DIY TIBI NAIL ART

Since I got so many lovely comments on a recent instagram I thought I would share my DIY Tibi tutorial. HonestlyWTF has an amazing post detailing how recreate Jin Soon Choi's Tibi runway nail art... which I gave a try (or 5) but I just couldn't master the steady hand. The shakes and my apparently, ridiculous want of a beige nail pen (what? that's not everyone's first choice?!) led to some creative execution.

Here's how I did it:

Grab your two colours of choice; a base and an accent. Cut twelve small pieces of painter tape and set aside, ready for use. Depending on your base polish you may want to paint your day before to give it time to dry. 

Begin by taping your pointer and ring finger horizontally, leaving a thin space in-between. Follow with taping your middle finger vertically, leaving the same sized space.

Paint over the spaces left on each of your fingers with your accent colour. Peel off the tape beginning with the first finger you painted. Don't let the polish dry too long before peeling or it may dry to the tape and pull off with it (...I learnt that the hard way).

and VOILA! your sweet shaky hands have Tibi runway inspired nails like all the cool kids!

DIY: Christmas Stockings

To make space for my excitement of the holidays, my wedding recap posts will take a bit of an unexpected and brief hiatus. I can't help myself, as much as I am incredibly excited to share my wedding with you all I want to do right now is share these christmas stockings that I made!

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Since this is Jack's and my first Christmas away from home, we want to make it extra special. In part, to kick off our life together but also because we will surely miss our families this holiday season. Stockings were clearly a must! Since nothing in-store matched the vision I had in my mind, we decided to make them ourselves!

I began by guess-timating the size we wanted. Growing up, the stockings at my home were always quite small, while Jack's family had the jumbo size; we chose somewhere in the middle. I sketched out a shape I like that we could use as a pattern.

I didn't have any chalk so I used a silver gel pen I had left over from last Christmas to outline the pattern on the fabric. I outlined and cut the lining first, and the fabric second. A lining isn't really necessary however, I'm hoping that these will be around for a while and I would like them to not become mis-shapen. 

This was the first time I've used my sewing machine since I got it last Christmas. It's been sitting in my closet, unused and intimidating as ever. My sewing was not as smooth as I would have liked but I did it, and the corners aren't too jagged. 

Since I was a little wild with the sewing machine I opted out of using it for the details. Instead I grabbed my needle and thread and sewed our fur trim by hand. I wasn't quite sure how I would sew the accent on discretely when we first chose it but luckily the thread hid the fur easily - so easily! In retrospect, I should have sewn the fur trim onto the top of the lining and main fabric, bringing the lining all the way up to the top of the fur. It would have been cleaner but I'm just happy I got the stockings done in under 8 hours.

I tried ironing on the letters like the directions said and failed miserably. Actually, I think it's safe to assume the glue on the back of the letters dried up over time and failed themselves, but the moral is glue guns solve everything!

To be honest, these aren't perfect. The should-be rounded toe has some very geometric edges and the fur cuff is scratchy on the inside for about two inches but I wouldn't trade them for anything - even these. I love that Jack and I chose all the parts together , and that I sewed them while we watched the holiday classic, Ghost Busters. Perfect way to build a new kind of Christmas!

Wedding Wednesday :: Wedding Website

Okay, so I may be sneaking this one in right under the "Wednesday" wire but it's still Wednesday somewhere right?? riggggght? 
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It seems as though wedding websites are as big a norm as the invitations themselves these days. With it being such an easy way to house information, spread updates and answer questions your guests may have, how could they not be!? Since Jack and I have a bit of DIY thing going anyway, we figured that we might as well make our wedding website from the ground-up to ...well Jack did. I opted for the easy wordpress option but he wasn't having it. So, I caved and we purchased the domain: jackandsorrengettingmarried.com. Long & informative with a nice ring to it; perfection. 

