Mermaid blanket... because Winter is Coming...

LOL, sorry for the pun!

I bought a mermaid blanket last Winter when I moved to my new home, but even though I wanted to post something about it I forgot.  Today I was filing some pictures and found the ones I took of the blanket when it arrived.

Even though it is still Summer, just in case you were considering buying one for yourself, here is one of the many available mermaid blankets on the market:

You can see my minion pillow  :)

This is the Fin Fun Adult Mermaid Blanket in Aquamarine.  It is incredibly cozy, warm, and when you get inside you may not want to get out.  The adult size is BIG.  I can cover up to my chest with it, and there is still room at the bottom.  You can get your feet inside the "fin" part, and there is no opening at the bottom - no more cold feet with this blanket.  You have to get in and out as you would with a sack.  No walking with this tail, and I would not recommend jumping while inside.  

The fabric is very very soft.  It is a double-sided minky fabric, and you won't get tired of petting it.  I mostly use it for snuggling up in the sofa and watch TV.  I have fallen asleep inside, and it was awesome.

Fin Fun has 2 new models they did not have last year with a whimsical scale pattern.  

Perfect for those cold days in which you still want to rock your mermaid side without having to get wet.  I highly recommend them, for adults or kids.

Free printable! Dollhouse magazine holders

I have embarked on a new project that requires to organize a lot of magazines.  

My vampire tenant says her stuff needs some order, and asked for some magazine holders.  I suggested she buy some of the pretty designs that are available, but she said that many of them did not match her taste.  She does not like "girly" things such as flower prints or polka dots, and wanted some Steampunk or Victorian holders.

Once again, I had to design them myself, and once again, she was very happy with what I provided.

She also said it was a pity that people were going to miss on the pretty and unusual design, and said that I should share them with my readers.  So, to satisfy my lovely tenant, here are the magazine holders for you to enjoy.

One is blank so you can add you own design if you wish.  Have fun organizing your dollhouse magazines!

Nail design of the week

So, as I mentioned, I wanted to try a sailor-inspired manicure tutorial before Summer was over.  I saw this great manicure at Radi D's blogspot:

Picture from Radi D's blogspot

I wanted to try something similar, but I omitted the anchor and life saver stickers, and made my own version of it:

These are the tools I used:

Unglax nail hardener as base coat

Essie Blanc nail polish
Blue nail art tape
Twizzers
Scissors
Seche Vite top coat

Naio coconut cuticle oil for the cuticles when everything is finished and dry

I do like this design very much, but I had some troubles with the tape.  Although I made sure the tape was well sticked to my nails, I ended up with the ends lifting, even after applying the top coat.  I am guessing part of it is my fault because I touched the stripes too much, but also I noticed that the rubbing/friction of my nails against my fingers may have been contributed to the lifting.

I hope I can do soon another manicure featuring nail art tape.  Maybe a design that does not involve the tape going to the sides, to avoid this problem...

Nail Design of the Week

It was some time since I wanted to do this beautiful Indian inspired nail tutorial by IndigoNova1:

After doing it, these are the results:

And these are the tools I used:

Unglax nail hardener as base coat
Colorama Turquoise Seas (#107)

Folk Art 660 Metallic Pure Gold

00 artist brush

Dotting tools

Konad Clear Top Coat 

Blue rhinestone

Seche Vite top coat
Naio coconut cuticle oil for the cuticles when everything is finished and dry

My nails are considerably shorter than the ones in the video so I had to do a smaller design - smaller teardrop, less dots, no green rhinestone.  It came out better in my left hand (of course) than in my right hand.  Since it is so complicated (at least for me) I only did it as an accent nail in my middle fingers.

I absolutely love it!  This design is simple enough to not be overkill, but at the same time it is dainty and delicate.

Since Summer is ending, I do not know how many times more I will be painting my nails blue.  I just adore when they are in sync with my tail! 

Nail design of the week

Pearls!  I am in love with pearls lately - which is odd, because the pearl is a jewel that has never appealed much to me.  My favorites have always been dark stones like onyx and garnet.  Must be the Summer, and the mermaids...

