Fun and Mental Changes

So, I was looking for SOMETHING to give to my sister for her bridal shower coming up this weekend, and you know how it is when you just can't seem to find the perfect thing... especially for the girl who has everything. Well, what about a mini album so she can compile her shower photos? BRILLIANT if I do say so myself! And she DOES love to create... it's the artist in us both. Yep, mini album it is! So a few days ago I was stalking the sites (as I sometimes do) and ran across this little gem at The Greeting Farm: I don't know who created this masterpiece, but the postmarks and the monochromatic "aged" look was PERFECT for my sister... and I happen to have the PERFECT set of stamps from 7 Gypsies that featured Italian images and postmarks! YAY! Knowing that Italian is right up her alley, I was all over it!!! I bound 4 pages and matted the pages with complimentary papers from Graphic 45 and 7 Gypsies (you KNOW how I love them) and left it at that. I might throw in...

Ok... here we go! Here are the pix for the goodies that one lucky follower is going to win on May 7th!!! So exciting!!! To enter the drawing, click on this link: HERE . I will be posting the results of my test run with the Nail Aid Ultra Rapid Growth next week. I put 2 coats on tonight and will follow up with a coat every night for three days and then I'll remove it and start over. I'm supposed to have longer stronger nails in 5 days... we'll see!!! Honestly, with the AWESOME experiences I've already had with Nail Aid's products, I'm pretty confident that this will do everything it says it'll do. But to make sure, I took before pics. The Ultra Rapid Grow and the Maximum Iron Hardener (also by Nail Aid) are both new products that are available at Walmart. The lucky winner on May 7th gets a bottle of each! :) Two items in the prize haul didn't make it into the pics: the Seche Vite Topcoat and the Soaptopia Double Bubble 2-Soap Gift Box. The Seche Vite hasn...

IT IS ON! Ok... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! I get to give stuff away! And not just ANY stuff.... MY FAVORITE STUFF!!!! Well, not ALL my favorite stuff, but certainly my favorites for at least ONE of my obsessions: NAILS!!! Maybe next year for my birthday I will be giving away craft supplies and exercise equipment... that would be AWESOME!!! But, this year's birthday give-away is HUGE with my favorite nail and beauty products and is open to ALL my followers. You guys are the best and deserve the best, so here is what ONE lucky winner is going to score: The Prize Haul: Konad Nail Art Stamping Set - Coraline I (I am addicted to Konad and I LOVE this set) Konad Nail art image disc - M63 (A little something extra from Kathleen... thank you) Fragrance Oil Set, types: China Rain, White Linen, Obsession (I love these for my relaxing baths) Nail Aid Nail Treatment Set including: Pink Natural Growth Therapy, Instant Wrap, Clear Liquid Bandage, Cuticle Cure, Peeling Nail Intense Repai...

I am SOOOO freakin excited!!! This month is my birthday month and next week I will be kicking off ANOTHER give-away. That's right, I'm stretchin, but I get to give away the presents which is a birthday gift all its own! And this one is SOOOO worth it because it's all my favorite stuff! Check out the prize haul: So far I have a Konad Coraline Nail Stamping Set generously donated by OC Nail Art along with one of my NEWEST favorite Konad image plates, #M63. Truth be told, they are all my favorites... but don't tell my husband!!! ;) Whoops! I got side-tracked... ON TOP OF THAT, I also have a collection of fragrance oils that I love to add to my bath water. ON TOP OF THAT, I have A TON of Nail Aid products that was another generous donation by Nail Aid . Not only did they donate EVERY ONE of my favorite nail treatments, they also donated two products that are newly available at Walmart that I haven't even tried yet... that's like 7 different Nail Aid products!!! Oh,...

Wow... this economy is crazy isn't it? We are cutting corners at every angle. Fortunately for the crafter (like me!), this is an opportunity to SHINE!!! You'd be amazed at the wonderful projects you can find on the internet . From using newspapers to line trash receptacles to handmade paper gift bows, there's an unending wealth of budget savvy gems to make that dollar go further. Here's the paper bow that I made in a pinch! A while back I had a baby shower to attend (I'll show you all the cute card I made for it in tomorrow's post) and after shopping for the gift, a package of diapers and wrapping paper I ended up in the aisle where the coordinating bows were prettily displayed. It was an ocean of beauty that morphed quickly when I checked out the not-so-pretty price tags. FIVE BUCKS FOR A BOW???? Nope! That is where I drew the line. Not only could I make a hand made bow for PENNIES, but I could also make a NICER bow for PENNIES. I'm talking the kind of b...

