Motherhood Meets Creativity

How I Do a Gel Manicure at Home & Save Hundreds of Dollars

Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you purchase something through one of my links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Make It Homegrown! I stopped getting professional manicures during COVID in 2020—and honestly, I haven't looked back! At $50+ per professional manicure, the cost adds up quickly. Over the past six years, doing my own nail

Sep 164 min read

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Former Art Teacher + Mama of 3
Motherhood Meets Creativity
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Send espresso. #toddlersleepregression #sleep #sleepregression #sahm #espresso

One of those days where I try to start AND FINISH a fun little hobby while the baby naps.

This one was a success! I love how this locket necklace turned out 🥹 cute pics of my babies on one necklace.

I should not be allowed in the bead aisle at Hobby Lobby when everything is 40% off….

If you’re into jewlery making, crimping beads are EVERYTHING. Trust me.

#hobbylobby #jewelerymaking #littlejoys #locketnecklace #momhobbies

I stopped getting professional manicures in 2020… and I haven’t looked back. 💅🏻

At $50+ per manicure, doing my nails at home has saved me thousands of dollars over the last six years. And honestly? I love being able to change my color whenever I want.

My $40-ish gel manicure kit with a UV light has lasted me since 2020 and is STILL going strong. 🙌🏻 I’ve also built up a little collection of Beetles gel polish colors from Amazon, most of which were around $5–$10.

For Fall, I couldn't choose just one moody color… so I chose FOUR. 😂

Playful + moody = basically my entire personality.

I put the gel manicure kit + the polish colors I used in my Amazon storefront, and I also wrote a whole blog post about my at-home nail routine and how much this little switch has saved me over the years.

🖇️ Link in bio!

Affiliate disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Tired of relying on the TV to entertain your kiddos while you make breakfast? Try this!

I took 5 minutes before bed to prep this simple educational activity for my kiddos to do while I cook. 🥞

I used Duplo Legos and UNO cards that we already had 😊

My preschooler is just now confident enough with her number recognition to do this independently 🤎

My kindergartener (who needs a challenge) after she flips and builds, I’ll ask her to add or subtract and tell me what she gets.

I can make breakfast in peace and they reinforce math skills while having screen-free entertainment at the table.

I call this a win-win 😊

#homeschoolpreschool #math #numberrecognition #sahm #unocards

This is one of those recipes for the end of the week—- fridge is empty, pantry has only essentials, and you have some over-ripe bananas staring at you from the counter 😬

Super simple, budget-friendly, healthy, and picky-eater approved! 🤎

🍎🍌🥕 muffins are great for school lunches too!

#easyrecipesathome #healthy #muffins #schoollunch #budgetfriendly

Sometimes we forget who we were before kids… I am a creative.

I couldn’t bring myself to toss my daughters watercolor paintings so I repurposed them into this frame.

I didn’t realize this project would be so therapeutic for me 🤎

We’ve had a seasonal reading nook for a year now and we LOVE it! (It’s the awkward, large space at the top of the stairs… I just added some bean bags and a kid-level book shelf)

We really do read more when the options are few and the kids can see the full book cover.

Note: Our in-home “library” is just the baby closet with a bookshelf in it 🤣 this is where books not in rotation live.

#sahm #organizing #library #read #cozyreading

My 2 year old has been pretending to write for a while now 🥹

I want learning to be fun and engaging so I dug out our old fall sensory bin fillers and letter magnets and created a name “game” 😆

She asked to play this basically all afternoon and was so proud to get her name letters matched up very time 🤎

The goal is letter recognition and spelling her name… the fun is an added bonus 🍁🍂🫶🏼

#preschool #preschoolhomeschool #sahm #fall #sensoryplay

Perfect recipe dupe for the classic Starbucks “medicine ball.” This drink gets popular as we approach cold season. Making your own at home is more cost effective AND rediculously simple 🤎

A squeeze of fresh lemon would work just as well… I just didn’t have any lemons 😅

Now….Make a cozy drink and get outside to enjoy the cooling temps! 🫖☕️🍁

#simplejoys #fall #medicineballtea #starbucks #morningtea

Anyone else have a kindergartner with TONS of energy?! When it comes to learning, we have found that *hands-on manipulatives* work best!

We are working on ORDINAL NUMBERS right now so I used items we already had from our fall sensory bin to practice.

Here are some directions I gave:
• the glittery pumpkin is in the fourth box
• the leaf is in the last box
• the fuzzy pumpkin is in the first box
• the white stone is next to the fuzzy pumpkin
• the letter P is in between the glittery pumpkin and the white stone
• the glossy pumpkin is after the glittery pumpkin

Give one statement at a time and let your child practice placing them in the correct order. The fun, fall-themed pieces make this activity so much more fun and engaging than a worksheet!

The add bonus about using the fall sensory bin pieces for this was litter sister being completely engaged in her own sensory bin experience at the same table 🫶🏼🍂🍁

Jack Hartmann also has a GREAT #ordinalnumbers workout video that we 🫶🏼 check out his YouTube channel!

#homeschooling #kindergartenmath #homelearning #fall

Update on our Summer Bucket List!

We have 3 activities left to do and trust me, the kids will not let us forget 🤣

•bowling (just need a free weekend!)

•storytime (with 3 kids 😅)

•botanical gardens (I’m thinking we wait for cooler weather on this one)

Printing the sticker and checking off activities was such a fun way to remember all the fun activities we did this summer!

So thankful for my trusty Sproket printer to make this come together !

Also thinking of making a holiday bucket list!

…brb trying to figure out how to laminate and save this forever 🥹

#familymemories #sahm #bucketlist

Need a quick, family - friendly DIY activity?

This anthro-inspired gift wrap is beautiful, recycled, and FUN to make! 🎨

• flatten your paper bags from the grocery store

• paint with acrylic craft paint

• add texture with stamps or a fun textured foam roller

• let dry and wrap!

This would be so fun for a holiday-themed color scheme!

Will you create this unique and personalized gift wrap this gift-giving season 🎁?

#doityourself #anthroinspired #recycledcrafts #paintingwithkids #holidaycrafts

July’s banner hustle might be some of my favorites! So colorful and unique! #paintedbanners #paintedbanner #sidehustle #artteacher #sahmincome

I promise we’re using an actual curriculum 🤣

#homeschooling #sahmlife #formerteacher #artsupplies #homeschool

All things rosy for this precious birthday banner 🌹 🌸💐🌺 this one was fun to paint 🫶🏼

#paintwithme #paintedbanner #kraftpaper #paint #sahm

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Motherhood Meets Creativity

How I Do a Gel Manicure at Home & Save Hundreds of Dollars

Let the posts come to you.

Find me on Instagram

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make_it_homegrown

Let the posts
come to you.