My Favorite Things Series – Starbucks Passion Iced Tea Lemonade with Sally Hansen

Hi everyone! I’m adding a new entry to the My Favorite Things series today (a series inspired by my stuff), and this time my inspiration is readily available for purchase at your nearest Starbucks! For this entry, I was inspired by my current favorite Starbucks beverage: Passion iced tea lemonade (I’m going to refer to it as PTL from now on, since that’s what Starbucks does). I really love the fruity and refreshing iced tea/lemonade drinks Starbucks has been putting out for summer, and the Passion tea version is especially delicious. One morning, I got a big cup of it, and it just looked so beautiful (and tasty) I couldn’t help but want to honor its loveliness. So I turned it into nail art! I’m not trying to promote Starbucks here; this is purely a personal homage to my favorite drink.

Starbucks Passion Iced Tea Lemonade Nail Art

One of the things I’ve been rather disappointed about the My Favorite Things series is that none of the stuff I’ve been posting about can be purchased anymore. Past features have included designs inspired by a minty starry scarf, rainbow dichroic glass earrings, and gray and red poppy bedding, none of which are very easy to find since I either found the items in an obscure location or they are no longer in season. It makes me a bit frustrated with myself when I go on and on about how much I like something and, if anyone who reads my blog wants the same thing, they can’t obtain it. This time, I’m happy to report that you can purchase your own glass of PTL quite easily, and for a cost that’s probably less than $5 (Starbucks prices vary per region so I can’t give an exact price). Read on to see how it compares to the real deal!

My Favorite Things Series – Red and Gray Poppy Bedding

Hi everyone! I have a new post in the “My Favorite Things” series today (nail art inspired by my stuff). Design #1 was based off of a starry scarf and Design #2 was meant to look like a pair of dichroic glass earrings. This time, I’m showing off some nail art that looks like my bedding! A little over a year ago, I bought an awesome duvet cover from Bed Bath & Beyond by a brand named notNeutral that has some bright red poppy-like flowers and light gray leaves on top of a darker gray background. I really love home decor like this because it has everything I like: florals, bright colors, and graphic print. Also, the family dog’s name is Poppy, and so – not gonna lie – I was partly drawn to it because it has poppies on it. The bedding is actually still available to look at on the Bed Bath & Beyond website, but it is no longer for sale online. You can find it on Wayfair, if you’re interested in buying it (it’s $80 I think).

My Favorite Things Series – Dichroic Glass Earrings with Rainbow Foil

Hi everyone! I’m continuing my series of nail art designs inspired by patterns on my favorite things today, which began with the minty star scarf a bit over a week ago. This manicure was inspired by a FABULOUS pair of dichroic glass earrings that I bought at a craft fair two years ago. As best as I can tell (I’m no expert), these stud earrings are made of an ultramarine blue glass base layered with some rainbow film, and then coated with clear glass. I bought them for $10 or less, so they were quite inexpensive. Unfortunately, I can’t credit the artist because I can’t find her info 😦

According to Wikipedia, dichroic glass is made by layering glass and micro-layers of metals or oxides to yield a piece of glass with color-shifting properties. The dichroic appearance of the glass is due to thin-film optics effects, which you can also see at play with rainbow soap bubbles and oil slicks. Since I don’t have micro-layers of metals/oxides to use on my nails, I created the dichroic effect using some shiny rainbow transfer foil. It looks AMAZING!!! The finished look is really close to how the glass looks in real life…almost better than how it looks in real life. Plus, the technique I used wasn’t too difficult, so I made a tutorial! Check it out:

My Favorite Things Series – Minty Star Scarf with Julep

Hi everyone! Today I’m starting a new series of nail art designs inspired by the beautiful patterns of some of my favorite things (hence the title of this post). Yesterday I was looking at my list of manicure ideas – I keep one on my phone so I don’t forget anything – and I realized that at least four of the ideas were inspired by stuff I own. So I’m making it a whole series!

The first design is based off of one of my favorite scarves, which is a bright minty/aqua green color with some metallic silver stars of various sizes scattered all over it. I bought this particular scarf at Nordstrom Rack several months ago, and I remember it being inexpensive. Not super insulating, but it helps keep me a little warmer. And, of course, it’s pretty and shiny 🙂