Index Fundraising

My friends Fiona and Ting are 4th year RMIT students hoping to raise enough funds to open an exhibition for their final year.

I am absolutely loving this Alice in wonderland inspired mustard yellow bobble ring created by Ting.

It is gorgeous!

 

So artsy!

I also purchased this cute love birds acrylic ring that they've created using a laser cutter!

I am loving all these cute handmade button accessories made by their team mates!

I wish I could have them ALL!!

I'm also proud to say that I assisted in a few of them! I was actually at Fi's place last weekend, helping them glue, polish and paint these accessories so they can sell them. 

They usually set up stalls in their uni to try and raise funds, so they need all the help possible. If you're intrigued, just check out their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/139315682805645/ or you can just ask me! ;)

// ♥

Bundle Monster Konad Nail Plate Review (21 piece set)

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Check this out!!

Oh yeah.. pretty awesome right? I purchased the 21 piece Bundle Monster Konad image plate set from Amazon for about US$18 not too long ago cause I wanted to experiment with more Konad nail designs.

It was my first time purchasing off Amazon and it was really easy! Postage didn't cost much either, approx. US$4 and it took about a week or so to arrive.

The Bundle Monster set is a cheap knockoff of the Konad plate set. I thought they would be filmsy metal plates but they are actually as good as a genuine Konad plate!

There is a thin blue plastic film protecting each plate which is easily removed.

Each image plate has a unique number on it, just like a konad plate.

Each plate also has 6 - 7 designs, just like a Konad plate .

 

I have used 5 plates without encountering any problems so far but upon closer inspection of all the other plates, I did notice a slight inconsistency in one pattern. However, I'm not bothered by it because it's hardly noticeable once you stamp the design onto your nails.

This set is a partial set, which includes the BM1 - BM21 image plates.

Personally, there will be some designs of this particular set that I doubt I would ever use but I still enjoy having a variety of choices.

Now, I don't actually own a full Konad image plate set so I can't exactly compare but looking at some samples online, there will be a lot of designs I probably won't use either.

click on the photo to enlarge!

In all, I'm really satisfied with my purchase *prances*

And in anticipation of my upcoming snow trip in Falls Creek, I've created cute wintery snowflake nails.
 

Uber cute? Hell yeah! :D

Can't wait to make snow angels, snowmen and have snowball fight(s)!


// ♥

DIY Nail dotting tool

As you should know by now, I am a big of polka dots.

And I love love LOVE polka dotted nails!

To cheer me up during this cold winter snap, I decided to add a little jazz to otherwise dull-looking greys.

I can be a real cheapie so instead of purchasing nail dotting tools and accessories, I just made my own.

By using a cotton bud (or a Q-tip by others), I am able to create my own custom dotting tool. Just simply remove one end of a cotton bud. Tip: It's easier to remove when the cotton is wet.

Once it's clean, it should look like this.

Now, I painted my nails prior to removing the cotton... which is rather stupid since I had a good chance of ruining my freshly painted nails but I've got mad awesome skills so no problems there.

I usually use a base coat underneath my polish. I used Rimmel's Grey Matter, which I find very true to grey without a hint of blue tones. The brush is wide, making application a breeze. 

I used one generous coat as I plan to use a top coat.

Just dip the naked end of your cotton bud into a white/cream nail polish, making sure you have a small dollop of laquer. You can test the size of the dots by dotting onto a piece of paper.

Unfortunately, you will end up with some dots larger than others if you are not careful, but I actually like irregular sized.

Now, polka dots are evenly spaced so to make sure you get nicely distributed dots, always start with one in the middle of your nail.

The middle dot will act as your marker. Much like the 5 dots on the face of a dice, the middle dot is framed by four dots, one at each corner of the dice

I find this much easier than just randomly dotting on a nail. More often than not, five dots are sufficient but if your nails are long-ish, you can place a sixth dot at the edge of your nail.

You have to be very patient afterwards as dots tend to take a lot longer to dry since they're blobbed on.

Once they've dried, use a clear top coat to seal and protect them!



Have a good weekend everyone!  ♥

Long Weekend and Partial Lemon Juice Detox Plan ♥

We Melbournians are having a long weekend thanks to the Queen's birthday!

Long live the Queen!! (though it's not really her birthday -.-)


Now, I've just started to introduce lemon juice into my diet to cleanse my body of toxins.

There's a lot of hype around this lemon detox diet as a lot of celebrities such as Beyonce and Mariah Carey use it to shed weight quickly. The week-long lemon detox plan mainly consists of drinking 6 - 10 glasses of lemon with palm tree syrup and a small pinch of cayenne pepper each day as a meal replacement. It also includes drinking saltwater and herbal tea daily. No solid foods are to be taken throughout this diet.

Unfortunately, like most fads, following this diet will allow you to lose weight rapidly as it is a starvation diet; causing you to lose muscle rather than fat.

I plan to incorporate lemon juice into my life, not as a meal replacement but rather to facilitate the removal of toxin build-up in my system. Lemon, honey and cayenne pepper are immune boosters. The addition of cayenne pepper helps increase your metabolism which means it can help burn fat!

Today would be my third day and I am already beginning to feel healthier.

LEMON JUICE DETOX DIET

Mornings:
I've started each morning with a cup of hot water with a squeeze of lemon juice.
It certainly perks me up! LOL

Nights:
I'd have a glass of honey-lemon juice with a small (very small) pinch of cayenne pepper before a meal and another glass a couple hours before bed. Now if you're planning to use cayenne pepper, please be mindful that it is spicy hot so please use as little as possible, to begin with, to see how well you can tolerate it and you can add more as you get used to it. 

HONEY-LEMON CAYENNE PEPPER RECIPE

Ingredients:
250mL warm water
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
a pinch of ground cayenne pepper

To make your honey-lemon juice with cayenne pepper, mix one tablespoon of honey with one tablespoon of lemon juice in 250mL of warm water.

Add a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper (ground) and stir well before consumption.


Precautions:
I will also advise you to stir your drink so that the cayenne pepper is well distributed prior to drinking. I didn't do it once before and in my last gulp, I had a mouth full of the pepper. Although I didn't use a lot, it was NOT pleasant. It will leave a zing in your mouth and also down your throat. Yikes!



Now if you're planning in the actual lemon detox plan to lose weight, please do your research first. There are a lot of fads out there that can aid you in weight loss but are actually harmful for you in the long term.

Have a good weekend everyone!

//♥

Zipia Dilemma

Why oh why is it that once I have finally filled my Zipia shopping cart with a minimum of US$300, I hesitate to press on that "confirm purchase" button?

MEH.

I know $300 may sound a lot but considering it's for 17 items, and that the Aussie dollar is standing strong, it's almost a bargain!!

It's not very hard to fill your cart $300 either :\

I blame the gorgeous models who tempt me to buy everything.

I simply adore this particular model. She's so innocent and sweet-looking.... Ek! I feel like a paedophile .__.


Can you blame me though??


I do find that their cheaper clothes can be a little see-through but still of good quality.

I am itching to get another Zipia haul but I find myself checking the website out everyday, waiting for any new additions to the site.

Should I or should I not? Decisions.. decisions...


// ♥