Trying something new

October 12, 2017October 12, 2017Leave a comment

Hi everyone. I know I’ve been a little quite over the last few weeks. I’ve been trying to figure out a few new interests and I am now ready to share some of it with you.

A few months ago I saw the cutest Corpses Bride Ball Jointed Doll. At first I thought that you could buy them like that but later I realized that it was a repainted custom instead of a factory doll. In the following weeks I saw more and more of these dolls until I eventually thought of trying it myself.

At first I had absolutely now clue how to even begin. I did lots and lots of research and watched countless videos before eventually ordering my first doll and repainting supplies. I bought 3 dolls, Draculara, Lagoona blue and Dayna Treasura Jones. My plan was to create a repaint of Harley Quinn but after seeing some other first time custom face-ups I decided to go for something simple at first.

Here is what I did. First I needed to get the supplies needed to start the venture so this is what I got.

Dolls
Acetone ( I used basic nail polish Remover)
Cue tips
Cotton balls
MrSuperClear
A gas mask ( Mr Super Clear is toxic)
Gas filters
Vapour Cartridges
Watercolor Pencils
Soft Pastels ( I had the hair pastels so I just used those)
Some makeup and paint brushes

The hardest part for me was removing the factory paints.

All the videos make it seem so easy but I guess its only because they’ve done it so many times. For me it took quite long, the acetone made me feel nauseous and a lot of the paint smudged over the dolls’ face so I had to try and remove it over and over again.

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In the end her face was still kind of smudged but workable. I have to admit that when I removed my second doll’s factory makeup it went much better, I will share her with you as soon as I’ve finished her 🙂

After removing all her factory paint, I washed her face with warm soapy water and left her to dry. I then sprayed her with Mr Super Clear and left her to dry. It didn’t take too long for her to dry, about 5 minutes and I then started drawing her face.

41ccb3cb0f8478a4e5b2173a0ac75629 First with very light pencils. Then going in with darker colours.

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She came out much better than I expected although her eyes weren’t dark enough.

I then decided that she probably needs a new dress, so I took her factory dress apart and pinned it to an old jean, cut out the pattern and hand sew it back together. I also used the Velcro that was on the original dress and stitched it onto the new dress. So here she is.

My father also loves collecting “dolls” although he has a collection of action figures not really dolls, have a look at his collection….

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DIY Mandarin Sugar Scrub

September 21, 2017Leave a comment

Since its getting colder and colder I’ve been eating a lot of citrus type fruits recently and I just love the smell of oranges and mandarins so I thought that a mandarin sugar scrub would be a great way to prepare my skin for the dry weather that’s on the way. Its also a great handmade gift for a special friend. You can read how to make your own essential oils from my previous post.

Mandarin essential oils have some great benefits. For centuries its been produced in Brazil, Spain and Italy. It has also been used to relieve stomach aches and cramps in children.

FIND OUT MORE HERE

Enchanting massage oils for Valentines

January 31, 2017January 30, 2017Leave a comment

While we had the vampire valentines day theme last week, we’ll opt for a witch theme this week with love potions and enchanting massage oils. Valentines day should be about love and spending the day with your partner.

Its always a good idea to relax, and what better way to do that than massages and massage oils. Some oils are said to be stimulate your libido, these include black pepper, orange blossom, ilang-ilang, sandalwood ( now we know why so many male fragrances contain sandalwood 😉 ) and ginger. Therefore any one of these oils could help set the mood, similarly scented candles can do just as well.

If you’re in a DIY mood you could always make your own mixture for a relaxing sensual massage.

Massage oil for women.

25ml almond oil
10 drops wheat germ oil
3 drops ilang-ilang oil
3 drops geranium oil
2 drops sandalwood oil
2 drops English sage oil
2 drops orange blossom oil

Massage oil for men

20ml almond oil
5ml jojoba
4 drops Ginger
2 drops black pepper
4 drops sandalwood
2 drops lavender

Essence to burn in the bedroom ( in water or on the burner)

2 Drops ginger
2 drops English sage
2 drops ilang-ilang

Source Everybody’s Aromatherapy: A Comprehensive Guide for All Ages by Helen Ranger

DIY Lace Choker

January 10, 2017January 9, 2017Leave a comment

Over the past few months I’ve seen increasingly more and more chokers. I remember when I was around 13 years old, chokers were quite a thing. We all had them. They were made from plastic and probably not really fit for a 13 year old. I remember that Pamela Anderson had a barb wire tattoo on her arm in her movie Barb Wire and then we got all those barb wire inspired chokers. It seems however that the choker has returned and I like it. I’ve seen a lot of really pretty ones but since I love lace, I’ve decided to make a lace choker.

What you’ll need.

Measuring band
Lace ribbon
Snap buttons (2)
A needle and thread.
A charm ( if you want)

Instructions

Measure around your neck. Be sure to measure an extra 3/4 inch (2 cm).Cut your ribbon according to the measurement. Fold the 2 sides of the ribbon in. Only about 1 cm each. Sew the sides separately.

Sew on the snap buttons on either side of the ribbon.

Button the ribbon and fold it in 2. Check where the middle is and sew your charm on… and viola, you’ve got a choker.

I’ve also made a little ribbon with the rest of the lace that I could slip on to a bobby pin for my hair

I hope you like these and try your own designs 🙂

DIY invitation ideas.

November 23, 2016November 22, 20162 Comments

When we got married one of the most unnecessary expenses were the wedding invitations. Fair enough if you want to spend a lot of money on your invitations but there are a lot of cute ideas out there that can help you make your own. Bare in mind that making your own invitations can be time consuming but it also allows you and your husband to spend a lot of time together if you do this as a couple. In addition spending lots of money on wedding invitations might be worth it, but lots of other occasions also call for invitations and its not always worth spending too much on invitations when you can rather spend it on food or other decorations.

Message in a Bottle

This is one of the cutest ideas I’ve seen. All you need is small little glass bottles and you can decorate them by throwing anything from sand to feathers in there with the invitation. Remember to attach the invitation to some string or ribbon so that it’s easy to remove from the bottle.

Boxed ideas

Another idea that I thought was really nice were the invitation boxes. You can fold a little box or use something like matchstick boxes and decorate them according to your theme, with the little invitation inside.

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Stencils

Using stencils is an easy method that could still make your invitations look elegant. The only drawback I have experienced is that when your fingers get some of the paint on it, you can stain your invitation, which could become frustrating.