Sponged Flowers

 

This week, I thought I'd try something a little different with the sponged designs. Since I didn't have time to edit video last week, I figured I'd just do another static tutorial this week. It was fun, though it did take quite awhile for this particular manicure...

I had a French manicure in mind, with delicate flowers just sort of hanging in the design. As usual, it turned out much differently on my nails then in my head, but I don't think it was too bad for a first try. The colors I used are OPI's "My Daddy's the King" and "Bubble Bath" (though I couldn't get BB open, so I substituted Finger Paint's "Well-Cultured Pearl" for the white), China Glaze "Wine Me, Dine Me" and another OPI, "Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow".

To start, I layered two coats of "MDTK" over a coat of Seche Vite base coat:

I couldn't get my BB open, so two coats of "Well-Cultured Pearl" at the tips, and then one more thin coat of MDTK over the whole nail, to mute the white and blend.

Then I used Here "Today, Aragon Tomorrow" applied with a fine paintbrush to create stems and leaves for my flowers:

And then a small piece of natural sponge dipped into "Wine Me, Dine Me" to apply the flowers.

Two coats of Seche Vite top coat to seal, a little clean-up, and voila! Puffy flowers!

Next time, I'll cut the sponge smaller - the larger sponge tip made it hard to maintain control, but I think a smaller tip will do the job fine. I'll also use a nail art pen or striper brush for the stems...the regular paintbrush just didn't quite give me the control I would have liked.

Nonetheless, I've gotten several compliments on this one this week, so it's definitely getting noticed. :-)

I just got a package of goodies from Glamorous Cosmetics, so next week, a manicure featuring those! Until then, happy polishing...

Spring Sponge Gradient

 

Egads - what a day!  I was hoping to get the video tutorial for this manicure edited and posted by tonight, but extenuating circumstances (we bought a new-to-us truck last night) kind of got in the way. So as soon as I can get the video edited, I'll post it - later this week, I think.

  

I did my first sponge gradient since grade school, and it was pretty fun. I used a base of Avon's "Urban Grey" - I wanted a white that wasn't "in your face" bright, and this suited nicely. For the gradients, I used Essie's "Angora Cardi" and Revlon's "Spanish Moss" - gorgeous together, don't you think? 

I played around with a couple different sponging techniques you'll see in the video, and after I put the darker colors on, I went ahead and muted it down a bit with more Urban Grey sponged on top. I decided to add some little "Cardi dots" at the last minute with a dotting tool, but it's overkill. I do think a nice stamped design would look nice...maybe I'll try that next time. 

Base and top coats are Seche Vite, as usual.  I've gotten several compliments on these, so the dots must not be *too* distracting...

 

Sorry the tutorial itself isn't ready - hopefully soon! Until then, happy polishing! 

Memorial Day 2012

I have a new camera - yay! I was going to try out a video for this week, but then I caught my husband's head cold, and just didn't have the energy. So a straight photo tutorial today, and perhaps I can get video done next week.

Yesterday was Memorial Day in the US, so I decided a bit of patriotism was in order...

Polishes used: Zoya "Indigo", Sinful Colors "Ruby, Ruby" and a white StripeRite striper polish.

 I started with two coats of "Ruby, Ruby" (before you go commenting on my messy process, please read this - thanks).

 Next, I painted vertical stripes down each nail in white, all flag-like. This really works best with the long, narrow brush in a striper bottle, but you can use a toothpick or a very thin paintbrush too, if you're careful.

 After that, I used two coats of Zoya "Indigo" for the tips, and decided at the last minute to outline them lightly with a silver glitter striper polish.

 Finally, I used one coat of Seche Vite top coat to set white pearl beads into to represent stars on the blue tips. I sealed them with one more coat of topcoat over everything.

After clean-up, all done! This would be great for the 4th of July as well, methinks...

Until next week, happy polishing!

Peppermint Stripes

I was going to do a gift wrap design this week, but decided to go all strip-y instead. I really should clean out my nail polish drawer too, considering how long it took me to find my white striper bottle, but that's beside the point, eh?

Very simple colors for this one - China Glaze "White Out" and "Red Pearl" and then two art polishes with long, thin striper brushes. The red striper was provided to me by SparklyNails sometime *last* year, and the formula is still very nice to work with. Impressive, for a striper polish!

I decided to alternate colors, so I started with Seche Vite base coat, followed by two coats of red & white on alternating nails.

Then I striped the red nails with white...

