Mama Style feature at Harper's Happenings!

 

One more link for you on this fine day...hop on over to Harper's Happenings to see my "Mama Style post"! Thanks for having me, Mandy!

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One more link for this lovely Friday- head on over to my sweet friend Emily's blog to check out my "Pretty Pieces" feature, where I share 5 favorite items from my closet!  I love this idea, and I adore Emily, and if you don't already have her blog in your regular reads I highly suggest it. She's a fellow AZ gal with the cutest style and her blog is a daily stop of mine! Thanks for featuring me Emily!

Featured...

Head on over to my sweet friend James' site, to take a peek at my feature in her "Mama Style" series! Love James and love her blog- check it out!

More Valentine's Day Manicures

I did this super fast manicure a few weeks ago. I was putting Wet n Wild's Buffy The Violet Slayer on for the third consecutive time when I noticed my bottle of Nicole Step To The Beat of my ♥ sitting on the table. Perfect combination. Purple hearts with purple polish!


Of course, this isn't a color accurate representation of Buffy... But it still looks pretty, right? You can see little circles of topcoat around the hearts, haha! The polish is still wet in these pictures. I put extra topcoat on top of the hearts to make them a little more smooth, otherwise I keep playing with them and sometimes peel them off.


But even better than my mediocre manicure are these super cute designs submitted by my reader Nicole. She and her mom both did adorable designs for February, check it out:


This is Nicole's manicure, which is done with Zoya Jolene and Nicole by OPI Love Your Life. Fitting, right? Nicole wearing Nicole! She did a way better job with her hearts than I did with mine. This looks so pretty. I love the hot pink with the light pink hearts!


And her mom goes one step further and literally turns her nails into hearts! The color is Sinful Dream On, a neon purple. I love this so much. Heart shaped nails. I totally want to try this!


This time of year makes me all silly. I find myself wanting to be surrounded by red flowers and heart shaped lace doilies and pink sugar sprinkles... The actual Valentine's Day is rarely special for me, but I love the season and everything that goes along with it. All the pretty and almost sickeningly cute decorations and candies are a welcome break from the dreary, seemingly endless snow and cold during the last stretch of winter. You know what I'm talking about. That depressing period between the end of the Christmas season, after all the lights and decorations are gone and there's nothing but frigid cold, bare trees and absurd heating bills and that first warm day of spring when you can actually go outside without your hair freezing. As much as I do love winter, after a while, the oppressive cold and lack of color starts to get to me. I need that little bit of color and cuteness in February.

Guest post!

Head on over to the darling Mandi's blog to check out my guest post.  Here's Looking at Me, Kid is one of my daily reads, and I was super excited to share one of my favorite healthy recipes during her week long "Catching Confetti" series.  Let me know what you think!

Guest post from Jess/The Doe or the Deer!

Oh I am just so excited to feature one of my most favorite blogging ladies in the entire world (actually take out blogging- favorite ladies. period.). Many of you may already read Jess' blog, and if so I'm sure you are well-versed on her magical mix of wit, sarcasm, truth, and heart. We've been friends in this grand ole blogosphere for years now, and someday soon we are going to have a lady blogger meet up that is way overdue. When I asked Jess to do a little guest post while I was out with Henry, I knew she would bring something great to the table...something most likely funny, and definitely something that made you smile. So here she is, Jess of the Doe or the Deer!


First off, I just want to thank Danielle for asking me to guest post on Sometimes Sweet. I am beyond elated for the birth of Henry and I am currently waiting for “the text." I have to admit, I felt the pressure trying to come up with a clever little post. Danielle has such a loyal following, so I tried to keep the curse words and grammatical errors at a minimum… I’m sure Danielle was sweating bullets at the thought of “what the hell is Jess going to write about?!?” Well Danielle, look away and squeeze that baby out.

Nothing to see here.

My 5 Reasons to make babies:

-Get out of any awkward situation.

You all have been there. Perhaps at a party, a certain someone shows up, but you don’t want to be rude to the host. Welp, now you have a good reason. “Oh I am so sorry! Little Zoe is not feeling good. I need to go home… Now.” The best part is that you can leave and still not go home. Go to Starbucks, go to Target, hell, go to a movie!

-Having a fat day, at least your kid is cute.

Some days I am just not feeling too cute. But nothing makes you feel prettier than sporting your best "accessory"… Your kid. You may be in your sweats at the grocery store, but do you think anyone notices that when you got a chubby cherub, cheerfully chirping in your cart? (How’s that for alliteration?) Nope. Its like an invisible cloak of cuteness.

-Running late? Blame the kids.

Kids do make you run late. The equation is usually for each child you have, you run 1 hour late. I have 2, so I run 2 hours late. I’m a mathematician’s daughter, obviously. But, what if you are running really, really late? And it’s YOUR fault. You can blame it on a poop explosion, vomit, lost their favorite Sophie Giraffe. The possibilities are endless.

-Now you have an excuse for eating those sugary Lucky Charms.

I know we all say, “oh my child will NEVER eat anything but organic… yaddi-ya-ya..” Well I live on planet Reality and kids like the “good stuff”. Cereals, pop-tarts and cookies just happen. Don’t blame yourself, unless you are that lady on Maury with the 200 pound toddler, then yes, blame yourself. Look on the bright side, now you have sweet treats for yourself at any P.M.S.ing moment. No late night trips to the drugstore to satisfy you desires. You‘re welcome.

-Halloween. Candy is up for grabs.

What’s yours is mine. Why? Cause I’m Mom and I say so. Feels so good rolling off the tongue, doesn’t it?

Guest Review - Kiss and Revlon Press-On Nails

This is only the second time I've had a guest review! This time the guest reviewer is none other than my dear Mom. I was sent some press-on nails by Kiss that I'm literally unable to review. They're so short and small that they don't even cover half of my nail bed, so... yeah... review not possible. While my hands are on the petite side, they definitely aren't petite enough for the Kiss Petite french nails. However, my mom has some of the smallest hands and nails I've ever seen, so she was a perfect candidate to try these. Just one of the perks of being my mom.... Another is that you have an endless variety of polish colors to choose from when I give you a mani/pedi... Also, I'll give you unwanted critical commentary of stupid prime time sitcoms with identical plots for free!


In addition to the Kiss Petites, I put some Revlon press-on nails on her to compare, and here's how the Revlon Zoe nails worked for her:


"I liked them because they stayed on-- no bubbles or loosening. Didn't like because too wide and the color on tip chipped within 2 days."

I applied these to her using the Revlon NailStay glue that's included in the Revlon kit. I filed them down to a medium length- these start out pretty long, which I personally prefer because I have longer nail beds, but the long length doesn't work for her. My opinion of these is that they look a lot less natural than the Kiss nails, the tips are too thick and white. Not that a french manicure ever looks natural, but you know... some are less tacky than others.


And now here are the Kiss petites:


"I liked these better because they were smaller and thinner. I didn't think the glue was as good as the other brand, it bubbles and I kept getting my hair caught in them. The finish lasted, looked more natural and stayed shiny."

I applied these to her using the little disposable tube of glue included in the Kiss set. She's right, the Revlon glue is superior, not just in application, but in longevity. It's kinda difficult to apply the proper amount of glue using those little one-use tubes, and it doesn't set as fast or as strongly as the Revlon. They also lifted on her sooner than with the Revlon glue.

However, I think the end result looked a bit more natural. The actual thickness of the nail is a lot thinner so they do look more like a natural nail from a front/head on view. The base part of these nails is clear, so you won't be able to hide any imperfections on your nail or bubbles in your glue, but that also makes the nail look brighter and shinier. She didn't notice any chipping or wear in the white tip of the Kiss nails and she was able to wear them for a whole week with them still looking new.

The small width and length of these suited her pretty well. This set comes with some extremely tiny nails- the smallest ones are slightly bigger than a lentil! So if you have extremely petite hands and nails with very short nail plates and you want to try press-ons, these would be the nails for you.

The Kiss nails overall seemed thin and lightweight, especially compared to other brands of fakes I've tried. Someone would be less likely to detect that you're wearing press-ons with a nail as thin and clear as these. I can't say I'm a fan of that super bright white tip, but if these had a softer, more milky and translucent natural white, they'd definitely pass for real nails.


Thanks, Mom, for contributing your reviews and photos!

(These were sent to me for review...)

Guest post from Paige Baker!

Today my guest poster is none other than the lovely Paige Baker. What can I possibly say about Paige in this short intro that could even begin sum up the wonderful-ness that is this girl?! First of all, I adore her. We have shared interests in many things, including Charles Bukowski and orange juice with extra pulp, and I am proud to call this firecracker of a girl my friend. One day we shall meet up in Tempe and have a grand old time. I sincerely hope you go and check out her blog- I guarantee you'll enjoy your visit and return again! Thank you darling Paige for being a part of Sometimes Sweet for the day, I really appreciate it!

...and here's Paige!

One of my greatest interests, and consequently, one of the most frequent focuses of my blog, is art. Finding and posting about new art makes me so happy and excited about how much talent and passion humans still have. Especially on the days where I feel like I could lose faith in humanity, seeing the things we create and how much of ourselves we poor into our beautiful creations, is some of the greatest encouragement I could ask for.

In light of this, I've decided to showcase my five favorite pieces of art I've featured on my blog since I've started. It was hard to pick so few, but I think I've really got the best of the best here.

1. Kate MccGwire's work is always so stunning and unique. I could spend hours just staring at a single piece.

2. Megan Galante's "Anti Holiday Signs" are so artistic and brilliantly cynical. Okay, I am all about being positive--but these are for the days when you're just not feeling it.

