Holiday Blues

The awesome snowflake design is yet another new Bundle Monster plate, #BMS213, and the tree design is from Born Pretty plate #BP01. I used The New Black (navy) and Zoya "Aspen" (white).  I added a little glitter inside the snowflakes and on the tree. The middle finger has a Funky Fingers glitter topper over the polish called "Elsa."

Graveyard Nails

When a friend of mine tagged me in this gorgeous nail art on Facebook (by So Nailicious), my first thought was "challenge accepted!"

I used The New Black purples for my gradient, and then hand-painted on the graveyard scene. The bats and the skeleton were stamped with plates #BM13 and #BM413.

Purple Gradient with Foil

Hello Peeps! I have to keep my nails pretty short for Esthetics class, but that doesn't mean that they can't be cute! Today's mani utilizes some of my faves from the purple The New Black ombre set. I went for a lighter purple gradient, added a few loose flecks of bronze foil, and finally applied a matte topcoat. I really like the matte look with this. What do you think?

Celebrating Spring

Even though it feels like we jumped straight into summer, spring is in full swing here -- the lilacs and wisteria are blooming, the birds are mobbing the bird feeder, and my kid screams when I try to get her to go back inside. In honor of the season, I wanted to do something "flowery." I found the cutest houndstooth/floral design on Pinterest by Fall In NaiLove  (-you can see my inspiration here).

I used NOPI "Always a Silver Lining" as my base, and stamped on Funky Fingers "Gesso" with Bundle Monster plate #BM322. I used two pinks from The New Black pink ombre collection along with "Gesso" to paint the flowers, and then used acrylic paint in black and green for the leaves and to give the design definition. Acrylic is definitely easier to work with on more intricate lines.

I definitely feel inspired most by spring. What is your favorite season?

Nails Mag - Snake Eyes

I liked the Snake Eye so much from my Nails Mag recreations that I decided to elaborate on the idea.

My second eye didn't turn out as well as the first (the right one). I added fangs and a smile line with black and white stripers. This will take some more practice to perfect, but I am pleased with the results.

Polish used:  Wet N Wild "SaGreena the Teenage Witch"
                             The New Black - green from the Runway collection
                              LA Colors stripers in black and white
I also used "Gold Dots" nail foil for the eyes. 

Tutorial submitted to Nails Mag from  Anna Mally of Las Vegas. 

Nails Mag Recreations

I always look forward to my nail mags -  even though print media is going out of style, it's still nice to turn those pages every once in a while. The March 2015 edition of Nails Magazine was no exception. In fact, I loved a few of the designs so much that I immediately felt the urge to re-create them!

First up is my version from CND Vinylux ad - I used a no-name Sally Girl gray as my base. For the floral/abstract design, I free-handed with Zoya "Noir" along with 3 shades from The New Black's pink ombre set. This was a very easy design to do, and can be accomplished easily with multipe varieties of colors!

The Snake Eye Tutorial on page 52 was submitted to the mag from Anna Mally of Las Vegas. I used Wet N Wild "SaGreena the Teenage Witch" as my base, and another TNB green (this time from the Runway collection) for the scales. The eyes were done with "Gold Dots" nail foil, and then detailed with black and white stripers. I loved this design so much, I had to create a full design, but that is a post for another day :)  The eye itself was a little challenging, but overall the design was not too terribly complicated or hard.

My last reproduction is based off the page 62 tutorial, entitled Royal Jeweled Nails with Gelish Cinderella Collection. I used Whet "Facetious" for my base, added glitter and then created a circle with "Jungle Tides" nail foil. I painted around my green circle with a gold striper, and added the tiny dots with my trusty dotting tool. Unfortunately, the green foil didn't give me the coverage I wanted/needed, so I covered it with a gorgeous sparkly "Glee" green from Jesse's Girl.  Again, not too difficult - I think I just need more practice with the foils.

Dear Spring, Please Come Soon!

As I sit here at my computer, I glance out the window. All I can see is snow. Almost a foot of snow. PLEASE. STOP. I feel like Winter is saying "my time is almost up, so let me s#it out a ton of the white stuff while I can!"  Bad Winter. Stop now.

Today's mani is my beckon to spring - I love you and wish you would come back soon!
My base isi Zoya "Rebel" - this is a metallic sky blue with a subtle silver shimmer. Great coverage - which is one of the reasons I love Zoya.
 I did a combo of freehand painting and stamping on this hand job. For the roses, I used a combo of WetNWild  "Through the Grapevine" and one of the pinks from The New Black pink ombre kit. I used a green LA Colors striper to add the green leaves, and finally Funky Fingers "Gesso" for the white dots. I stamped the middle finger with the same WNW "Through the Grapevine" and Pueen stamp #PUEEN29.  For the pinky, I did a double stamping from Gals Cosmetics plate #GA7.

Today I will be offering free ass-kickings to anyone seen doing any snow dances in my presence.

Purple Flowers

Today's mani is inspired by this post by So Nailicious.

I used two of the purples from The New Black's "Haze" Ombre Set on this design. The negative space stripes were done using nail striping tape, and I used the watercolor technique for the flowers. I had originally placed three small white dots in the middle of the flowers, but I didn't really like how they looked, so I used the watercolor technique again to blend them into the purple and added tiny black dots. This design wasn't too difficult, and I have been getting tons of compliments all day :)

*Nails are pictured with my new awesome Pitcher Plant!

