Inspired by@agehanails

To be quite honest, I was feeling quite uninspired when I sat down to do my nails, so I went to my trusty Pinterest Nail Art page to look for some inspiration. I decided to recreate this mani from @agehanails - she does awesome work! 

I used OPI Color Paints, Zoya's "Aspen" and a few rhinestones. I employed a dry brush technique for the black accents. 

Inspired by Stephanie Loesch

Today's nails are a re-creation of an amazing mani I saw on Pinterest by Stephanie Loesch -- an amazing nail artist! Be sure to check her out on Instagram @_stephsnails_

Deadpool Nails

FINALLY I got to see Deadpool, and it was awesome :)

For these nails, I started with a base coat of Color Club's "Harp on It," which is an amazing holographic polish.
All of the graphics were  done with stamps. For the Deadpool face, I used a peace sign (BM#07), removed the two diagonal lines, and used a reverse stamping method for the rest.
The lightning images on the pinky are from Born Pretty Store plate #BP06.
HeHe plate #008 is where the guns came from.
The letters D and P are brought to you today by plates #m17 and #m18.
And finally, the blood drips are from another Born Pretty plate - #BP29.

Coffee Nail Art

I am one of the few people in the world that HATES coffee. The smell alone makes me gag. My family, however, runs on coffee. So I was excited when I got this new stamping plate off Ebay.

This is my first Tian Xin plate, and I am pleased with the quality -- I was a little worried since it was so cheap, but it's definitely worthwhile.

Shattered Glass

I finally  got my hands on some holo foil paper from Born Pretty Store to create some shattered glass nail art!

My base is "Wet Suit" by Sally Hansen - I love this color! Is it grey, blue, purple or a combo? I'm not really sure, but I like it. I cut the holographic sheets of mylar into tiny strips, and applied them using a clear coat. I used Seche Vite to seal everything in, and that was it! This is a really pretty look that is fairly easy (albeit slightly time consuming) to create. I can't wait to use more of this in the future.

Paws and Hearts

My mom is the director for a Humane Society, so naturally we always put dogs on her nails. 

For today she decided on paw prints and hearts. 

Her ring fingers are stamped with a heart embracing a paw. This stamp is from My Online Shop, plate #JR-35.  We stamped paws and hearts on the rest of the nails, using plates QA23 and m18. 

Inspired by....

Inspiration can come in the craziest places! Today's mani was inspired by a lighter. :)

I started with a black base coat for this design. I stamped on a lace design with one of Bundle Monster's new blogger collab plates, BM-XL206, using a lavender polish ("Sugar Plum Fairy" from Funky Fingers). I then took the pink and purple polishes from the OPI Sheer Tints and sponged them at the top of the nail to create a gradient.

Where is the strangest place you have found inspiration?

Marble/Stone Nail Art

Today I have more submissions for the Nail It! Magazine, on the theme of Marble/Stone.

The purple is my favorite, of course. I started with a lavendar base of "Sugar Plum Fairy" from Funky Fingers. I used the Sharpie technique with dark purple, Next, I grabbed some more purples and some black polish, and began sponging it on in various spots. It didn't look "soft" enough for me, so I grabbed a small paint brush and some acetone to gently brush the sponging, making it look more like watercolor. Finally, I added just a little bit of ivory polish (sponged) and the tiniest amount of glitter. A coat of matte polish completes this look. :)

I love opals, and I just received the film to create the shattered nail look, so I decided to see if I could combine these two ideas. I started with an ivory base of "Lil Miss Sunshine" by Funky Fingers. I then cut small slivers of the shatter film (I got from Born Pretty Store) and attached them to the nail with a little top coat. I sponged on pink, orange, purple and blue from the OPI Sheer Tints, and sealed everything in with a top coat. This was super easy to do - the most time consuming part was cutting the little slivers into the perfect lengths (and not losing them!)

My final design is modeled after Ammolite, which is actually an iridescent material found on extinct ammonite fossils. The variety of color found in this substance is stunning. I painted my nail with a green base, and began sponging on colors - orange, red, black, grey, green - and then softened up the lines with some acetone (this is the watercolor technique again). With a fine brush I painted on the black lines, finishing my design with a little glitter and a matte top coat.

Which one is your favorite?!?

Naked Acres Nail Art

If you haven't figured it out already, I love animals. I spend a great deal of time in the pet store, and Naked Acres is the name of my local favorite shop.

 I used acrylic paint to reproduce the store's logo on my right hand, and did some leaves along with a cartoony iguana with a crown to represent the store's mascot, King Louie.

