Nail Polish Watercolour Mug - Win & UPDATE

I saw this one a while ago and never got around to trying it until Superstore had huge mugs on sale for $1.50. I need a lot of coffee in my life, so huge mugs are essential. Bonus points if they fit into my Nespresso, which this lovely item did.

Double win

I decided to experiment on it and try the nail polish watercolour decoration method. I figured that if I botched it, no one would notice and it's not like it was an expensive mug.

So, how'd it go?

I used this tutorial here and this one too. Both methods are pretty much the same.

I got all my stuff ready to go. I don't paint my nails much (not allowed at work, blah blah blah) so my colour options were limited. 

First thing I learned? Use new(er) nail polish. Or warm it up a bit. First round all the drops just sank to the bottom of the tin. Luckily it's easy to clean up, just swirl a tooth pick around and it'll pick up the polish on the top.

Second thing I learned? Use a bright DEEP colour. The paler aqua colour needed a lot to even show up on the white mug. So expect to use more polish if you want to use a paler/lighter colour.

Third? Keep that water warm. As soon as it started to cool, the nail polish would harden up on the surface before I even had a second to pick up my mug. 

What happens if you don't work fast enough

And finally? Keep a LARGE bottle of nail polish remover around, unless you're super confident at this kind of thing. It took me a LOT of dips and trials to get a look I liked. The good thing is if you work fast, you can wipe it off with a paper towel and nail polish remover if you make a mistake.

Overall opinion?

I kind of really like it. I ended up doing two colours and it gives the mug a really neat look. The mug MUST be hand washed, and I try to avoid the outside as much as possible. I've been using it for about 2 months now (which is why I took so long in posting this) and it's holding up beautifully. 

So whether you'd be making these for yourself or for a friend, it's a definite win.  It's a really inexpensive gift or project, especially if you have lots of nail polish sitting around. Just give yourself some time to play with it, and be prepared to make a mess.

**UPDATE**
So I just wanted to update on how this mug has held up. After approximately 10 months of almost daily use it has held up very well. There are only a couple of tiny spots where the polish has come off but the colours have held up. I wash it by hand, focusing on the inside and a light rinse on the outside when needed. This is a definite win of a project!

Apple Crisp - Win

Apple Season!

I always liked apple picking as a kid and I missed it when we moved away. And now we're back and live in fruit country. AND my family has apple trees in their yard. How cool is that! So one night we all went over and picked apples.

Another favourite of mine growing up was apple crisp. It was always a staple dessert for holidays in our house. So when Thanksgiving rolled around I volunteered to make dessert and Apple Crisp was on the menu!

There are SO many versions and ways to make apple crisp. Or crumble if you prefer. The Apple part is mostly the same, but the topping is the part that differs. Small chunks vs large, oats or no oats. It's a little daunting. I wanted a recipe that would be tasty, easy, and portable since we were traveling for our turkey dinner. Then I came across this recipe from Rock Recipes and really liked the way she laid out all the tips to make the perfect apple crisp.

For my recipe I used Granny Smith apples. They're my go-to apples for the majority of baking (and eating actually). The tart taste balances out the sweet of most desserts and they hold their shape very well during the baking process.

The recipe came together easily. All I did was cover it well and bake it when it was time for desert. You really want to pat down and smooch the topping into the apples, but don't. Doing as recommended and leaving them in chunks like you see below really makes the topping crispy!

It was so tasty that I didn't get a picture after baking but before eating. So I guess it went over well with the family! This recipe and method was a definite win!

Happy Baking!!

DIY Tutu - Win!

I'm not a girly girl really, but occasionally I like to get my frilly on. And I've tried hard not to pink-wash my daughter as best as I can, making sure she has lots of blues and greens and yellows in her room and wardrobe. It's a hard fight since she's the only girl granddaughter right now. But for her birthday I decided 'what the heck' and made her a tutu.

Yup. A pink full frilly tutu just for her birthday.
It's awesome!

The tutorial found here from The Pinning Momma is fairly simple to follow and is a no sew version. This was the best for me, since a) I can barely sew and b) I don't have a sewing machine. It just required a few stitches to connect the elastic, but you could easily tie them together if you lack needle and thread or like me are prone to poking yourself. A lot.

I picked three colours: white, light pink, and a darker pink. Yah, I know I don't like too much pink, but she only turns one once, right? The best thing about this is you can make it in any colour combo you want. And changing how I layered the tulle changed the colour for each section giving it a really neat effect.

Getting the number of wraps around the cardboard was a tiny bit tricky because I kept loosing count. I found it helpful to make a small pencil mark on the 'top' of the cardboard to help keep track of when I made a full rotation of the tulle. 
Below is a quick video I took to show what a full rotation looks like. From start to finish that's counted as one wrap around.

The whole project maybe took a little over an hour from start to finish because I had to layer all the different colours. If you're doing one colour, it should take less time.

The tutu looked great and had a nice fullness to it and held up well for the party. It can definitely be used again. And I even had someone ask to make them an adult sized one :)





















The project cost about $15 total, the tulle was on sale. You can jazz it up as well by adding ribbon or a bow at the back if you'd want something a little flashier or fun.

Overall, a super simple DIY project!