Poisoned Apple Bags Review and Q&A

Hi!
I finally got to ask the lovely lady behind Poisoned Apple Bags,

some of the questions you asked via my instagram and twitter! Also i got my hands on one of her EPIC creations, which i have reviewed below after the q&a;

Q & A

#1 How long have you been into making your own items? And what were the original creations before bags?
  > I've always been a bit 'crafty'; making jewellery or a bit of cross stitch. Before i started making bags I made handmade candles and then developed into decoupaged shoes and bags. I was taking lessons from my mum into how to sew with a machine, and many, many tutorials on Youtube later I now make my bags :)

#2 What was the hardest thing for you, when you first decided to start up your own buisness?
  > Last year when i started with my shoes . It was a bit of an accident to start a business from doing something I liked to do. It was the same with my bags, I made some and people liked them... and boom! Almost a year later I'm establishing a little fanbase in my corner of the world.

#3 What are the key three things you'd go back and tell your younger, pre-bag making, self?
  > First thing would be just to try everything! Don't be afraid of anything. If you want to learn - learn! The second thing is to just enjoy everything and the minute you stop enjoying it - stop doing it. The 3rd and final thing would be just to be prepared for negativity. Unfortunately there are a lot of keyboard warriors out there- so develop a thick skin, keep your head up and just have faith- you'll be ok!

#4 What are your top tips for first-time bag makers, or people who want to get there own crafty buisness up and running?
  > My top tip is just to keep trying things. If something doesn't work, try something different. Watch tutorials, read some books - there are some fab free patterns out there too so give it a go! Social media plays a big part in a business these days so get out there!

#5 What inspires you and your bags?
> I take inspiration from everywhere really. Fabrics of all colours and patterns.

#6 Why did you choose the brand name "poisoned apple"?
> Poisoned Apple was inspired by Disney. I am obsessed with the Disney movies and especially love the villains so when thinking of a brand this did stick out to me :) Its fun with a darker edge which i think matches my style :)

#7 Where can we find you- any up coming events and website links?
> I'm slowly winding down for 2014 now but you can always order from my website HERE or find me on twitter @poisonedapple14 - look out for next years events soon!


THE BAG...

 There was one word i kept repeating when i got my amazing bag in the post; Unique. Every bag from this store is! And usually featuring belovid characters or villans from tv and film.
 I was literally over the moon when i opened my box, it was wrapped beautifully, with personalised 'Poisoned Apple' Ribbon, all colour co-ordinated wrapping too! It's definetly the little details that add to these items.
My bag was featuring Malificent... which that in itself had me hooked, but not only does it feature one of the best Disney Villans, it also has plenty of beautiful embelishments and ribbon, a detachable shoulder chain, and its fully lined and feels sterdy enough to handle all your bits and pieces when you're out and about. And because it's such a unique item it definetly stands out in the crowd, and anyone in that crowd with a gd-ye will immediatly seek you out and compliment you endlessly! (Trust me i know first-hand).
I had one of the smaller ones and still managed to fit my phone, purse, keys and a few make-up essentials in it for my staff Christmas Meal. It's ideal and i genuinely cannot fault it. It's practical and stunning to look at and is made to a high quality standard. Im thorougly impressed!

Hair Chalks; The Scam.

I'm usually the last person to put-down a company for getting on-board with a new trend, let alone many companies at once- but all the companies who have jumped on the Hair Chalk bandwagon should be ashamed of themselves. Especially the prices they're charging for WHAT it is. Most of them will say their's is "better for your hair" etc...but the truth is, chalk is chalk, and someone just happened to discover that wetting your hair and applying a coloured chalk meant the colour stayed, for a few days at least... and brands have taken a simple idea, slapped their name on it and charged TRIPLE or even more then what it is actually worth. The only reason this outrages me so much is becasue at the moment, not everyone has a lot of money about, but they want to keep up with the latest trends- which is perfectly acceptable, especially when its a trend that is supposed to be so quick and easy! But the poor souls are being lead to believe if they buy this brand-name chalk it'll be better then artists' Dry pastels- which may i add i bought for the grand total of £3.00 for 34 differet colours.
You can even get them on ebay for 99p! But the brands claim you must buy their individual colour chalks at rediculous prices when at their core they are all the same. They very rarely actually have any added ingredients that will benefit your hair- at most some oil. But all that will do is stop the colour taking as well to your hair. With hair chalks at the end of the day all you are doing is filling the opening in the folicles of your hair, with a dampened coloured powder and sealing it in with heat. It'll wash out in 1-3 washes. Its a temporary, quick-fix "weekend fashionista" trend. Which is what makes it so popular!
You can leave work on a friday at 17:00 with plain boring hair, and by 18:00 have pink dip-dye effect or multi colour rainbow streaks which will be gone by work Monday morning! It's an accessible trend that everyone of all price-ranges can access. You just have to make sure it is the dry pastels/chalks you use and not artists oil pastels etc... the key is the powdery substance.


