CandyDoll Cuteness

Deco cases and mirrors

2011-11-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

Hey!

Once again, I apologise for the total lack of updates, I have been pretty busy with stuff going on in my life at the moment.

I did however manage to finally get the deco phone cases and mirrors finished, and photographed tonight, yay!

These are currently on sale on the CandyDoll Couture facebook fan page. If they take off I will be making more and putting a section up on the CandyDoll website shop for these! :)

Been busy

2011-10-11T01:58:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry I sort of disappeared for over a month. I have had a lot going on with work and other stuff, couldn't find the time to write about anything fun!

I will be blogging properly again in the next few weeks, with some fun topics including Deco-den :D

Bye for now!

Hello Kitty comes to Liberty London

2011-08-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows about Liberty London will know that they have been around since 1875 and are famous for their luxury items and great design. It quickly became famous for its iconic Liberty fabrics which were used for both fashion and home furnishings.

In the early 1960's it brought about it's flair for fashion and Art Nouveau became big again with Liberty adapting their furnishing designs from their archive.

Liberty is now the leading department store in London, selling modern fashions alongside its traditional classics.

Image from Liberty Archive

On the 26nd September 2011 they will be launching their newest range, a collaboration with the world famous Hello Kitty! Among their new Hello Kitty range they have come up with 5 original prints: Kakurenbo, based on a floral design from 1933 that has been reproduced throughout the years; Kitty Town, took from an original print in 1969; Kitty Wonderland, redrawn from a 2008 spring summer design called Orchid Garden; Music Festival, reworked from a design from 1978 called Kuovi and Apple Tree, which is inspired by a design of apples from 1934.

These beautiful designs will be adorning a range of products which include cosmetics, stationery, toiletries, tote bags, umbrellas, plush keyrings, iPhone cases, alarm clocks, jewellery boxes and travel sets!

I am so excited about this range, as I love Hello Kitty and I have a passion for textile design. This collection will be available for only 2 weeks, running from 26th September and their is a rumour that the Hello Kitty Liberty Art Fabrics will be available for pre-order online soon, so keep your eye out for them!

For more information and pictures check out these links:-

Liberty London

Daily Mail article

CEW (UK) 2011 Winners box

2011-08-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

A while ago I mentioned a website called Latest in Beauty. They provide beauty samples and luxury samples for very small prices. They do a monthly box for only £1 (bargain!) where you can pick 3 samples, and if you like them you can purchase full size products from their online shop!

They have just introduced a new section to their site called "themed boxes". Of course I ordered their first one as soon as I found out as it was a total bargain for only £4.95 with free p+p! The idea is that they will bring out a themed box six times a year, which will contain seasonal picks, products designed for a specific beauty issue or a branded box in conjunction with a retailer.

Here is the list of their 6 boxes for the next year:-

* The 2011 CEW Beauty Insiders Choice Award Winners Box

* The Party Prep Box

* The New Year, New You Box

* The Spring Clean Your Beauty Regime Box

* The Endless Summer Box

* The Fall into Winter Box

I was really impressed at how quickly they dispatched my box, I think I only had about 3 days to wait from ordering to receiving it! Unfortunately my ever so kind postman decided to jam the box in my post box which resulted in it actually getting stuck and completely ripped one side (idiot!). I had to actually pull it back out from the front door as it was completely stuck! Does anyone else have such useless postmen?

As the title of the post says, the first box is the CEW (Cosmetic Executive Women) UK. The box contains some key products from the CEW awards in sample sizes.

"The Cosmetic Executive Women Beauty Awards were introduced in the UK in 2006 to recognise outstanding innovation and creativity in beauty products. The winning products are voted for by the members of CEW (UK) – beauty insiders, women who work in the industry. The Awards are considered a showcase for new and exciting products, as well as some great classics. Winning products are allowed to carry the “Beauty Insider’s Choice Winners Seal” which tells the consumer when she buys this product she has chosen wisely." (http://www.latestinbeauty.com/sub/get-our-first-box/)

The good thing about this box is you know what you are getting, so you wont get any unwanted surprises.

Okay, so onto the goodies!! In the box I received a 15ml tube of Clarins Multi-Active Day Early Wrinkle correction cream, 50ml can of Batiste Dry shampoo (fragrance may vary), 15ml tube of Nivea for Men Q10 revitalising gel, Balance Me Rose Otto Body Wash (other boxes may contain the Balance Me Hydrating Rose Otto and Shea Butter Salve), Dr. Organic Rose Otto skin lotion-5ml sachet and a sachet of Lanolips 101 Ointment. I can't get over how cheap this box was, as the products are all worth over £20!!

I am really excited to try the Clarins cream, as sadly I have started to get lines on my forehead (okay well I am 24 I guess!) and have been wanting to try an anti-wrinkle cream for a while now. I reckon it will be good, although if I decide to get a full size I will need some money as its about £39 for a full size tube (eek!). The Nivea for Men gel will be getting tested by my other half, as he suffers from dry and tired skin. As I already use Batiste this will come in handy for my handbag, as it's just the right size, and I will be having a pamper night soon where I will test out the other samples!

I will post my reviews on these products in about 2-3 weeks, which should give me enough time to try them all properly. I would definitely recommend this site to anyone who loves trying new beauty products out, as it is by far the cheapest and now that they will be bringing out their themed boxes I think it just adds so much to their company. I also like the fact that all orders are one off payments, so their is no subscription fee like Boudoir Prive and Glossy Box.

Nail polish treats

2011-08-15T10:29:00.001-07:00

Hey!

I totally forgot in my last post to add my newest nail polishes which I got from Sally's the other day when I was in Newcastle...oops!

I had seen a post by A Little Bit of Eki about one of OPI's new polishes from their Summer 2011 "Nice Stems" collection called 'I Lily Love You' and knew I HAD to have this colour! I went on the hunt for it but instead of finding a full size bottle in Sally's they had the whole miniature collection instead! Thanks to my smexy Trade card (love being a beauty student!) I managed to get the set for a little over £6, instead of £12.99...not bad eh!?

I also decided to try 2 of the Nina Ultra Pro nail laquers as they had a special deal on them. I got Royale Purple and a pearly pale green colour (which I have just realised doesn't have the name sticker on the bottle!).

I have played around with all my new polishes and have to say the OPI's are fantastic, I really want to get a full size bottle of the I Lily Love You so will most probably just order it off the net, since I couldn't find it in any shops round here. I also love the Nina Ultra's, but found the green wasn't as bright as in the bottle. I did two coats and feel it still wasn't strong enough, so maybe this could be a colour I could apply over a more opaque green to add a nice shimmer.

I also said in my last post I would be blogging about my new "fauxnad" set. I did play around with my new stuff on Fri and Sat night but sadly on Saturday my thumb nail decided to completely rip off. I had caught it at work and tried to save it with nail glue but with the amount of swatching and nail polish remover I kept doing to my nails it gave in and came off! And in true Emma style I couldn't bear to have one short nail so decided to cut the rest off (*cries*)! So my fauxnad adventures will have to be put on hold until my nails grow to a nice length again, sorry!

I am debating on whether or not to do some Gel extensions on myself tonight, as I have my friend coming round for a set on Wednesday and want to get some practice in before then. I'll see how I feel after tea though as I am totally exhausted most of the time nowadays haha!

August beauty and nail haul ;)

2011-08-11T03:42:00.000-07:00

Hey!

Sorry I haven't blogged for a few weeks. I think I had blogger's block! That and the fact I haven't been up to much lately, bar from working...so not really very exciting haha.

I have however been buying bits and bobs, which of course I will show you!

First off, if you didn't already know, the September 2011 issue of Marie Claire comes with a free Ciate nail polish, and Dove damage therapy intensive repair conditioner. Obviously I bought it, mainly so I could try the Ciate polish which everyone keeps raving on about. I can't complain as I only paid £3.60 for the magazine, where-as the polish would have been £9 from their site. They are offering two different shades, a deep plum/black shimmer and a pale nude shade. I opted for the purple as I would be more likely to wear this. I swatched it on my nail (sorry no pic yet!) and over my nail plate it was a really nice shimmer deep purple, but on my free edge it actually looked black! Bear in mind I only did one coat. I liked the consistency of the polish, very smooth and no air bubbles, but not so keen on the colour on my nail. I will swatch again when I take my current polish off, and do two coats (which I normally do anyways!) and see how it looks.

As I said before though, I can't complain really as I got it a lot cheaper than if I were to buy it from Ciate's website.

