Monday, December 13, 2010

Look What I Made!

As I've mentioned before, my 22 year old son moved to Seattle almost a year ago. I haven't seen him since April and I'm really looking forward to spending some Christmas time with him. We celebrate the American Christmas...all the fodder without the religion.

He has expressed that he prefers gifts that were made for him rather than purchased and for that I love him even more. But still, I like to get him something unexpected and purchased when I can. Things that will help him accomplish the goals he's set for himself.

This year, for his handmade gift, I thought it would be kind of cool to give him ornaments that symbolized...well.. Me! That way, he could have his mom nearby even while we're apart, and when the time comes that I leave this life, he'll have these to put on his tree each Christmas and remember me by. What better way to give him something to remember me by than to use nail polish in the creation? Yep, I did! I got into my stash, picked some of my favorites and I made these: *click to make 'em BIG
The pictures aren't the best they can be, and I'll probably take better ones and post 'em up here again...these were taken with my cell phone at work today.

All colors are listed Clockwise from the top left.

OPI Merry Midnight, Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud (GORGEOUS), OPI Shim-Merry Chic and 
China Glaze Emerald Sparkled.
 Close up of the Shim-Merry Chic bulb.
 Essie Huckle Buckle, Sally Hansen Sea and Be Seen (Scene?), Milani 3D Holographic Gold, 
Diamond Cosmetics Canyon Sunrise, Borghese Stellar Notte and China Glaze Good Witch?
Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, Orly Space Cadet, Zoya Delilah, My LOVE: China Glaze Atlantis (this photo doesn't do the bulb justice at ALL), Sally Hansen Prisms Diamond, My Sage Franken that I made HERE (because my son really like desaturated colors...I suspect this one will be his favorite.)
This last is a Franken I made. I call it "Lights on the Tree"
I mixed equal parts Orly Enchanted Forest and Clear, just a tad less of OPI Shim-Merry Chic and a few drops of China Glaze Atlantis (about 6 or 8). This added holographic sparkle and brought some of the blue back that was lost from adding the Shim-Merry Chic.
I got the idea while looking at Ambefrski's Franken she made with Shim-Merry Chic and some red.

My kiddo doesn't even look at this blog so I'm not concerned I'll spoil the surprise. I am loving the way these are turning out and have 6 more I can make...the fumes though... WOW. My husband came home yesterday, and our little house was so gaseous he asked me if I was feeling ok.  I was getting a headache and so we left the house for a while so I could breathe fresh air. Small house + fumes = not good. We slept with all the windows wide open last night and that helped a ton. They are sitting in my office at work tonight...should be interesting tomorrow. :) 

Any suggestions for other colors I might use? I was thinking De-Luxe-ious from Color Club might be good. I think I need a few more reds though...ideas? I also think the Delilah bulb could use another coat. Amazingly this isn't using much of my pretties. There is some waste, but it's not unbearable and I'm happy to share it with the ones I love, even the ones who don't wear polish. 

I sure hope he doesn't think it's a silly thing to give him...he is, afterall, a young MAN. Something tells me he'll love it though. I think they'll be good for next year...then they won't be flammable anymore. LOL

Please comment your suggestions! I have trouble when I open up my stash and try to decide, it's almost as hard as doing a mani!

31 comments:

  1. Wow, these are stunning, and so incredibly thoughtful. I love them, and I think your son will to, as will his wife years from now when they're decorating their own tree and telling stories of where the ornaments came from. This is beautiful.

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  2. I love this idea! Its so sweet too. I'm sure your son will LOVE them! As for colors Hmmm I don;t know Oooooh I know if you want a red hows about Ruby Slippers if you have it. Its red, its glittery. its purdy! :D

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  3. OMG SO PRETTY!! How did you do that? I would love to do that for my parents... My mom loves homemade presents :)

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  4. ohh I am loving that Space Cadet one, these were a great idea! you could do so many different variations with them...like a whole bunch of holo ones.

