grammar has passed on some valuable tips to you here on the porch. Over the past year or so we've nattered about there, their and they're, sipped earl grey over that vs which, me vs I, its vs it's and many more grammatical conundrums. Well, here's another beauty for you to consider...

Past vs Passed

Which past/passed is which? How do we use them? What time is morning tea?? Sorry dears, ignore that last question! Let Grammar shed some light on these two words for you:

Past - the word 'past' locates something in time or space. It can be an adjective, a noun, an adverb or a preposition. Following is an explanation and examples of each.

Past – adjective: gone by or elapsed in time
- It was a bad time, but it's all past now.
- the past glories of the boot-scooting craze.
- during the past year.
- three past presidents of the bowls club.

Past – noun: the time gone by
- Grandpa could remember events far back in the past.
- our bowls club's glorious past.
- Sometimes it's better to forget the past.
- That tattoo is a reminder of the past.
- When he left prison, he put his past behind him.

Past – adverb: so as to pass by or beyond
- The parade marched past.

Past – preposition: beyond in time; later than; after
- It's past midnight; nearly half past twelve!
- The pub is just past the petrol station.
- We went past your house by mistake.
- Grammar is past the maximum age for sky-diving.

Passed - is the past participle of the verb 'to pass'.
- To proceed, move forward, depart; to cause to do this. This can refer to movement forwards in time, in space, or in life (such as 'to pass an examination').
- The car passed us at extremely high speed
- I passed all of my exams
- He passed the basketball with an effortless flick of his wrist.
- The time passed so slowly while you were away.

Now then Grammar hopes that this will help to clarify the different uses of the words past and passed. Speaking of which, it is high time you passed the Tim Tams over to Grammar - all of this chit chat has made me hungry. Who would have thought, eh?!

See you next time...

BUG BITS - Lumina Motion Pictures

The Letterbug loves weddings, so while we're on a roll with wedding projects let me tell you about the project that made me cry. Often. I cried a lot while this project was on the go.

Richelle and Shane Kerr from Lumina Motion Pictures create the most beautiful wedding day films that I have ever clapped eyes on. These are not your average daggy wedding day videos, people! These are film-clips, motion pictures - beautiful, joyful, cinematic love-stories.

And every time I flitted over to the Lumina website and watched a teaser of their work, IT MADE ME CRY!

I don't know the brides or grooms featured in any of Shane and Richelle's work, but apparently it doesn't matter if the film is created by skillful cinematographers who share a love of weddings...

..sniff.

So anyway, Richelle and Shane wanted me to write a communication for them that outlined the different packages offered by Lumina Motion Pictures. Along with this we also needed to get the message across to brides and grooms-to-be that Lumina does weddings like no other videographer can. Have I mentioned the whole crying thing yet??

Here's a snippet of what we came up with:

For more information about Lumina Motion Pictures, click here.

I can't help myself, I simply HAD to include one of Richelle and Shane's gorgeous clips here at the Letterbug too. Enjoy!

Jen x

Kelly & Steven from Lumina Motion Pictures on Vimeo.

BUG BITS - Polka Dot Bride

I am quite a curious person, so you can imagine the effect it had on me when I took on a writing project for an anonymous blogger! The deliciously elusive Ms Polka Dot recently asked me to give her a hand while she worked through the super-exciting task of revamping her blog, Polka Dot Bride.

We worked on a range of different writing projects, one of which was an email to her advertisers to introduce the new look Polka Dot Bride. The vast new site has SO much to offer anyone interested in weddings. The key for this project was to outline all of the necessary information in a way that a) made sense, b) was easy to read, and c) didn't completely bamboozle the reader.

Here's a confetti-coated snippety snip of the email we put together:

This email goes on to cover many more fantastic features, all of which are now firmly in place at Polka Dot Bride. To go and explore this treasure trove of weddings, click here.

Note: Can you believe I still have NO idea about Ms Polka Dot's identity?! I can tell you that she is delightful, clever and witty. Her ability to sift out the most beautiful wedding inspirations is amazing, and she is about as intriguing as they come. I am just as curious now as I was before this project came about. Thanks Ms Polka Dot!

Jen x

Dot's Gigglespot #11

Wow! The Australian Army must have some really awesome camouflage painters...

Amazing!
We've missed you Dot - come back with more giggles soon.
xx

Grammar on the Porch #9

Is it just me or do high school English classes slide further and further away with every year? Thank goodness we have "Grammar on the Porch". Good old Grammar loves to visit The Letterbug from time to time for a nice cup of tea and a natter about the English language. She knows you know - really she does. But just in case...

Image kindly supplied by Toni Grote - visit http://www.artisttonigrote.blogspot.com/ to see more of her beautiful artwork.

When the porch is ravaged by wind and rain for weeks on end, Grammar doesn't visit much. It's been awhile, but with just a hint of spring in the air Grammar thought she ought to pop in for a quick cup of tea and a chat.

There are numerous words in the English language that sound the same as each other in speech, but have their own unique spelling. These words are used with ease when talking, but often bring our writing to an abrupt halt as we puzzle over which is the correct spelling for our particular purpose.

Grammar is going to set the record straight on a couple of these words this afternoon, while we wait for our English Breakfast to draw...

Practice vs. Practise

Which spelling is correct? Which word do we use when? You mean there is more than one spelling???

If you've ever stumbled over 'practice' and 'practise', I have the simplest of solutions. You will never mix up these two little lovelies again! So here it is:

Practice is a noun, a thing. Something you can put 'the' in front of. E.G. I have an appointment at the medical practice in 20 minutes.

Practise is a verb, an action. A doing word. E.G. If I am ever going to get faster at knitting I need to practise.

So how can we remember which practice is which? Easy!

'ICE' is a cold slippery thing, whereas 'ISE' is not a thing.
So, just remember that practice is a thing and practise is a doing word:

"The only thing Grammar doesn't like about bowls practice is practising her drive."

Special bonus extra from Grammar: Another similar confusion is advice and advise. Fortunately, the same rules apply.

Now then, that breeze is going right through me out here on the porch. Grammar's going to nip inside with an Iced Vo-Vo and a nice brew.

See you soon!

BUG BITS - Little Moos

Pretty, pretty, pretty...

Imagine my luck when I was asked to write about the softest, fluffiest, prettiest little tutu's around? When Jaki from Little Moos asked me to write a press release for the latest collection of Little Moos tutu's I really didn't know where to start. That lasted for about 0.317 seconds, because tutus are so spectacularly fun, and they're just SO pretty, pretty pretty!

Here's what we put together:

To learn more about the sheer bliss that is a Little Moos tutu, click here.

And while we're just, you know, chatting - how old is too old for a tutu?
I'm just taking a poll, in case anyone ever asks me... that's all :P

Jen x

5 Questions @ The Letterbug: Carla Hazzard - Habitat baby

As a copywriter/wife/mum/sister/daughter/friend, I get asked a lot of questions. My two gorgeous Hatchlings are aged 2 and 4 years old, so asking questions is one of their favourite hobbies. So from time to time I like to hurl a few questions around too, just to even the score a little bit!

A few wintery weeks ago I launched 5 super-tricky questions at the lovely Carla Hazzard from Habitat Baby. She swiftly fired her responses straight back at me.

We both took a breath.

And then we went back to whatever it was we were doing before these 5 Questions @ The Letterbug ever happened. Take a look:

1. What is your favourite thing about winter?

Unwinding with a glass of red in front of the fire, not that I need any excuse for the red (maybe the fire though!).

2. Do your Habitat Baby activities change during the cold months or does business remain fairly consistent throughout the year?

Fairly consistent throughout the year. Having said that November/December are a little busier. Not sure if that has something to do with people wanting to redecorate their rooms for Christmas visitors?

3. Do you have a favourite Habitat Baby product that you can't stop talking about at the moment? Which one and why?

I am incredibly passionate and proud of everything in my two new ranges! But if I had to single out one item, I would have to say the Geo handmade wool rug....its soooo stylish (if I say so myself!).

4. What was the most useful piece of business advice you received when you were setting up Habitat Baby?

It seems really obvious, but do something that you are passionate about. Being really passionate about your products will keep you motivated. Also, I think it is really important to find someone who is business minded that you can bounce ideas off, vent and get support. I have a wonderful friend that I tend to annoy with my ideas, but its nice to get a neutral opinion before you launch with half baked ideas!

5. In a perfect world, would you deal with winter by:

a. escaping to a warm, tropical destintation?
b. Whipping on your ugg boots and snuggling up with a hot chocolate in front of the fire?
c. Launching yourself off a steep snowy inclines with all the other snow bunnies?
d. None of the above, instead I would....?

Definitely C - not sure of the steep inclines though as my skiing is a little rusty! My husband and I are taking the three kids to Canada for Christmas 2012 so I'm busily arranging that at the moment. Can't wait!!

Thanks Carla, you're such a good sport!

Please take a look at Habitat Baby's beautiful new linen range at http://www.habitatbaby.com.au/ immediately, if not sooner. You'll be glad you did!

Jen x

BUG BITS - Little Elk

I'm back!


Like the builder who never manages to do any work to his own house, I have recently been a very naughty and neglectful little Letterbug when it comes to this blog. The good news is that I have been a busy bee on all sorts of interesting writing projects for lots of lovely clients. And now I'm going to get back to telling you about them...


Not so long ago I crossed paths with an exciting new online business called Little Elk. Sally from Little Elk is set to share beautiful, timeless treasures that she has sourced from all over the world. The first of her wonderful discoveries is a range of super-cool kid's gumboots - a highly necessary wardrobe item in Melbourne this winter!!

Sally asked me to write an introductory press release for Little Elk. Here's what we put together:

The joy of working with Sally was her clear vision for Little Elk. Many business owners struggle to define their business. What do they stand for? Who are they targeting? Why are they even in business? Hopefully these sound like pretty straight forward questions to you if you are already in business. But if they don't, it might be time to put your thinking cap on.

Clear business focus cannot be underestimated. I love helping clients to get some 20:20 vision on their business, and I also love working with clients (like Sally) whose vision is already crystal clear.

For more information about Little Elk and their gorgeous gumboots click here.

Jen x

The Letterbug's Picnic

It is busy, busy, busy in The Letterbug's office at the moment. And just like the builder whose house is the last to get finished, my blog is the last to get written when I am booked up with copywriting projects.

But that's okay, because when I need a little pick-me-up I find something like this to share. I remember this clip from my childhood, and now I like to exchange "Ladybug" for "Letterbug" so that the song is all about me!!

If you've ever wondered what The Letterbug Christmas party might look like this year, perhaps it will be something like this. Happy Monday everyone!

Jen x

What do The Letterbug's clients have to say?

It's always weird when you hear people talking about you, isn't it? But in the spirit of sharing I thought it was about time I posted some testimonials about The Letterbug from some of my gorgeous clients...

Thank you Jenny, for all your help and encouragement. You have taken what would have cost me days of procrastination and turned it into a delightful little experience with speedy turn around times. It is SO much easier to have somebody else write about Little Bird instead of me (thank you!). And thanks for the gentle 'shove' as well! I really couldn't have done it without your help... and I find myself smiling every time I hear from you.Magical wishes. Pru x.

Pru Trundle, Little Bird Photography

As a Graphic Designer, to receive perfect copy ready for artwork placement is the best and nobody does it better than Jenny. I recommend her to all my ‘copy-less’ clients and she never lets me down.

Prue Walstab, Gigi and Lulu


Jenny is simply the wordsmith everybody needs, and has become a huge asset to me and my business. I enjoy creative writing, but I find it time consuming, and when you juggle so many hats in running a small business it is one of those tasks that is best to be outsourced.

I thought all my Christmases had come at once when I found Jenny. Not only has she provided me with killer successful press releases, creative wording for brochures, new taglines and advertising blurbs, she has also come along to help me at a trade show! Jenny’ works quickly and efficiently and each time she hits the mark with the job.

- Lisa Koba, Cheeky Little Soles

Jenny was an absolute dream to work with! Being a blogger, I know how to write about weddings but selling myself? That is something I am horrible at! Jenny helped take what was in my head and translate it to an easy to understand format for our existing and potential advertisers. Her quick turn around time, sass and charm will definately have me turn to Jenny when I am next in a pickle!

- Ms Polka, Polka Dot Bride



Aw shucks guys, I love you too!

Jen x

BUG BITS - Little Bird Photography

It's a break from tradition, but I had to show the finished article for this press release, written recently for the beautiful Pru at Little Bird Photography. I don't always get to see where my words end up - the 'finished product' if you like. So when I am lucky enough to see this kind of thing, well, it kind of takes my breath away.

Once the words were on paper, I whisked the finished copy off to Prue from Gigi & Lulu, who has (once again) worked her graphic design magic here:

This is a reminder: Take some time here and there to appreciate what you've achieved. It's great to look ahead to the next goal - the next mountain you want to climb. But once you've reached the summit, take a minute to admire the view before you start abseiling, hang-gliding or bungy jumping off the other side!!

Jen x