DungareeDolly.com AKA Dolly bags!

Last Saturday and this Monday, I got two packages, from one of my all time favourite sweethearts! Not only she's a great seller, but she's also a friend, and one amazing lady!

I first came around Dungaree Dolly's Bags website while browsing on eBay, and came across the link in one seller's About Me page, don't ask me which seller cause I can't remember, with age my memory is becoming fuzzy! I went to check the website, and wow! So many amazing bags all over the place!! I also saw she had a myspace page, and since I had recently made my own, decided to add her. As much as a huge fan of online shopping as I am now, I've always been a lil reluctant to buying from somewhere without some references, so reading up her myspace page, as well as her Delighted Dolls page in her website, helped a LOT in finally deciding to go for one of her bags.

Her website not only has a very attractive design, with different pages for each bag, but also has a FAQ section and another on how to order, which make the whole process so very easy! I am the kind of person that reads everything (and I mean everything, even the back of shampoo bottles) so before buying something from a new place I always read everything in the website, or I read feedback, profile and shop policies in an Etsy shop. As much info as I can gather, the more secure I feel, and if I ask any questions, and I'm getting a polite, nice and informative answer, I'm way more likely to make a purchase.

My first purchase from her were two bags, and I was prompted to get them by seeing a custom bag she had made for her best friend, Miss Hula. I loved that bag, and I asked Dolly is she was going to offer them in her shop, she said it was a custom one, but that I could get my own custom made one. Ha! She hit my soft spot, I love handmade, I love OOAK, but if there's something I love more is custom made stuff just for me. So I got myself my custom Bella bag with bamboo handlers in an amazing sushi print! I also got me a really cute City bag in pink tattoo fabric, that became my trusty everyday-going-to-work bag for over a year (then it really needed to be washed, and now is bright as new again!). When the bags arrived I was squealing with joy! They were as perfect as I was hoping and even more!! And they were wrapped in this gorgeous tissue paper and there was CANDY in the box! That's not just getting a package you've bought, that's like getting a present on the mail!

After getting my first two bags I was completely and utterly HOOKED! I decided to get a few bags for my friends's b-days, my sister-in-law's b-day, Christmas time... and they've always been loved by everyone! They've also become my favourite self-present for my birthday! Every year I get myself a bunch of Dolly bags! And even for Christmas! My Dolly bags have become my trusty companions in all my travels, all my trips to India, and my everyday companions to work, and for going out! My bf has not just gotten used to my Dolly-obsession, but sometimes even promote it! He was the one to suggest I got a Hipster bag for our trips and visits to different places when I'm visiting India (it's roomy, so I can carry my stuff and his), and he's always teasing me about the amount of bags I have "Do you already own one of each? Dolly might need to start designing a new one soon to add to your collection", but the poor thing never complains about the HUGE amount of bags I own!

If the amazing quality of her bags was not enough, she also has an amazing customer service, after each order placed through her website, she'll always e-mail you to check if everything's fine, if you need anything, and she'll also e-mail you again once she's ready to ship your bags. I must confess I don't usually make my orders through the website anymore, I'm always asking for custom things, so I usually e-mail my dear Beth with all my queries and questions, and she sends me a paypal request with the quote for my bags (with all the lil extras I always ask for).

A Dolly bag has become my signature gift for my bf's side of the family, both my sisters-in-law own a diaper bag, and a pair of bags each, and my mother-in-law also has a pair of bags, which I'm really glad to say, they all love!

I was really honoured (and a bit of an oh my!! moment) when Dolly asked me to be Miss October. She had started this lil calendar in her website, with her Dolly Girls, friends and customers, in a very nice and thoughtful way of sending us some love back, ain't she a total darling? Here you can see me, in the pic she used, with my custom Luxury Suite bag!

My last two packages from her were MY Christmas present this year, which means a bunch of bags (I told the bf they're gonna be his present for me, since I feel bad for getting myself so many bags) and most of them custom, even more this time cause I picked the fabrics on Etsy, and got them sent directly to her, I'm sooo gonna be writing a blog entry about those after Jan 6th! Beth is soooo sweet, she even included a lil note telling me not to open the pacakge till Jan 6th! (in Spain we usually & traditionally give the presents on that day) and the other package was my Christmas presents for other people, as you can see all prettily packed with the same tissue paper that I got them in!

Amazing quality, amazing customer service and the sweetest lady I've ever met... I'm a total fan and a Dolly girl for life!

Worthy Soy Candles (& Crochet)

With the Holidays Season fastly approaching, and my vow of saving money gone out of the window, I'm getting a few more packages per week than usual. Not all of them for me, since most of them are presents for others. Yes, this year, like the past one, and the ones from this on, I'm trying to buy most of my presents handmade. So far, since my last blog I've got 4 new packages, one last Saturday, but since it's part of my Christmas presents, we'll count that out, and this Monday I got two packages, one with a bunch of presents for my friends from DungareeDolly (she'll be my next blog entry) and one from the lovely Erica of Worthy Soy Candles. I took pictures of both packages as soon as I arrived from work, but since my cold came back in full force, I spent all of yesterday in bed, and today, with a nice cup of Organic Ginger Tulsi Tea, I'm attempting this blog entry about her lovely soy candles!

I first met Erica through DIYScene, where I've also met and got friends with other tons of talented DIYers and crafters. It's always good to get references from other people before buying from someone, and not only through the feedback that shop can have, but through regular "mouth to mouth" from other people who love B&B products and candles as much as I do! (thanks Brooke!). I checked Erica's shop and her fragance list is endless!! So I decided to first try her Tea Lights Sampler Pack, it's really cheap (and the shipping overseas is really affordable too) and you get to try 5 different scents! I also thought that tea lights are a great size to carry with you on trips and vacations, or can be fantastic to light around the house this season (and would be great for the Indian festival of Diwali!).

The package arrived on Monday, and the postman even commented on how great it smelt! You could smell the amazing mix of scents through all the careful packaging that Erica had put together! When I opened it I saw the five cute lil candles, in bright colours, and an extra one! Since I didn't remember which scents I had ordered I was wondering how could I tell which was each, but the name of each scent is in the bottom of the candle! I got: Ocean Breeze, Buttered Rum, Welcome Home, Love Spell & Pina Colada and the extra one in Slices of Fruit! Amazing scents, all of them!!

I'm already planning on getting her set of 3 hexagonal 5 oz. candles, once I'm done with all the Holidays shopping! Cause I'm already in love with her candles!

If you're like me, and have decided to make the change to soy candles, or if you're curious as to the benefits of them, check her shop!

aNGrYGiRL Gear

Finally! Time to write my second entry of the week! I got myself this weekend off unexpectedly, my supervisor told me just yesterday about it, since I was the only one from the ward that didn't have a weekend off this month, so this blog entry was due!

This week I got two packages, and one of them was an absolutely stunning corset by aNGrYGiRL Gear!!

I first saw the Angry one's shop through links on some of my regular eBay sellers, but she never had anything for sale when I checked her eBay auctions, but I saw the link to her website http://www.angrygirlgear.com/ and decided to check it. She had (and of course, still has) galleries of the custom work she's done in the past, with absolutely stunning pieces! But, I must really say that at the time, I thought the prices were a bit high, and the whole measurements thingy always puzzled me, mainly cause of the difference between centimetres and inches... I'm not enterely proficient now, but I can figure out what would fit me and what not, but back then... It was a bit too much for me.

After some more time on eBay, and some more purchases all over the place, I kept on going back and looking at her website and corsets and hoodies, and decided to add them to my wish list... for the time I felt ready to give myself a treat. I added her to my myspace friends, and her banner to my myspace blog entry for favourite sellers.

Some more time passed and I started shopping less and less on eBay, and moved to Etsy as my favourite venue for shopping, also my personal life had some changes, in the shape of my amazing bf. And one day I got a comment by the Angry one herself in my blog entry, pointing out that her banner no longer worked, and we started talking on myspace. Since we both are huge metal fans, and she owns the most amazing Eddie hoodie ever made, we had plenty of conversation topics!