I have yet to try out the conditioner by Dove, but I am sure it will be fab, as I already use a lot of their products and have never had a problem with them.

I was in Superdrug the other day, on the hunt for my foundation as I have ran out (noo!). They did have it but unfortunately not my shade, so it looks like I will have to order it off the net. I did buy a couple of other things though.

I bought this gorgeous eyeshadow from the Famous by Sue Moxley in Shade 3. I had swatched it the last time I was in but didn't buy it (trying to be good and not buy things I don't need!) but when I saw they still had it I gave in! It was only £2 so it didn't exactly break the bank, and I just love how it is a shimmery green, with flecks of gold in it.

It is quite subtle but you can build it up to make the colour more intense. I would definitely buy more from this brand! I also picked up a cute lip balm in I love... Strawberries and Milkshake for 99p. It smells so yummy, and feels really soft on my lips, another bargain!

Finally I want to show you some nail products I have bought in the past week. The first is a Nail art kit from Poundland for...you guessed it... £1!!!! I actually bought this same kit at Christmas, and was really impressed with how much you get in it that I went on the hunt for another as I have nearly ran out of my old kit. Thankfully they still sell it in the bigger stores so I picked it up in Newcastle the other day. You get pearl rhinestones, normal coloured rhinestones, various shaped flat shimmery flakes, two wooden orange sticks and a nail file. They are so handy and great to use over nail polish or embedded into gel or acrylic. I probably should have bought a few to keep me stocked up for a while!

I also ordered another wheel full of rhinestones (you can never have too many!) from Ebay for £3.49. I would say that is about the cheapest I have found for them so far (I got approx 1200) as most nail sites seem to sell them for over £7 which is just ridiculous!

I have also recently wanted to try nail art stamping as it is the latest craze now. I looked around the net for ages for cheaper alternatives to Konad though as they seem quite pricey, and after seeing other girls using "fauxnad" kits I thought, what's the harm, they do the same job, but are cheaper!

I found a really cool site called MoYou which sells their version of the nail plates, stampers and polishes plus kits at really good prices. They are based in the UK and are really fast and delivering!! I decided to buy 3 nail design plates from them for around £2.99 each (bargain!!) and they were delivered within 2 days of me placing my order, fantastic!

I will be trying these out tomorrow night so I will post my results and thoughts on these then!

I found a stamper and scraper complete with christmas designs plate for a few quid from a website called Beautiful Nails Shop. This is also UK based, and she sells nail art products, gel and acrylic systems and other items. I had looked at this site ages ago as I have been wanting some coloured acrylic powder to do my 3D nail art. I use EZ Flow products for my l+p but didn't want to spend a fortune on their coloured powders, so decided to get 3 coloured powders from the Beautiful Nails shop as the site claims you can use them with any monomer. I know mixing products isn't ideal, but as I am only using these to practice with, I have no problem. Once I become fully qualified I will be buying EZ Flow coloured powders :)

Finally, I ordered some Konad polishes from Blush Cosmetics as from what I have read, using these polishes are specially formulated for nail stamping, so work the best. I will try my regular polishes as well though as I know certain brands can work too! I also bought a little tub on pearl hearts for nail art as they were on sale for 50p, and a glass nail file for my mum. I tried to get the same file as mine from vivalanails but they have discontinued theirs :( Hopefully this handbag sized file will do for her!

I hope you enjoyed my post and well done if you read it all, I think this could be my longest post ever hahaa!!

Blog sale! (Elemis, Bourjois, Barry M and more!)

2011-07-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hey!

I have just put up a new page on my blog, for my blog sale! Please check it out as it has some great bargains. I have a bunch of cosmetics that have hardly been used, or never... Barry M, Elemis, Bourjois, GOSH, Lioele and more! I also had a sort out of my jewellery so there is a few cute pieces up for grabs also.

If you wish to buy, please follow my rules, and please note that if you live outside the UK P+P will be slightly more :)

Thanks!

My Daily Beauty Products

2011-07-19T12:39:00.001-07:00

I thought I would share with you my daily beauty products I use, to create my "natural" look. I put this together in Polyvore, hope you like!

My Daily Beauty by candydollcouture on Polyvore.com

Product rundown

Max Factor Lasting Performance foundation in Natural Beige
Maybelline New York Pure.Liquid Mineral concealer in Nude Beige
L'Oreal Paris True Match Mineral foundation in Natural Beige (I use this to set my face)
NYC Color Wheel Mosaic Face powder in Pink Cheek Glow
Maybelline Liner Express in Black
Black kohl pencil
Maybelline Volum' Express The Falsies mascara in Black

What are your beauty must-haves? xoxo

Nail sets

2011-07-18T13:29:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

I finally got round to taking photos of 3 of my sets of false nails *yay!*. Unfortunately the photos really don't do my nails justice, they really look so much better in person, but hey ho, if I figure out a way of getting better shots of them then I'll re-do them at some point.

I have put them up for sale on CandyDoll Couture, along with nail glue. I will be adding more, but am wanting to see if these will sell first.

I also got my little Beauty Box from Latest In Beauty, with my samples which I had chosen :D I will blog about them over the next few days, as I need to try them all out first!

LN Girls samples and review

2011-07-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

So, as you know, I applied for some samples from various cosmetic companies the other week. One of those was LN Girls Mineral Makeup. I actually came across this brand through a beauty forum, so filled my details in and sent my email off asking for a couple of samples to review and try. I didn't get a reply so was thinking maybe I wouldn't get anything, but then 2 days later I received two samples in the post! :D Talk about quick!!

The first thing I noticed about this company is that they really do promote natural ingredients. There are no dyes, talcs, fillers or chemical preservatives in their products. They are also suitable for any skin type, so if you are like me and have oily AND dry skin, these are fab for it! They don't test on animals either (yay!).

I didn't ask for any specific colours but since found out if you ask they will send you a sample colour of your choice. I received two really cute little pots, one is mineral foundation in Bride-To-Be, and the other is a mineral veil in Matt Glow.

Onto the samples:-

Mineral foundation in Bride-To-Be

Pros:

*Easy to apply

*Natural SPF 15

*Lasts well without continuous re-application

*Slight sparkly sheen to it

*Could be used as a highlighter for brows etc also

Cons: None!

Mineral Veil in Matt Glow

Pros:

*Absorbs oil

*Easy to apply

*reduces shine

Cons: *Colour was too dark for me (But, I want to say, they have two different shades of mineral veil and this one is actually intended for darker skin so I'm sure if I tried the lighter shade it would suit my colouring)

After testing these products out I would definitely say I would buy from them. They were super quick in delivering the samples, quality of products are great, website is fairly easy to navigate and they also have helpful hints for different skin tones (see their asian and/or darker skin tones) recommendations!

Check out http://www.lngirls.co.uk for their full range of makeup!

New necklaces at CandyDoll Couture!

2011-07-13T05:20:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

Recently I have been really getting into Deco and decided to order some supplies to make my own deco jewellery for CandyDoll Couture. I got myself some air dry clay, Racoon Honey whip cream clay (love this!!!), deco sauces, more pearl cabs and other bits and bobs. It felt like christmas when the postman came!

I decided to make some biscuit necklaces and macaroon necklaces...I also made some mini cupcakes which will be turned into earrings and charm bracelets (need to photograph these though) soon. I'm really hoping these will sell, as I need some money (who doesn't!?) and also if they do it means I can make more and more!

I also had bought supplies for tattoo inspired cameo necklaces which I was meant to make in preparation for Whitby Gothic Weekend but in the end I just didn't have the time for these, so only now have I managed to get some on the site. I have more designs which I will be adding to the shop very soon though!

You can see more macaroons and biscuit necklaces at http://www.candydollcouture.com! ^__^

Mini Make Up haul

2011-07-12T05:12:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

My camera decided to die on me the other day when I planned to take pics of my make up and samples so I had to wait until the weekend to borrow the other half's camera haha!

As I had said in my previous post, I went shopping the other weekend, mainly to pick up some bits and pieces I was running out of such as mascara and concealer but as usual I got side-tracked and picked some other things up too!

I love Barry M make up, and their nail polishes are fab! I decided to get the Mint Green and light blue (Blueberry shade) to go with my pale pinks and lilac I bought a while back. I love how nice they are to apply, no air bubbles and even coverage, so I tend to only need 2 coats if I'm wanting my nails really bright.

