Nail Polish Swap!

I'm sure you know Tara of Fabulous But Evil? 

And if you don't, then you must go to her blog RIGHT NOW!

Okay, well actually after you check out the rest of this post....

So.... Tara and Celia hosted a Nail Polish Swap recently 

and are doing a link-up today to show off what everyone received. 

I am so so happy with everything that my swap partner Lauren sent me. 

 1. Essie Silken Cord: 

The perfect red for the holiday season

2. Essie Topless & Barefoot: 

An amazing nude/slight baby pink

3. Sally Hansen Strobe Light: 

Amazing pink/silver sparkles in different sizes with clear base

4. Orly Rage: 

Shimmery, metallic copper color

 I'm currently sporting Topless & Barefoot with an accent nail of Strobe Light.

I can't wait to use Silken Cord for Christmas and Rage seems like the perfect color for my toes! 

Thank you Tara and Celia for hosting the swap 

and a big thank you to Lauren for my amazing polishes!  

Friendship Bracelet Swap Pt 2

Remember when I was going to participate in the Friendship Bracelet Swap held by Amanda and Jenn? Well it turned out fabulously and I thought it was appropriate for me to share with you both the bracelets I made as well as the ones I received.

Here are the ones I made to send to my new friends. I chose to do the classic chevron pattern with a twist and each bracelet had a total of 6 different colors.

Even though we shared our wrist sizes I wanted mine to be adjustable so I finished the bracelets off with braided tails for tying.

I've never done a non-symmetric chevron bracelet before and after doing these I have to say that it is my favorite now. I love how they turned out that I know I will be making some more like these in the future. The blue bracelet went to Kylie because she likes blues and purples, the pink to Barbara because her favorite color is pink, and the multi-color to Cidney because she likes brights.

I printed color coordinated headers for little notes I sent along with the bracelets and wrote a little something to each girl before sending off their packages. I really hope that they all liked their bracelets as much as I did making them.

Now onto the bracelets that I received. I cannot express how much I love all three of these bracelets. They are all so different from each other and totally suit my style in their own ways.

The wide, bright chevron was from Kylie and the colors in it are fabulous. I also love how wide it is because it's definitely a statement piece. She was kind enough to also send a smaller, solid yellow bracelet along with this one (because yellows my fave color) that pairs perfectly with it. The middle, unique patter bracelet was from Barbara. As soon as I opened the envelop I thought this was one of the coolest bracelets I'd ever seen. I am still fascinated about how to make one like this and I love that she incorporated my favorite color and some neutrals. The neutral, classic chevron was from Cidney and I love it's simplicity. I told the girls that I was typically into more neutral colors and she knocked it out of the park with this gray scale bracelet.

It was very interesting to see each of the ladies individuality come out in the bracelets overall. Like how different all three were finished. One just has loose string ends, one has an actual bracelet clasp and one has braided ties.

I have been wearing all of my bracelets ever since I got them. I wear all of them at once with some of my own creations to make a statement. I wear one individually for a simple, coordinated look on a specific outfit. And I have gotten many, many compliments and questions about them every time.

I love having these bracelets literally from all around the world and I am so glad I decided to participate in this swap.

Friendship Bracelet Swap

I am so excited about this swap that I wanted to share it with you all. Jenn @ Ruffled Sunshine and Amanda @ The Modern Marigold are hosting this Friendship Bracelet Swap. You know, the bracelets made of embroidery floss that we all learned how to make at summer camp or on the swing set and are fabulous?

Well we all set in our entries and got paired up with three different ladies. There were over 100 people that wanted to join, I can't wait to see everyone's creations. I got paired with...

Barbara @ The Origin of Wonder

Kylie @ My Addiction to Quilting

and the sweet 13 year old Cidney

Part of why I'm so excited about this swap is the awesome-ness that are my swap partners. Barbara is an amazing quilter, crafter, thrifter and I could definitely get some inspiration from her I'm sure. Kylie lives in Australia, the land down under. How cool is it that I'll be getting a friendship bracelet from the other side of the world? And then there's Cidney who found the swap through her mom and I can't wait to see what someone younger creates for us.

I put together the color combinations that I thought would be best for all three ladies and here's what I've come up with. I'm not going to go into detail about how I'm making their bracelets but I'll definitely share them once the swap is done and I have mine to share as well.

Now I'm going to get back to watching trashy TV and working on the bracelets.