Hot Topic Score: My Little Pony Phone Case

Published April 29, 2013 by kurolace

Hi All!

Today I was over at the mall because I was tutoring, and after my student and I split ways, I decided to go walk the mall. I did have at least one thing to buy in mind… that was some gummy candy at the candy store, so that I can make molds later this week. But along the way I saw Hot Topic. Now, the crazy thing is, I could have sworn that Hot Topic had already closed up and gone, like 5 months ago or more. I was going to go there sometime in November or December, but was surprised to see it had disappeared. And online the location at the mall is no longer listed…. So I don’t know if the store I went in to today was temporary or what…. Everything was Buy One Get One half off, mix and match. I saw a nice long dress with some skull lace, and decided to buy it. While looking through the My Little Pony display, I was really annoyed that the T-shirts were all lame and didn’t have any main characters on them (I would totally have gotten a Twilight Sparkle tee). But I did find this phone case… I decided to get it because I sort of like the wallet / phone case function…. Plus I think I had set myself on getting SOMETHING My Little Pony. (Later today I sort of had second thoughts… like, maybe I should have gotten that Jareth / David Bowie tee? – well I could go back….lol)

Anyway, check it out. $9 (originally 18.99) My Little Pony Phone Case/Wallet . The black background is actually the dress, but I don’t think you can see the skull lace.

Fluttershy is second best, behind Twilight Sparkle, IMO.

Inside, space for some cards and money

Front has protective plastic window with an opening on bottom for a button (or camera?) and then speaker holes at the top. I couldn’t decide which way the phone was meant to go in, lol. And yeah, Alan Walker from D-Grayman is my wallpaper! 😛

It came with a detachable wrist-let strap.

Etsy Finds: Wall Decals – From Cute to Goth

Published April 10, 2013 by kurolace

For a while I’ve been thinking of doing some easy redecorating in my room – I say easy, because its not worth doing a total re-haul. (I am still living in my childhood bedroom in my parents’ house) One way to do this would be with wall decals, which are removable. Etsy has a lot of vinyl decal stores. And if you start searching for “wall decals” you’ll notice a few trends… cherry blossoming trees… birds, branches, kiddie stuff, words… A lot of the designs are very similar store-to-store…so it takes a while to find the best. I found a selection of decals I think are nice, which I’m sharing here with you. Some are more “normal” trendy designs, some would be good for lolita decor, and some are a bit darker 😉

Simple Shape. $148

To start, here is a large, cute set from SimpleShapes. This Under the Sea set cost about $148, but has a lot of stickers in it, in multiple colors. I know it is presented as being for kids… but I would totally get it if I had a room I wanted to decorate in an aquatic theme… maybe like a hallway even.

innovativestencils. $139.99

I found tons of tree themed decals. I like the cherry blossom types, but I also like the birch tree types. You can find just plain trees, trees with birds, and trees with birds and deer, etc. Here is a Birch Trees with Snow Birds and Deer decal set from innovativestencils for $139.99.

looksugar. $28

Back to cute-sy…. Here are some star decals which would work for any room…. You could get them in pastel colors if you want a girl, gothic lolita or pastel goth look! Or deeper colors are great too… This is a 97 star set (in two colors) from looksugar for just $28. The nice thing about this kind of set is that you could split the decals up to use in different rooms or on accessories, mirrors, etc.

VinylWallAdornments. $59

On to something a bit more quirky. Whether your into darker stuff, or maybe a med student, or maybe both!… Here’s a human skeleton decal from VinylWallAdornments for $59. I suppose the more tame of you could use it for Halloween decor.

VinylWallAdornments. $85

Also from VinylWallAdornments, this Burtonesque tree caught my eye. Its $85. ( This store has decals which are slightly more “artistic” in nature in my opinion.)

seanhexed $25

Next I came across this Spirit Bottles decal from seanhexed. It costs $25 and looks like it’d be great across the back of a mantel or wall shelf… This store has some other goth & alternative themed designs

pillboxdesigns $29.99

Finally, the coolest for last! There are several bat themed decals available on Etsy. Normal, flying bat silhouettes, cutesy cartoon bats hanging on a line… But I love this one best… Its sort of a play on those bird cage decals you can get (yes I do like those too…) but way better… this Bat Cage decal is from pillboxdesigns and costs $29.99. You can choose to get it in 2 colors: one color for the cage and chains and one for the bats. 12 feet of chain and 11 bats lets you customize the layout a little bit… plus you could save a bat or two to decorate in another area.

