Pretty Pecock and Handmade Present Time!

Hello my little blogletts! This is going to be a pretty big post. I have a few things stored up that I want to talk about. This post is about a week overdue...I know this...but a lot has been going on this week. I started reading The Hunger Games...my fat ass cat broke one of the keys on my laptop and I had to go get an entirely new computer...I discovered Tiny Tower. All things that have kept me from you, and I apologize. But seriously dudes...Tiny Tower. Do it.

So first off...here is one of my latest nail art designs.
I used, in order: 
China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat (as always)
Wet n Wild Craze in Morbid
Wet n Wild Wild Shine in Caribbean Frost (stripes)
China Glaze in 2030 with Bundle Monster plate BM-212
Jesse's Girl High Intensity Nail Color in Mermaid's Lagoon (dots)
Seche Vite

 In this picture, you can't really see the stripes...but it gave it this really awesome depth of color effect.

This next picture is of a present from my friend Gina. She is an amazing knitter and we often spend time debating which of our crafts is better. I tell her how I just don't get knitting and she tells me how she just can't get crochet. All this whilst wandering around the Sheep and Wool festival that is thrown every fall in our area. She made this cool hat with a little pocket on the side!

Next up is the custom Kindle case I ordered from my friend Cheri. I had purchased a case from Best Buy when I got the Kindle...but I hate those little elastic bands that hold it in. I just wanted something to keep it from getting banged around in my purse and Cheri makes the most awesome padded cases. I just told her I wanted skulls, skulls and more skulls. She delivered.

You can find more of her stuff at StellarCheri.

This next "present to myself" is made by my friend Destry. She hand paints all of her jewelry, of which I own a TON, and her talent has spilled onto these awesome jewelry boxes. It has tons of little drawers...which I LOVE. I suspect that's because my sister had a giant jewelry box that had like 40 tiny drawers in it when we were kids and I would sneak into her room and open them looking for treasure. I can't tell you how many spankings I got for taking her stuff...too many. Ahh, memories.

More of Destry's awesome jewelry and hand painted awesomeness can be found at Pet Zombie Creations.

And that is all I have for you for now! Stay tuned...I have some guest nail stamping manicures (read: I kidnapped my sisters and made them let me paint their nails!!).

 

Shop Attack!

Hello my lovely readers! This is going to be a new weekly post where I highlight some of the awesome crafters I know through http://www.attackofthecraft.com/. Today we have three awesome selections for you to check out!

A quick note about our board: Affectionatly dubbed "The Island of Misfit Crafters", Attack of the Craft is a message board devoted to sharing, promoting and celebrating the DIY community. We have all kinds of members, from some of THE most talented seamstresses I have ever met, to alternative crafters, jewelry makers, fibre artists (like myself) and more. If you craft, sew, paint...or just love to patronize the handmade arts, come and check us out! And join ussss....join USSSS!! *creepy Evil Dead voice*

The Willow Goose - DIY for your furbaby!

Named for Kylie the owner's two cute puppies, The Willow Goose is the place to go if you have a pet you love more than anything in the world. The shop features dog and cat collars (with the cutest little bells) in all sizes. They also offer handmade pet toys, and awesome leashes to match your collars!


The Clay Pony - Beautiful polymer clay jewelry.

The Clay Pony features some of the most beautifully hand painted and detailed polymer clay jewelry pieces I have seen on Etsy. The piece pictures above is definitely one of my favorites...who doesn't remember messing around with an Ouija board when you were a kid? The other offerings in this shop are just as beautiful. The ponies for which it is named are so colorful and cute! Check it out for some unique and inspired pieces.

Kiss Me Designs - Awesome Accessories

This shop has some really cool accessories to offer; from hair flowers (we all know what a big fan of hair flowers I am) to some sweet aprons...they are definitely not your grandma's aprons either! They can be used to keep you clean whilst cooking, to keeping your hands free when you are vending a show or holding your goodies while painting! They come in all kinds of rockin' prints to choose from too!

So thus ends this week's Shop Attack! Check these awesome Etsy shops out, show them some love and give them some hearts! (Spend money too!!!)

The end!

Review - The Morbid The Merrier

This week has been the best mail week...which roughly translates into: I spent a lot of money. But hey...it was my birthday...then it was Valentine's Day...and being old and single, I think I'm allowed.