So, this week's manicure is inspired by mermaids and pearls:

These are the tools I used:
Unglax nail hardener as base coat
Margaret Astor Fashion Studio Lilly of the Valley (#244)

Tweezers

White half pearls in sizes 1.5, 2 and 3 mm
Konad clear top coat
Seche Vite top coat
Naio coconut cuticle oil for the cuticles when everything is finished and dry

I love how well they turned out!  They remind me a bit of my mermaid tail color.  It is a nice alternative to the mermaid scale pattern; after I saw this beautiful mermaid top I figured maybe mermaids like to wear pearls in their nails (oh how I covet a top like that!).  I have lately thought of how would a mermaid have her nails; the best I have imagined is that they are somehow scales matching the color of their tails (lol!).  So maybe some pearls on them is not a far fetched thought...

I have even put some pearls on my toes:

But not color.  I hate painting my toe nails, because my eyesight is not very good, and it's troublesome for me to see if they are OK or not.  Just the base coat, the 3 mm pearls and the top coat to protect them.

I saw this mermaid scale tutorial yesterday and maybe I will try with the pearls next time I do the Mash scale stamping.  What do you think?

Nail design of the week

I'm afraid this week I revisited the mermaid nail tutorial created by elleandish.  It is so lovely I just can't get enough of it!

This time I followed all the instructions provided, and my nails look like this:

It looks so much better with a softer two-color combination!  I say two-color because, despite the fact that I wanted to use three, one of the blues was barely visible, so I just omitted it.  These are the tools I used:

Unglax nail hardener as base coat 

Fashion Studio by Margaret Astor nail polishes #242 (Aqua Leaf) and #070 (Blue Taffeta)

Mash plate #39

Konad plastic scraper

Konad small stamper

Makeup sponge

Lina Bocardi 45'' Flash Nail Polish #12 for stamping

Quick Dry Top Gloss by Margaret Astor
Naio coconut cuticle oil for the cuticles when everything is finished and dry

It cannot really be seen in the pic but the design smeared again.  I need to get me a Seche Vite top coat, which I hear is fabulous for this kind of stuff.  

This design really gets people's attention.  I will probably end up using it for most of the Summer.  My inner mermaid is so happy with it!

I also painted my toe nails with Come along with me nail polish by H&.  I don't know why, I am liking very much blue colors this season.

A new hobby: Nail Art!

It is impossible to not peruse YouTube nail art videos and not get amazed at the nail design you can find there.  How creative are some people!

I began researching how to do nail art without having to be an artist with a mini brush (which I am definitely not!), and found out about nail stamping.  My interest for mermaids got me to this video, which I absolutely loved:

So obviously the first thing I did was to search for that stamping plate at the Mash Nails website.  When I found it and saw it was available I searched for tutorials on nail stamping (I highly recommend this one), and after I learnt a thing or two I placed my orders both at Mash and Konad.

Being unable to wait for them to arrive, I decided to try some simple nail design to keep me busy.  I visited a drugstore and bought a new set of nail files and 6 nail polishes from the new Margaret Astor collection, Fashion Studio.  I had at home some nail rhinestones - a long time ago I visited a local dollar store and they had some miniature glass bottles filled with them.  I bought the bottles to use in my miniature making and forgot about the rhinestones.  I never thought I would give them some use, and it was lucky I did not throw them out!

So, I chose one of the blue shades (#256, Electric Ocean).  I love this particular shade.  It reminds me of the skin color of Mistique, from the X-Men movies. You need two coats of this one.  Then I took the blue rhinestones and placed them on the side of my nails; 3 of them, in order big, small, big.  Then I applied the top coat.  How do you like the result?

Left hand

Right hand

If you notice, the pinky of the left hand looks a bit crowded, so in the right hand I put the rhinestones small, big, small, to give the nail a better look.  I like how they turned out.  I was so happy I forgot to clean my cuticles after finishing, but the natural light was fading and I wanted to take the pics.  Excuse the mess!

After having finished, it ocurred to me that maybe red rhinestones would have been better for contrast (as Mistique's hair is red), but I had in mind the mermaid-y look when I was working.  

I can't wait for the orders to arrive and start practicing the stamping!