GARDEN PARTY

Yet another manicure for my boyfriends mom! She loves flowers and hummingbirds so she got a full blown garden mani! this is one of the craziest and most intense manicures i have ever attempted and  it took about 6 hours... she is the most patient person i have ever met! lol

The base color is O.P.I.- bubble bath

The design was made using a mixture of acrylic paint, gouache paint and nail polish and loose glitter

Sinful colors - pearl harbor was used over the design to add even more sparkle

seche vite as always to top off and seal the many many layers

24 days of XMAS Challenge : Day 24

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Merry Christmas Eve and Happy Holidays! For my final day of the 24 day nail challenge, the theme was to recreate your favorite nail design. Now, I decided that Jack Skellington was very appropriate for the theme, it being the night before christmas and all, and I wasn't ready to part with dear old Jack, so instead of doing a new set of nails I added on and did ZERO his dog! His colors work with both Jack and the holiday color palette, only more white is involved... he's a ghost. For those of you who aren't familiar with this movie... go watch it NOW!...but basically this is how it goes:


Jack is tired of being the Pumpkin King and stumbles across Christmas Town. He decides that he will relieve SANDY CLAWS and remake Christmas, only the monsters of halloween town don't understand what Christmas is all about, and so he gives them what they want... a terrifying holiday. His friend Sally thinks he is making a mistake, and in her attempt to stop him she creates fog so that he can not see, and will hopefully give up. (sound familiar... Rudolph?) However Jack's ghost dog Zero has a glowing red nose and stands in as the lead reindeer lighting the way to what becomes a twisted christmas and Jack's, almost, ruin. Jack's "presents" create a frenzy causing him to be shot out of the sky, leading him to his realization of what he has done. Trying to redeem himself and save the holiday, Jack rescues Santa from the Boogeyman just in time to save christmas. THE END
This is one of my all time FAVORITE movies... obviously :)
Now that you have the background, here are my nails! enjoy!

To see more of the Jack Skellington nails click HERE

Just like the JACK SKELLINGTON nails i did for day 23 of the challenge, I used Sally Hansen - shell we dance? (#160) 3 coats, Sinful colors - out of this world (#842), 1 coat, for the base.
I then used Nail Star - red for the collar, O.P.I. - designer de better for shading and black and white acrylic paint. I then added a red rhinestone cabochon for Zero's nose and topped it off with seche VITE - quick dry top coat.




be sure to check out these ladies to see their holiday best!

❅ nails and stuff ❃ obsessed with glitter ❇ paint that nail ❄ red hair and black nail polish ✺ Ruby's Nails ❅ finger painted ❃ My Polish Stash ❉ Me, Myself and Nail Polish ❇  KK Nails ✺ Life with Salpi ❅

Thanx for tuning in, and i hope everyone had a great holiday!

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24 days of XMAS Challenge : Day 23

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Here is the final theme, before recreating my favorite manicure (tomorrow), It's SANTA!

well... not exactly santa.... more like my favorite impostor, JACK SKELLINGTON dressing up as SANTA.

I drew my inspiration from an illustration by Tim Burton (my favorite!)

I liked the patterning in the outfit and the gangly body posture that is very much Jack and wanted to capture those aspects per nail. I call them my night before christmas EVE nails. :)

For the base color I used 3 coats of Sally Hansen - shell we dance? (#160)  and 1 coat of Sinful Colors - out of this world (#842).

Jack Skellington was done using Nail Star - white (#108), O.P.I. - designer... de better for shading on the face, Nail Star - red and black acrylic paint.

Finished it off with 1 coat of Seche VITE - quick dry top coat.  For some reason this read is not as vibrant in this picture when uploaded, disappointing.
From thumb to pinky the images go as such. thumb - bottom part of beard, index - hat, middle - head/top part of beard, ring - neck/body/shoulder, pinky - arm.