I quickly got to work outlining the content and structure of the site, while Jack began the initial coding and design process. I love how he used our invitation as inspiration and then evolved the design by creating the striped background, main page headers and black nav! I definitely cannot take credit for the amazing site design, that honour goes wholly to Jack. My contributions were fell more under content, text layout on the page and the small headers, not the most glamorous job but it fit my OCD just fine.

Wedding Wednesday :: Invitations

There was never a question as to who would design and create our invites, it was just a matter of the two of us combining our vision and aesthetic to create an invitation that we would both love. 

I must admit, leading up to this year I never thought that the invite below would be what I would be sending out [I had my eye set on much cleaner  types of styles]. However, I love these invitations with all my heart and now that I have them I could not imagine anything topping them!

We began with a month-long design process where we spent a little time each weekend working on the design. Each of us coming up with various assets and ideas, then discussing what we liked and didn't like, and how we could combine the two to make one invitation. This would have gone on forever but we had to lock it in. Looking at the below, I honestly can't even tell you who came up with which pieces - which I love because it means that this design truly was a combined effort.

Transparency set up on giant lightbox - waiting to burn the screen

Once we had our design, we went off to Kinkos to get it printed on transparency paper. Since our invitation paper was large, the transparencies also had to be huge! Although Jack and I have completed many screen printing projects at home, this particular one was a little more delicate so we jumped at the opportunity when our friends at YORODEO offered to lend us their space and equipment.

1. Jack washing out the screen | 2. Setting up the dry screen in the clamps | 3. Paint in place, paint squeegee
4. Putting the paper in place | 5. Painted screen

The use of their space made the whole process SO much easier it was nutty. If we had done this at home it likely would have taken three times how long it took us in the studio - amazing! Had I known it was going to go this smoothly and quickly I may have been up for adding a second colour, or a pattern on the back. In any case, I love them all the same.

1. Drying racks | 2. Our printed invites drying | 3. More drying photos | 4. Cutting the invitations down to size.

I was a little obsessed with the drying racks... I just loved how organized it all looked and how you didn't have to lay your pieces out on the floor and then hop scotch around them trying not to smear the wet paint. Looking at these photos my feelings haven't changed at all. I definitely feel as though a museum dedicated to cool organizational tools would do very well.

Each sheet printed had nine invitations on them, which meant that we had to pay Kinkos another visit and use their giant paper slicer. Sure we could have paid them to do this but we felt like being stingy... this will not happen again - the slicing process would. not. end. To make matters worse, we accidentally printed invites for every person attending, rather than couples, families, etc. Needless to say, we have a large stack of leftovers. Party favours anyone?

Our envelope seals

Once we had our invites, RSVP cards & envelopes side by side, we realized that we were in need of a little colour. Jack quickly put together these J&S buttons and we glued them to the flap of each envelope. It's just a hunch but I'm guessing a lot of these fell off in transit. 

The finished product. 1. Envelope | 2. RSVP card - back | 3. Envelope seals | 4. RSVP card - front | 5. Our finished invitation

Cost of invites: $88.93

• $6.33 - Paper: $0.52 / sheet, 10 sheets [only actually needed 5]
• $5.87 - RSVP Paper: $0.75 / sheet, 6 sheets
• $3.10 - Seal paper: $0.90 / sheet, 3 sheets
• $5.73 - Seal cutter: $5.00 on sale - thank you, Martha Stewart
• $35.19 - Envelopes: $5.10 / 10 pack, 6 packs [so we could have do-overs]
• $10.35 - Paint: $9.00 [we have LOTS leftover]
• $22.36 - Transparency - probably could have cut this cost down by a third.

Funemployment | DIY: Coffee Exfoliant

One of the great things about funemployment is the new found free-time and ability to do those things you loved but never could fit in before. As of late, I have rediscovered the joy of loitering in a cafe like it's my day job. I have combined this joy with cover letter writing (the resume is now compelete :) and job searching (blech!) which, since I'm being productive, allows me to do this almost daily. 

