Hey TGs!

Guess what TG's Rosie and I did on Friday night?! WE WENT TO CELEBRATE BARBIE'S 60TH BIRTHDAY and let me tell you, it was doll-ightful (hehe). 

It's good to be Barbie, right? She's got the dream house, the dream car AND over 200 careers! She's been to space, guys. Total #goals right there. 

When Rosie and I arrived up at the shindig in North Bondi, they had - no kidding - rolled out the Barbie pink carpet! There was a special pink ice cream van! We were LIVING. 


By the way, that's the ice cream van behind me. It was delish!

Oh, I should mention, we brought an extra spesh guest - Ken! Yes! One time - I'm not even sure I remember exactly WHY - Team TG was sent a life-size cutout Ken and again, I'm not sure when - someone added a bushy mo' to his upper lip. We had a feeling Ken would have fun at the party (he totally did). 

Inside, we were treated to a heap of fun displays explaining Barbie's long history inspiring girls everywhere. They had a trampoline for the '80s section and let Ken have a try! 


BTW, those 'hairdryers' blew real air so you could get a cool wind machine effect happening!

Sah many celebs came out to celebrate Barbie's big milestone: Katherine Sabbath the famous baker; Frida Las Vegas the pop culture fashion designer; Teigan Nash, formerly of Saturday Disney and now of Girls Who Glow, influencer Pixie Curtis, and more! 


Ken was defs as starstruck by Ita Buttrose as we were!

And!!! We, by which I mean Ken, got a fab photo with a spesh guest of honour, Ita Buttrose. Ita, if you don't know, is a hugely influential woman in Aussie media (Rosie and I were so starstruck that only Ken pulled himself together enough to be in a photo with her). She casts a long shadow in the history of magazine publishing in Australia and her most recent role is ABC chairwoman. We reacted like we were meeting the queen! 


Ken with the Ita Buttrose Barbie doll! That's a pink lemonade back there, yum!

Ita got a huge honour - she now has a Barbie in her likeness. Massive, right?! (and you know what, her doll really does resemble her!). Hopefully the doll will help inspire even more gals to pursue their dreams in any field they choose - perhaps journalism, publishing and broadcasting, like Ita! 

Anyway! What career would you like to see Barbie try next? Let me know in the comments below (and pssst, don't forget the new issue of TG mag on stands today, with Taylor on the cover. It's the funny issue and it's one of our G.O.A.T). 

xo Claire

OHHHH HEEEEY TGs! 😊

I'm so excited to say that right now, today, the 200th issue of Total Girl is on sale!!!! (five exclamation marks - that's the most I have ever used in one sentence, I swear, it's THAT good. 🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈 (If I could add 200 balloons here, I totally would.)

If you haven't watched the unboxing, take a look right here... It's Totally EXTRA! 😝😝😝😝😝😝😝😝😝😝


Sooooo some behind the scenes goss about the 200th issue:

Rosie LOVED coming up with questions for Zendaya coz she's a Z stan.😍

When we got the special custom poster art starring five of TG's most-loved cover stars, we died from the cuteness - thanks Makoto. ✨✨

We took the party picture in a real photo studio and we kept having to reshoot it because we were laughing so much. Fact: all the balloons kept popping and this made us jump. 😆😆

We also totally lost it when we ALL got illustrated for Jessie's blog. Turn to p80 to see the amazing results. 😮😮😮😮😮😮

The 200th issue of Total Girl is totally special. I mean! Not only do newsstand copies come with a magical fluffy cupcake bag charm, every issue comes with a custom mega poster. Inside, find shoutouts from past editors and a You Draw the Cover challenge. Can't wait to hear what you think!!! 💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿

xoxo Claire

Hey TGs,

Do you believe in dragons? 

Well, how about now?!



Yes, here is a totally realistic image of me with Toothless the dragon from the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy, plus a brand new friend, a female Light Fury! I think we really bonded. Look how much she trusts me! Toothless seems less sure... 

(side note: are you familiar with the Cottingley Fairies? Look them up at your local library - TL;DR, those 'fairies' were in fact paper cutouts, but in 1917, two sisters were able to fool people into thinking they were real with photographs of them. These dragon pics would Blow. Their. Minds!!!)

OK, so, on the weekend, I got to sit in the very first audience in the world to see How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, which concludes the trilogy. If you're not familiar with the first two, go and see them now, well ahead of the 3 January release date of the finale. They are such gorgeous stories - full of imagination, humour and of course, dragons!