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  5. I think these are adorable. My son already told me when he leaves home(hes 16) that I am to send him handmade/homemade stuff.

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  6. I'm really glad you posted these up so I could look at them again. I think my favorite is the Lights on a Tree franken, followed by Opulent Cloud, Space Cadet, and Atlantis. Plus, I love love love the story behind these. Too sweet!
    Maybe Ruby Pumps for another red? I don't know how similar it is to Delilah.

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  7. OMG these are awesome!!! You are so creative =) How much polish did u use?

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  8. How awesome :)
    I decorated some with Konad stamping :)

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  9. Wow! This is such a fabulous idea! :D I'm sure he'll love them, they are unique and made by you.

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  10. Thank everyone, I was worried they might be too corny.
    @Reese, I got clear glass bulbs from Michael's, poured a bunch of polish in, swirled it around to coat the inside, dumped the excess back into the bottle and let the slow moving excess drain over a paper cup. Repeat if a second coat is needed.
    @Tropical Mind, Maybe the same amount used in a mani or two? not a lot.
    @Diana, OH! I want to see those!

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  11. What an awesome and creative idea!!! I see a nail polish themed tree in my near future!! Thanks so much for sharing these and your idea. :)

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  12. What Brooke said, I see some nail polish trees in my future as well!

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  13. These are so amazing! I love love love the Space Cadet one. o_O

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  14. These are absolutely fabulous! Amazing idea...I want some!! I would love one in Nfu-oh 56 :0)

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  15. Ok, so I did this. Maybe I got bigger bulbs than you did, but I used at least half of the bottles for all 6 colors. Unfortunately I used a color I quite liked when I did this, Hard Candy Hypnotic, which IDK if Walmart still sells... and I did a metallic silver, which just looks like a regular bulb :/

    But all in all, this is a really cool idea! I bet my mom loves them, because they're handmade by me :) Thanks for the great idea!!

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  16. I got the 2" bulbs...they have 3.5 or 4" I think...I got the smallest round ones I could. Jeez the big ones drying fumage would have kilt me! :) Mine used about a 1/4 of the bottles, but really...that's a couple manis and you know what? There will be MORE colors! :)
    And I bet your Mom DOES love them bunches! I mean, think of how obsessive we are about our favorites...what it means to SHARE them. :) cool beans.

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  17. Never in my life I would have thought of doing something like this, that's soooo creative and extremely gorgeous. I looked at all pictures full size and drooled over them for a very long time. Your son will probably have the best christmas tree EVER for many years to come.

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  18. Okay wow! These are amazing. I remember doing this once a longtime ago with paint. I would of never thought to use nail polish. I am so doing this next Christmas!

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  19. If you make these, have a garage...a well ventilated shed...somewhere OUTSIDE where they can dry. :)

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  20. Wow, what a great idea! I've made glitter bulbs before but never thought to use nail polish.

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  21. This is such a great idea, my dear Liz! I'm in awe, these turned out so great!!!

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  22. Ok, this idea is just briliant! I love the bulbs! So awesome, I can't even point one out, they are all just ... gorgeous! My suggestion is some heavy holographic polish. I think Color Club Wild At Heart would look fantastic.

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  23. how did you make those!? Those are awesome!

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  24. Hi Nail Designs xox, read some of my comments here where I share the how and some tips I learned along the way.

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  25. Hi! I stumbled over here from The Daily Nail. What a perfect gift idea! You picked such beautiful colors, and I love that green franken! It sounds like you raised a very cool guy, one who eschews consumption in favor of hand made gifts. Happy New Year!

    ~Cat

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  26. That's the most beautiful gift you can do to your son! I'm 24, and if my mum do that, I think I'm going to cry ! Adorable!!

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  27. I LOVE these!! What a great way to find a use for the hundreds of polishes I will probably never use up!!! I am so doing this....!!!!

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  28. I made these also but how do you get rid of smell?

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