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If you’re looking for a way to sport some interstellar style, then take a peek at the stunning Constellation piercing trend. This growing fashion statement is much like it sounds—a collection of small earrings adorn your earlobe and cartilage in the same way that the stars dot the sky.

Celebrity piercer Brian Keith Thompson is the one responsible for championing this out-of-this-world style. He started about two years ago piercing different parts of clients’ ears, adding to jewelry they already had and refining the overall arrangement with a few new holes. The overall result is both beautiful and totally customizable depending on the shape of your ear and personal aesthetic—some prefer studs that simply line their lobes while others have spread delicate clusters of jewels all over.

This trend can be taken even farther with the addition of a statement earring like a star or moon. See some our favorite iterations of Constellation piercings, below.

Above photo credit: @loganhollowelljewelry

Photo credit: @brookebittenspiercing

Photo credit: @vangoghdown

Photo credit: @bodyelectrictattoo

Photo credit: @bodyelectrictattoo

Photo credit: @brookebittenspiercing

Photo credit: @katswanton

Photo credit: @oksana13uvarova

Photo credit: @bodyelectrictattoo

Photo credit: @bodyelectrictattoo

via [Bored Panda, Bustle]

One of the best things about colder temperatures (besides pumpkin-spiced drinks and the sound of rustling leaves) is putting on a warm, cozy sweater. No one understands this luxury more than Silky, a hairless hamster who was recently brought to the Oregon Humane Society (OHS) when her family had to move and could no longer care for her. The adorable little rodent is one year old and hairless by birth. “While she isn’t fluffy like a normal hamster, she is just as cuddly and playful as any other hamster,” Diana Gabaldon of OHS wrote in a blog post. “She does need to be kept in a heated environment, especially during the winter, and have a higher protein diet to keep her warm.” 

Even with the extra heat and food, an observant OHS Animal Care Technician named Selene Mejia noticed that Silky would shiver frequently and huddle herself into the corner of her cage. Mejia decided to crochet a tiny sweater to help warm up the quivering hamster, and it was a perfect fit! Mejia says that the sweater is for “special occasions” only, like Silky’s upcoming adoption. After a small treatment to a minor eye infection, the adorable little critter is ready to find a new family. In the meantime, Silky keeps her body temperature up by running on her wheel, eating protein, and dreaming about her new forever home.

As it turns out, Silky was able to wear her sweater sooner than anyone could have expected. Over the weekend, Matthew Sears of SE Portland, came across Silky’s story online. He had just lost his beloved cat and was in need of a new cuddly friend. Luckily, his timing was excellent as Silky had just been labeled as “healthy” and adoptable. When he laid eyes on her, Sears knew she was the pet for him. After all, they have baldness in common. “There’s Daddy!” Sears told OHS he could imagine Silky saying upon seeing him. He took her home that day with her cage, her protein-rich food, and, of course, her fashionable fleece. “It was the best $5 I’ve ever spent,” Sears shared with The Oregonian. “She’s a star.”

Oregon Humane Society: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
via [someecards]

Meet Chihuahua-mametaro—the adorable little dog who loves to peek his head through the most imaginative cardboard cutouts. His human companion is a Japanese woman named Semba. In her spare time, Semba creates recyclable costumes, shapes, and masks for her pup to wear. She began with basic shapes (curlicues, stars, lion manes) until she grew more confident in her creations and began to craft complicated designs based on manga and playing cards. Semba shares her photos of Chihuahua-mametaro on her Twitter account, @myouonnin. “People laugh when they see these photos,” she tells Buzzfeed. “They also praise the dog, who manages to stay still.”

Indeed, it is the cooperative Chihuahua-mametaro who is the star of these photographs—even when half of his body is hidden by the costume. When it’s time for Semba to press the shutter, she yells the magic words, “Go home!” and the little dog pops his smiling face through the hole. Both Semba and her dog show that it doesn’t take much to create joy. Sometimes you just need cardboard and a bit of patience.