Today's review is of a perfume company I came across whilst trotting around Etsy a week or so ago. I was reminiscing about how I used to love Velvet Moon Bathory's awesome awesome blends and how sad I was that she was nowhere to be found when I decided to see if there were any other shops out there that could satiate my intense need for odd smelling perfume.

Voila: The Morbid The Merrier
My first impressions of the store were quite favorable. I love the whole 1800's carnival aestetic, and Lysa, the owner...grabs you with her tag line. As I was poking through the listings, I was surprised to find some scents that used some of my favorite notes...leather, black pepper and amber to name a few.

I picked up the following scents. I will link the listing in each name. Descriptions are directly quoted from her shop.

Black Jack 
Described as: "Citrus top notes and vanilla-wood middle notes are supported by a base of black, smoky leather."
My thoughts: The leather is definitely the first thing you smell when you put it on. It's very pungent, but after a few minutes...it fades slightly and you get the vanilla notes. At first sniff, it's a little disarming, which is good when a female wears a masculine scent...but then it sweetens up and is really pretty.

Natali
Described as: "Directly out of the tin it smells exactly like a Terry's Chocolate Orange. After a few minutes, however, the scent begins to mellow and change into something extraordinary. A little incense, a little tobacco, a little mystery."
My thoughts: I didn't really get the chocolate orange smell at first...but I am sometimes woefully inept at picking out different scents. It reminds me a lot of Dragon's Blood, and I have a tin of that so this might be something I pass along to a friend. The scent also seemed to fade pretty quickly, but that might also be because I was sniffing four other things at once.

Dessert Absinthe
Described as: "Upon opening, the first notes are lemon, sugar, and anise - very reminiscent of a lemon sugar cookie. After wearing it for just a few minutes, however, the bottom notes emerge... woodsy, earthy, mysterious, and alluring."
My thoughts: This scent is very much like the description. A citrusy sugar cookie. It definitely fades into a less sweet and more woodsy scent as it wears. I like this one a lot. I am also curious to try it's bigger sister.

Maximo
Described as: "A complex and beautiful blend of sweet cocoa, spicy black pepper, earthy patchouli with a heart of vanilla and wood."
My thoughts: Yum. This scent is sweet and delicious without being too much so. The patchouli comes through later, but not in that "dirty hippy" way that so often ruins how pretty it can be...it's definitely well placed. This one is my second favorite.

1891
Described as: "Notes of amber and rum surface first, followed by spicy clove, smoky wood and moss."
My thoughts: This one is definitely my favorite of the bunch. It is almost exactly what Arsenic & Lace from VMB used to smell like...and that is just what I was looking for. It's sweet, also without that cloying sickly smell (that unfortunately the Arsenic & Lace DID have) and it wears extremely well. I want to nom my arm right now...

Sample: Horseman
Described as: "Fiery jack-o-lanterns, black leather boots, temple incense, and the edge of a dark Autumn wood. Opens sweet, almost caramel-foody, but after only a few minutes on the skin, it darkens dramatically, almost changing into a different scent altogether."
My thoughts: This opens similarly to Black Jack...but is sooooo different. Where the Black Jack's leather notes mellow out to something sweet and stays a little tart...Horseman goes in a totally different direction. You do get that caramely note she describes for an instant, but it changes the leather smell into something warm and awesome. This is supposed to be limited edition, and I'm not sure if she's just selling off her stock...but I think I am definitely going to have to get a full bottle of this.

Customer Service:
This part of the experience was awesome. In my classic Dori (just keep swimming, just keep swimming) fashion, I wasn't paying enough attention when I ordered and decided, right after that I wanted the 1891 solid perfume. I was fully willing to pay for it, and the shipping, but she threw it in for free. I did converse with her a few times via Esty convo and she was awesome! The packaging was beautiful and the artwork on the tubes is amazing!

The only problem I had was that I thought I had ordered Natali in the chapstick tube (which is the best thing in the world BTW), and I got it in a tin. Really, I'm not complaining...she gave me a whole tube of perfume for free...plus I am planning on passing that scent anyhow so it turns out it's not a big deal. Overall, I am DEFINITELY ordering from her shop again...ESPECIALLY since I know that a few of these scents are going to be used up fairly quickly *cough 1891*.

If anyone has any questions about what I ordered or my blabbering, leave a comment below. Also, if you order from her, let me know what you think!

The End!

