Storage Ideas for Your Frugal Finds!

Welcome back! Did you enjoy my tale of rhinestone and stud shopping? I hope you've found some of your own as well, and that this post will help you store them sanely!

Don't do what I did- I put them into a single box which did me NO GOOD. Instead, I needed something that will let me sort my various stones and studs by size and color. But how to do this without spending a ton of money?

First I checked the crafts department of my local big box store. I found a cute little 6-well container for only $1, but I have WAY more than 6 colors and sizes to sort. This could get expensive, fast... I decided to look around for a better deal.

Since I'm not terribly fussy about things LOOKING a certain way, I headed over to the pharmacy department where I found this adorable little medication organizer for a whole 88 cents! You do the math- 6 sections for $1 or 14 sections for 88 cents... that's a no-brainer!

Unfortunately, I have even more things to sort, so I'd still have to spend several dollars to get things sorted the way I need. I decided to take my shopping online to eBay. Wouldn't you know, I found an amazing deal?

5 of these for less than $4? Sign me up, please!

The seller mokimay had a listing for a set of 5 empty nail art wheels with 12 wells each for around $3.72 and free shipping and tracking! Considering I'd need at least 2 of the pill boxes, this seemed like a total no-brainer. I haven't received my order yet, but I know it's shipped (the next day!) and I don't foresee any problems.

So, when in doubt, hold on to your debit card and check eBay before buying. You may find the perfect solution for less than you expected!

I love getting a good deal...

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Getting Nail Art Supplies on the Cheap!

Oh my goodness, it's JUNE!! How does this happen? I know, life happens, and all we can do is hang on and try to get done what needs doing. I've been failing on that front, but maybe I'm getting back into the swing of things?

On that note, I wanted to share a tip I've been using myself lately. I don't know if you've noticed, but rhinestones can be freaking expensive! Heaven help you if you want more than one color, or more than one size, or studs or something. You do have the option of going to a store like Dollar Nail Art, but you're gonna have a $25 minimum order plus shipping costs. What if you don't want to do that, or don't have an extra $30 to spend on nail art?

Honey, have I got you covered. Don't just look for nail art supplies in the cosmetics section. I often dig through the clearance department in both big box stores like WalMart and Target, as well as clearance at hobby stores like Michael's and JoAnns. Recently, I was rewarded by finding a big selection of clothing customization kits from a brand called Next Style.

I found several iron-on rhinestone & stud designs that included multiple colors and sizes of studs and stones. At a whopping $1 each, I wasn't breaking the bank and wound up with an amazing amount of goodies for nail art!

Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking too clearly and wound up putting all the stones into a single container, with all the studs into a separate container. This didn't do me a whole lot of good, because now I've got this jar of sparklies but I can't tell how many of each one I have. What to do??

You'll have to check back for the next post to see how I solved that particular problem. I've also got some hints for storage on the cheap, so check back soon!

No one sponsored this post, unfortunately. Ah well, such is life.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Lancôme Aquatic Summer Summer 2013 Color Collection

Holy cow, have you seen the new Lancôme polish collection? I am absolutely DROOLING, because these colors are calling my name. I'm such a sucker for cool beachy brights!

 The press release explains them like this:

Plunge into a turquoise pool. Jump off a yacht into the deep azure of the Mediterranean. Lancôme’s Aquatic Summer Collection transports you to the warm climates and refreshing seas of the world's most luxe destinations. Embrace the season and dive into an aquatic summer with Lancôme.

Vernis in Love in Simply Aqua, Ultramarine Green, Aqua Bleu and Plunge Pool, $15 –These new limited-edition shades of Lancôme’s iconic polish brighten up your nails with brilliant turquoise and azure tones.

They look to me creme colors, and that green is just delectable! Tell me, which one do you like best?

Information was provided by the brand for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Do you ever have one of those days?

This has been quite a day so far, at least the bits I remember. I have a strange sleeping schedule lately... and this last time I slept a whole 37 hours at a stretch. You have no idea how exhausting doing something for 37 hours is.

I don't want to do ANYTHING for 37 continuous hours. Let's just leave it at that.

When I finally dragged myself to consciousness, I was in the foulest mood. Everything made me angry- my husband, my socks, the air blowing on me (or not blowing on me)... everything SUCKED.

So, I did what I often do in this situation- I turned to one of my favorite musicians. You may or may not be aware of this, but Jack Conte is one of the most perfect specimens of musician I've ever encountered. Versatile, talented, and holy CRAP the music is good.

So, as I change my mood and eat (because dude, nothing by mouth for 37 hours leaves you RAVENOUS) enjoy some of my favorite Jack Conte music. You're welcome. :D


This song is like... sex. Just literally, sex.


Love this one. So violent, so cathartic.


Love. This one... *sigh* yea.


Have I mentioned how much I adore his harmonies? This one... *sighs* Yea.


Oh yes, those harmonies... :D *swooooon*

Blah. Just BLAH.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

I'm Alive... ALIVE!!!

This is an experiment for false nails.
Fun, but labor-intensive. It shows
promise, though!!

Wow. Are you sitting down? You may not be ready for this... but...

I'm alive. And CREATIVE!

I know, I know... it's crazy! But I'm finally starting to feel a bit more human, and with that has come an absolute explosion of creativity. So, while I'm working on a new video (yea, the one I teased like 4 years ago...) I thought I'd share these fun pics!

This first one is a technique I'm playing with. I haven't seen it anywhere, and I know why- it's a pain in the tush! But it's showing some massive potential, so I'm playing with it.

At the base of all this? Magazine pictures. Seriously... more info to come if I can figure out a good process for it.

Yet another gradient technique!

I've been having a lot of fun playing with gradient techniques. I've basically decided that no one technique is right for everyone and every situation. So, I've been playing around, and I'm planning to do a series of videos using different methods for creating different color transitions. This one is simple, but I'm not sure this is the best polish for it.

Still, it's a lot of fun. I used a couple of polishes from Zoya's Irresistible collection that is out for summer 2013. (Expect a review of these polishes, they are PHENOMENAL!!) I'll play with this technique a bit more and see if I can figure it out enough to share with other people.

Another attempt at the magazine technique, and I'm in LOVE!

Finally,  I wanted to share this second nail I did tonight using the magazine technique. I used some polishes from Zoya's Summer Pixie Dust collection to add a bit of glam and bling, and I find this just so delicious! (Again, showcase of the polishes coming soon...)

Granted, it needs a bit more work and these wouldn't work at ALL for natural nails, this is a very intriguing look for me. I can totally see wearing these for a special night out, and I'm really having fun looking at my magazines picking out images!

Check this detail shot out...

The golden and orangey tones of Solange and Beatrix make this look almost gilded! There's also a definite depth
to the nail that is fascinating to me.

Also, keep in mind that these photos were taken at 4am in really cruddy light. I can't wait to share these with something decent. I was just so excited to have actual CONTENT again!

Thanks for keeping up with me while I've dealt with all this. I love you guys!

Polishes were provided by Zoya for evaluation.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

My body is falling apart. But I'm not dead yet!

Have you ever had one of those days? You know the kind I mean- a day where absolutely everything goes wrong. You oversleep, stub your toe twice on the same thing, you drop your cell phone in the toilet and then your glasses when you go to retrieve it, the bread is moldy and your hair won't do anything presentable and it seems like everything you'd like to wear is dirty or lost?

The last four months have been like that for me. I'm serious- I have been sick for almost the entire last four months, with only an occasional day of almost-normality. I have had multiple stomach viruses, a chest cold, strange rashes, multiple ER visits, laryngitis... and just about the time I think I'm over one, another one pops up just in time to put me to bed for another week. I don't mean to complain, but seriously- four months of being sick gets tiring.

Oh yea, insomnia. I've become well acquainted with 4am, and am fairly used to sleeping every third day or so. Unless I've had to go to the doctor or something- then I sleep for 24-36 hours. Sleeping for that long without drinking or eating anything causes interesting results. Yep, how does my body react to that? I throw up.

But hey, I've lost 50 pounds, so that's good, right? :D

I have just about decided that my body is a lemon, but I can't seem to find anyone to contact about it. I'd love to get a trade-in, but so far I've had no luck. So I promise, I'm still here and still have tons of ideas, I've just got a body that refuses to cooperate. I've been in this situation before, and I promise I'll be back. I just have to weather this... this span of ill health.

At least I haven't been in the hospital yet, knock on wood!

Is there someone I can call to get a trade-in body? This one's busted.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

My husband is the most awesomest husband ever!!

Ok, I absolutely had to share this. You may or may not know that I have been sick basically since the beginning of the year. Between emergency room visits and stomach viruses, coughs and fevers, 2013 has basically been a massive pain in my butt so far.

So this evening, my husband comes into the bedroom, where I've spent the day thanks to the cold or flu I'm struggling with. He tells me I've not been taking care of myself the way I should, and then he tells me it's time for an intervention... and he brings out THIS!!

That's right... my husband brought me a chocolate Easter bunny that's also a storm trooper, that was also on sale!! This man knows the way to my heart... Maybe I'll keep him around for another 20 years. :D

STORM TROOPER BUNNY!!!

See my disclosure statement for more information.