After talking to her I was completely convinced that I needed one of her corsets, and soon!! So I decided to ask for a custom piece that would serve as Valentine's present for both me and the bf, so I asked for a burgundy Temptation corset and she went through all the possible shops to be able to find the perfect burgundy corduroy fabric for it! I also ordered a Kitten shrug cause I thought it be the perfect complement, not only to the corset in itself, but also to serve as warming piece to use at the Maiden concert I was going to attend in Mumbai (Bombay). When both pieces arrived home I was not just delighted, impressed and left completely speechless with the almost unreal perfection of both pieces, and the unreal perfect fit of the corset, but completely and utterly hooked and addicted! At that very moment I decided I was NEVER getting corsets from anyone else!

After coming back from my vacation in India, and the amazing Maiden concert, I brought back a t-shirt that was going to be turned into a custom AngryGirl Gear Maiden hoodie (cause Cindy wouldn't let me steal her perfect Eddie hoodie), and of course, planning for Maiden's gig in Spain in July, I decided I needed a Maiden corset! I searched for an appliqué that could be used, and found the perfect one in eBay. Cindy bought it, and started working on a Maiden corset, with a lil leather, a lil lace, red & black. What I got when the package arrived home were two MASTERPIECES! Both the corset and the hoodie are a total dream come true for any female Maiden fan! (And maybe for the male ones, with a female inside, I'd say). I couldn't attend the July gig, unfortunately, but that corset is probably my favourite piece to date, and I absolutely LOVE all my AngryGirl pieces to bits!

After those amazing Maiden pieces, I got myself another two custom made corsets, a deep blue Grace corset and a deep purple Domination corset, both stunners, both impossibly well made, both absolute PERFECT pieces!! Whenever I get one of her corsets I always look at it from all angles and from stick my nose close to all seams and stitches, just for the absolutely joy of seeing perfection up close!! Remember what I said before about how before buying from her I thought her prices were high? Well, after seeing and wearing her pieces, I know the prices aren't high, they're actually cheap for the quality you get! She could charge three times what she's charging and still wouldn't be expensive at all with the quality of the pieces you get!

The corset I got this week is a change with my usual pattern of Angry purchases, since this time it was NOT a custom piece, but a corset she had made for the DIYScene Street Team November Project: Steampunk (if you wanna check other amazing pieces made by the team, search diyscene team nov on Etsy). The corset in itself it's a lil different from other corsets she's made before, with different lines, and one hell of an amazing very Steampunk fabric! As soon as she posted it as a sneak peek on DIYScene, I was completely and utterly in love with it, and after some wondering and doubting (economic crisis, anyone?) I went ahead and bought it! (Sorry Kylie, I know it would have looked stunning on you too!). It arrived this week, and I'm absolutely in love with it... and it fits just great!! Even if it was not custom made for me, it fits great! But that's just Cindy's amazing craftwomanship... with an arm in fire and overworked, she can produce all kinds of masterpieces!!

Whenever I look at her designs, may it be her website, or her Etsy shop, I'm always thinking and wondering what else can I get, what other new work of art I can ask her to produce for me, and I have plans already for a new Maiden hoodie, this time a Rime of the Ancient Mariner one!

Spa Therapy Works

It's been a few days since I last blogged, but since I want to focus on writing about current packages for now, and I don't have all the time I'd want to dedicate to this blog... I'm thinking of sticking to two blog entries per week, if I get enough packages, that is, if not, I'll look back to some previous purchases.

Today, I got two packages, and once again from two of my most beloved sellers, which means, I have two entries to work on! I've already been working on the pictures for them.

I will start with Jussara from Spa Therapy Works! http://www.spatherapy.etsy.com/

I must say, I don't remember how I found her shop, but I know that since my first purchase, I was really impressed with her amazing customer service! Unless other sellers that aren't keen on shipping to Spain, she was delighted to ship here, and was trying to find the best way to determine a fair shipping cost, and since that very first time, she's always refunded any excesive cost of shipping.

Her amazing customer service was just the first of the many things that turned me into a not just a repeat customer, but a total fan! She's always been so nice and helpful!

I fell in love with her B&B products as soon as the first package from her arrived, her soaps are amazing and so are her bath salt and body scrubs... and I can go on and on with all her products!