Over at the cinema in Bondi, for this very special screening, they had made a 'hidden world' with my good friends in the picture, plus special glow effects and a glow-in-the-dark body painter, and glow sticks and more! 

What about the movie?! I am absolutely desperate to tell you all about it, but I am literally not allowed to! I can't say a thing! I'm only allowed to say how much I loved it, and I did. I really truly did. The emotions of the movie have stayed with me, even days later (I hope I'm allowed to say that). A review embargo is on until 3 January! So you'll have to head into cinemas to see it yourself. 

Are you excited to see How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World? Let me know in the comments!

And if I don't see you, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, TGs, to all of you who are celebrating!

xo Claire 

P.S: If, like me, you would like to hang out in the Hidden World, you can! Some Event Cinemas are hosting immersive light installations, so check this list below to see if there's one near you: 

Marion (SA), Miranda (NSW), Castle Hill (NSW), Campbelltown (NSW), Bondi Junction (NSW), Chermside (QLD), Indooroopilly (QLD), Maroochydore (QLD).

Hey TGs! 

OK, so I'm back doing my blog coz last night I went to see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and I loved it. It's one of the best animations I've ever seen (one of the best recent films, full stop). So I've got to rave about it right here! But I'm getting ahead of myself... 

If you've got your December copy of Total Girl with Dove on the cover, you'll have read Aaron's excellent guide to the movie with its pretty out-there premise: young New York teen Miles Morales gets bitten by a radioactive spider. So far, so standard - but Spidey worlds collide when many other kinds of spider-people (and one spider-pig, Peter Porker) show up in Miles' world where they must join together in the face of evil - and find their way back home to their own universe. 

Anyway - here I am hanging out with the one and only Miles Morales. Miles in the movie has excellent taste in music, two loving parents, and like we all do, sometimes feels extremely awkward. Relatable!



The movie, though! It's absolutely stunning and you'll love it whether you're a comic book fan or not. Sometimes crazy and absurd, it's a ROFL kind of laugh-fest with similar humour to The LEGO Movie (makes sense - it's got some of the same dudes behind it). It's also emotional, big-hearted, full of bravery and courage and has an incredibly good soundtrack. Already hailed as the best Spider-Man movie (a big call, I know!), it's worth a repeat watch. It's always nice to be told that any one of us could be a hero, you know?

Are you going to see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse? Watch the trailer here and let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Claire :)

Hey TGs, if you've got your newsstand copy of Total Girl July, you'll have your epic new Rainbow Watch right now! Here's a l'il guide if you need a hand setting it: 

As you can see, the watch has two buttons: left and right. 
The left is how you select.
The right is how you set.

Step 1. Set the month. Press select (left) button until it matches the watch in the photo.

Then press set (right) button until the correct month is displayed.



Step 2. Set the day. Press select (left) button until it matches the watch in the photo. Then press set (right) until the correct day is displayed. 



Step 3. Set the hour. Press select (left) button until it matches the watch in the photo. Then press set (right) until the correct hour is displayed. A stands for AM and P stands for PM. 



Step 4. Set the minute. Press select (left) button until it matches the watch in the photo. Then press set (right) until the correct minute is displayed. 



Step 5. Finish up. Press the select button (left) again and you should see the correct time displayed.



Enjoy your new Rainbow Watches!

Claire xo

Thanks to Instructables for the guide from which this has been adapted.

Hey TGs!

Swashbuckling - it's a word I don't get to use nearly enough! Now that I've seen Solo: A Star Wars Story, I can - that is one swashbuckling adventure movie. 

So as you may know, it's set, er, a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. So long ago, in fact, that Han Solo is a young dude who hasn't even met Chewbacca yet, or set foot in the Millennium Falcon. For those who don't know, Alden Ehrenreich is this movie's young Han, as opposed to Harrison Ford, who is vintage Han. 

Han wants to be the galaxy's best pilot, like the boss of the air. When he is separated from his fave gal Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke), cue a series of daring escapades in which he must team up with the Wookiee we have all come to know and love, and have epic adventures as he tries to find his way back to her.

I thought the flick had a great sense of humour and was terrific fun. Fans will want to get amongst because it has a lot to offer: spectacle, cool, hilarious aliens, adventure, love and two of the best pals space has ever seen. 

Solo: A Star Wars Story is in cinemas 24 May. 

