Labor Day weekend has come to an end, and you might be thinking that the wonderful summer time is over.  What does Lori have to say about that???

Is the Summer Over???

See the full “Summer of Love” collection at LoriDelisle.etsy.com

Just to encourage you, I sometimes make mistakes. 

I thought I would have ‘fun’ again this week with my finger nails and go with a bright, playful color for summer.  “How about yellow?” I thought.  It was not the kind of pure yellow I like to wear normally, but I thought it would still be fun.  Even after they were painted the color seemed OK, ….

but as they cured…

they got darker….

and more and more orange!

Really???!!! If you are someone in a 'WARM' season you could get away with this, but not me!

After about 5 hours all I could think of was cheep nacho cheese sauce at the ball park.  Honestly, this picture does not do them justice.  Blech!

I could not stand it anymore last night and found a nice dark color to paint over them.

Replacing the OPI color (sorry don't know the name) with "Watermelon Rind" by China Glaze

Ahhhhhhhhhh…..  much better.

Now I can go to the big 50th Anniversary Party tonight and not have to apologize for the cheese sauce.

So don’t be discouraged when you make color and style mistakes.  We all do it, and most are fixable!   ….  Thus one of the reasons I don’t recommend getting a tattoo…. not so easy to fix…. and they don’t age so well. 

Happy Saturday!

Part of living a life of beauty is helping it be a little SWEETER for others.

Last night two of my sons were baptized.  They each made their own personal decision to live their lives for the Lord Jesus Christ, and we wanted to celebrate!  Some beautiful friends and family came out to celebrate with us, so the boys and I wanted to treat them with a little thank you gift.  What better way to treat than with sweets?!  Hey a beautiful life knows there are times to be disciplined and eat healthy, and there are times it is OK to indulge just a little. 

The Favor Boxes the Boys and I put together

So we decided to make fudge.  And well, Lori can’t just make one kind of fudge, she has to make two and add in an option for the friends with chocolate/wheat/dairy issues.    I had requests for the recipes for one in particular so I thought I would post it for everyone, and for myself included because, like many times, I altered it as I was making it.  I will also post links to the other two which were great as well.

Lori’s OUTRAGEOUS Candy Bar Fudge

Lori's OUTRAGEOUS Candy Bar Fudge

For the Bottom Layer:

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line an 11″x7″ baking pan with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.  This will make it easier to remove the fudge from the pan later and cut it.
2. In a heavy sauce pan combine butter, cocoa powder, brown sugar, granulated sugar and milk.
3. Slowly bring mixture to a boil, being careful to stir constantly and not scorch the chocolate.  Once the mixture has come to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Use a hand mixer to cream the mixture to ensure there are no lumps.
4. Pour the chocolate fudge into the bottom of the prepared pan.

For the Middle Layer:

10 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped

1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips

1 tablespoon water

1 cup chopped salted cashews

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave caramels, butterscotch and water and microwave on medium power until they have melted.  Stir and check frequently so you don’t scorch the butterscotch.
2. Stir in the cashews and marshmallows and firmly press mixture into pan on top of the fudge.
3. Place pan in refrigerator to allow this layer to firm up a bit.

Top Layer:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a small microwave safe bowl microwave chips until melted.  Spread melted chocolate over caramel layer.  Continue chilling until firm, about 2 hours total.

To Serve:

Use the aluminum foil to lift fudge from the pan and place on a cutting board.  Peal foil away from sides.  I used a large bread knife to make long smooth cuts through the fudge, pressing down firmly.  Do not “saw” the fudge or it will crumble.  Enjoy!

The other Recipes

They definitely deserve credit because they are also each very good, they were just out shined a little.

Pure Chocolate Fudge & Almond Butter Cookies

For the Purist:

I made a creamy chocolate fudge.  I used this recipe and made minor changes.  I decreased the butter to 2 tablespoons, omitted the nuts and changed the chocolates to 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate and 1/2 cup (four squares) of Girradelli’s unsweetened chocolate.

On the Lighter Side:

I made an Almond Nut Butter cookie.  These are great because they not only don’t have any flour, but also no dairy, chocolate or peanuts so they are great for those with allergy issues.  AND a lot of people liked them!  I replaced the hersey kisses with roasted salted almonds and used almond extract instead of vanilla.  Find the recipe here.

Enjoy the SWEET LIFE!!!

I always think you should have some fun with your personal style.  No need to take ourselves too seriously.  So every now and then I like to do a little extra with my nails, and holidays always seem like a great reason to play.

So today I had my nails done and did something a little patriotic with a simple graphic wink at fireworks.  I was admiring the finished product and thought the design would be pretty simple to duplicate yourself.  Having my nails done is one of the small luxuries I indulge in, but if you want to have some “do-it-yourself” fun with your own nails, this is an easy way to go!

This simple design was only $5 extra for the full set, and can be easily duplicated by yourself.

After you have filed and cleaned your nails, here is what you will need to polish them:

Base coat – Use a ridge filler if needed.  Base coat will help make the polish last longer.

White French Tip Polish – You could also use a soft silver or even just clear.

A Piece of scrap paper

Red, Blue & Yellow Polish – I used a shimmery aqua blue, shimmery blue red, and yellow.  You could use gold or silver polish to replace the yellow if you can not find it.  I have also seen some nail designers use craft paint for designs.

A Dried Up Ball Point Pen – Be sure any excess/dried up ink is cleaned off the tip.

Top Coat

Step 1 :  Put a thin coat of base coat on your nails and allow to dry for a couple of minutes.  Having a fan nearby is handy for moving things along, or a hair dry on the cool setting.

Step 2 : Paint a thin coat of the white french tip nail polish on your entire nail.  The best way to paint your nails is in three even strokes; one down the center of your nail, and then one down either side.  Multiple strokes can make the polish not go on as smoothly.  Allow this coat to dry for a few minutes.

Step 3 : Paint a second coat of the white french tip nail polish.  Be sure to give this coat plenty of drying time.  Polish should be fairly well set before moving on.

Step 4 :  Use the brush from the red nail polish to put a small bit of red polish on the piece of scrap paper.  Touch the very tip of the ball point pen (just the ball itself) into the red polish and carefully dot the tip of the pen onto the outside corner of one of your finger nails.  You can use the paper to test the amount of polish that gets transferred before doing it on your nail.  One touch should do it, but you can carefully repeat one time if needed.  Place one dot on the outside corner of each nail.

Three simple dots of bold color on a plain background make a fun graphic statement

Step 5 :   Repeat step 4 with the blue and yellow polishes, being careful to clean the tip of the pen before switching colors.  Allow several minutes for the three colors to dry before finishing.

Step 6 :  Go over each dry nail with a coat of top coat.  Be extra careful not to over brush with the top coat, and stick with the three brush stroke rule.  Over working it can soften and smudge the design below.

Step 7 :  Air/Fan/Hairdryer dry and enjoy!

Enjoy Your Patriotic Nails!

It is always good to take a look at what men’s fashion is doing if you are a designer or are at all interested in fashion trends in general.  Men’s fashion is not as fickle and fast paced as women’s fashion, so it is not as difficult to stay on top of the trends.

Even if you are not designing for or wearing the men’s trends, some of them can spill over into women’s looks from time to time, and of course, if we like them, we can let them spill over into our looks. 

I recently took a look at some of the trends for Men for this fall from the viewpoint of a jewelry designer.    You can see my brief synopsis of some of the trends that a jewelry designer might be interested in in the Summer 2010 issue of Metal Clay Today.   Find my article on page 34, along with lots of other fun articles that artists and designers alike will enjoy.

Happy Designing!