3. These Tree Branches in Jars by Naoko Ito are so complex and visually striking. I can't tell you how long I've spent just staring at them.

4. At one point I knew who these belonged to and even am pretty sure they're a flickr contact of mine, but I can't seem to find the original author. But these pictures were posted months apart of sort of a "before and after" I thought it beautiful, realistic, poignant, and with a strong and peaceful message. Nothing is perfect. No one is perfect.

5. I love pinhole photography. The fact that people will take a gamble on a piece of film for months—or even years—strikes me as almost romantic, like a time capsule. This longest-ever exposure shows 34months of New York life. (artist unknown)

And there you have it. My five, very difficult to choose, favorite pieces of art I've ever had on my blog!

Guest post from Katie/I Go By Katie!

Today I am just so excited to welcome Katie to Sometimes Sweet! Many of you may know Katie from her amazing creations (Darlingtonia Moccasins) and you may already read her fantastic blog...but if you don't, definitely head over her way! Katie is someone who I really admire- being that I am not exactly queen of the DIY (or let's face it, even on the court), I truly find inspiration in people who are uber-creative like Katie; people who just have that drive to make beautiful things. Besides her obvious talent and creativity, Katie is incredibly sweet (beautiful too), and it's such a pleasure to host her here on my blog. Thank you Katie! xo

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Hello everyone! I'm Katie the lady behind the blog I go by Katie & I'm here today to share a super cute DIY with you in honor of baby Henry!


In this DIY I will show you how to make these endlessly customizable, super easy & absolutely adorable baby bibs using transparent vinyl & bias tape. You can add anything to the center of the bib, I used sequins, stickers & snowflake lace scrapbooking paper on mine but you could certainly spell out baby's name, add a drawing or even photographs.

Supplies:
Bias tape
Clear vinyl - this can usually be found on rolls at your local fabric store, be sure to choose a light weight & flexible version.
Embellishments - sequins, scrapbooking paper, stickers, fabric, whatever you like!
Scissors
Sewing Machine

Step 1
Cut 2 pieces of vinyl for the bib using the bib pattern provided. If you are using scrapbooking paper like my white snowflake example which was a lace paper design cut a bib pattern out of your paper also.

Step 2
Sew bias tape around the neck portion of your bib. Sewing with bias tape can be tricky if you've never tried it before I suggest practicing your technique a bit. You want to make sure your stitches are catching both sides of the fabric while being as close to the edge as you can. If you are using stickers like in my green fern example now is the time to arrange your stickers, just open the 2 pieces of vinyl, place your stickers where you would like them & replace the top layer or vinyl.

Step 3
Now to add the ties & bias tape around the perimeter of your bib. Begin by sewing up your bias tape enclosing it & stop when you've gone 15". Now while your needle is in your fabric lift your presser foot & slip your vinyl bib inside your bias tape right where you've stopped stitching. Put your presser foot back down & begin sewing around the perimeter of your bib. Because pins would damage the vinyl I don't recommend using them, just work slowly, especially around corners to make sure you are catching both sides of your bias tape. If you are making a sequin version, once you've about 2/3 of the way through add your sequins by separating your vinyl sheets & pouring in the desired amount of sequins.

Step 4
Once you've sewn your bias tape all the way around your bib continue sewing your bias tape together until the length of what will be your tie is the same as the other side 15". Now you are ready to dress baby up in his or her fun new bib!

All done!

Click the bib pattern below to enlarge it in a new window, save it to your computer & print it at 100%. To make larger versions just raise the percentile.

If you have any questions or trouble with my directions or pattern feel free to shoot me an email at igobykatie@gmail.com & I will do my best to help! Also, this pattern & tutorial is for personal use only.

Guest from Jess/Boho Baby Blog!

Hey there! My name is Jess Gatlyn from the Boho Baby Bump blog. When Danielle asked me to contribute a guest blog post I was so excited. I'll admit, I squealed! And, we are oh so excited that her little man, Henry has arrived!

Since it is so close to Christmas time, I thought I'd share with you guys some fun and simple to make Christmas ornaments. You can use vintage hymnals or any old books that you might have laying around. I first started making these last year. Seeing that it was my first married Christmas, our decor budget was a little tight. So, I sat down with my old, yellowed paper hymnals, which I had used in my wedding for decor. I got out my vintage button collection, some old trim, a glue gun and I played. Sometimes Christmas ornaments can get kinda pricey. The cost to make these is next to nothing, and they will give your "Tis the Season" a more personal touch.

Although these are a very basic version, you can get super creative and layer them, add to them and create all sorts of new goodies. I made these in all different sizes and covered my tree with old tunes. My whole theme was hymnal paper and vintage buttons. I'll probably do something similar this year as well. This is also a fun project to do with the fam and it is super kid friendly. If you're doing this with kiddos, you can easily substite the glue gun for a glue stick.

If you decide to give it a go, please send a pic my way and let me see where your creative juices take you.

Happy creating everyone!