On the Grid

   I am behind again... But, this week was busy with Derby Day and going home over the weekend, that I don't have a design on my nails this week anyway.

   Last week I was inspired by a super cute dress sold by Simplicity Is Bliss Vintage on Etsy (@sibvintage on Instagram). I love the pattern! It's so simple, yet cute.

   My design is cute, but I personally think that the dress is way cuter.

   I started with a base of Essie Mademoiselle, a nice sheer nude. Then I drew the lines and X's on with black polish and my favorite super thin brush. The glitter was from China Glaze Silver of Sorts.

   I hope you all gave a fantastic week!

Spring Daisies

   I'm working in a salon now!! If you're in the Louisville area, I'm working at Calssique Nails and Spa. Come see me! I'm not doing everything yet; I'm still in training since I'm freshly out of school (there's a lot that is done differently in salons that isn't done in school). I'm sure it won't be long before I am a full fledged technician though.


   Anyways, on to nails! Last week I had some cute daisies on my fingers.

   I started with a pink base. OPI something-another, I think (it was from work and I forgot to write down the name). Then I painted on the daisies; starting with black, and then painting white over top to get the outlined look.

   I originally didn't have any polka dots in the background. This design evolved oddly; I thought I was only going to paint an accent nail, so the daisies on my ring finger are much closer together than the other nails. Then the next day, I looked at it and it cried out for dots and a matte coat.

   I hope you have a fantastic week!

Snowmen

   This week I have some cute snowmen with crazy hats for you all!

   I love the accent. And the base color of the tiny snowmen. And the tiny snowmen. It's just so cute!
   For the accent snowman, I started with a white base, and then added one layer of Girly Bits January Morning to give it a bit of snow shimmer. I used my dotter for the eyes, mouth, and carrot nose. His hat was made with my green nail art pen (which somehow turned teal-ish), and two shades of grey for the fur.

   To make the tiny snowmen, I started with a base of January Morning (two coats to leave it sheer). Then I placed some really pretty iridescent glitter on top. I used my dotter to make the snowmen, and my tiny brish to make their hats and arms.

   I finished them all off with a matte top coat.

   I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Sweaters

   Last week I had this cute sweater design on my nails. I had tried this a few weeks before with gels, but I didn't know what I was doing and it looked awful. So this time I tried something different and got a much better result!

   For the sweaters, I started with a base of Orly Matte FX Purple Velvet. To make the raised designs, I used Purple Velvet again. I put a drop of the polish on a plate and let it sit for a tiny bit to let it thicken up ever so slightly. Then I used my tiny brush and painted on the designs. I found I liked it better with two layers, to make the design a little more raised.

   If I still had access to a UV/LED light (I don't own my own), I would have applied my matte gel top coat, and then painted on two-three layers of the design to give it a raised appearance. The first time I did, I painted it in reverse order, so it all ended up blending together and looking like I couln't paint a solid color.

   On my index and pinky fingers, I used Noodles Nails Berries and Cream. I love this color for winter! And I love it even better with a matte top coat.


   I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Merry Christmas!

   Merry Christmas Eve!

   This year, as usual, I couldn't pick just one thing to paint. So I made a Christmas collage, Cotton Coney style.

   I started with a base of Girly Bits Cosmetics January Morning. Then I added on stockings, candy canes, presents, and a tree.

   To make the tree, I used some striping tape to mark off the space for the tree. (I used a great tape dispenser that I'll have to tell you all about soon...) The green I used was Finger Paints Sketch N Etch, and I added a very thin layer of Zoya Pixie Dust Vega over top to give it some sparkle. I topped the tree off (literally, ha!) with a tiny gold stud.

   The candy canes, stockings, and presents were all made with either my red striper or Revlon Parfumerie Balsam Fir. The white stripes and stocking tops were made with my white striper, and the gold ribbon on the presents was some polish I got as a gift (Love brand, with no color name).
   I also added some tiny iridescent hexagon glitters in the empty spaces ...so it didn't look so empty. And to make it glittery.  (Man, I am excelling at writing today....) Then I topped it off with a matte coat!

