Red Dotty Nail Tutorial - A Guest Post from Artsy Angel

I have a very special guest post for you all today from one of my sponsors and also one of my fav bloggers Artsy Angel. Her blog is full of loads of colourful things, art and inspiration. I love love love the way she paints her nails, so I asked her to do a simple nail tutorial post for me based on her Blue on Blue nail art. I hope you all enjoy it!

What you'll need:

- 3 nail polishes. A main colour, a second colour and a colour for the middle dots. (I used a red, pink and an orange-y-pink,)

- a dotting tool or something to make the dots with (like a toothpick)

- Tape or nail stickers (this is the one I used)

- top coat

Tip: Examples of other colour combos; dark purple, light purple and a purple-e-pink for the middle. Green, blue and a teal for the middle. Orange, yellow and a peachy or creamy colour for the middle.

1. Paint your nails your main (red) colour.

Wait for your nails to fully dry before going to the next step.

2. Place your nail stickers or tape, around the half way mark on your nail. Paint them your second (pink) colour. Peel off the sticker or tape slowly.

Here are my nails after I took off my stickers. You'll see they are kind of messy and that is okay! The dots are going to hide any mistakes I make anyways so this part does not have to be perfect.

3. Take your time and start your first row of dots using your second (pink) colour. You want these dots to be above the line, make sure you are leaving enough room for the other rows of dots. 

If you're worried, do your middle (step 4) first and come back to this step after.
Tip: Make sure your nails are somewhat dry before starting your dots. You could even put on a layer of your favourite top coat to be safe.

4. Add your middle layer of dots using your third (orange-y-pink) colour. Make sure your dots are right on the line.

5. Add your last layer of dots using your main (red) colour. Wait for your dots to fully dry or you'll smudge your design. If you notice your dots are kind of big (theres a bump), give them extra time to dry.

Tip: To help speed up your dry time, place your finger tips n a bowl of really cold water or run them under the tap for a minute or two.

 

6. Finish off with a nice layer of your favourite top coat and you're done! :]

 

Little Mermaid Nail Art - A guest post for Of Corgis & Cocktails

A few weeks ago Katherine from Of Corgis & Cocktails asked me to do a Disney themed guest post for her. I'm pretty obsessed with my new I Love NP Little Mermaid nail varnish, so I thought it would be awesome to do a Mermaid themed nail varnish tutorial!

Check out the guest post here!

DIY Embroidered Christmas Cards - A guest post from Barnicles

 Blog / Shop / Twitter / Instagram / flickr

Hi I'm Barny or Barnicles. I fell in love with Chantal's unique style and skills and her blog Pony Chops. It's a pleasure to sponsor this blog and be writing a guest post here! During the week I work as an accounts assistant. I have always been creative, resulting in some questionable results - at thirteen I didn't understand darts properly. My mum also has a collection of crochet or knitted hats and gloves which don't fit properly. I usually made the pattern up while I was working on something. Now I have access to so many more patterns and tools, pinterest being an important one, but not enough time to make! I admire my motivation back then, I was fearless and would try to make anything. I'm not a writer but I am good at being creative - crochet, tatting, knitting, weaving, painting, sewing, crafting, music, drama, photography etc. Sometimes having such a variety of interests it is hard to specialise in one, so none of them end up with the necessary time. 

How to design and make your own cross stitch Christmas cards by Barnicles.

I'm very excited to be sharing this tutorial with you today, I'll admit this is one of my first tutorials so be kind and let me know there is anything that is unclear. You can leave a comment or email me at Barnsworthington (at) gmail (dot) com.

I'm going to be talking you through how to design and make your own cross-stitch cards. I love embroidery so much. I'm hoping you'll be able to take this tutorial and do what you want with it. These are just some hints and tips to help you. I would love to see what you come up with, so please leave a comment with a link if you try it. 

