Glittery Toenails and more weekend fun!

Wanted to share with you my sparkle nails I got fo the holidays! It is basically a red basecoat with holiday sparkly colors over top. I think it looks fun and super festive. I am happy with it. Hope it lasts till Christmas!

Here’s some other fun updates from my weekend activities…

– Had lots of turkey and pumpkin pie (my fave) over this weekend. Both William and myself made the pie (me the crust, him the filling). It turned out soooo delicious! I even made homeade whipping cream for the top!

sofie-1

– Got to see William’s niece Sofie above.  She didn’t want me to take her picture at first, but then she loosened up and let me.  I have to get my kid pics in when I can!  In the photo above, the lighting on her face was reflected from a yellow book.  Cool, huh?

– Dexter is up to his usual tricks. This weekend he started meowing deeper and he is looking much bigger. I can’t believe we’ve only had him 2 months!

Got this cool vintage #5 from a local Thrift store.  I went thrifting with William a while yesterday. This is all I came home with. It’s for the best, though.  Better to come home with too little than too much. I have no place to store it!

– As you can tell, I’ve been playing around with my blog look and truncating my posts.  I want it to be easier to search through for content and to be fresher looking. That’s why I opted for white.  I have a lot of work to make it look nicer still yet to come, so stay tuned.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

The Thankful Pumpkin (Repeat)

thankful pumpkin 2

Here’s a repeat project from last year that I made. It’s quick and simple…yeah, that’s me. And if you don’t want to use paint, you could use a silver or gold pen too!

The Thankful Pumpkin

Supplies:
– medium or large pumpkin
– Copper Pearl paint
– thin drafting tape (I used Rainbow Tape)
– newspaper
– damp cloth

Instructions:
1. Wipe off any dirty spots of pumpkin with cloth.
2. Spiral tape around pumpkin as a guideline for your writing.
Thankful pumpkin step
3. Lay down newspaper, and using writer, write “I’m thankful for…” and then list things you are thankful for. You may need to do it in sections at a time, so not to smear your paint. Let dry.

Oh, and enjoy your pumpkin with family and friends!

Until next time Swellions,

Alexa

Thanksgiving food faves

I’m dog tired, but am starting to think about my favorite Thanksgiving foods all of a sudden. I’m actually going to Asheville, NC, with my fam for Thanksgiving and I am really looking forward to all the fun times + yummy goodness. These are my top 5 faves I like seeing at the Thanksgiving table!

1) My mom’s bread stuffing – packed with celery, spice, and day old bread crumbs…it is so good and soft and crispy…just awesome!

2) My mom’s raisin bread – this is her specialty. It’s especially good served warm with butter. I’m not as much of a fan of leftovers. Never have been that crazy about leftovers in general

3) Pumpkin pie with whipped cream. I love anything pumpkin, actually, but I love the texture of Pumpkin pie with a basic pie crust. A little cool whip makes it perfect! If I can get my hands on a pumpkin roll, though, I would be in ultimate pumpkin heaven!

4) Of course, turkey with gravy! My bro-in-law made it last year in the deep fryer and it was super yummy. Have you had it that way?

5) Homeade mashed potatoes – I love mashed potatoes with lots of butter and milk. You know, I’m very particular about having gravy over top. I like KFC potatoes with gravy, but I’m weird otherwise.

What are some of your Thanksgiving favorites? Please share!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Pumpkin Jewels

pumpkin jewels

Even though the “Biggest holiday of the year” is upon us, let’s not forget about that one that is just a few weeks away…the one where we throw our last hurrah for fall beauty!

I wanted to create a pretty pumpkin project for those of you not sure what do do with those autumn accents! Adding bling to your pumpkins is super fun and easy and something you can do in mere minutes. I did a couple different versions as you will see and here’s how to do them:

Jeweled Pumpkin Stem

Supplies:
– Mid-weight gauge wire (I used copper)
– large seed beads, crystal beads, gold spacers
– pumpkin with long stem
– round nose pliers

Instructions:
1. Cut off a piece of wire about 12” to 18” long. This will vary based on how long your stem is.
2. Create a small loop at the end of wire with round nose pliers
3. String beads randomly onto wire until desired length is achieved.
4. Make a coil at the end with the wire to finish it off.
5. Wrap it around pumpkin stem and display!

Curly Coils Pumpkin

Supplies:
– Mid-weight gauge wire (I used copper)
– large beads and charms in various sizes (I used resin pendant drop beads, large ab faceted beads, and even a heart toggle)
– ring mandrel
– round nose pliers

Instructions:
1. Cut several lengths of wire in various sizes (mine were anywher from 6” to 12” in length).
2. Coil wire ring mandrel to make long curly design. If you don’t have a ring mandrel, use your finger or a round tube (like lipstick or mascara tube).
3. Stick end of wire securely into pumpkin.
4. Place beads on ends of wire. Make small loops to hold into place if necessary. Since I created this for temporary décor, they just loosely hung on the coiled ends, kinda like ornaments on trees.

Hope you enjoyed this project and are getting inspired for the Thanksgiving days ahead!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

The Thankful Pumpkin

thankful pumpkin

I have had this project on the brain for quite some time, but I think now is an appropriate time to unleash it. Even though I love Halloween, I also love fall and all the colors and warmth that it brings (not warm weather, unfortunately). More warm-hearted feelings.

I’ve been noticing on a lot of blogs (including my friend Kristin’s), that a lot of people are becoming very in tune this season with what they are thankful for. I think it is always good to step back and take a look at the big picture and really evaluate the little and big things that we sometimes take for granted. This project can be a way for you to reconnect with yourself and possibly family and friends during this upcoming Thanksgiving season.

The Thankful Pumpkin

Supplies:
– medium or large pumpkin
– Paper Effects Copper Pearl paint
– thin drafting tape (I used Rainbow Tape)
– newspaper
– damp cloth

Instructions:
1. Wipe off any dirty spots of pumpkin with cloth.
2. Spiral tape around pumpkin as a guideline for your writing.
Thankful pumpkin step
3. Lay down newspaper, and using writer, write “I’m thankful for…” and then list things you are thankful for. You may need to do it in sections at a time, so not to smear your paint. Let dry.

Here’s a full pic of my finished pumpkin:

thankful pumpkin 2

I’m going to try to do a few more Thanksgiving projects as the season progresses and time permits. So please check back!

Until next time Swellions,

Alexa