My favorite tools and things

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and any other festive greetings that might be appropriate! I'm going to assume that some of you have received crafting goodies from the holiday gift exchange, which is awesome! However, sometimes you need additional tools, so I'm here to share my favorite tools with you!

Some of these aren't the exact tools I use, but they're similar enough that I feel comfortable sharing them with you. Also, these are all Amazon links, and I am an Amazon affiliate. So, if you buy something through these links, I will receive a small commission. This will not affect your price, but it will help fund my crazy crafting. :D

Let's break down what these are and what I use them for!




This dental pick set is super useful for my Cricut crafts. The sharp tips on the pointy pick are fantastic at getting into tiny spaces when you're trying to weed a piece. The handles are a bit small, however, so you could add a rubber pencil grip onto them to help make it a bit more comfortable.




The Cricut scoring stylus can be helpful. However, I think there are better ways to use it. Keep an eye on this blog, because I'll be sharing my scoring techniques soon!





This hole punch is amazing! I use it for all sorts of things, from making my own sequins and punchinella/honyeycomb ribbon to book binding to leather crafting to... well, just about anything you would want to put a hole in! It comes with 6 different hole sizes and is much, much stronger than your average office supply hole punch. I can't recommend this one enough!




Ok, I'm fairly sure you guys know what this one is. But if you haven't gotten your Cricut Explore Air 2, this is a pretty good time to get it. It is freaking amazing, so versatile, and ... well, I may be a bit obsessed with it. However, if you're wanting even more versatility...

...you could go with the Cricut Maker instead! And in all honesty, as amazing as the Explore Air 2 is, the Maker is just worlds apart a better, more versatile machine. Yes, it's more expensive, but I think it's definitely worth the extra cash!

Also, you can't go wrong with more mats. I have several, and I find having multiple mats really streamlines my work flow. I can load multiple mats at once, so I don't have to weed a cut immediately before starting another cut. Plus, you need different mats for different media, so it's good to have at least one of each kind.





This palette knife set is something I wasn't sure I'd use that much, but holy cow do I love it now! I originally bought it to help me remove cuts from my mats, but I use it for so many things now! They're perfect for mixing paint. If I'm making my own glazes they work for measuring powdered pigments as well as for mixing those too. They spread adhesives beautifully... they're just such a useful tool for so many scenarios! I can't recommend this one enough.

If you don't have a craft knife, I highly recommend getting one. They are very useful, and for more than just cutting things! I've used mine for weeding teeny tiny bits out, for separating the back from a particularly difficult sticker... and for many other things I can't really remember at the moment. They're useful. You need one!




I also absolutely love my dotting tools. They too are useful in a multitude of situations! They work well for putting dots of paint on either projects or your nails, they're decent for mixing things, and I just might have turned one into a scoring tool for my Explore Air 2! Again, keep an eye on this space, because there will be a video coming of my technique for that as well.





I know, this doesn't seem like a craft tool. But trust me! It's awesome! First off, it's fantastic at helping get glitter off of your skin. Regular tape works too, but a lint roller is just so much more convenient! It works for clearing gunk off your mats too, or for getting glitter and things off of your craft table. My favorite tip, though, is that in a pinch, you can pull a fresh sheet off and use it as transfer tape for your small vinyl cuts!

There are times when we need to cut things manually, and this steel square makes that a breeze! Line one edge up with your paper, and your perpendicular cuts will be a perfect 90° every time!

Also, a bonus tip:
When you're cutting, never use a plastic ruler as a straight edge!
A steel ruler gives you a better edge without the risk of cutting into your ruler. I won't lie, I've damaged my share of plastic rulers by thinking, "It'll be fine just this one." It never is. Don't even try it! :D

On the other hand, a plastic t square ruler like this is good for drawing perfectly perpendicular lines. But remember: This is not a cutting tool!

This tweezer set also seems like something you wouldn't assume is a crafting tool. However, as I seem to be saying a lot, these things are useful in so many situations! They're great to have on hand, to assist in placing small or delicate accents especially.






