bow tied shoes {tutorial}

First of all, THANK YOU so much for voting for my sweet little fox dress at Project Run and Play this weekend. We made it on to round 2! Yay!

When I was coming up with my first look for Project Run and Play, I needed some cute shoes to top it off. (or maybe I should say bottom it off!):)  I had a great time coming up with these:

I knew I couldn't spend a lot of money on them. Guess where I found these cute little things..WALMART! For a mere $8, I knew I could make something cute.

I took off the bows, and using the same polka dotted material as the shirt, I whipped up some bows using THIS tutorial.  I just hot glued them on and had some super cute shoes for a cute little outfit!

Easy, cute, and cheap custom shoes.

Little Chicks Nails

I love having a little girl. And she LOVES to have her nails painted. With Easter this weekend, I thought it would be fun to get her nails ready for the occasion as well!:)

I just simply painted the nail a sparkly yellow and then used a fine tipped sharpie in both black and orange to do the eyes and beak!

She is thrilled to have little cute chicks on her nails..and that, of course, makes me happy!

(This would also be a really fun way to sing 10 little ducks!)

BTW..taking a photograph of a 3 year olds fingernails is a little challenging. She thought "don't move" meant "wiggle your fingers all over!" Silly little girl.

Bottlecap Necklaces {tutorial and free download}

A few days ago, my daughter's best friend turned the all important age of 3.  My little girl has been going around the house for weeks now saying that Jemma is her best friend, so I knew exactly what we should do for her present.

 Here it is all wrapped up ready to go:

And on the inside? A sweet gift from my daughter to her...

Perfect for best friends, right?!

While I was designing up the little 1" circle designs, I figured I'd make a few for me too.  I mean, really, who doesn't need a little reminder each day:

or a little pick-me-up:

And I have a son who was just baptized and this made a perfect addition to his new scripture bag!

Would you like some too?

To make a bottlecap necklace, you simply need:

bottle caps and epoxy stickers...here is an example

a necklace chain (you can find these at any craft stores)

hot glue

and

this fun download

Find the files HERE.

Simply print and cut out the circles. (A 1" circle punch works perfectly). Adhere the epoxy sticker on the paper design. Place a small amount of hot glue on the paper back and push it right down into the bottle cap.  Place it on the necklace (or key chain, zipper pull, etc.) You are done! So simple, right?!

Now go and find the perfect someone to give them to.

Linking to Whipperberry and these amazing parties.

Foiling Eyeshadow Technique

"foiling" your eyeshadow is a really simple technique that allows you to get two colors from one eyeshadow. the foiling technique really concentrates your color so that it is more vibrant. i like to use the foiling technique with my shimmer shadows because they are less pigmented, and foiling helps make them more dramatic. here is a look i created using the foiling technique:

i used my BECCA cosmetic loose shimmer pigment and a fluffly eyeshadow brush.

run your brush under water for a brief second. using the lid of your shadow container, make a paste with the shadow.

here is what the shadow will look like before and after foiling:

for this makeup look, i foiled my shadow from the lash line to the crease. with a dry brush, i used the same shimmer powder and applied it over the entire eyelid, up to the brow bone:

for a more in depth tutorial, you can watch this video here:

xo,
kristie

A new wall of art

I am so excited to show you this quick little project I have started and cannot wait to add to it! 

Here is my wall of art:

I have a wall in my master bedroom..it's not too big, but was completely empty. So I decided to add a little love to it! Do you want to know my trick?

Simply buy some canvases at any store (Jo-Ann's and Michaels often have theirs on sale), spray your prints with spray adhesive, then spray your canvas with spray adhesive. Attach the print on your canvas and you have an automatic piece of hangable art!

Here is where you can find the prints:

1-You are my sunshine when skies are gray. 2 Live your life on purpose  3. dream big
 4. i <3 you  5.  Home is wherever I am with you  6. Choose Joy  7.  i love us

2 of the pieces are new designs by me:

Something simple and fresh:

And something sweet and thoughtful:

My favorite part of this new print is the heart on the tree with the "me + you" and the tire swing. Isn't that so fun!

Do you have any walls that could use some love?  Any favorite prints you want to put on there?

Little Boot Socks {tutorial}

The other day, Rebecca, from Simple As That put a link on her facebook page to Grace and Lace etsy shop. OH. MY. Are those not the cutest leg warmers and boot socks you have ever seen?! Totally inspired by these, I looked around to see what I had on hand to make my little Maizie her own boot socks.

Do you want to make some?

And that is what I call cute!

Linking to Whipperberry and these amazing parties.

glitter up your fingertips! {tutorial}

want to know one of the things i love best about the holidays? everything glitters, including my nails. the holidays offer a great excuse to glitter up those fingertips and have some festive fun. here is a nail tutorial using China Glaze's 3D "Eye Candy" polish.
using your blurple (or any dark color), apply polish to the top third of your nail
 

next, using a gradient of color apply a purple blue sparkle polish to the next third of your nail. i am using China Glaze "Marry a Millionaire"

finish your gradient of color by applying a silver blue sparkle polish to the tip of your nails. i am using China Glaze "Lorelei's Tiara" (don't you love these names?)

as a top coat i used my Sally Hansen "Twinkle Twinkle" applied to the entire nail. this sparkle color is much more sparse than the China Glaze and helps to blend all three colors together.

enjoy your Sparkle Dipped Nails!

xo,
kristie

www.blushingbasics.com

the flower pillow

 Do you remember this sweet pillow from here?

Well, here is my rendition of it...

I love how they turned out!  I did two different pillows..one for each of my couches..I have never been the matchy, matchy type.

I took the instructions on how to build a basic rose from here..and just sketched out my own pieces..as this was much larger..and I wanted a little different look to it.

I love the volume to it.  I think I used about 13 layers of petals for the rose pillow, and then I used circles glued in half and then into quarters and then all put together for this other pillow.

 

I love, love, love the look of them on my couches. This color is so fallish, so rich, so pretty!  Both pillows took 1 1/2 hours to complete..so it was really quick, and super cheap to make 2 fun pillows to add to the decor!  Don't you think those flowers (a little bit smaller) would be amazing in a fall bouquet?! mmm..I can see it now.:)

a quick way to fix up a blanket

I love to make blankets for new babies.  Some I make more elaborate, some super simple.  This one was one of those super simple ones.  I loved this flannel fabric I saw and so I simply sewed it together with a light cotton (since you can't make the blanket too warm for Vegas!)..but knew it needed something else.

So I cut out a few random felt flowers and sewed them on one corner..

I love this color combo..so girl, but in a funky fall kind of way!

a cute and easy way to dress up a blanket!

NOTE:  I have been using felt for a few years now to do appliques on blankets, onesies, shirts, etc. and love working with it. It's nice and stiff, so it is easy to sew..and cleans up well too, but I normally wash it in the washer and hang dry!