Scotch Tape Nails - Diagonal White Tips

I'm becoming a big fan of Scotch-Tape nails. I also love big white tips, but wanted to incorporate a little variety. Instead of having my tips go straight across each nail, I thought I'd shape them diagonally.  Do you think this looks like a diagonal white tip, or just diagonal half-in-half nails? Leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

As I did last time, I waited one day before applying the scotch tape pieces. This way, there was no problem with the tape removing any of the first layer of nail polish. The green is Turquoise & Caicos by Essie. The white is White Tips by ORLY but I think the polish bottle may be getting old or something because the white was a bit thick and hard to spread.

This Turquoise & Caicos by Essie color really reminds me of the Re-Fresh Mint China Glaze I used in another Scotch Tape post. I guess when you like a certain color, you tend to use colors that look alike!

 

Cover nail w/ scotch tape & then paint

Paint base color first

Remove scotch tape

Final Result:

Google Friend Connect

Hello blogging world!

I want to send a thank you to http://www.fingerspolishmania.com/ for helping me figure out Google Friend Connect! Make sure you visit her blog- it's awesome and I love her nail art skills.

If you're reading this, please follow me on GFC- as you can see, I need help in the area of followers.  :)
I'm making sure to follow anyone who comments on my blog or follows me. I'd love for you to do the same.

The blogging world is still new to me but I'm really loving all the posts I see every day on the blogs I subscribe too. Nail blogging is a fun network of people!

Samosas for Dinner

I love samosas but realized that many people do not know what samosas are! Wikipedia does a great job describing them:  "A Samosa is a fried or baked pastry with a savory filling such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, lentils, ground lamb or chicken. The size, shape and consistency may vary, but many versions are triangular. Samosas are often accompanied by chutney. They are a popular appetizer or snack in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Southwest Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Mediterranean, and Africa."

I am the first to admit that I'm not much a chef. Forget making things from scratch- I'm proud of myself when any part of the stove is involved (even if that means just frying something pre-made). But I will say that when I cook, I put a lot of effort and love into it!

Putting together the shells and ingredients for samosas is a little too advanced for my cooking skills, so I just bought them pre-made in the frozen section at an Indian grocery store. If you want to try actually making your own samosas, you might follow this recipe.

To make this dinner:

I first poured oil into a pan and placed the samosas in pan. Once one side became brown, I just flipped them over to brown on the other side. I also cut slices of yellow squash, zucchini, and cucumber and fried them as well. I just added some papprika and pepper to spice them. I then boiled rice and mixed the vegetables in once the rice was done. The papprika mixed into the rice too. I also bought some plain parathas (bread-like; somewhat similar to the more popularly known naan.. but flatter and can be stuffed with the likes of potatoes and other ingredients) and placed them in the toaster. You may notice I did not make a chutney to go with it... maybe next time.

Results:

All in all, this was really yummy. This brand of frozen samosas was so, so, so delicious. I recommend it to anyone! If you've never had samosas before, and you know you enjoy empanadas, then you will like samosas too! If you've never tried either, I encourage you to try something new and let me know what you think.

Samosas Dinner

Hot Pink Flowers

I was given these hot pink flowers as a gift from a neighbor. How thoughtful! They look so beautiful and dainty in this little vase.

Orange Buttercream Cupcake

Orange Buttercream Cupcake home fragrance wax cubes by Better Homes and Gardens = delicious. But here's the thing....

Whoever invented the formula for this scent = genius. 

Whoever branded the fragrance title = super confused.

Seriously! This home fragrance smells sugary sweet and delicious. It's really enjoyable and the scent lingers the day after you use it. However, it doesn't smell like orange buttercream cupcake! It doesn't even smell like any of those things by themselves - I couldn't detect orange, buttercream, OR cupcake. I did seem to recognize the scent and finally figured out why. It smells exactly like Fruit Loops cereal! Has anyone else used this fragrance and thought the same thing? It's too funny!

Disney Princess Nails

Disney Princess Nails

I just tried nail art water decals for the first time. I found the water decals to be easier than the regular nail sticker decals. I was pretty surprised at how easily the water version transferred. To make this totally fun, I used Disney Princesses as the design! What can be better than Disney Princess water decals?

First, I cut out each Disney Princess into an individual square. Then, I placed the square decal into a warm cup of water. Once saturated, I took the decal out of the water. The princess then easily slipped right off of the paper backing onto my fingers. I first tried using a tweezer, but found it was easier to just use my fingers. Once the princess decal was removed from the wet paper, I just placed it onto my nail! Quick and easy.

I did find that applying a clear top coat of polish the next day actually messed up the princesses. It seemed to drag some of the color to make a smudged appearance. I'm not sure if maybe this was because the moisture plays a part in it all, but next time I use a water decal I'm not covering it with a clear coat.

This package included Belle, Ariel, Cinderella, Snow White, and Princess Tiana. (Where is Jasmine? Right?!) I'm in search for other characters I can use for more nail art!

Check out the awesome English on this packaging lol!

Cut each decal out

Place the decal into the water

Remove the decal once it is saturated

Slide the decal off the paper

Place decal onto nail

End Result of Disney Princess Nails!:

Snow White

Belle, Beauty & the Beast

Ariel, The Little Mermaid

Cinderella

Princess Tiana

Thank you, Readers!

