A Long Overdue Update

So I think I might need to take a short break from blogging. It's been at least a month since my last post. I am still painting, but not like I used to be. It's just hard to find the time!

   Here's what I've done since I last posted.

   It's not much, I know. I hardly have time any more for painting detailed designs, and when I do, I'm often too tired to think clearly about a pretty design. :(

   I'll try to post at least a photo update every now and then.

   In the meantime,  I should be able to keep my instagram fairly up-to-date, if you want to check there periodically.

  Hopefully I'll have more time soon!

  I hope you all have a great week/month/year!

Client Flowers

    I've had my first nail art client! It's so exciting to be coming closer and closer to what I want to do with my career.

   She loved the flower nails from my last post, so I painted a variation of it on her nails. Like mine, I had not base color. Hers were made with a gel base. The pink flowers were made with an OPI color almost the same shade as Revlon Colorstay Cardshark (I forgot to write down the name for you guys). After adding the glitter, I added two coats of the gel topcoat, to make sure all of the glitter texture was smoothed out.

   I hope you all have a wonderful week!


  (If you're in the Louisville area, come see me! I work at Classique Nails and Spa on Westport Rd.)

Spring Flowers

    Now that we are officially out of winter (the season and the weather!), be prepared to see a lot flowers from me. Probably every other week... :D

   This was inspired by babynail_nagoya on Instagram. I loved the look!

    I didn't really have a base color. I painted one layer of Essie Mademoiselle to give it a very slight tint so that any lines or imperfections on my nail bed were evened out.

   The flowers were painted using thinned out white polish. I added a slight pink tint to the centers to make it a little more interesting. The pink was a very thinned out Revlon Colorstay Card Shark. Then I ended with a bit of gold glitter, concentrating it in the center, but spreading it out a tiny bit.

   I have my first client photo for you next! I had my first nail art client today; it was so exciting.


  I hope you all have 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!

Pastel Watercolor

    In my last post, I reviewed some pretty gold stickers. I didn't tell you much about the base, so I thought I'd revisit it.
   The great thing about this design is that it doesn't need to be neat, so it's something you can more easily recreate on your right hand.

   Ignore my dry fingers; I soaked them in acetone to get rid of some glitter polish and forgot to put lotion on them before I took this picture!

   To make this 'base' I started with two coats of a thinner cream base (I used Revlon Colorstay Embody). You can also use white or a more opaque cream (or no base). Once that dried, I thinned out pastel pink, blue, and purple. With a smallish brush, I dabbed on the three colors in random patterns until I had the coverage that I wanted.

   I started with pink, then moved to purple, and ended with blue. You can also put drops of all three on at once and then swirl them together. Use whatever method works best for you! 
   If I have time, I'd love to make a tutorial for you guys. I haven't made one in ages...

   I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Review: Gold Stickers

   I have another review for you all! This week it is some cute gold floral stickers. You can find them here from Born Pretty.

   I forgot to take a picture before I used them.... Sorry!

   Pros: It is super cute and goes with just about anything. It's also easy to cut out whatever portion you want (the design isn't so close that you can't cut out just a flower, like I did), as well as easy to remove from the backing, even when you cut out a small portion. 

   Cons: Overall, it sticks to your fingers very well. However, there is a tiny bit of lifting on the edges, especially if you have a more curved nail. Luckily, this can easily be fixed with a tiny dab of nail glue.

   Consensus: This is a great product! It's a super easy way to quickly add a design to your nails. If you have some nail glue handy, it ought to last as long as your polish. Even if you don't, it will still last for a few days. Plus, the sheet is big, so you can reapply as often as you want!

   I'll go into more detail about the base in my next post. Suffice to say that it is basically a pastel watercolor. I'm ready for Spring!

   I hope you all have a fantastic week!

  

Flower Pillows

   No, this isn't a post about pillows. Not really. My inspiration this week was a cute embroidered floral pillow I found on Etsy.

   Aren't they cute?

   I started with a cream base, China Glaze Oxygen. To make the flowers, I used a light and dark shade of pink, purple, and blue. The leaves and vines were made with Revlon Parfumerie Balsam Fir and L'Oreal New Money, layered on top of each other.

   I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Flower Wreaths

   This design was inspired by this cute design painted by @mananails (Instagram).

   Back in February, even in Alabama, I was ready for Spring!

   I modified the design a bit, and it ended up looking a lot more wreath-like than I wanted. But it still looks close enough to what I planned. I started with a nude base, Essie Back in the Limo. The leaves were made with Revlon Parefumerie Balsam Fir and L'Oreal New Money.

   The flowers were made with 2 shades of red, purple, blue, and pink.
   The thumb and pinky nails were my favorite, I'll definitely have to come back and revisit this design sometime!

   I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Butterfly

   I almost don't know where to start, it's been so long! As you might or might not know, I've been in Alabama the past two months helping my mom clean out her parents' house. On top of all that unexpected craziness, my computer died, meaning I couldn't blog. :(  But, my computer was fixed two weeks ago, and I've finally made it home. Be prepared for a flood of posts!

  I was thinking of Spring when I made this design. Even in Alabama, January was still a bit chilly and things hadn't greened up again yet.

   You might recognize this design, I painted one very similar several months ago. As with that design, the base for this butterfly is Girly Bits Cosmetics January Morning.