Hey TGs,

Picked up your copy of TG May with Taylor on the cover? If you haven't yet, get onto it! 
One of the v cool comps, 'Sketch Yourself', calls on TGs to draw themselves as they would like to be in the future. So far we have sah many ah-mazing entries. Don't be shy - get involved. You could win two of the books in the series, Lottie Perkins, Movie Star and Lottie Perkins, Ballerina. What will you draw? What do you aspire to be one day? I can't wait to see your entries! For details on how to enter, pick up the May issue. It's May-May with Tay Tay, haha!

xo Claire 

P.S: I aspire to be a professional Pomeranian hugger. I am not kidding about this!

Hey TGs!

So my Tuesday night was down at this v. cool screening of the latest from the Marvel universe, Avengers: Infinity War. This movie is one for older TGs - it has fantasy themes and violence.  

BTW, I was given a special Avengers pin as I went in, which made me feel super cool. I think they called it a recruitment pin! So watch out - if you see me out and about, I might end up recruiting you as a new superhero!

Infinity War is BIG. It's a cast of thousands, truly. You are basically guaranteed to see your fave Marvel hero (unless your fave happens to be SPOILER ALERT Hawkeye or Ant-Man). Do you like Thor, Tom Holland's Spider-Man, Black Widow or Scarlet Witch? Yep, the whole gang is here. 

BUT the bigness is so epic that if you're a newcomer to this universe, you might feel a tad overwhelmed and not up to speed unless you've seen some of Marvel's latest offerings. 

In Infinity War, can Earth's mightiest heroes defeat a formidable foe, Thanos - a gigantic, purple-skinned and super strong being who wants to wipe out massive populations and thinks he's acting out of mercy? Come for the huge effects and the spectacle, stay for the frequent LOLs and feels you get when the plot conspires to turn emotionally-connected people against one another. 

Reviewers were asked NOT to spoil the ending, but I would like to say it surprised me a lot. I sat there, watching the credits rolling (and you've got to if you're a Marvel fan, to unlock a secret extra scene at the end), going, "OMG."

Are you planning to see Infinity War? Which of Earth's Mightiest Heroes are your faves? And if you were a superhero, what would you get up to?

xo Claire

Hey TGs,

Today is NEW MAG DAY. Sorry, didn't mean to yell, I just get SO EXCITED. 

One thing you should know is Team TG is pretty musical (I mean, me aside). TG's Laura is a singer-songwriter and she's the gal behind the 'TG's Songwriting School' story - she even hit up Kelsea Ballerini for top tips. And, because Kelsea is a sweetie, she gave us this lovely shoutout, take a look... 



There's a LOT more to love in this month's TG, so pick it up now!
xo Claire

Hey TGs!

Do you ever dream of getting slimed at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards?! I TOTALLY do. Face it - getting slimed is a big honour and so is a KCA! As we are thiiiis close to finding out exactly who gets a gong, I thought I'd share an exclusive interview and video.

Here's TG's own interview with awesome KCA nominee, Olivia Deeble of Home & Away!

What’s something you would tell your 10-year-old self if you could? 
To keep working hard because exciting things are going to happen and you should always be happy and not care what other people think about you. Keep doing what you love.

When you aren’t feeling confident at all, how do you build up your own confidence? 
You need to be grateful for what you have -  I think about all the good things about myself and my life and focus on what I am good at. I try to remember that the things I’m not good at, I’m just not good at them yet (that can be a personal thing too - like talking to people or believing in myself) and that if I keep learning and try, I will get better at it. 

Who is your hero? 
My mum, and also Margot Robbie. 

Is hanging around Summer Bay as awesome as it looks? What do you love about being a Home & Away actor?
Yes it is! I get to go to the beach every day for work and I love all the great friends that I have made with the cast and crew.

What does it mean to you to be up for a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award? 
It means the world to me to be nominated, I'm so excited and I really hope I get slimed!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think the awards are so great because KIDS get to vote for their favourites and it will be loads of fun.

Here's a spesh treat for you, a TG exclusive video (with JoJo Siwa, Lizzy Greene and more of your faves!). 

Tune in to find out who gets the gongs and to see aaaalll the slime at 5pm Monday, 26th March.

Hey TGs!

Guess where I went last night with the TG fam? THE POWERPUFF GIRLS X PETER ALEXANDER GLOBAL LAUNCH!!! Sorry, didn't mean to yell, I just got SUPER EXCITED.




'Wait a minute,' I hear you say. 'There aren't that many people in Team TG!'

Well, that's true! That's Laura and me, and Aaron and Insi, and those other gals are ah-mazing dancers who got to wear Powerpuff Girls x Peter Alexander jammies and dance the night away to the Powerpuff Girls theme song! So. Much. Fun!

