Pineapple Mint Virgin Mojito

Yes, my first recipe post.

Excited?

Inspired by the summer coming, I've created a virgin "mojito"-type recipe that's light and refreshing. 

This makes one drink.

Yum.....

I used spearmint from my garden...

Step 1: Gather Materials. Needed are pineapple chunks, a lime slice, some mint leaves, seltzer water, sweetener and ice.

Step 2: Place everything but the water and ice into a glass.

I only used one chunk of pineapple, use more for stronger flavor. There are no "exact" measurements here!

Muddle together with a wooden spoon, nothing fancy needed here! Muddle everything 'till the pineapple is completely mashed with the mint and lime. Now, pour in 6 oz. of seltzer water.

Strain over a fine sieve into a measuring cup.... (I don't like to have things floating in my drinks! :) )

And pour the liquid from the measuring cup back into your original glass (you can quickly rinse out the original glass after straining to make sure it's completely clean, yes I am a little OCD!)

You will have a pale mint green drink. Now, add your sweetener; I used only a teaspoon of raw cane sugar. If you like it sweeter, just sweeten to taste. Again, no exact measurements here!

 Top with ice. And maybe a skewer of mint, pineapple, and a lime slice to top it off!

Delicious!

Add a monkey and umbrella and you're in paradise!

Color Monday; Sally's Shells Palette

Welcome to the first installment of my new color palettes. Every Monday, I will host a new palette. Feel free to use these colors in your projects, as inspiration, whatever!

All photos copyright Allison Cooling for Quiet Lion Creations.

ASOS Matchstick Necklace

This Asos necklace is simple yet cool. Plus, it's totally easy to make on your own. It's a quirky accessory that is guaranteed to catch eyes. My DIY version uses things that you surely have on hand, and comes together quick!

I like the sleek look of this design. It's perfect for those who like edgier jewelry!

Let's get started!

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are pliers, chain, jump rings, a match, gold wire, gold paint, black nail polish, clear glaze, hot glue and some superglue.

Step 2: Take your gold wire and make two small looped headpins (first pic). Set aside. now, take your match and paint the stick part gold. You will need a couple of coats. Paint the end black. When this is dry, cover in clear gloss glaze. Let dry.

Step 3: Take a small dot of hot glue and attach one of the loops to the back of the match. Repeat with other side. I added superglue around the small dab of hot glue for added strength. Attach these loops to either end of your chain, making sure there is an even amount of chain on both sides so it lays right!

Simple enough?!

The necklace on

Neon Zebra Nail Tutorial

Neon is all the trend this spring!

Neon jewelry, clothes, and accessories are popping up everywhere. So, naturally I had to do a nail tutorial! 

The bright neon nail polish really makes the zebra stripes pop! It will definitely catch eyes. Wear it shopping, to the beach, everywhere! People will be amazed you did it yourself :).

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are white nail polish, neon colors (use three different colors), black nail polish, and clear coat. Now, for the stripes; I used Bundlemonster's nail plates (which are just like Konad, but I got them for cheap from Ebay). I used plate BM16 with the Zebra pattern on it. 

If you don't have plates, you can paint stripes on your nails with a thin paintbrush and the black polish.

Step 2: Paint the nails a base of white. Get your 3 neon colors and a q-tip, soaked with nail polish remover; this is so that you can quickly clean up any polish that gets on your fingers.

Step 3: With your first color, paint 1/3 of the nail. Then, QUICKLY, while the paint is still wet, paint the next 1/3 with your other color, blending a little bit. Then, again with wet paint, paint the last 1/3 of nail. The colors should be blended slightly. Clean off any polish on fingers with q-tip.

Step 4: Use the nail plate (when nail has COMPLETELY dried), or paint on the stripes. For the nail plate, paint a small amount of black on the top of the pattern. Use the scraper to scrape firmly against plate, bringing the polish into the whole pattern. Pick up this "decal" with the stamp, and then stamp immediately on nail, you want to sort of "roll" it from one side to another. 

Step 5: It should look like this! Clean up again with q-tip. Repeat on each nail!

When completely dry, paint on clear coat to seal.

Hi-Five! You did it

Sweet Shop Necklace

How cute! I love this necklace from Modcloth by designer Hannah Makes Things because of it's simplicity and bright colors. Plus, it goes with just about every outfit because of the colors! So, I knew I had to make this into a great and easy tutorial. Talk about two steps easy. Yep. 

Take that.

Can you guess what is inside the bottle? Something you perhaps have in your cabinets right now?

Sprinkles. Mmmmmm.....

If you have bigger sprinkles, or even ones in different shapes (I'm thinkin' those dinosaur ones, or maybe even little hearts and stars, or those pearl ones that you are NOT supposed to eat).....feel free to use them here to make a customized necklace!

Cute and kitschy!

Let's get started.

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are pliers, a chain and a jumping, sprinkles, and a glass bottle charm (they have these at Michaels or JoAnn fabrics, however I found mine in the nail art section of the dollar store).

Step 2: Fill bottle with sprinkles. Place cap on bottle (you can add some superglue to the sides of the cap before securing for added strength if you'd like). Attach bottle charm to chain. Done!

EASY, RIGHT?!

Pretty!

How it looks on; dainty yet eye-catching.

Anthropologie's Dipped Sessile Necklace

How absolutely perfect is this necklace for summer? Anthropologie's Dipped Sessile Necklace is one you will definitely want to add to your wardrobe! Best of all, this tutorial is so fast to make, with minimal "ingredients". Have a bunch of collected shells? Use this technique on those if you don't have coral pieces! I had a ton of coral and shells that I collected while on a trip to Florida. Now I know what I will be doing with most of them!

See how similar? No one will know you didn't spend $48 on the real thing, and it's good you won't!

Make them in a collection of neon colors; neon is a total spring trend, so follow along and be right on point with this season's fashion!

Let's get started.

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are scissors, thin wire, chain, a jumping, neon nailpolish, and a piece of coral or shell (with a hole thru it). You might need a thin paintbrush to make a clean line if the nailpolish brush won't.

Step 2: Wire the coral. Cut about a 5" length of your wire and tightly wrap around your coral a few times. Twist the wire into a loop at the back and put a big glob of glue there to hold in place. Let dry.

Step 2: Paint the coral. Pick your color of nailpolish. Paint about half of the coral. You may need two coats to cover fully. Let dry!

Wear them all at once!