Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Potato Chicken Salad

Did the chicken not come out exactly as you'd have liked?
Are you craving a really good salad lunch?
This will definitely hit the spot. Nemo will attest to its tastiness.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Dory's Collar

I was at the pet store, looking for a new collar and leash set for Dory. Nemo's was easy because I just bought him a black collar and leash which are super easy to find. However, I always try to buy them different things so other people can see the difference between them (they seriously don't look exactly the same though, I promise).
So there I was, cruising through all the collars and leashes, wondering what color I liked best that wouldn't make people automatically assume she was a boy (why is that even a thing?). And then I spotted this leash in a beautiful turquoise color and it was strong enough for Dory! That's when I found out that they didn't have a matching collar! Why would they even put it out if it didn't match anything? In fact, the only other thing they had in that color was another leash, a narrow one for small dogs.
That wasn't going to deter me, though. I bought both leashes and went home. Then using buckle parts from an old collar, and the narrow leash doubled over itself, turquoise thread, and a lot of time and a few needles, I made that sucker into an awesome collar.
By the way, the trick is to melt the holes you painstakingly make in the collar. You bore the holes with whatever you can, it's really tough stuff though so don't use a pencil like I did. And then you light a match and go around the edges of the hole which melts them together so they won't make the material fall apart.
Pictures under the cut.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Fox hat

You may have noticed we like foxes. It's in the name after all. But this could be pretty much any other animal with different colors/features.
This was my husband's birthday gift this year and he loved it. :) And it actually took me no more than two days to complete!

Hanukkah Menorah DIY

Do you not have a particularly special Hanukkiyah for the festival of lights?
Or perhaps were you looking to give one as a gift?
I made these myself adding my personal touch and I was very happy with the results.
I got some little glass candle holder cups and some wood, and used beads to elevate the Shamash a bit over the others.
The bases are hollow glass things I had - a candle holder and a narrow jar. I filled them with little cloth flowers and painted the wood (the bigger menorah has roses painted on the wood, the smaller one is just pattern) and glued them all together with an all-purpose-adhesive glue (make sure it's good for glass before you buy it, some don't stick to the smooth surface well).
And look how pretty they are! Just proves that it doesn't have to be expensive to be special.

Sofa Cover

You have a sofa, but it's stained beyond cleaning, or torn, or peeling, or you'd prefer that none of these things happen (it's a concern! especially when living with pets!)
You need a sofa cover! But it's hard to find a cover that perfectly matches your furniture. And a blanket just won't cut it. You could have in done by a furniture repair place, but that would be expensive and a schlep to move your sofa all over the place.
Time for DIY.
You're going to need basically all of the measurements. In fact, I suggest drawing the thing and writing the measurements on the drawing.
But then you get to choose your fabrics! Anything you like! It's like getting a whole new sofa personalized to a tee!
I used fluffy brown and cream for the pillows.
cut cut and stitch stitch and you're done. It takes a while but it's worth it. Nemo certainly loves it.
And the sofa is saved, at least for a little while longer. :)

Cheburashka

Also known as Topple in some English translations, Cheburashka is an adorable little animal character from an originally Russian children's show. It has also gained popularity in Japan.
He first appeared in a box of oranges. :)
He's a character from my husband's childhood, so I made him this as a Hanukkah gift.

I bought the fluffy cloth at the fabric store nearby, and with this type of fabric hemming is unnecessary. I put together each body part and then attached them, and then attached the orange. The facial features and the leaf are actually painted on with nail polish, and they're doing great. It gave me a lot more control over what they looked like as opposed to using some kind of beads, and a lot more precision than it would have had if I had sewn them on. Altogether I'm happy with the result, even if I could have done it a bit more evenly shaped a second time over.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Fox facepaint

Well, I found my costume fox ears and tail from last year, and decided to have some fun.
The materials i used are whatever stuff I found around the house. Some old eye-pencils, eyeshadows, talcum powder, blush, some kind of face cream, face powder, mascara.
took a long time but it was fun and i enjoyed the result. The top of the face was oranger than it looks in the pics, and the bottom of the face whiter than it looks.
more pics under the cut

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Painting of a Puppy

This watercolor marks the first painting that I have done in a very long time.
I'm pretty happy with it all in all!
I used watercolor paints that had been given to me as a birthday gift a few years ago.
 (People seem to thing that everyone who is creative can paint. I don't understand why they would think that. All they've seen me do is doodle.)
As well as the little cup of water, the plastic bowl for mixing, and a pretty crappy average sized paintbrush. In retrospect maybe I should have used a few, not just the one.
It's drawn from the perspective of a puppy looking up at you from way down on the floor, while you are standing up. I'm not sure that's obvious in the picture... Also, since the puppies wouldn't sit in place and I didn't feel like painting from a photo, it's from imagination.
 