To see more SANTA themed nails check out these ladies blogs:

❅ nails and stuff ❃ obsessed with glitter ❇ paint that nail ❄ red hair and black nail polish ✺ Ruby's Nails ❅ finger painted ❃ My Polish Stash ❉ Me, Myself and Nail Polish ❇  KK Nails ✺ Life with Salpi ❅

Thanx for stopping by :)

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24 days of XMAS Challenge : Day 21

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My internet connection was knocked out by rain last night, and I'm just now getting it back... so without further delay, here are my REINDEER/RUDOLPH themed nails (day 21 of the 24 days of xmas challenge!)


I took a sort of morbid/humored approach to this design being that I did normal reindeer the day before. I also have set a goal for myself for this challenge; to try and make my nails have as much variety as possible by pushing alternative christmas imagery and typical christmas color palettes. 


As you can see I illustrated 3 reindeer skulls (one of them being Rudolph) and two holly-across-bones (skull and crossbones... get it? lol, maybe?!) 
I decided that a softer, feminine color would detract from the morbid imagery, and that the hint of metallic luster would make it feel less flat.
Unfortunately when the internet went out I decided in the meantime I would paint some presents I am making and ended up getting some acrylic paint stuck to my nails and sort made it a little funky in places  :( but hopefully it isn't too distracting. Enjoy!

For the base color I used Love & Beauty - Lavender 1 coat, and to add a nice metallic shine to it, I added Sinful Colors - out of this world (#842), which is a nice consistent sheer micro micro micro glitter.
I wanted to create my own warm grey, but after putting on my top coat the purple really came through!


For the rest of the design I used acrylic paint, and circular and almond shaped rhinestone cabochons for the holly. I then finished it off with my trusty Seche Vite - quick dry top coat.


Todays theme which I will be posting later today is EL/F/VES so stay tuned!

To see more of RUDOLF and the other REINDEER check out these ladies blogs:

❅ nails and stuff ❃ obsessed with glitter ❇ paint that nail ❄ red hair and black nail polish ✺ Ruby's Nails ❅ finger painted ❃ My Polish Stash ❉ Me, Myself and Nail Polish ❇  KK Nails ✺ Life with Salpi ❅

Thanx for stopping by :)

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24 days of XMAS Challenge : Day 20

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FOUR DAYS LEFT! CRAZZZYYYY! 


SLEIGH/SLED was the theme for today! I chose to do santa's sleigh, reindeer flying over the moon. :)
I used a mix of nail polish and acrylic paint which allowed for a much smoother (less sticky) application of my design.

The color fade background was done using a base of Sally Hansen - marine scene (#23), 3 coats, and acrylic paint.  On top of that I used NYC - starry silver glitter (#105) which has a nice mix of silver and iridescent micro glitter mixed with medium sized hexagonal blue and pink glitter in a clear polish... It's really pretty! For the design I used all acrylic paint, and then sealed it with the amazing Seche VITE - quick dry top coat.


Tomorrows theme is REINDEER

To see more SLEIGH/SLED themed nails check out these ladies blogs:

❅ nails and stuff ❃ obsessed with glitter ❇ paint that nail ❄ red hair and black nail polish ✺ Ruby's Nails ❅ finger painted ❃ My Polish Stash ❉ Me, Myself and Nail Polish ❇  KK Nails ✺ Life with Salpi ❅

Thanx for stopping by :)

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24 days of XMAS Challenge : Day 14

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A few days ago my parents, my boyfriend and I decorated the christmas tree! As I unwrapped the ornaments I was flooded with memories. Memories of being a kid and LOVING how some said my name, some i made, some that were my grandmothers, and some that have been on the tree for as long as I can remember. It was nice to see the ornaments that i remember from my youth, as well as a few new ones that I decided for todays challenge, with the theme ORNAMENTS I would look at and recreate some of the ornaments from the tree! Now because my nails are not as big as i want, and my design included other elements I couldn't do the really complicated ones, but still the ones chosen are tied to my christmas history.
Below are the ornaments/ decorations I was inspired by, and my ORNAMENT themed nails!

