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Looking different from your peers can make you the target for unwanted attention. It’s something that many struggle with, but 19-year-old Khoudia Diop has learned to ignore the haters and focus on the positivity in her own life. Once bullied because of her skin color, the Senegalese model has adopted an optimistic attitude (and title) as a self-proclaimed “Melanin Goddess” who is now taking the internet by storm with her stunning beauty.

Diop moved to France when she was 15 and faced scrutiny from others. “I was teased a lot growing up, because of my skin tone,” she recalled to Daily Mail. “By other kids, and now even online sometimes, people will make comments.” Diop used to confront her bullies, but she eventually learned not to pay attention to these negative people—this simple shift “helped a lot.” She then created her nickname to encourage and empower both herself and others to feel good in their own skin. “Because of my dark, melanin rich complexion and because I want to inspire young girls and let them know that we are all goddesses inside and out.”

Diop started her modeling career at the age of 17, and with a newfound virtual fame—her Instagram has skyrocketed to over 250,000 followers—hopes to continue to inspire others. She writes, “If you’re lucky enough to be different, don’t ever change.” Agreed!

Khoudia Diop: Instagram | Facebook
via [Bored Panda]

Lorelai Grace may only be a 3-month-old baby, but she’s already casting an aww-worthy spell on the world with her Harry Potter-inspired newborn photo shoot. Her mother, Kayla Glover of Kayla Layla Photography, has been a fan of the wizarding series since she was 10 years old and only thought it appropriate to pass on her love to little Lorelai. 

For the wickedly cute scene, Glover placed her baby in a miniature Halloween cauldron and draped Lorelai’s small body with a scarlet and gold striped Gryffindor scarf. All seven books were stacked around the cauldron centerpiece, where baby Lorelai sat magically with her play wand and thick round glasses, which were humorously too large for her face. And even though the adorable little girl was easygoing during the shoot, Glover reported to Huffington Post, “She enjoyed trying to chew on the wand any chance she got, and her little face looked so silly when the glasses would slip down her nose.” Nevertheless, it’s her big, joyful smile that gives hope that Harry Potter will continue its popularity for the next generation of readers and dreamers.

Glover plans to introduce Lorelai to the Harry Potter books when she turns ten. In the meantime, she’ll just have to keep taking adorable photos of Lorelai as all the characters from the series. The mother says, “Now that her hair has changed to red, I’m thinking I’ll at some point need to make her a Weasley as well!”

Kayla Layla Photography: Website | Facebook
via [Huffington Post]

Discovering beauty and creating treasures from discarded items is artist Tim Kowalczyk’s forte, particularly in his line of ceramic mugs and tumblers. For Kowalczyk, a self-proclaimed collector, throwaways can often contain histories in their bends and folds. Likewise, everyday practical objects that are taken for granted can be transformed into art under different circumstances.

Kowalczyk’s new works replicate the visual likeness of cardboard from clay, creating mugs that illusively look like reshaped corrugated boxes with “Fragile” and “Please Handle With Care” stickers plastered over them. Kowalzyk does an amazing job of making his ceramic creations really look like thick, ridged paper that’s dried after being caught in the rain. The color, texture, and gesture of each piece is convincing enough to make you do a double-take.

Though it seems an unconventional medium to work with, the malleability of his chosen material—its ability to duplicate “any form, texture, or surface”—is what attracts Kowalczyk to clay. “Replicating real objects out of ceramic material and putting them in a tableau is my version of writing a poem. I am able to sculpt, form, design and construct sculptures with sense of purpose, priority, and preciousness.” Kowalczyk continues, “Pathetic, absurd, antiquated, banal or even garbage are words that best describe the objects I am drawn to. They hold my attention because of the stories they can tell and what they can mean.”

Along with emulating cardboard, Kowalczyk has also created tumblers that look like used and rusted metal cans:

Tim Kowalczyk: Website | Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Etsy | Companion Gallery
via [Creative Boom]

All images via Tim Kowalcszy.

Artisan Lauren Beacham creates earthly tokens for “romantics, nostalgics, stargazers” and those who are “wild at heart.” Through her online shop yūgen, she pays homage to the magical mystery of the world with special attention on the galaxy. Necklaces, cuff links, bracelets, and earrings are adorned with vibrant images of our solar system that includes the mystifying planets as well as the brilliant swirling colors of nebulas.

