Shop Spotlight: EclecticZen (feat. my new Marimo!)

Hey guys! I'm here to tell you all about these awesome little fluffy moss balls called Marimo!

"Marimo (まりも) also known as Cladophora ball, Lake ball, or Moss Balls , is a species of filamentous green algae (Chlorophyta) found in a number of lakes in the northern hemisphere. Marimo is a special growth form of the species where the algae grow into round green balls with an adorable velvety appearance. Colonies of such balls are only known to form in Iceland, Scotland, Japan and Estonia. Marimo is a protected species in both Japan and Iceland since numbers are said to be decreasing in both Lake Akan (阿寒湖) and Mývatn.
Marimo is commonly associated with Hokkaido, Japan where it has gained immense popularity. It was declared a national treasure of Japan in 1921 and people from all over the country gathered these balls in glass jars to take home as keepsakes, perhaps to bring luck, or just because they look good as a tabletop centerpiece at home. It is said that taking good care of Marimo will make one’s wishes come true. "
Taken from http://giveaplant.com/marimo.html. They also have care tips listed.

I purchased my Marimo from Krissy on Etsy! Her Etsy shop is called EclecticZen. She sells all kinds of really cute Marimo kits, necklaces, and air plants! Really cool stuff. Click here to check out her shop! Don't forget to enter SPRING at the checkout for 15% off your order! (like I forgot! Darn.)

Now on to the photo's!

Everything came wrapped up REALLY well, which I was impressed with because of how delicate the items are. I ordered 2 Marimo kits and I even got some extra nano ones!

Here is how mine looked all set up! I was so anxious to take a photo I didn't wait for the sand to completely settle. But look how cute!!! This one I got came with coral, a cute pink sea urchin, sand, and some nice rocks!

And here is my Marimo! I named him Mochi ♥ The other kit is for my friend so I'll let her set it up when she gets home and I'll show you guys next time! Overall, the service was great, my order came quick, and I'm really pleased with everything I got! Go check out Krissy's etsy! I'm sure you'll see something you're gonna fall in love with!

March Favorites ☆

Hello everyone! I wanted to get this out a couple days ago, but at least I still managed to post it early. These are my favorite products of March 2013. I would have liked to post more but these are no doubt, amazing.

These eyedrops from rohto are the best EVER. They have a cooling agent in them so when your eyes are super dry these will work wonders. Warning though, if you've never used any eyedrops like this its a bit of a shock at first. I was freaking out the first time I used them, haha

Since Winter is coming to a close I wanted to stock up on these babies. Blood oranges. They're just so much better than regular oranges. If your market still has any in season go get them before they're gone.

Real talk. The Body Shop has some seriously amazing products but THIS. Sadly I found out this month that they're discontinuing the almond scent. WHYYYYY. I love anything Almond! So does my boyfriend so its a win-win. But seriously, I've tried tons of body butters and body lotions before and nothing works as good for me as this. And lets get real for a minute, stretch marks...a lot of you girls have them. After using this for a week straight on my stretch marks they lightened up so much. So for a product to not only do what it says AND makes you feel better about yourself? I'm blown away.

TEA TIME! Ok so I've been going crazy over tea this month. Every time I'm at the supermarket I take at least a box home. Out of all the ones I've tried so far these are my favorites! Tazo tea is just one of the best brands. And Sleepytime tea is something I swear by. I always have a glass before bed. And the Vanilla is so soothing. Next are my favorite Lush products of the month!

I bought this bath bomb for my boyfriends Easter basket. I originally went to get him some Easter bath goodies but my shop was all sold out! My fault for being late but I decided to give Big Blue a shot because he had always talked about it but we never tried it. And I'm glad I did! It smells so good and the amount of seaweed inside was crazy! It felt so cool playing with them.

Sea Spray. Ya'll know about sea salt spray I'm sure. I haven't tried any other brands but have always wanted to so I gave this a try since I saw it in Lush's new hair care line. And after i tried it, I seriously threw my Garnier hairspray in the garbage. THIS STUFF IS AMAZING. After I curl my hair I brush them out a bit and spray this all over and fluff. it makes my curls SO BIG and holds them for a long time. And even when I get out of the shower, I'll dry my hair half-way, scrunch and spray with this and I have the cutest textured waves. I swear by this product. And not only does it work well but it smells so freaking good. I get compliments all the time by people wondering what that smell is. You wont regret getting this if you're thinking about it, I promise. Well that's all guys! I think my next post will be of all my pets! There's a lot in my apartment so it should be interesting.

DIY lacey socks

I really wanted to start putting up some tutorials for you guys but unfortunately I'm a bit under the weather so I couldn't go out to get supplies. But I managed to scrape up a few things I had laying around that I wanted to spruce up. So I tried my hand at making lacey socks! I see them quite often, but anytime I find them in a store they're really over-priced for something I could make myself. Not to mentions is extremely simple! Only a couple easy steps!

(I found these example photo's on weheartit. Not claiming as my own.) Paired with creepers is my personal favorite. So lets get started, here's what you'll need:

• any pair of socks you want to customize
• lace (try and go for an elastic lace, but if you can't find it, no big deal)
• fabric glue or a sewing kit
• anything else you want to use to customize them!

I started making a plain white pair and attempted to make a red pair. (which explains the tin of fabric dye & a stirring stick) But they didn't come out because the lace didn't take the color.

• You should try on your sock and see how far you have to stretch them out in order to fit around your heel. However far that goes, cut your lace accordingly. Since when its glued or sewn on, you wont be able to stretch it to fit.

•  When you are ready to attach the lace, do not just glue it around. Do it in small sections about an inch apart from each other. And make sure you leave extra space between the lace and sock. Refer to the photo above; the green dots are where you sew or glue, and the blue lines show how you should leave excess lace.

Just do that all the way around and make sure it stretches out ok! And done!!

Now you should have your own pair of lacey socks! Just make sure you get the measurements right and leave lots of stretching room. The length of the lace is key. And you don't have to stop there. You can add a little bow, dye them (like I attempted, haha), use fabric paint to paint on a cute face or pattern...anything! Get creative! Well bye for now!! I'll post another DIY soon when I get better. Take care~