Red, White & Blue Stringy Mani

Hello my lovely readers. I am keeping with my Memorial Day Weekend theme and went with a patriotic Red, White & Blue manicure. I tried out a technique that is new to me and I really don't know what it's properly called. I am going to refer to it as a stringy mani, but I have also seen it called the "sugar spun technique" and simply a "slim line" mani. I came across this tutorial video through another blog, though I cannot recall whose. Manicurator's April Showers Brings May Flowers - Rainbowl is probably my favorite stringy manicure.

Colors used:
   ● ZOYA Tosca
   ● ZOYA Robyn
   ● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché

This was no quick and easy mani. It took a long time and I will let you in on a little secret - my right hand looks nothing like my left! Don't you hate when that happens? It looks more like a splatter mani. However, now that I've done it I can perfect on it! I love the look of stringy manis and I plan on using this technique again.

Thanks for popping in!

Memorial Day Weekend Pedi

Hello lovely readers. Oh my gosh is it a hot one today. Super sticky outside; I broke a sweat just watering my flowers!

To those of you who have foot aversions, this is a pedi post! You have been forewarned. I made my toes festive for Memorial Day Weekend with a traditional stars and stripes theme. Take a gander...

Colors used:
   ● ZOYA Sooki
   ● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché
   ● CHINA GLAZE Frostbite
   ● White Acrylic Paint

I started with a base coat of Frostbite on my big toes and white on the rest. Using my small art brush, I free handed the stripes in red and the stars in white acrylic. I used the acrylic for the stars because Papier Mâché is too thin to stand out against the bright blue Frostbite.

I hope you all enjoy your 3 day weekend with your loved ones. Remember to take a moment and remember those who have served or given their lives for our country and to honor those who are currently active duty. Send good vibes to their families as well whom they are separated from while on deployment.

Thanks for popping in!

Green & White Gradient - Tutorial Included

Hello, ladies! Apparently I am having a green week in which I keep grabbing my green polishes to wear. There are so many different shades to choose from. Today I have a green and white gradient manicure to share with you. Gradient nails are always fun, doncha think?

taken in direct sunlight

taken in the shade

Colors used:
  ● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché
  ● ZOYA Midori
  ● ZOYA Ivanka

I actually made my first tutorial to show you how I did this look! My husband helped by taking the pictures for me so I could use both hands. What a great guy. I hope you find it helpful. :-)

click on image to enlarge

Thanks for popping in today! Have a great Monday.

Do You Believe in Magic?

Good morning, ladies! Well, good morning if I wasn't feeling all stuffed up and meh. My husband made me some tea this morning and we bought cinnamon bagels from Panera yesterday for breakfast today so that was most enjoyable.

Today I have some nail art for you that I'm entering in a contest being held by Lindsey at Neverland Nail Blog. Her blog is incredible and if you haven't checked it out before you should do so! The theme for the contest is "Do You Believe in Magic?" I decided to go with a Magician themed nail falling under the slight of hand category.

Colors used:
   ● ZOYA Sooki - 2 coats thumb & pinky, Ace of Diamonds
   ● CHINA GLAZE Liquid Leather - magic hat, wand, Ace of Spades, bunny accents
   ● CHINA GLAZE Snow Globe - 1 coat Pinky
   ● JULEP Emilie - 2 coats ring, middle and pointer
   ● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché - white on all nails
   ● OPI Skull & Glossbones - thumb magic hat accents
  ** I mixed a bit of Sooki and Papier Mâché for the pink on the bunny

So, on my nails I have a magician's top hat and wand, 2 playing cards and the bunny that comes out of the hat. I added a gold star to the top of the wand which I adore. I freehanded all of these with my brand new art brush I picked up yesterday from Michaels for $4. I am so happy with this mani, I think it's so fun! I hope you like it too.

new art brushes, yay!

Thanks for popping in!

Tie-Dye Accents

Happy Saturday, ladies!

I am loving this weather! I can't say the same for my 2 siberian huskies though who much prefer the cold and snow.

We did take them down to the Boardwalk though which they enjoyed. There were LOTS of huskies out that day!

Dpow is on the left & Amoki is on the right

Aren't our babies gorgeous?! Ok Ok, enough of being one of those people who fawn over their dogs...we have nails to discuss!

So, I did end up adding that nail art to Lemon Fizz yesterday. I'll jump right into it and show you because it makes me happy!

Isn't it PSYCHEDELIC?! I used this great tutorial. This look is achieved by gently dragging a small pin or needle through your still wet polish. I must have done mine a bit too hard because instead of smearing the colors it revealed the white underneath, but I still LOVE this. It's so fun and I remember making tie-dye shirts when I was younger. I did a small change to the base polish by removing Lemon Fizz on my thumb and ring finger and replacing it with China Glaze Papier Mâché to give myself a good base to make the colors for the tie-dye really pop.

Lemon Fizz & Papier Mâché

Colors used for tie-dye in order of use:
● FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché
● CHINA GLAZE Lemon Fizz
● SALLY HANSEN XTREME WEAR Sun Kissed (150)
● JULEP Cameron
● ZOYA Sooki
● JULEP Anne
● CHINA GLAZE Frostbite
● CHINA GLAZE Holly-Day
● Topped off with Seche Vite

I definitely plan on trying this pin dragging art again. I think the look it makes is fabulous.