Beacham uses photographs of space in her jewelry—these images are stunning on their own, but the addition of cuffs and chains allows them to always remain close to the heart while stylish at the same time. This makes them ideal for both science-lovers and those who enjoy marveling at the endless night sky.

As an added bonus for astronomy lovers, a portion of the proceeds from Beacham’s sales are donated to the Planetary Society, an organization dedicated to advancing space science and exploration. All of the jewelry is available through the yūgen Etsy shop.

Lauren Beacham: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Etsy
via [Mental Floss]

As any new parent knows, a newborn baby does not exactly “sleep like a baby.” Whether the little bundle of joy is just a bit fussy or having a middle-of-the-night meltdown, trying to soothe a stirring baby back to sleep can be a tricky and tiring task. Recognizing the inevitable sleeplessness that afflicts new parents nightly, smart-tech company Happiest Baby has collaborated with acclaimed designer Yves Béhar and his studio, Fuseproject, to create an inventive and innovative slumber-y solution: SNOO Smart Sleeper.

Happiest Baby is a California start-up founded by pediatrician Harvey Karp and his wife Nina Montée Karp that is “dedicated to helping parents succeed at their most important job – raising healthy, happy children.” In addition to providing free parenting tips on their website and books on everything from infant safety to baby sleep schedules, they have recently introduced SNOO, a wood-and-mesh, state-of-the-art crib that robotically rocks babies to sleep.

So, how is SNOO different from your standard cradle?

SNOO is a “smart” crib that uses sensors and microphones to “sense” when the baby (up to six months old) is awake. Once stirring has been detected, SNOO starts to rock. Its gentle swaying mimics the prenatal movement experienced in the womb, a comforting sensation for young infants. Using the product’s corresponding app, parents can control the motion (“slow swing for sleep, faster jiggles for upsets”) and even pre-set the apparatus with their precise preferences.

In addition to its magical, mechanized movements, SNOO is also equipped with fancy features to assure that baby—as well as mom and dad—sleep easy. Each bassinet comes equipped with SNOO sacks, swaddles that keep newborns securely snug and safely on their backs. Parents can also use the crib’s built-in white noise function to further calm a restless baby, and, in the near future, track baby’s sleeping patterns—“the number of naps he takes, how long it takes him to go to sleep, the amount of times he wakes during the night”—through the app.

Though SNOO—which is available for purchase on November 1—may cost a pretty penny ($1,160 to be exact), nothing is worth more than a good night’s sleep!

 [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxTSH93ttO8?rel=0&w=750&h=422]

Happiest Baby: Website | Facebook | Instagram 
via [Design Milk, Wareable]

All images via Happiest Baby.

Truth is often stranger than fiction, something John Awesome and Nydia Hernandez prove in their engagement photo shoot after it was crashed in the most hilarious way. The happy couple was having their portraits taken in Holy Jim Canyon in Southern California when they encountered some unexpected visitors. Considering they were in the wilderness, it’d be reasonable to see a four legged creature traipsing by, but no. Awesome, Hernandez, and their photographer Janet Wheeland instead came across a makeup-clad black metal band!

The four long-haired guys were Coldvoid, a local group in the midst of their own photo shoot inspired by the full moon. Wheeland spotted them from afar and had the great idea of posing Coldvoid with the engaged couple in one epic photo. “When you run into a black metal band in the woods during your engagement session you ask them to join in,” Wheeland reasoned to BuzzFeed.

The band was happy to oblige in this “completely random encounter” that resulted in one of the most delightfully bizarre engagement photos we’ve seen. Awesome and Hernandez look as though they’re blissfully in their own world while being surrounded by the eerie sword- and candle-stick-wielding men of Coldvoid. “It was a perfect, spontaneous finale. We couldn’t have planned it better.”

Here’s the engagement shoot sans Coldvoid:

Coldvoid got a mini photo session of their own:

Wheeland Photography: Website | Facebook
via [Buzzfeed, ABC News]

In an election that has seemingly dragged on forever—with some particularly nasty moments—it’s easy to forget just how far we’ve come as a country. Women, for instance, earned the right to vote 96 years ago on August 18, 1920, and there are still some ladies alive who were born before this time. Now, they’ve got the chance to cast their ballot for the first female candidate of a major political party.