   I hope you all have a good time this Christmas, but I know it's not always as fun for some as it is for others. :/

   Merry Christmas!

Fall Trees

   One of my fellow students found a pin that she wanted me to replicate. It was a cute gradient with a fall tree accent.

   To make the gradient, I used OPI A Woman's Prague-ative and Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Branch Out. The leaf was made with Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Butterscotch.
   The tree was made by sponging on a bit of Prague-ative and then painting on Branch Out for the trunk. Then it all was topped off with a matte topcoat.


   Have a great week!

Chalkboard Sunflowers

I found a really cute pin of some sunflowers a few weeks ago. I loved the chalkboard feel of it.

   I started with a base of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out. Then I sponged on varying amounts of China Glaze Recycle.

   To make the sunflowers, I started with Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Butterscotch to make the petals. Then I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Branch Out for the sunflower centers. To make the stems I used L'Oreal New Money.

   I topped it off with a matte topcoat.

   I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Halloween Part II

   To continue with my belated Halloween designs... (Eventually I will post them on Halloween if not before!)

   Here are a few designs I created at school on fellow students and clients.

   First up: Saw-themed nails. This student was dressing up as Jigsaw for Halloween, complete with the tricycle. I've never seen any of the Saw movies (I like to sleep at night), so I had to do a little research for this one.
  For the accent nails, I used Revlon Colortsay Sure Thing as my base, and red acrylic paint for the hand print and swirl. The other nails were painted with OPI Midnight in Moscow, a neat seemingly black base with a red shimmer when it's in the light.

   Sugar skulls and spider webs! This girl was dressing in a skeleton/sugar skull/Day of the Dead themed costume. To make this set, I started with a white base for the sugar skulls. Then I used a combination of red and black acrylic paint, as well as a green nail art pen. The webs were made with OPI Midnight in Moscow and white acrylic paint. The set was topped off with a matte topcoat.

   I'm a little bit proud of this one... I've always loved calligraphy, so it was really fun to combine my love of letters and my love of polish for this design! I'm not sure what the costume idea was for this one, but I'm just happy I got to paint pretty letters.
   I started with a black base, and then used acrylic paint for the letters. It was topped off with a matte topcoat as well. She had broken a couple of nails, so I sculpted those out. All in all, I think it took about 3 hours, including a quick smoke break for her and a wiggle break for me. :)

   I have one more installment and then I'm done with Halloween and back to trying to catch up.. I think I'm only 1 week behind. Surely I can catch up from that! :D

   Have a fantastic week!

Vintage Roses

   Sorry I've been so silent, I've been of vacationing and then working on a boat load of orders. Hopefully now that I'm done with summer vacations and getting ready for school, things will quiet down and I'll be posting and painting more regularly.

   This week I painted an old Etsy set.

   I wasn't a fan of this set originally - I like my flowers and things to be more realistic usually. But after painting it recently for an order, it started to grow on me.

   I started with a base of OPI My Dogsled Is A Hybrid and Revlon Colorstay Sure Thing. I used a white striper to make the dots and stripes. To make the roses, I started with Finger Paints Far Out Fuchsia. Then I swirled on various amounts of Revlon Colorstay Card Shark and Finger Paints Plum Perspective.


   Have a great week!

Marbled

   This is an extension of sorts of the pysanka design I posted earlier this week. I didn't dare attempt to paint the deer on my right hand, but I knew I didn't want it to be just a plain solid color.

   I started with a base of Orly Teal Unreal. To give the marbled effect, I thinned out some of Studio M Blue Ming. Then I dabbed it on with a smallish brush, making sure it wasn't too thick in some places. Once I was satisfied with the pattern, I sealed it with a matte top coat.

   This is super easy to make and looks really neat!

   You can find it here in my Etsy shop. I plan on adding some other colors too!

