DIY Sweet Tree - Cute Gift Idea!

Hellooo ♥

This is literally my third time trying to upload this post, how infuriating! Anyhow, hopefully it actually works this time! Right, so it was my baby sisters 21st (not so baby then..) last weekend and i wanted to give her a unique cute present that meant something to us both so what i eventually came up with was a flying saucer tree! My sisters fave sweetie is flying saucers so i decided those on a tree would look really really cute. I've seen a few of these online and decided that rather than pay in excess of £30 for one, i could definitely make one myself which would be all my own little touches and would mean more to my sister than one quickly bought online.

This is how it turned out:

Without going on and on, i think the tree went really well and i wanted to share a quick post on how i made it and the steps i took to make it look just as pretty as the ones you buy online!

What You Need:

Polystyrene Ball  - I used a 15cm one £2.99 from Hobbycraft.
Cocktail Sticks - I needed loads of these and got them free from my work.
Dowel Stick - I also got this free from work but you can cut a curtain pole or use bamboo stick.
Sweets - I used flying saucers - around 300!
Ribbon - Any colour.
A Pot or Tub - I used a garden pot i already had.
Plaster of Paris - If you don't have this you can use clay or playdough to pack the pole in.

Lets Get Started!

Step 1:

Firstly, i made a hole in the bottom of my ball and with some glue around the rim i pushed my stick into it and let that dry to attach the ball to the dowel pole. I then used plaster of paris to set my stick into my garden pot and let that dry overnight.

Step 2:

The next stage is to choose a ribbon colour you want to cover your pole in. I chose a really pretty glittery one from Card Factory for £1.99. Basically to attach this all i done was put a little glue at the bottom of the pole and wrap all the way up to the top, cut the excess and glue at the top to secure. It doesn't even have to be very neat at the top of the bottom as it will pretty much be covered. I put some pretty pink tissue crumpled up in the pot and some flower confetti. 

Step 3:

Now your pole and pot look pretty but you need to get on with the ball! This stage is the most fidgety and time consuming although still mega easy. My boyfriend and i sat for ages attaching saucers to cocktail sticks then starting from the bottom of the ball sticking them all in one by one. As i got further up the ball however, i realised that it was actually easier (for me anyway) to stick the cocktail sticks in first, then attach the saucer. Some of the saucers split and some lost their sherbet but, that's ok, just means you get to eat them ;).

Starting from the bottom makes it easier as if you leave that part until last you will find it difficult to go around the pole and fill all the spaces. A tip i would say is that the tree, in my opinion, looks prettier and bigger if you don't push the cocktail right into the ball, instead leave a little space between the sweet and the ball. 

Step 4:

Basically you just work all the way up the ball with the sweets until you can no longer see any of the ball. Then, when you reach the top you just go all the way around seeing if you can in-fill any spaces, then you're done! You can add any other decorative things you want to the pot/pole etc but i like mine the way it turned out and my sister loved it too!

Here's the finished product:

Hope you liked this little tutorial!

If you try this please please tweet me a picture i'd love to see @labellavida2 or tag me in an instagram pic, my insta name is Ashlee_yy

Also, i'm having issues with my posts showing up on blogger and it's really starting to bug me! If you have any suggestions on how i can fix this annoyance pleassse please tell me how!

A♥

Monochrome Nails!

Hey guys ♥

How are we all this week? I'm having a really good week despite no advances on the job front but hey ho, life continues! I've been looking at clothing and things recently getting myself really excited to come out of Wintry clothing into more flowery, colourful fashion! However, despite my love of colour, i've found myself really drawn to the monochrome trend once again..

I just love simple, classic black and white looks and i think it is a really easy trend to dress up as well as down for a more casual look. I am loving the trend so much just now actually, that i have been inspired to transfer it to my nails!

Not really going to give a full blown tutorial on these as they are pretty simple really, just need a steady hand! I will however, quickly run through what i did for each of them just to help you out a bit if you want to recreate these yourself :)

You need:

I used false nails which cost me £1 from Primark, obviously you can do it on real nails if you want.

Nail art pen in black.

Any white nail polish.

Any clear topcoat.

That's all ;).

What to do:

I use false nails as i did these before bed, using falsies gives me time to let the nails dry without ruining them and as i work in a restaurant i can't wear them until the weekend so, this way they are prepared and ready to stick on for an instant transformation.

Therefore, what i do is pick out the false nails that fit each finger and i then sellotape them onto a clear plastic box (or to any hard, still surface). I do this to keep the nails still and steady on a hard backing just to make painting them a whole lot easier. Then, as these were french tipped nails, i just painted every one of them with two coats of white polish, then using the black nail art pen, i created different monochrome styles on each:

Basically, i find it best to use the pen part of the nail art pen (left photo below) to do the heart and the dots, however the little brush part of the pen (right photo below) is much better for doing straight lines by just brushing along the nail as well as filling in the black part and creating the triangle of the second nail. 

Then, once i had created all the looks i wanted to with the nails i basically waited for them to dry, threw on a top coat and left them to dry over night still stuck to the plastic box. Then, when i was ready i just carefully peeled them off the tape and stuck them on my real nails with nail glue, simples!

Are you guys into the monochrome trend?

Would you do this to your nails?

Thanks for reading, lots of love -

A ♥