Fantastic Blognanza!

Another guest post today! This one is from Blake Poutra of You Design It.

Zombies are all the rage right now when it comes to t-shirt artwork. Many of the featured designs at Emptees are full of the guts and gore associated with the living dead.

With so many possible captions, I got a big kick out of this one. I guess “Once” is the keyword here.

This is certainly a twisted take on an old favorite. I’d definitely be scared if that guy pointed his bloody, gnarled finger at me.

This is a ghoulishly beautiful design. The bloody blade and frightened expression on the zombie’s face leave a lasting impression.

With the Christmas season having just passed this is a very timely design for any scrooge. Once again the shirt comes alive with detail and the use of Christmas colors really drives the point home.

It appears that the zombie theme is picking up steam in popularity and will be around for a while. Now if we could only get some good zombie design tutorials on the web, we could all start creating our own gruesome masterpieces.

About the Author
Blake Poutra works at You Design It, where peeps design t-shirts. He runs a t-shirt design blog and loves all things t-shirt related.

The following post is a submission from readers James Fraser and Amanda Roe. It’s a little different from our usual t-shirt-centric fare, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Besides, variety is the spice of life!¹

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You have found the perfect Christmas cocktail dress and now the only thing missing to bring it all together, are accessories. There are plenty of ways to make that dress, and most importantly, you, stand out; all you have to do is choose the right elements.

First thing to consider is the style of your dress. If your dress has a lot going on, for instance, very bold patterns, or, sparkles, than it is best to keep accessories at a minimum. Perhaps try some very subtle but elegant diamond jewelry, earrings can add a twinkle and enhance that sparkly dress. If your dress has a Christmas theme or Christmas patterns, avoid going overboard with Christmas jewelry. It will bombard the eye and you will end up looking like a Christmas package no one wants to unwrap. Try choosing solid color jewelry that matches the dress.

If you have a simple dress, you can have a lot of fun accessorizing. Gloves, shrugs, clutches and heels are really trendy and fun ways to spice up your party dress. With black dresses, always go for the gold. A gold necklace with a bold pendant or piece of sapphire jewelry will look stellar.

Also, if your dress has an unusual neckline, or, if it goes too high, opt for an interesting cocktail ring. Wearing a necklace with a high neckline dress is out of the question, so avoid it all cost. Earrings are passable, so long as they aren’t dangly. But a beautiful glitzy ring is really the best addition to an extravagant dress.

Gloves and hair bows are really “in” this season. If you have a long dress, match it up with a pair of long gloves and a satin bow to tie your hair back and look totally sophisticated.

Another pretty idea to try out is a flower corsage. Choose dark, rich, exotic flowers are for winter.

The last and most important is finding the right shoes. Once again, you have to make sure to work the shoes accordingly with the dress. If the dress is plain, go wild with the shoes; if the dress is fierce, simple shoes are best. One mistake too many women make is not buying shoes that fit them, or that are too high and uncomfortable to walk in. Be reasonable when it comes to shoes. There is no reason for you to ruin a perfectly wonderful evening because you can’t dance after fifteen minutes. There are always options for gorgeous shoes, you just have to look. Alexander McQueen has come out with some remarkably sexy flats this season, so you can keep those feet on the dance floor, all night long.

¹ Or so I have been told. I may have been lied to.