photo shop_zps4e91b29b.jpg  photo about_zpsab9889c9.jpg  photo contact_zpsf03ef059.jpg  photo Untitled-2_zps43e03738.jpg

Tuesday 31 July 2012

Loopy about Lush

A few months ago I decided to make a change and become Vegan. As I started to adapt to my new lifestyle I realised there were so many cosmetic products that weren't cruelty free.
I realised I was going to have to make a big change on things I'd previously overlooked. I would have to find new brands for my make up, toothpaste, deodorant, moisturiser, hair products and shower & bath products.

Then I discovered LUSH. Well, I had already heard of LUSH and even used their divine smelling products before, but I had no idea what an amazing company they really were. They are completely cruelty free, have a really wide selection of Vegan friendly products, and most of all, I smell freaking amazing after even walking into my local LUSH store. They're also super environmentally friendly, what's not to love about a company that cares so much about our planet and the creatures that live here?

The girls in the Preston LUSH store couldn't be more helpful. They are great at giving out little samples, so you have an opportunity to try the product before you buy it.

Here are a few of my favourite Vegan friendly LUSH products:


You Snap the Whip - A body scrub & butter bar to use on wet skin. It contains charcoal to exfoliate and macademia nut oil to nourish and promote healthy cell formation. I love how this goes on grey and leaves me smelling like blackcurrant jelly babies after a shower.


Celestial Moisturiser - A great moisturiser for sensitive skin. It sinks in really well and dosn't leave a horrid greasy feeling. It smells amazing too.



Aromaco Deodorant - Very gentle on the skin and it works really well! I found it to work even on hot days when I'm doing a lot that would usually cause me to sweat.


Seanik Solid Shampoo - This bar is seriously awesome. I have a little tin for it so can take it anywhere I want without carrying loads of shower products. I even use it as a shower wash too when I'm away. It's not just convenient, it smells really nice and leaves my hair feeling great.


Big Shampoo - A shampoo with sea salt in it to give your hair extra volume. This is probably my fav LUSH product so far. It smells gorgeous, and the big salt pieces leave my hair and scalp feeling so clean. It definitely gives my flat hair an added volume boost.


Veganese Conditioner - Although the name reminds me of mayonaise, I don't think I could live without this stuff. It's a really good conditioner, it makes my hair feel nice and soft without weighing it down like heavier conditioners can do. I like to imagine I'm putting mayonaise on my hair when I'm using it. It dosn't smell like mayonaise though.


Vanillary Perfume - This stuff smells like heaven. LUSH's perfumes smell different on different people. On some people this can smell like a musky vanilla. On me it smells sweet and edible. I keep wanting to eat my wrists when I wear this. I have the handy stick so I can just carry it around in my purse.

Friday 27 July 2012

Fashion Favs Friday 27/07/12

1. Paper Cakes - Pretty and girly jewelry and hair clips. Perfect for Kawaii girls.
2. MOD vintage - A great selection of vintage glasses at really good prices.
3. One Eyed Dog - The most adorable hand crafted pendants. There are loads of other cute goodies in this shop too.
4. Lucie Ellen - Fun and unique jewelry. Very original and very cute.
5. Karmologyclinic - Ethical fashion, loads of really nice hats and clothes to look at.

Thursday 26 July 2012

Etsy Shop Feature: Double Fox Studio

Double Fox Studio certainly stands out from the crowd on etsy. It's combination of creepy, creative and quirky is bound to make you want to see more.

Double Fox Studio is the creations of two artists: Ildiko Muresan and Flavia Marele. They have been creating art together since 2003. Their shop includes: creepy dolls, unusual jewellery and original art. All of which has an almost childlike charm to it.




Ildiko and Flavia also have a blog where you can check out their newest work.

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Wednesday Art Feature: Ballrig

I've always loved seeing peoples work in progress and sketchbook work. I think that is one of the reasons I'm so fond of Ballrig's work. He often posts amazing sketches and work in progress shots on his Tumblr and his Deviantart.

Ballrig is a ridiculously talented artists from Australia. I'm always very jealous of his ability to draw faces and expressions with such character.






Unicorn Sunset Brogues

Another order I did last week. I love unicorns and I love these colours, so these were probably one of my favourite orders ever. The sky in the background took forever but it was totally worth it.


Tuesday 24 July 2012

Custom Zeldas

Last week I did some custom Zelda fan art brogues. These have proved really popular on Tumblr and I'm really pleased with how they turned out :)



Friday 20 July 2012

Fashion Favs Fri - 20/07/12

1. XauXau - Funky and bright crocheted jewellery, beautifully presented and great prices.
2. Bluetezeit Berlin - Comfy and fun streetwear with a colourful twist.
3. agabag - Add a touch of humour and childishness to your outfit with Lego jewelry and clutch bags.
4. ruffeoheartslilsnoty - Ethical and awesomely funny and energetic clothes. I want it all in my wardrobe now please!
5. Honey moon muse - A brilliant selection of vintage fashion statements! Really well priced too.

Thursday 19 July 2012

Etsy Shop Feature: Prince Design UK

I was super excited when I came across Prince Design UK, partially because they are based in the north west of England like I am, but mainly because I love the awesome lace print ceramics they do!

Prince Design UK is the work of ceramicist Elizabeth Prince. Elizabeth has a great eye for colour and texture. Her work is the kind of work you can't resist but touch while you look at it.


Elizabeth also has a blog: Gone to Pot. Where you can keep up with her newest work.

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Wednesday Art Feature: Melanie Meulenberg

Melanie Meulenberg's creations are the ultimate in creepy cute adorableness. Melanie is a craft artist from the Netherlands. She specialises in polymer clay and needle felted creations.
I can't even comprihend how she even goes about making these! It must take her days.