Supplies

- Sewing thread/embroidery thread/wool in colours of your choice
- Embroidery needle or needle suitable to the size of your thread or wool
- Card in a colour of your choosing. (I have used stationary card folders in the past, so see what you have available)
- Pen or pencil
- Square paper or lined paper
- Masking tape or painters tape
- Paper scissors
- Envelopes suitable for the size of card you choose
- Camera to take a photo of your finished artwork before you send it to someone special :)

Making the basic cards

You could use other birthday or christmas cards as a measurement for your cards. They can be any shape you want. You need at least an inch at the top or side so you don't break the fold, if you want a folding card that is. You could use this tutorial to embroider a star or circular shaped piece of card, then cover the back and add a string to make an ornament. Every year my aunt sends a handmade textiles christmas ornament with a note written on it.

A good tip is to use your envelope as a guide. I found some awesome colourful envelopes in Asda today for £1. The metallic sharpies in silver, gold and bronze also tempted me. It appears for today at least I maintain some self restraint. 

Design
1. Artistic license time! Using paper sketch out some ideas - a Christmas tree, bauble, angel, present, star, etc. Unless you are good at pixel design keep it simple. Think about sizing in relation to your card size. My templates are shown below, you can save these and print them out if you want to skip to making. 
Sketch out your final design roughly on the square paper, this is going to be your template. If you only have lined paper it is better to take a ruler, measure the lines and add your own grid pattern using dashes where the cross sections appear. You can do it by eye but your design might suffer ;) 


2. Using X's fill in your design with different pens to show different colours. Your inner designer may have to make a few choices but this pixel affect is what we need, these charts can be used for crochet, knitting, or cross-stitch designs on aida or fabric. You can use this same pattern to create many different combinations. This method uses trial and error, you might want to use pencil so you can rub out X if you change your mind. I suggest you play with a variety of design's and then choose your favorites. 

3. Decide if you want to use natural colours, or go fun and crazy! Think of a variety of colour combinations to add variation to your cards. It's up to you if you want to create a few of the same design or make each one different.  Remember you can use silver or gold thread to add extra sparkle and highlights.

Making

1. Creating your cross-stitch base. 
Cut out your chart leaving a few squares border and use masking tape or painters tape to attach the design to the front of your card, ensuring the fold is on the left. (I learnt this lesson as a child - my cards were unusual!) I find poking through from front to back gives a nicer effect but if you want to draw your design on the back you can poke from the back forward. 

 Use your needle to poke holes through just the first layer of card, take care your not poking yourself. You can open the card to ensure the back doesn't get punctured. Take care to poke through all the cross-sections of your design you want filled in.  You should use the smallest needle possible for the material you are using, but often it is necessary to use a bigger needle for wool. To poke the holes you need a sharp needle to make a clean hole the same size as the material. I found a great packet of embroidery needles in various sizes at my local fabric shop. These are a sound investment, a needle for every situation.  

2.  What material to use? 
This project looks good with sewing thread, embroidery thread, any type of wool. Each of these will create a different effect and so it's up to you, the designer to choose! Most of the examples shown are made with knitting machine cone wool, which is similar thickness to embroidery thread. I just use what is available. 

3. Starting to stitch.
Cut a length of your main colour - hoping you've decided on your colour and design choices by now. Thread your needle, you can tie a knot in the end or leave a tail to tie to the end tail or weave in later. Aim for the corner point and decide which way you are going to slant your stitches. This is a great tutorial on starting a cross stitch row. If you realise you have missed some holes you can easily use your template and needle to add these in. Work as logically as you can across your design.  

4. Adding the X
Once you have finished all the slants in one direction with one colour you can work backwards crossing all your X's or T's... so to speak. Leave a tail and you can tie this with the starting tail or weave it in to your stitches with a needle. Finish all your different colours, till you complete your design. 

6 . Finishing off the back of your embroidery
Loose threads should be secured - tied to another loose thread or woven in using a needle. Excess thread can be trimmed to make the back as tidy as possible. If this is your first try I wouldn't worry about it being messy, just cover it. 

When choosing whether to cover the back you should use your best judgement and creative flair. Last year I choose not to cover the black of my designs, showing their handmade nature. On other embroidery projects I have covered the multitude of sins on the back. It really comes down to how many different threads you have used or different colours and how you want your card to look.

To cover the back of your card, cut a piece of card bigger than your design but smaller than the card size. Use glue around the edges of the cut piece and cover your loose ends.

Adding your maker stamp (optional)

On the back of each card I make I like to add a maker stamp. This is personal to you. Sometimes I write "(c) Barnicles", other times it is more specific "Handmade for **** by Barnicles" or Made with love" (because I'm a hippy really).

