Happy New Year 2009!

Happy New Year! May all your dreams come true!

Let´s Have Some Fun!

While I´m preparing all the things for New Year´s Eve, I would like to share with you this cute cat: "The Ping Pong Cat".

He´s in the mood for a good party!



And if you enjoyed that video, maybe you will like this one too:



Aren´t these pugs cute?

I hope these videos put a smile on your face.
Thanks for reading!

My Treasury made Front Page!

Days ago, I participated in a great Art Project created by HeyMichelle (Etsy´s Admin).

If you want to know more about the project, you can do it HERE.

I was very lucky and my last treasury was one of the chosen and made front page!

Here you can see it:

Congrats to all of the featured, I´m very glad you made front page because your items are lovely and you deserved it!

Few hours ago I could make another treasury, HERE you can visit it.

Thanks for reading!

Featured on Chicgalleria.com!

On 24th December, my designs were featured on front page of Chicgalleria!

Chicgalleria.com is "The go-to magazine for all personal care, beauty, and fashion-related must haves" and a great site with amazing articles and interviews. I feel very honored they decided to interview me and show my products.

So from here I want to thank the wonderful Beth Anderson for the opportunity!

Thanks for reading!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays From Leela Bijou!

Featured on PhineasandLou´s Blog!

The great woman behind PhineasandLou´s blog has written a terrific article featuring some of my designs.

Jennifer has a lot of talent writing, I really like her style and her posts. I recommend you to visit her fantastic blog, you can do it clicking HERE.

Moreover, she has a wonderful shop on Etsy: http://www.phineasandlou.etsy.com/ There you will find beautiful, high quality and eco-friendly pieces.

Winter Queen, design from PhineasandLou, included on my last treasury.

I included one of her designs on my last treasury.

Thank you Jennifer for the great feature on your blog!

The Most Beautiful And Impressive Fountains In The World

Some days ago I came across THIS BLOG and I enjoyed the gorgeous pictures of very beautiful fountains from all over the world.

These ones are a few from my favorites:

Photo Copyright Erika Tunick

Fountain of Wealth at Suntec City, Singapore listed by the Guinness Book of Recordsin 1998 as the largest fountain in the world. Photo Sengkang

Children’s Fountain by Tom Corbin in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo Charvex

A mini-version of all of the major landmarks in Rome, built so that the Popecould sit up here and keep watch on the city. Photo Ingorrr

Animated fountain in Moscow’s Square of Europe, with cascades of water jetspulsating up and down to imitate the surf. Photo Denghu

Tivoli fountain, Ovetta. Photo Antmoose

Visit lifeinthefastlane´s blog and enjoy the whole post with all the fantastic pictures.

Thanks for reading!

Gift Wrapping Ideas

Gift wrapping idea found HERE

If you already have started wrapping presents for this Holidays or if you are about to start, maybe these ideas could be useful. I´m always looking for new ways to surprise my friends and family, so I collected some tips to make more appealing the gifts for them.

Gift wrapping idea found HERE

1) Use laces and ribbons.

2) Tissue paper is a great option that can embellish the present and there are many colors to choose.

3) Vivid and rich colors.

4) The combination of two matching colors is very elegant.

5) Drapery tassels can give it a "Victorian" look.

Gift wrapping idea found HERE

6) Strong single colors, offset by white, are dramatic and very effective.

7) Using things related to the gift can be a great idea.

8) Mesh fruit bags are very handy.

9) Add little figures, like small trees or stars.

10) If you know the colors that the receiver likes, that´s a plus and you can use them to wrapp the gift.

Gift wrapping idea found HERE

For more wrapping ideas, you can visit the links above and also HERE.

Thanks for reading!

A Nice Surprise: Featured on Shespeakz´sBlog!

Today, my work has been featured on the wonderful Shespeakz´s blog!

I feel very honored because this blog is fantastic. In her blog, you will find a complete selection of articles about current events, fashion, etc.

Shespeakz is a very fresh site with nice articles and I totally recommend reading her posts. They are really entertaining, dinamic and funny. Moreover, she has a lot of talent writing.

You can enjoy her posts HERE.

And if you want to read the featured she made, you can do it HERE.

Thanks for reading!

Thank you so much for this feature ;)

My Soaps Arrived!

Today these soap bars arrived to my studio from LilyBaySoap ´s shop and I love them!

The smell is very rich, specially of the "Lavender Mint"one, I love it.

I´m very glad because I wanted them for my relatives this Christmas and they arrived just in time! (I´m hoping none of my relatives will read this o_0 , hehe).

