Free Stuff

No picture on this one.  Just free stuff.  SwagBucks is mainly a site where you rack up points for using their search engine.  When I need to look something up, why not earn a few points for it?  Not every search earns points, but every few searches gets me 5-20 points, which accumulate rather quickly and are easily redeemable for gift cards and other items.  There are also other things to do through this site that I have not explored yet, but if you do, you may get your prizes faster!  Please use this link below to sign up:

Link to SwagBucks

Enjoy!

Junk Nail 1

The concept of a junk nail was recently introduced to me by a co-worker whose ringer finger nail looked like a disco ball, while the rest of her nails were a much more subtle, solid color.  She explained to me that while it would be fun to have all disco nails, it would simply be too much, so she limits the fun to her "junk nail".  The ring finger is a good spot for a junk nail because it's big enough to handle some design unlike many pinky finger nails--and it is not predominantly used like the thumb, forefinger, and middle finger.  This not only makes the nail less obvious for professional situations, but also preserves the work you did on it. 

A few days later, another co-worker had the cutest flower design on her ring finger, as well as a nice glitter layer on half of her other non-junk nails.  Inspired by the two ladies, here is my first quick and easy experiment with the junk nail.  I love the blue glitter nail polish, but it's usually too obnoxious to wear--perfect for the junk nail!  I added a fine gold glitter layer over the bright purple to my pinky and thumb nails to complete my manicure.  

Since then, I have discovered the art of nail-stamping, so expect much more intricate junk nails in the future!

DIY Masquerade Mask

It's almost Mardi Gras time, which always reminds of parties, beads, and masks.  This mask that I made was for a masquerade ball, but I figured it was a good time to share it.  Sadly, I did not take pictures of the process, so here is a brief step-by-step.

-Supplies: blank face mask, Lace trim, Sequin trim, Ribbons, Paint--and any glitter, sequins, feathers you want!

-My mask came gold, but if your's doesn't, paint it a base color.

-Then get creative decorating!  I started off using a thick lace trim to border the top half of the mask.

-The lace trim was too thick for the bottom, so I switched to a thinner sequin trim.

-Outlined the eye holes with black paint.

-Made a rose out of sheer ribbon, using intruction found here

-Where I was going to attach the rose, I first pasted a couple strands of thin ribbon and some feathers flaring out to the upper side, then pasted the rose on top.  I curled the ribbon using the side of scissors.

-Let it dry and go out!