For the base color I used Sally Hansen - spark (#06) which is a really beautiful color. the polish itself it a greenish blue (which can only be noticed if smeared), but appears as a solid micro micro micro glitter iridecent blue to purple effect. Maybe its because this polish is not so new, but it was a one coater! I get tired of using the typical christmas palette so I thought a deep blue purple would make the ornaments and decoration pop out as well as be refreshing to use.


Next for all the fingers I took my Nail Star - silver (#114) and made a 1/2 moon of tinsel/branch for the ornaments to hand on. Then using my Ruby Kissed - french white  I dotted some circles on the silver.
Also after each ornament was finished i filled in the negative space with more dots and snowflake/stars in the same silver. Finally gold nail art beads were placed on top of each ornament to act as a ornament hook.


Starting on the thumb: for the ornament with the bow I used Love & Beauty - gold, then put gold bar glitter on top the O.P.I. because the ornament i was inspired by is a large glass orb with a gold netting around it. For the bow I used turquoise nail art beads to tie in some of the same color of one of the angels. The peppermint swirl ornament was inspired by this really beautiful Waterford Crystal peppermint ornament, and is kind of opal and metallic looking. To capture that shine I used Ruby Kisses - french white  and Kiss - red, and then added micro glitter on top of the red for the shine.


The index and ring finger with the angels were done the same so i'll do them together... So first I used round and (american :) ) football shaped cabochons in magenta, pink and aquamarine, the wings i used Kiss - white striper with Kiss - gold  glitter striper.  For the bottom of the angels and the center between the head and body I used magenta, light pink and light blue nail art beads. These angels were inspired by ornaments my grandmother gave to my mom. They are Swarovski crystal and are colored according to my families birthstone, my mom feb- amethyst, my sister oct - rose quartz and mine and my dads- march - aquamarine. These are my favorite nails because i think they were most successful.


The stars were done similar to the wings, I used A base of Kiss - white striper, Kiss - gold glitter striper then added some yellow micro glitter. Finally for the heard I used Nail Star - silver (#114), then covered it with red micro glitter.  Then 3 thick coats of Seche VITE -  quick dry top coat.


Tomorrows theme is PRESENTS!

For more ORNAMENT themed nails check out these ladies blogs:

❅ nails and stuff ❃ obsessed with glitter ❉ Polish, Oh My! ❇ paint that nail ❄ red hair and black nail polish ✺ Ruby's Nails ❅ finger painted ❃ My Polish Stash ❉ Me, Myself and Nail Polish ❇  KK Nails ❄ My Wet Nails ✺ Life with Salpi ❅ The only way is Nails! ❃

Thanx for stopping by :)

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24 days of XMAS Challenge : Day 13

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I don't know why but i've gotten into this terrible habit of posting my nails in the wee hours of the morning despite my doing them early in the day, except last night i went to post them around midnight (not too late) and my internet crapped out before i could finish writing this post! >:( ANYWAYS here are my christmas tree inspired nails. I decided to avoid doing an actual christmas tree because tomorrow is ornaments and i may or may not do something with that. So instead I went for a two color, christmas sweater pattern. The thumb and ring finger are supposed to look like more christmas trees in the background, but it kind of just looks like mountains, which I am okay with too.

So first I painted all but one nail using Love & Beauty - mint and one nail with L.A. Girl Flare - hunter green. Next i figured out which of the mint nails I wanted as the "tree farm/mountains"

After that it just took A LOT of patience to get the straight lines. 

Next I used to different sized gold rhinestone cabochons, the taller trees with the larger, and the smaller with ...the smaller, in place of the stars. 

SECHE VITE!

Anyways here is my CHRISTMAS TREE DESIGN! stay tuned because tomorrows theme of the 24 day x-mas challenge is ORNAMENTS!

