Ombre Nails

I really like doing nails. They don't last very long, but they certainly keep me from biting my nails.

I wanted to try something different and decided on the ombre style.

Materials: 

3 nail polish colors

toothpick

wax paper

some type of  smooth sponge

nail polish remover

q-tip

1. Layer on the wax paper your three colors. My top color is blue, then silver, and then white. 

2. Take your toothpick and mix the colors only where they meet.

3. Press your sponge into the mixed color.

4. Roll the sponge from one side of your nail to the other. You aren't smearing or smudging the color, just rolling it. Make sure you lift up your sponge at the end instead of dragging it off the nail.

5. You will have nail polish around the skin around your nails. There are two ways I know of that you can fix this. The first is to put nail polish remover on a q-tip and rub the polish off the skin with this. This was my choice. The second is to put Vaseline on the skin around the outside of the nail. However, because I was using a sponge, if I used the Vaseline, it would be a one time sponge use and I wanted to use my sponge as many times as possible.

Sorry, I didn't snap a finished pic. Maybe the next time I do this, I will remember to take one I can add later.

The Stockings Were Hung...

My husband made this super great sign for our stockings since we don't really have anywhere else to hang them. 

We used old barn wood, silver drawer pulls, and he burned in our words "The stockings were hung…"

It worked out perfectly!

Cowboy Boot Stockings

After several years of looking for western Christmas stockings, we just couldn't seem to find what we wanted. So, to the drawing board...

Start by drawing the shape you want of a piece of cardboard of paper. Draw it a bit bigger than you want the finished product to end up. 

I had a HUGE pile of old jeans and knew I wanted wrangler pockets on the stockings. With this in mind, I laid the stocking on top of the jeans where I wanted and traced. You want to cut this side out along the traced line.

Stop cutting right at the side seam. Flip over your pattern and trace the outline of the other side of the boot and then cut it out.

Once One side is cut out, flip it over so the backside is what you see. Line it up on another piece of jean/cloth. Trace this and cut it out just like you did with the first piece.

Once you have one side traced and cut out, open the jeans and trace the rest of the boot. Then cut this out too.

I knew I wanted an easy hanger for the stockings, so I used the thick seam of the jeans. No extra sewing :)

Just cut to the desired length and stitch onto the inside of the back side of the stocking.

Make sure to line up the wrong sides facing. 

It is slightly off which was okay with me since there would be items in the stockings at some point anyway.

Pin the two sides together making sure the edges are together. Sew it up, and turn it right side out. You may need to use a pen or scissors or the tip of something to help push out the corners and tip of the boot.

I attempted to sew on initials. I wrote initials in chalk and permanent marker to follow with my sewing machine. I decided not to do it, but it sure would look neat if you choose to. 

Merry Christmas in July!