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After agreeing to swap valentines cards with the wonderful Mermaid from P!NK I realised how close valentines day really is! This means lots of love hearts & the colour pink - which isn’t exactly everyone’s idea of a turn on. Valentines day means different things to different people. Find a way to celebrate (or not celebrate) in your own style. Here are some of my favourite valentines day gift ideas form Etsy. Some are cute & some are dirty. Some are sweet & some are smutty. Spread the love your way! Enjoy!
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1. Penguins! I like the simple & graphic black white & red on this card. It gets the message across without flowery words.
2. Heart shaped pasties. These are pretty awesome. Especially when paired with the ruby red eye patch! Rrrawr!
3. Kissing coupons. No more waiting in line to buy tickets!
4. Love potion pendant. Slung on a sterling silver chain, this is perfect for your chemistry class crush.
5. Framed Felt. Speedwagon! & Narwhals in love! Awesome!
6. Valentines day card. The message inside this card gets straight to the point!
7. Heart plushie. Anatomy & felt, a match made in heaven? Give them your heart. Really!
8. Zombie love letter T-shirt. Awe!
9. Embroidered handkerchief. Handkerchiefs are awesome & so are hedghogs!
10. Buttons. These buttons were made for each other. So were you & I.
11. Framed Print. A lovely gift for your Nintendo lovin’ luvah.
12. Felt candy hearts! Give them to your friends! Give them to strangers on the bus! Give them to that cutie who works at the post office!
13. Badge. “I’d rather be smooching my nerdy boyfriend.” Yes. Yes I would!
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1. Tree, 2. Balloons against the Sky, 3. Peppermint tea, 4. Old Vinyl, 5. more cardboard boxes, 6. Loft, 7. Baby Blue Bathroom, 8. My Life in Boxes, 9. Brushed Metal with Vinyl, 10. Paper Heart, 11. Bathtub on its way out, 12. Tea for the blues, 13. My friends in la Albufera
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- Peppermint tea! I love curling up with a good book & a big mug of hot peppermint tea. I’ve taken to carrying around peppermint teabags around in my bag for emergencies! At home though, nothing beats fresh mint & lots of boiled water. Sip it up! Yum!
- Keeping in touch with friends. Nothing beats good friends. A well timed message from a thoughtful pal puts a smile on my face every time. Its good to know that there are people out there who I can chat to. Make you feel all warm & fuzzy doesn’t it?!
- Organisation. Packing, cleaning, categorising. I’ve finally begun packing up my possessions & stashing them away in boxes. Not that I need half this stuff - I do have a bit of problem with hoarding books! It feels really good to get things out of the way though & have a bit of space; even if it is only desk space!
- Rediscovering old music. I went through some old, long forgotten tracks on the music player & had a blast! I danced around full of nostalgia & singing the lyrics. This stuff is awesome! Makes me wonder why I stopped listening to some of these artists to begin with.
- Bubble baths. Yup, a long soak in a tub full of hot water. It doesn’t get better than this! I like to swish lavender essential oil into the water & daydream.
- Lastly, having hope. I’ve noticed that I’ve started to look forward, instead of backward & it’s a wonderful feeling. Things may not the best they can be at the moment, but I’m not stressing out about it & I’m starting to see life picking up. Here’s to tomorrow!
What are you grateful for today?
| Thought for the Day | 9th January 2009 |
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Smile!
I often say to Isabella, my three-year-old “Why were we born?”
She answers, “To laugh.”
Then I say, “What is our job?”
She says, “To make sure other people can laugh, too.”
Via No Impact Man
| How to clean makeup brushes |
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Cleaning your make-up brushes should be an important & regular part your beauty routine. If left to sit for long enough, they become the perfect environment for bacteria that can cause inflammation & infection in sensitive skin types. Gross! Because make-up brushes frequently come in contact with the skin, they also tend to accumulate a lot of oil, dirt & of course, make-up. Keeping you brushes clean ensures not only that they remain free of bacteria but also that they work just as well as they did they day you bought them. Here’s how to keep your make-up brushes squeaky clean.
First of all, you will need some equipment. Nothing expensive or complicated mind you, mostly items you can find around the house. Aside from the brushes that you’re about to clean, you will need: large bowl full of warm water, two smaller bowls (one for the detergent & one for lathering the brush) a facecloth or piece of cotton & most importantly, detergent. Any type of detergent will do; brush cleaner, shampoo, bubble bath, hand wash, body wash even dish washing detergent - they all contain the same chemicals in almost the same proportions. Lastly, be sure to cover the surface you’re working on. Newspaper, plastic wrap or an old towel work wonderfully.
Thoroughly Cleaning Your Make-up Brushes
1. Pour a small amount of detergent into one of the smaller bowls. Dip the dirty make-up brush first into the water & then into the detergent.
2. Swirl the bristles around the second small bowl to create a lather & save your hands from getting wet & covered with old make-up residue.
3. Rinse the brush in the bowl of warm water.
4. Pat dry using the facecloth or cotton.
5. Reshape the brush tip & let air dry!
You can use this method to clean any & all make-up brushes as well as flocked sponges. I find that it’s best to leave the clean brushes to dry in a place where they won’t be disturbed for eight hours or so. Most experts agree that personal make-up brushes should be cleaned at least once a week. This can be a bit much for some (myself included!) so below is a quick fix way to clean make-up brushes that doesn’t take too long & doesn’t require eight hours of drying time.
For this to work you will need to use a professional brush cleaner or brush shampoo. I use the brush cleanser developed by MAC. It costs around thirty dollars for 200ml but you only need to use a small amount of liquid each time. According to the girl who sold it to me, it’s also anti-bacterial & fast acting.
Quickly Cleaning Your Make-up Brushes
1. Pour a small amount of brush cleaner into one of your small bowls. Dip in the dirty make-up brush & give it a bit of swirl.
2. Pat dry using a tissue & viola! Done!
While on the subject of brushes, I’d like to point out the importance of good quality brushes. Cheap brushes are likely to shed & to fall apart because of the adhesives used. They’re also likely to be made out of animal hair, usually squirrel or goat. You can can never be sure that the bristles in these brushes were collected in a manner free of cruelty. In fact, it’s probably better to avoid using make-up brushes made out of animal hair altogether. Brushes form the Body Shop do not contain animal hair. Levhead & Aromaleigh also sell cute & reasonably affordable animal-friendly make-up brushes, though Aromaleigh won’t ship them to Australia. By far, my favourite animal-friendly make-up brushes are the Walk On The Wild Side brushes from The Brush Company - the bristles are the most amazing shade of electric blue!
| 10 Awesome Calendar Ideas for 2009 |
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The new year has begun & now it’s time take that old calendar off the wall & replace with a brand spanking new one. But you & I, we’re special. We don’t want just any calendar now do we? Of course not, so here are some of the best that the world wide web can offer us.
1. The Cheap Calendar
Here’s a cheap & easy calendar made out of post it notes. You write the date out on individual post it notes & stick them to the wall. Then use the rest of the space on each post it note for reminders, to do lists or whatever! Take today’s note with you when you leave the house - awesome!
2. The Messy Calendar
This calendar by artist Oscar Diaz uses blotting paper to absorb coloured ink. The line of blotting paper marks out the numbers on the calendar & each day slowly appears over time. Be careful not to spill that bottle though!
3. The Destructive Calendar
Designer Susanna Hertrich developed this hypothetical calender that shreds itself. Each day takes a full 24 hours to shred, slowly moving on to display the next day. With no off button, you had better think about placing it over a bin; if it even goes into production that is.
4. The Crafty Calendar
The cute handmade calendar was whipped up by Rashida of i heart linen. It was auctioned off for charity not too long ago. The removable buttons are held on with Velcro & are removed at end of each day. I love the blue & gray colour scheme & how easy the whole thing is to customise.
5. The Stress-busting Calendar
Popping bubble wrap is an immensely satisfying time waster. The folks at Bubble Calendar have managed to combine the awesome pastime of popping bubble wrap with the functionality of a calendar. Pop each day as it passes you by - if you can even wait that long!
6. The Wallpaper Calendar
Christiaan Postma has created a calendar that come the end of the year will not come off you wall without a little steam & some persuasion. Why is that? Because it’s wallpaper. No word of when the wallpaper will enter into production though.
7. The expensive Calendar
This calendar designed specifically for newave looks & behaves much like a clock. The hands point dutifully towards the present day of the week & day of the month. Each day ticks over much like each second on a clock. Not for regular folks though, this costs a hefty $95,000. With a price tag like that, I’d want it to last more than a year.
8. The Cute Calendar
Artist & illustrator Cecilie Ellefsen is responsible for some of the most adorable creations & her 2008 calendar is no exception. While it is perhaps the most conventional calendar here, it is one of my favourites. I love the decals used for each day’s shape & the cute little characters. Here’s hoping that 2009 calendar will be available soon!
9. The Hands-on Calendar
The Behance Network offers up some seriously artistic fodder for thought & I found this calendar on their site. It is a little box of numbered fridge magnets - awesome! You affix the magnets to your fridge (or any metal surface for that matter) & hey presto! you have a calendar. The customization options are endless, & who doesn’t like playing with magnets!?
10. The Pyromaniac’s Calendar
Also from Behance, this matchstick calendar is any pyromaniac’s dream. The calendar is designed to be similar to a book of matches, with each day written along the length of the individual matches. Think up new & exciting uses for each day’s flame - light a scented candle or a luxurious cigarette. Light the gas ring on the stove for tonight’s dinner - or burn your junk mail!
So, which one will be hanging on your wall this year?
| Threads from the Web | 2nd December 2008 |
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1. The silver threads of my tasbih, 2. The Rope, 3. Web and drops, 4. strings
- No Impact Man (always a pleasure!) shares a story from the Talmud that prompted me to think about our interconnection & taking responsibility.
- Also via No Impact Man is this New York Times piece by Al Gore which make for some interesting reading.
- This photo set is awesome. ‘Nuff said.
- Would you like to snack on a candied scorpion? Sprinkle some pearl dust onto your ice-cream? How about a champagne-flavoured lollipop embellished with flakes of gold? These & more can be found at Edible. Definitely not for the feint of heart!
- I recently found Tina Su’s blog Think Simple Now & I think its awesome! Her article Dealing with Difficult People is definitely worth a look.
- Sleeveface always manages to give me a bit of chuckle. Described as “one or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion” you can’t say no, & now they have a book!
- ideeli gives away free stuff!
- Sonja asks; did you unwillingly support the wrong candidate in the American election this year?
- I’ve been rethinking my approach to fitness lately. Anti-gravity yoga looks fun doesn’t it?!
- Also from Elastic Waist is this Holiday Survival Kit! Hilarity abounds!
- I wish I had a home like this!
- If you need some consoling after a break up, why not try the R.I.P scented candle from Greece is for Lovers? It promises instant redemption & pleasant scents to burn away your blues. It is of course, too good to be true, but why not give it go?
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Things I <3!
1. Books, books, books, books, books, books, and books., 2. bed sheet, 3. Orchid attack, 4. Moét & Chandon, 5. Storm Windows, 6. orchid (opexy)
Reading a good book. I love sitting down to read. I think it is one of life’s most luxuriant pleasures. There are few things that can compete with the thrill of loosing oneself in the whirl of an imaginative novel, a compelling magazine article or a book on a favoured subject. Keep track of your reading adventures with Shelfari. See my shelfari here!
Sleeping in. An all time favourite I must say. My bed is one of my best loved places on earth.
My orchid! It’s amazingly pink, resilient, & always happy. I’d never thought I’d be so head over heals for something so ridiculously pink! But I am & I love it!
Drinking champagne. The froth & bubbles make me happy. Sharing a bottle with friends is wondrous! Yesterday I went to a wedding & afterwards there was much champagne & lots of conversation. I was thoroughly thrilled.
Rain. When we get it, it is lovely & cool & makes everything green. At the moment it is sunny & hot, meaning we are all sticky & sweaty. The weatherman promised us a big electrical storm this afternoon. I hope the clouds are delivered & the rain drops begin!
| Headphones: Not boring anymore |
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Tired of the ubiquitous (& tediously discreet) little black headphones that came with your walkman/discman/ipod/portable music device? I know I am, & I don’t even have a walkman/discman/ipod/portable music device. Those white wires may have been cool in 2001, but not any more. They’re everywhere, they’re boring & they never match your outfit. Well my friends, I have the solution. Bling. Bling for your headphones. Bling for your head, really. Inspired by Nubby Twiglet’s brief post featuring lime green headphones, I began to scour the internet for aesthetic advances in the magical world of headphones. I was a woman possessed, a woman on a mission. Oh boy & did I find some good ones, some bad ones & surprisingly, some really ugly ones!
1. First up are some pretty neat retrofitted headphones made by Molly Friedrich. Molly whipped up a brass & leather case cover so that her ipod would match her headphones. Sweet!
2. They have more charm than a pocket watch & are about as useful as a paperweight, because this next set of headphones don’t actually work. Still, with all those pretty brass cogs, at least they look nice, right?
3. The lime green headphones! So lime! So musical!
4. These next headphones were made with sculpting clay & a coat-hanger. Inspired by Ruby Gloom, these headphones feature cute little sculls & a frame made of ‘bones’.
5. In the middle sits Irene McGee & her blindingly fucia marabou trimmed headphones. Comes complete with a set of instructions for DIY….if you’re so inclined.
6. They glow! They pulse to your music! Perfect for twelve year old girls on scooters or pastel obsessed individuals.
7. These headphones are so extravagent, they’re somewhat ridiculous. Expect to pay as much as $80,000 USD for these diamond encrusted earphones.
8. More bling than the last set, but not nearly as expensive. These swarovski decorated headphones will only set you back $2500. Also available in pink…what about blue?
9. This last pair was handmade by the same Molly Friedrich from the first image. Here she shows you how to make your own retrofitted headphones.
I’m particularly liking skullcandy’s G.I. headphones in grey. As far as I know they’re not available in Australia. Pitty. Though my search was for a set of headphones so beautiful they would make me cry, I think I would settle for a pair that pumped me music straight from a tree. How about you?
| Mushy thought for the day |
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Image by Mr. Wright
Love People
Use Things
Not the other way around.
From one of those church signs. Just about the only time one of those has managed to inspire me!
