DIY Nails

     Since I've stopped paying tons of money every month to get my nails done at a salon, I've started being a little more creative doing them at home. I've been wearing a lot of really bright colors lately (I'm currently wearing Ogre-the-Top by OPI (part of Shrek collection). This is the next thing I'm going to try:

drips!

    I just got done trying out sparkle half-moons and this is what I got (sorry for the awful pictures, my camera refuses to focus):

One of these days I'm going to try a solid half moon so I'll post pictures after. I stumbled upon these nail designs that I'm in love with...How crazy are these nails done at WAH Nails in London?!

Andddd just for kicks:

Pretty Patterns

     I love wrapping gifts and making cards for friends and family. I just put together a special gift for one of my good friends and I can't wait to give it to her. Lately I've been really into japanese tape (check out this site) and patterned packaging tape. I've seen some packaging tape at JoAnn's, but it was about $5-6 dollars a roll! So expensive compared to the $.60 I paid for each of the two rolls I bought in the clearance at Michael's. They had about five different patterns, all of them super cute. Here's the gift I put together for my friend:

I had to blur out what it said or else she would know that it's for her & what it is!

Paper Heart Cards & Tea Parties

     I like making cards and books, etc., and lately I've been loving making these paper heart cards. I've made a few for my boyfriend, for gifts, friends; they're small but you still have plenty of room to decorate and write on the inside.

front, opened

inside, laid out flat

     I've also been thinking about having a tea party & i've started to make some invitations. I'm in the process of finding the right type of label maker and ordering some baker's twine like this: 

click for full size

I still have to add all of the event details but I'll post more pictures when I'm finished!

Stars & Stripes

     The last week has been crazy: between finishing up classes, moving home, unpacking, working a ton and getting together with family, I've had zero time. I hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day and is enjoying the beautiful weather. I'll be posting much more in the future and hopefully not so late at night!
     With the 4th of July coming up (I can't wait!), I made these Martha Stewart drink parasols for a barbeque with friends a few weeks ago. It's never too early to be patriotic and I wanted to try them out - they turned out to be adorable. All you have to do is print and cut out the umbrella designers here and tape them closed on the inside after cutting along the dotted line. To keep the umbrellas in place, just add a little hot glue around the skewer underneath the umbrella. It literally takes about 5 minutes tops. Enjoy!