Well, I got a special request from someone to post how I made my wonderful sparkly ornaments. So here you go folks, it's a snap. I'll start with the pictured items you'll need for this project (click on pictures to enlarge). Pledge Floor Finish with Future Shine Craft Glass Ornaments Fine Glitter Mod Podge (optional) Hot Glue w/Gun (optional) Embellishments (optional) Funnel (not pictured) Bowl for trash/excess liquid (not pictured) Carefully remove the metal top from the ornament. Don't pull too quickly or roughly as you can chip the glass. Squeeze about a tablespoon of the Pledge Floor Finish inside the ornament, cover the top with your thumb and gently shake until the entire inside of the globe has been covered with the floor finish. Empty excess floor finish into trash bowl. Place the funnel in the top of the ornament and pour another tablespoon of glitter into the ornament. Cover with your thumb again and shake until the entire inside of the ornament is covered in ...

This special gift took minutes to make and is a wonderful presentation for any special person on your gift list. The glass bowl, the cellophane, the ribbon and even the candy came from the dollar store. I simply spent 10 minutes stamping the side of the bowl with these precious candy canes. You can find these candy canes at THIS Konad nail art stamping retailer on image plate M12 (the Christmas plate). I could have done these in red or gold... even green. That's the beauty of using this nail art stamp on your nails.... you can change things up over and over. Heck, that's the beauty of using this nail art stamping set on ANYTHING!!!! So now, not only can you use the Konad nail stamping for your nails, but you can also use it for your craft projects too.... those mini details add the perfect touch to so many projects (click on the pic on the right to enlarge see the detail)! For more information on the different types of nail art kits that are available (my recommendations and p...

I went to OC Nail Art yesterday to place an order. It donned on me that with Christmas coming up, there are going to be a lot of people in search of the perfect stocking stuffer. Last year my gift giving idea was to personalize... well, anything... for that special someone with embroidery from Artic Fox Designs . I had my Bible cover embroidered and it was AMAZING... you can check it out HERE . This year my gift idea is (you'll never guess) REUSABLE NAIL ART KITS! Now before I go plugging this WONDERFUL product, I just want to say that Konad, the maker of these awesome kits , does not pay me. The retailer OC Nail Art does not pay me either, but for now there is a 30% discount to anyone and everyone who uses the discount code " MENTAL " at checkout, so really YOU ALL are getting paid for my blog post today.... hahahahahahahha! Right now might be a great time to pick up a nail art kit or two for a special someone. Ok, now the plug... just cuz I love them! Note: the prices t...

Yep... just another one of the terms of endearment that my husband uses to describe me... what can I say, I love candles! As a matter of fact he doesn't just leave it at that, he adds (when telling people about my love for candles) that the house goes up 40 degrees when I light them. Whatever! He loves my candles and the warmth they give during the winter months is magical. Candles really ARE magical! They are associated with granting wishes. Whether we burn candles while petitioning God or blowing out the candles on our birthday cake... those candles symbolize our prayers going to heaven. Yah, I'd say that's pretty magical! So today I'm going to share some of the magic with a little craft project that I made a while ago. The pillar candle that I used is a PartyLite pillar candle. PartyLite is my candle of choice because they burn so cleanly and because the melted wax doesn't burn the skin... LOVE THEM! I also used some sale items I got at my local craft store. I pi...

I am not the person ANYONE would describe as "green", however, I am trying to get there. I've started with small changes like recycling plastic and paper trash, using reusable cloth bags to haul groceries home and observing Earth Day by shutting off all my lights and electronics that use electricity... all to help this planet. And while I'm not as amazing as the couple that reduced their trash to nothing for one full year, the small changes that I have made a part of day to day life gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling that I'm doing my part! :) So, recycling wasn't too terribly difficult to create into a habit since the city I live in provides me with a recycling dumpster to fill that gets picked up once a week. Had that not been the case, that "green" change might have taken me a little longer to perfect. Earth Day: Just a super fun hour of peace, quiet and candle light! The cloth bags have been another animal all together. I found the most AMAZIN...

I have never really thought of myself as a movie or dvd collector until one day I woke up and had over 250 movies (in their cases) that needed a home. Those dvds sure do take up a lot of space! Well, because I'm always looking for ways to utilize verticle space (meaning that I love to put everything up on walls) I decided that it was time to invest in a dvd storage tower. "How many does the tower hold?" I couldn't find a single one that held more than 200 dvds and I certainly didn't want to line my walls with dvd towers. Enter the Discgear Auto Select 100! This little baby is somethin!!! It's about as big as a loaf of bread and holds 100 dvds. Each dvd is assigned a number that corresponds to the 'on board' catalog so you can always find what you are looking for in seconds. This magical invention has saved me so much time and so much space... I now own 8 that organizes all my computer programs, music cds, audio books and of course... movies! Oh, but w...