To see more CHRISTMAS TREE nails check out these ladies blogs:

❅ nails and stuff ❃ obsessed with glitter ❉ Polish, Oh My! ❇ paint that nail ❄ red hair and black nail polish ✺ Ruby's Nails ❅ finger painted ❃ My Polish Stash ❉ Me, Myself and Nail Polish ❇  KK Nails ❄ My Wet Nails ✺ Life with Salpi ❅ The only way is Nails! ❃

Thanx for stopping by :)

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24 days of XMAS Challenge : Day 6

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I cannot believe it is already day 6 of the 24 day challenge!  Christmas is almost here!
I thought i would get a jump start on this days challenge, so i bring to you my PENGUIN themed nails! For my inspiration I took a look at a book from my childhood, Mr. Poppers Penguins!

I'm pretty exhausted now so i'll just get right to it.

I used Sally Hansen - shell we dance (#160) for the base color. I then made half moons at the tops of my nails using Love & beauty - royal 2 coats. It was a little to bright and I was looking for a softer ore ice like effect so i put 1 coat of O.P.I. - kyoto pearl! it was the most beautiful thing, i almost stopped right there! 

For the penguins and Mr. Popper I used Kiss - white striper, Kiss - black striper, and Nail Star - orange. It was important that Mr. P and the penguins shared the same 3 colors like the book,  although I used orange in place of the red.  I then mad a line at the top of the blue semi circle using Nail Star - metallic blue, which is the same blue i used to illustrate the feathers, as seen on the cover of the book. 

For the Final touches I used the thing i love most and have greatly missed over the last several designs.. NAIL ART BEADS! I placed 20+ on each nail to create a sort of polka dot effect. The beads I used were clear which enhanced the design by reflecting the light as well as the paint beneath. Then finally 2 thick coats of Seche Vite - quick dry top coat to secure the beads. It really just glows! I really had a lot of fun doing this design and i look forward to Day 7 : Gingerbread Men!

To see more penguin inspired nail art check out the following blogs!

❅ nails and stuff ❃ obsessed with glitter ❉ Polish, Oh My! ❇ paint that nail ❄ red hair and black nail polish ✺ Ruby's Nails ❅ finger painted ❃ My Polish Stash ❉ Me, Myself and Nail Polish ❇  KK Nails ❄ My Wet Nails ✺ Life with Salpi ❅ The only way is Nails! ❃

Thanx for stopping by :)

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THANKSGIVING part 2.

feast your eyes on more thanksgiving nail fun!

I went a little crazy with the theme, symbols included are maize, cornucopia (with fimo fruits :-)) and a hand-turkey, and two fingers (pinky and pointer) with random designs.

For the base coat i used O.P.I. -  designer... de better, for the designs i used mixed nail art beads, large glitter circles, and Nail Star pen & brush in yellow, bronze, gold and red to fill the beaded designs.

in case you want to attempt your own just know that doing just one hand took well over an hour, not including dry time!

Hope you all had a happy holiday

:)

THANKSGIVING

Now, i'm really not one for thanksgiving food. turkey makes you sleepy, stuffing is good as long as its meat-less, and potatoes... too starchy... but OMG.. PUMPKIN PIE IS MY JAM! esp. when homemade and fresh out of the oven! I drove up with my boyfriend to my sisters house in VT for this holiday and my sis spent all morning making pie! so until i get to indulge in my favorite turkey day food... i'll just have to settle with PUMPKIN PIE themed nails!!

In order to achieve this dessert design the colors you'll need are Sally Hansen Xtreme - crushed (#20)  for the pumpkin part of the pie (2 coats)

Love and Beauty - gold  for the crust (2 coats), Kiss - bronze striper for the tear drop holes in the crust.

Next you'll need decorative gold bead balls, to embellish the crust, which can be purchased online, and if you haven't used them before (which i hadn't before this) it can be quite tedious. The balls are adhered using top coat and after the design is complete you want to use another layer of top coat to secure the beads.

If you try any thanksgiving designs then SHARE IT!

and I hope you all have a happy holiday!!!