more pics under the cut

Monday, November 10, 2014

Origami Dragon

This is a Thing. It is possible. I HAS A PAPER DRAGON.
A friend gave me this awesomeness as a gift, made during their stay at my home while we were elsewhere. They enjoyed their stay, enjoyed all the dogs and the peace and quiet that allowed them to study, so they made this for me and I shall keep it forever and ever and ever [i has a dragon!!]
& this friend happens to also be a genius at all kinds of complex puzzles.
Lookit!
isn't it so awesome???

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Nail Decals

Fedoraharp gave me some really awesome homemade nail decals. I have been using them constantly. Here are a few recent ones, more will come I am sure.
Just look! 
I CAN HAVE AWESOME THINGS ON MY NAILS LIKE SPIDERMAN AND MINIONS AND THERE ARE MANY MANY MORE AND THEY ARE SO AWESOME YOU WILL SEE

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Bracelet themed nails

This woven/braided design with light blue, green and dark blue is based on the adorable little woven rubber-band bracelet in those colors that my little brother made for me a few days ago. He's a great brother and a sweety, and also talented at making awesome bracelets! Take a look! [other planned posts coming soon]


Monday, April 28, 2014

Bento boxes

I just found out about this awesome new idea (i.e. Fedoraharp showed this to me)! To make pictures out of your lunch food! The art form of Bento boxes (otherwise known as playing with your food) is where you take an otherwise boring lunch and make it into art. :)
So obviously I tried it out. Despite not really having the right ingredients.
It's a pretty simple process but took a while to get right, and even so I guess it'll be a while before I'm making things like I saw online. However, it was super fun! And I ended up with a vaguely Futurama lunch!
Then I gave all the art leftovers to Nemo and Dory.
Here's pictures!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Passover

I'm visiting my parents for the Passover seder, and I happen to be a great guest, so I decided to bring a gift.
However, they'd told me not to bring any food, so that ruled out treats. That said, I wasn't going to give up on the notion of bringing something, though I had no clue what it would be.
After a number of calls and a bunch of thinking I set out to buy a picture frame, but alas! They had none that were nice looking and within my budget. That's when I noticed the wall clock. My parents have no wall clock at all. It wasn't quite the sort of thing I'd have given them as is though, it was too plain.
So I took it home, sat down, and drew until I found an idea I liked. Then I painted the idea on the clock (in nail polish atually- I've misplaced my paints) and here it is. :)

Monday, April 7, 2014

another move??


I moved! Again! And I'm quite happy with the new apartment, I'd like to stay here. I've put up all of my art on the walls, and also my weaponry. It's still a work in progress though, there's furniture missing and the books are still boxed. But spring cleaning sure was easy, it was just mixed in with the move.
I also rollerbladed around town with the dogs this morning, so they've been conked out on the floor ever since. XD That was super fun.
I'd lost my camera for the move so only recently I took it out and could finally send nail pics. Today I did a quick manicure- half moon nails with Golden Rose matte velvet turquois and a Dalia sparkly gold and a matt top coat from Perfect Chic. Pictures of nails and apartment below the cut!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Geology Class

Lookit! This is an awesome awesome class.
Also, in this same geology class one of the students asked the professor if he had some kryptonite on hand. My classmates are amusing. College is fun.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Coffee nails

Coffee is awesome- Every college student knows that.
It is best with chocolate chip cookies.

Dalek nails

By request of Allison, I have made Dalek nails based on these:
I don't know who made them though, I was just given the picture. Does anyone know who made these?
Here are mine, below the cut.

Sunshine Award


Thank you so much Vic and Her Nails for awarding me with my second award! I'm pretty sure this was a while ago, but I only found out now. :) Isn't 'Sunshine Award' such a cute name?
Anyhow, here are the rules-
1. Thank the person who nominated you
2. Post the award logo on your blog
3. Share 7 facts about yourself
4. Nominate 5 or more other blogs that inspire you

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Sowwy

...I'll admit, I have been away for much too long. I hope to restart this blogging thing, and so to make up for all that lost time, here's the reasons why I've been gone and a bunch of adorable dog pics. A lot has happened since I last posted. I moved, twice and got another dog, whom I promptly named Dory. I finished a semester and a half of college and got engaged. All excuses of course, but I was rather busy. Without further ado, here's Nemo and Dory.