This event was ah-mazing. They had a candy bar (you could get cake pops that looked like Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup!). They had fruit on sticks. They had special fruit juice drinks (mocktails) in glass vials. They had bright blue sliders (OMTG!). Laura ate some and her teeth turned blue, hehehe. We got to see the range up close and we had aaaaalll the fun talking with the gang from Cartoon Network. PLUS we can all confirm the jammies are super cosy and comfy - do recommend!

Here we are in the photo booth. 



These are our delish juices. Raspberry was the best. Chemical X not included!



This range, which is perf for girls who want to save the world before bedtime, is out now. I am obsessed with the beauty bags. Yep!



Are you a fan of this range? Hit us up with a comment below and tell us about your fave jammies to wear when hanging with the squad!

xo Claire

Hey TGs!

Last night I went to THE COOLEST premiere. Legit, it was probably the biggest (or should I say GREATEST?) one I've ever been to! THE GREATEST SHOWMAN'S AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE IN SYDNEY AT THE STAR!

Haha. Getting a touch theatrical over here. 

I got there and there was a huge red carpet and crystal and flowers and everything. Here I am on the red carpet! I had to take all my stuff from TGHQ and everything, LOL.



Guess who else was there? Three huge movie stars: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and TG ultimate dream gal and star of our January cover (on sale now!), the one and only Zendaya. And she was in a magical butterfly dress. Stunning!


Photography Getty Images

Once we were inside the big, plush theatre. Z, Zac and Hugh took some questions from the emcee, Osher Gunsberg. And here's a bit about what they said:

ZAC: Zac said he had to "elevate to this guy's [Hugh Jackman's] level." The pair of them have a song and dance number in a bar, and Zac assured us the drinks are just Gatorade. Based on the colour, though, I'm pretty sure they were water. Haha!

ZENDAYA: Z was complimented on her romantic duet with Zac, 'Rewrite the Stars'. "It's about changing your own future," she said, adding that we all need to rewrite the stars when things are not as they ideally would be. Also, 'This Is Me' is her fave of all the songs (it IS pretty stunning and fierce). 

HUGH: Hugh said he'd loved to entertain, perform and tell stories since he was a kid at Pymble Public School. He added the movie was about all types of families - the ones we have, and the ones we somehow find. 

OK! The movie! Watch it for sure - you'll defs get swept away by how exciting it is, how grand and spectacular. The visuals are completely stunning and every song and each dance is done incredibly well (Z is breathtaking). It does feel a lot like actually being at the circus - intense, exhilarating and a heap of fun. And it has wonderful messages about accepting yourself for who you are and the world having to just deal because you are you - and the things that make you different might be the best things of all.

Don't forget to pick up January's Total Girl with Zendaya on the cover! Newsstand copies come with TWO free gifts - Shopkins World Vacation earphones, plus an Artline Stix pen. 

Are you going to see The Greatest Showman? Let me know in the comments what you think! 

xo Claire

P.S: OMTG, just a few more sleeps until Santa gets here! That is, for all of you who celebrate Christmas (and if you don't, I hope you have a good summer and fun holiday season too). I hope you've had a great year and enjoy a break and some time with your friends and fam. 

Hey TGs!

Our HEROES issue is on sale today with Zendaya on the cover! I love all sorts of heroes - that's why I've now seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi TWICE (to see me and TG's Insi at the premiere, go to Aaron's Entertainment Blog). 

I thought it was about time we took a look at the tutorial I made back when The Force Awakens came out if you want to do your hair just like Rey! Here you go...


Let me know if you're going to see the movie and if you've liked what you've seen if you've already gone! People have SO many different opinions about this movie but that's what makes life so interesting, right!?

Hey TGs, happy Monday! 

I want you to know I loved Coco. Loved it, loved it, loved it!

In Coco, music is Miguel's greatest joy - too bad his family utterly forbids it. But this hasn't stopped him from practising in secret so he can be like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. On the night of Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), Miguel accidentally finds himself in the land of the dead. To rejoin the living, Miguel must team up with a downtrodden skeleton called Hector who has more than a few secrets of his own. 

So here's what I liked about it: 

1. The music is SO much fun. Like Miguel, I love the guitar (my mum can play it, but I can't). Side note: did you know there are some ah-mazing musicians on Team TG? It's true. Laura is a singer and Aaron plays guitar. Here I am pretending I am an awesome muso.



