Velvet Feet & Supercooling

Aren't these shoes (sent to me by Sammydress) the best things you've ever seen!? I really wanted to wear them with a blue coat that I was going to turn into a cape - like the red one in these photos - but I ran out of time to do most of the sewing projects I had planned before my overseas trip! But I kind of like the clashing colours here anyway - I like it when there is something just slightly odd about an outfit. (Oh! And if you have a keen eye, you might have noticed that these photos were taken back when I was in Sydney). top - Cotton On skirt - c/o Sheinside (similar) cape - DIY necklace - c/o Les Folles Marquises shoes - c/o Sammydress (sold out, but similar here, here, here and here) Firstly I should apologise to the (apparently) many arachnophobics who read my blog! I am also someone who is extremely uncomfortable around spiders (which is great for living in Australia when a giant one jumps out at you basically every day) but because the picture of the underwater diving bell spider I used in my last post didn't make me feel ill, I thought that (me being the most arachnophobic person I know), it would be okay for most people!  Anyway, I promise that there will be no more pictures of spiders on this blog without due warning. To make up for it, I will leave you with this video of supercooled water. Supercooled water is water which has been cooled below its freezing point (0°C), but remains in its liquid form (yup, what you learnt in school that water always freezes at 0°C (or 32°F) isn't always true!) To turn into a solid, liquid water needs "crystalisation" to occur, for more ice crystals to effectively "grow" on. However this process, called "nucleation", might not happen if there aren't any impurities in the water for the ice crystals to "grow" on. In fact, you can get down to temperatures of -41°C before the water freezes - if it is really pure. (Read more here). Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Pale Polka Dots & Pastels / How Are Seashells Made?

Since I moved out of home I have not been able to buy myself any new clothes - otherwise I wouldn't be able to afford to eat - however this vintage dress is fairly new. I got it from my (now) local markets about a month ago, from a girl who was basically my exact age, body size and style and getting rid of all her old clothes. I could have easily made her a very rich lady that day, but I had enough self control to only buy one of her amazing dresses. I chose this one for the amazing collar detail, and the interesting separation of the top and bottom halves of the dress (the top bit is all lace underneath). I decided to make the collar detail even more interesting today by adding these supppper cute kitty collar clips sent to me by the incredible Ladybird Likes. Ladybird Likes makes the coolest brooches out of old sewing patterns and wooden cut-out animals... you definitely should go and check the shop out! dress - Thrifted clips - c/o Ladybird Likes tights - Ebay shoes - c/o Sammydress hat - c/o Wholesale When I visited the beach last week, I went on a little bit of a sea shell-collecting rampage. They were so pretty, I couldn't just leave them lying around on the beach! #hoarder4lyf After checking nothing was living inside them, I cleaned all the junk out of them and let them dry. I had planned to do something crafty with them, or something... (if you don't already have the mind of a hoarder, you wouldn't understand the strange urge that makes us collect everything which might be even slightly useful some far-off day in the future)... but then I accidentally left them sitting on this table and went home without them. Still, I realised that I didn't have a clue how sea shells are created. Are they created by living creatures? Are they made out of living tissue like cells, or are they more similar to rocks? How on earth do they form the shapes that they make? So I did a little bit of researching. Sea shells are made by sea creatures from the mollusca phylum, including snails, clams and oysters. The shells are not made of cells though - rather, they are made of calcium carbonate, which is excreted by the sea creature in a bottom-up fashion. The shell is actually what is called their "exo-skeleton", which basically means a skeleton which exists outside the body. The shells must be able to grow larger as the sea creature grows, so this bottom-up way of growing works well to accommodate that. The newest part of a sea snail's shell, for example, is the opening of the shell where the animal's head peeks out (the largest part of the shell). The Scientific American has written a really good answer to this question, which I reckon you should read if you are interested in shells (it's also got stuff about turtle shells, which are very different to sea shells). Hermit crabs, on the other hand, whom I also saw plenty of on the beach that day, don't make their own shells like these other sea creatures do - they borrow the shells that the molluscs make. That's like wearing another animal's skeleton. Crazy hermit crabs. When I'm older I'm totally going to be that nerd-parent who enthusiastically tries to teach their kids science things when they're on school holidays and just want to build sand castles. Ah well ;) I hope you're all super well! Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr

Holy Cats!

This dress is yet another extremely fantastic one (did you see my teapot dress yesterday?). I just couldn't go past the print on the front of this dress. And how could you? It's a cat wearing a crown, pretending to be a king. Come on, now. Look at his little crown and cape! Also, I forgot to take closer-up pictures, but the dress has collar tips which are little skulls. It's a very interesting dress indeed. Also, in this post I'm reviewing these shoes, sent to me by a company called Sammydress. Well, I'm definitely a fan of big, beautiful (and impractical) shoes, so they definitely ticked that box. I was really surprised with the quality of the shoes, being from a wholesale website (FIFTEEN DOLLARS, PEOPLE!) - they are suede and really well-made, the stiletto heels feel really strong and don't wobble at all, and my feet feel really secure walking in them, which is always a good thing. I've had bad experiences with wholesale shoes before (often smelling really like petrol, taking forever to ship and being very "plastic-y" and cheap-looking), but these were entirely the opposite to that. They didn't smell, they arrived in about a week and, most importantly, look amazing. Another great thing was that the size was perfect - I'm a US 8/UK 6, and the 39 fits me perfectly. They're really the most beautiful things, and basically about as comfortable as sky-high-stilettos could be. Now I just have to learn how to walk properly in them... dress - c/o Oasap tights - Ebay shoes - c/o Sammydress I'm sorry that a lot of my "science segments" have just been videos from these guys lately, but I don't have a lot of internet access at my new house as of yet. Soooo I am not really able to research cool science things for hours and hours :( anyway, this is something I found a couple of weeks ago, and is way too good not to share. Especially as I'm wearing a cat dress. Enjoy! p.s. The winner of the TNK vintage giveaway is Emmy Anne! You will be emailed shortly. Remember, you can still get 50% off anything at TNK vintage using the coupon code 26790. Bloglovin' | Facebook | Twitter |  Instagram | Chictopia | Lookbook | Tumblr