Kawaii Deco for Valentine's Day

Hello everyone ^_^/

Happy Valentine's Day to all who celebrate.
Here are some cute deco ideas for this romantic day!

It's a day full of hearts and sweets so nothing is best than heart shaped cookies! They look so cute over trinket boxes and purse hooks! A Disney couple themed heart shaped purse hook is cute too ^_^

And here are some Japanese style deco nails made by yours truly ^_^

Cookies, hearts and polka dots, everything looks super cute, don't you think?

Gothic bling, a perfect combination!

Hello everyone ^_^/

the holidays are now over (unless you celebrate the Chinese New Year, in which case I envy you!) but I will show you a project I did before Christmas. I wanted to make a new deco case for my iPhone, but I wanted it to reflect my personal taste 100% So it had to be dark. And purple. And super sparkly too somehow!

After careful planning  I came up with a Steampunk Deco Gothic iPhone case! Yes ^_^
And here it is!

First I coated my case and added the main pieces. A Fleur de Lis, a skeleton cameo, wings and a key.

Then I carefully placed the Swarovski crystals, using grey and purple as my main colours.

Of course as you can see in the first photo, I added some cute phonestraps as well. If something isn't hanging from my phone, I find it to be empty somehow :o What do you think of the result? I think it fits me perfectly ^_^

And I will close this post with a couple of projects I did this week.

A deco flower purse hook/key chain for my mother

and a lipstick and pill case set for a friend.

If you would like to check more of my deco creations, you can always browse through my etsy shop ^_^

What I have been up to

Hello everyone ^_^/

As you might remember a few posts back I mentioned I was working on something very exciting.
Today I can finally reveal what it is. I will be taking part in an art exhibition in my hometown, showcasing my jewellery, nail and deco creations!

The exhibition opens on Saturday Dec 10 and will last for a week.
So for the last few weeks I have been working non stop making all sorts of preparations.
Here is a sneak preview of what has been going on over at my work bench lately.

This is so challenging and exciting for me, especially since deco is practically unknown here and this will be the first time it is properly exhibited in my area! So I want to do my best and present everything in the best possible way.

I will make a post about the exhibition with lots of photos and coverage when it is over.

For the time being back to work I go. I hope everyone has a nice evening ^_^

Let's deco, decoden tutorial #2

Hello everyone ^_^/

this is a post I have been preparing for some time now. I will show you a basic deco tutorial.
Recently I got a new camera and of course I had to bling it up. I took detailed photos of the process to show you here.

First let's see what you will need.

Crystals. In this case I used Swarovski crystals but if you want to opt for something cheaper there are many choices like the rhinestones that we use for nail art.
Deco glue. Most crafting glues will do for this.
Deco parts. I used a diamante skull and a diamante butterfly.
Clear laquer. (optional)
Tweezers.
Some toothpicks.
And most importantly an item to decorate, a deco base so to speak XD

Now before you start I advise you to think carefully and decide on the design you want to make. Then place the parts roughly on the item to see how the final piece will look like. For my camera I decided to do a pink gradation design with a skull and a butterfly as accent pieces.

Before anything else clear the area with some acetone.
Then apply the clear laquer according to the instructions. (this is really an optional step only if you might want to change the deco later. I do not recommend it if you want to decorate say a phone case or a mirror etc.)

First place your accent pieces (in this case the skull and butterfly).

After that you start placing the crystals. Place glue in a small area and cover it. That keeps the glue from drying and destroying your design. If at some point you place extra glue you can use a toothpick to clean it. What I find easier is to start from the edges and move inwards.

Move in a steady pace and cover all the spots using various crystal sizes.

And here you go, the finished product!

When you are done you can attach a few matching phone straps to make your item even cuter!

Many of you asked where you can get deco supplies. They are very easy to find.
I get some of them locally at craft stores or even 1 euro stores but you can also find them on ebay.
There are many different shops there if you do a search and you can find all sorts of cute items to use.
Your imagination is the only limit :)

Also a word of advice. Decoden is an expensive and high maintenance hobby. It looks very cute but there is always the chance that some of the crystals or parts will fall off, no matter how strong a glue you use. So you must handle your deco items with care and know that most probably they won't last forever.

And here I will close this tutorial. If there is anything I missed or you have any questions leave a comment or shoot me an email. It might take me a while to reply as I am quite busy these days but I definitely will.

Bling bling is never a bad thing!

Hello everyone ^_^/

it's the start of a long weekend here and today I will share a few easy deco projects that everyone can do.

We all have some items lying around that can get a new life just by using some Swarovski crystals and a bit of glue.

Like this old silver watch.

It became completely new just with a row of Swarovski crystals.

Same as these lovely golden bracelets.

This animal print bracelet has been lying useless when one of the cabochons fell off.
By adding a lovely black rose, it became like new!

If you have more space and want something more personalized you can even create your initials using crystals.

Or even change the look of a surface by covering it completely with rhinestones and cute cabs!

I always love experimenting with deco and transforming all sorts of things.

Are you a fan of the bling? Would you ever consider trying one of the above deco projects?
If your answer is yes, stay tuned as I am preparing a couple of tutorials on the subject :)

Riva mani followup and a Swarovski ring

Hello everyone ^_^/

how are you today? I am warming up by the fireplace, while writing this post.

Remember my Chanel Riva manicure from the previous post? After having it on for a couple of days I decided I wanted to spice it up a bit. So I whipped out my Konad stamping plates, OPI DS Extravagance and Essence Clyde and this is what I came up with.

I really like the end result, especially how Clyde looks layered over Riva. And I am surprised at the excellent stamping abilities of DS Extravagance, that was something I wasn't really expecting! I sealed everything with a coat of Seche Vite top coat and my mani is still as good as new ^_^

Do you see the ring I am wearing in the first photo? It was gifted to me by Chunky Bling, my new affiliate. It is a lovely ring with clear Swarovski crystals.

I usually prefer wearing huge rings, but this sparkly beauty is hard to pass by. I love wearing it in sunny weather because the Swarovski crystals are so shiny. And it goes great with all my manicures too ^_^

If you would like to check out their whole Swarovski jewellery collection, you can check the Chunky Bling website.

iPhone + Bling = epic win

Hello everyone ^_^/

Recently I got my hands on an iPhone. When it first came out, I have to admit I wasn't really interested.
But after my brother and some friends got theirs, it seemed quite fun and handy so I decided I wanted one too (okay I admit it, it was the games and all the cool aps that got me XD)

So a few weeks ago I became the pleased owner of an iPhone4.
The first thing I had to do was bling it up. Now I have a few cases that I am making for it and most of them are works in progress. Some I will use and some I will sell but the one I am about to show you is the first one I finished and had to use for my phone of course (^_^)

I have a love for cute Hello Kitty stuff, so my first case had to be HK themed. I blinged up this cute case using swarovski crystals in various colours. Also I attached a cute Hangry & Angry fluffy phone strap.
As you can see my phone sparkles so much and I keep getting compliments about it.
I am very pleased with how this case turned out, now I think I need to attach a few more phone straps and it will be perfect ^_^