I also picked up some MUA products as my mum had told me she tried their eye shadows and they were really good, especially for only £1 each! She was right! I got an electric blue eyeliner (love my bright colours!) which is really bright. It lasts really well too, I thought it would just smudge or fade but it really stays on my skin well. I also got a purple eye shadow for £1. It is very silky and seems quite pigmented for such a cheap shadow :) You can build up the colour with these so you can wear them very pale, or brighter if you want. I also wanted another green nail polish so decided to try 2True, another cheapy brand hehe. It was only £1.99 for the bottle, although I have yet to try it out and see how if it is any good.

I love perfume, and hate not having any...which I managed last month when I ran out and had no pennies for any more. I usually wear Britney Spears Curious (yeah laugh if you want, but it smells really nice!!!).

I decided to try something new when I got paid though, and was flicking through the Avon catalogue and stumbled upon about 5 fragrances that I totally loved! (The catalogue has scratch and sniff bits, which I was a bit dubious about, as I wasn't sure if the actual perfumes would smell like the page did!) I decided to order 2 of the ones I liked though, as they were both half price.

Perfume images from the Avon site

I ordered Scentini (Plum twist) which is a really fruity, summery fragrance. I partly ordered it because of the bottle though, I love pretty things! And the fun thing with this perfume is you have to shake it to activate the smell! It is a really fun perfume that is quite subtle, and it sort of feels like a dry body oil when you are wearing it. The other perfume I bought is called Incandessence, another fruity but slightly stronger and more elegant fragrance I would say. This one is better in terms of the smell lasting all day, I have worn it a few times and not needed to re-spray later in the day (bonus!).

I also received some samples of LN Girls mineral cosmetics in the post which I will blog about next time. I hope you have enjoyed my mini haul! ^_^

Beauty samples

2011-07-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I used to search the web for free samples of beauty products and perfumes, it was a great way of finding out about new brands and trying them without having to buy full size products. I decided to go on the hunt again for some new samples recently and stumbled upon a website called Glossybox. Basically, you pay £10 a month and they send you a cute box with 5 samples of good quality beauty products! I'm pretty gutted that I just missed out on one, and now have to wait until September when I can get their next one, but considering you can get samples of NARS, OPI and other great brands, I think I can hold out until then!

www.glossybox.co.uk

I have however read a few reviews from girls who have received their Glossybox and not been totally happy with some of the products, but I think it all depends on what you like, some people may like facial creams but not nail polishes, others may like hair products and not lipsticks. I'm pretty much an all rounder though! I love make up, and nail products (as I'm training to become a Nail Technician!), hair care products are always handy, and I like trying new creams for my face as sometimes it gets dry, then oily, then dry again *grr!*.

I googled for similar sites that offer things like this and found a website called Boudoir Prive which will be launching very soon I believe! The idea is similar, you pay £10 a month but you recieve 6 luxury beauty samples, instead of 5!

On my hunt for samples and freebies I found another site called Latest In Beauty which again is a similar idea to GlossyBox and Boudoir Prive. The idea behind Latest In Beauty is that you sign up and fill in your details such as skin tone, hair and eye colour, skin type (dry/oily etc) and then for just £1 you get to pick 3 beauty samples that they match to your needs and send you it out in a little box called the Beauty Box! You can order it every month and they also have a section where you can order larger sizes of luxury samples at low prices. If you like what you try you can purchase full size products also on the site!

www.latestinbeauty.com

It only takes about 2-3 days to recieve your box in the post so fingers crossed mine should be here very soon, I'm so excited!

The last thing I wanted to share with you today was some beauty competitions I found. If you sign up to the Loreal Paris Beauty Confidential page there are about 5 competitions where you can win 1 of 1000 Lash Architect 4D mascaras, Golden Goody bags and 1 of 1000 Glam Shine Fresh lip glosses and more!

I also went shopping last Saturday, mainly to get some mascara as I had nearly ran out, but bought some other stuff, so I will share my mini make up haul with you tomorrow for some more fun stuff! xoxo

Love fashion

2011-06-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Apologies for the lack of posts for the past erm...2 months (oops!), I think I have had a sort of mental block on all things creative recently :/

First off, I decided to take the plunge and order some fake whipped cream (clay) and air dry clay plus molds/rhinestones/fruit canes etc to make some Deco sweets jewellery. I have been looking into it for a while now and really fancied having a go at it as they look so cute and yummy!

I will be posting some pictures of my creations very soon so keep an eye out for them :)

The second thing I wanted to share was fashion-related. Have you heard of a fashion brand called Uniqlo? I first came across them a few years ago at the store in NYC. They are a Japanese brand whose aim is to provide casual clothes at affordable prices. The first thing I noticed though when I went inside was their huge range of cool graphic t-shirts. They had everything from Manga prints to childhood cartoons! I ended coming out of there with quite a few tops, which I still have actually! They use good quality cotton which washes really well, plus the prints don't wear off after a few washes like some other t-shirts I have bought from other shops.

I decided to check out their site a few months ago as I have been on the hunt for some fun t-shirts for the summer...and guess what, they did not disappoint! At the moment they have various special collections under the name of their UT project which currently feature Care Bears, Barbie, Cacharel, Pirates of The Caribbean: on Stranger Tides plus even more!

The best bit about their UT Project is that all of the collaborative t-shirts are really reasonable in price!

Here are a few of my favourites (perfect for Fairy-Kei and Decora lovers):-

Carebears Raglan t-shirt A-Was £7.99, now £4.99!

Carebears raglan t-shirt D-Was £7.99, now £4.99!

Barbie short sleeve T A2-£12.99

Barbie Graphic short sleeve T-shirt B-£12.99

Barbie Graphic T-shirt C-£12.99

I hope you enjoyed this post and be sure to check the Uniqlo site out, they also have a huge sale on at the moment!!! xoxo

Photoshoot

2011-05-31T13:49:00.001-07:00

Hey all!

Apologies for the lack of updates recently. I have yet again been working a lot, and had some

problems to do with one of my jobs so haven't had much time for CandyDoll Couture :'(

I did however get some awesome shots of my products, modelled by the lovely Miss Kitty Star and photographed by the talented Frances Lane!

Please check out Frances Lane on Facebook, and also Miss Kitty Star!

Here are a few of my favourites, you can see the rest on Frances Lane's facebook page and of course CandyDoll Couture's fan page :)

Sweet Treats...

2011-04-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update to say I have added some new pretties to the website http://www.candydollcouture.com/. I have been having huge problems with Mr Site, so it took me a while to upload just a few things! *Sighs* I will be adding more over the coming week though, and fingers crossed getting a brand spanking new website that works properly sometime next month too!!!

Onto pics...

This is just a few items I have added, prices start from as little as £4.50 on some of these goodies!

Whitby Gothic Weekend and other things

2011-04-02T02:34:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, long time no see! Sorry for the lack of posts, I have been super busy due to working 2 jobs (yes I got another job!) and making and preparing things for Whitby Gothic Weekend.

I basically decided to book a stall at WGW about a month and a half ago (talk about leaving it to the last minute!) which was also around the time I started my other job. I wanted to give it a shot as I haven't been to the festival for over 8 years, and wanted to see how my stuff would go down at an alternative event. I worked my arse off for this, ordering supplies, sewing, glueing, jewellery making etc every night after work. I finally got everything ready and finished the night before we went down to Whitby (last Thurs) which got me into a right panic! I still had to make my board to display my necklaces on so ended up putting that together in the hotel room on the Thurs night eek! One of the reasons I ended up being so last minute with everything was because my supplies were coming from all over the world, so some didn't arrive until a few days before we went (talk about stress!).

We worked for 2 days, the Friday and Saturday and had a blast! It was really fun and great to see so many people who liked my things. I sold quite alot and alot of people took my card (which ended up in some sales when I came back aswell!). I also met some really nice people who were also running stalls in the same venue as us. The only drawback to the weekend was that the organisers had decided to split the event over 2 seperate weekends, so unfortunately alot of people were unsure which to attend, which led to a quieter weekend than usual. Apart from that though it was still a good turn out.

We had the sunday off so we could check stuff out which was fun. We managed to 'break into' the Abbey (oops!We were following a bunch of people who climbed a wall to get in, not realising it was actually closed! Typically though it was Karl and I that got wrong for it haha!) and we went on a Ghost walk on sunday evening. We had an awesome time and both of us were sad to leave, but its got me thinking about doing more shows and festivals in the future.

