The Perfect Mani / Pedi

You can use this method for both manicures and pedicures; however, my pics are pedi only!

Prep: Remove all previous polish.  Soak your feet for 15 minutes in warm water.  Pat dry and gently push your cuticles back.  Trim, shape, and file nails.  

Supplies:

4 sided nail buffer (I used the Sally Hanson La Cross buffer found at drug stores, Walmart, etc.)

polish

top coat

Step 1: Buff your nails to remove ridges and create a smooth surface.

Gently buff over surface of nail with the coarsest side of nail buffer.  Make sure you don't press too hard - gentle to light pressure is best.

Repeat with all sides of buffer, working from coarse to fine grit.

Using the smoothest side of the buffer, gently go over entire nail surface.  This should bring a lovely shine to the nail.  Use a bit of water to remove the nail dust and particles, and to clean nail.  Repeat for all nails.

Step 2: Apply polish.

This is a super fabulous how-to from Lacquerized.

Use a base coat if you wish.  I used two coats of quick dry polish and my favourite topcoat, Seche Vite.  I love it because the nails stay wet-shiny and super smooth!  I love the fresh-from-the-salon wet look.

And now for the moment of truth (drumroll, please)...

Here are my toes, 5 weeks later:

Yep, some polish has chipped off.  There has been a lot of growth.  I definitely need a redo.  BUT, they are shiny and smooth!  Ha!

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Party How To: Single Serve Veggies & Dip

Step 1: Fill shot glasses with 1 tsp dip.

Step 2: Add thinly sliced veggies.

Step 3: Add to your party table!

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I Don't Have a Mantle to Decorate

Today is the final day of Creating Christmas!  It has been so fun to hook up with The Girl Creative - thanks, Diana!

In our old house, we had a lovely wood-burning fireplace.  I loved to roast marshmallows, curl up with a good book, and just watch the fire.  Plus it was super cosy!  And I loved the fact that I had a mantle to decorate at Christmas.  

I love checking out all the beautifully decorated Christmas mantles on blogs and Pinterest, but...  I have no mantle to decorate! I make up for it by decorating the tops of bookcases, dressers, china cabinets, etc. 

I simply swap out some of the everyday decor with Christmas balls and ornaments.  This is my grandmother's china cabinet that she gave us a few years ago.  The tall candlesticks, both red vases, clock, and black tealight holders are there year round, along with some other things I have removed until January rolls around again. 

I added a clear vase full of ornaments, a 3D silver star, and red Christmas balls on top of the black tealight holders.  I also added sheer burgundy ribbon around the tall candlesticks and a bottlebrush wreath to the cabinet door.  Now it is festive!

To this dresser, I added a bowl of Christmas balls with a few picks and a glittery ornament.  Even a couple hints of Christmas will add so much!

 
As we wrap up Creating Christmas week I hope that you have all been inspired to stop pinning and start creating! I’m excited to see what everyone has been working on. This Christmas Linky Party is no ordinary party. This is a blog hop. And what that means is that there are 18 FABULOUS bloggers that are hosting this party at their very own blog. Whether you add your project link here or at any of the other 17 co-hosts blogs, it will show up on one huge party list! Awesome! 

If you haven’t already, please take the time out to visit the other co-hosts and go through their Creating Christmas posts. There is some really neat projects! The Girl Creative, Que Linda Crafts, The Cottage Market, Love Lindsey, Domestic Mischief, Chicken Scratch, Love Sweet Love, Randee’s Organized Chaos, Musings of a Glamour Puss, Anastacia Knits, Southern Scraps, Modern Yet Old Fashioned, Broken Treasures, Alyssabeth’s, Domestic Deadline, Life on Walnut Street, 52 Mantels, The Glamorous Life

The Rules are SiMpLe:

• Add a link to a project that YOU have created!
• Visit the 2 links ahead of you and check out what they’ve got going on. Leave some comment love. Tis the season for giving after all. {wink wink}
• HAVE FUN AND BE INSPIRED!!

Lace Christmas Tree T-shirt Tutorial

It is Day 1 of Creating Christmas!

I was planning to do a green lace tree on a white shirt with red beads but when hubby went out to the store to get me a shirt, they were all out of the white type I wanted.  So he came back with a light pink shirt and a striped pink/white shirt.  Oh well!  Thanks anyway, Baby!  So instead of classic Christmas red, white, and green, I give you vintage Christmas in pink, ivory, and tan!