   To make the butterfly, I used my thinnest brush and black acrylic paint. Once I got a pattern I liked, I filled in the wings with Girly Bits Cosmetics Downtown Funk. The spots were made with gold acrylic paint.

   That was pretty short and sweet, compared to my usual posts! After so many months though, there's only so much that you remember you wanted to say...

   I hope you all have a fantastic week!

XOXO

   I have a new set up in my shop! And I must say, I really love it. I keep hoping I'll find time to paint it on my own nails this Valentine's Day. (I haven't been posting much recently because I'm down south helping my mom clean out her parents' house this month and last month.)

   I started with a white base, and then added a layer of Girly Bits January Morning. I just love that polish!

   I used a new black water-based paint that I bought from ?. I really like it so far; it's nice and thin, but not too thin. I used my favorite super thin brush from Born Pretty Store.

   For the thumbs, I outlined the heart, and then placed red glitter inside of it.

 
   This set is up in my shop, so check it out! I don't have time to deliver to you by this Valentine's Day, but you can always keep it in mind for the next! :)

   You can find it here in my shop.


   I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Antler Tree

   I recently made the mistake of looking at a Pier 1 catalog. I could easily waste so much money there. I love pretty dishes and furniture! They are definitely one of my biggest weaknesses. Especially dishes...

   I love this plate! I really like how the antlers are trees and have little birds on them. I thought it was so cute!

   I wasn't about to try and paint the actual deer, but I had to paint the rest. I started with my favorite cream base, China Glaze Oxygen. To make the antlers, I used a thinned out brown (Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Branch Out), and added a bit of highlighting with a lighter brown (OPI A-Piers To Be Tan).

  To make the birds, I started by drawing out their basic shapes with white acrylic paint. Then I painted their coats (color markings? feather patterns?) with whatever colors fit the breed I wanted. But I probably made up a breed or two... Who knows! I kind of just painted... But I do have a cardinal! And maybe some sort of chickadee?

   Then I painted some green leaves with a thinned out Revlon Colorstay Spanish Moss. On my thumb, pinky, and right hand, I used Orly FX Starburst.

   Have a great weekend!

Picnic

   This week I have a cute red plaid to show you all. I really loved my brown plaid I painted near Christmas, so I wanted to try it in some different colors.

   It doesn't look quite as nice as the brown (I forgot my red turned funny colors on me when it gets thinned out), but I'm still happy enough with it.

   I started with a white base, Revlon Colorstay Sure Thing. Next I thinned out my red, Revlon Colorstay Red Carpet, and used a medium brush to draw the diagonal lines. To make the dark square where the lines cross, I used a very thinned out dark red, Covergirl Plum Pudding. Then I finished it off with a top coat.

   I even painted my left hand! Sort of. There was no way I was going to paint plaid on all my fingers on my right hand. So I painted some cute little tickle ants. They want to join in on the picnic fun too!


   I might be a little silent for a while (nothing new, I know, sorry!). My best friend is getting married next week so I have a ton to do to help her get ready and get me ready.

   I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Review: Blue Rose Decals

   I received another package in the mail from Born Pretty a few weeks ago! I got a bunch of cute stuff that I can't wait to show you guys. First up: these beautiful blue rose water decals. It came in a pack of four different designs, but it was the blue one that caught my eye first.

   These were super easy to apply, like always. There was no sliding at all on these decals, so that was great! They lasted for a really long time too (for me), with no peeling. I work at JoAnn Fabrics, so I'm constantly knocking my nails around on bolts of fabric and counters. Most of my manicures only last about two or three days before they chip. These decals held up really well though and lasted for about four days or so. On any normal person that doesn't treat their nails horribly at work, I'd guess the decals could last a really long time for them.

   They were thin, so I did need to apply a base color before applying. I used my favorite cream base, Orly French Manicure Pink Nude. On my other nails I added some tiny light blue dots. They're really hard to see, but they are there! You can see them a little better in the first picture.

   I hope you all have a great week!

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!

Small Daisies

   I seem to be on another theme... daisies! This week I painted some cute tiny little daisies all over my nails.

   I started with a base of Essie Bahama Mama. It was hard to get an accurate picture of the color. The second picture is really close to what it looks like in the sun. You can see a more true to color indoor light image here in an older post (the first image). Next, similarly to last week's daisies, I made them petal by petal in the shape of an asterisk *. I made the centers of the flowers with a teeny tiny dot of Bahama Mama. 

   The daisies super tiny and I love it! In my goodie bag from Born Pretty I got an amazing super thin brush. I'll review it more in depth next week, but I think I'm in love!

   I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Daisies and Dots

   Last week I was a little lazy... I've been in a bit of a creative slump recently. I really hope I pull out of it soon! So to make up for it, I painted an old Etsy set. Believe it or not, but I'm still trying to paint all of my Etsy sets onto my own nails. I've just gotten really slow at it!

   This design is crazy simple and really easy to recreate. I started with a base of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure. Next, using a white striper, I essentially made an asterisk *. I made each petal individually (it's easier for me that way), but you could certianlly make it however you want! Next I used a small-medium sized dotter to make the yellow centers. I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow. Lastly, I used my smallest dotter to make the white dots inbetween flowers. If you don't have a dotting tool, then a toothpick or small brush would also work!

   You can find the Etsy set here in my shop. It's great for spring! (Shameless plug, I know, but sometimes you have to!)

   I hope you all have a great week!