You can find more of Melanie's work on her Deviantart






Three little pretties


I just had to share this photo of the three pairs of shoes I was finishing yesterday. They're just waiting for their matching laces to arrive before I photograph them properly.

The first set are a unicorn themed custom order, I loved doing these! I spent so much time on the sunset clouds behind them.

The second set is a Zelda themed custom order, the Zelda cartoons were so cute to draw. I'm really happy with how they turned out.

The third set are for the shop, I just loved these colours. I think i'll save them for my pastelly photo shoot before I put them up for sale.

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Introducing Alex

 Hi everyone! I'd like to intoduce my friend Alex to you. He's a super talented graphic designer with a great eye for interesting and artistic things. I have invited him to do a blog post every couple of weeks about his life in Sydney.




My name is Alex Creamer, a speccy designer with an unfortunate last name. I've been fortunate enough to be friends with Chantal for over ten years and have been invited to post on her ever more popular blog every 2 weeks or so.
I am a graphic designer who works and lives in Sydney but has previously spent a short time in London too. I work in packaging and branding and have a major interested in anything creative. 
I moved over to oz 8 months ago to work as a junior at branding agency Interbrand and now work in North Sydney at packaging company Marque.

I love anything with an idea however little. I'm also interested in other aspects of design too and keep a close eye on as many blogs as I can! Over the past couple of years I have also found more of an interest in sculpture, art and furniture design with a particular weird attention to lamps. I will try and brighten up some of my posts with one or two of them! 

Sydney has an amazing variety of art, exhibitions and scenery so hopefully I can keep my bi-weekly posts interesting and insightful for y'all to enjoy.

Here is some of Alex's packaging and graphic design work. Have a browse through his website for even more graphic design genius :)










Instagram Overload

Hi guys, It's been a while since I did a proper update. Life is pretty busy at the moment. I'm preparing for an awesome photo shoot at the beginning of August, which is very exciting but I'm painting shoes & bags like crazy for it!

I've finally stopped carrying a brick around with me, got with the real world and bought a phone with internet on it & a camera, and discovered instagram.
I'm on there as ponychops, add me, and as soon as I discover how to I'll add you back :)

Here's my latest bombardment of pictures:


1 & 2. I dyed my hair turquoise, I love it when it fades all pastelly. In the second pic I'm wearing my awesome Gusosos brooch. She has so much cute stuff in her store, check it out!

3 & 4. My babies, Holly the wolfy dog and Effy the scruffy poodle. Holly always sulks when I get the camera out.

5. My boyfriends cat Mojo enjoying a cuddle, with a creepy old man ghost behind him on the telly.

6. I was getting too impatient for my own designed fabrics to arrive, so I bought some creepy teddy fabric, some cowboy fabric and some pretty floral stuff to satisfy my sewing craving.

7. My shoes all organised in clear boxes. I wonder how long my studio will stay tidy for??

8. Working on a reference sheet for the make up at the photo shoot. My inspiration was ice cream vans and marshmallows. Soft and sickly pastel colours. I've ordered some amazing pastel Lime Crime lipsticks for the shoot. Their make up is cruelty free so I love them lots :)

9, 10, 11 & 12. Work in progress on some custom orders. You can see the mint green bones shoes finished here.

Sunday 15 July 2012

Vegan Chocolate Chip Flaxseed Cookies

These are probably my most favourite cookies to make ever. Even including cookie recipes from before I went vegan. they are gooey in the middle and crunchy on the outside. Exactly how a cookie should be.

This recipe was inspired by Oh She Glows's vegan cookies recipe. I added some extras to make them extra healthy and just as yummy.

You can find the recipe for the pink cupcakes in this photo here.


Ingredients:
  • 3tbsp ground flaxseed
  • 1/2 cup margarine
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup agave nectar or cane sugar
  • 1 egg replacer 
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup wholewheat flour
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup vegan/dark chocolate chips
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 (175C) and line some baking trays with greaseproof paper.
  2. In a seperate cup mix the egg replacer according to instructions on the box.
  3. Mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly, adding the made up egg replacer.
  4. Roll into little dough balls and place on the baking sheets.
  5. Bake for 10-12 mins. 
  6. Allow to cool a little before serving.
I always make a ton of this cookie dough then freeze it. It freezes really well, just defrost fully before baking.

Friday 13 July 2012

Fashion Favs Friday - 13/07/12


1. Fox and Brie - Elegant and classy bow ties in a great range of quality materials and patterns.
2. Zvezdana Vintage - Fun and fresh vintage fashion. I would buy everything in this shop if I could!
3. Our Little Daisy - Cute dresses and outfits that look so comfy yet fashionable.
4. Shadowplaynyc - Space inspired clothing. I did a little wee when I saw their amazing skirts.
5. Chrystal Shop - Original and creative clothes, you'll stand out from the crowd in these stylish wardrobe must haves.

Thursday 12 July 2012

Etsy Shop Feature: behappynow

When I first discovered behappynow, I fell in love with the colours, the art, the happy little sculptures. But when I read the shop description, I fell in love even more.

Jenny Meilihove is the creative mind behind behappynow. She's based in Israel. Jenny describes herself as living in her own tiny world, which obviously inspires her unusual artwork.




 Check out Jenny's website and sign up for her newsletter to find out more about her tiny world and wonderful art!

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Wednesday Art Feature: Saim

I've always been a big fan of (good) graffiti, I think it brightens up and compliments otherwise boring or run down surroundings. So when I came accross Saim's work on deviantart I was very excited! Saim is from Latvia, he has an amazing website full of visual goodness here.