Myouonnin: Twitter
via [Design You Trust]

Street artist Pejac is known for the simple, witty manner in which his art interacts with the environment. And while this isn’t the first time he’s played with windows, the Spanish artist’s newest intervention is certainly a twist on what he’s previously executed. During his two-week residency at Rijeka, Croatia with the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Pejac created a striking illusion using broken windows and black paint. By breaking, cutting, and replacing the windows of an abandoned paper factory power plant, silhouettes of birds in flight emerge from the negative space. The scene is completed by the black silhouette of a boy with his slingshot, taking aim and readying himself to bring down more birds.

Is the boy shooting down the birds or breaking the windows? It’s a heady trick without a clear answer. “On a surrealistic level I made a call to attention to nature’s survival instinct— flock of birds camouflage as broken windows in order to blend in and disappear to the human eye for the sake of their survival.” Pejac explains. “As a secondary reading I’m playing with a tribute to René Magritte’s birds holding the sky within them.”

Camouflage (Tribute to René Magritte) plays with the eye, causing us to reflect on the visual forms seen across the urban landscape. Where one person may see a broken window, Pejac sees an opportunity to transform space and bring whimsy to an abandoned area.

Pejac: Website | Facebook | Instagram
via [Colossal, Street Art News]

All photos via Sasha Bogojev.

Ever since Lulu met Blizzard as a little puppy, she took to him as if he was her protective big brother. “She started sleeping on his back for warmth and comfort,” their human, David Mazzarella, told The Dodo. Soon, the St. Bernard’s back became the vehicle from which Lulu saw the world. Whether they are sightseeing their hometown of Mt. Vernon, Washington, picking pumpkins, going for a hike, taking a bath, or watching TV, Blizzard carries Lulu on his shoulders through it all. “He doesn’t seem to mind at all,” Mazzarella said. In fact, Blizzard will stop during walks and wait patiently for Lulu to jump up onto her favorite spot. It often takes several tries.

You can follow the beautiful friendship of Blizzard and Lulu on Instagram. 

Blizzard and Lulu: Instagram
via [The Dodo]

All images via David Mazzarella.

As part of Toronto’s Nuit Blanche, anonymous Spanish collective Luzinterruptus staged their Literature vs. Traffic installation, shutting down one of the city’s busy streets and overflowing it with 10,000 books. Previously installed in Madrid, New York, and Melbourne, the piece is a commentary on the normally clogged, traffic-ridden city arteries. By allowing the street to flow with the written word, the city is giving back a vehicle-free space, if only for an evening. Typical of their thought-provoking work that often deals with themes of environmentalism, each book was illuminted by small lights, creating a twinkling effect that bounced from the pages of the literary river.

With books donated by Salvation Army, a squad of over 50 volunteers worked tirelessly over 12 days to pack Hagerman Street in downtown Toronto with pieces of literature. “Thus, a city area which is typically reserved for speed, pollution and noise, will become, for one night, a place for quietness, calm and coexistance illuminated by the vague, soft light coming out of the lighted pages,” the artists explain via their website. “The books will be there for those who want to take them so the installation will recycle itself and will last as long as users want it there. Cars will eventually fill their space but for many of those who walked by this place that night, the memory of those books that took that same space will improve their relationship with these surroundings.”

Spectators were encouraged to engage with the participatory artwork and to take books home with them, which left the piece dismantled after about 10 hours. Beyond the implications about traffic and congestion in urban areas, the installation also revalues the printed book in an era that is going increasingly digital. By looking through the phsyical material and selecting their preferred reading materials, the discarded books were reclaimed by new owners. 

Luzinterruptus: Website | Facebook | Instagram
via [Adventures of Yoo]

All images via Lola Martinez.

Many Americans dream of owning their own home, but it’s not always feasible—especially for those who have low incomes or were recently homeless. With these obstacles, ownership might seem like an unattainable goal, but the Tiny Homes project in Detroit wants to change that. Started by a non profit called Cass Community Social Services (CCSS), it aims to give this group of unlikely homeowners the opportunity to have their own place.

The Tiny Homes project is run by Reverend Faith Fowler, who saw property in a different light after her mother died—she realized that it’s something passed down within families. If one member of the family owns a home, by extension, others can have access to this symbol of stability for generations to come. “We were looking for a way to help homeless and other low-income people gain an asset,” Fowler explained to Upworthy.