Misty, the owner of LilyBaySoap, is super kind and I invite you all to visit her shop: http://www.lilybaysoap.etsy.com/

Great quality and nice prices!

Thanks for reading!

Working, Working, Working...

When it´s almost one week left for Christmas, my working hours have become crazy and I have to finish the "last minute" orders.

That´s why I haven´t been around the forums too much these lasts days, neither twitter or facebook.

One thing that really surprised me is that I have made a lot of pendants like these ones:

Many of them were made with Amazonite Quartz (like the ones in the pictures), but some others were made with Red Coral, Lapis Lazuli and Aventurine Jade. I hope I will have time to take some photos of them before the owners will come to pick them up.

This pendant is also available on my shop, if you want to take a look click HERE.

I´m aslo working on some custom bracelets and I hope to finish them soon.

Happy Holidays!

Thanks for reading!

Holiday Parties Hairstyles

Here I bring you some ideas to look fabulous at this Holidays parties.

You can find more styles like these at becomegorgeous.com plus some good recomendations.

This kind of hairstyle was found at latest-hairstyles.com , where you will find a lot of tips for different sorts of hair: short, long, curly...

Another good site for very detailed hairstyles is ivillage.co.uk.

I enjoyed these three sites very much and I hope you will enjoy them too.

Thanks for reading!

New Youtube Video

Today I finished the edition of this new video on my Youtube channel.

If you would like to watch the rest of my videos or my Youtube channel, you can do it HERE.

I hope you like it and thanks for watching!

I have joined Wishpot

A couple of days ago, I joined Wishpot.com and I´m really glad I did.

(From Wishpot.com FAQ)

What is Wishpot?

Wishpot is a free online service that makes it easy to save all the products you're shopping for in one place while enabling you to discover and share those fabulous finds with friends and family.

How does it work?

Wishpot lets you add products from anywhere on the web with the easy to install Wishpot Button. You can share items and lists with friends and family.

I created several lists and added items that I liked from Etsy crafters. My lists are public so everybody can see my picks. I think it´s a good way to promote other artists from Etsy that have a lovely work.

I have added a new widget to my blog too. This tool will let everybody see the things I have on my lists.

Every week, I will change the theme (the widget only displays one list at the time).

If you want to see all my lists, click HERE. And if you want to visit Wishpot, click HERE.

I hope you enjoy this site!

Thanks for reading!

My Three Hearts Ring on a Treasury!

My Three Hearts Ring was included on this Treasury!

I feel very honored, the curator has made a beautiful selection.

Thanks PersonalTreasures!

You can visit the Treasury HERE.

Thanks for reading!

Delicious Brownies

Brownies are one of the most tasty desserts I´ve ever tried.

I used to have a lot of recipes of this cake, but I´m going to share with you the one I made more often.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.
To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm.

I hope you like it, thanks for reading!

Changing the Banner of My Shop

Yesterday, I changed the banner of my shop for a new one more festive.

Christmas is around the corner and I wanted to have a more appropiate banner for the holidays.

So now my banner is decorated with red candles. I hope you like it!

Thanks for reading!

My Chessboard Ring featured on "A Mom In Red High Heels"!

Yesterday, the lovely Tammy Gibson featured one of my rings on her site.

I have to say I LOVE her blog, it´s very chic and she has a great taste for fashion, so I feel really honored to be featured there.

Please, take a look at her blog HERE. You will love it too!

Thanks Tammy!

Make Up Tips: Eye Shadow

Many special events are coming and everybody love to look wonderful in these Holidays´ parties.

I´ve been researching and I found some nice tips that may come handy when you want to look gorgeous.

Eyes are very important, you can make them look elegant, sophisticated or mysterious.

Found in Free-Make up tips:

How to Apply Eyeshadow
1. The first rule when applying eye shadow is to blend it well so there are no harsh edges. Put the very light shade (high lighter) on the space beneath the brows up to the crease of the eye lid.

2. Apply the medium shade on the upper eyelid only. Use a lighter shade under the browbone to highlight the eyes.
3. And the darkest shade on the crease of the eyelid that is the place almost in the middle of the total eye area-above the lashes and beneath the brows. Blend both the colors well.
4. With the tip of a fine brush, apply a little shadow beneath the eyes, along the lower lash line. Smudge it lightly to give your eyes a subtle, glamorous look.

