Krista's Cookies With Character

I love this guy! So cute, and so tasty!!

Recently I was lucky enough to win a dozen cookies from Krista's Cookies With Character, and I was so pleased with them that I decided I absolutely had to share them with all of you! I wish I could have shared more than the pictures, because these cookies were AMAZING!

First off, I have to comment on the packaging. We all know how rough packages can be handled by the post office. However, Krista went above and beyond with these, doing her best to make sure the cookies all arrived damage-free. They were individually wrapped, then wrapped in bubble wrap and tissue paper inside a pretty white box. That box was wrapped with a pretty ribbon and topped off with her business card, which includes a shot of the guy to the right. So CUTE!

That box was then put into a brown cardboard box and stabilized with packing peanuts. I'm telling you, these cookies were babied, and they were all in perfect condition- not a chip on any of them!

How gorgeous are these??

I was so excited opening the box, moreso than I should have been, probably. But it's been a rough time for me lately, so the cookies definitely were a pick me up! I felt like I was getting a present! And what a gift... just look how gorgeous these were!

My family said they were simply too pretty to eat (before taking a big bite and moaning happily around it). The texture of the cookies was so nice- crisp, but tender, and so delicious!The frosting was the perfect sweetness, and not so hard that it would break your teeth.

Can you tell I really, really liked these? I'll let the rest of the photos speak for themselves...

What can I say, I'm speechless at the quality of her cookies. These photos don't do them justice. And when looking through Krista's Flickr stream, I found a couple of extra cookies I had to share... This penguin is too adorable to believe! I love the little heart hat, and the puffy mittens and pompom on her hat, and those rosy cheeks just KILL me! I would have a hard time eating this one...

Finally, I had to giggle when I saw this adorable Frankenstein's monster, mainly because he reminded me of my Frankencrackle mascot! Although now that I look back on my mascot, he looks much less cute and more angry. And... well, crackly! I doubt he'd be nearly as tasty as this guy either!

Bottom line, Krista's cookies are AMAZING! If you happen to need some delicious, home-baked cookies with gorgeous hand-decorated designs, you can't go wrong with these. If you get the chance, I urge you to try her cookies. And if you do, tell her I sent ya!

Blah blah was provided by the manufacturer for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Scrapbook Punch Nail Decals

This Studio G punch cost
$0.97 at WalMart!

I've done a post about this before, but I'm doing it again because I found the most adorable punch while walking! I love being able to customize my nail art, so the idea of punching decals from whatever polish combinations I choose makes me super happy. As you can see, it make four tiny little hearts with each punch!

I had to test it out as soon as I got home. Sure enough, it made absolutely adorable decals that are the perfect size for nails. Seriously, these things are adorable!

So- how would you go about making these? It's seriously simple. You need a few items to start with...

• The punch(es) of your choice
• Nail polish- can be nail art polish, colored, or clear
• Any other items for decorating the nail polish sheets:
• glitter
• nail art pens
• brushes or dotting tools
• Plastic zipper sandwich bags

I painted strips a bit wider than the punch.

It's a very simple process. First, you paint strips of your choice of nail polishes across the zipper bag. I'm using a small bag used for packaging jewelry, but lots of smooth plastics will work. Do a test spot first, though, to make sure the polish will come off once it's dried.

I find it helps to do two or three coats of polish, to make sure the resulting sheet is strong enough to hold together. This is a perfect opportunity to use cheap clear polish just to build up the thickness.

Also, this is a great time to play with wet marbling. On the bottom row, you can see where I experimented with marbling different colors together. You can also do stripes, dots, wavy lines... whatever you like!

The next step is the hardest for me- waiting. The polish needs to be completely dry before you remove it from the plastic, otherwise it can bunch and tear, wasting your polish and your time. You can give it a day to dry, or even a week or more. The longer you wait, the easier it is to remove from the plastic as well.

Eek! I'd been wiping the tip of my
skewer on my thumbnail while
marbling the bottom row. Sorry!

Once it's thoroughly dry, removal is a snap. I fold back the corner of the bag under the polish and sort of roll it away from the polish. The polish lifts away easily, leaving you with a sheet that's entirely polish.

The benefit of using these instead of nail stickers is that they're so easy to remove! Because they're nail polish, they meld into your background polish, and easily dissolve in nail polish remover.

Unfortunately, that's the same reason they can't be used as glitter in nail polish- they'll melt back into the liquid polish. Such a shame... =/

An interesting thing about the polish strips: I noticed that the various polishes have much different textures and qualities. I applied basically the same thickness of polish for all of the strips. However, they had very different textures once they were dry. The neon polish (middle of the top row) was very thin, had dried very quickly, and was very brittle. The glass fleck polish on the top right was flexible and sturdy, and the black on the bottom right seemed almost like latex- very pliable and sticking to itself easily.

It would seem that the brittle polishes wouldn't wear as well as the pliable ones. I'm not sure if that's the case... it would be interesting to experiment with!

Ah well, I digress. Back to the tutorial... the next thing is pretty much the last thing- punching the hearts. I find it much easier to use the punch upside down, because I can see exactly where I'm lining up the punch on the polish surface. This is especially useful when punching patterned polish strips.