Supplies:

t-shirt

lace, ribbon, tulle, or other

thread

needle

sequins, beads, pearls, flat gems, etc. (if desired)

 Directions:

1.  Lay out the shirt to figure out where you want to put the lace tree.

 

2. Cut the first length of lace.  This will be the base of your tree, so make sure it is the longest piece.

3. Sew the first piece on, slightly angling it like a smile.  Add more pieces of lace, overlapping each piece as you go.  Each length should be slightly shorter than the last.  I used four different types: three laces and one metallic tulle.

4. Add rosettes near the neckline to be the tree topper.  To make the rosettes:  Knot the thread then sew a loose stitch along one edge of the lace.  Pull the thread to make the lace gather into ruffles and sew off the end with a knot when you have enough gathered lace to make your rosette.

 (You could also use a vintage brooch {which I almost did!}, buttons, or cut a star out of felt.)  Also, you could add beads, sequins, etc., to be the ornaments.  I was going to do this, but once the tree was made, I liked the simplicity of it as it was.

 I just can't get over how cute this is! 

DIY Floral Arrangement

Supplies:

Bowl/vase

Floral foam

Filler (flowers, sticks, etc.)

Something to cover the foam

Directions:

Step 1:  Fill your vessel with floral foam.  I just grabbed this bowl from the kitchen because (1) it was white, (2) modern lines, and (3) it was there!

Step 2:  Start inserting the main pieces.  I trimmed branches from one of my bushes outside last year and spray painted them white after they thoroughly dried out.

Step 3:  Once the main filler is all in, add in the special pieces.  I used two peacock feathers that I trimmed down to size.

These are cute glitter-covered gold branches that I cut apart into little sprays and added in all over.  They went in last as they were the shortest.

Step 4:  Cover up the floral foam with something cute!  Marbles, moss, fruit, pebbles... the possibilities are endless!

Here is the finished product!  (Yes, more decor for the bathroom!  I have to put something in there while the plans are coming into place!!)

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Lavender Vanilla Laundry Detergent

INGREDIENTS

1 bar organic lavender castile soap, grated

1 cup washing soda

1/2 cup borax

10 drops vanilla essential oil

DIRECTIONS

1. On the stove, place 4 cups hot water in large saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in grated soap.  

I used Dr. Bronner's Organic Magic Soap in Lavender. 

 

image source

2. Stir gently until soap has dissolved.  Remove from heat.  (Note: I used a wooden spoon but I should have used a plastic one.  The wooden one absorbs too much so it has now found a new home in the garbage can.)

  

3. Add washing soda and borax to soap-water mixture.  

Stir until powders have dissolved and there are no clumps left.  The texture is like medium thickness gravy.  Haha, not too watery and not so thick that it can stand alone.

Cool slightly, then blend in vanilla essential oil completely.  (I left mine to make some phone calls, and it had gelled a lot before I got back to it and left lots of clumps {see below}.  I added the essential oil, gently reheated it, and the mixture went back to the smooth texture shown in the picture above.)

4. Pour 3 gallons warm water into a clean, large plastic bucket.  Use a 5 gallon bucket if you have one.  I didn't so this 4 gallon storage bin is doing double duty for me!

Add soap mixture and mix thoroughly.  Fill to the top with water.  Cover and let sit for 24 hours. 

5. Fill your containers with your fabulous new laundry soap!  I like my clothes extra clean smelling, so I use 1/2 cup (top load washer) per load, or 1 cup per load for hubby's stinky work clothes.  I used to have to wash his work clothes twice but I haven't had to with this recipe.  Plus it has been gentle on my skin and I have noticed that I have less skin irritation with this detergent than with others.  Also, I was a bit apprehensive using this as I was unsure as to whether or not my whites would become dingy, but I am happy to report that they are still bright!

The soap may gel and clump a bit, so give it a good shake before pouring.  There still may be some clumps but they have always dissolved completely in the wash for me.

(Note: some recipes like this call for an extra dilution ratio of 2:1 which will result in 8-10 gallons of laundry soap.  I didn't want to dilute that much so I left my soap as is with 4 gallons, still a hefty amount!)

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