Thank you Nalamom! Your pen bouquet turned out AMAZING!!! It made my heart swell to see that someone read my Thief post and was inspired! And when I say inspired.... WOW! This bouquet is way better than the one I did. Now I'm inspired to do a spring bouquet. So basically what I'm saying is, I'm stealin this one too... hahahaha. You got the flowers from Michaels you said? Well folks, I guess I gotta run to Michaels! But I wanted to take a second to show everyone Nalamom's handy work. This is absolutely beautiful. Nalamom: "It will just be nice to know where I can get a pen!" Fittertwit: "And it's beautiful too! You're so crafty!" Nalamom: "Na-uh!" **To purchase a custom ordered Flower Pen Bouquet for a friend, loved one, or just yourself (to open your chi..hahaha) feel free to visit Fittertwit Made by Hand Crafts Store. Nalamom and I would LOVE to get a bouquet out to you! OOO, just in time for Mother's Day! :) Resource Sponsor...

Wow... I haven't done a nail care post in quite some time! Mainly because I've been working to get a garden up and running and because of that, I've kept my nails super short. I miss them! But after having a conversation with a girl friend who developed a suspicious fungal infection after a manicure, I decided I needed to share a brilliant discovery I found a couple of years ago. Ever have the concern that a nail technician hasn't REALLY cleaned their implements? Would you like to do professional-like manicures at home but don't have the tools? I found the "cutest" little kit to fix both! It's called the Cutie Kit ! This little kit is perfect for having the right tools at home as well as compact enough to travel with you to your nail salon. The kit comes with professional nippers, cuticle pusher, clipper, buffer, file, brush, pumice sponge and toe separators. The best part is that you can be sure that your personal implements have not been used on anyo...

Ok , yes, I'm a thief. But look how cute this is! I couldn't resist. Actually, what you see in the pic is what I made after going to the public library and asking to borrow a pen. It wasn't until this horrible red flower (I swear it was the size of one of my throw pillows) was placed in my hand that I noticed someone actually took the time to wrap the ugly thing with green tape to make the stem. Huh, pretty! While this horribly gaudy pen was meant to be that way so that no one would WANT to steal it... what would it look like if made to be pretty and match the decor of your home? And it would serve the same purpose: to keep the pens in their place. I mean, that would be an awesome house warming gift too! This little gem guarantees that I NEVER have to go in search of a pen again!!! I totally stole the idea! Pen Bouquet What I got from the dollar store: Retractable pens (refillable kind) Brown mini pot that matched my decor Pretty silk flowers (with thin wire stems) Dry be...

Well, today is my birthday! Yay me! And like most every birthday, my husband spends the day in the kitchen making me Lasagna. This lasagna is just about the most amazing birthday present I have ever received and I get it every year. The tradition started just a couple of weeks after my husband and I met. He found out my birthday was coming up and asked me what I wanted. I told him that he and I just met and that I couldn't accept a gift from him but that I really appreciated the thought. He insisted finally asking me if I wanted him to cook something for me. Ok, so he kicked the door WIDE open, how could I NOT test the waters?!? I smiled and said, "Lasagna. I would love lasagna." I knew that lasagna was pretty labor intensive and expected him to say that he couldn't do it, but instead, he smiled and proudly said, "Ok, lasagna it is!" My heart fell to the floor. I could not believe it. The day of my birthday, he took me to the store with him to "buy the ...

Birthdays are the best, and mine's not even here yet! I received this amazing pink watch yesterday as an early birthday present. I'm so spoiled (as it should be)! But this isn't just ANY watch, it's a Mio Motiva Pink Petite watch. Why is THIS watch so special? Because a portion of the proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation ! It gets even better! This watch also monitors heart rate, tracks calories burned and has a count-down/count-up timer among other functions. I haven't had time to sit down and read through the entire user manual yet, but so far, this is the PERFECT sports watch and exactly what I wanted. The package included the wrist band you see in the pic as well as a solid pink band. I also got a light blue/orange combo band and a gray/black combo band. Hello ladies! Now you can coordinate your watch with all your gym clothes. Just kidding... I don't own anything that's blue and orange. Hahahaha! This is definately a birthday gi...

I just got a Bible cover embroidered and it is BEAUTIFUL. What a great holiday gift idea! This Bible cover design runs about $25 plus tax. My friend Patty of Artic Fox Designs did it....here's what it looks like. Sorry about the picture quality. The Bible cover is vinyl, so the flash created quite a bit of shine. Without the flash, the pic is blurred. Oh well...what to do?If you would like to get in touch with Patty, feel free to contact her at 480-456-3644. You can also order online at http://www.articfoxdesigns.com/ . Her website shows a TON of designs and she can embroider just about any material (I was shocked when she said that she could do vinyl). Just a little gift idea I thou ght I would share. Happy gift shopping!