Yes, Fabri Tac is intended for use on fabrics. However, it's also good for anything that's a bit difficult to glue. I specifically bought mine for mounting card stock onto glitter paper- none of the glues I had on hand would work, so I went to the internet for answers. The overwhelming answer to "what glue works on glitter papers" was Fabri Tac, so I bought some and OMG I'm glad I did!

The other glue I find I can't do without is Alene's Tacky Glue. It works so nicely on so many surfaces. I hate the idea of running out, so I always keep a spare in my craft room!





And if you're brand new to crafting and want a set of Cricut tools all in one space, Amazon has you covered. You can get a basic set of tools, or a set of tools for sewing, a set for weeding, or a set specifically for vinyl!

Wow, that was a heck of a post to write! I feel like I wrote a book...

I hope this list can help you out. Obviously you don't need everything on this list, but I listed the tools I use almost daily, the ones I keep on my craft table at all times.

Have I missed any tools you can't do without? If so, share them in the comments... I'm a bit tool-obsessed, so help feed my need! :D

Until next time...

Happy Holidaze the Sixteenth- Holy crap, there's a lot of these! I mean, let's trim the tree!

I have a confession to make. Because of circumstances this year, I haven't decorated my home for the holidays at all. I haven't even put up a Christmas tree, which part of me misses but the most of me thinks, "Meh, it's more work using energy I just don't have. Save that energy for something I care about." So this tree is the only one I'm doing this year... good thing it's a cute one!

Woo! A Christmas tree, complete with entirely too many ornaments.
I'm not sure how I feel about this one, but hey... it's a tree, right? :D

I have to share a bit of the process with you as well. This thing was time consuming! I think it'd go faster if I had some appropriate nail stickers, perhaps some sparkly thread to replace the sequins I used to make garlands. But if you're not a fiddly person, this won't be the nail design for you. What's worse, I knew this would be a design I wanted to make an animation for to illustrate the process. But this thing was complex. I sat down and counted (thanks to the counting tool in Photoshop) and there are 82 layers in all, and the animation has even more frames* than that!

So, how do you make this monstrosity of a nail? Well, first you get a chicken...

I kid.

You will need some supplies if you're going to do a nail like this one. Keep in mind, you can substitute all sorts of things, and you don't actually need any of the extra stuff I used. I just used them because I thought they'd be fun. So... what all did I use?

You'll need:

• base coat
• a background color (I used a beige and a glitter topcoat)
• at least three greens (I mixed greens using my base green and other polishes to darken & lighten them)
• a gold polish for the star
• a flat star cutout sequin thing
• flat gold sequins or glitter for the garland
• nail gems for the ornaments
• quick-dry topcoat (a must for this sort of design!)

 
Christmas Tree Nail Art Process:

1. Apply base coat.
2. Apply your background polish. 2 coats is usually enough, but use your best judgment.
3. Optional: Apply a layer of glitter topcoat over the background color.
4. Paint the basic shape of the tree using your medium green polish.
5. Using your darker green, paint in some shadow lines on the tree shape.
6. Using the lighter green, paint in some highlights on the tree shape.
1. These shadows and highlights are just to add some texture to the background tree. They won't be terribly noticeable, but they still add a bit of interest to the background so it isn't so flat.
7. Using a small detail brush, paint a gold star with your gold polish. You can stop here if you like, or continue on.
8. Optional: Place a star cutout on top of the gold painted star to add dimension.
9. Add the garland.
1. Paint a strip of clear nail polish where the first string of garland will go. Use a dampened manicure stick (or whatever tool you prefer for applying stones and glitter) and apply individual glitter pieces along the garland line. Apply them one by one for the jeweled look I achieved.
2. You could use a striper polish instead and sprinkle microglitter over the wet stripe of polish for a fuzzier garland look.
10. Add your rhinestone ornaments.
1. Dab a spot of clear nail polish where you want the rhinestone to go.
2. Pick up the rhinestone with your tool of choice, then press it into the clear polish. Press slightly firmly so that the polish slightly indents and rises up around the sides of the stone, so that it will stay in place better.
3. Repeat with more stones til you've got the look you want.
4. Optional- you can leave off the rhinestones and simply use a dotting tool to add ornaments to your tree. Glitter polishes (or even sprinkled glitter) would look fantastic!
11. Seal the embellishments and nail art in with a quick-drying top coat such as Seche Vite or China Glaze Fast Forward.
    