I had a bunch of new items that weren't on the website before we went away, some of which sold really well! I have managed to add some of them to the site, but over the next few days will be adding the rest, so look out for another post showing off the new stock.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and check out Karl's photography skills, awesome photo of the Abbey!

Bye for now :)

2011

2011-01-12T12:57:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Apologies for not blogging in a while, Christmas was abit hectic! I hope you all had a great christmas and new year :)

I had a quiet christmas, which was nice, but had a panic with pressies due to the disruptions with the royal mail! I wanted to order alot of things but with the delays I didn't risk it, so in the end went out in a mad rush to the shops to try and get everything!

We didn't do much for New year, as we ended up getting flu which sucked. And I had to work alot too :(

I got some gorgeous things for christmas, sooo Kawaii! I will take some pictures and post them later this week. Ooh, I ordered some super yummy Donut mirrors which I will be selling on the website soon, they are so cute! I also treated myself to some fimo canes for nail art, one of which is My Melody! It's amazing how tiny they are, I imagined them to be bigger but they really are small!

How cute!? I can't wait to try these out!

Been very busy...

2010-12-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

Studying, work, studying, work....cleaning, erm, and making things!!! Yup, that's what I have been up to the past few weeks.

I have also been xmas shopping, which I STILL HAVEN'T finished, arghh!

I also painted up two sets of Kawaii false nails, one of which I sold tonight (leopard print). I am selling them for £10 each on my facebook, but if you are interested please contact me through blogger also!

Im planning on painting some more sets, which I will upload after christmas :)

New hairclips and hairbands!

2010-11-26T02:23:00.000-08:00

I have been busy making some gorgeous new hairclips and hairbands for the shop, featuring strawberries, ice creams and hearts! I have also added a few bag charms to the site too.

I have had the worst flu EVER so have been resting, drinking lemsip and losing money due to being ill and not being able to go into work >.<

I also finally got a dining table (yay!) haha, I never thought I would get excited over furniture! But now my living room looks like a proper home ^__^ We also got another sofa so we have lots of seating for guests.

I am planning on doing some custom sets of false nails which I think I will trial either on facebook or the shop website. Im torn though, do I offer 20 nails (2 of each in every size) or take a customers measurements for each nail which means there is less wasteage? Hmm. Something to look into methinks!

72 hour flash sale!

2010-11-15T05:42:00.000-08:00

Since xmas is coming I have decided to have a HUGE 50% off 72 hour flash sale!!! The sale will begin tommorrow 12pm UK time, and end on Friday 19th November. 50% off selected items only. Why not check it out and grab yourself a fabulous Kawaii bargain!!

I will be uploading new items to the shop including bag charms, hairclips and hairbands at the weekend. I got my halogen lamps fixed so its all good to go for product photos now! (yay!)
I am also planning on selling some handpainted false nail sets on the website, as I have had some great feedback on my nail art! I will only be putting a few sets up to begin with, and if it takes off I will be making more to sell! :)

Im sorrrrryyy!

2010-10-29T14:13:00.001-07:00

I am officially a TERRIBLE blogger! I seem unable to keep posting unless it's like once a month, bad me!

Anyhoo, I've been quite busy practising my Nail art. I bought some striper pens and Japanese nail art magazines, and a bunch of other stuff and had a go at it! It is so much fun! I did some on my own nails, then decided to buy some false nails and tips to use as practise, plus I can keep them to show my designs off on. I'm getting really into it, and also started practising how to do acrylic nails. I bought a nail trainer hand which is soo handy (haha that was so bad!)

Here is a terrible shot of my nail art designs :) (my damn halogen lamps both broke tonight so I had to use a crappy bedside lamp to get some light on the designs.

And here is a picture of my nail trainer in action, well, with some finished acrylic nails done :)

I have also been making bag charms for CandyDoll Couture, which I was going to photograph tonight until I knocked not one but BOTH of my lamps over which made the bulbs go!
Hopefully I can pick some new ones up and get the pics took over the next week :)

Eyeko!

2010-09-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

I have signed up to become an Eyeko Ambassador! I love their make-up and swear by their Big Eyes Mascara. I love their new range of nail polishes and can't wait to get some when I get paid!

If you like Eyeko too then why not use my code to get a free gift with your order!

Click on the banner to check out their website!

xoxo

Rosette brooches and more!

2010-09-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry for yet more lack of posts, I haven't been very well recently so have took time out from crafting to get better.

I finally got my little purses finished (yay!), and made some gorgeous little Rosette brooches which are available in the shop. I will be making more of the purses, and playing around with new designs too. Ordered some gorgeous fabric off ebay and some fab fabric store I stumbled across too, it's just sitting there waiting to be made into something cute!

I also ordered some leather bracelets which I will hopefully recieve this week coming, and am planning on funking them up with some handmade charms and sourced charms too, so keep an eye out for them!

Since I haven't been very well my mum got me a really cute "How to to Sew" boxset of books last week to cheer me up. They are so cool, with some really fun little how-to projects and nifty little tips on everything from Applique to Sashiko.

I haven't gotten around to doing any of these projects but I will make this my mission for this week! (Been busy taking a zillion pictures of products and reorganising my stock so it's nice and organised haha!)

I'll try and update a bite more often, but you know what I'm like :)

Toodles for now!

No motivation

2010-08-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you are all aware that there has been a lack of posting here lately. Sorry! I've been working alot, being ill (as usual!) and just had a pretty crap lack of imagination recently. I have been finding it hard to find inspiration to make new things, or finish things off and actually upload them. I'm not sure why.

I went to visit my friend today who I havent seen in a while. It was great to catch up and see her and her moggies :) She showed me some sketchbooks she has been working on, which made me realise I dont have to work on things that "fit" with CDC, I can look elsewhere for ideas and branch out into new things.

I have some great ideas now for a new area of CandyDoll Couture, which I will start working on but it wont be available for a while yet. I'll *try* and keep you posted, if I remember to update the blog!

I also finally figured out how to create a mosaic out of flickr images, so I put together a cool mosaic of my super cute craft room. I really wish I could always keep it that tidy though, it's covered with fabric, buttons and god knows what else at the moment!

Quick post-New products

2010-07-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

Check out the site, some new necklaces, hairclips and other cute things!!!

CandyDoll Couture Shop

Tell your friends, tell everyone! Plus, new totally gorgeous rosette brooches soon to be added!<3

Back, finally!

2010-06-29T04:11:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am finally back online, well I have been for a few weeks, but have been busy updating the site and creating a new background for it etc.

I decided to put my photoshop skills to the test and created some yummy sweets which are now the background of the shop website!

I also have finally uploaded some hairclips to that section of the site, after numerous failed attempts due to Mr Site being crappy as usual!

There is also a cute Locket for sale on the site, with more to come in the next few weeks <3

Enjoy!

Quick post...

2010-04-07T01:57:00.000-07:00

To say my internet is down so I wont be blogging much for about 3 weeks (until the new internet is installed), nooo!!

Luckily though I have the advantage of t'interweb on my phone yay!

Polyvore for promoting your handmade wares

2010-03-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

I decided to use Polyvore to create a set with a selection of new items in stock at CandyDoll Couture.

It was super easy and pretty fun to make! All you need to do is download the clip to polyvore button and then start adding your stuff to the site in your items, and shazzam, start creating a funky set with your own goodies on!

This is my first one, next time I think I will create a sale set :)

Candy Doll Couture by candydollcouture on Polyvore.com

Alice In Wonderland

2010-02-28T14:44:00.000-08:00

So, as most of you will know, Tim Burton's adaptation of Alice In Wonderland is being released at the cinemas this Friday coming, and I am very, VERY excited to see it!

I was slightly panicked when I heard that the Odeon had said they wouldn't show it due to dvd release dates *blah blah blah*I have breathed a sigh of relief finally as they have since decided that was a bad decision and WILL screen the film. Hooray!
So, I decided, since I am slightly obsessed with the book and what with the film being released on Friday I felt it was quite fitting to do a feature on Alice In Wonderland themed Jewellery and Accessories!

The first show off is this gorgeous Cheshire Cat necklace from Swarovski. I have to say though, the necklace is even more amazing looking in real life, it's worth checking it out at your nearest store!

They have a whole range of Alice In Wonderland jewellery, including this really sweet Mad Tea Party necklace with jewels falling out of the cup.

Another big company who have designed some seriously cool Alice In Wonderland jewellery are of course Disney Couture!! (Available from Asos)

Check out these stunning Mad Hatter stud earrings:

Now, I love all of these pieces but as we know it isn't just big companies who are celebrating the new release, of course it's us Indie Designers!!

