DIY Chalkboard Nails Tutorial

I've been a little bit obsessed with matte nail varnish recently, I'm rarely seen without my matte topcoat these days. But, I'm always up for something a little more exciting so I decided to try something out and it kind of worked!

The matte topcoat on black nail varnish reminded me of a chalkboard so I wondered if it would actually work as a chalk board, it properly didn't alas, so I opted for a slightly different approach, pencil shavings!

You will need: Black nail varnish, Mattifying topcoat, pencil (whatever colour you like!) and a pencil sharpener.

Sharpen your pencil, whichever colour/s you like, and make sure you get lots of flakes and not so much wood in a little pile on a surface. I used a watercolour pencil so the flakes would melt with the topcoat and create a flat surface, but any old pencil will do!

Paint your nails black (or another colour if you fancy it!) to get the classic chalkboard colour, I used a Miss Sporty polish because it's super cheap and doesn't chip. Make sure you put a base coat on unless you want stained yellow nails like me...fail.

While it's still tacky, use a finger to dab into the pencil shavings and then press them on to your nails. If they dry too quickly then just apply another coat and repeat.

Apply a mattifying topcoat, I got mine from Urban Outfitters for £6 and it's a bit good.

And you're done! Apologies for my gross hands and nails, being in hot countries all summer has ruined them, sad face.

Anyways, I hope you liked the chalkboard tutorial, I haven't seen anything like it in the blogosphere so maybe that means it's shit but ah well... I'm going to go and wash up to see if they can stand the ultimate test! (edit: They look even better after washing up, hoorah!)

If you have a go at it, make sure to send me a photo to iliketweet@gmail.com so I can have a perv.

Emilie Lashmar Illustrates

I love simple, clean and interesting illustrations, so Emilie Lashmar's instantly caught my eye. Her illustrating technique is very stylised and controlled yet the blurring of the ink gives it a feeling of chaos (in a good way!).

The last image was for WAH Nails so obviously, due to my slight obsession, I had to post it. I'll hopefully be posting a nail tutorial in the next couple of days, depending on how my experiments go and how much nail varnish remover I have left...

To see more of Emilie's work, visit her website.

Andreas Waldschuetz

These rather lovely photos are the work of Andreas Waldschuetz, who has recently shot the campaign images for Not Just A Label's new organic t-shirts, which can be seen and purchased here.

I thought I'd show you some of his previous work rather than the NJAL tee shots, just because it's always nice to take a look back! There are dreamy lake shots, sultry black and white shoots and a distinct 1970's vibe, what more could you ask for?

I'll be doing nails next weekend in Manchester at Vintage Threads and I need some ideas! So if any one has any creative things I can transpose to someone's nails, leave a comment! Also, if anyone is around Manchester on the 3rd of July, come and join in and I'll do whatever you like to your nails for you :)

DIY Leopard print nails tutorial

So, before I start the tutorial I must say that I have only recently been able to paint my nails, due to the fact that I have bitten them all my life resulting in little stumpy nails that you can't do anything with. About 4 months ago I decided to kick the habit and have had zillions of bright colours on my nails ever since. I was sticking to basic, plain colours until I saw Gem Fatale's WAH inspired leopard print nail tutorial, which you can see here and is a video so it may be easier for you to follow, but don't go away yet!

First things first, you need your tools. You need a base coat, a contrasting colour for the spots, liquid eyeliner and a clear varnish for a top coat. I have used OPI in Tangerine Scene for the base, Barry M Cyan Blue for the spots, Blink + Go waterproof liquid eyeliner and Elegant Touch clear varnish.

You need to apply your base coat, I've opted for bright orange for the base coat but I had mint green on yesterday with pink spots and that looked good too, so you can basically choose whichever colours you like. You'll probably need to do a couple of coats to make sure it has good coverage.

Once your base coat has dried, load up your contrasting varnish colour, with enough to make sure you get nice even blobs but not enough that you get lumpy leopard spots... You can make them as big or as little as you like but it always looks best if you have a mixture of the two.

After the spots have dried, whip out your liquid eyeliner (I'm using a waterproof one to make sure it stays where I put it but you can use any kind or colour of liner as long as you do a top coat) and put little lines/daubs around the spots. Three lines looks good but it's up to you really! Don't worry if they're not the neatest, leopard spots are always different anyway!

Make sure the eyeliner has dried properly and apply your clear top coat to seal everything in, if you're not using waterproof liquid eyeliner, make sure you apply the clear varnish quickly and carefully so not to smudge everything.

And then you should have leopard-y nails! I'm sure yours will be better than mine, if you do have a go at it, make sure to tweet or email me a picture and I'll link you up.

Good luck!

Pen Pal Bloggers: The second package

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that I have a 'Pen pal' in the form of lovely blogger Ioana from Fashezine. If you haven't been reading my blog long and didn't know, now you do!

Basically, I send Ioana English magazines and treats and she sends me Romanian magazines and treats, as well as exotic thing we have picked up on our travels. Including a copy of Interview magazine for me and a fashion mag from Singapore for Ioana. Read my previous post about our 'Pen pal' fun, here.

I actually received this package last week but have only just found time to properly indulge and read through the beautiful Omagiu, the second copy that Ioana has sent me, which may be even better than the first. This issue is dedicated to Romania and the culture behind the country, the perfect present from Romania really!

It is packed full of beautiful drawings, gorgeous photography, witty remarks, handcrafted logos and traditional recipes which I will definitely have to try out myself.

Not only this but Ioana also sent me a traditional, hand embroidered Romanian scarf which you can see in the photos above. I have truly been spoilt!

You should definitely check out Ioana's blog, Fashezine, as it's full of exquisite photography, Miu Miu shoes and the beautiful Ioana!

P.S. You can also see my leopard print nails in one of the images above, I did them myself after following a video tutorial on Gemfatale's blog which you can find here. I will be doing my own photo tutorial tomorrow so you can do your own leopard-y nails!

The Weeks of Dasha

Another fashion film post! I am so impressed and intruiged by film maker Emil Klang's project, The Weeks of Dasha, documenting a girl's arrival and first year in Stockholm. This is a very ambitious project set to last for one whole year. It started in the first week of 2010 and a new, weekly episode has been popping up ever since.

Each episode, not only documenting Dasha's week, also focuses on a brand or item of clothing to draw it back towards fashion. My favourite item featured was in the first episode (which can be seen in the video above) is a pair of Chloe shoes that I want in my life...

Every episode is beautifully shot and directed by Emil, I love the little touches like her make up and Chanel mint green nail varnish at the beginning where Dasha changes the date each episode. I wonder if the colour will change with Chanel's seasons...

I suggest you head over to the website and check out The Weeks of Dasha, now up to episode 18, it gets rather addictive after a few episodes.