New Etsy Items!

Hello Lovelies!

I have some new Etsy items posted!  I am getting into making keychains! 

I love making plushies but I've found that keychains are a bit more functional!

So far I have some based on the Gameboy Color, but will have some Pokemon themed keychains up very soon!

Please go visit my Etsy page and check them out!  

Also, feel free to leave your opinions here, I'd love to hear your view point!

♥Riley

P.S. Do you have any ideas of felty keychains I should make? Which Pokemon would you like to see? :] 

P.P.S. Have a great day!

Marimo Love: Housing!

Hello Lovelies!

I've decided to just make this an ongoing thing, since it's easiest to write about stuff you care about!

[If you want to read my earlier post where I went into detail about these marimos click here.]

My Marimos are being shipped to me now! I was way too excited to wait for them to be here, and made a quick trip to Michael's to get their housing situated!

I bought everything I could think of to make my own version of the cute little Marimo tanks I had seen on Etsy, YouTube, and other websites.  

Here's what I bought:

• "Stone granules", which is basically just sand only slightly thicker, in a light tan color
• Seashells
• A Wreath made of sticks
• Two spools of ribbon
• Four glass jars

 In total it was about $13, but could have been a lot less if I had used items I already have around my house.

Here is a picture of the "Stone Granules".  It came with way more than I needed.  I made four little dwellings and only used about half.

Here are the seashells and the little wreath.  To be honest I do not know what it is made of.

I bought two spools of ribbon because they were only 50 cents a piece!

My four little glass jars.

Step two, after acquiring everything, would be to wash EVERYTHING.  Something is going to be living with this stuff, so you want it clean!

Washing the glass and shells...

Step 3:  Add the sand or stone, or whatever you have for the base of your "tank".  If you don't have a base, skip this step! :]

Adding some stone granules to more of my jars...

Step 4:  Add the shells and any other decorations you may have!

I'm still not sure if this stuff is safe but I only added a bit to each tank.  I cut the twine holding it together and started to unravel it.

This is what the unraveling looked like.

This is my set up for another tank!

View from the top.

This is the first one I set up.  I LOVE how this one turned out!

This one is going to be a present for my cousin! I love the little jar it is in!

This is what my finished jar looks like, with the exception of water :]

The heart present jar!

The largest jar :]

I love the ribbon on this one....it reminds me of the bows my grandma used to tie into my pig tails when I was a little girl!

My favorite one! 

I love love love how doing these myself turned out.  I'm so excited for the little marimos to get here!

I put water in these tanks, but chose to use bottled water.  I've read that you can use tap water, but that it's a lot better to use filtered water!

♥Riley

P.S.  Show me your marimo tanks! I'd love to see them!

MTG Dragon Deck Box!

Hey Everyone!♥

Here's a quick post with pictures of a present I gave to my boyfriend for Christmas this year.

He loves Magic the Gathering and nice deck boxes, as well as dragons, so I COMBINED THEM!

I took a black Ultra Pro Satin box and began painting it with acrylic paint.  It might have been smart to put a coat of mod podge or something down before I started painting, but I didn't have the patience for it.

Like I said, this is just a quick post of the paintings.  It isn't a tutorial, but I could do one if you want!

All of the paintings I did are my interpretations of cards already out there.  For instance, side "B" was influenced by Skithiryx and Nicol Bolas.

This side was particularly hard for me.  The egg started off as an awkward blob, but through playing with it, it's become one of my favorite sides!

This is a dragon hatchling!

You can tell by this point that I really did not care about numbering my sides! :p It was about 2 in the morning but I knew that I had to finish all the sides!  That's how I am with my art projects....I want to finish them in one sitting, not come back to them.

Anyways, thanks for reading this short non-tutorial blog, lovelies!

♥Riley

P.S. Are you into MTG? I am but not nearly as much as my boyfriend!

Marimo Love: Adoption

Hello All! 

Welcome to the first post of the New Year! ♥

I played hooky today and stayed home to hang out with my cousin!  We went to a bookstore and drank tea and had a great time! While we were there she told me she had been considering getting a Marimo.

What is a Marimo, you ask? 

It's a little ball of algae typically found in lakes in Japan and Iceland.  It is spherical in shape thanks to the water flow of the river.  Putting the marimos in aquariums has become quite popular.  They are very low maintenance "pets" that require water, a little indirect sunlight, and some cleaning. & they look like this! 