Apart from the all-encompassing job hunt, I have been taking the opportunity to finally work on my portfolio site, new blog design (wink, wink!! SO excited) and making a batch of my favourite-ever body scrub.

I first stumbled upon a DIY coffee body scrub back in 2007 when after obsessively searching online and in-stores, could not find anything worth purchasing. At the time, I had recently put a birthday gift certificate to use and enjoyed my first, full body scrub and polish. While going through the treatment,  the aesthetician explained the benefits behind each product used and had explained that when caffeine, when applied to the surface of your skin, helps redistribute fat cells and decrease the formation of cellulite. The caffeine also acts as a vascular restrictor, shrinking blood vessels and helping to reduce varicose veins. Although I was half asleep in relaxation bliss, my mind took notes and I remembered: 

Caffeine = Cellulite/Varicose prevention

I googled as soon as I got home.

Since then, I have experimented with a few different recipes and measurements, finally discovering a balance that I love. All ingredients are items that you likely already have stocked in your kitchen, however I would caution that premium coffee is not meant for this - it is meant for drinking, enjoying and then remembering how good it was. I suppose you could use your premium (leftover) grounds once your coffee is drunk but if you're like me, and want something a little softer with better movement, this recipe is almost as easy.

• 1cup coffee grounds
• The coarser, the better. This is somewhat subjective. Coarser grounds will offer a more intense exfoliation, where as finer ones will be softer. I enjoy medium.
• The cheaper, the better. I lucked out because Jack is a coffee snob and turned his nose up at this can of coffee, leaving it for me to rub all over my skin ...like you do.

• 3Tablespoons Oil: The oils job is to act as a moisturizer. It will be added to the coffee to create movement and soften your grains. I'm not a big fan of a slushy exfoliant so I stick to a modest amount of oil (also more cost-effective). If you do like a looser scrub, you can add up to 2/3cup, but do so incrementally to play it safe.
• Massage Oil: The first time I made this exfoliant I used a no-scent massage oil. It was alright. I lost it in the move and then discovered that oils found in your kitchen are better! Not only are they more natural, they can offer more benefits to your skin than a massage oil can. 
• Coconut Oil: I now use coconut oil. I was drawn to it because I thought coffee and coconut would complement each other, but it's health benefits are pretty impressive too! 
• Grape seed Oil: I may try this oil next time. The health benefits are also incredibly impressive.
• Olive Oil: This is a heavier oil, so it is best saved for the winter and other times your skin is prone to dryness. It's health benefits are also worth noting.

• 1Tablespoon Sugar: The sugar helps to create movement between the coffee grounds, as well as acts as an exfoliant in itself and increases circulation. You can choose between brown, cane or white sugar. I chose white, however brown sugar offers a sweeter fragrance.

• Fragrance: Honestly, this is really unnecessary. I had some Vanilla Body Shop perfume oil leftover from back in the day (oh to be 19...) so I added a few drops to sweeten the coffee scent.
• Vanilla Extract: It will do the same thing, and may also thin the scrub a bit. I would keep it to half a teaspoon.
• Cinnamon: Will enhance the coffee scent and add a little kick.

USE:

I use my scrub once a week. Anymore, and it's overkill. 

I use a body wash prior to the scrub so my skin is a little more slippery

allowing for ease of application, and better movement. 

I rinse after exfoliation, but will not re-wash with soap or body wash. 

If I used more oil in the scrub I would consider doing this but as is, I'm good.

I ALWAYS save shaving my legs until after I scrub and rinse. 

I have never had a smoother shave than when after I exfoliate with this scrub.

Make sure to rinse the tub out when you're done. 

This scrub is MESSY. 

It'll be a coffee ground bonanza when you are done. 

Don't be lazy. 

You will thank yourself, your roommate will thank you, 

your significant other will thank you.

While you're at it, make yourself a lip scrub. 

1Tablespoon of sugar + 1/2teaspoon of oil and you're good to go.

You might as well enter my giveaway, since you're pampering yourself and all.