Seems so simple on paper, doesn't it? Actually, it is simple, as long as you break it down into tiny steps. If you can glue on a rhinestone or paint a stripe, you can probably do this. You may want to leave out the hand-painted star, though... *grin* The rest is just figuring out where to put stuff.

Remember, if you try this, leave me a note, because I'd love to see it! Morgan from Pass the Polish Please did an absolutely adorable version of my Santa nails, and it totally made my day to see it! So definitely link me if you try one of my designs!

Now, I'm off to have a cup of hot cocoa and snuggle with the husband for the evening. Hope y'all have a great night!

*Not that this has any importance at all. I love doing the blog and making animations, and frankly I've had bigger, more complex files than this. I just find it amusing that this particular file took me so much time. Do people really read these footnotes? If you did, that means you're super awesome and I love you to bits! You should respond with a comment saying something silly, like maybe, "Wow, that's cool, but it'd be even more awesome with a squid ornament!" You know, something weird like that!

Nail gems, sequins, and star were provided by Viva la Nails for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Happy Holidaze the Fourteenth- It's a Kwanza day!

*koff*sniffle* Oh boy, it's still one of those days. Let's make things short and sweet today. When I asked people what holidays I should include art for, several of my friends suggested Kwanzaa. And since I'm not terribly familiar with it, I turned to the web to learn more about it.

The Official Kwanzaa Web Site has a lot of information about the holiday, and has a lot of interesting reading about it. For my art today, though, I stayed with a very simple look using the colors of Kwanzaa- black, red, and green.

This simple design is elegant and festive, and the sparkle in the polishes fit the festive nature of the season. I would have no problem wearing this design any day of the year!

Happy Holidaze the eleventh- All Buttoned Up!

Hiya! Wow, what a day... this has been one of those days that I just can't quite seem to get the hang of.  I've been sleepy all day (go figure), but I managed to accomplish some things, and then went for a drive tonight looking at Christmas lights with my family. That was a lot of fun, except that I don't quite understand some people's holiday decorations.

I mean, take Santa, for example. I understand having lots of decorative deer in your yard, or multiple snowmen. But why would you have seven Santas spread out over a half-acre lot? I just don't get it... it's like there's the Santa by the driveway, and the Santa by the front porch, and the Santa climbing a ladder and the Santa patting a reindeer, and finally the psychotic Santa behind the house chopping up the bad little boys and girls who didn't realize that when they said Santa is watching, they really meant Santa is watching, and he knows if you've been bad!

I know, I digress. But I really do think some people overdo for the holiday. We saw some homes that were so bright it was almost like daylight, with thousands and thousands of lights and animated decorations and just so much STUFF! It seems like overkill, but this is probably just me being a total Scrooge. But seriously- if you have more than one Santa, could you tell me why? What the reasoning is behind it, because I honestly don't get it!

All that babbling aside, here's today's nail art. I'm reminded of a red wool coat with pretty jet buttons up the front! This is (again) a very simple, very bold graphic look that really is easy to do. As you can tell from the graphic, it's a very quick look to put together.

1. Apply base coat.
2. Two coats of polish of choice- I chose red.
3. Apply a black stripe of polish with a thin brush. Let dry.
4. Apply a line of clear polish down the center of your nail. Then place the black stones in a line alongside the black stripe.
5. Apply a coat of Seche Vite to secure and protect everything.

So what do you think- is this a look you think you would wear? How would you change it?

The black rhinestones were provided by Viva la Nails for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Happy Holidaze the tenth- Checks, Please!

Whew, today has been one of those days that seems like it's 48 hours long, and I only got a few hours of sleep. I even ended up falling asleep in the waiting room at my son's doctor appointment! Talk about embarrassing...