I have been on the hunt for the cutest, most individual pieces of Alice themed handmade jewellery by some of the most talented Indie Designers out there.

First up are these seriously cute wooden brooches by Temporary Secretary.

Next is a designer who I have featured before, PinkyToast on Etsy! She does the cutest illustrations, featuring lots of pink, big eyes and babydoll dresses!

This is her Alice in Wonderland pocket mirror, which I just love!

I stumbled upon this gorgeous hair barrette whilst searching Etsy for Alice goodies. This is by StaySweetDesignz on Etsy, where you can find some delightful hair clips. Alice and tattoo themed clips are the main designs which we love!

Feel free to add your personal favourites of anything Alice in Wonderland via links on the comments page and enjoy the film when it comes out! xoxo

Sale now on and new items added!!

2010-02-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Just a quick update to let you know there is now a Sale Items section on the site where you can get some really good bargains, loads of cute jewellery up to half price!!!

Also, I have been working hard updating the site with the new stock I have been making, which includes the super cute felt Owl brooch! There is also a Stationery and Cards section where you can get cute greeting cards and fun notebooks.

http://www.candydollcouture.com/

2010, oops

2010-01-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

Im sooo bad at updating, not really sure why I keep this blog actually!

Well Christmas was great, I got the coolest present off mum EVER.... A Betseyville by Betsey Johnson bag!!! *squeals*
I love it soo sooo much, its the prettiest bag ever!!

I also got some new ink before xmas, a really cool pin-up girl on my calf, 3 hours it took...man it was sore!

Ill post a picture if I can be arsed lol.

I need to sort out my shop yet again, its been neglected due to working, but now it wont, as I have plans for this year :D

Anyways, Im off for the night, toodles xoxo

Ddung Dolls, I want!

2009-11-23T12:58:00.000-08:00

Just had a browse on Artbox to see what new cute things they have, and OMG, the cutest most adorable dolls are for sale on there!! They are called Ddung Dolls and pronounced Ttong. They come in cute outfits with matching accessories and have moving arms and legs.

I think I will be putting these down on my xmas list!!!

Finally, new stock!

2009-11-04T13:52:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update: I have finally had the time to take photo's of some of the new stuff Ive been making for the shop.

Check these out and pop over to CandyDoll Couture for even more goodies!!!

Seriously annoyed.

2009-10-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

Remember a few months ago when I said the oh so amazing Artworks Gallery in Ouseburn, Newcastle contacted me as they wanted my jewellery in their Shop Boutique? I was so excited, I jumped to it, made loads of goodies, took them through and was told to ring them in a few months to find out about what had sold, and to recieve my payment. Well, about 2 weeks ago I received an email from them saying they were closing down and "sorry for the inconvenience". In their email they said they were open on 3 days during certain times for collection of artwork. Well, due to working a million hours a week I couldnt get through on these days, so I asked my placement lady, Cassandra Harrison if she could pick mine up, along with hers. She went along on the Sat and was faced with a locked door due to changed locks. Okay, so why did they tell people to collect their stuff if they couldnt open the building for the artists? Turns out the exceptionally talented (yeah right) Matt Forster, who seemed to run/own the gallery hadnt been paying his rent for the building, so the council shut him down. Nice.
Fast forward to this week, and after sending a few emails to the "info" at the artworks gallery requesting some help on how to retrieve my items, AND my money they owe me for selling my items they finally decided to reply with a useless email saying they would look into it. Of course they will, and the other god knows how many angry artists they have screwed over. Turns out everyones stuff had been siezed by bailiffs and are being auctioned to repay the money Matt owes for rent.
Cassandra has been great, keeping me up to date with everything, and the latest was that she was told she could go to the auction house and retrieve her stuff, mine, and others that live down south etc. She said mine wasnt there though. So I now have to accept my goods have either been stolen, sold or lost. I know my stuff wasnt worth as much as others (one woman had work worth £40,000) in there, but its the principal of the situation. People worked really hard on their stuff, handed it over expecting to make money, not lose alot of money. To top it off apparently 10 days before he closed down the infamous Matt Forster registered a new company in Hexham called MJ Forster Gallery Limited. I suspect the same thing will happen again with this gallery if he runs it. Hopefully someone will have the sense to stop him from getting away with it again though.

To read more about this fantastic guy, check out the photography pages and The Journal.

On a lighter note, I have had a great week off relaxing and getting my health back to normal, and will be updating the shop with new goodies next week so stay tuned!

The Cluny Craft Market

2009-08-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

Today was the Newcastle Craft Mafia's first Craft Market at The Cluny. It was also my first ever craft fair! It was so much fun, tiring though as I had to get the bus through with all my stuff as the damn trains dont run at normal times on a Sunday haha!

It was great to meet some of the other member's from our group, and to see what cool things they make.
I sold 6 things woohoo!!! I wasnt even expecting to sell anything haha, so it was a pleasant surprise :) I also bought two things, one of which was a gorgeous button bracelet from Nuada Accessories and the other a super cute felt milk bottle magnet from Giant Button . I wanted so many things but I didnt have much money on me so Ill wait till next time to buy more goodies!

Here is some pictures of my stall/table, and some shots of the market in action:-

It wasnt very busy but I think the more we do it and the more people here about it we will get more visitors :) I have decided that although my fabric for my table super funky and colourful, I felt that it ditracted from the necklaces I had lying on it. Hmm, so now Im thinking, either choose a plain fabric *cries* lol, or buy some sort of necklace board to hang them on....

I also need to get my photos of all the new stock and hairclips taken asap so I can pop them on the website, since its looking abit bare, oops!

Waaaaaaaaaaa, its been too long!

2009-08-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

Eww, and I just put my hand in a puddle of meg spit, nice. (she dribbles constantly, silly kitty!)

Right so, its been a while. Ive been working alot, but finally my hours have gone down abit so I have had some crafty me time! ^__^

I spruced up the shop website...after clicking on every damn option on admin on Mr Site. It looks snazzy now though!! Here's a screenshot:-

Just incase you dont know, its http://www.candydollcouture.com/ ;)

I decided to make some new earrings for the shop, which I will unveil to the world in a few days :D All I can say is they are pretty darn cute!!

Also, I have signed up to two craft fairs, one of which is the Craft Mafia fair at the Cluny, Newcastle Sun 16th August!!! (Poster created by a fellow craft mafian :D)

Clearer details can be found at http://www.newcastlecraftmafia.com/

Also, incase you havent seen these, I thought I would share. Momiji Doll Gashapons! ^___^ I popped into the Travelling Man the other week and low and behold they have a Gashapon machine...*squeals*!!! You can also buy them from Chicki if you dont have a shop near you that sells them. They had loads of different kinds, so I got two haha. I got a winner ticket (yes, you can also win Momiji goodies from them!) in my first, which won me some really cute Momiji greetings cards, and inside the ball I got super cute stickers and a little tote bag with a doll print on. The second gashapon I bought came with cute stickers and 2 seriously cute key covers! I really should have taken a pic of these. Here is a pic of some other goodies you can get inside from chicki....

I think Im going to scoot now, need to order loads of fimo to get cracking for the craft fair, I managed to use up ALL of my white, and glitter white, doh! xoxo

Soo unbelievably tired

2009-06-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

Work. That seems to be all I do these days. Im so tired from it. I worked out I did 42 hours last week, akk. Im hoping I will have more time to get the shop going again soon, although I say that alot!

I actually had a day off yesterday though, so we went to see Drag me to hell. My god, it was a weird film! It was funny and scary haha. The old woman was freaky! I also treated myself to some cute hairclips..they are pink polkdot hearts yay!

Ive been invited to Pride in August, reeeally hope I can get the time off to go! Chazzalaroo is back so we met up the other night, she had some mad stories to tell from Peru hehe.

Im going to sign off now, but before I go, please visit my shop, for a limited period if you buy ANY necklace you will get a surprise free gift!!!

Make sure you add it to your cart! xoxo

No time

2009-06-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

Gawd, Ive had no time to do anything for the shop lately! Ive been working like 40 hours a week and when I get home Im so tired I just want to get into bed. Its crappy, but I need the money.

The cats are doing fine, we actually have 3 now, I cant even remember if I mentioned we were going to adopt a cat. Hes cute, hes called Murphy and hes huge and hes 4 :D He stinks sometimes. And he had worms, but apart from that hes cool hehe.