Sarah Benor is the granddaughter of 98-year-old Estelle Shultz, who was born two years before the 19th Amendment was passed. She proudly marked her absentee ballot for Hillary Clinton and commemorated the moment by posing for a photo. Benor posted the picture on Facebook and described the importance of this event—countless women fought tirelessly so that this could one day happen.

The post received a great response and inspired other nonagenarian women to share their portraits and stories. Benor and a friend now collect them and share them through the website I Waited 96 Years! The significance of this occasion is not lost on any of these women. Although they come from different backgrounds and parts of the country, they are united in their excitement, pride, and joy. Gladys Hindes, 96, summed it up best: “I get goose pimples all over knowing that I can vote for a woman.”

Meet the other voters on I Waited 96 Years!

Above: Estelle Liebow Schultz, 98
Rockville, MD

Alice Siegel, 96
Pittsburgh, PA

Gladys Hindes, 96
East Lansing, MI

Molly Hirshfield, 99
Highland Beach, FL

Garvin Colburn, 96
Chattanooga, TN

Ruth Hyman, 95
Born shortly after the 19th Amendment: January 2, 1921

Helen Snook, 102
Saratoga, NY

Mary Scenna, 101
New York, NY

Geraldine “Jerry” Emmett, 102
Prescott, Arizona

Katherine Blood Hoffman, 102
Tallahassee, FL

Rose Rak, 95
Derby, Connecticut
“Even though I am not 96 yet, I think 95 years is long enough to wait.”

Sebastiana Barone, 96
Brooklyn, NY

Sylvia Schulman, 99
Oceanside, NY

Mary Sue Wilson, 101
Bakersville, NC

I Waited 96 Years! Website | Facebook
via [Hello Giggles]

Based in St. Petersburg, artist Vadim Stein boasts an extensive and eclectic background. Though he currently identifies as a photographer, videographer, sculptor, and stage designer, his past creative endeavors span graphic design, art restoration, and even acting. Each experience—though seemingly disparate—has influenced his contemporary projects, like his recent stunning series of dramatic dance portraits.

Stein’s career as a photographer began shortly after his time at The Theatre of Plastic Drama, a Kiev-based company where he worked as both an actor and a lighting designer. The Theatre of Plastic Drama is an avant-garde organization that presents pantomime-esque plays devoid of dialogue. Like dancers, the actors in such productions do not speak; instead, they must rely solely on corporeal movement and emotive music to communicate and express themselves. With comprehensive experience both on-stage and behind-the-scenes, Stein has undoubtedly incorporated his passion for movement in his photographic studies of dancers.

The powerful pictures present dynamic dancers in motion. Solid, unadorned backgrounds and a stark, black-and-white aesthetic set a dramatic stage and place all focus on the featured figures as they theatrically twist, bend, and contort themselves into seemingly impossible positions. Some subjects are photographed alone, while others pose in pairs and passionately interact with each other. Whether dressed in discreet undergarments or flowing, draped dresses, the dancers gracefully showcase the strength, skill, and flexibility required by their craft—no words needed.

Vadim Stein: Behance | 500px | Facebook
via [Fubiz]

All images via Vadim Stein.

With the help of two unlikely foster parents, 6-week-old Hans knows a thing or two about how to be a goat—and a dog. 

Hans and his St. Bernard mom and dad are cared for by Belgium-based student, Isolde—a green thumb who spends much of her time in her countryside garden with all of her farm animals. Isolde fosters a host of other animals at her home as well, including cows and chickens, but the bond between Hans and his furry mentors, Julie and Basiel, is something special. “He learns a lot from the dogs,” Isolde explains to The Dodo. ”They don’t bother the chickens so he doesn’t either. He loves sunbathing with the dogs, he loves going for walks with me and the dogs, but he likes napping with the dogs most.”

The tiny ball of energy was brought to Isolde’s farm when he was just four days old. His mother had passed away and his previous owner couldn’t bottle raise him, so Isolde happily took Hans in. Within no time, the goat was drinking well, playing with others, and he even learned how to use the cats’ litter box. Hans has also become an excellent climber—especially on the St. Bernards, who clean and cuddle the kid as if he was their own puppy.

You can follow all of the trio’s aww-worthy moments on Isolde’s Instagram account.

Isolde: Instagram
via [The Dodo]

All images via Isolde.