PS - The scents on my arms are all mixing together...but in a good way. I'm gonna go have a long sniff and a nap I think. Also, small side note...I have VERY sensitive skin...and I am in no way adversely affected by these perfumes. *thumbs up*

Grand Re-Opening

Finally!!!


The Concertina Shop has re-opened!

Check it out!

It's TNT Time Again!

This week's sale is Free or Reduced Shipping! SO check out all of these great shops and go nuts!

It's TNT Sale time again!!

For those of you who are new to the blog, here's a little link that explains what TNT is. --> TNT

Basically, all the Etsy shops participating have awesome awesome sales every Thursday. If you are in the mood to shop, go check them out!

Today at The Concertina Shop: 25% off everything in my shop, including custom orders!!

Check the comments below for some of my fellow CraftAnon Street Team members sales'!

TNT!!!

Check out all the awesome deals at the CraftAnon Blog!

TNT Free Gift With Purchase!

Come on over and check out the CraftAnon Etsy Street Team's weekly TNT Sale!

TNT stands for Thursday Night Temptations...and tempting it shall be! All of the shops participating will be offering a free gift with purchase from 12pm to 12am (est) today! We will be hosting a super-fun Etsy chat starting at 6pm so come join us and check out our great deals!

Do you sell on Etsy too? Would you like to join us? This sale is open to everyone!  Convo me (Concertina3) with any questions!

ATTACK!

Check out this brand new crafting community!



This group contains some of the most talented and awesome people I know and you get to be a part of their shiny new community! So come on in if you craft yourself, or are just a lover of handmade stuff. Root around and chat us up! We like that kind of thing!

WOOHOO! 50 Followers!

Just minutes after my last pimping...I got the one follower I needed (pause to stare at weirdo loud trucks freaking me out down the street).

So! The Giveaway is on! You got a sneak peek at the mini-jellyfish in my last post post...and if you didn't...go read it!! He will be Item #1. Aw hell, I'll just put the picture up again.

The next four items will be some of my new (ok, and one old) favorite nail polishes.

From their Collection de France - Parlez-Vous O.P.I by (duh) O.P.I

From their brand spankin' (hehe I said spankin') new Hong Kong Collection - Bling Dynasty by O.P.I

Now for an old favorite. I had backups of this nail polish before backups were cool. I wore it almost religiously in high-school back when Sinful used those cheapo squat round bottles and this one didn't even have a name.

Show Me The Way by Sinful

And my newest favorite. I have TWO backups of this polish because it's just so freakin' awesome.

Mint Apple by Sinful

This is now the fourth bottle of this polish I have purchased. My first, the two backups (I think one is going to my sister though...) and the one for you guys. If I ever run out, I will seriously cry. This is even better than the Claire's Dream Catcher. Here's a swatch picture just for added awesomeness.

<3 !!! I considered photoshopping little hearts around this picture, but you get the idea.

Next up, the winner of this fabulous package will get 3 Glittersniffer pigments! Here is where I get to show a little love to my DIY girls. These are in the process of shipping so I am just going to provide the links to each shadow.

#1 Brooke - This shadow is named for one of the most badass mommas around. Go check out her Etsy Shop - BrookeVanGory Designs and show her some love on her blog - BrookeVanGory. Her pigment is a CRAZY acid green.

#2 Angry - Oh man...there are not enough numbers for me to count the ways I love Miss Angrypants. I want to squish her to pieces...although she'd probably give me the death look for saying that. We got to hang out last summer and the few days we had were totally not enough. Go check out her totally frigging awesome clothes at aNGrYGiRL Gear. Her pigment is blackest black with a splash of evil purple glitter. Totally her.

#3 Lexie - Let's talk about girls I wanna squish...Lexie makes the most awesomely rad jewelry ever. Check her out at Headless Tess DIY. Her pigment is a superbright shocking pink.


There may also be some other goodies in store...I might want to keep some of it a surprise.

And now for the rules.

1) You must be a follower of my blog.
2) Make a comment on this blog entry with your email address for contact purposes.  I promise I won't send you late night emails all hopped up on sugar.
3) Tell your friends! If you think they would be interested in hearing me ramble, have them follow too! Then come back and comment with their name and that you sent them! (Remember, I can't see anyone who isn't publicly following my blog, and thus can't verify it...so make sure you guys do it in public *snicker*.)
4) Follow me on Twitter...and make another comment saying so.
5) Become a fan of The Concertina Shop on Facebook! That gets you one more comment and thus one more entry!
6) This may be the most self serving of them all but hey...you don't ask for what you want in life, you don't get it right? Make a purchase from The Concertina Shop on Etsy and you get to make another comment! The best part about this is that everything is still 10% off until I hit 50 sales! (50 must be my magic number...)