So, this will be a short-n-sweet blog for short-n-sweet nails! (Or long nails, whatever, I'm not picky!) Today's nails are checked, using blue, green, and silver. It's very simple to do... paint your base color, then do diagonal stripes one way in one color, then the other in another color.

The process is really simple.

1. Apply base coat. Always, base coat.
2. Apply background polish color. This generally means 2 coats, minimum.
3. Paint evenly-spaced silver stripes diagonally across the nail.
4. Paint evenly-spaced green stripes diagonally in the opposite direction across the nail.
5. Apply top coat after stripes have had a few minutes to dry.

See? I like it, I think it's cute, but I'm not sure it looks finished, exactly. Maybe it needs something else on top- a few flowers, or something. Maybe a fleur de lis, since I'm in New Orleans Saints country? What do you think- would you leave it like this or add something to it? What would you add?

Happy Holidaze the ninth- A-stamping we will go!

Hiya, folks... today's art is a quick one because for some reason I am absolutely wiped out today! Maybe it has something to do with the fact I only slept 1 hour last night... ;)

This is a very simple project, yet beautiful and appropriate for just about anything! A deep blue background is set off by silver stamping. This is further accented by placing a swarovski crystal in the center of the ruffled-looking section. That's it, and it could be changed up easily by choosing any deep jewel-toned polish as a background.

See you tomorrow!!

Christmas Shopping With Layniefingers!

I can't believe how close we are to Christmas. This year has absolutely FLOWN by! Every year my dad asks me for a list of things I want, and so I've been browsing on the web. I've seen some cute things, both big and small. I figured I'd share some of the cute finds with you!

First off, I am absolutely NUTS about penguins!! Since I don't do so well with cold weather, I've been really digging the fleecy pajama pants. Target to the rescue! Look at this adorable set of Nick and Nora penguin pajamas! OMG, I could die happy in those. Or perhaps you're more into the footed pjs, in which case this set from Pajama City has you covered... totally covered! (ha ha, I crack myself up... totally covered!!)

Ok, maybe you aren't a pajamas kind of person. Maybe you like shiny things, in which case Dreams of Glass should be right your style. They make handmade lamp-worked jewelry that is absolutely stunning. I really, really like this pendant- the blues and purples sparkle in such an eye-catching way. It's pretty, but not over-the-top... it's totally me! Plus, it comes on a totally sweet 1.5mm Sterling Silver Box chain, so you don't have to worry about what to put it on.

Finally, there's the top of the list, the thing I want most but wouldn't really expect anyone to buy for me. Well, except maybe Bill Gates or some other uber-rich celebrity who wants to donate to the poor. *grin* I have had my heart set on a new Nikon DSLR for ages. Don't get me wrong, I would be totally happy with a D5000, which is still pretty expensive but OMG it shoots HD MOVIES!! But if I'm dreaming, why not dream big? Look at the D3X- it is a photographer's wet dream, $8000 worth of it. But omg, it would be so sweet...

So Bill, if you're watching, I've been a very good girl this year! If you wanna play Santa, you know where I am!

Happy Holidaze the eigth- punch out your nail art!

We're taking another break from my marathon session of decorating nail tips today so I can show you something I worked out over the last few days. I apologize- I don't have pretty nails to show you, because due to splitting and chipping I had to file my nails back to nubs. I consider it a fresh start, and I'm hoping that with the new nail strengthener I'm using I'll see some good growth soon.

All that blahblah aside, I have something fun to share, now that I've figured out the various bits. I've had it in the back of my mind for a while now that those tiny scrapbooking punches could make some adorable nail decals, if only I could figure out how. Well, as you can see in the photo to the right, I've figured it out and now I'm sharing it with you!

This is a scrapbooking punch.
Make sure yours is small enough to fit on a nail!

The first thing we need are some scrapbooking punches. These things used to be expensive, but now you can pick them up for next to nothing! The three I've grabbed this week were a dollar each- two were at Big Lots and one was found in a bin of sale punches at Michaels. Can't beat that, especially if you're a frugal person like me! I picked up a heart, a star, and a cute little swirly design, but I also saw a dog, a cat, a dragonfly, a hand, a sun... there really are a lot of designs you can find!