After trying her soaps I switched to handmade soaps, and forgo liquid soaps and all kinds of regular commercial soaps, and so it happened when she developed her facial line, with day cream, night cream, serum, toner, facial scrubs and facial soaps:

Here you can see my daily facial care routine, all by Spa Therapy, even the soap dish! Facial day cream, night cream and scrub, serum and toner in the sides. I was never very constant with facial care, till I started using Jussara's products, the texture and smell is fantastic, and so are the results! I usally have a tendency to get stress rushes (atopic dermatitis) that have got waaaay better since I've been using her stuff!

Here you can see the Dead Sea Mud soap, which works great, but my favourite one has to be the Patchouli Mint Frech Green Clay Soap, that I'll be getting really soon to replace the Dead Sea soap when it's gone.

I'm not sure if any of what I use in B&B body products is not made by her, cause she has amazing body lotions in varied scents for all year long, and fantastic whipped body frostings for the dry dry winter, that melt into your skin and look & smell good enought to eat! She also has fantastic vegan deodorants, that are NOT antiperspirants, so don't block the cooling effect of the sweating, but that keep you smelling great all day long! They've stand the test in India of all places, so I can say that, yes you will sweat, but you will smell AWESOME all the time!!

She's also started a new line of hair care products with two types of shampoo & conditioner, for normal and dry hair. I got samples of the dry hair shampoo and conditioner, and though the shampoo leave my hair great, it isn't as effective against dandruff as I'd like, but the conditioner... oh, the conditioner is a total joy for my hair! And, did I mention they're SLS-free?

One of her bigger hits with all my co-workers are her VEGAN lipbalms, that smell delicious, taste as great and not only moisturize and protect your lips but also give them some lovely shine! I've had a pair of my co-workers to ask me order her lipbalms for them more than once.

An unexpected hit was her shaving soaps with the bf, he's already said he won't use anything else for shaving! They just lather so well, and the shave is so close, I don't want him to use anything else either!

Everytime I get a package from her, I always feel like a lil girl opening a pressie, and I go crazy sniffing everything, yes, I do have that weird habit of sniffing B&B body products, and I always know that any Spa Therapy product is gonna smell awesome! I've also found my favourite scent ever, what I consider MY scent, and it's the Black Raspberry Vanilla, and I just love that scent on anything, be it soap, deodorant, whipped body frosting, body lotion... even body mist! I just hope she won't stop using it, EVER!.

Onto today's package!

I got bath melts, deodorant & whipped body frosting in Black Raspberry Vanilla, and the Snowed In soap! And also a Raspberry Sorbet extra soap! I just can't wait to try this bath melts, cause they smell fantastic! Chocolate & Orange! I need to make sure the bf doesn't decide to eat them!

She also has a lot of nice gift ideas for this holidays, and I've already got a few for my friends!

If you want a change from store bought products, and want quality B&B products, most of them vegan friendly, Spa Therapy Works is your place to shop! I've recommended her products to loads of friends, and they all love them and become repeat customers too, so she must be doing something right!

Headless Tess DIY

Yesterday I got not just one but two packages, one from Hope, and one from yet another of my favourite sellers AND friend: Lex.

Lex or Lexie (aka Headless Tess DIY) has not just become one of my favourite sellers, but also an amazing friend. I first saw her listings on eBay, but was a bit unsure about her necklaces, I was not sure of the size or how they'd look on a person... even so, I bid on a pair of her necklaces, but was outbid. In one of those weird coincidences I got a friend request from her on myspace, and we started talking. She was so nice and helpful! I asked for a custom request of an Alice in Wonderland necklace, and she was amazing during the whole process, and the necklace exceed all my expectations!

I then bid on another of her eBay necklaces, the Kittyfly (a butterfly with a Hello Kitty head) and won it. Lex sent it right away, and it wouldn't arrive... I checked with my post office, and apparently it had left the post office to be delivery during a week where a new postwoman had been covering for my usual one... so I suspected she had kept it, cause it never arrived... I told Lex, that already worried about it not arriving, and she decided to make me another without charging me anything extra... I offered to pay for shipping at least, and then decided to order another custom, so at least she could get some more cash, even if she didn't want me to pay for the second Kittyfly. These two necklaces were my first Headless Tess originals, but they were only the beginning!

The weirdest thing ever happened after 3 months... The original Kittyfly arrived!! It had a sticker that said she had been sent to Colombia, in South America!!! So, now I have TWO Kittyflies!! I really felt horrible, cause I made Lex to work extra, when the Kittyfly was just taking a vacation, you could say...