I have my work room set up, just havent had the time to actually do anything. Im hoping Ill get some stuff sorted though next week as I have 2 whole days off, OMG! Hahaha.

Also, just to let everyone know, Im offering a free, yes freeee, surprise gift with every necklace order on www.candydollcouture.com so grab them while you can!!!

xoxo

Eep...

2009-05-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

Its been a while. Ive been stupidly busy and had alot of things going on with the house front. Im pretty much sorted now though. My new job is great, although Ive been doing loaads of hours so I havent had much time (well not really any!) to get the greeting cards and other new things onto the new website. I will soon though, I promise!!!

I have also been getting involved with Craft Mafia, I am now one of the founders of the Newcastle Craft Mafia woohoo! Cassandra has been working on the site and (I think-I may be wrong haha) in a few weeks the Craft Mafia HQ check it out and decide whether it is good enough and then we can recruit members :D

Damn cats are going insane now, I will have to go and play with them to make them tired..I want them to go to sleep so me and Karl can watch the Lordi film haha!

Finally..

2009-05-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

The new home of CandyDoll Couture has arrived!!

http://www.candydollcouture.com

Check it out, I got Mr Site working and have moved alot of things over from the Etsy shop! I am keeping my Etsy but mainly just as another way of people finding me :)

Also, started a new job this week, its class! Means Im nackered like, but alls good.

Gallows FTW!!! (cant get enough of them at the moment)

So yeah, pleeease tell everyone about the new .com, its funky and in £'s, which will be better as alot of my friends (who dont understand Etsy) cant get why Etsy is in $ haha, bless.

Anyways, might get crafting tommorrow, going to chill out tonight though, toodles!

Tired.

2009-04-30T00:38:00.001-07:00

I am SO tired. Ive had 2 hours sleep because marmite and meg decided to turn into nutters during the night. *urgh* I feel like crap.

Sorry for the lack of updates, Ive been so busy recently. I just ordered my Mr Site package the other night though, so should have a proper .com up and running in a few days for the shop, woohoo!

My first home

2009-04-13T02:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I havent actually got the house yet..but hopefully I will know by tommorrow!

So I thought it would be fun to do a feature of cute homewares from great sellers on Etsy. Everything is so tempting, Ill have to be careful not to go overboard on buying things for the house when it comes to it!

Babushka Bunting by Beaky

Maggie full apron by Boojiboo

Sailor Jerry style wall sticker set by dplusb

Cute cloud coaster by Inkjet

Polkadot cupcake tea towel by Living Thread

Kawaii Bambi cushion by Melon1

I hope you have enjoyed looking at these as much as I have, check out their shops as they all have some wonderful other items in stock! xoxo

I was featured on...

2009-04-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

the Super Cute Kawaii blog yay! I love reading their blog, and as I was reading their flickr finds, I saw my clouds and rainbow brooch featured! Im very happy, and have just re-added another of these brooches to the shop, as I had made another the other night...and was tired so forgot to put it online hehe >.<

Go check their blog and shop out for loads of cute finds! xoxo

Big changes

2009-04-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Hmm, I have had a pretty stressful week. Basically, we have to sell the house. Mum needs to downsize, so me and Karl are going to get a place together :D Its awesome, I cant wait, I just wish that I had a job of some sort (I mean besides the failing online shop) so that I didnt have to worry so much about money :(

We went for a viewing at a cute 2 bedroom terrace house though yesterday, and we love it! Fingers crossed they ring back and say we can rent it soon. I also get to take my kitties, yay! Im sooo glad, I would miss them so much if I had to leave them.

But yeah, the stressy part is the fact that no matter wherever I look, there is NO jobs I can apply for, well apart from the 2 I have (which I no doubt wont hear back from as usual). Thats the problem with living in a small town. It wouldnt be as bad if I was making some sales on my Etsy, but for some reason its all died a death. Is it my prices? My actual jewellery? I really dont understand. I hope that when I can afford my own site, that might help.

Its quite odd that now I am going to post a picture of me in the sellers showcase now..since Ive just said Im not making any moneys haha! Its still nice to see me on there though. Last time I did it I got alot of traffic to the shop and it helped with sales, maybe everyone is just as skint as me at the moment though!

I also had a peek on Cassandra's shop, she has the cupcake brooches I made for her on there now, yay!!

You can see them at Gee How Quaint in the Hostess with the Mostest section. Also, check out her super cool teacup Gocco print t-shirts in the Wear Me section!

Im going to log off now, have some final preparations to make for Karl's Bday tommorrow now hehe! xoxo

Needlecases and other stuff

2009-03-26T03:19:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I last posted. I havent been very well again though, so not been up to much apart from work really. Im okayish now though :)

Decided to make some needlecases/needle books for the shop last week. I had orginally had 4, but two decided to mess up haha! So I have two that are good for selling. I plan on making more though, as I have ALOT of kawaii fabric in my fabric box that needs some love :)

They are available in my Etsy shop CandyDoll Couture :)

I also made ALOT of jewellery and accessories for the Artworks Boutique. Took them all through yesterday, Im so excited, finally my things will be in a real shop! Im going next Thurs to their preview event, so Ill get lots of piccies to share of my goodies there!

I also added a glow in the dark cupcake hairclip to the shop, its pretty funky, I may have to make one for myself!

Slightly annoyed

2009-03-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, just a word of advice to people who dont buy goods off the net alot, please please read EVERYTHING before clicking on the buy button, make sure you CAN pay before you click it, otherwise you are wasting your time, and the sellers.

Make sure you read the payment options, as it clearly states on Etsy how you can pay for an item. If everyone did this it would stop alot of wasted fees/time.

Sorry to rant, but I get slightly annoyed when I have time wasters on my hands.

Just a little update...

2009-03-17T10:36:00.001-07:00

Wow, Im so happy! I just checked my Etsy and I recieved an email from the Boutique at the Artworks Gallery in Newcastle who are interested in stocking some of my jewellery and accessories! Im so excited, things are finally looking up. And it wont be long till I can buy my screenprinting supplies and start with the big stuff :D Yay! <3

Maker Faire UK

2009-03-16T04:43:00.001-07:00

Wow, this weekend has been totally awesome! Tiring, but totally worth it. Cassandra had a spot at the first UK Makers Faire, which luckily for us was only in Newcastle (so not far for us to travel).

It kicked off on Saturday at 10am, and finished yesterday at 5pm. It was really worth it to be there as I got to see first hand how to run a stall at a fair (which is what I want to do soon!). It was a brilliant mix of people, crafters and techies. I met some lovely people, and saw some amazing projects.

Here are some piccies from the faire :)

This was Cassandra's large artwork backdrop she did by hand, how pretty is it!? :)

Haha I dont remember this being taken! Me listening (and looking very serious) to Cassandra explain how the Gocco printer works.

This was the mechanical horse that made noises, played music and moved by remote control, oh and he also breathed fire!

OMGGGGGG

2009-03-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

How CUTE is he!!!???

I REEEEALLY want a persian kitten now, they are the cutest fluffiest things ever!!! ^______^

Funky finds

2009-03-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

So, I sort of went abit awol with the whole featured sellers thing didnt I? I had a bit of a blah week, kind of ill :( Im okayish now though, although I need to go back to the docs again to get fixed haha.

Im back on track now though, went to Gee today. Cassandra is getting ready for the Maker Faire this weekend...Im really excited as I havent worked at a *crafty* fair before!

I just wanted to post some adorable things I have found whilst searching the net for my wish list :P One day I will have the money to buy some of these things!!

I adore bright, cute, childish things, so these fit perfectly with my style. Check out the links to visit these awesome sellers' shops and see their other amazing crafty items!

1. Drink Me Alice in Wonderland Resin necklace by FashionCandy

2. Let Them Eat Cupcake Cameo necklace by mlleclorofil

3. Sweet Tattoo Pinup Girls coaster set of 4 by PinkyToast

4. Kimono Cuties gift tags by LemonTreeStudio

5. Lick Your Pick necklace by SugarAndSpiceDIY

6. Wizard Of Oz small clutch by simbiosisbyjulia

Oh my good god...

2009-03-08T14:12:00.001-07:00

I actually cant move :/ I cannot believe how much I can eat haha!!!

