Nail Marbling

So here it is!  I've been getting a lot of requests to post this tutorial and didn't want to until I thought it was perfect.

 

Now this does have a lot of trial and error, you may not get it right the 1st time and that's ok. Guess what, I didn't either. I had a lot of bubbles on my nails.

 

I practiced and took note of my mistakes and now I think anyone can do it.

 

 

Things you'll need:

-Distilled water (room temp)

-Nail polish (at least 3 colors)

-Toothpicks

-Q-tips

-Cotton Balls

-Nail polish remover

-Vaseline

-Solo cup, cut down

 

1) Get all supplies ready - Cut cup down towards the bottom and fill with water. We are cutting this down because we want a small area for the nail polish to spread out. Too large of an area will harden the nail polish faster and you'll just waste more.

 

2) Paint a base coat on your nails. Any color will do, but keep in mind it might peak thru the marbling.

 

3) Shake the nail polish really good and then line up the colors you want and loosen the lids.

 

4) Apply Vaseline to your fingers, down to your knuckle. Be careful not to get it to close to the nail. This will make the cleanup super easy. BUT if you don't have any or don't want to use Vaseline, just plan on using lots of cotton balls and polish remover. (Tape would also work)

 

5) Take your first polish and let a drop fall into the water. It will spread instantly, then repeat with the other colors. You can do this as many times are you want. I did B-P-G-B-P-G.

 

6) Take a toothpick and start somewhere within the circle NOT the outside. Make swirl marks back and forth to mix the colors.

 

7) Take your fingers or finger and put them into the water solution at an angle. Now its important to also remove them at an angle. Anytime I've done the angle technique I haven't had any problems with bubble effect.

 

8) Once removed take a Q-tip and do a quick clean up on your finger.

 

9) Take a toothpick and put it in the cup and swirl it around. It will pick up all the nail polish. Repeat after each nail.

 

10) After you've done all your nails, just do the clean up. 

 

 

Here's some additional notes:

 

If there's a nail polish buildup in the water, dip a Q-tip in some nail polish remover and place in the water and circle it around. It will soak up any left over polish.

 

If you use nail polish and it sinks to the bottom, shake it some more....a lot more.  If you try it again and it sinks, then it's no good. It might be because it's to old and has thickened.

 

You can save your old nail polish by using nail polish thinning solution. I like Beauty Secrets solution the best. Another trick I heard of but haven't tried yet, is adding a few drops of clear nail polish to your old polish. Instead of thickening the polish it actually thins it. Again I haven't tried it but I read somewhere that a manicurist recommends it to her clients.

 

My fave combo so far was a black base coat, with hot pink and neon green nail polish.

 

 

I hope this tutorial helps you out. If you have any questions send me a comment.

 

 

Pinterest recipe #2

While surfing Pinterest one day, I kept seeing this post called the 3, 2, 1 Cake.

I had to try it, because it seemed really simple and a little to good to be true. I mean cake in 1 minute?

I'm happy to report, it was another success! It's so simple and really good and when your wanting a piece of cake, this will feed that craving...and the good thing is you aren't tempted with a whole cake.


Ingredients:
- Box of Angel food cake. MUST be Angel food cake
- Box of any flavor of cake.
- 2 T water


Instructions-
In a gallon sized bag, combine the two cake mixes together - Mix them well - In a mug, combine 3T of the cake mix - Add 2T of water to the mug and stir - Place mug in the microwave for one minute -TADA, you have a single serving of cake.


Of course you can add berries, whip cream or anything else you want as a topper. My family just likes it plain and warm.

Sock Bun!

Alright, I've done the sock bun twice now. The first time I forgot to take pictures, but it turned out very well.


I used an old BUT clean white sock. Cut off the bottom toe and roll it up. As per the instructions you put your hair in a ponytail, use a water bottle to dampen the hair and then proceed to roll the sock down from the tips of your hair to the bottom of the ponytail. If you have layers this can kind of suck and it took me a couple tries.


Leave it in overnight or for a couple of hours. I put mine in and went and ran some errands.  


This gives your hair a great curled look without damaging your locks by using a curling hair. (YAAAY says my hair!)


You'll notice that there is a rubber band line in my after pic. It's because I was right out of the shower and my hair was wet. So, if you just dampen the ponytail itself, you won't have this issue.

Pinterest recipe #1

I decided to make Spaghetti w/ sauteed chicken & grape tomatoes. A recipe I came across on Pinterest. This is actually the 2nd time I made this. The first time was yummy, but I did things a little different this time.


Ingredients:  

• 2 cups cooked chicken chunks
• Pam spray
• 1/2 t dried oregano
• 1/2 t dried basil 
• salt & pepper (to taste)
• 8 oz spaghetti whole grain pasta 
• 1 cup grape tomatoes. Sliced in half
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 4 t Tuscany herb olive oil. (or extra virgin olive oil)
• 4 T chopped fresh Basil
• Freshly shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (or normal parmesan cheese)

Cooking instructions are on the above link, along with the original recipe.