DIY nail trends are on fire right now! From crackle and matte polishes to nail polish strips there are so many fun new ways to give yourself a manicure.

Up next on my to-try list: magnetic polish!

Such a cool idea! You basically apply a base coat, apply a coat of the magnetic polish, and then hold the magnet (located on the bottle’s outer cap) to your wet nail. The result is a rippled effect that looks much more difficult than it is.

Now if only I could get a minute to myself to try it out…

Here are a few of the other ideas on my list via Pinterest, of course):

galaxy nails

lace nails

newsprint nails

glitter and nail pen art

What do you think of the DIY nail craze?

Halloween is less than a week away and while I’m not dressing up this year, I’ve got costumes on the brain.

More specifically: quick, easy costumes that you can throw together with help from some pieces you might already have in your wardrobe.

Ruche had some really cute ideas of how you can use some of this fall’s biggest trends to create cute costumes (that don’t look like you squeezed into them with the help of some Crisco):

Super cute, no? All you have to do is add a couple of fun props or accessories and you’re good to go.

Of course I had to hunt around for my own idea:

Old Navy plaid top, $25 :: Quiksilver boyfriend jeans, $62 :: Forever21 boots, $33
Cowboy hat, $50 :: Oasis belt, $35

If you’re looking for more ideas, the Queen of Halloween, Martha Stewart, has plenty on her website. I’m especially fond of this Medusa look, since all you really need are some dollar store toy snakes and a sheet you can tie around yourself like a toga!

Another really simple look is a cat,  like Denni from Chicmuse did in a recent post about Givenchy’s panther bag.

HelloGiggles did a post last week about some fun DIY Halloween costumes that don’t require the word “naughty” in front of their descriptions.

And if you’re on the hunt for something your bite-sized trick or treaters can hold their haul in, consider the FEED Trick-or-Treat Bag to Benefit UNICEF. For every bag sold, a donation will be made to UNICEF to provide a year’s worth of micronutrient powder to a child in the developing world.

What are you dressing up as this year?

Don’t get me wrong. I love my feisty little five-year old. She’s one of the funniest people I know, a lovable little mushball and smart as a whip (whatever that means).

She is also the ultimate drama queen (we’re talking about the stomping off to her room and composing songs about how no one loves her because I told her she couldn’t have an Oreo at eight thirty in the morning kind of drama queen).

Because of the drama and the fact that I had another little girl at the end of March, this summer has felt incredibly loooooong. We can’t do as much as Sam is used to and my attention is a bit diverted. This is the perfect recipe for drama soup, which just so happens to be my sweet pea’s specialty.

Samantha is totally fine if she has some sort of project to work on, which is why I was thrilled to come across a helpful article in this month’s Disney Family Fun magazine. The story was about a family who had this special jar that they filled with scraps of paper that had fun activities written on them. From baking cookies to berry picking, it sounded right up my little lady’s alley.

So we decided to do our own version…

We grabbed an old oats container and scraps of paper Sam had cut up the day before. She meticulously colored all of the scraps (it was so tiring she had to “take a bweak” when she was done), glued them to the container and added jewels (all while mommy magically got some writing done!).

We then added things we like to do: from spa day (where I give her a mani-pedi while she has a homemade facial) to garage sales (which she also happens to call antique or thrift shops).

So far it’s worked out great. She feels like whatever she picks is her idea and not something I came up with, which is always a bonus (hmm. sounds a little like her father…). She also likes that it comes from a pretty container, which automatically makes it cool.

Now I just have to remember to think up new activities before the next vacation…

I’ve been thinking about storage solutions a lot lately– specifically a solution to hide Samantha’s ever-growing pyramid of toys. While Barbie legs and My Little Ponies peeking out of every corner of the house might be somewhat expected when you have two girls, I’d love it if my living room didn’t look like a volcano erupted in it, spewing pink lava as far as the eye can see.

So like I said. I’ve been trying to think of creative (inexpensive) ways to store her mess that doesn’t involve buying more plastic bins. My hunt has led me to the wonderful world of vintage trunks and suitcases.

via Country Living

It’s perfect! Cheap, eco-friendly, and interesting–which is always a winning combo in my book. Better yet, they’re the perfect size to hold dolls and tea sets while keeping them all together and out of sight.

Plus, she and my nephew love to pretend they’re going on trips whenever he comes over to play (usually Africa by boat or train but sometimes they take a plane to California). When they inevitably dump all the toys on the floor, they can use the suitcases as toys too (I’ll just have to bribe them with chocolate to make sure all the toys end up back in the suitcases in the end).

Suitcases also happen to be a perfect big girl storage solution. I love the idea of stacking them to make a bedside table like in the photo below.

via Elements of Style

It’s a great place to store extra blankets (lord knows I have a never-ending supply of those!) or off-season clothes–just make sure you don’t put something you use a lot in the bottom. That would make this look go from cute to unbearably annoying in no time.

I think my favorite idea is the one above from Design*Sponge. They give an insanely easy DIY tutorial on turning a vintage suitcase into a table. How cool is that? It makes for a great conversation piece with lots of charm and it lets you stash your junk out of site. I love it!

Here are some vintage pieces that I found on Etsy…

1 via The Vintage Treehouse :: 2 via Simply Chic Treasures :: 3 via Ets Place
4 via California Senora :: 5 via The House of Oliver :: 6 via West on Cole

So you all know at this point what a big repurposing nerd I am, right? Eco-friendly + cheap = perfection in my book. Well, I came across this video on Poppytalk this afternoon and I absolutely had to share.

As part of the Unconsumption Artist Series (where artists were selected to repurpose things using the Unconsumption logo), Yellow Owl Workshop created this super simple video tutorial that shows you how to make stationery out of all of that annoying junk mail that fills your mailbox everyday.

I don’t know about you, but I’m amazed at the amount of junk mail I get even though I request to get things digitally whenever I can. This is a great way to reuse it, save money, and have super cool personal stationery. Love it!!!

Junk Mail Stationery from Yellow Owl Workshop on Vimeo (via Poppytalk)

Check out Uncunsumption for some other amazing repurposing tutorials (I might have to make some glass bottle vases with all of those mason jars I have lying around…).