Cute Bow Earrings

Published March 2, 2013 by kurolace

Hi Darlings! Today I wanted to show you the great new earrings I got this week! I’ve been looking for a while to find some little black bow earrings, and finally came across a pair I wanted to try out.

$10.50 + $2.50 shipping, available on Amazon from Accessories Forever

I originally thought I’d prefer some that are just metal, but then I saw these rhinestone ones on Amazon. They are sold by Accessories Forever and cost me $13. I was a little bit nervous to buy them, since the picture on amazon made it difficult to tell what the size and quality would be. I thought they could either be really cute, or really cheese-y!

Luckily they turned out to be really cute! I actually received a complement on them the very first day I wore them. They are about 0.5″ x 0.5″, and the crystals really are of good quality. Also, they arrived extremely quickly! Only about 2 days after I ordered them! (They shipped from CA, so if you live on the East Coast, its probably going to take longer.)

The same design is available in black, purple, red, blue, pink, silver, gold… and I think even teal. I’m seriously considering getting a pair of the purple ones! 🙂

Etsy Finds: Wrought Iron

Published March 1, 2013 by kurolace

I’ve been back at it on Etsy… browsing for things I can’t afford to buy. This time I’ve found a few great Wrought Iron items. Many of the wrought iron items on Etsy are vintage things like shelf brackets, wall decor, hangers… but there are some other interesting items as well.

$18.50 from Raidersoflostloot

For example, this vintage 3 tier shelf caught my eye, because the twist in this one is cool. Also, it looks to be a nice black color (I don’t like that vintage not-quite-black-brown color you sometimes find with vintage wrought iron). Its available from Raidersoflostloot for $18.50.

ModernIronWorks $37.99

One of the wrought iron makers/sellers on Etsy offers garden gates and shelf brackets, and although I prefer the flower and humming bird designs, I though that this Spider Web shelf bracket was cool. There was also a spider web gate in the sellers shop. The seller is ModernIronWorks and the bracket is priced at $37.99.

$49.99 CathysMiniatures

At first, I didn’t notice that this was a miniature item! If you’re a miniatures enthusiast or have a (haunted) doll house, you might like this miniature candelabra, which comes complete with candles. The only downside is the price (it is handmade, I assume). Its $49.99 from CathysMiniatures.

Taitaya $99.70

Next I came across these cool wrought iron roses. They aren’t very big, but very cool. The cost about $99 and are from Taitaya, a forge in the UK.

$114.99 stainedglassturtle

There are plenty of wrought iron candelabras available on Etsy, some vintage, some new. But I found a very cool candle holder which combines two of my favorites: wrought iron and stained glass. This cherry red heart stained glass candle holder costs $114.99 and is sold by stainedglassturtle. There was also a clear/white one available.

MetalMastersinc $3,300

Finally, I can help but love wrought iron beds, so naturally I adore this Victorian style king sized bed set, which costs about $3,300. It includes the bed, two side tables and two lamps, so its not a bad deal. Of course I have neither the money nor the space for it! 😦 Its from MetalMastersInc. Just think how great it would look with dark red & black satin sheets! *drool*

Well, there you have it, a wrought iron Etsy wish list. How do you feel about wrought iron?

Etsy Finds: Nails

Published January 11, 2013 by kurolace

Hiya! I’ve been away for a while because I’ve had a rough week. A week ago I started having some weird feeling in my chest on the left side, and actually ended up going to the ER on Friday night / Saturday morning. They did an EKG and blood test, which all came up normal, and told me I was probably having anxiety or something… But then less than 24 hours later I had chills and a fever, and ended up in bed for like 3 days. I’ve gotten a little better, but still am getting a sensation of weight/pressure in my chest. I spoke with a nurse on the phone for a while yesterday, and she relayed all my symptoms to my doctor, who said it seems like I have a viral infection or something. It’s a week until I can actually go to the doctors office… so I am supposed to just rest and not go outside much until then.

