Nylon Blogs

There are moving pictures that you pay $11 for and go see in a theatre with popcorn.

Then there are actual photos that move, otherwise known as GIFs.

And while we’ve been perfectly happy watching dogs chase their own tails or the hilarious pop culture references that other people create, now we can bring our own photos to life.

Flixel is a sweet new app where you snap a photo and apply filters to make it wiggle and pop.

Just swipe your finger over that part you want to animate and, voila, it’s alive!

The only downside is you have to snap the photo using the app–no uploading from your photo library.

We made Lily Collins dance across the March cover of NYLON to the left; get started making your own GIFs here!

–MICKIE MEINHARDT

Call us nostalgic, but we still love writing in journals almost as much as we love blogging.

The Internet is great and all, but a computer is considerably harder to slip into a purse for quick notes on things that inspire, like a great outfit by someone you pass on the street.

This is where the new “I’ve Got Nothing To Wear” notebook from Smythson would come in handy: its textured purple leather is stamped with gold lettering, filled with creamy lined pages waiting to be stocked with style ideas.

The only hang up? It’s $75.

And when Polyvore is free, that’s a price we’re not sure is worth it just to dress quickly in the morning.

Check it out here.

–MICKIE MEINHARDT

Above, check out the animal balloons Topshop is now selling.

Sold as a set, a pack of Air Heads Balloons comes with six different animals,
along with stickers and press and fold features.

At $17 a pack, these balloons are ________.
(Fill in the blank)

Established on March 23rd, 2006,
National Puppy Day is all about finding homes for orphaned pups.
… And, yes, it’s also about gushing over fluffy puppies.

Here’s a couple ways to celebrate:

1. Watch this cute video.

2. Google “Cute Puppies”

3. If (and ONLY if) you’re ready to take on the responsibility,
head to a local shelter or look for a new friend on Petfinder.com!!

Check out this amazing Sasa Clock, courtesy of New York design store The Future Perfect.

Artist Daniel Estes created the necklace-slash-timepiece inspired by the traditional African method of telling time (the name actually means “What is now” in Kiswahili).

As the carousel rotates, the beads on the necklace move every 5 minutes- the last bead to fall is the approximate representation of time.

It might not be exact- and might mean you’re going to be late for dinner- but with a timepiece so cool, who cares?

From its collaboration with Target to original artist-designed accessories, Poketo has always been an integral in the cute-overload equation.

But the latest from the L.A.-based collective is guaranteed to inject an extra burst of energy into your day (um, not to mention wake up anyone you encounter on the street).

These adorable bicycle bells are handpainted, weather-resistant, and will fit onto pretty much any model.

Now you really don’t have an excuse not to take your bike out of storage….

$29 each here.

We just discovered Anicase,
the NY-based company making these ridiculously cute iPhone cases.

But aside from being aesthetically pleasing,
the cases each represent a species in danger of becoming extinct.

Order one here
(10% of the profits go to endangered species)

We live for this column on Slate.com called “The Explainer.”

It explores such pressing questions as “Why is Oreo the most popular cookie?” and “Is Prostituting Really the World’s Oldest Profession?”  (They also did a really interesting one called “Are some animals homophobic?”)

Today, they ask, “How many vacation days does a home-school kid get?”

Obviously, we’ve been dying to know since Mean Girls.

Check out their answer, and the rest of their columns.

Girl Scouts have cookies.

Girl Scouts have lip balms.

Girl Scouts have candy bars.

And now…

Girl Scouts have stationery!

Check out these notecards, envelopes, and stickers featuring the famous cookies.

Get the pack for about $10 at Fred Flare.

CNN reports that a new piece of art has been discovered, and it may be a design by Leonardo Da Vinci.

The piece – a mural depicting the battle of Anghiari – was hidden behind a brick wall at Palazzo Vecchio, which was the seat of the Florence government at the time.

Now art historians are having the wall X-Rayed and performing other tests to get more forensic details about the possible masterpiece.

Watch a really cool video of the art detectives in action here.

(It’s all the more miraculous when you realize they don’t make a single Ninja Turtles reference…)