My Nail Polish Quilt and Organizers

My mom surprised me with this quilt back in November last year at the annual craft fair that she and I run a booth at. She's the crafy one, I just help carry the things she has made, display and sell them.
We were unpacking the quilts to hang on the quilt rack. This rack has three rungs and is about 8 feet wide. So I hang on the bottom rung first, then middle then top so they all lay correctly. As I start hanging, she pulls more quilts out and hands me one with purple backing. I set it down because it was purple and I wanted it on the top rung since purple is my favorite color. So I finally get to the top rung of the rack and reach for this quilt which is still neatly folded on the table. I unfold it so I can refold it for display and I'm looking at the back of it - I didn't realize it was mine until I finished folding and flipped it around to hang it. I squealed loudly with glee, then I hugged it tight and said, "THIS ONE IS MINE!!!!" And then, still clinging onto the quilt, I hugged her even tighter. I held it out to admire it some more and then realized that I had just put my mom through such suspense waiting for my reaction so we had a good laugh about that.

The technique she used, I think, is called free-motion and is in a loopy pattern. She did it all on her Pfaff sewing machine. And shame on me for this, but I can't remember whether she made the pattern for the blocks herself, but I bet my savings that she did. She's crafty like that! She also did not prewash the fabric so that I could have that beautiful crinkled effect that I love so much about quilts.

My mom also made this little beauty! It is my nail tool and 'stuff' organizer. Can you believe all this stuff fits in a standard sized coffee mug?
The holder just wraps around the mug and velcros under the handle. There are heaps of pockets on the inside and outside to hold all the things! It's so handy to have everything in my reach without taking up a lot of desk space or having to open a drawer with wet nails.



And finally, something that I made! I went to quilt retreat with mom in July last year. It was my first time going and I had a great time, made some new friends and learned a LOT of stuff. I made two of these and really enjoyed doing it! It's the perfect size for cotton balls or felt and foil(that's what's in the other one!).



I use each one of these things daily and don't know how I went without them. Thank you mom, so much for teaching me and being so good to me! :)

Black Dahlia with stamping nail art

Press Sample

I recently received some new stamping plates and wanted to try them out. I found some time to stamp over a polish I recently reviewed and one that's going to be in a future review of mine.
I am still working at technique so the stamps sometimes don't transfer perfectly from the plate to the stamper. I think that I am improving though, I'm quite pleased with how these transferred!
All supplies were purchased by me except for the Black Dahlia polishes, those were sent to me for review.

Base is Black Dahlia Teal Hydrangea stamped with plate VL030 and MDU #4 stamping polish.





Base is Black Dahlia Magical Moss stamped with plate AP18 and Konad black stamping polish.



See what I did there? Matchy matchy with the logo! When I saw that plate I knew I had to have it for this very purpose. :)



So, what do you think?

Bitch by Jaclyn: April Showers Collection

Press Sample

The April Showers collection from B.i.t.c.h. by Jaclyn is launching Tuesday! I think she has captured the shades of April really well! These blues, greys, and purples are so pretty together.

Let's start with the namesake of the collection, April Showers. Which is a light blue crelly glitter polish. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Cuddle Puddle is a blue holographic polish. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Drip Drop is a silvery blue frost with subtle holo sparkle. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Go Away is a grape colored holo. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Gutter Bitch is a charcoal holo. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Just Foolin' Around is a pastel orchid holo. The holo is a little stronger in full sun, it's just difficult to capture under studio lighting. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Make It Rain is a pretty teal leaning blue holo. I wore two coats with topcoat.





Jaclyn is also launching a new quick dry topcoat called Lubed & Ready. I've been able to test it out and it dries fairly quick, is super glossy and hardens well. Each time I tried it though, the polish underneath's solvents were still trying to evaporate under the already dry topcoat which caused bubbling. I even tried letting the polish dry for a while before using the topcoat but had the same result. It seems that while the top coat dries quick, it doesn't also dry the layers underneath. I will most likely use Lubed & Ready as a re-glosser through the week to keep my manis super shiny.

I enjoyed wearing this collection, and I would say my two favorites are Go Away (because PURPLE!) and Make It Rain because it's an unusual shade of blue, not quite teal, but definitely teal leaning.

The April Showers collection launches on April 7, 8pm Central at http://www.bitchbyjaclyn.com/