Um, since this is my first giveaway...that's it. I'll be picking the winner using Random.org so we'll see how that works. That's a total of five entries possible...feel free to lace your comments with flattery. It won't help you win, but it gives me a warm fuzzy. The contest will run until March 31st. That's a Wednesday...it's the weekly equivalent to a nice even number.

I'm kinda nervous!!
The end!

MAIL PRESENTS!!!

I love getting mail. Especially when it's full of stuff I've been waiting for, and this week I went a little internet-shopping happy. There is still more coming, but here are the presents I got from my mailman today.

First up is a super rad polymer clay necklace from Miss Destry of Pet Zombie Creations. Destry is one of my favorite music twin, Golden Girls obsession sharing, DIY bitches. Go check out her shop...there is a ton of awesome stuff in there! I have a few of her pieces and I wear them all the time.

 

My Zoya order!!! Yayyyy. I took advantage of their "spend over $20 and get two polishes free" Twitter deal last week and ordered these four colors. Left to right: 

Ali 

Paris (currently wearing)

Reece

Adina

I can't tell you how awesome these all are in person. Zoya has some of the most unique and beautiful polish colors I have ever seen. I will have swatches of all of these (plus the ones I already own) coming up in a future post. (I like to compartmentalize).

And last, but most certainly not least, my Glittersniffer haul. I have spoken time and time again to Lela's awesomeness. And this is just a very small sneak preview of the colors. I will have looks coming up soon. Many, many looks.

I ordered the four leftmost colors during her customer appreciation sale and she sent me the two on the right because she is so awesome. You might have to enlarge the picture to truly appreciate how cool the colors are. Left to right they are:

Button
Unicorn
Arjay
Jennifer Nazi (HOLY CRAP AWESOME)
Ruthless
Silk Sheets

PS - all of those freakin' awesome colors up there...NO BASE. Nothing. Not one little stinkin' thing but my arm skin. I seriously can't wait to smear these on my face.

The end.

OK...it's a day late...

...but whatever. I was busy blowing up Twitter yesterday for TNT. (No sales, 1 heart and only 48 pageviews...I R Sad.)

So as promised...here are my pictures from the last week and a half...minus my full body one...my brother still needs to send it to me.



The e.l.f. Custom Eyes compacts...they only come in this size (that I could find) but hey, what the hell do you want for a dollar? They are magnetic so you can switch up different colors for travel and whatnot. I *think*, though I am not sure...that they are the standard eyeshadow size...so perhaps the M.A.C ones would fit in there too?? (Feel free to confirm or deny this in the comments section.)



These are the shadows I got to go into the palettes. From left to right, top to bottom they are:
Sage
Periwinkle - More gray than blue...but absolutely gorgeous.
Dusk - A VERY nice black with a tiny bit of sparkle.
Ivory
Mocha - A brown that is peachy/golden.
Moondust
Pink Ice - Love this color too.
Golden Glow - Totally <3.




These next two pictures are of a look I did with some of my new NYX eyeshadow. I used my Mehron Tropical palette as a base, then put NYX's Lime Juice on top and used some Kryolan black in the crease.



Next up is one of the two necklaces I ordered from Heart Sized Crush on Etsy. Not only were they fabulously made...but they are so cool looking. She's got tons of styles, but if you especially enjoy old school tattoo designs, I totally recommend checking her out. I'll have pictures of the second necklace later (it's a super rad glow in the dark skull).



And last but not least...the pair of earrings I got from Nicole Linder, also on Etsy. Most of you are aware of my fascination with all things from the sea...so you can appreciate how I couldn't say no to these! Just look at their beady little eyes!!! So cute!

So that's all I have for today. I have another bunch of pictures to post...'cos I'm too lazy to pull them off my camera tonight. They include *shock and amazement* a very toned down neutral look, to prove that I don't ONLY wear crazy nasty eye color...and a WIP amigurumi sheep.

The end.

TNT with DIYScene!

That's right! It's Thursday! So check us out!
Sales are going on all day, and Etsy Chat starts at 6pm EST...Join us!

TNT Info