Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.44

David Woodward in Toronto, Canada found this simulacra in a cafe. He told us: "This is my own photographic observation. No shadow of lower mandible apparent."

Dark side of the C says:

Thank you for sharing another wonderful find with us. 

Keep sending those pictures in, we always love seeing what our skull hunters find. Anyone is welcomed to participate, it's fun and it's easy- if you see a simulacra skull, photograph it and send those pictures in to our submissions address with a little something about what it is really and maybe a little about you.

Guest Post for The Crumpet ~ Stained Glass Inspired Flowers

Hi everyone! So if you'll remember, last month I was chosen as the winner of The Crumpet's Amateur Nail Art Contest and Debbie was lovely enough to allow the winner to do a guest post on her fabulous blog! Pretty swell prize if you ask me! I wanted to come up with something worthy of sharing there and stressed far too much about it ;) You can see my guest post here...and here's a sneak peak of what I did! ;) Go check it out! 

Well what are you waiting for!? ;)

Happy Polishing :)

Thomas' Trio of Skulls

Thomas Maguin is a French skull making artist here to show us his diversity with this trio of skulls.

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength."

True words spoken by someone you know.  Diversity teaches us to appreciate all things, and I appreciate you sharing yours with us, Thomas.  Thanks!  

Spring/Easter Nail Art!

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to post OR do my nails! Such a sad day when I'm too tired to do my nails :( with Easter just a few days away, I figured I would get a spring time Eastery theme in before it was too late. I have seen quite a few different Easter manis, a lot of them incredibly adorable! Many of them incorporated bunnies into their art so I decided to go a slightly different direction. While I still have the Easter Eggs, I used chicks as my easter animal instead of bunnies :)

I created these with two of my dotting tools and my trusty striping brush. I used....17 polishes...OH MY. I think that may be a record for me! The base color for this look is Julep's Susie which is a lovely light mint color. It reminds me a bit of China Glaze's Re-fresh Mint. I was a bit disappointed with the application of Susie, but the color is fab. 

The chicks and easter eggs took about 2 hours total to complete and I'm pretty happy with how cute they turned out :) 

All the polishes used, minus the base color Susie.

And my messy palette!  

Are you all doing anything exciting this weekend? Any special manis for the weekend? 

I've also been working with the lovely folks at The Born Pretty Store and I am happy to say I've got a 10% off your entire order code to share with you all! Enter SLR91 at checkout :)


This website has some really great nail art products at really great prices...plus, they have free shipping world wide. They are based out of Hong Kong, so shipping can take a few weeks, but you really can't beat the price and I definitely think their products are of the same quality (if not the same product) that other retailers sell at double the price.

Happy Polishing :)

Sugar Skull Bunny

Dawn Donut told us: "I created some Easter coloring pages. That is if you like your Easter
sprinkled with sugar skulls."  There are more styles available to color HERE.

Hop-Along C says:

It certainly does not feel like spring has arrived in many parts of the country, but hopefully a weekend full of brightly colored eggs and sugar skull bunnies can make for brighter days ahead.  Thank you for sharing your work with us. 

Meditation for Spring

Tiffany Cruikshank and Lulu via Awakened Lotus

Seek out a tree and let it teach you stillness. - Eckhart Tolle

Occasionally I like to share my Grounding Tree Meditation, and this quote reminded me that today would be perfect. This meditation is great for beginners that have trouble sitting for extended periods and those with a lot of trouble controlling their monkey mind.

Lotus via Yoga, Water, Sun, Light 

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win A Skull Pen From Jac Zagoory Designs

This contest has ended.  Thanks to everyone who entered with your comments.  Stay tuned for more contests coming soon.

You might want to write this down, or better yet just remember that you only have until 11:59:59 Eastern Time TONIGHT to get entered to win a FREE skull roller ball pen from Jac Zagoory Designs.

This is a excellent chance for 2 of our readers to win 1 skull pen each to write whatever the %*@# you want.  Seriously!

[NOTE: If you are reading this on Facebook or Google+, you must go to THE ACTUAL BLOG POST HERE to enter this contest! You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+]

You can always get your own pen straight from Jac Zagoory Designs.  Their excellent site features pens, pen holders, and even some wonderful working tools.  Right now you can get a 15% discount on your order when you use the coupon code "skulladay" at checkout.  Thanks again to Craig for the most awesome giveaway and discount!

Skull Makeup Trio

Crystal Overland of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a makeup artist. She created these skull makeup looks.

We get a variety of skull makeup submissions from various talented artists, but rarely from an artist that specializes in makeup. I like seeing the different skulls that Crystal created. The soft shading of the two anatomical skulls add to their eeriness. The last one is modeled after a Dia de los Muertos sugar skull. It still has some soft shading, but the opaque paints help define the influence. You can see more of Crystal's work on her website and Facebook page.

Challenge Yourself to Create Balance

What have you been avoiding because it looks difficult or pulls up emotional funk? Is there something you've been ignoring that you could be working towards?

