Ladureé cart update

The work in the cart continues.  

Picking up where I left, I painted the cart legs, and while they were drying, I also painted the posts of the cart in gold, and added a fine line of gold to the trim.  I cheated and did this with a gold Edding pen:

Now glueing the wheels:

Then I attached the legs:

After this, I finally set up the "table" for the counter:

As the counter table is made of foamboard, I did not like the look of the edges, so in an attempt to cover them, I cut a paper trim of 6 mm, painted it green, and applied it to the edges:

It's starting to look good!

Next step was preparing the roof.  I took the covers I made the previous day and added more layers of green paint.  After that, it was very easy to attach them to the structure:

I love them, but I will cover all the edges with papers, just as I did with the "table".  

I was ready to call it a day after this, but then I noticed that one side of the cart looked higher than the other, so I used a lever to check, and OMG, what a disaster!

Oh noes!!

The bubble is supposed to be centered, so I have no other recourse than to remove the legs, sand them to measure and glue them again.  But that will come the next day.

More soon! 

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.

Back from vacation, and new necklace

Hubby and I got back 2 days ago from Pontevedra (Galicia), after spending 10 days at the beach with our family.  I have lots to talk about, and I will, as soon as I gather all the pictures we took, and have a little time to devote to the post.

In the meantime, I want to share the new necklace that I got: it's Lana Lang's necklace from the Smallville series:

Picture from the Jinxy Jewels Etsy store

I am not a fan of Lana, but I have always liked her necklace.  For a time I considered making my own, but I never did.  Just recently it came over me the idea to re-watch Smallville (I still have some seasons to buy), and somehow I ended up searching online for replicas of Lana's necklace.  Even though I believe some official replicas exist, they are too expensive for me, so mine came from Jinxy Jewels.  She has articles for fans of Supernatural, The Hunger Games, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and other stuff too.  Check her out.

I hope someday I can buy a necklace with a clear bead - I would hate to hurt Clark if someday he happens to come near me.  I like the guy... But my true love of Smallville is Lex - up until season 5 at least, which is the last one I watched anyway...

Picture taken from buddytv.com

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.

Absinthe Soap for your miniature scene

Remember that post about my crafting of anise-scented soap? Well, I thought it would be nice if the mini people could have their own boxes of Absinthe soap, so I made them reality:

The box reminds me of the After Eight chocolates - they have been my favorites for a long time... I wanted to give them a decadence/luxurious feeling, just as the mint-flavored chocolate. And the color of the soaps is milky green, like real Absinthe after the louche. It was not intentional, but it is a happy coincidence. They are up for sale in my shop!

More Absinthe crafting

But this time not in miniature. This time in real-life size, and for personal use, no less!

Have you ever crafted soap? It's so much fun, and I love to do it. The down side is that I can not craft soap all the time or my cupboards would be full of bars - although family and friends get their share sometimes, at Christmas or Valentine's Day. I confess that I don't know how to do the cold process method, and that I have enough with the melt and pour system. Yes, I know it's not the same, but it works for me. And I love making, displaying and using my own soaps!

Well, having fall in love with the Absinthe scent, I wanted to craft an Absinthe soap - that is, with anise scent. It was easy to find anise oil on eBay; I bought it from Bulk Oils, and it was an easy transaction with a fast shipping. But I was dying to get one of the Victorian Blossom molds:


Isn't it lovely? I found it some time ago in Southern Soapers; I could not resist more, and bought one. And with some clear soap, lime green dye, my new mold and the anise oil, I made this:


The two white thingies inside are a couple of real sugar cubes! Not only it looks beautiful, every time I enter the bathroom I can smell the anise scent in the air...