Top Coat Tuesdays

The Yellow Rose of Texas mani

This post will be more about the words than the pictures. My intentions were to re-create my "Love Day" mani that you can see here with yellow roses. 
Well, it didn't turn out so well so instead of posting my horrible nail polish photos, I am postiing beautiful photos from other ladies that did a wonderful job!

nailnerd.com

polishedlove.blogspot.com

So anyway, tomorrow is the last day of Black History Month. And to commemorate this month I wanted to do something that was Black History related...

The song "The Yellow Rose of Texas" tells of an Black American soldier who left his sweetheart (yellow rose) and longs to be with her again. Yellow was, and still is a term, giving to those of mixed race. And "Rose" was a popular feminine nineteenth century name; frequently used in songs and poems as a symbolic glorification of young womanhood.  

The original transcription was poorly made and full of spelling errors. This would indicate [that] the transcriber was somewhat uneducated but possibly influential, as it was signed with three embellished initials. This copy is now housed in the archives at the University of Texas in Austin.

Although no name is given as the song's composer in any of the records, a hint may come from the fourth line in the chorus which infers the soldier is from Tennessee. Unfortunately, many men from Tennessee moved to (or were brought to) Texas during its colonization and war of independence.

*excerpts taken from amaranthpublishing.com

Lyrics are as follows...

There’s a yellow rose of Texas

That I am going to see

No other soldier knows her

No soldier, only me.

She cried so when I left her

It like to broke my heart

And if I ever find her

We never more will part.

She’s the sweetest rose of color

This soldier ever knew

Her eyes are bright as diamonds

They sparkle like the dew

You may talk about your dearest May

And sing of Rosa Lee

But the Yellow Rose of Texas

Beats the belles of Tennessee.

I really had high intentions, but my attempt at drawing a beautiful yellow rose was awful...major FAIL. But I loved reading about the history of this song. Happy Black History Month!!

Thanks for reading!!

Clean & Simple Saturday

DIY Plate Hanging

I've been wanting to hang plates in the tiny little space between my fridge and pantry forever now, but I hate those ugly brass plate hangers. Yea, you know the ones.

Well, a few months ago I found plate hanging discs at Hobby Lobby. I bought them, then they sat in a drawer for a couple of months because I was scared that if I hung my beautiful plate using this and it fell off the wall...devastation.

I bit the bullet. Hung the plate. Harps played. Angels sang. I was in love. 

Fabulous! No brass sticking out from behind the plate. It looks like it's just hovering there. This thing is the best thing since sliced bread! And it only cost $2.99! Here's what the disc looks like...

Instructions are simple:

1.  Clean the back of the plate with dish washing liquid and water. It must be clean so that the disc will bond properly to your plate.

2.  With your fingers, mix a little water into the glue on the disc. Leave for 3-7 minutes until the glue is sticky.

3.  Apply the disc to the plate, making sure the ring is in the correct position for the plate design. press firmly and rub well to expel any air. Let it dry overnight.

4.  Before hanging, test the strength of the adhesion by pulling firmly on the ring. 

That's it! If you ever want to remove the disc, just soak the plate in warm water.

This is a BeautifulLovelyThing. I am very proud of myself for finally doing this. It fills the small space just right. So if you have those horrible brass things holding your plates on the wall, take them down! Give this disc a try, I'm sure you will love it...

Thanks for reading!!

Top Coat Tuesday - Mardi Gras Mani

Happy Fat Tuesday!!

Today's mani will be, of course, Mardi Gras inspired. I saw a tutorial on YouTube a while back and logged it in my brain to save just for this day. See it here. Her tutorial was not really about Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, but that's what it reminded me of. Here are the colors I used...

from left to right

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Jumpin Jade, 

SH Purple Bolt, OPI Jade is The New Black, 

Orly Glitz & Glamour, OPI Funky Dunkey, 

Sinful Colors Dream On, Sinful Colors All About You

You can sort of tell where I used each color, I hope. I added a coat of SV to give this mani more shine. They look so much better in person (camera quality sucks!) The accent nail was done  using BM-212 and the 2 Sally Hansen colors. They work great for stamping. Placing each stamp side by side made them look almost like a mardi gras mask. I used the Orly to fill in the "eyes" of the mask and the Sinful Colors glitter as a shimmery top coat.

This was kind of fun to do. Even though it was a lot of different colors to use, it didn't take long at all. I hope you enjoy your King Cake, muffalettas, jambalaya, beignets or whatever your favorite Fat Tuesday treat is. Thanks for reading!!