More Love to Share

Here's another V-Day mani for ya. I stole the idea from @ModNails on Instagram. I used Zoya "Kirtridge" for my base, and added a coat of CND "Copper Shimmer" for a pearlescent finish. The letters are stamped with Bundle Monster plate #BM426 and Salon Express "Black." I used a red from The New Black "Runway Collection" to leadlight in the top of the lettering. The roses are freehanded with the same red, a green nail art pen and a black striper. Pretty simple and cute.

Inspired by @narmai

Another recreation! I found this on Pinterest, and knew right away I wanted it on my nails!  I started with a base of ELF in "Thunderstorm" and sponged on Finger Paints "Sparkle and Snowflake" for a glittery gradient. For the leaves, I used Red Angel stamping plate #RA-121, and then went over the design with a striper. (Red, orange and  yellow polishes from The New Black "Runway" collection.)

Halloween Skittles - Part 2

This is the second half of my Skittles mani!

• For my thumb, I used Essie "Fear or Desire" and topped it with Funky Fingers "Glitter Matters." 
• I did a gradient on my pointer with the yellow and orange from The New Black Runway collection, plus some red from Wet N Wild (no name on the bottle!). The stamp is #BMH06. 
• The middle finger is another gradient - this time with Zoya "Happi" and Essence "Breakthrough." The stamp is another from the Bundle Monster holiday collection, #BMH07. 
• For the ring finger I used "Bewitched" from Two Gypsies, and stamped with #BMH07.
• Finally, my little pinkie is painted with the yellow from TNB Runway collection, and stamped with #BMH08. 

And that's it! 

No Tricks, Just Treats

I am still raving about the Indigo Bananas polishes that I won. They are amazing!!! For this mani I used "Great Scott!" and added a little bit of Funky Fingers "Mirror Mirror" with a sponge around the tops of the nails, for a subtle gradient. For the tip of each nail, I used Red Angel stamp #RA105 to add a grassy look. I ended up filling in some of the spaces with a liner brush and black polish. In retrospect, I could have easily just painted on the grass, but I like using my stamps :) You can see in the pic below that I only used half of the image for the grass.

I wanted the houses to appear to have lights on, so I used the decal method. The house on the ring finger is from BM224, and the middle finger is from BM305. For the moon behind the house on the ring finger, I made another decal. I used the Christmas bulb from BM225, using only the circular shape of the bulb. I used a yellow from The New Black's Runway collection, and then added Funky Fingers "Lil Miss Sunshine" to give the moon some depth. I really like how the moon turned out :)

The bats are from Bundle Monster stamps #BM13. I used a portion of a stamp from #BM224 on my pinky and thumb that looks like branches. I used #BM13 again to create the spider and web on my thumb.

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised when I went to bed last night - my nails were glowing!!! I am going to try to get a pic :)

Purple is my Passion

I love purple. The majority of my wardrobe and my surrounding elements are purple. My hair has been purple on several occasions. If I had a quarter for every person I wanted to slap when they said "gee, do you like purple? (insert dorky smile)" - I would be set. This mani was done with The New Black's purple ombre set.  There were 5 small bottles, so each finger got it's own shade. I went back through, reversing the color pattern, and stamped each nail with MoYou's Pro Collection #12 plate.  The result: not bad for some nubs! Vive la Violet!

New Bundle Monster Sun Kissed plates

Summer is not gone yet! I keep telling myself that. I decided a good beach-inspired mani would keep me in the summer spirit - plus I just received my new plates from Bundle Monster! You can check them out here. For a limited time you can get the set of 10 for only $7.99! 

Here’s the breakdown:

Pinky finger: Base is Essie “Blanc.” Stamped the gold tritons (you can barely see them) with ELF “Pot of Gold and BM-509. Directional circle is from plate BM-507 and Salon Express black.  There is a small black rhinestone in the center of the circle.

Ring finger: Base is a beige from The New Black’s Runway collection. I used the Salon Express black again to stamp the palm trees from BM-510.

Middle finger: Base is Kleancolor “Sheer Pastel Pink.” Shells are plate BM-505 and I used Salon Express white. I need a brighter white. 

Index finger: Base is Fresh Paint “Firefly.” Waves are stamped with Salon Perfect “Baby Blues” and BM-509. Mermaid is Salon Express black and BM-510. I added a few small pieces of glitter for “bubbles.”

Thumb: Used The New Black again, and stamped with Salon Express white. BM-505.

I am pretty pleased with how this turned out; I just wish the white shells would have shown up better. Guess it’s time to invest in a better white - but the question is Konad or Mundo de Unas? Also, I wish I would have used a small gold stud in the center of the directional circle, instead of the black rhinestone. You can’t see it.  You can, however, see the cat hair on my thumb in the last picture. That is Bullet’s contribution - he worked so hard sleeping next to me, I felt awful taking it off. Not really, but we have 8 cats, so hair is an accessory. Maybe one day I will do cat hair nails...

K.I.S.S. mani (Keep It Simple Stupid!)

Something quick and easy! I used a pink from the New Black pink ombre kit, and topped it with Funky Fingers "Saved by the Glitter." For a final touch, I added some blue nail studs.