Unfortunately, when you punch upside down, you often get little hearts everywhere. I found hearts in interesting places after doing this. It's amazing how those little things can fly!

Now I'll share some pic spam showing the finished results. It's really cute!! I'm thinking you could also use the leftover polish bits as well... trip them to fit your nail and apply them in a band. It's an idea!

Four marbled harts in a row. Black on red is striking!

Hearts, hearts everywhere!

Stored in a plastic bag, you can see the variety of hearts I made. What, me obsessive? Noooooo..... :D

So, the next thing to do is to use some of these in a manicure! Sounds like a plan, eh? But first, I've got another tutorial I shot last night to use for sponge painting your nails! I'm all about frugal...

Til next time!

Some polishes were provided for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

I'm So Excited- Tutorial Coming Soon!

I don't have any fun photos or anything for this post, but I just had to share this... Tonight, I found the cutest little scrapbooking tool that will be absolutely AMAZING for nail art! The best part? It's SUPER cheap! I'm so giddy I've already started...

Yea, I know, I'm nuts. But here I am, 3am and playing with my prototypes... and I woke my husband up with my squeeing! I'll have pictures soon...

Til then!

Sometimes I wonder how sane I am...

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Nontraditional Valentine Nails

I'm not all that into Valentine's day. I've never been a fan of pink, and I think people should tell their loved ones how they feel more often than once a year. I'd much rather get a bouquet of flowers to celebrate Thursday, or slow dance in the rain just because we can.

However, I know I'm probably in the minority there, so I figured I'd try some nail designs to celebrate all things hearts and flowers. Then there were these designs, which have the right colors but seem to be missing the hearts. (They're also missing skill, but hopefully you guys can forgive me for that...)

I fully intended to write down all the polishes I used for these, but ended up using WAY too many polishes while I was working. Seriously, my husband came in while I was painting, shook his head at seeing the bed covered in polish bottles and nails on skewers stuck in styrofoam to dry, and walked back out. He might have said something about me making a giant mess, or how stinky the polish was, or maybe how crazy I am.

It's ok, he knows how artists are. He's one too!

I have to admit, I'm really liking the dotted nail. Those colors really make me happy! Maybe pink isn't so bad...

Polishes may have been provided by manufacturers for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Nail Art with China Glaze Electropop Colors!

I know you're seeing swatch shots of the China Glaze Electropop polishes everywhere, so I thought I'd do something a bit different. These aren't the best photos (it's been so rainy here lately!), but this gives you an idea of some of the fun nail art you could do with these polishes!

I used Aquadelic, Sunshine Pop, and Dance Baby for these designs, plus a shimmery black for contrast. These polishes are surprisingly opaque except for Sunshine Pop, which is a pretty typical yellow in that it's streaky and somewhat of a pain to use. Still, it's very pretty and just a touch shimmery. Dance Baby is a cool-toned bubblegum pink. It reminds me of the Bazooka bubble gum that came with the cartoon in the wrapper. Aquadelic is an absolutely gorgeous Tiffany blue, vibrant and opaque.

Also? Boy am I out of practice! I've been too sick to do much nail art, and I can REALLY tell. I'm hoping I get back to somewhat skilled soon, because it's really frustrating to not even be able to use a dotting tool well!

Stay tuned- I've got Valentine's Day manicure designs coming up next!

Polishes were provided by the manufacturer for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Dr.'s Remedy Valentine's Delight

Dr.'s Remedy Valentine's Delight

Reds to Rock Your World

 

Romance rising: that's what February 14th is all about, indeed. This Valentine's Day, we dare you to take the shade of love to a whole new level, compliments of Dr.'s REMEDY Enriched Nail Polish. How to choose the hue de you? The sky's the limit (in terms of red); just reach for one of these red-hot tints to entice and ignite your inner flame. Your tips and toes will thank you, no doubt.



This Valentine's Day Delight collection of Dr.'s REMEDY Enriched Nail Polish red shades includes:



REVIVE Ruby Red: A shimmer-infused, Wizard of Oz-inspired shade of crimson

RESOLUTION Red Glitter: A red-meets-copper spin that's sequin-look-alike laden with high-shine and sparkle


RESCUE Red: A classic fire engine red

Dr.'s REMEDY Enriched Nail Polish is available for $17 online at www.remedynails.com.

Dr.'s REMEDY is a line of doctor-inspired cosmetics that is dedicated to using clean, hypoallergenic ingredients. The brain-child of two New York-based podiatrists, Dr. Adam Cirlincione and Dr. William Spielfogel, Dr.'s REMEDY proves quintessentially-perfect for any person looking to better the condition of her skin and nails. Dr.'s REMEDY is sold exclusively at www.remedynails.com or by calling 877-323-NAIL.

Press release provided by Dr.'s Remedy.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Boots and Cats!

I'm absolutely dying over this video. It's SO GOOD!

... and weird. But good! I don't even know what to say about it, other than... well... watch it!

Leather cat bee.

See my disclosure statement for more information.