Well, thanks for popping in and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Pink Polka Dots

Hello, ladies! Sorry for another late post. We've had company over and I'm trying to squeeze this in right quick. This look was inspired by this manicure from Goose's Glitter. I still need to work on my polka dots, hers are amazing and even, but even so...it is a great idea! The other night I showed you my base coat of white. I did 2 coats of Finger Paints Papier Mâché and 3 coats of China Glaze High Voltage (neon). I never noticed until I looked at these pictures that High Voltage has a great purple sheen in it, I love it.

All pictures were taken indoors so it didn't completely capture the "neoness" of this color. It's super vibrant in person. I created the half moons using hole reinforcement stickers that were only a couple of bucks from Target and the dots with, what else, but a dotting tool. Isn't it cute?!

Thanks for popping in!

FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché

Hello ladies! I have a late night post for you. I was watching My Week with Marilyn and decided to paint my nails while I was watching. I've mentioned this color in many of my posts, it's currently my only white: Finger Paints Papier Mâché. While I am not in love with this formula I wouldn't say it's the worst. It's very thin and watery so it can be a little streaky and leave bald patches if not applied carefully. I did 2 coats - the first one being a thin coat and the second much thicker. I topped it with Seche Vite in these photos and since it is really late, I couldn't get outside for nice natural lighting so my awful kitchen light will have to suffice.

I know, I know...my explanation probably makes this polish sound horrendous, but as you can see it is a nice, stark white. It does take a while to get used to working with it. As I said in a previous post, I would LOVE to hear what white polish(es) you favor!

I added more to this, but alas, it is late so I will post the completed manicure tomorrow! Have a great night and thanks for popping in!

"Leprechuan Puke" Water Marbling

Happy Friday, all! St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow so it's time to get your green on! I did a green inspired water marble that I have dubbed "Leprechaun Puke." I started by painting 1 coat of Finger Paints Paper Mâché on all of my nails, then I tapped them off and dunked them in my green concoction. Have a look :-).

Left Hand

Right Hand

I just cracked open a brand new bottle of Pure Acetone to clean up after the marbling, and there was a lot to clean up even with my nails tapped off. I don't know if I will use glitter again in marbling because it ended up everywhere! Also, after previewing my pictures, I will make sure to moisturize better before taking pictures. I apologize immensely for my cuticles and dried hands. The acetone really did a number on them. My sister just gave me and Elf Cuticle Pen that I will be more diligent in using after cleaning up with Pure Acetone. That being said, I always think marbling is fun and unique. If you haven't tried it before you should make a point to!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a safe and fun St. Patty's. May no Leprechauns puke on you!

A Wicked Weekend Polish

Hi again. Popping back in to show you the mani and pedi the sister and I did. I will start with Jessica's green ombre mani first.

Cute, huh? I've never done ombre nails yet, but it's definitely on my to-do list!

I did a pedicure in a suitable color scheme for St. Patrick's Day.

For my toes I painted 2 coats of Paper Mâché then free-handed the stripes.

All-in-all we had a great girl's weekend. :-) Thanks for stopping by again!

Less Rain & More Snow Please!

Now that the excitement from opening up my new birchbox has passed, I have some nail art to share today. Zoya Kristen still was looking really good so I decided to do my first stamping experiment. I purchased a set of SHANY Cosmetic plates on Amazon.com and then 3 special Konad polishes (also from Amazon).

So, currently my husband and I are living in VA and so far we haven't had any snow. We got some last year, but no luck so far this year. It's still bouncing around in the 50s and 60s during the day. I LOVE snow especially because I love to watch our 2 siberian huskies play in it. Well, the past few days it has been raining and raining. So, I wish there was more snow and less rain!! I decided to do some snowflake stamps. Take a gander...

indoor lighting

natural (overcast) lighting

I used the following colors in this look:
   • ZOYA Kristen
   • FINGER PAINTS Papier Mâché
   • KONAD Special Nail Polish in Sky Pearl

To achieve this look, I started with my base color, Kristen. It already had Seche Vite on it from when I applied it a few days ago. I sponged on Papier Mâché with a wedge makeup sponge then chose Shany plate SH17 for the snowflake. After stamping the Sky Pearl, I used a small dotting tool and added some random specs of blue then I went over them with the white. To finish the look, I topped everything with my Seche that is now much more cooperative since I added ORLY Nail Lacquer Thinner to it.

My snowflakes are definitely not perfect, but it was my first time stamping and I am pleased with the results. I hope you like it too! Enjoy the rest of your hump day! I get to go pick up my clean, fluffy puppies from the groomers in a bit.

Blue Print

It's officially a new year! My last post was Tinsel Town for New Years and I was most disappointed about the wear on it. I applied it on the 30th and by yesterday the tips were all worn! I guess that can happen with glitters though. So, a new manicure was in order for today, enter- Barry M: Blue Print (instant nail effect: crackle 315). I LOVE the color on this crackle! It's amazing. I applied a thin coat over Papier Mâché . Now, this post is for Blue Print and not the white, but the more I use this white, the less I like it. I cannot apply it without messing up constantly, it's so thin and watery and I have issues with it balding. This manicure didn't turn out the best because by the time I was able to stop fussing with my base color, it was already such a mess I just slapped Blue Print on over it. If anyone has any great application/full coverage white polish they adore you can recommend for me I would be most appreciative. Now, back to Blue Print!

Amoki checking out her Momma's nails.

Even though I feel this wasn't my best work, I love this look and this color. You can see with my middle finger what happens if you apply too thickly, it doesn't really crackle so much. Well, I hope you all had a great New Years Eve. Stop by again!