[Tutorial] - New Year's Nails!

First: Hey!

Secondly: I'm sorry to all my readers in New Zealand, Australia, Russia, and other people who live within time zones that have already passed midnight but I'm afraid that my sleeping in today prevented me from posting this tutorial in time for you (◞‸◟；). I will be in better time next time, I promise!

Now to today's post: a quick New Year's nail tutorial!

For me, black and glitter are must haves when it comes to New Year's eve and since I'm probably just going to wear a plain black dress for tonight, I thought I'd spice my outfit up with another manicure.

Time is quite literally running out so let's make this tutorial quick!

For today's manicure I used these 6 polishes:

From left to right: Black Swan from L'Oréal, Silver Pop from Gosh, Kaleidoscope from Wet 'n' Wild, an unbranded top coat, French Pink from a French manicure set from The Color Institute. I don't know the name of the last one but it's from The Color Institute as well and is a rose pink, glittery, kind of see-through polish.

Okay! First step is, of course, to use a base coat - in my case the French Pink - to protect your nails from staining. It also makes it just a tiny bit easier to remove the glitter later (you should be able to peel if off).

Next I covered my entire nail with the rose pink polish. It doesn't matter if the white part of your nail is still visible as we will cover that up in the next step.

I wanted sort of a messy, gradient effect and to make this I cut off the corner of a washing sponge, painted it with the black polish and dabbed it unto my nails.

The result was this. If you want, you can go over the tip of your nail with the black once more (just use your brush) to cover any eventual spots that you missed with the sponge. 

I did a thick stripe of the Kaleidoscope on top of the transition between the pink and black colour... 

And once it had dried I used the glitter polish from Gosh to add a little bit of extra sparkle. You can be a bit messier with this one if you like. 

Add a layer of top coat to keep your nails sparkling all night and then you're done!

If you followed my tutorial, the outcome should look like this!

(Except for my cat in the background. He won't magically appear. Sorry). 

This is how my nails will look like for New Year's tonight and I'm thinking of pairing it with my black dress, some black heels, stud earrings, a black smokey eye with some rose pink tones, and a pair of fake lashes with little rhinestones on.

What will your New Year's nails be like?

How about your outfit?

How to get over a break up

"Now I'm also a part of the Catladies' Club ♥ ♥"
Was the message my friend sent me earlier today - It's really just another way of saying that her and her boyfriend just broke up. I wanted to help her and figured that since she wasn't the only one of my friends who had just broken up, I should put it on my blog in hopes that I could help more than one person through it.
So girls, today's post will be on... 

How to get over a break up

I made a list of the best advice I can give in situations like these, but if you have any ideas different than what I put up, please let me know so we can add it :)

#1 Delete all his texts and DO NOT read through them!

I cannot stress this enough, girls. Looking through old texts will only make you miss what you two had even more and you will begin to regret the decision that has been made. Just don't. Delete them ASAP and no sneak-peeking!

#2 Get rid of memory triggers
Whether it be his sweater that you recently borrowed, a plushie he gave you on your xx months anniversary, a picture the two of you took together - GET RID OF IT! It doesn't matter how, just do it. Donate it, throw it out, rip it apart, burn it, sacrifice it to the Dark Lord. I don't care about anything but the fact that it will be gone soon. (+ in case of a bad break up, burning it can be pretty satisfying).

#3 Unfollow, unfriend, delete
Speaking of pictures. Looking at all the pictures you and him took together won't exactly heal your wounds either. Get rid of all of the pictures he and you took together. What one of my friends and her boyfriend did was to take all of their pictures and put them into a shared SkyDrive folder. Do this if deleting them is too hard but DO NOT ever go back in there to look. Never.

#4 Don't stalk him
You two are over so why would you care what he does, when he does it, and with whom he does it? Go on every single social network you have and unfollow/unfriend and delete him. In case you two figure out something MUCH later on, you can always add him back. (But not in near future!). So don't be afraid to do it. Not having his Facebook updates constantly remind you of him will make you feel much better. 

#5 Stay friends? Stay apart
Even if the two of you decided to stay friends, keep your distance in the beginning. Unfriend him and keep him so until you feel ready to talk to him without emotions coming up. 

#6 Let go of your anger
If you weren't the one to break it off, there's a great possibility you have been left with some pretty mixed emotions. Especially guilt, regret, and anger. If you're angry, don't let it build up, the best thing is to get rid of it now. Besides, it takes a lot of energy to be mad all the time. Scream at the wall, burn his stuff (if you haven't already done so), throw a plate, or even make a voodoo doll! Do what it takes to let out the anger, but keep it clean. Don't hurt yourself or other living organisms in the process.

#7 Arrange a girls' night
Invite a bunch of your best girl friends over (or have somebody else do it for you if you feel like it takes too much of your energy) and have a movie night! Get some movies, preferably comedies and AVOID THAT ROMANTIC BS. Get some ice cream and forget how much it fattens for just one night. E AT LIKE PIGS! another good thing to do on this night will be in step 8.

