Splatter Nails - Vampire

 

Spatter Nails are totally fun and, yes, totally messy but I love them anyway! I did a new color combo that turned out to remind me of a Halloween theme.. or True Blood, Vampire Diaries, Twilight, etc! I didn't know what to name them but finally came around with Vampire Splatter Nails!

If you want to learn about How-To do splatter nails, click here for my instructions and photos.

Try It! Updates

It's been a while since I've posted any "fun" stats!

One piece of good news I have to share is that this blog was featured on The Beauty Blog Bunch - a blog that aims to help bloggers build their reader base. It's also like a directory of blogs. Check it out and let me know what you think!

One piece of not so good news is that my Google AdSense account was disabled about a month ago so I am unable to monetize the blog (which sort of gave me an excuse for all the time I spend on it lol!). I temporarily tried out some other options but they weren't worth it.

Since my last post with stats of most-read blog posts, my Disney Princess nails post shot up to the very top and continues to be the most read every day.

The most searched for topic that brings readers to this blog is "diy incense burner."

A vast majority of my readers are still from the US. Others are from: Russia, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Germany, Phillipines, Netherlands, and Poland!

Thanks for reading!

Sun & Sand

Woohoo! Sun & Sand by Yankee Candle is such a fun scent! I haven't used the fragrance wax yet, but I've been using the fragrance oil this week and it's great!! Now, I will say it does not linger the way that other scents do the day after. However, I don't mind simply because the fragrance is so good when lit. It truly smells like the beach. I can't place if I'm smelling the sun, the sand, sun tan lotion, or what- but the name is just very accurate. Stuck at home but want to be on the beach every day like I do? Then I really recommend this scent. Geez, this sounds like an ad. Can you tell I'm a fan of summer scents?!! The refreshing fragrance of summer is so relaxing!

Red & Purple Yard Flowers

Check out these beautiful red (and one purple) flowers. They are wild flowers growing in someone's yard. The red flowers almost remind me of the poppies in The Wizard of Oz.

 

Black Lace Flowered Nail Dress Strips by Kiss

Nail Dress Strips are pretty easy to apply. I cut the excess of the stickers off with a scissor very close to end of my nail before filing the rest off. I thought the Black Lace Flowered design looked sort of like fishnets.

I really love Nail Dress Strips by Kiss all because of my first Kiss Nail Dress Strips I did a few months ago. However, I must say that the Gold Jeweled strips were much different than these. The Gold stayed on my nails for 2 weeks without any sign of wearing away or tearing off. The material was very thick and the texture was 3D on my nails.

The Black Lace Flowered version came off in only a couple of days. By day two, several had completely peeled off. This was also very thin and did not have the thick texture of the gold. I hope to do the gold again soon so I can capture better photos than last time! The gold was so pretty, so durable, and received endless compliments.

Which one do you like better?

Organized Storage for the Home

I don't like "things" to be visible or disorganized. My last place had a huge closet with tons of shelves that I kept all of my towels, linens, and hygienic products in. I called it my "Walgreens" closet! However, the place I live now has a totally different layout, so I decided to get organized with some baskets.

Finding the right baskets was a total challenge. I went to many stores with my tape measure in hand. I took up many aisles spreading baskets out to see what different combos would work. After searching high and low, I finally found some perfect fits!


Spare room Storage:
Shelf One-
Two baskets for linens and towels (one for each category- linens on left, towels on right). Fun tip: rolling towels instead of folding them saves space!
Shelf Two-
Spare supplies and beauty products (light bulbs, heat pads, extra toothpaste/toothbrushes/deodorant, batteries, lotions)

Bathroom Storage:
4 mini baskets:
 one with all nail-related products
 one with all hair-related products
 one with medicines and first-aid products
 one with random other bathroom products
2 open threaded baskets (you can see one of the very top and one on the bottom hidden inside the cabinet doors):
 one holds spare toilet paper rolls
 one holds and hides unsightly hair ties/accessories/blow-dryer

Other products like spare bars of soap, mouth-wash, q-tips, etc are all stored beneath the sink.

Last Note:
This is not a storage tip, but something fun for the bathroom that I thought I'd add! This window is located inside my shower... and I felt a little funny about being able to see my neighbor's house while showering! I hope they couldn't see me since I'm short and only my head can reach the window- however, I still wanted added privacy. I found this great window sticker online made specifically for situations like this! It was an easy application- basically you cut the sticker to size,  then use water as your adhesive, then scrape out the excess water.. and then it's done! I love it! I love the privacy and also the cute design!

Nail Stamping???

Umm... so I just ordered my first nail stamper and plates... I read the tutorials... and- it's not working for me!
When I scrape the excess polish off the plate, it all comes off. If I scrape lighter, not enough comes off.
I basically wasn't able to get any of the stamp design onto my stamper.
Help please??

Illuminate Swatch

Sorry for the poor quality photos!! I had to use my phone for this post.

This is just a simple swatch of Illuminate by OPI.  I thought it was a glitzed-up brown; sort of neutral yet different at the same time. Do you like it?

Creamy Vanilla Candle

Sorry for the horrendous photos but I had to share how yummy this candle is! Creamy Vanilla by essentialhome smells like a cupcake delight.

Purple and Yellow Flowers

These purple and yellow flowers are real beauties. The colors just make me happy! Be sure to click these photos to enlarge them so you can really enjoy. :)

I've now hit 4,000 page views! Thanks, readers!

Mini Confetti Bundt Cakes

I decided to make mini-bundt cakes (can you tell I like minis better?)! But, I iced half of them upside down because I thought both views of the bundt cakes were neat. One looks almost like a cupcake, while the other looks like a traditional bundt cake! I used Confetti Cake mix by Duncan Hines along with vanilla icing and chocolate sprinkles. These are super sweet and I've been microwaving them before eating! Please forgive the photo quality, as I had to use my camera phone!

Why do fun shapes taste better? ;)

 

Nail Fail Times Two

So, this blog is about trying things out...but... sometimes those 'tries' don't go so well!  I figured I'd share my latest Nail Fails. They look like I asked a 5 year old to do my nails for me- o well!

My first bright idea was to use the 3-ring paper stickers to create a french manicure line. For some reason, the sticker part didn't really work and my lines were not clear at all. Nail polish went underneath the sticker and made my nails all messy! Does anyone have any tips for this? I've seen the technique used many times before and it usually looks so clean and nice. What did I do wrong with the sticker?

I also decided to paint inside the circle on one hand, just for a fun variation. And... it turned out looking horrible. At least I tried! Haha.

My second bright idea was simply a nail polish color I've had laying around in my pile for years. Well, it turned out to be clumpy and gross on my nails. Awesome..... LOL.

Two total nail fails. Oh well!

Another Fragrance Burner

I've posted pics of other fragrance burners in the past and explained how to use them (if they are new to you, check out that post!).  I bought another burner that I really like. It's fairly small and you can burn wax cubes and tarts or home fragrance oils. Do you like this better, or one of the previously posted burners?

4th of July Nails

The Fourth of July is just around the corner and being that I've never tried nails of this theme before, I tried it out! I've seen a lot of other cool ideas online for 4th of July nails too. I used blue painter's tape to make this design. What do you think?

My 4th of July Nails:

4th of July nails - awesome sky background!

4th of July nails- beach background to go with the theme!