Winter/Holiday/Christmas Nail Design and Video Tutorial!!

After getting my Julep box this month, I knew I wanted to use one immediately for a holiday design! I chose Vivien, which is a gold micro-glitter polish with large gold hex pieces. I really liked the idea of layering it so that is exactly what I did!

I came up this pretty wintery design! The best part about this design is that is can be for any holiday you celebrate! Change the rhinestones or not add any at all and they still look very festive!


I did a video tutorial on YouTube to show you how I created this design! Please let me know what you think and if you feel it works for the holidays!

Julep's December "It Girl" Box!!

I posted about Julep before and it only seems right that since I get it monthly, I can allow you to view what I receive each month! Maybe some of you can really see what they provide and it may sway you into joining Julep yourself!

To check out November's "It Girl" box from Julep, click HERE but for now, let's get into the box I got for December and a few add-ons as well! More details for joining Julep and becoming a Maven are at the end/bottom of this post :-)

They always package each box very beautifully and usually include extra goodies!

An inspirational quote of some type is always in the box, and most are fitting for the time of year. Because it is December, they also include a Sweet Stripe peppermint candy, YUM

Julep also usually includes a little card that has mani or nail design ideas using the colors in your box!

This month, they included a small gift! It's called a cabochon ring. It has a detached "jewel" that you paint on one side and stick into the ring, secure it, and see the gorgeous color on your ring! I haven't decided how to do mine yet but I am super excited!

 And finally, the heart of the ocean, the reason I became a Maven- The gorgeous polishes! This month, they were all some type of glitter polish for the holiday season. Each polish has a different type of glitter texture, consistency, and application!

Blue glitter/shimmer polish with purple tints

 The first polish is this gorgeous blue micro-glitter/shimmer color and it's called IVY. Ivy is a beautiful cobalt blue color with hints on purple shimmer. It has a seemingly metallic-type look to it but not in a tacky way at all.

 Ivy is very pretty! Covers the nail well and can easily stand on it's own! The above picture was two coats and it covered the nail pretty well. For any blue-lovers, this is a must have for your polish collection!

Sea foam green jelly base with gold, green, blue and silver glitters

 The next polish is this sea-colored multi-glitter polish and it is named HARPER. Harper is a jelly-based polish with a light sea-green color and tons of iridescent glitters, including green, gold, blue, and silver.

 I think Harper is absolutely beautiful! This polish very much reminds me of a mermaid's tail! Although the base is semi-sheer, this polish looks amazing on its own. However, I can imagine that layered over another green or even a blue, would look fabulous!

A multi-dimensional gold glitter polish with a gold micro-glitter base

 The last polish in this month's Julep box is this gold glitter polish and the name is VIVIEN. Vivien is a beautiful micro-gold glitter with gold hexagons. It is described as a "full coverage" polish... but I disagree on that one.

 Vivien is a stunning gold glitter polish BUT I would not recommend this polish as a "full coverage" polish or to stand on it's own. The micro-glitter in the polish is simply not enough for full coverage unless you did maybe 3-4 coats...maybe. I think as a layering polish, this would be gorgeous! Just getting the hex pieces situated can be a pain but that is to be expected with any chunky glitter polish.

 Overall, I am still very happy with my box! All of these colors are beautiful and each glitter polish will have a different use and give a different kind of sparkle! I can't wait to pick out which one I am going to use first

Julep provides nail polish to your home, no shopping or leaving. Once you sign up and establish your personality profile, they will ship you a monthly box for $19.99. The box contains between 2-3 polishes and sometimes other goodies or extra polish. I have gotten lip balm, foot cream, candy(can't forget the candy!), cute makeup bags, etc. They really make sure you get your money's worth for the $20!

It's also no obligation, you can cancel anytime, or skip a month...or you can send your box to a friend or family member! I have been a Maven for about 6-7 months now and I love it!

 To join today, click this link and use the promo code COLOR2012 to get your first Julep Maven box for only 1 penny! Make sure to get in on using this promo code before it expires and get your first box for only one cent!

What do you think about these colors for the holiday season? Which is your favorite?

Homemade Hot Chocolate and Easy Holiday Gift! Yummy!!

This time of year is perfect for so many things- time with family, staying in and cozying up with a movie, singing Christmas (or holiday) songs, AND enjoying the perfect cup of steaming hot chocolate topped with marshmallows and/or whipped cream! YUM

I started making my own hot chocolate and it is divine! Just the right amount of chocolaty goodness without being overly sweet and it definitely has a nice richness to it. Besides that, it is SUPER easy to make. I will give you my bulk recipe that I use. I make one huge amount, then distribute some to friends and family and keep the rest for our personal holiday enjoyment :-)  If this recipe is too large, just cut in half or even 1/4 and make the amount you need or want!

Cre8tiveKtina's Hot Chocolate- BULK Servings (100)

• 24 cups of Dry milk
• 13 cups of Baking coca
• 25 cups of Powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)

Keep in mind you will need a VERY large container to mix all the ingredients for this amount... I used a large summer cooler haha  (I made sure it was impeccably clean, but needless to say, I had nothing else size-wise to hold this recipe).

Once the bulk amount is made, all you need is 2-3 tablespoons of the cocoa mix and add it to a cup with 1 cup of boiling hot water and you have an amazing cup of hot chocolate! 

This is a 2-quart container we kept for personal hot cocoa

You can always edit as necessary too. Like it sweeter? Add some more sugar. Need more chocolate? Add more cocoa. Not creamy enough? Add more dry milk. No matter what you preference is, you can adjust it and make it the best cocoa you have ever had! And you made it, so you can be proud of your dazzling creation and enjoy it's tastiness.

I made enough hot chocolate so that I could give out little holiday baskets to neighbors, family, and friends (The holiday baskets I make will be in another post see keep a lookout for that!). The holiday baskets will include nearly 1 cup of hot chocolate mix per basket. So I had broken down the amount of baskets I was making, how many servings I wanted per basket and then how many I would need total. When all was said and done and all the calculations were in, I needed to make 100 servings of hot chocolate.100 seems like a lot but this was enough for me to make enough servings for everyone I was giving it too as well as a good amount for my own family to sip on and enjoy during the holidays. 

*Keep in mind that this is how I made it, it's not exact and everyone has different tastes. Feel free to change it as you need so you and your family are happy with it. This is just how I make it and how my family and friends love to drink it!*

SPECIAL NOTE FOR PEPPERMINT COCOA* For anyone who likes peppermint hot chocolate, I also made a batch of that! To give your hot chocolate a peppermint twist, simply add a heaping 1/8 tsp. of finely crushed peppermint per serving. Truly delicious and so much more satisfying drinking a delicious cup of peppermint cocoa that YOU made :-)

Take the time to smell the chocolate and enjoy this warm, tasty treat! Perfect for the holidays or any season!