Nails

It's summer. And I'm having a hello kitty-gasm lately. So I decided to mix my favorite summer yummy with HK. Strawberry Nails and toes and a Hello Kitty accent thumb. 

Just paint the full nail a cute pinkey color. I used Sinful Colors Professional Island Coral. Then small black dots (Kiss nail art paint in black). And Milani Nail Art Green Sketch for the "leaves". 

Hello Kitty Accent Nail:

White - Revlon nail art dual tip expressionist. White on one end black on the other. 

Whiskers and eyes - Revlon nail art dual tip ( the black side)

Nose - Orly "Hook Up"

Bow - Revlon Nail Art Expressionist dual tip "Pinkasso"

And for bottom and top coat:

Sally Hansen dual duty top and base coat 

Aunt Mar Mar

So fair warning, my bestie found out she's having a little girl today. So be prepared for the landslide of baby girl pins I might be trying in the near future. If you have a baby coming to you or someone you know and thought "hmm, wonder if that works" feel free to email me: marli@marlipaige.com and suggest pins for me to try out!

First off: I NEED THIS for her. It's $22 and I feel like I could make it for less than that. But I shall find a way to make something with this type logo on it. Tardis + Bow = Hello Sweetie the perfect meshing of doctor who and hello kitty. I mean, c'mon what can be better than that?

So, more to come! But seriously, suggest!

Jewelry Making

So I've been putting together my new jewelry line at Marlipaige Designs. And I've been doing a lot of experimentation on how to create things.

First, a recommendation, if you have any desire to make jewelry pick up a:
Bead Buddy One Step Crimper!

This isn't just an advertisement for them, but seriously, if you want professional looking stuff, try it. It's a great little tool. I love mine. Just watch that tutorial if you get one though, because I was confused to start with.


Lessons I've learned making jewelry:
"Goop" does a great job of binding jewels together and to a container (ie: In my Fried Rice Bowl)



But it doesn't reallybind things like a singular item to another singular item (Ie: Pie / Tart Earrings. The Resin Pie to the Sterling Silver Plated Post). Those fused much better with Aleene's tacky craft glue.



Diamond tipped reamers are great for making indentations into semi-soft materials like on my Hello Kitty Sushi Chef. After I got the reamer down far enough I took a long piece of sterling silver plated wire covered in super glue, and it fused down in there just like a charm that had been made that way. It gives the opportunity to take a piece of old jewelry or toy and turn it into something new and exciting.



Mod Podge makes everything easier! For my Hello Kitty Geeky Girl Necklace, I took The Mod Podge sample pack  and used the Gloss finish
 
to attach a Hello Kitty Sticker to A Mod Podge Podgeable Shapes. It adheres whatever paper you have to the Podgeable shape. I then finished it with the mini pearls around the edge. It was the easiest piece I made. You can literally put ANYTHING on those. Mod Podge is my new best friend.

Also, just don't forget that ANYTHING can be jewelry! You just have to have a little inspiration. Most of my pieces started out as something else....like an old broken piece of jewelry that got a new life, or bottle caps, or a wind chime, or even your old toys from childhood. With a few tools, a little imagination, and the desire to make one of a kind things ANYTHING can be jewelry!