I just hate to see people thinking they NEED to buy the espensive brands when it's really not nessisary. I've included a list below of brand names should you want to check them out anyway. But honestly, just go to your local art shop or search Ebay for "hair chalk" or artist pastels... and you'll save yourself a small fortune.
Beauty should be accessable to everyone, not just the ones who can afford brand-names.
XxX

Fudge Urban Hair Chalk @ Superdrug (uk) £5.99 / $9.85 (US Dollars)


Hair Color Chalk (haircolorchalk.com) £9.72 / $15.99

Hot Hair Huez (hothairhuez.com) 4 Chalks for £9.09 / $14.95

Or last and very much LEAST:
L'Óreal Hair Chalk £15.00 EACH / $24.67

Primark and New Look haul, plus interesting price differences between AX Paris online and in store....

First things first. I have to address my BARGAIN OF THE DAY:



This is my nude/pink and black Body con dress from AX Paris. Bought in store from New Look. Now as i said in the title, there was a very large price difference when i looked up the dress online to add a link to my blog, on the Offical AX Paris website it is Listed as £40 HERE.
While I luckily enough picked up the Dress for only £16 in the Sale in New Look. I know obviously they have completely different marketing and pricing techniques as obviously New Look buys in AX Paris stuff and sells it for them, like Quiz clothing do as well. But i would have thought that in order to reduce the price of an item from an outside label it would have to be instructed by the label's owner, and then they too would match the price, as what is stopping someone from buying the £16 one from New Look, taking off the New Look tag and taking it back to AX Paris to get a £40 refund... Or am i the only one who thinks bad people would do things like this...
ANYWAY moving on, i also bought a small bag to match from New Look, It's literally the perfect match, with a beautiful Gold chain strap, this was £12.99 brand new.
I'm so happy with this outfit when i put it on, all i need now are some shoes. Oh i should probably add it's for a friends wedding in april so i deliberetly went for similar or matching items, and the longer sleeves were just a plus for me, because as much as i like showing off my Tattoos i find my upper arms are a problem area for me and i like to hide them when there are cameras about.


Also in the New Look sale i FINALLY got my hands on a FLUFFY JUMPER>>> Not the Pale blue cropped Top Shop one I wanted, but when on a budget you have to say No sometimes. Especially at those prices. This one is just as soft, bigger and slightly baggier but i love the fit. I couldn't decide between the cream or the burgandy colour, in the end i bought the darker, simply because when i'm eating, food seems to be attracted to my breasts, and i'm less likely to stain a dark plum one.
That was £12, and i bought it in size bigger as i like to layer my jumpers and not feel too resticted. Because of how wide the neck is it looks lush with a shirt on underneath and the collar peaking through.
Final thing from New Look in the sale again were these amazing little Candy-Skull nail wraps that were only £1! Amazing! So far they've lasted 3 days with minimal chipping, and i've still done my usual day-to-day cleaning and washing up. So well worth the money!

Next are a couple of bits from Primark;
First of all these skinny, faux leather trousers. If you've followed me on previuos blogs you'll know i'm a sucker for leather but i never used to wear it as i'm a size 16 i had it drummed into my head that i was "too big". But sod it! I now own two pairs of faux leather trousers, and when i pass my bike licence i'll be in leather a hell of a lot more.

Then i saw this, and if you know me at all, even just a tad, you'll know that ANYTHING with My Little Pony on is MINE! It's like one of a few things i can remember vividly and fondly from when i was younger. When it first came into fashion and everyone was going on about "retro" My Little Pony items and i just complained, i didn't want to share my "thing" with anyone. Obviously it's not exclusivly MINE but you get what i mean. I didn't want my quirky little thing to become everyones fashion statement, but i take it all back. It's so much easier to find MLP items now!

I also own the white t-shirt they had of MLP, back in August. Next on the agenda is their MLP pyjamas! Muwahahaha!

And last but not least i had to add on this little Geisha Make up bag i bought from a charity shop, still brand new, never used had it's tags on it. And was only £1.75! So pretty and the colours are amazing.

As usual thank you all for reading my lovlies! And thank you so much for all your support so far! Already! It's been a crazy two months back on the scene!
Don't forget to add me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
XxX