#8 Tell the story once and then forget about it
All of your friends care for you and it is inevitably that they will all ask you tons of questions. Having to repeat something that emotionally tiring can be a really tough thing to do so telling all of them at once is a much better idea. Answer all their questions and when there is nothing left to say, ask them to never talk about it again unless you yourself bring it up. (THEN have a movie night and eat like pigs!).

#9 Keep yourself busy
Especially if you were one of those girls who spent the majority of your time with him, this step will help you out. Days will quickly feel empty and you will feel "stuck". To prevent this, all you have to do is to keep yourself busy. Go out to eat with friends, take some extra shifts at work (no seriously, this is one of the best things), have sleepovers, walk to dog. Do whatever keeps you busy and your mind off him.

#10 Learn something new
This also involves teaching yourself things. Often times, it takes a lot of time and focus learning something new and this is yet a way to keep you and your mind busy. A hobby is also good. Maybe there is something you have always wanted to be able to do but never felt like you had the time to learn? You do now! Especially an instrument would be good as music has been proven to affect our moods (but stay to the happy songs).

#11 Love is in the air, better wear a mask!
Speaking of songs. STAY AWAY FROM LOVE SONGS (Do also avoid romantic movies). I know this is harder than it sounds, especially as it seems that the entire world has been hit by Amor the exact second he and you broke up. Do your best. And if the radio station decides to show off their new 'Valentine's Day is just around the corner!'-playlist, turn it off or switch the channel. Rather listen to last Wednesday's news than those diabetes-causing tunes. BONUS: If you can't sleep, listen to anything but your own thoughts. Music!

#12 Treat yourself
To get yourself back on track, do something that really makes you happy. Get a massage, watch your favorite movie, have a wellness-day, pet a baby-kitten, ride a unicorn. It's the little things in life <3 Do what it takes to make you happy because success and happiness is the best revenge! (unless you decide to sacrifice more of his belongings to the Dark Lord).

#13 The common friendsMaybe he and you have common friends. Take your time to really think this through: are they your friends because of him or are they actually your own friends? If you choose the first option, I would say that you should stay away from them too for a while. They might as well just remind you of him or once in a while talk about him and we can't have that! 

#14 Accept it
Cry if you need to but don't keep doing it! Give yourself a time limit like "I can cry as much as I want the first week and after that it's a no-go". This way you prevent yourself from falling too deep into a depressed state, and you will be able to move on easier as soon as all of the feelings have flown through your tear ducts. What happened happened and you need to accept that.

#15 Live with no regrets!
You were just not meant to be, better stop it now than later. Don't keep thinking back on the ol' good times, wishing your life was like that again. It's common to romanticize the good parts of your relationship, convincing yourself that maybe the bad parts weren't that bad after all, thinking maybe it was your fault and you should just learn to live with them. Don't blame yourself. Don't trick yourself. There was a reason you ended it! Do NOT rethink your decision.

#16 Upgrade yourself!
The break marks a new era of your life. You are going to be a new person, why not consider a slight change in your appearance? Get bangs! wear pink every Wednesday! Lose weight! Gain weight! Do whatever the heck you want!

#17 Forgive and forget
People always say that. I haven't been the biggest fan of forgiving, but it does burn a lot of energy. Forgiving doesn't necessarily mean you have to treat him super nice next time you meet him, just that you won't have to hate him 24/7.

#18 Be positive!
Think of all the things you can do now. Maybe your boyfriend used to dislike you going out late at night with a big group of people. Maybe he didn't like you wearing too tight pants in front of others. Maybe he would, once in a while, throw an offensive comment at you whenever he saw that you had been talking to a guy friend of yours. Well no more of that! YOU'RE FREE!! Do what you want to do and enjoy being alone for a while!

#19 Don't look for a new guy
Don't just look for a new relationship right away, believing that it is better than being alone. Are you really that weak, girl? Can't you have fun on your own? Shame on you! A rejection would hurt MUCH more at this point. Take a break, lean back, and relax. Boys will come later, focus on yourself for now.

These were my best advice but feel free to comment if you have any other ideas on how to cope with a break up. Let's help each other!

...and remember: only time heals the wounds, but good friends are always there!

Tutorial - Make your silver shine again!

If you're a big fan of jewelry you've probably stumbled upon something like this; 

a pair of silver earrings (it could be bracelets, rings, and necklaces too just to mention a few) that has turned from the pretty light silver to a black smudgy colour.

My little sister gave me these more than a year ago and they have just been laying out, growing really nasty while I was gone. 

I was about to just throw them out until I remembered the trick that I will now share with you.

Today I will show you how to polish silver (and silverware) without moving a muscle!

(Ugh! Gross!)

Step 1.

The first thing you need will be whatever you'll want to be polished. Mine are the earrings shown above.

(This method works on earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, candle holders, old silverware, and whatever else you have granted it is made of silver).

Step 2.

Boil some water.

While doing so, find a roll of foil, some salt, and some sort of container that is big enough to have your "subject" in.

(I don't want to call it subject so from now on I'll refer to "it" as earrings". 

Be sure that the container is not made of metal! 

Step 3.