Take a photo of your lovely artwork +  finally send your card to loved one!

Below are some examples of cards to inspire you and show you what is possible. I challenge you to make cards in festive colours, but also experiment, pastels are for Christmas too. Who says you have to be traditional? 

 

Have fun crafting! 

Barnicles 

 

Pretty Kitty: Nail Art Tutorial

You will need:
Turquoise, dark purple (you can pretty much replace these with any colours you want), yellow & pink nail varnishes
A bobby pin
Black nail art pen

1. Paint your nails with the background colour
2. With your "cat" nail colour, paint the top third of your nail, make the edge rounded for the top of the cats head.
3. With the same colour, add some little triangular ears, extend them to the edges of your nails.
4. Add some little pink triangles for the inner ears, it dosn't matter is the pink extends on the cats ace area.
5. Apply another coat of "cat colour" on the top third of your nail, going over the bits of pink that went on the cat head.
6. Apply two dots of yellow for eyes using your bobby pin.
7. With your bobby pin, apply a pink dot in between the eyes to form a nose
8. Add some tiny black dots in the centre of the cats eyes to form pupils, and you're done!!

Guest Post: DIY Polar Bear Diorama

Lush Prints were kind enough to send me this beautiful tutorial on making a  little arctic diorama. I think it's adorable and would make such a special gift for someone!

Don't forget to enter my Lush Prints Giveaway. You could win yourself an adorable personalised Polar Bear stamp!!

Nail tutorial guest post & the winner is

Well, the Young Explorer Stuff Giveaway has finished and I'm pleased to announce the winner is Katherine (creepmouse)! Well done Katherine!! I hope you love your beautiful brooch from Young Explorer Stuff.

I also wanted to tell you guys that I've just done a guest post over at Grits & Moxie on how to paint Kawaii Candy Corn Nails. Go check it out and have a go!

Mushroom Nail Art Tutorial

It's been a while since I've done a nail art tutorial, it's probably been almost as long since I've painted my nails! I'm aiming to post more of these over the next few weeks. I thought I'd get back into the swing of things by doing one of my favourite easy nail designs: Mushrooms.

You will need:
Green, red & white or cream nail varnishes
A hair grip with a small rounded end (like in photo 3)
A small black nail art pen or a black fine marker pen

1. Paint the bottom half of your nails green (This dosn't have to be very neat as the top half will be covered). Apply as many coats as you need.

2. Once the first step has dried, paint a cream or white fattish line down the centre of each nail.

3. Neatly paint the top half of your nail red, apply as many coats as needed and leave to dry.

4. Once the red has dried, dip your hair grip into the cream or white nail narnish and apply polka dots onto the red parts of the nail.

5. Paint little smiley faces onto the bottom of your white stripe of nails and your friendly mushrooms are finished! Add a clear top coat if desired.

Don't be afraid to play around with colours! Pink mushrooms with a baby blue background look pretty groovy too.

DIY Twig Necklace & a Quick Reminder!

I did a DIY post for Melanie at My Billie. Learn how to make your own simple but beautiful twig necklace! Check it out here.

And a quick reminder to enter my giveaway! Not long left to enter!

ZOMGZOMBZ make-up tutorial ♥

Halloween is only a week away! And here at ponychops we love any excuse for fancy dress. If your stuck for ideas, why not try our Zombie face makeup tutorial.


All you need is:

• Black eyeliner
• White facepaint 
• Pink eyeshadow
• Green eyeshadow
• Red eyeliner/lipliner
• Vaseline (to help the eyeshadow stick to your face)
• Brushes/sponges

Optional extras:

• False eyelashes
• Fakeblood

Have fun recreating this look ♥


Here are a few pics of us being zombz:

Panda Nails ♥

Create cute panda nails with our easy to follow tutorial.

♥ Have fun ♥

Adorable Bear Nails

Everyone likes a little pampering, especially us at PonyChops.  There is nothing nicer than having pretty nails, and with our easy to follow Bear Nails tutorial you can create adorable nails yourself.

We have used 6 different shades, but feel free to try different variations of colours, any nail varnish brand will do.

Have fun  :)