15.10.11

Danger Kitty Fashions - Best place to get your costumes this Halloween

If you want to find the cutest costumes for Halloween this year, Danger Kitty Fashions is defiantly the place to shop. They have everything you could possibly be looking for. Whether you want cute, sexy, or pretty they have it! These new costumes for this season are absolutely stunning. I can promise you that you wont see these any where else! 

These Alice in Wonderland costumes blew my mind! I've seen hundreds of Alice in Wonderland costumes through out the years, but nothing like these. Danger Kitty Fashions has all your favorite Wonderland characters, even the Cheshire Cat (also with blue stripes like the one in Tim Burton's Alice movie)! Now really, where else have you seen that?
I thought these animal costumes were just the cutest! Danger Kitty Fashions has The Big Bad Wolf, an adorable raccoon, The Brave Lion, & so much more including cute kitties, a skunk, rubber ducky, bumble bee, leopard, Hello Kitty, a husky dog, & so many more cute critters! Oh & of course can't forget the gangster hamsters from the Kia Soul car commercials, can you believe that?! haha.


We all see the the typical pirate costumes every year that are worn & seen over & again, but have you ever seen these before? I couldn't get over how stunningly beautiful & detailed they were. With these pirate costumes everyone will be trying the steal your booty! Argghhhh!
These were 4 of my personal favorites from the website. The indian girl is my absolute favorite costume ever! I want it so bad! Those boots are the most adorable thing. The flapper & hippie girls were also just cute as a button. If you're like me you'll really love that these costumes are sexy & cute, but not too revealing. I always have a hard time finding costumes that don't show too much skin & aren't silly looking like the adult costumes you find at Walmart.

I had to add in the sweet Little Red Riding hood to go with The Big Bad Wolf above. Can't have Little Red Riding hood with out The Big bad Wolf!
For those of you who didn't know, Danger Kitty Fashions is an online store that is owned by my wonderful parents. I can promise you my enthusiasm for these products is not just because they are from my family's store, but because they are really that outstanding. I hope you all take a look at the site & hopefully find something you love. You would be getting an amazing costume & also helping my amazing family out!

Danger Kitty Fashions also has accessories, wigs, shoes, corsets, plus sizes, formal gowns, mini dresses, swim wear, lingerie, honeymoon & bridal wear, & dance/club wear. Not to mention an amazing selection!
Blue Cheshire Cat from Tim Burton's Alice
Costumes can get a bit pricey right? That's why Danger Kitty Fashions & Toast & the Teaspoon Factory has teamed up to give you a special Halloween discount for 15% off your purchase! If you follow T&TF or recommend it to 2 friends you will be sent a discount code to enter when you are in the process of checking your order out! Leave a comment to this post to let me known when you've done either or send a message to my facebook.

Happy Halloween everyone! xo. Ariel Shay


P.S. My mother has a disease called Lupus which makes it almost impossible for most people with this disease to live regular lives like they wish they could. It is very painful & in a lot of cases deadly. My mother runs this website nearly on her own. It is a miracle how she is able to pull herself out of bed everyday & almost all the time have a smile on her face & be loving. She is the best mother in the world & the strongest, most beautiful person I know. I aspire to be as strong & loving as she has always been. Buying products from her store helps more than you could imagine. She works very hard for her store & I know would appreciate your business greatly. I mainly wanted to write this just to give my amazing mom credit for all her hard work. I hope everyone else will visit the site & see all the hard work she has put in to it to =] Thank you.

4.10.11

Birdie Fringe Purse DIY Craft


I love statement pieces, especially accessories! I saw this pretty bird fringe purse & thought it was perfect because I wanted something special to wear this Autumn. This pretty project only takes about two hours to create. I hope you enjoy it...

  
Here's how to make them.... Supplies Needed: Enough leather (or faux leather) to cut your bird shape (x2), strap & fringe, a small scrap of lace, one black button appx. 1 inch across, scissors, two colors of yarn, paper, a sharpie & a Crop-A-Dile tool. 