Found in Make up tip:

Creating the sophisticated look

1. Apply a light eyeshadow over your entire eyelid from lash line to eyebrow bone, but not beyond.

2. Define the crease of your eyelid using a medium or dark shade. The deeper the shade, the more dramatic look.

3. To open up your eyes so that they appear livelier, place a dot of a light shade in the inner corner of each eye.

You can find a lot of more tips and make up ideas HERE and HERE.

Quick reminder: I´m having a special offer until Cyber Monday, read more here: http://lilbitof.blogspot.com/2008/11/special-offer-on-my-shop-only-this.html

Thanks for reading!

Special Offer On My Shop Only This Weekend!

From Black Friday (11/28) to Cyber Monday (12/1), I´ll be having a special promo on my shop:

FREE SHIPPING EVERYWHERE!!!

And with your purchase you will also get:

> 1 FREE surprise pair of earrings

> 1 FREE surprise keychain made with crystal beads

This offer will last all weekend and it will be over on Monday.

I invite you to visit my shop: http://www.leelabijou.etsy.com/

Thanks for your visit and have a nice weekend!

Did you know...?

Some days ago, I stopped by an interesting website which contained a lot of funny and curious facts.

Here, I show you some I specially liked.

"Pork is the world's most widely-eaten meat.

The world's smallest dog is the Chihuahua, which means "tiny dog in the sky."

A giraffe can clean its ears with its 50cm (20 in) tongue.

A crocodile's tongue is attached to the roof of its mouth and cannot move it.

Millions of trees are accidentally planted by squirrels who bury nuts and then forget where they hid them.

Ian Fleming's James Bond debuted in the novel "Casino Royale" in 1952.

The Statue of Liberty is the largest hammered copper statue in the world.

The largest statue in the world is Mount Rushmore, the heads of four US Presidents carved into the Black Hills near Keystone. The heads are 18 m (60 ft) tall.

When Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1912, 6 replicas were sold as the original, each at a huge price, in the 3 years before the original was recovered.

Hiccups happen when the diaphragm, the muscle that controls our breathing, becomes irritated and start to spasm and contract uncontrollably. With each contraction, air is pulled into the lungs very quickly, passes through the voice box, and then the epiglottis closes behind the rush of air, shaking the vocal chords, causing the "hic" sound. The irritation can be caused by rapid eating, emotional stress and even some diseases. The best cure? Breathing into a paper bag. This calms the diaphragm by increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in your bloodstream.

On average, people can hold their breath for about one minute. The world record is 15 minutes 2 seconds, by Tom Sietas

If the amount of water in your body is reduced by just 1%, you'll feel thirsty.

A person can live without food for about a month, but only about a week without water.

Men lose about 40 hairs a day. Women lose about 70 hairs a day.

If all your DNA is stretched out, it would reach to the moon 6,000 times.

Every person has a unique tongue print.

A green diamond is the rarest diamond.

On every continent there is a city called Rome.

Milk chocolate was invented by Daniel Peter, who sold the concept to his neighbour Henri Nestlé.


To make one kilo of honey bees have to visit 4 million flowers, traveling a distance equal to 4 times around the earth.

Botanically speaking, the banana is a herb and the tomato is a fruit.

Bananas consistently are the number one compliant of grocery shoppers. Most people complain when bananas are overripe or even freckled. The fact is that spotted bananas are sweeter, with a sugar content of more than 20%, compared with 3% in a green banana.

Over the last 40 years food production actually increased faster than population.

US citizens watch the most TV. By age 65, an American would have watched the equivalent of 9 years uninterrupted screening, viewing more than 20,000 TV commercials per year.

In Terminator 2 - Judgement Day, Arnold Schwarzenegger received a salary of $15 million; the 700 words he spoke translates to $21,429 per word. "Hasta la vista, baby" thus cost $85,716.

In the West the most popular male names are James and John. The most popular female name is Mary.

Nessie, the Loch Ness monster is protected by the 1912 Protection of Animals Acts of Scotland. With good reason - Nessie is worth $40 million annually to Scottish tourism.

US and European expenditure on pet food is $17 billion per year."

If you liked these ones or you would love to read more, find them HERE.

Thanks for reading!

Featured on DZFANTASY´s blog!

Yesterday, I was featured on the blog of a great artist: DZFANTASY. She has a very nice blog, don´t forget to visit her!.

She makes lovely fiber fantasy sculptures, you can see her work HERE.

You can read the interview here: http://dzfantasy.blogspot.com/2008/11/featured-etsy-shop-leelabijou-jewlery.html

Thank you so much, DZFANTASY!