My birthday was fab, Karl took me out to Valentinos for a 3 course lunch (oh yeerrr), which was yummy! I then proceeded to have a nap in the afternoon as I was VERY full haha. Theeen, mum took us all out to this really nice chinese restaurant in town. (And I ate another 3 course meal lmao!) Then we came home and I got to open my pressies ^__^

Haha the funny thing was, as I was opening my first present from Karl, my mum goes "Oh crap.." and we looked at her, and she said "I think I have bought you the same thing", hahahaa!!! It turned out she managed to get not one, but TWO of the same things that Karl bought me lol, due to the fact she was nackered when she read his email about what he had got me, and miss-read it all as one thing! Bless her. Soo, i got the awesome William Control CD (Hate Culture), and Innerpartysystem's(two copies of it haha!) new cd, which is one of the best cd's I have listened to in ages. I also got (2 of the same) book, Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I cant wait to read it! Just need to finish American Gods by NG (I am slightly obsessed by him, hes such an awesome author!) I also got the funniest toy ever, a really cool Hello Kitty hand puppet!!

You NEED one in your life, its so funny! ^__^ Check out http://www.artbox.co.uk for it, and lots more cute and cool things!

I also got a Badtz Maru plushie, yaaaay!!! I have been wanting one for ever, and now I have him, he can snuggle in with Hello Kitty in my room :D

He came from http://www.dizzypink.co.uk/ UK's home for all things Hello Kitty ;)

Last night we all went bowling, which was mucho fun, even though I didnt come anywhere near to winning hehe. I love bowling, and Ive decided I want to do it more often, maybe even get good at it haha!

Today I met up with Clarebear for lunch and shopping, which was awesome, as I dont get to see her much anymore with us both being on work placement :( We had a giant feast at Stateside Diner (really cool 50's American diner) and then waddled around the shops to buy pretties! Oh god, and yeah, I had ANOTHER chinese tonight haha, because its my aunties birthday today, so she wanted chinese for her tea. I seriously cant move, and I think ive put on like 5 stone in 3 days lol! Time for a diet methinks ;)

Havent managed to get much crafting done, although I did price up everything I need for my screenprinting, so I should be able to get the stuff in April when I have more money. I think though, this week I will make some birthday/greetings cards to go up in the shop as I have bought everything and been meaning to do this for agees!

Im going to sign off now, and find some cute things on the web I guess, maybe post them here If I ever learn how to do that html linkage where you can change the actual word which becomes the link (does that even make sense?)... yep. Toodlepip xoxo

Happy Birthday to meeeee!

2009-03-05T01:14:00.000-08:00

Haha, well, im 22 today! I sooo dont feel like it, plus I think I still look about 16 haha.
So, today me and Karl will be going to a cute little Italian for lunch (they do 3 courses lunchtime special for £5.95!!). Then, tonight we are going to a chinese restaurant with my mum and lil brother...can you guess...we loooove food :P Im going to open my presents also tonight, I wanted to do it when mum wasnt rushing for work haha.
I got this weird card in the post though, it was off my uncle. The picture was just strange, Im not sure if he meant it to be funny, or if it was a card he just found in the house, but it upset me :( Mum stuck it in the drawers, so I dont have to look at it. Apart from that though the morning has been good so far, plus Clare sent me a really sweet text ^__^

Im going bowling tommorrow night with Karl and Lewis and everyone, so that should be fun, aint seen some of them for agees! Ooh, and they turn the bowling alley into a disco at night haha!

My placement is going really well also. I made 4 super cute felt cupcake badges for Cassandra, so they will go online soon I think. My printing needs work though, I never realised how hard Gocco printing was! I think though, its similar to screen printing in the sense that you dont really know how it will turn out until you have printed it. Its alot of fun though! Ill get the hang of it eventually ;)

Haha, im currently drinking coffee and watching Jeremy Kyle, wow, my days are so exciting lol! I might as well make the most of lounging around while I can though hehe. I really want to make something later though, anyone have any ideas? I either want to sew something, or make something out of fimo..hmmmm :) xoxo

Work Placement

2009-02-26T02:17:00.000-08:00

Well, I had my first day at Gee...How Quaint on Mon, and it was fab!! Cassandra showed me how to use the Gocco printer (I NEED ONE!!!) and I printed off some of her artwork so she can work into them with other fabrics and stitching. I also printed some t-shirts for her shop. We discussed my idea of the paper dolls (vintage of course ;) ) for a print, so I have been drawing out ideas for a final print that I will show her tommorrow (so excited!). I also drew a load of vintage teapots yesterday as I had an idea for another print, so hopefully she will like those too.

I havent done much for CandyDoll Couture this week, mainly because I have like 81 things already in the shop, plus I have been really getting into drawing again.

Ooh, I ordered a totally cute top from New Look the other day, so hopefully it might turn up today, I decided I *needed* a new top to wear out for my birthday next week hehe. I think me and Karl are going to La Tasca...mmm tapas!
This is the cute top/dress:-

I also wanted to show off my boyfriend's fantastic figure he made, using fimo, no wire, just fimo!! (and glass eyes) hehe. He loves fantasy stuff, so he made a really cool *naked goblin* haha. Its his first and he has put it in his very own etsy shop...more to come!

His Etsy is:- http://www.grimeproducts.etsy.com

Hope everyone has a good day! xoxo

Funky Friday

2009-02-20T07:16:00.000-08:00

This is a collection from my favourite sellers on Etsy, I completely adore these items.

1.Cupcake to do list by Winnieatepaper- A lovely shop with handmade printed stationary and other cute things!

2.MonokuroBoo wristlet by florspace- She makes the most amazing purses and bags with the cutest fabrics!You HAVE to have a look :)

3.Trickster Yeti and Cupcake T-shirt by Applenoggin-She sells the most awesome screen-printed cute t shirts and kawaii jewellery!

4.Matryoshka Russian Doll home decoration by TheJamboreePixie- Local artisan who sells really pretty home decorations and jewellery, very unusual designs :)

5.Kawaii Heart vial necklace pendant by strawberryanarchy-Gorgeous Japanese Street fashion inspired jewellery and accessories.

6.Geisha mini pillow by Mymimi-Such cute illustrations, printed onto pillows, tote bags, mirrors and alot more!

I hope you enjoyed looking at all my favourites, and if you can, please have a look at their shops, they all sell amazing stuff, very unique and fun! xoxo

Exciting stuff!

2009-02-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy this week! I went abit crazy and made a crapload of hairclips (some of which are still drying) yesterday for the shop. You can see them in my Etsy!

Some of my new stock!

I am starting my work placement next Monday, at Gee How Quaint, and I am so excited!!

Please have a look at Cassandra's prints, they are so fun and quirky!

http://www.geehowquaint.com (I tried to put it in as a link but it wasnt showing at all, anyone know why?)

She has asked me to come up with a design for 3 different items for her shop, so I am going to get cracking with this in a bit (after my yummy latte hehe). They will have a vintage theme, which is great because I looove vintage! She has also asked me if I can make some of my cupcake brooches to put into her shop as they will fit well with her style. Im chuffed!

Other news:- Marmite has a horrible bald patch next to his eye :s and it was bleeding last night, I have a feeling Meg has took a chunk out of him when they were scrapping lol.

I have also decided today I will showcase some of my favourite artisans off Etsy and other funky places I regularly drool over. I will probably do one a week for now, unless I get more free time haha!

I need these!

2009-02-18T04:06:00.001-08:00

I want EVERYTHING haha!!

Kawaii - by candydollcouture on Polyvore.com

Polyvore cuteness!

2009-02-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

Woohoo, I just made my first Polyvore, its so much fun!!

Cuteness - by candydollcouture on Polyvore.com

New stock and life :)

2009-02-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

Well, i made a crapload of fimo beads and little pendants the other day! I have some in the shop now. Also, Ive added some really cute rings with cabochons I ordered all the way from Japan!

I love the first bracelet, almost to much to sell it gah! Nah, its in the shop now so no going back hehe. I made the pretty oval beads with my brand spanking new bead roller :D

Ive also been making some really cute brightly coloured Kokeshi Dolls. They will be available in the shop next week, just need to take some good pictures of them..but for now here is a teaser..

I also caught Marmite sniffing my goodies while I was trying to photograph them haha!! Daft cat he is!

Sniffing my camera case bag!

And....I had a fantastic Valentines Day yesterday! My little brother was in a Valentines play put on buy his drama group, and he had one of the main parts! So me and Karl, mum, my aunt and gran all went to watch him. Aww, I am so proud of him, hes only 10 and hes soo good at remembering his lines! The audience found him pretty funny which was good :D

Then Karl came round for the evening as I was cooking us a romantic meal hehe. He got me 12 red roses!!!! They are gorgeous, and he also got me 2 pink heart shaped balloons, AND my favourite chocs!! We had a great evening, it was really lovely :) I made him a fimo Totoro haha, and also gave him some pretty chocs, he liked them woohoo!