People tend to get all too cozy in their comfort zone. They don't focus on their weaknesses very often (if ever) - which allows them to get weaker and weaker. In the meantime your strengths get stronger and stronger. This creates an ever-expanding gap in your abilities. Sounds like a huge imbalance. The more advanced your yoga practice gets the more your imbalances can come back to haunt you. The smallest weak spot can completely throw off a pose and lead to injury. Easily avoidable if you just do the work - all the work, all the time.

via FuckYeahAshtangaYoga

Take a good look at your practice. Is there an entire direction you aren't moving? Is there a category of poses you avoid? Is there a tweaky chronic pain that needs to be addressed?

Don't think that being a beginner or an intermediate practitioner excuses you from this. That's exactly when you need to be creating good habits of introspection and filling in the gaps.

Challenge yourself by looking into those spaces before you have the Grand Canyon of imbalances staring you in the face.

via Yoga, Water, Sun, Light

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win A Skull Pen From Jac Zagoory Designs

This contest has ended.  Thanks to everyone who entered with your comments.  Stay tuned for more contests coming soon.

You might want to write this down, or better yet just remember that you only have until 11:59:59 Eastern Time Friday, March 29th to get entered to win a FREE skull roller ball pen from Jac Zagoory Designs.

This is a excellent chance for 2 of our readers to win 1 skull pen each to write whatever the %*@# you want.  Seriously!

[NOTE: If you are reading this on Facebook or Google+, you must go to THE ACTUAL BLOG POST HERE to enter this contest! You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+]

You can always get your own pen straight from Jac Zagoory Designs.  Their excellent site features pens, pen holders, and even some wonderful working tools.  Right now you can get a 15% discount on your order when you use the coupon code "skulladay" at checkout.  Thanks again to Craig for the most awesome giveaway and discount!

Fancy Feather Face

Here are a few more Feather Face applications, plus a multi-flower Hair accessory ;)

Poetry Pole Skull

Edith Mirante goes beyond simply displaying her skull painting, she also seeks to enhance your skull.  Read on...

"Here's a picture of the poetry pole my husband & I put up in front of our house in Portland, Oregon. I painted the literary skull with crossed pens and the lettering. The box has featured poems by poets including Matthew Dickman, Robert Lowell, and Theodore Roetke. It has photocopies of the poems for passersby to take. We tend to offer poems with themes of nature and decay, and we change them when we remember to."

This is WON-DER-FUL! Edith and her husband are getting superliminal with their message by taking it to the street.  Increase your skull's power by sharing your favorite knowledge.  I love what you've done here, Edith.  Thanks for sharing it! 

[CONTEST] Win A Skull Pen From Jac Zagoory Designs

This contest has ended.  Thanks to everyone who entered with your comments.  Stay tuned for more contests coming soon.

It's been said, and written, that the pen is mightier than the sword, and in today's legalized mumbo jumbo world those words have never been truer. Of course it's always nice to get a chance to reflect on our thoughts and write them down with a quality writing utensil.  An essay, haiku, or love note would all be that much better with this skull pen from Jac Zagoory Designs.  The quality of the pen will surely inspire quality of thought.  A reminder of life's brevity puts enlightenment in your hand.  Keep reading to find out how to win, and also how to get a 15% discount on your order.

"This is a reminder to live in the gift of the moment aptly referred to as the PRESENT.  Write down our desires which are the seeds of our abundant future.  Perfect for skull collectors, bikers and those who are busy at living life, not living in the fear of dying.  A favorite of many doctors and artists. We all have a skull---it represents life. Reach for Inspiration!"- taken from Jac Zagoory website. These ideas are reflective of the thoughts of Skull-A-Day and we love the fact that 2 of our lucky readers will be receiving a FREE pen of their own. Here's the details...

PRIZE INFO: One roller ball pen with which to convey your thoughts, feelings, and emotions through either words or art.  The good folks at Jac Zagoory are being kind enough to giveaway 1 pen to 2 separate winners.

HOW TO ENTER: Leave a comment with the first word or phrase that you would most likely write with this pen.  Anything.  Just try to keep your comments on the friendly side.  I'll most likely be writing "Thank you" with my pen.

CONTACT INFO: If you win, we need to contact you. With your comment you must include your email address.  Entries are only valid with this information!  You can break it up to avoid spammers(i.e. skulladayfan AT skulladay dot com).

WHERE TO ENTER: All entries must be made on this blog post, on Skull-A-Day.com. You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

CONTEST CLOSES: 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time Friday, March 29th.

NUMBER OF WINNERS: Two (2)

PRIZE SHIPS: These skull pens will write in any language so this contest is open to everyone around the world.

IF YOU DON'T WIN: You can always get your own pen straight from Jac Zagoory Designs.  Their excellent site features pens, pen holders, and even some wonderful working tools.  Right now you can get a 15% discount on your order when you use the coupon code "skulladay" at checkout.  Thanks again to Craig for the most awesome giveaway and discount! 