The leaf design was inspired by the blog You Need A Manicure - see the post here.

The Force Awakens

Today is the day!!!! I am beyond excited about this movie. Star Wars was a staple in our household growing up. We watched the movies, and ran around outside playing pretend with sticks as "blasters."
 Naturally, I had to rep my love on my digits.

I used a decal method utilizing magazine pages - in this case, I used a Toys R Us catalog. This article from NailPro has a great tutorial video. It is a somewhat time consuming technique, but I feel the payoff is well worth it :) What do you think? Have you tried this method?

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."

More Stamping with Bundle Monster

I have been having a blast with the new Bundle Monster seasonal plates!

Have you tried them yet?!?

Bundle Monster Does It Again

I was a bad girl on Black Friday, and ordered nothing but stuff for me - specifically, stamping plates. Bundle Monster's new seasonal plates were #1 on my list, and they don't fail to amaze! 

It only took me 5 hours, but I put my first full set of acrylic sculpted nails on myself.  I don't think they turned out too bad for the first time :) 

Zoya "Arianna" is on my tips, and then I stamped with #BMS216, #BMS217 and #BMS218. These plates are unbelievable in the variety of designs! 

Welcome Christmas!

The greatest thing about holiday season? All the great holiday nail art of course!

I've been busy at school with lots of holiday manis, and I am loving every minute of it. It makes the day go by fast, and there is nothing more rewarding than the smile I get when I'm done doing someone's nails :)

Here's some of the work I have been doing this week:

So many possibilities, and only 20 days left! What are you wearing on your nails?!?

October - more than just Halloween!

Most people associate October with Breast Cancer Awareness and Halloween. October is also National Infant Loss and Preemie month. This has touched me personally, as my nephew was born 3 months early -- weighing only 1.10 lb. Moreover, I have a dear friend whose son was called home before his 2nd birthday.

 The base is Zoya's "Dot," and on all but the ring fingers, I used a sponge to add some blue (Dermalect "Above It"). The clouds were stamped with Bundle Monster stamp #BM312, and the ribbon is double-stamped with #BM321.

Hehe stamping plates

I won some new stamps on Listia, and here's my first mani from them:

The stamp is #Hehe006. These are my first Hehe stamps, and I really like them! My base is Indigo Bananas "Taffeta, Darling?" After I stamped the images, I colored them in with OPI Color Paints.

Halloween Contest Nails

We had a Halloween nail art contest at my school, and I won first place :)

I was so thrilled that the idea in my head transformed into nails! With the exception of the werewolf, all the nails were painted with a blue gradient, and then stamped with a variety of stamps for the trees, housing, etc. I free-handed the moon, adding a few different shades of yellow and some white to create dimension. Lastly, I used Bundle Monster acrylic molds to create the 3D bats. 

Lastly, the werewolf.....yes, it's real hair. Cat hair. Complements of Pink - who purred away while I gently trimmed some of his hair.

I glued the hair on, and then applied the eyes, nose and teeth that I created from acrylic. 

I really like how these turned out. What do you think?

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.

Warning: Toes Ahead!

I don't normally show my pedis because I think that feet are gross in general, but I really like this one :)

My inspiration came from this pin that has been on my "Toes To Do" for some time.

I purposely didn't take a close-up, so it's kinda hard to see the great detailed glitteriness of the red polish. I used OPI Liquid Sand in "The Impossible" on all the little toes, plus on the bow. For the big toe, I used Funky Fingers in "Guesso" and stamped the cute little Hello Kitty face from plate #QA24.

Sadly, flip flop season is coming to a close here, but there  are still so many cute designs that I want to do. Usually I give my toenails a brake with the paint until spring. What do you think -- Do you paint your toes in the winter?

My Nails Mag Debut!

I'm ridiculously excited to report that one of my nail art pics was in the October Nails Magazine (pg 36):

You may remember this as the promo pic I did for Nails for Tails. I had no idea they were using it, so it was definitely quite the pleasant surprise!

I am currently wearing a gorgeous deep blue polish from Whet called "Facetious." I had never heard of this polish before I received this bottle in one of my Ipsy bags. It took a good three coats to get the level of opacity I wanted, but it was well worth it for this rich cobalt blue.

Unfortunately, this picture doesn't show how stunning this blue truly is. I stamped on some feathers with Bundle Monster plate #BM419 and Fresh Paint in "Firefly." I used a detail brush to add some microglitter to the feathers.

Have you ever used Whet polish? Did you like it?