Also, in Japan they're thought to bring good luck!

I was instantly hooked.

It wasn't until I got home, however, that I realized the extent of my obsession.  I bought 10.  I bought the "nano" size, which are less than a centimeter in diameter!  I figured I would give a couple to my cousin, keep the majority, and give one to my friend as a desk pet.  My cousin ended up buying one when I was with her, as well.  She bought a pre-made aquarium kit with one little Marimo in it, and it's absolutely adorable.  I have opted to buy the marimo on their own and make them a little aquarium, because of my indecisive nature. 

I'm putting in some links to some marimo shops I've found, below:

• My cousin bought her adorable kit from here.
• I bought my 10 marimo from here.
• Here is a youtuber and Etsy seller who knows a TON about marimos!

I'm really excited for them to get here! I have a really bad track record when it comes to small pets, but I know I can help to make my marimo flourish! 

I'll add another post when I've received them and what kind of home I've put them in!

♥Riley

P.S. Do you or anyone you know have marimos? I'd love to hear your experiences!

October's Ipsy Beauty Subscription Bag

Hey There!

Here's my review for the October 2014 ipsy bag, themed "beauty candy"!

Like Birchbox, it is a subscription service that costs $10 /month.  This month I got 5 beauty samples to test out!

This month's bag:

• Albertini Warm Love Pumpkin Exfoliating Mask
• Figs & Rouge Hand Cream in Rose Berry
• Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser
• Skone Cosmetics Tattooed Waterproof Eyeliner
• Starlooks Lip Gloss

I cannot get any of my pictures to work, so I found this really nice one from the internet!

SNEAK PEEK #6: Have your cake and a Glam Bag too with this gorgeous teal creation.  Double tap if you're loving this teal treat! #beautycandy #october #glambag Double tap if #october #glambag is making you feel like a kid in a candy store? This sugar binge won't make you sick. #beautycandy

A photo posted by ipsy (@ipsy) on Oct 10, 2014 at 8:26am PDT

Albertini Warm Love Pumpkin Exfoliating Mask

Review:
The smell of this mask is absolutely amazing! It gets a 5 for smell alone! It's really nice and I would totally recommend it!
Rating: 5/5
Figs & Rouge Hand Cream

Review: Another absolutely amazing smelling product! It's brilliant and fruity and I just want to eat it! I don't really like the way it makes my hands feel though....it's kind of greasy.

Rating:4/5

Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser

Review: I love this product!! It doesn't really have a smell and does the job it promises. Very very nice facial cleanser!
Rating: 5/5

Skone Cosmetics Tattooed Waterproof Eyeliner

Review: Wonderful eyeliner!!! Super long lasting and easy to apply.  I can wear it without a primer, which is saying something!!
Rating: 5/5
Starlooks Lip Gloss

Review: This is the only product in this box I wasn't absolutely amazed with.  It's a nice color but a little hard to apply and not moisturizing at all. Not a comfortable wear.
Rating: 3/5

Overall October Ipsy Bag Rating: 22/25.

Wait...did Birchbox and Ipsy tie for October?? Crazy! I was very pleased with both boxes!

Thank you for reading!
<3 Riley

October's Birchbox Beauty Subscription box!

Hello All!

I thought I would keep the ball rolling from my blog post yesterday and post another today!

WOW! Two in a week? Is this Christmas? No, this is just how it should be! [My bad, apologies...]

So I'm going to put on some music and review some of the most recent beauty boxes I've received, for all of you!

I thought I would kick this off by reviewing the Birchbox from October 2014.  Birchbox was my first box I subscribed to, and I really like it.  Birchbox is a service that costs $10 /month.  For this, you get 4-5 beauty or lifestyle products, chosen specifically for you after you fill out a quiz.  Birchbox gives you smallish samples of upscale products.  They do beauty, but I've found that compared to the other boxes, they give you more skin care than anything else.  I am not complaining about this! I love that they specialize in upscale skin care!

Let's get into it....

A photo posted by Riley Liebel (@pikarilay) on Oct 10, 2014 at 7:32pm PDT

Above is my Instagram picture of the box I posted the day I got it.