Wrap the bowl/container in foil and double check that the matte side is up. 

Also, don't crumble it up too much! You'll want the earrings to be able to lay down flat on it!

Step 4.

Put some salt in your bowl. The amount will depend on your item. Use more if it's a large piece.

(To make sure that there was enough, I added a pretty nice amount. You can't add too much).

Step 5.

Have your earrings ready, you'll want to do this fast.

When your water is boiled, pour some into bowl and throw (nicely) the earrings into it. 

Make sure it is touching the foil all over. (If it's two-sided you can turn it after a few minutes). 

If you don't see a reaction after 10-20 seconds, add more salt! 

BONUS

Some people say that you can add baking powder to get more shine; however, the salt worked fine for me. IF you add the baking powder, it will start to bubble and seethe. 

Don't panick! This is normal. 

Step 6.

After a couple of minutes, take the earrings out and rinse them under water. Dry them with a soft cloth. 

And here is the result! Nice huh?

(The foil didn't touch my earrings all over and that's why they're not completely perfect. That's why step 5 is very important!)

Let's make a comparison

Zero to hero, just like that!

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and that it has saved some of your jewelry too!

If you've got any questions, ask me here

ask.fm/LucytheHart

Good luck and have fun!

~LucyHart~ 

Tutorial - DIY Galaxy shorts

Hey there! 

Today I want to show the method to make your own galaxy shorts! :D (Or any other galaxy themed piece of clothing).

By the time I left Denmark, the galaxy themed clothes had become the hottest trend!

Everyone loved this unique print and they would all be gawking every time you showed up in a new piece of galaxy clothing. 

For homecoming, our theme was "Out of This World" which inspired me to make my own galaxy themed dress (see pictures below) - Later on, when I posted my pictures on Facebook, I realized that I should do a tutorial. So here we go! :D

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's what you'll need:

A toothbrush, superglue (or at least some kind of glue that works on fabric), makeup sponges, fabric paint, rhinestones, and of course - black shorts! 

If you want, you can google galaxies to find something to paint from. I used this photo for my dress~ 

Anyways, let's get started!

Step 1.

You want to find a place where you can spread out the fabric - Preferably some carton, a rug, or just something that won't be ruined by the paint. Because trust me, this will get messy.

Also, you don't necessarily need shorts; I'm just showing you the method. Pick whatever type of clothe you want to paint on. 

My shorts had some kind of print on them already which I just covered with a black sharpie~   

Step 2.

The first thing you want to do is to add some white colour on the area where you want to place your galaxies. The white colour makes the other colours (that we will use later) appear brighter and creates a "glowing" effect. 

Take your sponge, add some white paint, and "dap" parts of the shorts. You can spread out the white colour as you please, you don't have to worry much about it looking "nice".

(My phone was freaking out when I took some of the pictures -That's why some of them appear lighter).

Step 3.

Grab a new sponge and mix some blue and white paint to get that light blue colour. Dap onto the white area that you just created to make it appear more glowing. Make sure not to cover the white completely - You want to leave some of it back. My light blue was a little too light so I did two layers.

Step 4.

Remember, the trick about this is to work on layers :)

Now it's time for the dark blue! Once again you should find a new sponge. Dap the blue paint inside the light blue area to create dept and to get that effect of empty space.

Wait a few minutes for it to dry and add some purple spots - Not too many! Make sure that these spots are inside the blue area. 

Step 5.

Time for the stars!

Fortunately my white paint had a long thin end that made me able to add dots directly onto my shorts. If you're not as lucky, you can use a thin pencil brush or maybe dip a pencil into the paint, whereafter you can dip that onto the shorts. 

Remember that these dots should be randomly placed and try to make them different sized. You can add a few dots on the areas without paint but try to focus on the galaxies.  

Step 6.

This step is optional. Grab your toothbrush (Not one that you plan to use again) and put on some white paint on top of it. Rub the toothbrush against your fingers (as shown in the picture) and you should soon have a bunch of little tiny stars.. as if you just sprayed them on :) 

Step 7.

Finish off with some rhinestones! Find your glue and stick them on quickly! You may want to put a small plastic bag inside the shorts to make sure that you won't glue the fabric together. (That would make the shorts pretty hard to wear). 

How to make a galaxy:

As a little bonus I will now show you the technique of making a spiral galaxy. 

Start by making a couple of elongated circles - using the blue paint. These are kinds of dust rings.. or gas rings and they create a really nice effect. Also, you can be messy with this if you want, don't make them too perfect. 

I lost the pictures for this step but after the dark rings, you should mix some blue and some white to make a lighter blue. "Dap" the light blue on parts of the rings and try to add a little bit of white on top on it.

Add more light blue and white to saturate the colours and build up a purple gradient in the middle. Make sure that the purple is dry and add some white on top of it (just in the middle).

Take your white paint and make several different sized dots around these rings. Focus on the outer rings and don't get them too close to the purple. 

Again you can add some rhinestones as stars. I really like this glittery star effect they add. Wait for it to dry and you're done! :P

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and probably tried it yourself :)

Good luck and have fun!

~LucyHart~