And then the white with red (painfully simple, eh?). 

A couple coats of Seche Vite top coat, cuticle clean-up, and voila! Guaranteed to make everyone's eyes go buggy.  ;-) 

Next year, I need to make my cuticles more of a priority, I think. They're horrible, poor things, and I should take better care of them. 

Also, I'm curious, so if you have a minute to leave a comment, please help me decide where to take this blog in 2012. Would you like to see: 

- Don't change anything

- More video

- Less tutorials (I get a lot of complaints about how messy my process is - would you rather just see the finished product?)

- More color swatching

- Anything else you'd like to suggest (politely, please!)

Until next week, have a Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday!

Sparkly Green

This week's photos are a bit blurry - sorry! The Christmas tree is pretty, but it sucks more light out of my space and while I should have just moved...I was too lazy.

I'm all about the glitter this month...this is actually last week's manicure, and I've got something similar going on this week. It's a nice way to sparkle without spending a lot of time - handy since both of these last two manicures happened between 1am and 3am. Busy busy!

For this one, I started with a base coat of the Sally Hanson Triple Strong formula, because that middle nail is still not quite long enough to cut off. Once that was epoxied together, I put on two coats of my favorite white, Finger Paints "Well-Cultured Pearl".

Then I started at the tip, and brushed on a thin layer of Sinful's "Call You Later", a lovely green & gold glitter I got on sale at the drugstore awhile ago. 

Then one more layer of the glitter, just not quite as far down on the nail for a nice gradient.

Then a couple coats of Seche Vite to top it off, and clean up in the shower the next morning. Easy peasy.

You'll have to excuse my super-dry skin...I can't seem to get enough lotion this time of year. Dry, cold air will do that...

Next week, gift wrap. :-) Until then, happy polishing!

Split Personality

It's been a very busy few weeks, but our big Halloween bash went off without a hitch. Last week was a whirlwind of activity around here, cleaning, new carpet, new entertainment center, and much less decorating than I would have liked (but still quite a lot). The theme this year was Heaven & Hell, and naturally, the two sides of my personality were allowed out for an evening - including my nails, of course. My only regret is that I broke several nails moving furniture, and didn't have enough length left to do stilettos for my right hand. *sigh*

Above on my right hand, China Glaze "Ruby Slippers" tipped with CG "Liquid Leather" and a fine line of a matte cement color by Nubar (I forget the exact name, and am too lazy to go look at the moment - sorry!). Obviously, this was my "devil" side, so I didn't mind the tip pull or chipping on my thumb. Just added character to the costume, I think.

Below, my "angel" hand on the left. I used one coat of my favorite pearl white from Finger Paints (also forgot the name), topped with two coats of The Painted Nail by Nubar's "Silver Screened". More pearl on the tip, with CG "Tinsel" along the smile line.

I have to say, it's kind of fun wearing two completely different manicures...and I actually got a few compliments, believe it or not. Perhaps I should try this more often? More nail art opportunities...

Next week, a webby manicure I've been waiting *all month* to do. Got Halloween art of your own? Post a link in the comments so we can all have a gander! :-)

Cracklin' Gemma

Sorry for the delay - I'm on vacation from the day job, and thus my routines are all screwy (or non-existent) this week. But I do think this manicure turned out pretty nicely, although the clerk at the hardware store today took one look at my nails and asked, "Did you do that on purpose?" Cracked me up, so to speak. ;-)

The folks at Sally Hansen were kind enough to send me a couple of crackle polishes with the polish strips, so this week, I decided white and green were the colors du jour. I've been wanting to try Zoya's "Gemma" for awhile now, and since it was already on the manicure tray...

As always, I started with a coat of Seche Vite base coat, followed by two coats of Gemma. I have to say, I love, love, love this color. You'll be seeing a lot more of it, for sure!

 

 

After it dried, I put on a somewhat thickish coat of "Snow Blast" crackle overcoat. The formula for this crackle is nicer than some I've used...it's got a nice consistency that is easy to work with. It started cracking soon after I applied it, and the crackle is matte in it's dry state. I put a matte topcoat over it at first, but I didn't care for the matte finish - it left the lines really sharp.

So I finished it off with two coats of Seche Vite, which smoothed out the lines and gave it a nice shine - so it looked like I did it on purpose (supposedly). ;-)

I think they turned out pretty nicely...reminds me of leaves, or snow on grass. Or distressed paint on old furniture...

