Etsy Shop Crush: What. No Mints?

The first thing that caught my eye about "What. No Mints?" was their name. I think a good shop name always helps draw people in, and What, No Mints is certainly the kind of name you don't forget.

What. No Mints? is run by Sasha from South Florida. Her creations are obviously very inspired by her love of nature and science. This shop is full of geeky, colourful and adorable crafts and goodies. Each ornament is lovingly crafted with great attention to detail. I love the geeky element of this shop, my bestie is a crafter and a science geek so it's given me a ton of birthday present ideas!

[Etsy] [Twitter] [Blog]

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Wednesday Art Feature: Matthew Roby

I first discovered Matthew Roby's work through some friends that worked with him on his animation; Reel. Reel reminds me of when English kids TV actually had a decent budget (the days before the tweenies!) and they took the time to produce beautiful, stylised stories.

Matthew 's illustration style takes me straight back to my childhood, and my love of reading (well, more my love of looking at the pictures in books!). I could imagine the child in me spending hours just staring at the illustrations in his books.

Matthew dosn't just illustrate, he also does weird and awesome sculptures. I love how he finds the fine line between creepy and humorous. I'd love to know the back stories behind these amusing and intricate characters her creates.

[Etsy] [Facebook] [Website]

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Red Dotty Nail Tutorial - A Guest Post from Artsy Angel

I have a very special guest post for you all today from one of my sponsors and also one of my fav bloggers Artsy Angel. Her blog is full of loads of colourful things, art and inspiration. I love love love the way she paints her nails, so I asked her to do a simple nail tutorial post for me based on her Blue on Blue nail art. I hope you all enjoy it!

What you'll need:

- 3 nail polishes. A main colour, a second colour and a colour for the middle dots. (I used a red, pink and an orange-y-pink,)

- a dotting tool or something to make the dots with (like a toothpick)

- Tape or nail stickers (this is the one I used)

- top coat

Tip: Examples of other colour combos; dark purple, light purple and a purple-e-pink for the middle. Green, blue and a teal for the middle. Orange, yellow and a peachy or creamy colour for the middle.

1. Paint your nails your main (red) colour.

Wait for your nails to fully dry before going to the next step.

2. Place your nail stickers or tape, around the half way mark on your nail. Paint them your second (pink) colour. Peel off the sticker or tape slowly.

Here are my nails after I took off my stickers. You'll see they are kind of messy and that is okay! The dots are going to hide any mistakes I make anyways so this part does not have to be perfect.

3. Take your time and start your first row of dots using your second (pink) colour. You want these dots to be above the line, make sure you are leaving enough room for the other rows of dots. 

If you're worried, do your middle (step 4) first and come back to this step after.
Tip: Make sure your nails are somewhat dry before starting your dots. You could even put on a layer of your favourite top coat to be safe.

4. Add your middle layer of dots using your third (orange-y-pink) colour. Make sure your dots are right on the line.

5. Add your last layer of dots using your main (red) colour. Wait for your dots to fully dry or you'll smudge your design. If you notice your dots are kind of big (theres a bump), give them extra time to dry.

Tip: To help speed up your dry time, place your finger tips n a bowl of really cold water or run them under the tap for a minute or two.

 

6. Finish off with a nice layer of your favourite top coat and you're done! :]

 

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Fashion Favs Friday - 22/02/13

1. ASSAFPELLEG - Very classic and beautiful clothing. The cuts on their clothes look so flattering.
2. The Pendant Garden - There's a pendant for everyone here. I'm particularly in love with their moon and camera lense pendants.
3. Zulamimi Land - Oh my gosh, I want everything in this shop. It has everything, from space cat sweatshirts to winged backpacks.
4. Bartinki - This shop has it all for the stylish fashionista. Very unique and full of great statement peices.
5. Good Times Barcelona - Retro inspired clothing with a modern, fun twist. I love their coats.

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Etsy Shop Crush: Kumeko Design

Kumeko are a modern design company based in Prague. They make eye catching knotted floor cushions, inspired by traditional knitting and weaving techniques. They also do really cute scarves that look similar to their floor cushions.

I'm a bit of a texture freak, so I'd love one of these cushions in my house. I'd probably touch it far too much though.

[Etsy]

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Wednesday Art Feature: Maia Larkin

Maia Larkin is a Denver based childrens fashion illustrator. Her work always looks to me as if it would be right at home in a childrens story book. Her beautiful linework, combined with pattern and a selective use of colour make her style really fun and distinctive.

Maia also does jointed art dolls and plushie dolls which I think compliment and work with her art style really well.

Which is your favorite of her work? I think mine has to be the British Horse, he looks so proud and handsome!

[Twitter] [Blog] [Etsy]

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Phase Eight Wedding Guest Outfit - English Rose

A couple of weeks ago, Phase Eight contacted me about their latest competition, to style a wedding guest outfit.

I'll be honest with you guys, I've only attended two weddings in my life, both times It's taken me SO long to pick an outfit. So I thought that this would be a challenge! I love that Phase Eight now have a "wedding guest" section, if only I'd just browsed their website I think I could have saved many hours of trying to find a dress. Most dresses on the high street these days are a little short for weddings, so this way you know for sure they're going to be a suitable length!

I based this outfit around the dress, I think it's absolutely stunning, subtle & feminine. Perfect for a summer wedding. I also think most ages could get away with this dress. It's slightly flared shape will flatter most figures and the bow at the waist will help create an hourglass figure.

fascinator / dress / shoes / cardigan / bracelet

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Fashion Favs Friday - 15/2/13

1. Revival House - Ultra stylish vintage fashion. They have a great selection of beautiful bags and shoes.
2. Shovava - Hand made and hand printed clothes inspired by nature. These look like the kind of clothes beautiful amazonian women would want to wear.
3. Nan Gates Designs - Cosmetics and glasses bags in the cutest selection of materials.
4. Peace4you - Upcycled and super trendy every day bags.
5. Hungry Designs - Ridiculously awesome and creative jewellery, I love their illustrated brooches.

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Etsy Shop Crush: Jersey's Freshest

Happy Valentines Day everyone! There's no better way of telling someone you love them than sending them a special card. That's why today I'm featuring Jersery's Freshest. A hand made card company from New Jersey.

All of Jersey's Freshest's card are hand drawn, hand cut and hand painted, I think this is why they look extra personal and special. Their designs are well thought out, simple, modern and effective.
I especially love their Christmas themed ones, I have a few on my wish list waiting to be bought for next Christmas!

[Etsy] [Facebook] [Twitter]

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Wednesday Art Feature: Kinomi

Kinomi is a Netherlands based artist who specialises in surreal and beautiful painted illustrations. What I love most about Kinomis work is the colour palette she uses. It takes the painting to a whole new cold and magical place.

Kinomi grew up in a small forest house surrounded by animals and nature. She spent most of her days as a child drawing and painting from her imagination. Her illustrations are still very much inspired by her childhood, I love the whimsical characters and the dark forests she paints.

[Etsy] [Society6] [Blog]

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Happy Floral Brogues

These brogues were inspired by the wonderful work of Takashi Murakami. I've been working on some Takashi inspired designs for my shoe design portfolio, so it was a great help to paint some shoes inspired by his work too, since I seem to be finding painting on shoes much easier than actual designing at the moment.

If you'd like your own pair of customised shoes, email me at ponychopsshop@gmail.com or contact me at my Etsy Shop.

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