   I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Pysanka Deer

   I know I'm a little irregular again. Finals are approaching, so all my professors are assigning last-minute projects and papers!
   This week I was trying out my fancy new striping brush. I received it in my latest package from Born Pretty. Let me just say, I love it! It isn't crazy long like most striping brushes, so it's a lot easier for me to use for things other than a straight line.

   On to the design! Remember last Easter when I made a design based off of Pysanky (Ukranian Eggs)? Well I found another egg that I absolutely fell in love with!

   I absolutely love the style of it, it's so pretty. And the deer has leafy antlers!

   I started with a base of Orly Teal Unreal. To give it the "marbled" look, I thinned out some of Studio M Blue Ming and sort of globbed it on, making sure it wasn't too heavy in spots and spread out.

   I started by drawing out the basic shapes of everything with white acrylic paint. I used thinned out OPI A-Piers to Be Tan for the deer, and L'Oreal Walk On the Beach for his spots.

   For his antlers and the other vines, I started by using L'Oreal New Money for the leaves and then going over it lightly with a thinned out Studio M On the Field. Next I used Revlon Colorstay Buttercup for the stem. Buttercup was also used for the dots around the vines. Then I topped it off with a matte topcoat.

   What do you all think?

  I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Flower Doilies

   Last weekend's design is one I have been wanting to make for a long time. I fell in love with this design of the Nailasaurus' quite a while ago.

   I started with a base of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Barracuda. Next I made the cloud-like shape with my striper; I started by making part of a circle and then adding on the large dots with a dotting tool. To make the small dots around the edge, I used a tiny brush. To make the flowers I used thinned out Revlon Colorstay Passionate Pink and Essie Bahama Mama. The leaves were made with thinned out L'Oreal New Money and Studio M On the Field. Then I topped it off with a matte top coat.

   I also made a cute little how-to video! You can watch it on my Instagram (yes, I've finally moved into the modern world and gotten a smartphone!).

   I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Review: Rose Nail Decals

   I received another package from Born Pretty last week! Among other things I got some pretty rose water decals. I forgot to take a picture before I cut them up! I didn't use them all though, so you can kind of get an idea of what they looked like in the package:

  It came with a tiny little nail file. It was really nice to use to file the excess decal off.

   The decals applied really easily and didn't slide around as much as the last decals I reviewed. I really liked that about them, it made it a lot easier to trim off the excess!
   They lasted fairly long, but I ended up taking them off a little sooner than necessary. Two fingers on my right hand was peeling back a little 4 days into it, so I just went ahead and took them off. I don't think that's anything to do with the product though. I think it has more to do with my left hand being a less than great applicator. The decals on my left hand were un-chipped and had very little wear, if any.
   Overall I think they are a great product!

   I absolutely love the design and color on this set! It is so pretty and feminine; very delicate. One of the things I like about decals is that I can have both hands match, and they both look great! I hardly ever show you guys my left hand, and that's for a good reason. I usually paint my left hand to match, but it never looks near as nice. So it's great to have two hands that look nice instead of just one.

   I added a matte topcoat to my nails. It was a pretty design before, but I think the matte coat really made it. In my opinion, anyway!

   I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Black Matte Glitter Gradient

   So, it's official - this semester is nuts! I've had so much going on the past few months it's been hard to keep up. It's looking like things will be getting back to normal, but we'll see... I hope it does!
   This design (from about three weeks ago) is based off a custom order I had a few months ago.

   The original design had the glitter on just the ring finger, but for me, I liked it better with all the nails glittered. For the glitter gradient I mainly used Finger Paints Wrapped in Ribbon (a fine glitter) and a little bit of Wet 'N Wild Fergie Glamorous (large glitter). My base was a black polish, I used Finger Paints Black Expressionism. Then I topped it all with a matte top coat!

   This one is available in my shop, you can find it here.

   I hope you all have a great week!