October's box came with:

• Mally Beauty High-Shine Liquid Lipstick Pen in Blossom
• Essentiel Elements Wake Up Rosemary Shower Gel
• ModelCo Power Lash Long Wear Black Mascara
• Harvey Prince Petaly Noir Perfume
• Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner

Starting with Mally Beauty High-Shine Liquid Lipstick Pen in Blossom.

Review:
I love this lipstick! It's a really cool concept and executed really well! It's kind of a lipstick, kind of a lipgloss.  It feels pretty nice on my lips, but because my lips are constantly super dry, I always wear it with chapstick.  It's a really pretty color on it's own, but looks really nice paired with other colors as well.
Rating:
5/5
I would actually buy this product.  I really like it.  I would go for another color, since I don't use lipstick up very fast.

Essentiel Elements Wake Up Rosemary Shower Gel

Review:
This is a really nice smelling shower gel! It has strong hints of mint as well, as it smell just like my mint shampoo!  It softens skin really nice and washes off well.
Rating:
4/5
I would not buy this product.  I'm picking with which shower products I buy, and even though I like the smell, it will probably take me a long time to use it, just because it isn't my favorite.

ModelCo Power Lash Long Wear Black Mascara

Review:
I LOVE THIS MASCARA! & I'm really picky when it comes to mascara! It gives eyes a really nice "60's look".  That's the only way I know how to describe it.  It has the perfect mixture of volume and length.
Rating:
6/5
I legitimately want more of this mascara! & I'm aware that I created and destroyed my own rating system, it's fine! ;]

Harvey Prince Petaly Noir Perfume

Review:
I love love love Harvey Prince fragrances! Ageless is my absolute favorite.  Petaly Noir is a much more sexy night-time scent, and I love it! Here's how Birchbox describes it, since I'm not a scent professional, "It’s inspired by long, moonlit walks and orchids in full bloom. But a single breath of this elegant scent reignited our belief in love at first sight (or, in this case, sniff). Rich with lush florals and hints of musk, this fragrance adds an instant air of romance—whether we’re taking that midnight stroll or gearing up for our morning commute."
It's lovely!
Rating:
5/5
I love this perfume! But since it is a little pricey, if I buy a Harvey Prince perfume it will be Ageless - Pink Grapefruit!

Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner

Review:
I do like this product, but it's a little drying on my skin, perhaps since you're supposed to wash your face before you use it, and my face cannot really handle that kind of thing.  I think it's really cool that it changes color on your face when it's ready to wash off though!
Rating:
2/5
I will use up my entire sample, and I am glad that I have it, but I'm just not super keen on it!

So....as an overall rating for this box, I would give it a B, which I found by literally averaging all of my scores! I really really enjoy some of the products, but do like all of them as a whole!

Hope you enjoyed this review, I will be reviewing all of my other October and November boxes, so keep your eyes open! :]

<3 Riley

P.S., as usual, feel free to leave your opinions in the comments!

December Update!

Hello All!

This month has already been crazy busy.  My 8^th anniversary with my boyfriend was yesterday, as well as my holiday party for work.  I had to go early to help set up and we didn’t get out of there until quite late.  This is also the month that my best friend finally ties the knot! I am absolutely so excited and honored to be a bridesmaid.  

She gets married at the end of this month, but it feels like it’s next week!  I still need to finish her wedding present, which I will probably put up a DIY or blog post for after I have finished it.  I made her a little “housewife kit” basket for her bridal shower including lots of trinkets and things that you need in the kitchen. I could also make a short post about what I put in there!  

Around Christmas everything will get super crazy.  Christmas Eve is the biggest day of the year for my Dad’s side of the family and we always have dinner followed by presents.  This year my family agreed to have lunch instead of dinner, so that I can go to my best friend’s Mehndi, which is an event before her wedding, where henna is put on and fun times are to be had by all! I think that sentence describes pretty well that I’ve never been to one.  Then Christmas Day I have morning and presents with my immediate family, followed by Christmas morning at my boyfriend’s house as well. Then we go to my Grandma’s house and do presents there.  Then I’m supposed to go back to my best friend’s house and spend the night, as the next day is her wedding!

The day of her wedding they are having professionals do the bridesmaid’s hair and makeup, which I’m super excited about, because I’ve never had both done for me! 

If I make it through those three days, I will come out a stronger person! LOL! Okay, maybe it doesn’t sound that jam packed to everyone else, but I am extremely excited and a little nervous. 

There’s a little December update for you!

💜Riley