Blog Name and URL Change!

Hello friends!

I have decided to change my blog name. So I decided to make a brand new blog because it was just easier than to modify the url on this one. I will now be blogging at Totally Elsa.

I never really liked Crafty Hands and Pretty Nails as a name. It was too long and complicated but I simply didn't know what else to name it. I felt it described the content well. The thing is that I blog about a lot of different subjects so it's impossible to list them all in the name. So I decided to make the name more general. Totally Elsa is also shorter and simpler, and it feels a lot more like me. Also, I worked a lot on the design of my new blog and I hope you like it. I am very grateful to have you as a reader here, and I would be very happy to have you following me to Totally Elsa. Have a wonderful day.

Love, Elsa

If you follow this blog on Bloglovin and wish to follow the new one there as well, click here.

Life Update and Pins

I am still alive!
It's been more than a month since I've posted anything which is CRAZY. But I've just had so much work and I haven't done anything creative in a while. Plus, I've been dying to paint my nails but we have rugby at school so my nails keep on breaking. But, I will have a 2 weeks break very soon so I'll try to make as many posts as possible and even save some for later. For now, here's a small compilation of pins I like. Up there is this lovely cacti print by Buddy Editions.

This gorgeous hairstyle on Hemingway and Hepburn. Doesn't come with a tutorial but pretty self-explanatory.

 This adorable sweater from LightInTheBox. Meow.

This unbelievably beautiful artwork by Karina Eibatova. (see a whole post on this site).
I hope you enjoy looking at these and have an awesome day!
Love, Elsa

Style: Ballerina Skirt & Rocker Boots

Hi friends!

Today is my first style post so this is exciting and scary. So I chose one of my favorite clothing items ever: a pink tulle skirt. It's really cute and I feel like a ballerina when I wear it. I also like that it has little 3D dots that makes it a bit more original and edgy. This type of skirt can be a bit hard to wear if you don't want to look like you're dressed up as a fairy/princess. This time I chose to wear it with a cable-knit sweater. It's actually more purple-y than in the picture but you get the idea. I am also wearing this awesome black boots with lots of spikes and eyelets.

And this ring is simply adorable. I love delicate jewelry and flowers so it's perfect for me. So, what did you think of my first style post?

Love, Elsa

Skirt: Jennyfer / Sweater: H&M / Boots: Moa / Ring: F21

Leopard Print Accent Nail

Hi friends!

Today I wanted to show you this super simple leopard print nail art I did a few months ago. I had totally forgotten about it and recently found this picture so here it is! I used bronze, gold and black and I love this combination. What do you think?

The Liebster Award

So I've been nominated for the Liebster Award. Thank you so much Fran for making me a part of this! Fran has this cool art/lifestyle blog called Elevator Brain.

The Rules of the Liebster Award:

• Thank the person who nominated you and link their blog
• Answer the questions given by the nominator
• Nominate 11 other bloggers who have less than 200 followers and link them
• Notify all the bloggers you nominate
• Create 11 new questions for your nominees to answer

So here are the questions and answers:

• What's your favourite film? Why?

  I have several favorite films depending on the genre. I love any Harry Potter movie (or book) but I probably prefer the 1st or 3rd ones. In the 'chick-flick' category, I love The Devil Wears Prada because it mixes the world of fashion, relationships but also the concept of being true to oneself. And as a comedy I love the french comedy Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra. I just love this type of humor and it always makes me laugh even if I've seen it so many times. What's funny also is that almost everybody in France has seen it so you can say quotes and people will understand.

• Why did you start blogging?

 I'm not sure. I guess I wanted to meet knew people as well as showing what I can do to the world. It's also helpful to remember what I made and when I made it.

• Who is your favourite singer/songwriter?

 Christina Perri.

• If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be?

I've always been  a huge fan of Emma Watson and she is kind of a role model for me.

• Favourite hair/beauty product?

I love the skincare line called "It's my beautiful skin day" by HEMA.

• Who's your favourite youtuber?

Lauren from LaurDIY.

• 5 words to describe yourself?

Optimistic, creative, nice, perceptive and stubborn.

• Favourite author and why?

Sophie Kinsella. Her novels are very light-hearted and funny.

• Advice for a new blogger?

Blog what you want to blog. Don't feel pressured to blog. Don't care about the numbers.

• What's your most embarrassing moment?

In my German class, we like to bring cake once or twice a week. The other class does this as well. One time, I had made cookies and I was talking to a girl from the other class who was eating another type of cookie. I said mine were better as a joke. And then she said she didn't mind since she wasn't the one who had made them. Except I heard wrong and thought she said she had made them. So I became embarrassed and apologized. But she didn't understand why I was apologizing and it made me even more embarrassed.