Tiny homes are a hot housing trend, partly because they aren’t as expensive as larger structures. CCSS makes it even more convenient for families to eventually own a house by making their unique program rent-to-own. To get started, prospective tenants are identified by shelters and neighborhood canvassing. These groups find people who are ready to move but can’t afford to buy a home. There’s a review and interview process, and if the tenant is selected, they enter into a year-long lease on the tiny unit.

The rent for these homes is no more than a third of the tenant’s monthly salary, with the price equaling to a dollar per square foot. A 325-square-foot house, for example, would be $325 a month in rent. After seven years of making payments—along with mandatory financial coaching and home-ownership classes—the tenant officially owns their tiny home.

So, how many tiny structures can CCSS build? As of now, the Tiny Homes project has enough property to construct 25 of these single-family homes that are between 250 and 400 square feet large. Each house will have its own unique facade, and no two homes will look alike. “We want to instill a sense of pride in the residents,” Fowler said. “Most people will be coming from situations where everyone had the same bland setting (shelters in particular). We also believe by having so many styles in a concentrated area that others will be drawn to the neighborhood.”

The initial six units are now in construction, and the first house was completed in September of 2016. They share a border with the CCSS campus, allowing for a mixed income community of program participants, students, and staff of the CCSS.

Cass Community Social Services: Website | Facebook
via [Upworthy]

These incredible blackwork sketch tattoos are the work of Polish artist Inez Janiak, who has amassed a significant Instagram following by regularly sharing images of her spectacular pieces. Treating the skin as her canvas, Janiak’s tattoos seem to dance across the flesh, with broken lines and shading giving the illusion of charcoal sketches. The pieces are often tinged with a dark, Gothic feel, but remain balanced by the light, feathery strokes that create depth and movement.

Her ability to change the emotive force of each piece is significant. A growling bear snarls aggressively enough to make you think twice before approaching its owner, while a dancer’s hair twirls around her, lost in the enthusiasm of her movement. Janiak’s work also takes on a geometric quality, with the raw sketches revealing the shapes and forms used to compose the overall figure. Whether tattooing animals, elements of natural, or human figures, her distinctive style is instantly recognizable.  

Janiak is primarily tattooing out of the Od Świtu Do Zmierzchu studio in Lódź, Poland, but the artist has taken to Facebook to hint that she may be heading to the UK for some guest stints in the coming year.

Inez Janiak: Facebook | Instagram
via [Illusion]

All images via Inez Janiak.

Children’s doodles are a thing to be treasured, not overlooked. Sure, the subject isn’t always obvious to the adult eye and children often need to be prompted to explain what they drew, but a man named Tom Curtis believes that children’s art is undervalued for their attempt to capture our reality. In fact, he’s making his own 6-year-old son’s doodles come to life.

Curtis’s son Dom draws anything and everything—from his pet cat and butterflies to sharks and rocket ships. Using Photoshop, Curtis takes his son’s drawings and recreates them as professionally-rendered images of “real life” by rearranging faces, shortening bodies, and adding smiley faces to real photos. Both Dom’s drawing and the “real” image are posted side by side on their joint Instagram account, Things I Have Drawn. The playful project aims to show that the picture Dom drew of an elephant, for example, is what he saw in his head when he looked at an elephant. Curtis comments on the brilliancy behind children’s drawings and why he wanted to showcase them, telling Huffington Post UK, ”The original premise wasn’t that I took Dominic’s drawings and showed what they might look like in real life. Instead the idea is about imagining a world in which kids’ drawings are accurate and the things they draw are real. It’s just us silly adults that don’t see them because we’re not looking hard enough.”

Scroll down to see a sample of Dom’s adorable alternate animal kingdom and check them all out on Instagram.

Above: Lion

Cat

Elephant

Butterfly

Shark

Car

Giraffe

Rabbit

Seahorse

Flamingo

Bicycle

Rocket

Dad

Things I Have Drawn: Instagram
via [designboom]