I am so hard on my hands at my job that this is my only chance for nails that won't crack and break!
I got my kit at Walgreens, on sale, so it was an awesome deal! It even comes with a color to start out with.
My first shellac!
I've definitely gotten better - it can be really tricky when you first start because you cannot get any on your cuticle/skin or there it will stay!
For your viewing pleasure...
tried doing just tips!
The current nail craze happening is well... crazy! People have no limits on what the can and will do to their nails!
What do you like?
The bare nail?
One classic color?
The accent nail?
Glitter mania?
Jewels and 3D art?
Crazy detailed designs?
Or do you give up and just bite them off? ; )
[Warning, this post is for the Type A's. But I've thrown in some photos to make it look prettier : ) ] I've been meaning to do this for oh...two years, but here I am doing it now! You're welcome. If you care. I still get nauseous when I think about the"average American wedding"cost. I thought we were awesome and incredibly amazing and only spent roughly $1,000 on our special day. But I went over the expenses today to really see what we spent. While it's about two times what I thought (I still don't like counting the rings as part of the "wedding"...) our whole wedding - with over 300 guests - was still under $3,000. I'd say I can still pat myself on the back! How did we do it, you ask? Necessity. We were are broke and in love. Our parents didn't have that "wedding fund" waiting for us. We didn't want to go into debt from our wedding. (Student loans are enough!)
So, we I sacrificed let go of some of my teenage wedding fantasies and did what was practical but still would make me happy. Such as getting a dress from China, making everything I could, choosing disposable tableware instead of renting, getting bulk flowers from Costco, and having a "potluck" style buffet.... can you imagine how much it would cost to feed over 300 people?!
Here it is, it's pretty rough still, but I always rounded up, so if anything things were less than what they say.
If you aren't familiar,don't admit it and watch this:
I saw this on Pinterest and decided I needed to make some art for above our bed. I had intentions on doing some painting to go along with the blue & brown theme that just happened. I was going to do these lyrics but then decided to cater it to my husband's taste.
Since I knew it was going to be a big piece of art and wanted to change the look of the room anyway, I took Husby to HD with me to get some paint samples. He, of coarse, chose red and black as the colors. Like I had to ask.
I googled some images and found a way black and red could work. Greyscale, baby. With red letters.
I had found some big "frames" (cardboard backing and hard plastic as the 'glass') that were a perfect size for a statement piece. That, plus the free paint samples = a FREE project that will fill my empty wall space!
So then I went to work when he was gone a couple days. Here are 10-ish steps on how I did it!
Step 1: Letters. I was able to use the Star Wars font so that eliminated hours of my trying to find a font I liked. I printed them on some peel off photo paper (in later photos) and cut them out.
Step 2: Figuring out a word layout you can live with !
Step 3: Begin making your mosaic ..line up those paint samples. (I had to cut mine in half to make squares, but if you find some square ones that will cut your work in half!)
Step 4: When you are satisfied with the mosaic, (gently) try the words again and see if you want to move anything around.)
Step 5: Do the same with the second piece. (sorry for the crooked photo...just tilt your head!)
Step 6: I used a glue stick for the first two rows then gave up. Tape saved the day. Double-sided would be best, but you got to work with what you got! Seriously, Step 6 sucks. I need a big table. My back hurt so bad!
Step 6 (cont...): I started at the bottom middle to keep it centered then did the rows from L to R, making sure my corners looked good.
Step 6.5: Have sing-a-long music handy and playing loud.
Step 7: When you are (finally!) finished, stand up, stretch, eat a cookie, and marvel at your awesome work. Make sure you get the words right where you want them and then...
Step 8: Peel & Stick! (Or tape or glue...just get those letters on the piece!) I used THIS. I love it.
Step 8.5: Admire your work then realize this did not come out all center and have perfect edges like you imagined...
Step 9: Get a real frame, or if you are ghetto crafty, like me, finish off your uneven frame with electrical tape!
Step 9.5: Run out of electrical tape just a few sides short! (Grrr.)
Step 9.6: After getting more electrical tape, make sure it's secure and stuff. If you are ghetto money-less like me, and you get your electrical tape from the Dollar Store you might have to help it stick to the cardboard...
Step 10: Admire the awesome and decide that this table cloth would be better as curtains than a backdrop.
Here's our wall BEFORE:
And here is too many angles of AFTER:
And if you are the type that needs a side by side and edited photo, your requested is granted:
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