I missed some work at the beginning of the week since I was still really weak, so now I have to work extra to make it up… So while dragging myself through the extra hours of work I decided to go on Etsy and enjoy some browsing. I had a few search terms of course…. but I finally decided to do this post on the search term “nails.”

You’ll find that a lot of people sell nail stuff on Etsy these days. A few years ago, there wasn’t nearly as many people seeing acrylic sets or other nail items… I haven’t included any nail polish (which plenty of people are selling), but some other interesting nail items. 🙂

Holds about 144 bottles of polish!

To start out with, I found some organizers. I don’t know about anyone else, but I have bottles of polish all over the place, lol. Especially around my computer, since that’s were I often paint my nails (while working, lol). But recently I’ve been thinking it would be nice to get a rack to store my polishes in. The nicest one I found on Etsy is the “Hanging wrought iron nail polish rack” from daisypam2011. I love the scroll work and elegant design. Its a bit out of my price range though, at $275. There are larger ones available as well.

This one holds about 27 OPI bottles.

Quite a bit more affordable is the “Petite ‘Nice Rack’ Floating Polish Rack” from BeautyPopShop. Its available in black or white and costs 25. The petite rack is probably just about big enough for my current polish collection, but the shop also carries larger ones with different numbers of tiers. There are also some colorful racks available.

If you don’t have many nail polishes, perhaps you’d like to try your hand at Franken Polishes? Making Franken Polish is particularly good for people who like glittery polishes… since that is the easiest way to Franken a polish. (Mixing colors is a bit more tricky). I found this great “Franken Nail Polish Kit” from SillyLilyPolish. It would make a great gift for someone else, or for yourself! Its $35 and includes lots of different glitter, tools, and 15 mini polish bottles with clear “glitter suspension” polish to make/store your creations in.

2mm Rhinestones are perfect for nails.

If you’re interested in doing 3d nail art, you’ll want to stock up on supplies like these 2mm Glitter Flatback Rhinestones from colorfuldaysdiy. There are 12 colors in a wheel-style case…2400 pieces for under $7! I like to add rhinestones to my nails, either to enhance a sticker or decal design, or just on their own. Just make sure you coat the whole nail with clear polish afterwards in you want the rhinestone to stay on a long time.

Ice cream, chocolate, and cake, oh my!

Polymer Clay slices are a popular design element on Etsy. You can find a huge range of them, pre-sliced, or sometimes in cane (un-sliced form). I prefer getting them pre-sliced and in the wheel storage boxes. I have some fruit ones, but there are a lot of other designs available. Check out these cute Food & Cake Slices from zacoo. There are ice cream cones, cupcakes, roll-cakes, and more. 120 pieces for $1.50. I would recommend using acrylic nail glue (which I never use to apply fake nails – but more on that another time) to attach these (over dried nail polish – use a clear coat if you have bare nails). The slices don’t like to bend to fit your nail, so they need that extra strength to keep them on.

Lots of other designs in the same store!

Of course, if you are too lazy to do your own nail art, you can buy pre-designed acrylic nails. I have several sets of these from my favorite Etsy nail tech, nevertoomuchglitter. Her nails are top notch quality and she can do custom sets if you want them. The only issue for me is that the “active length” nails are too short to cover my natural nails, but the “medium length” are too long (particularly in the thumbs). But I think that “active length” is usually appropriate for most people. Check out the Alice in Wonderland Silhouette nails that she has hand painted. The set of 22 nails costs $10.

If you want to try making your own acrylic nails, you can buy the blanks on etsy.

Try your hand at nail art.

The blank nails that are on a “spine” are easier to handle while painting than individual blank nails. Here is a Make Your Own Fake Nails kit from SweetenedWithLove. It includes 4 sets of nails with optional base coat painting, nail glue, and some two-sided nail stickers for temporary wear. $7

BTW…The nail stickers are what I would recommend for applying acrylic nails, because they don’t damage your nail – however, they do start to come off after only a day or two (depends on how often your hands get wet). The other option for temporary application is Ducato repeating nail glue, which you can buy from nevertoomuchglitter, as well as some other etsy sellers. Using these temporary adhesives means you can use the nails again and again.

Okay, thats all! Hope you enjoyed!

