Nail Polish Jewelry

I've seen this all over the place. I just never understood how to do it myself. Until now! Thanks to Sarah over at Chalkboard Nails! She wrote up this post about some Nail Polish Earrings that she made and she outlined not only how she did it, but where you bought her supplies from. I went and bought from the same supplier and did exactly as she said. And I'm soooo happy with how they turned out!

I bought enough to make 10 sets of earrings and then 10 silver necklace pendants and 10 brass necklace pendants.

Take a look at what I've made so far!

Revlon Whimsical & ChG Sea Spray

Sally Hansen Glass Slipper and dots of light pink, dark pink, coral, and lime green.

Sinful Colors Nail Junkie

 

Impala SPFW na mira 3d (I got this in a swap with Francini in Brazil)

 

Speciallita HITS Mari Moon - Artsy

(Such duochrome awesomeness! It reflects all of these colors!)

Then I went flakie crazy and put a layer of pretty much every one I own. Finished it off with black polish as the very last layer. This is Finger Paints Twisted, Asylum, and Big Universo - Espectral (also from the swap with Francini) You can see I was impatient with this one and glued the cabochon into the blank before the polish was completely dry. That's why there is some smudging of the polish along the bottom. :( That's ok because I'll still wear it proudly!

Now onto the earrings...

Wet n Wild Pure Ice - Cost Is No Issue

China Glaze White Crackle and For Audrey

Jessie's Girl Confetti (this flashes from blue to purple, but my picture does it no justice)

Finally I tried some stamping, because supposedly you can do that! It's much harder than I thought. I had a hard time getting the image to stamp clearly because the back of the cabochon is slightly concave. But I still like them!

I bought my supplies from CandyTiles.

More about → Nail Polish Jewelry

Baby Girl Owl Nursery

This is just a quick picture to show you the canvas I painted for a friend. She asked me to alter one that I did in Bentley's nursery seen here. She's soon to have a new granddaughter and the nursery is pink owls.

This is a much smaller canvas and it's more rectangular, but it looks just as cute!

More about → Baby Girl Owl Nursery

A Cupcake Nursery for Ellie

Remember me telling  you about a New DIY Design? I painted a cupcake picture frame for the co-worker that is having a baby girl in April. She's asked for my help in designing the nursery, so we're doing polka dot bedding with cupcake accents. (You can see the details of what bedding she picked in the other post)

So first of all, she bought a set of 3 canvases that I painted to be cupcakes in coordinating colors to the bedding. This is the 3 how they will hang on the wall. (I was inspired for the general idea for these by this listing on ebay)

 Close up looks at each individually.

 I have since added some white opal glitter to the icing scribble on top of this one. It added that extra sparkle!

Then I painted some blank wooden drawer knobs that she got at a home improvement store.
(Yes, I perched them in the top of a Kleenex tissue box for the photograph. Lol)
I painted them with acrylic paints and then wanted to seal them with a clear coat of varnish. I realized I was out of the kind that comes in a spray paint can.... so I used some Wet N Wild clear polish that I had sitting around for frankens. It worked great! I told her to keep me posted on how they hold up. If they tear up easy, I promised to repaint them! :)

Someone mentioned that I should open an Etsy shop to sell this type of stuff.... But I don't know if I can do that. What if people don't buy it and then my feelings got hurt!? Lol

More about → A Cupcake Nursery for Ellie

New DIY Design

I have another nursery to design! This time it's a friend of mine that is also a co-worker. I did her nails for her wedding last spring. Remember this is where I found the Perfect Match? Zebra Toes is one of the top 5 popular posts here on my blog! She chose the 2nd option while the bridesmaids chose the 1st option. I did everyone's pedicures and a few bridesmaids got solid pink. So now she's been married a while and expecting! So she asked me to help her out with the nursery after she saw what I did for Kimberly's nursery. :) I'm excited because she's having a girl! So that makes it new and different! 

She picked out this polka dot bedding and asked me where to go from there. 

   I love the bright colors!

