Silver Bells

I have some festive nails to show you.  These are my silver bell nails.  I used Sinful Colors Blue Steel.  Blue Steel is a beautiful blue polish with hints of silver in it.  This color reminds me of my baby’s eyes when she was born.    

 

 

For the bells I used Bundle Monster plate BM-223 and Pure Ice Silver Mercedes.  I love this manicure.  The blue/silver polish and the silver polish go so good together.  I hope you all have a fun and safe holiday season!         

Glitter Removal Comparison

I love glitter polish, but taking it off can be such a hassle.  I have tried a few different methods including DIY Peel Off Base Coat, N.Y.C. Strip Me Off Base Coat, Foil Method, and Nail Polish Removal (Gel-Off) Clips.  You can see my review of each by clicking on their name.

There are a few different ways to help make removing glitter polish easier.  For me, my DIY peel off base coat came off in small pieces taking a long time.  The N.Y.C. Strip Me Off Base Coat, however, came off in chunks making removal faster.  Peel off base coats take a while to dry when you first put them on.  Foil and clips do not take any extra time up front, but you have to let them sit on your nails longer when you are ready to remove your polish. 

So the question is when you want to spend your time.  Do you want to spend more time up front and wait for a peel off base coat to dry, and then simply peel off your nail polish when you are ready?  Or do you want to spend less time up front, paint your nails as you normally would, then wait a little longer when you are ready to remove your nail polish?  Either way it is nice to see products on the market that make removing glitter polish easier.  Now you can add your favorite glitter polishes onto your nails and not worry about having to scrub it off later.  

Personally I like having N.Y.C. Strip Me Off Base Coat and Nail Polish Removal (Gel-Off) Clips.  If I know I am going to be using glitter polish and have some extra time when I am first painting my nails, then I can use my N.Y.C. Strip Me Off Base Coat.  If I add glitter polish later, maybe to extend my manicure, but I didn’t use N.Y.C. Strip Me Off Base Coat, I can always use my Nail Polish Removal (Gel-Off) Clips and still have an easy time removing my glitter nail polish. 

Nail Polish Removal (Gel-Off) Clips

There are lots of interesting nail art products on the market.  One interesting and useful one is nail polish removal clips.  These clips work much like the foil method of removing nail polish, but are easier because you do not have to cut out pieces of foil, and they are reusable.

 

I bought mine from Ebay here.  They had pink, purple, and rose colored clips.  I chose the rose ones.  You get 10 clips for $2.35 and free shipping.  One of my clips was broken.  The rubber band holding the two pieced together was cut.  I got some small black rubber bands and found a few that were similar in size.  I ended up using the larger rubber band so I could wrap it around twice (it held better that way).  I was so happy this worked so if any of my other bands break down the road, I can repair them myself without having to wait for new clips to be shipped to me.  The seller replaced my clips when I emailed letting them know one came broken.  It was quick, easy, and the seller was professional.  This is someone I would buy from again.    

 

To use these clips, you soak a cotton ball in nail polish remover add it to your nail and then put the clip on over.  After about 5 minutes, you take the clips and cotton balls off.  If any nail polish is left on your nails, simply remove it with your cotton balls. 

 

 

I really love these clips.  It makes taking off glitter polish so much easier!  I also think it is easier, less expensive, and better looking than using foil. 

Country Crock Make It Yours

 (Country Crock VoxBox was sent complimentary by Influenster for testing purposes)

Recently I received a coupon for a free tub of Country Crock.  I was excited because I have loved Country Crock since I was a little girl.  Included with my coupon was a cookie recipe.  The recipe is called Make It Yours Cookie Recipe.  My favorite part of this recipe is that you have your standard cookie recipe with an option to add your own touches to it.  Since baking is a science and can be messed up easily, I was happy to see a baking recipe with flexibility.   Here is the recipe included with my Country Crock VoxBox:

Ingredients

1 cup Country Crock®

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. baking soda

Your choice of mix-ins (for example, 3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°.  Mix Country Crock®, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla in large bowl until well mixed.  Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda until blended.  (Dough will be soft and creamy.)  Add your favorite mix-ins until every spoonful of dough has some of the delicious mix-ins or choose from the other variations. 

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls on ungreased baking sheets 3 inches apart.

Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly golden.  Cool 1 minute on wire rack; remove from sheets and cool completely. 

You can find inspirations and mix-in ideas at CountryCrock.com and share your cookies with #MakeItYours.  There are so many varieties I want to try.  Next I want to make cookies with chocolate covered almonds and then a cookie cake.  The good thing about a flexible recipe like this is you can add whatever ingredients you like and have.  For me, I have some chocolates from a fundraiser.  I chose to add chocolate bars with crisps to my cookies cut with a large kitchen knife. 

I love this cookie recipe!  The cookies are soft and delicious.  It is going to be a go-to recipe for me.  I want to mention that Country Crock now has a simpler recipe for their spreads made with real ingredients.  I chose to try the calcium variety (they also have original, light, and churn style).  It was delicious.  The spread is just as good as I remember it.  I use this spread everywhere I would use butter.  One of my favorite ways to use Country Crock is on bread. 

 

 

I highly recommend trying County Crock.  I also highly recommend watching this video for making a variety of cookies with kids and going to CountryCrock.com to get recipe inspirations. 

(Country Crock VoxBox was sent complimentary by Influenster for testing purposes)