Etsy Finds: Black Hearts

Published December 18, 2012 by kurolace

Hi! I have another set of good Etsy finds for you. This time the search term was one of my favorite accessory/decorations: Black Heart / Hearts. I love simple black hearts, and also sometimes not so simple (like filigree). It think they are the perfect mix of cute, elegant, and sophisticated.

So here we go….

Silver Trumpet Jewelry

To start off the list is a nice charm bracelet with large black hearts from Silver Trumpet Jewelry. There are a few other nice charm bracelets in that store as well. $32 isn’t exactly cheap, but keep in mind that making charm bracelets takes time and lots of materials. I would prefer if this bracelet had either bright silver metal parts, black, or bright gold. These days I just am not a big fan of the aged-bronze/brass look. (Although at one point that’s all I liked)

CBDahlia

The next item is a bit of a twist on “Black Heart”… Typically I’m not into these anatomically correct hearts, but I thought it was clever in this case, and the fact that these are carved is impressive. So if you like that sort of “sarcastic” type of thing, these black heart necklaces are for you! The shop is CBDahlia and each necklace costs $38.

fikashop

Of course, we can always make our own custom items, embellished with these cute black heart studs! They’re on clearance too! Just $4.52, from fikashop. I’ve never used studs before, but I’m under the impression that they are relatively easy to use.

The Washi Shop

If you aren’t familiar with Washi tape, its similar to masking tape because of its paper feel. I love it. Mostly I use it for mailing / packaging items in a pretty way. So you know I just love this black heart, lacey washi tape! Its from The Washi Shop and costs $2.50.

ecofriendly notebook from thisisit

For anyone who likes to ~~horde~~ collect notebooks like I do, check out this “ecofriendly” notebook from thisisit. Its 8.5″x5.5″ and costs $18. You can choose between lined and unlined pages too, which is nice. I love cute school supplies and stationary – even though I’m no longer in school, hehe. Seeing this notebook actually made me think about trying to do something similar by using fabric… hmm I’ll have to try it out and maybe make a tutorial! 😛

nurdanceyiz

Oh, I came across this great throw pillow during my search. Its a little bit pricey, but really cute. I wish my room was a little bit more “in-theme” and that my bed was big enough to have another throw pillow on it! I think I might prefer it with lace instead of that leaf stuff… but still, this is very cute. $42 from nurdanceyiz.

GlitznGlass

Lastly I found this mug with pained on hearts. The hearts kinda look like they have eyes! I’m sort of a sucker for mugs.. lol, I think it might have something to do with my tea obsession… The mug is hand painted and costs $18 from GlitznGlass.

Well, thats it! Hope you enjoyed looking at the pretties and maybe you have gained some inspirations! See you next time! 🙂

Lace Ornaments

Published December 16, 2012 by kurolace

Hiya!

I know its been a while, so soon I’ll post a more “update” type of post…. but for now I wanted to give a shameless plug for my Etsy store, which I FINALLY put stuff in.

As I’ve previously mentioned, I have an embroidery machine, which can make all sorts of nifty things. One of my favorites is Freestanding Lace. I’ve made a few different lace projects, and for the Christmas season I made some lace ornaments. I sold a decent number at craft fairs over the last few weeks, but now that I’m done with craft fairs, I’ve got the rest listed in my Etsy shop. The ornaments are $3 each or 4 for $10.

I took pictures of them today since we finally got a small tree for our living room. It was overcast outside, so the colors aren’t as warm as they really should be.

$3 each, 4 for $10

Found and Want: Amazing Romantic Victorian-ish Liz Claiborne Shoes

Published July 17, 2012 by kurolace

I’ve been browsing ebay tonight, and I came across these amazing shoes:

I don’t know if these are really called “Cinderella” or not, or if the embellishments were added… all I know is, I wish I could wear them!

Sadly, they are a size 5. And I wear a size 8-9. Ugh!

I suppose that perhaps if I were really clever, I could figure out how to make some shoes similar to them…. but I don’t know if I am that clever (or could find the piece for it).

One thing I love is the heel… I can’t do really high heels, so whenever I see something like this with a lower (and substantial) heel, I feel like I’ve struck gold – except of course when they’re the wrong size.

Needless to say, if you know where to find a larger size of these… let me know! Lol…

Kurolace

dark, cute, creative

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