I suggested we incorporate something else in the theme, so we had plenty to work with. She picked cupcakes! So we're going with bright colors, polka dots, and cupcakes!

She found a ceiling fan pull chain that is a cute cupcake, and she's repainting a dresser to match the crib she has. We're planning on replacing the drawer knobs with handpainted cupcake knobs! (painted by me). I also told her I can paint some cute cupcakes on canvases to hang on the wall. 

Then this is a small wooden picture frame that I painted to match. I even used some nail art techniques. Lol! I used Milani Red One Coat Glitter for the cherry's glitter.... then I attached some gems and rhinestones from my nail polish stash for extra glitz! I used acrylic paints for the rest of it. I sprayed it with a clear varnish spray paint to seal it.

I took the inspiration for this picture frame from this one on etsy. I want to give credit to the original.

I'll be sure to post more pictures as the nursery project continues!

More about → New DIY Design

Bentley's Nursery

I realized I never posted complete pictures of Bentley's nursery! Whoops! Sorry guys, I though I had already. I mentioned the way we painted the walls here. Now you get to see the rest of it!

This is the bedding set she picked from Target. So that was my color scheme. I really pushed owls, so she picked good!

 Here is how it looks on the crib that they have.

I did his name in wooden letters and corresponding scrapbook paper. Then we hung them along the decorative line painted on the wall.

 Its a crappy iPhone picture, sorry you can't see good details, but  half of the letters have patterned paper, and the others have solid colored paper.

I did his monogram with crayons (that matched the colors) similar to one I'd seen on Pinterest.

I found this lamp at Hobby Lobby and it's shade is the perfect green. The table was a glass topped side table that I glued bottlecaps (that I painted to match) on the top. I then encased them in resin.

This is my favorite piece! "Owl love you forever." I saw that quote on something and Kim already had a giant canvas with something she didn't like painted on it. So I repainted it with this owl and saying! Then I antiqued it a bit to age it. :)

I used scrapbooking papers to make the clock coordinate above the door. Then I also painted the trio of canvases above the changing table. 

Here's a closeup. I had found the image online with a set of 4 canvases. But it was in baby GIRL colors! So I had to adapt the idea to fit our colors. I really like the little cutie on the right who still has a piece of shell on his head. Lol

I love how it turned out and everyone else seems to like it too. I already have ideas on what to do when he's a toddler and thinks he's too old for birds. :)

More about → Bentley's Nursery

Candyland Baby Shower

I'm exhausted. But it's over and done with and everything went perfectly. These are the pictures I managed to take before many got there and I got distracted and busy! Most of the decorations I made myself from ideas I found around the internet. If you would like me to make a post about how I did something specifically, just leave a comment!

Theme: Babies are sweet as candy!

Colors: Blue, Red, Yellow, Green

Wreath for the door. I made this myself! Kimberly wasn't crazy about a wreath and has said she doesn't want one for the hospital door at delivery. Everyone else insisted that I had to do one anyway.... so I made one for the entrance of the baby shower.

Then, once the shower was over I deconstructed it to just this and it's now on my front door at home! My last name starts with a "B" so it fits that as well as the baby's name "Bentley." Lol.

I bought them these shirts from JellyBeanApparel Etsy shop. They are adorable. "The Belly" and "The Man Behind the Belly." Kimberly's bump isn't too noticeable from this angle, but she's definitely showing! Only a couple of months left! Bentley is due in early February.

I made her this corsage that I remembered to pin on her after I took the above picture. I took the idea for this from another etsy shop, but I said "No way! I can make that!"

I set up a "Candy Bar" or buffet. My singular goal was to send each and every child there home in a diabetic coma. ;) Mission accomplished. *insert evil laugh* I used candies in only the theme colors.