I'm having a night in tonight though. Ive spent 2 hours sorting my portfolio out for tommorrow as Im meeting Cassandra from Gee How Quaint about a work placement. I hope she takes me on, her stuff is so cute!

Right, off to wait for my chinese now so ta ta for now xoxo

Woohoo!

2009-02-12T03:01:00.000-08:00

I have my first follower, thanks Kezbirdie!! <3

I got my order of fimo yesterday, including some GLOW IN THE DARK fimo lol! Its seriously cool! I made a couple of things last night with Karl, but will be making a crapload of stuff today as its snowing and cold.

Im also waiting for my business cards, vistaprint emailed to say they are on their way, so excited to see them!!!

I was thinking, I would love to feature some crafty people on my blog, as I look at so many pretty and unique things, why not share with everyone else!? Only thing is, can I do this without asking permission as long as I list their name/link etc, or do I need permission to feature other peoples work?

Think I need more pic friendly posts in here, I seem to lack in this. And I no what I prefer, piccies, so much more fun to look at! ^__^

Good news!

2009-02-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

Things are looking up for me with the shop finally. In just 3 days I have had my first 3 orders on the new Etsy shop (yay!). It may not seem alot but if it carries on like this I will be working on the shop full time (which is what I want!).

I also saw my Ad on http://www.diyscene.com/ so I took a screenshot of it lol.

Still need to sort my business cards out, although I have a good idea of how I want them to look now. Oh and I also got asked for my first wholesale order!!!

New shop URL!!!

2009-02-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

I decided to move everything over to a new URL on etsy as it is confusing having a different username to shop name on there.

You can find CandyDoll Couture now at http://www.candydollcouture.etsy.com

I will be updating it alot this week with more items, better pictures etc, so keep checking it :D xoxo

New Jewellery and life in general

2009-02-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

Woah, Its been a month or so since I last blogged! Well, I got my Uni work finished and handed in, so Im just waiting to pick it up as its getting marked. My designs didnt turn out the way my illustrations look, but nevermind, Im still happy with them. I found out I can machine Applique woohoo! And i really enjoyed it haha.

Im meeting Cassandra from Gee How Quaint next week to have a chat about working with her for my placement which will be great! She prints using a Gocco printer onto fabric and makes really sweet bags and t shirts.

I also had a brainwave...Im going to buy a Screen Printing kit!!! I love screen printing, I can afford one, why not!? So my plan is, buy one, print my illustrations onto fabric/tshirts, and start selling them in the shop.

Since I finished Uni Ive been ordering alot of charms etc, so I finally got round to making some new jewellery for the shop. I also made a few fimo charms amongst the plastic ones :)

Hope you like!!

Oh, and here is my new logo for the shop, drawn and coloured in photoshop by moi ;)

happy late new year!

2009-01-05T04:12:00.000-08:00

Hehe, well I had a nice quiet New Year with Karl, we watched The Colour Of Magic (omg i loved it!!!) and then watched the fireworks out of my windows hehe. It was alot nicer than trying to go out for New Years, I hate it to be honest, too many drunk idiots lol.

I went out on Friday night though for the first time in ages with Carly, which was cool, I even wore a dress and heels! :O *shock horror!* I have a really sore blister from them now though >.<

Not looking forward to finishing my essay today, although its more interesting than the last one I wrote since I am writing this time about Glam Rock, so bring on David Bowie woohoo!! Im just counting down the days till I finish Uni and can carry on crafting, this time full time! I also need to find out if and when i will get an interview for Heidi Seeker for my work placement, I hope i get it as their stuff is soo cute and funky!

Anyways, i shall go now, get some food and get cracking on this blooming essay :P xoxo

Felt brooches!

2008-12-29T08:59:00.000-08:00

I had a fantastic christmas! It was a really nice day with the family, and my little brother came home in the evening from his dads so that was great, especially seeing his face as he opened his new PS3!! haha.

I got loadsa cute stuff, lots of Hello Kitty things, and a pair of PINK GHDs!!! I have been hoping for them for agees hehe.

I decided to make the most of my free time so I started making some cute felt brooches for the shop. I have only made 6 so far, as I dont know whether they will sell, so its a sort of trial to see what people like most. Im waiting on a huge order from Hong Kong full of gorgeous beads and charms also!

I have alot of Uni work to get done before next week though so I'll have to put the shop on the backburner until uni is officially finished (gah!) Only a few weeks though! ^__^

Ooh, and I also will be on Etsy's front page tommorrow in the gift guide section, so look out for me!! Here is a new add with the cute brooches featuring ;) xoxo

http://www.morbidfaerytale.etsy.com/

Xmas cards

2008-12-24T09:34:00.000-08:00

So, I have finished wrapping all the presents for my family, and today I finally got round to making their cards! I really enjoyed making them actually, and am thinking about making my own range of birthday cards (with my own fimo designs) for the shop in the New Year.

These are the cards I made:- (sorry about the crap quality pic!)

I think this will be a good christmas, I have a good feeling about it :) We did the big food shop on Monday, which went surprisingly well considering its normally heaving in the supermarkets by this time. We went into Next to get a gift voucher for Karl and while I was in there I saw the most gorgeous handbag...which my mum decided to treat me to, bless her! I love it!

Anyways, Im going to scoot, I need to put more presents under the tree hehe. Happy Christmas for tommorrow! xoxo

2008-12-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update to say, I finish Uni for Xmas tommorrow woohoo! It feels like forever since we've had time off.

I also got my digital fashion illustrations done, although they could be better, they were my first ever so maybe I shouldnt be so hard on myself! Ive been at the laptop for 12hours solid, no WoW tonight either :'(

I think its bedtime now haha, before I sleep at the poota! xoxo

Here is my favourite digital illustration I did...my screenprint (fabric) aswell! ;) (Oh, the reason it says Boden is because it is for the Live project, so i thought putting their logo on would be a nice touch hehe.

Fresh start

2008-12-17T02:52:00.000-08:00

Ahh, a fresh start...for the 3rd time haha!

I have decided I will actually KEEP a blog as I am leaving Uni for a year out (work placement) and will be pretty busy doing fun crafty things.

Its nearly christmas, and I need to wrap the pressies! Our tree is so pretty, with our usual odd mix of baubles and tinsel collected and bought since my mother was little :)
I have alot of work to get done for Friday though, as I have my Fashion Illustration deadline then. My printer is broken though, so that needs fixing first!
I also want to draw out a girl I had in my head last night, so that will be something else to do today, before I forget how she looked hehe.

I better get ready now though, I need to get ink for the printer, so I will post some illustrations later *hopefully*! xoxo

CandyDoll Cuteness

Deco cases and mirrors

Been busy

Hello Kitty comes to Liberty London

CEW (UK) 2011 Winners box

Nail polish treats

August beauty and nail haul ;)

Blog sale! (Elemis, Bourjois, Barry M and more!)

My Daily Beauty Products

Nail sets

LN Girls samples and review

New necklaces at CandyDoll Couture!

Mini Make Up haul

Beauty samples

Love fashion

Photoshoot

Sweet Treats...

Whitby Gothic Weekend and other things

2011

Been very busy...

New hairclips and hairbands!

72 hour flash sale!

Im sorrrrryyy!

Eyeko!

Rosette brooches and more!

No motivation

Quick post-New products

Back, finally!

Quick post...

Polyvore for promoting your handmade wares

Alice In Wonderland

Sale now on and new items added!!

2010, oops

Ddung Dolls, I want!

Finally, new stock!

Seriously annoyed.

The Cluny Craft Market

Waaaaaaaaaaa, its been too long!

Soo unbelievably tired

No time

Eep...

Finally..

Tired.

My first home

I was featured on...

Big changes

Needlecases and other stuff

Slightly annoyed

Just a little update...

Maker Faire UK

OMGGGGGG

Funky finds

Oh my good god...

Happy Birthday to meeeee!

Work Placement

Funky Friday

Exciting stuff!

I need these!

Polyvore cuteness!

New stock and life :)

Woohoo!

Good news!

New shop URL!!!

New Jewellery and life in general

happy *late* new year!

Felt brooches!

Xmas cards

Fresh start

happy late new year!