After that, I haven't stopped getting more necklaces from her, either from her Etsy store, once she did the move to Etsy, or getting more customs, cause any necklace you can dream of, Lex can deliver, and she will surpase herself every single time! I've got Hello Kitty as a nurse, two Maiden necklaces, a pair of Nightmare Before Christmas...

She even made us a pair of matching keyrings, for me and Gaurav, with a pic of us, as a surprise present! It was such a lovely surprise, and I absolutely love it! I don't use it, cause I think it looks better hanging in my room, where I can look at it, and won't get damaged!

I love sporting my HT necklaces every occasion I get, but since I can't really wear them everyday at work, working at a hospital, hygiene rules are strict, even more when working with patients in protective isolation, so I go crazy wearing my HT necklaces on my days off or while on holidays!!

Take a lil look at a few of the necklaces I've worn during my last holidays in India:

First of all, Hello Kitty as a cupcake!:

Also, a lovely blue cupcake!:

And two more gorgeous necklaces, a custom Maiden one and a gorgeous Saphire butterfly!:

I have a huge and wonderful collection of her necklaces, and truth be told I haven't counted them! I had never been a girl to wear much jewelry, but with Lex's necklaces, I just can't get enough!

Going back to yesterday's package (the reason for this entry!).It was, as usual, an amazing one, even more so this time! I got three necklaces for myself, and also three necklaces I'm one us as presents for friends of mine, since I've got asked quite a few times about them! I even got an extra treat! Lex also makes clothes, though doesn't usually sell them, and she sent me the CUTEST Hello Kitty tube top! Let's take a look at all my goodies!:

First of all, the cutest Wall-E & Eve necklace everrr!:

An absolutely lovely necklace, with one of my favourites scenes from the movie, when Wall-E is trying to wake up Eve sharing with her a lovely sunset!

Secondly, a oh sooo cool and sexy Dr Who necklace!:

As you can see, the Doctor, also know as Barty Jr, is featured here with the beloved Tardis! I feel the need to sing and/or hum the series theme everytime I look at it!

And last but not least, the one I'd say has become my absolute favourite of all the necklaces Lex has made for me, like ever:

This is the Tree of Life as it is depiced in an amazing movie by Darren Aronofsky, "The Fountain", starring Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman. A wonderful movie about love & life.

Gaurav and me loved the soundtrack before watching the movie, and fell in love with the movie, so I really wanted this as a necklace, and Lex did an amazing job with it!

And last, but not least, not at all! A shot of all my loot of today! My three necklaces and my Hello Kitty tube top! :

Excuse once again the flat pic of the top, but the bf is in India, and I'm no fan of the myspace angles and taking self pics, so this'll do!

Farewell, my friends, until we meet again!

Label of Hope

Today was a good mail day! I got a few packages, so now after taking some pics, I have some good material to write a blog entry (and another one for tomorrow) about one of my favourite sellers!

I first found Label of Hope on eBay, and I loved her originality and uniqueness!! You identify her clothes so easily, cause she has a style that it's so very hers and hers alone! I bid on a few of her tops, got a few and was outbid on tons of them! After a while I found her webpage http://www.labelofhope.com/ and though she only offers tops there very now and then, I snatched there one of my most loved tops from her!

I was gathering quite a collection, but nothing as big as it has become when Hope decided to forsake eBay and join Etsy... Since I've always preferred the Buy It Now way, I've got a LOT of her tops, all uniquely designed and all awesome indeed! Also, since she joined Etsy she has been, on occasion, doing some custom orders, that I have very much jumped at the occasion!

One of my all time favourite of her styles is the kimono style top! I bought a gorgeous one on Etsy, and also get another custom one made. The one I got from Etsy became almost instatly one of my most favourite tops from her, since it was not only gorgeous, but comfy & classy at the same time! During my vacation in India with the bf this September I wore it a lot of times! After returning from Goa to Delhi I thought the poor top needed a bit of a proper washing, and gave it to the maid... what a mistake... my poor top got completely ruined! Not only there was some running of colours in the sleeves, but there were some really strange stains all over the body of the top! Lesson learnt, I should have done the handwashing myself, and used some salt and cold water in the first washing to avoid the running of the colours... This has been the first time that one of my LoH tops has been ruined, and I was quite upset I must say.

