Mixing Colors with Nail Polish!

Earlier this week, I sat down to paint my finger nails and as I was choosing the colors that I wanted, I wondered something...

...what if I mixed a couple of colors to create a swirled look.

I didn't end up doing a swirl but I did come up with a really pretty orange metallic color. 

The picture above are the nail polishs that I used.  The one in the middle is the mixed color; I painted

the color right on the bottle but it's picking up most of the pink that was originally in the bottle;

I didn't clean it all out.  Silly me. 

The color on the left is JulieG's 'Oh Em Gee' which is my favorite at the moment.

In person it's such a BRIGHT PINK! I LOVE it! :]

The other color is Pure Ice's 'Excuse Me', a shimmery bright yellow.

This one really helps give the color I made a metallic feel. 

How I Mixed...

I started out with a bit of each color on a paper plate and I dropped a little water beside each other.

Like, I took a straw, put it in a water cup and dabbed it a couple of times onto the plate so that it created 

a little water bubble. :)

Then I mixed, using a brush from an EMPTY nail polish bottle.  (I cleaned it using nail polish remover.)

Now keep in mind that didn't mix the color the color thoroughly;

I still wanted to try a swirl effect but liked the outcome a bit better. 

The Nails...

This picture is of my right hand and I WISH it picked up the color true to form.

Since I didn't mix the color perfectly on the plate, some nails came out lighter

than others and I loved it. You can kind of get a hint of two-tones on the thumb nail.

On my left hand, I actually did a few coats, so it came out like a dark orange color.

I put the extra coats mainly because I was fixing mistakes. :)

I'm definitely going to try this whole mixing colors thing again

and I hope you give it a try, too! 

Have fun and good luck. (: (:

Cindy

Thin Scarves!

I remembered, I really did! I remembered to post a creative and crafty idea today. (:

If you missed my last post, I discussed the idea of having Wednesdays be the day for DIYs and other creative ideas.

The Project...

I've wanted to share this knitted scarf idea for awhile. 

I made it quite some time ago but I don't think I wrote down the exact instructions on how to knit it! :-O  

Or if I did... I got rid of it, thinking I wasn't going to post it. 

Luckily I do remember a round about way. 

Here it a piece of the scarf (it's quite long):

Details about this scarf:

The yarn that I used is quite thin.  

If you click the picture, it should make it larger so that you can see what I mean. 

It is approx. 70 inches long.  

The fringe is 10 inches long.

Cast on 5 or 6 stitches (this number may vary; see what you like best)

The Knitted Pattern:

I'm pretty positive I didn't do the stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row)

because the style is different. 

I am pretty sure I only used the garter stitch (just a simple knit stitch)

Knit 4 rows as you would normally

On your 5th row, try and knit this one loosely.  

I remember this stitch being loose and I pulled up a bit on it

to try and get that 'gap' you see between each couple of lines in the picture. 

I used a size 9 knitting needle.

One great youtube tutorial on each stitch, is by The Knit Witch.

Super easy to follow along!

http://www.youtube.com/theknitwitch

Again, I do apologize for not remembering the exact pattern. 

Since you know that it's all with the garter stitch, be creative! :)

Good luck and have fun!

Cindy

Update! & Crafty Wednesday??

Hello all you creative people!!!

I feel I owe the ones who do view this blog a reason why I really haven't been posting nearly as much as I used to. For the past week, I've been getting ready to start selling custom posters; whether it be via the internets or real life (not that the Internet is fake ...I mean, erm.. Hm).

Design is definitely the thing that I feel I am most passionate about, which is why I came up with the Art & Design Studio; trying to get my work out there. I hope you understand. (:

BUT starting next week, I will be posting a DIY/craft project each Wednesday. You can call it Crafty Wednesday. Well, the name is still in the works but you catch my drift, right? (:

Throughout the week, you many still see some other random posts, like my nail designs and maybe a creative find or two.

Thank you!!

Have a great weekend! (:


Cindy

Creative Keys!

Why, hello there creative people! :)

I haven't posted much in the past few days and I am sorry about that.  

But today I bring you a creative find that I've seen here and there before. 

Painted keys.  I love this idea because it helps distinguish which key is which

AND gives a little more personality to your key ring. 

I would most definitely only recommend painting the top half because

a.) you might have a hard time working the key if it's all painted (maybe?)

and b.) even if you don't, the paint will get way more scratched on the bottom half.

Not really worth that. 

The paint I used was....

Nail polish.

That is all.  Just nail polish.  I mean, there are so many colors to choose from,

I have a ton and the brush is small.  Perfect. :)

Be creative with your key design!  I even added a little glitter to one!

Good luck!

Cindy

The Inverted Curve Nail Design.

Not going to lie, this week when I sat down to do my nails,

I was planning to do a polka dotted one...

But after painting the purple base (and light blue on one nail),

I went to paint on a 'half dot in the corner and thought...

'Hm, I wonder how it would look if I painted another purple shape on top of the blue

leaving just a strip of blue....'

That sounds confusing, doesn't it?

I, of course, let the first color dry. 

No nail art brushes needed. :)

I love the inverted style, don't you?

Cindy

DIY Ribbon Necklaces!

Today it's time to share with you all RIBBON NECKLACES!

This is pretty simple to do.

All you need are...

Spools of ribbon, which I bought at Wal-Mart but you can get at any craft store.

The spools that I bought at 10 yards, which was plenty.

Oh, and tape.

And scissors.

What We Will Be Making

Ribbon necklaces that you can just pull right over your head.  

The less ribbons you use, the thinner the necklace. 

The more ribbons... the thicker.

To make this, choose either any 2 colors of ribbons or more.

Firstly! 

It's hard to determine exactly how long your necklace will be.  

I didn't bother cutting the ribbon off the spools before I started 

due to the fact that I didn't know

exactly how long it was going to be. 

So I took each color that I had, brought then together and tied them into a knot

and taping to the table.

Secondly!

Now all you are going to do is make a bunch of knots.

But be sure to plan the pattern you want.  How many knots of each color?

Or just randomly works, too. 

The picture below is the way I worked. 

Take the first color you like 

and cross it over the other ribbons

and just make a knot by pulling even the spool through.

Working like this helps to keep the ribbons
organized in order and less likely to tangle.

Keep checking to see how long it's getting by draping over your neck.

Once it's at the length where you can easily pull it over,

then cut the ribbon and tie both ends together (the start and the finish).

 Good luck and enjoy!


Cindy

"Leaving the Ball!" a new painting.

I finally get to show you this painting that I've been working on!
I shared a sneak peak quite some time ago and I've been excited to finish it since that time.

I wish the picture did it more justice but there you go! 

Appropriately called "Leaving the Ball" because I wanted something inspired by (wait for it...) Cinderella but not exactly.  I didn't want the missing shoe and I didn't want her leaving in a rush.  She's leaving in a daze; a happy daze, of course. Well, at least in my mind. That's why her right hand is out like that; not really caring.  (:

 What do you think?  

I wanted 'fairy lights' in the bushes and a rose vine all over the edge of the cement wall.  I think that's what I mainly wanted from the start when I did a quick sketch. 

Have a great week!

Half way through it!!!

Cindy

up close of some spots.

cindydesigns.net