One Month to Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is one month away!  To celebrate, I'm running a 20% off promotion in my Etsy shop, and I wanted to share with you some festive gift tags I made:

In purple, white, and blue

In pink, purple, and white

Inspired by the conversation heart candies, I have a bunch of varieties in the shop- check them out, and don't forget to use the code VALENTINE20 for your 20% off!

Polishing Off a Bad Habit

So, one of my new year's resolutions is to stop biting my nails for once and for all.  In order to do that, I have a few different tactics.  Keeping nail files handy and moisturizing are a few of my strategies.  The most enjoyable part of breaking this habit, though, is the nail polish.  Lots of nail polish :)  I bought several new shades, all work appropriate but still fun, to help motivate me.

Gilty Pleasure

First is Gilty Pleasure from Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure.  The color is great, fun but still subdued, but what I really love about this polish is that brush is wider, shorter, and thicker than the typical nail polish brush.  It makes applying the polish super easy.

School of Hard Rocks

Next up is another Essie polish, School of Hard Rocks.  I love this shade- it's got color and kick to make it fun, but it's not too bold.  This is my first Essie polish, a brand everyone raves about, and now I see why.  It goes on great and there are so many fabulous colors!

Mink Muffs

Another Essie polish that I am really liking is Mink Muffs.  It's such a pretty brown!

Greycian Goddess

Last but not least, Greycian Goddess by L'Oreal.  It doesn't go on well as a single coat, but after two it looks great!  I've been wanting a grey polish for a while and I'm happy with the results.

The strategy of lots of nail color varieties seems to be working- I haven't nibbled my nails yet!  Anyone have any must-try colors?

Etsy Trinkets

I've recently added a few new items to my etsy shop- you should check them out!

I have a pair of marcasite tassel earrings that I made in the same way as the drop tassel DIY tutorial.  I think they're really pretty.  I especially like the natural deep green stone with the gold.

Malachite earrings

I also have a whole bunch of gift tags along the same lines as my gift tag DIY tutorial.  I even have a listing to let you custom order your shape and words!

Valentine's gift tags in white, pink, and red!

I'm so excited to be back and adding items to my shop!  I hope you enjoy! :)

If you want to order anything from my shop, I'm currently running a 20% off special!  Just use the code VALENTINE20 when you place your order!

DIY Gift Tags

These are so cute and easy!  I have been trying to think of things to do with my metal letter stamping set, so here is another project you can try.

You will need:

Sculpey (or any other polymer clay)
Letter stamps (metal or rubber)
Acrylic paint
A needle
String or embroidery floss
A glass or something else to roll the clay out

First, roll the clay out into a thin (about 1/8 of an inch) sheet.  Use a cookie cutter or a knife to cut out the shape you want.

Then, choose your letters and stamp away!

Using a needle (I used a safety pin), put a hole through your tag big enough to fit your string through.

Place the tags on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake according to the package directions (mine are to bake at 275 degrees for 10-15 minutes for every quarter inch of thickness)

Finally, if you'd like, rub some paint over the letters and use a damp paper towel to wipe away the excess.

Ta da!  Now, just add your string and attach it to your present! :)

Bacon Wrapped, Cream Cheese Stuffed Dates

These are a perennial new year's eve favorite for me.  They're sweet and salty and savory, crunchy and creamy.  It's the perfect little appetizer!  And the best part is how easy they are to make.

You will need:

Pitted dates
Cream cheese
Bacon
Toothpicks

Preheat your oven to 375.  Then, make a small slit down the side of each date to make filling them easier.

Then, add as much cream cheese as the date can hold.

Next, cut the bacon strips into thirds. Wrap one-third of a strip around the date, using a toothpick to secure the bacon. 

Finally, using a rimmed pan lined with aluminum foil, pop them into the oven for about 30-40 minutes or until the bacon looks done.

So good and so simple!  These also freeze well pre-baking; just thaw, bake, and serve :)

New Year's Resolution

As a rule, I don't typically make new year's resolutions.  This year, though, I think I'll start a new tradition and make some resolutions.  So, here they are:

1.  Brush up on my languages.  To make this one manageable, I'll do 4 months for each one of my three foreign languages.  Now, don't be impressed: I'm not fluent in any of them.  But I minored in Spanish, took introductory French, and even took two semesters of Hmong during law school.  I am now woefully far from where I once was in Spanish speaking ability, I can barely say four phrases in French, and I'm limited to "Hello, my name is Holly" in Hmong (nyob zoo, kuv lub npe hu ua Holly... it's definitely NOT phonetic).  So, I am starting in reverse chronological order: Hmong first, French second, and Spanish third.  Stay tuned...

2.  Stop biting my nails . . . for good.  I have been biting my nails for as long as I can remember.  My parents even bribed me with my choice of nail polish if I stopped for two weeks.  I stopped, picked black nail polish (how stylish was third grade me?), and immediately started biting my nails again.  I managed to lay off once more for the wedding, but when stress rears its ugly head, I'm back to biting.  Any suggestions on how to kick the habit?

3.  Learn to play the guitar.  How great would that be?  John has one, but insists he isn't any good.  So, I guess it falls to me to dust off the guitar and put it to use.  We'll see how it goes.  I used to play the violin, so I hope my experience with a stringed instrument will give me a jump start.  Anyone know of any good online tutorials?


Three seems to be a good number, so I'm going to focus on these and see what happens!

Do you have any resolutions?

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a fantastic new year's celebration!  We had some friends over, drank some bubbly, ate (in my case, way too much) yummy food, and rang in the new year.

I'll be posting my resolutions later this week, along with a how-to for one of our new year's eve appetizers: bacon wrapped, cream cheese stuffed dates!