Now let’s just get one thing straight: I have not always been a successful girly-girl.

I might have aspired to such a status when I was younger, but wearing makeup and effectively “fixing” my hair were just not fortes in my nerdy, chess-club-founding school career. [Here I am as a junior in high school.] I didn’t pierce my ears or even once paint my nails until I went off to college. So while other moms of little girls might be WAY ahead of the curve in all things froufy daughter, I hope to make up for my lack of girly know-how with a dose of creativity and a whole lot of enthusiasm.

When our completely adorable babysitter painted Sis’s finger- and toenails one evening, Sis LOVED it. And I was launched into somewhat uncharted motherhood waters. I mean, how do you paint a squirmy toddler’s toenails without making a big fat mess of them?

What I needed was a pair of those fancy-schmancy toe-separators. So, using what I had, I grabbed one “cosmetic round,” you know, those foamy makeup applicator thingies?

I cut the circle in half and then cut three little slits and triangles out of each.

So you have four little wedges to fit between five sweet little toes. A perfect fit for these three-year-old tootsies.

Voila! Perfect little bitty toe-separators!

Those, along with a reasonably steady hand, get the job done. [Although I’m still no good at all the little flowers and embellishments that Miss Mandi can do on the big toes!]

I hope this hot tip helps you and your little ladies, wheeee!