Nail of the Week: Holiday Glitter Criss-cross Nails

This week I chose a festive glittery design. I wanted to get into the Christmas spirit with a sophisticated holiday nail that will catch your eye.

I started off with a silvery gray color as the base (Stevie). Over that, I did 2 coats of "Joelle" which is the glittery sparkle polish. I did the gray underneath because Joelle is a pretty sheer and I wanted the glitter to really pop. I chose to leave the accent nail just like that after seeing how striking it turned out.

For the other nails, I decided to do a criss-cross pattern. For that, I used the strips of nail decals I bought to mark off the lines. The strips look nice, but they don't stay on as well as I'd hoped so I just use them for projects like this. After I marked off the lines, I painted 2 coats of "Misti." It is best to let each coat dry completely before applying a new one so the lines will come out cleaner without any bleed through. You could do this design with any glitter and colored polish combination that you like.

Merry Christmas!

DIY Christmas Crafts: Framed Poinsettias & Merry Christmas Garland

For my next Christmas crafts, I made a framed decoration and a garland. I found the brand new frame at Goodwill. It was meant to be a scrapbook frame so it was extra deep. I made poinsettias out of felt by first cutting a circle out of the felt and then cutting 6 larger petals and 5 smaller ones. I used the circle as the base on the back and glued the larger petals to it. Then, I glued the smaller ones sort of in between each of the larger ones. For the center, I simply hot glued rhinestones to it. You can also add leaves to the back of the flower if you wish to. For the background of the frame, I used a pattered felt sheet and just placed it in the center. I arranged the flowers on top of it and finished it off with two small bows I got in a large set at the Dollar Tree. It came out looking very cute and I am thinking about simply changing the frame's contents for each season.

The next project I did was the "Merry Christmas" garland. I used wooden letters and first painted them with silver. I used a second coat after the first one was completely dry to cover it a little better. The paint I used was Martha Stewart's metallic called Sterling, which I love because it comes out looking nice and metallic. After the second coat was dry, I made partial stamps on each letter as an accent. I used the entire bow stamp for the first and last letters. Then, after that was dry, I measured out jute rope to be able to tie up the ends and fit all the letters with a small space between each for some give. I used hot glue to set the letters in place on the rope. Be sure to use enough glue on each letter and press down firmly so it attaches securely. After that, I hung it up outside my apartment with some string lights. It looks very cute and I just love coming home and seeing it. This was definitely a fun and easy project :)

DIY Christmas Crafts : Wreath

I have had a busy week getting into the Christmas spirit and crafting all kinds of things to decorate. I live in an apartment, so sometimes I feel a bit limited, but this year I decided to make some things and just get into decorating. I will be posting more projects throughout the week also.

For the front door, I made a wreath using a vine one that I found at Joann fabrics. While there, I also searched through the fragments bins to see what I could use for fabric roses. They have a pretty good selection and at that time they were all 50% off. I found a green, a red and a patterned remnant. I used them for the roses and also cut small strips to make 2 bows for the opposite side. I bought a bunch of star-shaped battery powered string lights on ebay and I used one to go around the wreath. It is a great way to add some sparkle and looks so nice at night! I am loving the battery powered lights as well because there aren't any annoying cords and no huge electric bills. I bought LED lights which don't use very much energy and I just bought batteries at Dollar Tree (so far so good!).

I have a few other projects I will be posting  later on. Merry Christmas!

Nail of the Week: Parisian Inspired Look

This week's nail was inspired by Paris. I used some nail decal strips to create lines and then peeled them off once dry. I started with a glittery metallic polish as a base and then waited to dry. I applied the decal strips where I wanted the metallic to show through as a couple of stripes and then applied one coat of the dark purple. I did the same effect on my "Eiffel Tower" inspired accent nail. I just did a quick outline of the tower with the decal strips. It came out to be a different look and I like it.

TWS: Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

I was at the grocery store and found portobello mushrooms on sale so I googled a recipe for them. I found one using a lot of things I already had at home. This recipe is from Emeril on foodnetwork.com and it turned out well! I used turkey sausage instead of regular and I also used panko breadcrumbs. For the chopped veggies, I used my food processor and substituted a jalapeño for the green bell pepper because I love spicy food. If you like stuffed mushrooms, this is an easy recipe with great presentation.

Ingredients:

6 portobello mushrooms, stemmed (reserve 1 cup minced stems)
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
12 ounces hot Italian sausage
12 ounces sweet Italian sausage
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
1 egg, lightly beaten
Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Using your hands, lightly rub each portobello mushroom with 2 teaspoons of olive oil.
Cook the sausage in a medium skillet until browned, about 4 minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and mushroom stems and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
Transfer sausage-vegetable mixture to the bowl of a food processor. Add, 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs, 1/4 cup of Parmesan, 1/4 cup of parsley, the Essence, and the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Pulse until mixture is finely chopped and comes together slightly, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the egg, and stir until well combined.
Divide the filling among the mushroom caps, about 1/2 cup for each mushroom. Place the filled mushrooms on a baking sheet. Combine remaining 1/4 cup of bread crumbs and 1/4 cup of Parmesan in a small mixing bowl. Divide the bread crumb mixture evenly among the tops of the mushrooms. Bake until golden brown on top and the mushrooms are tender, about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Garnish with remaining tablespoon of parsley, drizzle with olive oil and vinegar and serve warm or at room temperature.


Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme