Enter your keyword

premade template: fashionably late



here it is! Fashionably Late is the newest template in my shop, and i couldn't be happier with how it turned out! from the black and white pattern up top to the fun instagram widget below, i wanted this template to feel very trendy yet classic. bold yet subtle. there are share links at the bottom of each post (facebook, twitter, pinterest), customized popular posts, link lists, and label gadgets, as well as a sticky navbar (the navbar stays at the top of the page as  you scroll, making it easily accessible for your readers to view your info as they please), and i even added a top-top scrolling icon. booyeah. those things are so handy (am i right or am i right?)!

one more cool little thing i added?? if you click on the pages up top in the navbar (ie: "about" "contact"...), you'll find that there are no comment boxes or share links in the footer, or even a sidebar. i coded the pages linked to your blog to be "blank" just for you. i think this looks much more professional and clean! so you can add all your info and images here and have your viewers just looking at just that! i hope you love it as much as i do, and more importantly: i hope it's the revamp you are looking for!

*purchase it here!

*see the demo here!

*all photography images: my Pinterest board

*view all my premade templates here or here! 

premade template: simply pretty



I've been trying to do some clean-up around my Etsy shop lately, and since Simply Pretty was one of the very first templates i created and released, i decided to give it some updates and a fresh touch. the hello blurb got an update, the footer got cleaned up, there are share buttons at the bottom of each post (facebook, twitter, pinterest), and the posts in general are centered and not left-aligned anymore. oh! and i also included some instructions for adding your own "recent pins" gadget to your sidebar! overall a much needed change that i'm very happy with.

*purchase it here!

*see the demo here!

*all photography images: Photography by Brooke

*view all my premade templates here or here! 

nail art: white + gold + black triangles

i know. i am the worst blogger ever. and i have no excuse for not writing EXCEPT that i have been wanting to spend every second with my babes and hubby lately. it's this holiday mood i tell ya (or in my case, this spring/summer/fall mood.ha). i just LOVE THEM and know that these early years are so important and impressionable on them, and the last thing i want is for them to remember me as a mom sitting on her computer all day. no thank you. that being said, i do, however, have a billion draft posts in the works, and hope to sit down one of these nights finish them. and create more freebies! you guys. i also have a list a mile long (okay i lie-i have a cute pink polka-dot mini notepad) of ideas i want to make and share! oh! and i diiiid just release a new template in my shop last week, so head over here to see it (more about that later)!


on to the good stuff. these nails were a happy accident. i usually have a pretty clear idea of what i want on my nails when i sit down at night to do them, but this time i just started grabbing polish and...! 


i'm really digging the triangle prints right now, and am glad they ended up on my pinkys! i tried making a stencil with my silhouette for this, and then layed it over the white, and painted the triangles black. it kind of backfired. i had to do it twice on one side because the vinyl was too sticky and pulled up my coat of white! so not the greatest idea. next time i will either use a tiny brush or simply cut small black triangles out of black vinyl (the latter sounds easier so...), and the white triangle/arrow on my middle finger is just white vinyl i cut with my Silhouette. Here are the colors:


• new york color: extra shiny top coat, 271
• new york color: french white tip, 134
orly: (#LAB4402 <<sorry i can't find a name on my bottle!)
• orly: goth, 40637 

hashtag i'm finally on instagram

and really, the title should read hashtag i'm finally on instagram for good. because i made an account a while ago and then never really did anything with it...so yeah. i broke down and decided to jump on the bandwagon. and you know what? i hate it. i hate it because i love it already and wish i had been posting there forever! man i am #notwiththetimes. hah.

now go follow me! especially if that's your favorite social media outlet - you'll most likely see sneak peaks of my designs and projects before i get them posted here! you can click on the image below or the icon in the sidebar to the right over there>>


nail art: pink + gold dots

first, i have to say i'm sorry for the quality of this pic. i know it's terrible, and i don't remember what i took it with (i'm a little mad about that because i really loved this look)! second, i know what you're going to say: MORE polka dots? MORE pink? haha. and i say YES! i can't help it. i just gravitate towards the pinks.


DIY: family rules board

i was at Walmart a few weeks ago when i saw a cute canvas with some family rules listed on it (i pinned it here so you can go take a look). i loved it so much that i wanted to make one for myself, but bigger, and more customized. so i got to work.


i bought a 4'x4' piece of wood, 1/4" thick, at Lowes (the flatter the better-you don't want it all crooked and warped!). then i went and had my dad help me cut it on his table saw. i didn't have a specific measurement in mind-just what i thought looked good-so we ended up with 2 pieces that were 20 and 1/4" x 32", plus i had some leftover that i can use for other projects :)


i took it home and stained it to match our kitchen cabinets, and then the real work began: cutting out and placing the vinyl. this took a week to do, because i did it here and there, during naps or at night when my hubby played basketball. i was soooo happy when i was done with that part!


that would be Nashville that i've been watching during naptime, and starburst wrappers on the side. i used a piece of masking tape as my guide for keeping things straight.


we hung it here, and if you look closely in that image above, you can see the two nail holes we placed to hold it (because my board wasn't totally flat). i'm sure if you had a better/flatter board you could get away with just 1 nail at the top. i am so excited about how it turned out!

now some great news for you: i saved my Silhouette Studio files for cutting this project out, and am sharing them with you so that you can make your own (or make it as a gift-i'm doing that too!). you just need to own or have access to a Silhouette machine to use them.

here are the fonts (in order/top to bottom on the board. most are free if you don't have them, but a few i did buy/have on hand. if you don't want to buy them you can simply use another font):

ck caralyn (fuller - the only one NOT on the template, because you will need to write your own last name!)
arial unicode ms (family rules)
courier new (keep your promises)
cooper black (share)
dasha (think of others before yourself)
minion pro (say i love you)
times new roman (listen to your parents)
gill sans mt (do your best)
halo handletter (say please and thank you)
lato:regular (always tell the truth)
angsana new (laugh at yourself)
budmo (hug often)
ld text me (use kind words)
jacques and gilles (love one another)

the Silhouette Studio files:

nail art: it's beginning to feel like fall


like a lot of people, i am a lover of fall. i love chunky sweaters and the smell of apple cider (currently on my candle warmer), and i definitely love to change up my polish for the season. this is what i put on my nails last week when we had a rainy day.


• new york color: french white tip (#134)
• sally hansen: hard as nails xtreme wear, mellow yellow (not pictured above, because it replaced the white on my other hand)
• orly:  Goth (#40637)
• essie: sand tropez
 new york color: long wearing nail enamel, Extra Shiny Top Coat (#271)
• white nail tape