Tribal Print

Why is it already Monday again!? Days are going way too fast for my liking and I was so busy in classes and studying this weekend that I hardly had time for anything outside of that for "me" time...and by me time, I mean nail paintin' time ;) Tonight I was exhausted and while I really wanted to do something will my nails, I struggled a great deal with figuring out what to do that wouldn't be too time consuming. Somehow, I landed on Tribal print...yeah, I don't know what I was thinking because tribal print takes me forever and never ends up the way I want. So yes, that is what happened tonight ;) 

I'm not overly happy with how clean my line work is on these. I don't think I've got a knack for tribal print like some people seem to. I get so frustrated and feel like mine are always so minimal in comparision to some other nail artists out there. Maybe one day I'll be fabulous like them! ;)

Anyway, I've only got a few photos of these for you tonight. I did these freehand with my striping brushes and now I'm off to go pass out from exhaustion! 

Happy Polishing :)

March Nail Art Challenge - Vintage and Swatch

So, yet again, I've fallen behind on my nail art challenge for March :( In my defense, I have been crazy busy, sick, and was completely in love with my previous flower mani that I couldn't bear to say goodbye to it (I wore it for over 5 days!? WHAT? I never do that!). Despite my lack of maintaining the schedule this month, I'm still on track to finish every challenge! Maybe next month I'll even have them done on the right days ;) 

The two themes I had to do on the 19th and 22nd of this month were "Vintage" and "Swatch," respectively. I've been wanting to do the vintage roses that you see everywhere for awhile now but didn't want to use the colors I keep consistently seeing them done in (mint background with pink flowers). Well, I varied in one of those aspects and ended up using China Glaze's Kalahari Kiss as my base color AND, because I'm super sneaky and multitask-y, it is my "Swatch" theme! 

I know that this color isn't for everyone, but I really love it. I think it's just a fabulus neutral that isn't too yellow. 

To complete the "Vintage" theme, I did the basic vintage roses as mentioned above. This is a really popular design right now and I figured I had to jump on the bandwagon at some point. I think that I liked the idea of these colors in my head much more than the actual final result, but that happens I suppose. These took me all of 10 minutes to do which was good considering how exhausted I am! 

Happy Polishing :)

Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.43

Past contributor, Potter Rob Lorenz of Simple Circle Studios in Carbondale, IL said: "One afternoon I was carving some pots out by my fire pit.  As I worked, warmed by the mellow glow of the fire, a rogue ember alighted on a stack of papers I was using for reference.  It began burning a couple small holes through the papers before I saw it and put it out. These pictures are what resulted."

Sweet C says:

Oh lord simulacra it's a fire! Thank you for sharing these accidental simulacra with us, we are happy that the damage was contained in an interesting way, and nothing too serious happened.

Keep sending those pictures in, we always love seeing what our skull hunters find. Anyone is welcomed to participate, it's fun and it's easy- if you see a simulacra skull, photograph it and send those pictures in to our submissions address with a little something about what it is really and maybe a little about you.

Joanne's Jumbo Skull Saturday

Joanne Dhody of Erdenheim, PA is skullin' up our Saturday with an assortment of wonderful skulls. Some of which share the same design, but are all different mediums. (all captions provided by Joanne)

This skull was created using a yummy parantha made by my sister-in-law. A parantha is an Indian flat bread, they are one of my family’s favorite dinners.

This grease skull was a result of blotting the skull parantha on a paper towel (I never said it was health food!)

This is a double skull piece! I used pinking shears to cut up remnants of skull fabric, leftover from the hobo bags I make (available in my Etsy store)

This skull was made from sand from the Jersey Shore. We go “down the shore” every summer.

After cooking some pasta I noticed steam on the glass door, I just had to make a skull in it!

I burnt a piece of toast and instead of throwing it away I made a skull out of it!!

Yeah TOAST!  I love how you let everyday life inspire you to create, Joanne.  Even the burnt toast gets a new life here on our site, never to grow moldy.  Thanks for sharing all of these!

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win a Mr. Four Fingers Chaos Rules Skull Print

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thanks for participating!

Don't forget you have until 11:59pm Eastern USA Time TONIGHT to make an entry comment to win a Chaos Rules print from Mr. Four Fingers. You can find the original contest post by clicking the side bar ad, or this link.

NOTE: If you are reading this on Facebook or Google+, you must go to THE ACTUAL BLOG POST HERE to enter this contest! You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+]

Stained Glass Sugar Skull Candle Holders

Faith Spicer-Jenkins of Kent, England creates stained glass sugar skull candle holders.

I'm fond of stained glass when it's back lit, especially with candles. The colors radiate onto the surrounding surfaces. I'm sure the skull casts and eerie beautiful glow. I bet this would be more gorgeous in a dark room. You can see more of Faith's work on her FB Page and blog.