2. The visuals are stunning. You might imagine the land of the dead might be, er, a bit dead, but in Coco, it's lively and full of colour plus crazy characters who just might remind you of your own fam. 

3. It has a cute dog, Dante. Add one to any movie and I am THERE.

4. It's deeply emotional. I think all the grown ups around me were crying (and I was no exception). It's very happy, very sad and lots of things in between all at once. So if you go see it with your fam (and I think you'd enjoy it with them, since one of the main messages is how much your family loves you and will always be there for you, no matter what), be sure to bring a box of tissues. Just in case.

Are you going to go see Coco when it's out from Boxing Day? Do you play an instrument? Let me know in the comments!

Claire xo

Hey TGs!

Sometimes, you just wanna watch a big, crazy blockbuster with insane visual effects and lots of POW! And The Justice League movie defs delivers. I should say at this point it's for older TGs and there are some intense scenes.

I went to the premiere last night. Here I am...



And here are some of crime-fighters, which explains why Event Cinemas was completely devoid of crime. Jk. They were cool cosplayers who really brought some comic book realness on the night. 



~SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT ~ The movie's got an ensemble cast so perhaps not as much airtime for TG fave Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) as I'd have liked, but naturally, she kicks some serious butt. We get to watch the fallout of some big news about Superman and how an array of DC superheroes cope without him (or do they?!). 

Ezra Miller, who you might remember as Credence Barebone in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them, brings the LOLs as the comic relief as The Flash in this movie and Amy Adams (Enchanted) is sweet, tender and tough as Lois Lane.

I thought it was a heap of fun and, on a lot of occasions, very funny too. Can't wait to see what the band of heroes do when their powers combine in future flicks in this universe. 

Who's your fave superhero? Let me know in the comments!
Clarie xo

Hey TGs,

OK, I love LEGO. Don't you? I love the colours, how you can build anything your heart desires and of course I love minifigures - the blocky little people who are too cute!

So I was psyched to go to the premiere of The LEGO Ninjago Movie in Sydney. I ran into this cool guy...


The movie had waaay more LOLs than I had foreseen. It's hilarious if you like martial arts movies and even if you don't. Truly, it's a giggle per minute and I can't stop singing this one silly song. Is it the new 'Everything is Awesome'? It might be!!!

In this flick, Lloyd, a teen boy, is troubled. He's troubled by how much everyone dislikes him and that most of this dislike stems from his super-bad dad, Lord Garmadon. Garmadon's crazy villainous ways are a threat to the city Ninjago. Can Lloyd and his pals, also secret ninjas, defeat Garmadon? Can Lloyd come to terms with having a four-armed papa who never says his name correctly (he always sounds both L's in 'Lloyd')? Will peace ever return to Ninjago? You'll have to watch the movie to find out, but I think you'll find it's a whole heap of fun. My fave character is Master Wu, voiced by Jackie Chan. He has some of the best lines in the movie and there are quite a lot of great ones.

Are you going to watch The LEGO Ninjago Movie? Let me know in the comments what you think!

xo Claire
 

Hey TGs!

Guess what one of my favourite things to do is?

Did you guess 'play with puppies'? YOU ARE CORRECT. I would put the puppy face emoji in here if I could.

But, also! One of my fave things to do is read. It always has been. I'm sure heaps of you feel exactly the same way. Sometimes TGs write in to say they really want to work at TGHQ one day and if this sounds like you, my best advice is to read. And read. Also read. Then read some more. Read every day. On sunny days. And cloudy days. Read on days that end with 'y'. 

Guess what else? The Australian Reading Hour is coming. It's on Thursday, 14 September. The idea is on this day, you get to stop what you're doing, pick up a book and read for an hour. Cool, hey?! I mean, I'm so on board with this. You should see my piles of books I have that I want to read and I haven't yet read. With a whole hour set aside, I'm going to bliss out and escape into a cool, fictional world. I love doing this. Here I am with a heap of cool books at TGHQ.



If you want to take part in The Australia Reading Hour, ask Mum, Dad or your teachers if you can check out details on readinghour.org.au. What are you going to read? Dork Diaries? Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Gangsta Granny? You can choose!

Here are my fave ways to find out what I might want to read next: 

• Ask my besties what they read and enjoyed.
• Read reviews of cool new books, like in the reviews section Aaron writes for TG.
• Browse at my fave book stores or libraries.

What are you reading right now? If you have a book recommendation for other TGs, tell us in the comments!

Have a fun weekend!
Claire xo