• What's your favourite book?

Any of the Harry Potter books (except the 5th, I didn't like it that much).


I nominate:
The Happy Candle
Little Panda Crafts
Bramble and Lace
Uhm Chelsea
Milky Way
Minty Fox Blog
Clouds and Dots
Utterly Ella
Painting the ocean
Hello Bubblegum
Emily Eclat

So, now here are my 11 questions:
- Where would you like to travel to the most?
- What's your favorite food?
- What's your favorite color?
- Do you like your first name or would you change it if you could?
- What's your dream pet? (it can be anything)
- Do you have siblings and how well do you get along with them?
- What are your favorite blogs?
- What's your favorite tv series?
- Talking or texting?
-What's your worst fear?
- What's your favorite activity?

Drawing 005: Portrait - Penelope Cruz

Hi everyone!

Today I am very excited to show you this drawing because I am very proud of myself! It's a portrait I made of the gorgeous Penelope Cruz from a photograph taken by Paul Schmidt for ELLE. I used a grid to get everything at the right place. I usually never use a grid but it makes the result so much better that I know I will be doing this each and every time now. I got these awesome pencils for Christmas (F, 2B, 4B, 6B, 8B and graphite) and it definitively helped getting the darker parts really dark. The hardest part for me is always the hair. But practice makes perfect so I plan on drawing lots and lots of hair to get better at it. I hope you like this drawing and have a great Sunday!

Love, Elsa

Red and Grey Roses

Hi friends! Today is 2015's first nail art post! Woohoo!

I decided to make some classic red roses. I find it easier to wear red nails in winter rather than in spring or summer. Plus, I always love flowers. The red I used is actually not that vibrant and more darker and deeper. So, there are already a lot of tutorials to make roses on your nails so I didn't make one. Of course, feel free to ask me for a tutorial in the comments if you want.

The colors I used are mainly from HEMA (red: 824 / black: 851 / white: 809 / green: 844) and the grey is from KIKO (818). Anyway, I hope you like these femme fatale nails.

Love, Elsa

Birthday Card Ideas

Hi friends!

Today I wanted to show you some DIY birthday cards I made a few days ago for friends. The one with the cupcake is for my friend Emilie who turns 17 tomorrow! And the one below was for my friend Niels whose birthday was on Saturday. I just wanted to show you how easy it is to make your own cards. Just choose some nice paper, fold it in half like a card and glue a little drawing on the front. The cupcake is the easier option to draw plus it works for anyone whereas the cat needs a bit more drawing skill and only works for cat-lovers. But you could draw anything that makes you think of the person that you're doing the card for. I hope you'll think about making your own cards!

Love, Elsa

2015

Happy New Year.

I hope you had a nice time. Are you ready for a whole new year?!

I personally feel weird about it. I usually love starting fresh and planning my goals, thinking of everything that could happen in a year... But this year, I'm less excited. Maybe it's because I was sick around New Year's Eve or that I have a lot of work to finish for the beginning of this year, but I'm not feeling that usual energy. Anyway, I am a very positive person by nature so I know the feeling will come. But, I still have thought about what I want to achieve this year. Here are my resolutions and goals:

- Get better at drawing. I have been drawing a lot since November and making progress and it's super motivating. I also got a bunch of pencils for Christmas (F, 2B, 4B, 6B, 8B and graphite) so I'm excited.

- Get a vague idea of what I want to do. I still have one year and a half until I graduate from high-school so I do want to find out what I want and learn not to be afraid of admitting it. I am currently doing the scientific option (the other options are literature+languages and economics) because I like maths but I can only imagine myself doing an artistic job so it can be a bit scary.

- Style-wise, I'm pretty happy with myself. I might try to experiment with more of an edgy side. (I'm more of a pastel floral kind of gal). BTW, I was thinking of maybe trying some style posts?? Tell me what you think.

- Keep blogging. I think my blog is around 1 year old now which is exciting! I want to try and be more regular with my posting but I will have a lot of work and exams so I won't make any promises. So, like I said, I might try and do some style posts and maybe a regular feature of links to posts from other bloggers that I liked or DIYs I want to try.

- It's always been a dream of mine to get the splits. I used to be quite flexible because I did gymnastics from ages 6 to 12 but I stopped so I lost it all. I have started yoga with youtube videos during the summer but I want to try and stretch every day until I'm Elastigirl!