Then I had to figure out how to use a craft punch on liquid nail polish. Kind of a tough idea, yea? I tried painting it onto thin paper and punching that, but it was hard to get it to apply nicely to the nail afterward. Same thing happened with thin plastic. And yet... I remembered that nail polish pulls away from zipper sandwich bags nicely once it's dried thoroughly. So... if I were to paint it in a sheet...

That's just what I did. I painted a strip a bit wider than a nail onto some plastic I cut up for the occasion, then let it dry for a couple of days. I know, I smudged the heck out of it because I am incredibly klutzy. It's a miracle I manage to get my nails dried ever.

I also tried punching directly from the plastic, but that only worked partially, and it resulted in me patiently fiddling with tiny stars and hearts, removing the plastic backing from them so they would work on the nail more effectively. Oh, the things I do for nail art...

Once the strip had dried, I very carefully bent the edge of the plastic down away from the polished edge. I sort of pulled/rolled it down, so that it pulled away from the polish. Once I had enough polish free of the plastic, I was able to gently pull the strip free, and I was left with a sweet strip of pure polish.

I'm once again reminded that I haven't quite got the hang of photoing processes for the blog, because I have no pictures of me actually removing the strip of polish. All I have are photos of the dried strip on the plastic, and then pictures of the strip off the plastic.

This is because I am a minor fail. I am, however, decent with words, so I can at least partially describe the process for you. Hopefully it's enough. I will say that it really is important to let the strip dry for at least 24 hours, preferably 48. Otherwise, it hasn't had time to do its polishy-drying thing, and the chemical reactions involved with drying haven't finished. Once it's thoroughly dried, it's much easier to work with.

Once the polish is dried and peeled, you're left with... a very dodgy strip of nail polish. Well now, this is useful... right?

Actually it is. Even if you don't have punches, you could cut this into strips with your regular scissors, punch holes in it with your office hole punch, or cut shapes with your scissors or an xacto knife to apply to your nails.

We're going to use this strip in our punch. Remember, it's fragile, so be careful with it as you slide it into the punch slot. Practice with a sheet of paper to make your first few punches so you can get the feel of the device. Once you're comfortable with paper, you can move on to the polish strip.

I prefer to work with the punch upside down, so that I can see through the opening that I'm getting a solid shape without having pre-cut areas poke in. If you work with it right-side up, you may have problems getting the strip positioned correctly.

Once you've pressed the button and punched out a shape, this is what things look like. You've got a sweet pure-polish decal and a strip of polish with a heart cut out of it. It didn't occur to me until I was writing this that you could place your punch in the center of the strip then cut the strip of polish so that you've got a contrasting stripe in the punch color with the heart shape punched out.

You could then apply this strip onto a different nail as an accent nail, letting the heart stand out in your base polish. It's an idea I'll have to play with once I've got some more time. It would also work really well with nail tips.

And that's all there is to it! To use these, I painted my nails, topped them with a coat of Seche Vite, then let that dry for 5-10 minutes. It was dry to the touch then, so I positioned the heard where I wanted it, then pressed it down with my thumb and forefinger of my opposite hand. The polish in the decal stuck to the polish on my finger! Then I added another coat of Seche Vite to keep things in place, and there ya go- sweet nail art with super-crisp edges that's all polish! Removing this will be super-easy because there are no plastic bits to resist the polish remover!

I got five decals from this sheet, and I wasn't being terribly careful.
Imagine the possibilities!

I don't know if you can tell, but I'm super-excited about this. Imagine the possibilities- using a tiny hole punch to make polka dots! Making your own holographic nail accents! Paint marbled swirls for accents, or even strips with stripes and dots! I'm seriously giddy here.

So what do you think of these? Is this something you'd be interested in doing yourself? Would you be interested in buying decals like these, especially if you could choose the polish color yourself?

Hard Candy Beetle was provided by the manufacturer for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.