Thanks to the Sally Hansen team for providing the crackle...and a purple one, which I fully intend to use for my Halloween costume this year. Stay tuned for that!

Next week...hmm. I'm not sure. I'll think of something though. Until then, happy polishing!

Green Holo-Mask

I was in sort of a "green & blue" mood this week, and not all that awake while I did these. Still, I think they turned out kind of fun. I do wish I'd gotten my lines a bit straighter, but...next time. I love, love, love this green duochrome by Nubar - it looks more like a green jelly in normal room light, and then just shines in the sun. :-)

I started with a coat of Seche Vite base, then two coats of Nubar "Reclaim". Very smooth & easy to control.

Then a thick stripe of Avon "Empower", a dark navy jelly that was really the perfect consistency to stay put over the shiny green. One coat was plenty - very opaque.

I had some pink rhinestones just sitting on my tray, so decided to finish up with those. One coat of Seche Vite top coat to stick them in...

And then a couple thin coats to seal. I should have used wiggly eyes - they look like little masked fingers to me. ;-)

Next time I'll be more careful with the lines - no dozing off as I'm trying to finish up...

I have a new Zoya color I want to try next week...sort of a gray with bronze mica, if I recall correctly. Until then, happy polishing!

Wearing O'The Green

It's still Tuesday here. ;-) I'm afraid I don't have a tutorial for you (because I've been a total slacker), but I have three green manicures to share for St. Patrick's Day this week...

All of these designs were done with 1 coat Seche Vite base coat, 2 coats base polish, and the stones set in two coats of Seche Vite top coat. I should buy stock in Seche Vite...

First off, we have my favorite green polish, China Glaze "Emerald Sparkle", tipped with OPI's "Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow" (which looks black, but is really very dark green). I added light green rhinestones to the center for interest. I love this manicure - super simple to do, yet casual/elegant. 

 

Next up, I used a base polish of Rimmel's 60 Second polish in "Camouflage" - a lovely color, but as you can see I had some trouble with tip pull. Gotta remember to wrap the polish at the nail edge, peeps! Then I put a swoop of white diagonally across the nail, and a glittery gold Sinful color as a base for some large and small light green stones. It was really much more subdued than the picture shows - apologies for the flash. 

 And of course this week, it's back to my favorite Emerald Sparkle, with more of the light green rhinestones arranged into shamrocks on three nails each hand. Aside from my thumb (which I tried to make 4-leaf), they turned out nicely, I think.

Larger rhinestones compliments of the Born Pretty Store, and I purchased the smaller stones from Nail Delights. 

Finally, I saw Nail Art Tuesday mentioned in a blog round-up recently, but I can't find the post again. :-( Whoever you are, thanks so much for the mention! I appreciate it. :-) 

Next week, back to tutorials. Until then, Happy Polishing - and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Nail Love

Hello there, neglected little nail art blog. Did you miss me? I've been doing my nails, but most of January was spent getting my latest book, Desert Heat up for sale, and writing up a storm on new books. And I'll admit that this month, I've been incredibly lazy about photo editing. But no more!

To get back into things, a simple Valentine's Day manicure...

 I started with a base of Avon's "Pink Radiance", just 2 coats over Seche Vite base coat.

 

Then I used my handy-dandy dotting tool from Born Pretty Store to dot a big heart on each nail in white. 

And that's it - two coats of Seche Vite top coat, and clean up. Unfortunately I've got a little tip-pull going on, but it's my own fault for not doing the undersides of my nails. Voila! Simple, casual Valentine's Day nails. 

Until next week (no, really!), happy polishing...

Catchin' Up

Apologies for disappearing in December - the holidays sort of got away from me. So today I have a couple finished manicures from Christmas and the first week in January to show you, and then next week I'll have a new tutorial to post.

For Christmas this year, I used these cute decals from Born Pretty. Speaking of which, Born Pretty has offered Nail Art Tuesday shoppers 10% off your order when you use code: SQUOVAL15 at checkout.

The fun part about the Christmas mani (aside from those lovely water decals) was that my silver polish was way too thick. It was hard to work with, but it also made a 3-D, almost "fuzzy" line at the tips.

Last week I got some fun new Finger Paints polishes that I can't recall the names of just now (don't worry, you'll see them again). I decided to do a gradient with China Glaze "Tinsel" between the white and purple. I love how it turned out, very "winter whimsical", I think.

So that's what I've been up to polish-wise - next week, China Glaze "Dorthy Who?" and full nail stickers.

Until then - happy polishing!