Illuminated Nails

   I'm really excited to show you guys this week's design! I bought a really neat book that shows some ways to illuminate pages and whatnot. I'm really excited to try it out, I just need some free time... In the mean time, I painted an illumination-inspired mani!

   To make this design, you need a lot of movies.... And some polish and tiny brushes! I started with my favorite base, Orly French Manicure Pink Nude. I made the vines/outline with a very thinned out Revlon Colorstay Jungle. To fill in the leaves, I used Studio M On the Field. The flowers were filled with either Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away (blue), CoverGirl Outlast Vio-last (purple), or Revlon Colorstay Red Carpet (red).

  I think this is one of my favorites! It's so pretty and detailed. Details are my favorite, it's part of why I like macro photography so much!

  I hope you all have a fantastic week!

New Sets!

   In continuation of sorting through old posts and old designs, I came across some new sets I had painted throughout the past month.

   This first one is a design that I painted as a custom set for a customer through Etsy.

   I like this one, the glitter is really pretty! I think I'll have to make an option for all nails to have the glitter, I think it would look really nice.
   For the glitter I used a combination of fine glitter, Finger Paints Wrapped in Ribbon, and a slight bit of a chunkier glitter, Wet 'N Wild Fergie Glamorous. Then I painted on a matte coat.


   This next set was also a custom set for a customer on Etsy.

   I really liked this one too. It's different and I've never used almond nails before, but I think it looks nice!
   I used Finger Paints Wrapped in Ribbon  for the glitter lines. The blue I used was one one layer of Orly Teal Unreal. It's a thinner polish, so one layer gave it a watercolor effect. I made the black lines with my black striper, and my base color was Orly French Manicure Pink Nude.
   The studs I used were from a neat little set from Walmart, Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Studs. I came with a tube of the studs here, as well as a tube each of clear and black rhinestones. The black ones look nice, but I'm not impressed by the clear. I guess I'm spoiled by more realistic ones? Or I'm just picky...

   I'm officially caught up! Sort of. I painted my nails again two days ago, but I don't think that counts!

   I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Thanksgiving!

   Despite being way ahead of seasons this year, I am super excited for Thanksgiving! I love all the food, and of course seeing my family. I don't get to see my cousins enough. My roommate and some friends had our own small Thanksgiving this past Saturday and it was lots of fun! We didn't burn the turkey or anything, so we were happy. I don't think any of us ate any supper that night, we ate too much at lunch!

   Anyway, back to nails. I of course had to paint some Thanksgiving-themed nails for this week, in honor of the holiday. I found the perfect inspiration on Pinterest!

   Aren't they so cute?! I found them a couple weeks ago and knew I had to paint them!

   I started with two different bases; the Indians/turkeys have an Orly French Manicure Pink Nude base, and the Pilgrims have an Orly FX Starburst base (although you can't really tell...). I thought the glitter in Starburst would be really cute, but the minions are too big! Oh well, you see it on my right hand -

   To make the minions, I started with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow.
   For the Indians/turkeys, I painted the turkey feathers next, using Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Butterscotch, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed, L'Oreal He Read My Mind, and Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Branch Out.
   For the Pilgrims, after painting Mellow Yellow, I painted the hat next, using OPI A-Piers to Be Tan. To make the buckle I painted a yellow square (over top white, to make the yellow pop), and then used my black striper.

   Next I painted their faces, starting with China Glaze Pelican Grey for the goggles, then white and black for the eyes and mouth. To make the teeth I used the tip of my smallest brush. It works really great if you leave a bit of the previous polish on and let it dry so it makes a firm point (you can clean it off later). I used OPI A-Piers to Be Tan for their shirts and black for the buttons. Then I topped it all off with a matte top coat!

   After tomorrow at 12pm, I am done with class and officially on Thanksgiving break! I'm so excited! I won't have any new posts until I get back, I don't want to mess with carting polishes home this week. Besides, when I'm not at work, I'll be to busy visiting with my family!

   Have a wonderful week and a great Thanksgiving to those of you celebrating!