Table centerpieces. I found these gumball machines in my local Dollar Tree in the toy section. They easily can be taken apart into 4 pieces, so I then spray painted the dispenser part silver and the base and cap yellow, red, or blue. I bought the square silver trays from the Dollar Tree. Sugar Babies in the little boxes and construction paper with a scrapbooking circle punch. Since Micah (my brother in law) works at selling for M&M, the M&Ms to fit in the gumball machines were free! Each centerpiece cost me just a few dollars! (I had 10)

I was short 3 gumball centerpieces, so this is what I put on the others. Flowerpot, styrofoam ball, mini lollipops stuck in to make a bouquet. Crayons glued around the flowerpot. Those are more dots and Sugar Daddy's lying around it.



I ordered several different sizes of Chinese paper lanterns and wrapped them like giant candies with a huge roll of cellophane that my mother had. Bottom right you can see the traditional baby spoon and rolled up baby washcloth "lollipop." We had several of those lying around as well.

These are the other giant paper lantern "candies" that we suspended  on a curtain rod over the entrance into the kitchen. Adorable.

We held the shower at our affordable community center (yes, that's shuffleboard lines on the floor). Tables with color coordinated tablecloths. (Dollar General)

Food served buffet style. My mom cooked the meat and we had several friends chip in and help with sides. So we had plenty without needing to hire catering.

I saw the idea for these here. Super simple, and the link includes a tutorial.

We placed these by the coffee pot. Starbucks frappuccino bottles with new labels!

 I took the idea from this site.

Rubber Ducky Bath Punch. I took the idea and recipe directly from this site, but mine of course did not turn out so bubbly and cute. :(

My friend Sara (who's nails I featured here) decorates cakes as a hobby, so she offered to make the shower cake. Candy dots!

They got lots of presents. Many things that they really needed, and oh so many cute things!

This little guy stole the show! By far, the most badass baby shower gift I've ever seen. A friend bought Bentley his first pony! Lol. You press it's ear and it makes "clippity-clop" noises and "neighs" and wiggles it's tail! We were all suitable impressed and every little kid there wanted it desperately. It was awesome.

All in all, I'm thrilled it went so well and everyone enjoyed themselves. I am glad that it's over and I can quit  worrying about it. Now I just have to plan and throw the baby shower for her at work..... Jeez! Lol, at least that one is only for 20 people!

If you want specific instructions for something I did at the shower, just drop me a comment!

More about → Candyland Baby Shower

DIY - Personalized T-Shirt

I'm going to be an Aunt! That's right. I think I announced it on here earlier when talking about the nursery I decorated. My sister Kimberly is pregnant with her first child and is due in February! So we are all very excited because it will be the first grandchild in the family. So since the nursery is finished, now I'm focused on planning a baby shower. It'll be awesome, and I'll share details when it all said and done. I recently discovered a shirt that said "I'm the crazy aunt that everyone warned you about." I thought it was hilarious, but didn't want to drop $17 on a t-shirt. So I just adjusted it a bit and made it myself! I'll show you how.

You will need: 

1. A t-shirt - I used a plain white v-neck shirt that I already had.
2. A pen/pencil/marker - I used a sharpie (in hindsight it would've been better had I used just a pencil)
3. Fabric paint in a squeeze bottle with a fine point tip (I already had some in both black and red)

First off, a side note. My computer printer is acting strange and freezing up every time I go to print something. So I had to improvise. I'm sure there will be some to find this part humorous.

I couldn't print, so I just typed up my sentence in the font and sizing I liked. Then stretched the shirt over the monitor itself and used binder clips to hold it in place. Lol. 

Then trace the outline of the letters. I used a sharpie, but was very light so as to not bleed through onto my monitor itself!

Then you have a general outline and just need paint!

I then put a piece of cardboard inside the shirt before I started painting. Held it in place with binder clips again.  Squeeze tube the fabric paint following your traced letters.

Allow adequate time for the paint to dry before you undo the clips and hang up the shirt.

I know these cheesy shirts aren't for everyone, but I personally like it for something like this.

And I feel that the quote is totally accurate because I plan on being that crazy aunt! I'll use it to get away with all sorts of stuff.... ;)

More about → DIY - Personalized T-Shirt