Step 1: Draft a quick pattern on paper for your bird shape. It can be as large of tiny as you like. This one is about 8 inches wide. Step 2: Trace your pattern onto the back of one piece of leather. Flip the pattern to trace your second side. You should have two bird shapes that match up when the insides are touching. Step 3: Cut all the other pieces you want. I only added details to one side of my bird, so he has one eye, one wing and two sides for his tail (because it's sewn on from both sides). Draft patterns on paper and trace them if you are nervous to cut into your leather. Step 4: Use your Crop-A-Dile tool to punch holes in the leather for the wings. Step 5-8: Use a sharpie to create a template on paper for how wide you want your fringe to be. After you have that part of the pattern you can cut the leather shape for your fringe and start fringing it with scissors. Look closely at the photos to see how to do this. Step 9: Glue lace (eye) on your bird. Allow to dry and then stitch on the button. Next, stitch the wings on. It's always smart to finish all the the detail work on a handbag before sewing it together. Step 10: Punch holes for the exterior of the bag. These should surround the entire bag except for the top. 


Step 11: Punch any holes needed on your fringe to sew through. It's extremely hard to sew through leather by hand, so try to punch a hole in every spot that you anticipate stitching. Step 12: Put your pattern pieces together, make any last minute tweaks you need to before stitching. Step 13-14: Stitch the two purse pieces together all the way around the bird. Make sure the fringe pieces get caught in your stitches & are secured. Step 15: When you have stitched around the entire bird, go backwards to add another decorative stitch. (see photo) Step 16-18: Attach tail. I did this step last and I think it created a nice clean look. Step 19-20: Create and attach a simple strap. Measure the strap on your body to be sure you find the perfect length that is comfortable for you. That's all... Have fun stitching this fun and easy birdie purse!


You can easily make a strap with two long strips of leather, lots of punches & yarn. I love the look of the added hand stitches. A simpler solution would be just one long strip of leather (ReStyle a skinny belt?).
 
A few thoughts about working with leather: I have been working with leather (and faux leather) for just a short time. I've found that most shops sell scraps at a sweet discount! I also use vintage that is heavily damaged for fabric. If you can't afford real leather (it can be a little pricey) you can purchase a vinyl jacket or bag from the 1970s at a thrift shop for a few bucks. That's a budget friendly (& vegan) option!

xo. Ariel Shay


Salted Carmel Hot Chocolate Recipe

Hot chocolate is probably one of my favorite autumn/winter beverages! & although I am no stranger to store-bought hot chocolate mix for a quick and easy treat I wanted to share a hot chocolate recipe that was more like a decadent dessert drink.

 
 This Salted Caramel version really fits the bill. It will be quite rich and thick and although I just adore caramel paired with a little sea salt, if you don't like the sweet & salty combination then just leave the salt in this recipe out.

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, makes 2 large servings.
Needed: 16 ounces milk or cream (I used a combination of 8 ounces milk & 8 ounces cream), 4 ounces dark chocolate, 4 ounces chocolate caramel, a pinch or two of sea salt.

In a sauce pan or small pot heat half (8 ounces) of the milk and 4 ounces chopped dark chocolate and salt until melted. Continue heating and whisk in the remaining milk and 4 ounces chopped chocolate caramel. Continue whisking until the entire mixture is warmed through and smooth in texture.

Serve with a little whipped cream, a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkle of sea salt. Have fun sipping something sweet! xo. Ariel Shay

Tree Stump Coaster D.I.Y. craft


If you choose to hand stitch each coaster takes about an hour. Machine stitching would be much quicker, & both versions are cute-as-can-be! Here's how to make this woodsy coaster set...


1. Supplies Needed: dark brown & light brown flannel (1/4 yard of each), embroidery thread and needles, green felt for leaves, chalk & scissors. 2. Using chalk, Draw a circle on your dark brown flannel the size you would like your coaster to be. Find something like a small mixing bowl as a template. 3-4. Cut the light brown circle slightly smaller than the dark circle. Don't worry about using a template for this one as imperfection is absolutely perfect for this project! 5. Start stitching from the center in a spiral all the way around your coaster to the edge. Then go backwards and fill in the stitch gaps with more stitches. Do this until the entire light brown circle is covered in rings. Be sure to make your rings imperfect, as a real tree stump would be. 6. Stitch leaves to the back of your stump and you are done. Hooray! ♥
 

This project is a little time consuming, but also incredibly relaxing to create! It's a great project to do while sipping tea and watching a favorite movie at home. 

xo. Ariel Shay