7 DAYS OF BLOGMAS // DAY 2: EASY SANTA HAT NAIL ART

Every year, I see other bloggers and vloggers doing some sort of Christmas countdown and every year I think to myself that I wish I had been organised enough to do one myself. So this year, although I still haven't been organised enough to do a countdown for the whole of December (I am also supposed to be writing my thesis!), I thought I would attempt a smaller countdown; my very own 7 Days of Blogmas. Make sure you don't miss a single post by following Isoscella on Bloglovin.

It's Day 2 of Isoscella's 7 Days of Blogmas and today I'm sharing another really quick and easy DIY. It's been a long time since I shared any nail art DIY's on here - mainly because there are people out there who are far more skilled at it than me (as I'm sure you'll be able to tell from the photos!) - but at this time of year I do love to do a festive mani and so I thought I'd share with you a staple of mine. Keep reading to find out how I do it and what I use...

White Nail Varnish

Red Nail Varnish

Grey Nail Varnish

1. Paint your nails with a clear base coat. Here I used a Sally Hansen base coat which strengthens and smooths your nails.

2. Paint your nails all over with one colour. I chose this lovely dark grey as I wanted my hat and snow to really stand out but a navy or christmas green would also look fab.

3. Using a red nail varnish, paint a triangle at the tip of your nails. I did this carefully with the brush that comes with the varnish at the tip of my nails but you could also do it at the base.

4. Add a big white circle at the top of the triangle. Once your red triangle is dry, use a white nail varnish and just the brush that comes with it to blob on a nice big fluffy bobble at the tip of the red triangle. As it's supposed to be fur, it doesn't matter if it's not perfect!

5. Paint several white 'blobs' overlapping at the triangle base. Using the same white nail varnish, add several overlapping blobs at the base of the triangle. Again, this doesn't have to be perfect as it's fur!

...and that's it!

Don't forget to join me tomorrow for some more festive fun as part of my 7 Days of Blogmas!

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

♥

7 DAYS OF BLOGMAS // DAY 1: REPURPOSED COPPER BAUBLES

Every year, I see other bloggers and vloggers doing some sort of Christmas countdown and every year I think to myself that I wish I had been organised enough to do one myself. So this year, although I still haven't been organised enough to do a countdown for the whole of December (I am also supposed to be writing my thesis!), I thought I would attempt a smaller countdown; my very own 7 Days of Blogmas. Make sure you don't miss a single post by following Isoscella on Bloglovin.

Today I'm sharing a super quick and easy way to spruce up some of those old christmas tree ornaments. If you've been here before, you'll know that I'm obsessed with copper and it'll come as no surprise that my christmas decor this year is copper and white. I really struggled to find copper baubles though, and so I decided instead to spray paint some old ones that were on their way out to give them a new lease of life. I love how they turned out and particularly like the copper against the silver metal caps! Keep reading to find out how I made them and what I used...

Old Baubles

Straws

Copper spray paint

4. Leave each bauble to dry. The spray paint I used for this takes hardly any time at all to dry and so I found that my baubles were touch dry after about 10 minutes. To be sure that I didn't damage the paintwork though, I left them for at least an hour.

5. Push the tops of the baubles back on. If you want, you can give your baubles a spray of varnish or sealer. I chose not to so that I didn't change the finish of the paint however you could use a matte or gloss varnish to get the exact finish you want. Once it's completely dry, push the metal caps carefully back on the baubles or remove any tape covering them.

...and hang them on your Christmas tree!

1. Carefully remove the top of the baubles. This bit will only work if you have baubles that have the metal cap clipped on or held in place by two metal prongs inside. If yours are permanently attached, cover them up with painters tape instead.

2. Pop each bauble onto a straw. Now this was just a way I found of holding the baubles so that I could rotate them as I sprayed them. I found that if I put enough straws into them, it holds so well that I could then leave the baubles on the straws to dry propped up in a glass.

3. Spray paint each bauble. Hold the spray paint a few inches away and spray thin even strokes starting from the bottom upwards. When you've finished the sides, don't forget to give the top a quick spray!

Don't forget to join me tomorrow for more festive fun!

Let me know what you think of this DIY in the comments below.

♥

Rust Oleum Painter's Touch Toy Safe Craft Enamel Copper 150ML Buy on Amazon

Amscan International Flexible Neon Straws, Pack of 225 Buy on Amazon

5 FAVES FRIDAY // DIY CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

1. DIY Painted Gold Leaf Ornaments by The Sweetest Occasion

2. DIY Ornaments by Tattly Blog

3. DIY Clay Star Tree Ornaments by Isoscella

4. DIY Wooden Christmas Ornaments by Tara Victoria

5. DIY Christmas Ornament Trio by Earnest Home Co.

Christmas is such a great time of year to get crafting and where better to start than with the all important christmas tree! Making some of your very own christmas tree ornaments is so much fun and a great (and cheaper!) way to get perfectly co-ordinating and unique decorations. Handmade baubles on their own make a lovely little christmas gesture or teamed with other lovelies make a perfect addition to a gift basket. There are so many great ideas on Pinterest and so it took me some time to narrow it down to just these five. I've decided to have a copper and white theme this christmas and so number 4 would just match perfectly...!

Which of the above is your favourite?

Will you be getting crafty this christmas?

Let me know in the comments below!

♥

5 FAVES FRIDAY // DIY CHRISTMAS DECOR

1. Giant DIY Christmas Wreath by Homemade Ginger

2. DIY Felted Snowball Garlands by Shelterness (Image from Cox&Cox)

3. DIY Mini Wooden Trees by Sugar & Cloth

4. DIY Modern Paper Tree Garlands by Nalles House

5. DIY Christmas Star by Lekker Fris

I'm loving the modern and minimalist decor this year and so when I was looking for some christmas decor DIYs, these ideas just stood out at me. I wish that I had more time this year on the run up to christmas to craft some christmas decor myself, but because of my pesky dissertation (which apparently won't write itself), admiring other people's ideas will just have to do! I really like the contrast of the black christmas trees against the white wall and fireplace of number 4 and the shabby chicness of number 5.

Which of these ideas are you loving?

Let me know in the comments below!

♥