When I came back from the holidays, I decided to contact Hope and ask her if she had any more of those fabrics, or something similar, so I could get another kimono top done; she was extremely nice and looked all over for the fabrics, but as it happened, she didn't find them. She found a similar fabric in pink, and hence my pink Kimono top was born! Also, she made another gorgeous kimono style top with cowl neck that I quickly snatched too, that I will be wearing for this year's Hospital dinner!

All this brings me now to the main point of this blog, that is, I received another gorgeous LoH top in the mail today! With a cowl neck with a decorative tab with buttons, extra long sleeves (perfect for those that get their hands cold easily, like me) and a kanga pocket!

Excuse the not too good picture, but my trusty TZ5's battery had died, and despite my boyfriends insistence I haven't got myself a spare one yet; I had to use my old Canon Exilim. And I'm not too good at taking pics of myself, nor am I too keen on the myspace style pictures, and since my personal photographer is in India... this one will have to do!

Every package from Hope comes inside a lovely pink bag with a thank you note and care instructions! (Just in case, I always recomend to wash all tops on their own the first time and with cold water to ensure no running of the colours).

I've always gotten tons of compliments when wearing Hope's tops, and I've given the link to her etsy shop to a good number of my own co-workers, so if you, like them, want to know where these gorgeous designs came from and want to get your own, go to http://hopee.etsy.com/ and take a look around! She usually posts new designs once or twice a week!

Happy hunting! (ooops, I meant, shopping!)

A long time ago, in a Galaxy far far away...

Did I mention I'm a huge Star Wars geek? No? Well, I am! And no, it doesn't have anything to do with the topic of this entry, I just happen to like that quote a lot for referring to the past... Bear with my geekness.

I thought it would be proper to give an introduction as to how I got into the shopping handmade world, so here goes: It all started with an Iron Maiden concert and Ebay.

Let me elaborate; there was this upcoming Maiden concert in Barcelona I was going to, and I wanted to find a more girly (can I use the word girly next to Maiden?) t-shirt, since I didn't want to wear one of those baggy guy t-shirts. I was linked to a few eBay listings, all by The Dark Queen http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/the-dark-queen_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ all really great, interesting reconstructions, but I was so unsure of the whole internet shopping, the use of credit cards online... I ended up going to the concert without a t-shirt, and buy one in the stands at the concert. But, I had liked those tops so much I decided to give it a try, so I decided to create a eBay account, and a Paypal account... and that was the beginning, I ended up getting 3 or 4 tops from her, a dress and a top from another lovely seller http://www.re-vamp.net/ ... Also Obskura and Madfoxes... There started my eBay obssesion, looking for amazing Maiden tops, and it soon extended to other types of clothing... So, lil by lil I found other sellers like Meow Kiki, Label of Hope, Bunny Massacre, Vivifromage, Poppyswickedgarden, Mylittlemonster, Turtlemaggie...

I started adding most of those seller's myspace page, and started talking to them online, which meant I already became friends with some of them. That made me realize how different buying handmade things directly from the sellers is from buying from any chain shop in a mall. I've also found other sellers through some sellers myspace page, and through them some seller's website like AngryGirl Gear, Dungaree Dolly's bags & Headless Tess DIY!

I found Etsy through one of my friends from the SW forums, that had started a shop there. I started an account there, started looking around and found some amazing sellers there, like Spa Therapy Works, my favourite B&B shop, and other many great sellers!

I found Etsy to be a much more personal and friendly site than eBay, so I decided to switch to it, and nowadays, I barely use my eBay account. I was never really a huge fan of the bidding system, as I'm no fan of haggling in markets or the like, so the more simple "buy for a fixed price" is much more to my liking!

From Etsy I was link by some of those sellers to this wonderful & addicting forum called DIYscene! I found and met many more sellers and discovered many more talented people, that despite me not being "one of them" hence a crafter, I was welcomed, and my opinion greatly appreciated! If you want to meet and greet amazing & talented sellers, you need to join!




You'll be meeting all my favourite sellers and their products through future entries in this blog, hopefully starting tomorrow itself!

May The Force Be With You, and all that jazz!