My blog just hit 2,000 views! I know that's not a lot, especially in the nail blog world, but I'm still excited! Thank you to all of my readers for visiting! Thanks to my friends and family who visit regularly. I realize I'm also supposed to make connections within the blog world and share my links with other bloggers, but I haven't mastered that!

I always think it's interesting to see who else visits though! How do people out there in the world happen upon this blog? I thought I'd share some stats with you.

Did you know that my most popular blog post is about two lemon home fragrances?: http://tryitwithcarmella.blogspot.com/2012/04/fresh-lemon-lemon-lavender.html


My first attempt at water marbling nails is the 2nd most popular post:
http://tryitwithcarmella.blogspot.com/2012/04/water-marbled-nails.html


Blogspot also tells the blog owner what internet searches viewers typed in that led them to the blog. To me, that's the most interesting part! Can you believe that "DIY incense burner" has been the most searched term that led internet users to this blog?


I've also received most traffic from posting links on Facebook. I have received some views from Twitter and Pinterest, but those numbers are tiny compared to Facebook (so far!).


To date, most of my audience is from the USA. But I've also received many views from Russia! Other Try It With Carmella viewers have been reading from India, Canada, Germany, Greece, Romania, Singapore, and Australia.

Please continue to share my link with others. I hope to get a huge following and lots of interaction! Thanks again for visiting.  :)

PB & Dolce de Leche Chewy Fudge Brownies

I wanted to make some brownies but decided to try mixing things up! I used Chewy Fudge Brownie mix by Duncan Hines, but then mixed in Creamy Peanut Butter by Skippy and Sugar-Free Dolce De Leche Jell-O Pudding.


First, I simply followed the Duncan Hines directions to mix together the brownie mix and ingredients. Then, I took about 3 spoonfuls of Creamy peanut butter and added it to the mix. Tip: add more! I couldn't really even taste the peanut butter once the brownies were done.

Once the peanut butter and the brownie mix was mixed together, I placed it into the baking pan.

I also used one pudding-pack of Dolce de Leche by Jello. Dolce de Leche is one of my favorite flavors- EVER. I love dolce de leche ice-cream too! I first was introduced to the flavor by some special lemon-sugar dolce de leche cookies in Peru. I've been hooked ever since!

I first mixed up the pudding-pack so that the two layers were mixed together. Then, I just put the Dolce de Leche on top of the brownie mix, so that it served as a top layer. I swiveled the pudding over the top layer with a spoon in order to make a fun design, almost like marbling. Once I was happy with the appearance, I put the whole concoction in the oven!

Close-up marbling

I tried this fun combo and enjoyed it. I just wish I had used more PB! What weird combos have you tried to make baking more exciting?

Baked brownies 

Pink Fragipani Flowers

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! To start the summer off, I thought I'd post some tropical flowers. These beauties are named Fragipani.  :) You might know these flowers as Hawaiian Leis.

Coconut Leaves

Coconut Leaves home fragrance oil by Slatkin & Co. smells summery and fun. I was expecting the scent to be earthy and natural. I guess the word "leaves" in the name led me to believe that. Instead, I found it almost smells like a pina colada. For some reason, I'm not just smelling coconut here but also pineapple. Am I crazy? Maybe so, but I like that it smells like a tropical vacation.

Wild White Yard Flowers

Here are some flowers growing wild outside. I even included a simple dandelion because I captured a fun angle on camera.  Which white flower is your favorite here? Leave me a comment and let me know.

From above

Scotch Tape Nails with Upside-Down Triangles

1st Day Bottom Coat

A glance at the process in-action

My first attempt at Scotch Tape Nails went pretty well! I have to say that the photos are less forgiving than what the naked eye could see- I swear all the mistakes weren't nearly as visible in person as in some of these photos. I know the process of scotch tape nails may seem difficult but I promise that it was surprisingly easy and really didn't take much time at all.

First, I painted my nails with Re-Fresh Mint by China Glaze. I waited until the next day to paint the scotch tape design. I had heard that by waiting a day, you'll be able to use the scotch tape without removing any of the original nail polish color accidentally. For my Day Two design, I used Black Satin by Rimmel London and #49 by King Maxim Nails.

Scotch Tape Step 1: apply scotch tape to nails

To begin the scotch tape process, I just used small pieces of tape. I placed each piece down one at a time. By using two pieces of tape, I aimed to make a triangular shape. Every "triangle" wasn't exactly the same- the angles can be different, therefore making different triangles. I tried to make them pretty similar though.

Scotch Tape Step 2: paint 2nd polish color over tape

Scotch Tape Step 3: remove scotch tape from nail

Once the scotch tape was in place, I rubbed the tape to secure it to my nail. Then, I painted the nail polish over my nail, overlapping with the tape to make sure the triangle shape was filled to the lines with polish. I lifted the scotch tape off my nail almost immediately after painting on the new polish.

Within painting each triangle, I did the taping process one nail at a time. This way, there wasn't enough time for the new paint to dry onto the scotch tape and get stuck. Once I lifted the scotch tape off my nail, I placed in onto a paper towel so that I wouldn't make a mess. After every nail was done, I let them dry for a very long time before placing a clear top coat over the finished product.

Cool, right?


Final Results of Scotch Tape Nails with Upside-Down Triangles: