Spring Fling Challenge Day Five: Watermarble or Gradient

Welcome, to the final day of the challenge! Just a recap this is a cooperative effort between myself and Kelly of Tuxarina, the Spring Fling Challenge is a five day mini skills showdown. We are fortunate to be joined by five others representing both the US and International nail blogging communities:

Hayley of Polished at Heart
Jackie of Polished at Heart 
Erin of LovelyLacqueredLife
Ghila of Nails Noob
Lynette of Pink & Purple Dots

It was my intention to attempt a Watermarble, but the week after vacation is a crash landing. I solemnly swear you will see a Watermarble soon! Instead, I bring you my (in)famous "Lazy Glitter Gradient" a.k.a. "Fake It Until You Make It and Let the Glitter Distract". I started with a base of Sinful Colors' Candy Coated, a periwinkle leaning lilac, then I coated the top half of each nail with Julep's Julia, a stunning gold-purple micro shimmer. The entire nail was swept with Sally Hansen Complete Manicure in Snowglobe. Next three quarters of the nail was painted in KBShimmer's The Square. The Square is a purple-plum jelly with a cacophany of square glitters in a range of sizes suspended in it. The colors dance between purple, white and gold to turquoise and cobalt. This is an amazing instant jelly sandwich... or as I like to say "preserve press". The mani was topped with another coat of Snowglobe. It's not perfect, but it's fun! It's Friday, and I am going with it...

I can't wait to see what all the ladies have done! Please share the comments and share the love...

Thank you so much to all of the girls for participating! Lynette, Ghila, Hayley, Jackie, Erin you did an amazing job and stayed so dedicated! Love to all of you! A special thanks to my challenge partner in crime, Kelly. This is our third challenge together since October... what are we going to cook up next, dear? Hehehe...

Happy Friday, lovelies... enjoy!

Lowbrow Nail Art: Inspired by Shag's "Fondue Set"

Yesterday in my post I spoke about my love for the work of Josh Agle- professionally known as Shag. He is the ultimate in hipster sophisticate lowbrow art (also called pop surrealism). It's fun, it's fresh, it's retro, and it's very tongue-in-cheek. 

Though his works tend to be very candy colored and glossy and are chock full of opulent and swanky subject matter, there is always a darker side lurking. It is not too often when someone asks you which piece do you like the most of this artist and your unwavering response is "every last damn one". I was so thrilled when Jesse liked him to. I remember saying when we were dating, " When we get married we are so going to buy a Shag".  Luckily we did both of those things. 

The piece I chose to interpret was "Fondue Set" from his 2004 Holidays On Ice collection. I primarily did this using nail art brushes and mixing different lacquers, and it was a bit tricky. I would have loved to sharpen up the detail a bit, but I think it is a decent representation overall.

For the sky I mixed Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Fuchsia Power, Finger Paints in Paper Mache, and Julep's Gayle. The mountains are a blend of Finger Paints in Paper Mache, and Julep's Gayle, and the mountain tops are the same with a bit more Paper Mache. The trees are January Julep Maven release, Fiona ( a stunning neon lime creme) and Stripe Rite in White.

The ski bunny's background was a blend of Finger Paints in Paper Mache, and Julep's Gayle. She was created with Stripe Rite in White, Finger Paints striper in Ch-art-coal Black, and her lips and eyelids were done with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sunkissed. 

The fondue pot's background was a mix of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sunkissed and Sinful Colors' Nirvana. The pot itself was a blend of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sunkissed, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow and Finger Paints in Paper Mache. The chocolate in the pot was painted with Sinful Colors' Nirvana and the details were done with Stripe Rite in White and Finger Paints striper in Ch-art-coal Black.

 
Hope you enjoy this just as much as I did doing it! Now what will be my next inspiration...

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me... Christmas Lights!

Here we are at the conclusion of another absolutely amazing challenge! A few months ago, I was still in the phase of "should I even attempt my own blog". During that time, I was looking at all the 31 day challenges and at some impeccable nail art by Sarah at Chalkboard Nails, Amy Grace at the Polished Perfectionist, Alice at One Nail to Rule them All, Kelly at Tuxarina, and Heather at Peace, Love, and Polish. Since then, I have been very fortunate to start the blog and even get to participate along side Kelly and Heather. I always appreciate their support. Thanks, girls!

Granted, I am not an old pro yet by any means, I can definitely see how through practice and sheer will (lol) you can pick up more skills. Also, I can see how easily you can get addicted to polish. I have quadrupled my stash since September. I've come to totally embrace Indie Polish and can't wait to buy and swatch more in the New Year. It has been awesome to share my love the polishes that Christina at Spy Princess and Pam at Whimsical Ideas make. Also, they are both awesome ladies! (Thanks for the shout outs on Facebook & Twitter!) So, this is a bit of a Christmas love fest... oh well. I am following in my own spirit of "Share the Comments, Share the Love."

So on to the favorite part of the post... the manicure! I have to say, I was at a bit of an impasse. I had a base color that I wanted to use, but I didn't know how it was going to fit in. Leave it to Jes to solve that... The color in question is Nicole by OPI's A Gold Winter's Night ( A Kardashian Kolors holiday release). It's a combination of rose gold microglitter, gold and teal bar glitter that is full coverage in 2-3 coats. It's actually quite lovely. It's kind of like the gold version of OPI's Save Me ( I rocked that over Essie's Marshmallow for a fun summer pedi.) He looked at it and said it either looks like tinsel or a vintage aluminum Christmas tree. Voila! Perfect base for Christmas lights!

For the light cord, I used Stripe Rite in white and Finger Paints Ch-Art-coal Black. With regards to the light bulbs themselves I used Sinful Colors Jungle and Be My Valentine and Essie's Blue Rhapsody (I just bought a few Essie's last night and will swatch soon!). 

So there you have it... the challenge is complete! I hope this has given you a lot of ideas for your Christmas nails. 

Kelly has been so much fun to work with and get to know more during the challenge. Her nails are like art work, so go over to Tuxarina and show the love! 

I plan on posting one more time before Christmas... so see you then!

 

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me... Snow Globes!

Welcome to day ten- I can't believe it! This challenge has been flying by and I have been extremely happy with my manicures and super impressed with Kelly's as well. I know we have both had a lot of fun. My snow globe theme is a tribute to my favorite Floridians, Mom & Dad. They read my blog every morning at breakfast.

I started my mani with a base coat of Essie's Turquoise & Caicos. On my four fingers, I painted the tips in another December release, Julep's Harper- a mermaid blue full cover glitter in a turquoise transparent base. I coated the bottom half with Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in Snow Globe. I then did a stripe with Stripe Rite in White.

On my thumb, I used Stripe Rite in White for the snow globe and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow and Fuchsia Power for the Flamingo. I used Sinful Colors in Jungle for the palm tree and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow and Caribbean Coral for the oranges. I then added some Harper to the background and coated the snow globe are with Snow Globe- of course!

I have to say, I have managed to get through a Christmas Challenge with out an onslaught of red and green... Please check out Kelly's take on the snow globe theme at Tuxarina- I know it will be amazing!

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me...Christmas Sweaters! 

Stay tuned!

On the Ninth Day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me... Christmas Cookies & Treats!

It's day nine of the challenge and its another delicious post! Today's theme is Christmas cookies, and I have to admit that I didn't get as adventurous as I wanted to. Instead I used a couple of my favorite colors and really hoped that you could tell that these were cookies...lol

I have to say that a favorite Christmas activity of mine is baking with my mom. We typically end up making an awesome variety of Greek pastries. Sooo good! Since she is in Florida we are both baking solo this year :( Technically, she's baking and I have been working way too much.

Now on to the mani... I started with a coat of Julep's Julia, a beautiful purple-gold microglitter. I then made cookie shapes with Sinful Colors in Nirvana.

I then added details with Stripe Rite in white, Sinful Colors stripers in Jungle and Be My Valentine to form my gingerbread, sugar cookies and linzertorte cookies. I brushed on a bit of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Disco Ball for some shine. To give a bit of pop, I added Spy Princess Coronation to the background. ( I just put a coat of Coronation over my pedi of Tomorrow Never Dies....Awesome!)

Time to check out Kelly's Christmas Cookies & Treats manicure over at Tuxarina. I know she has something awesome in store today...

Spy Princess is available at Etsy.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me... Snow Globes!

Stay tuned...

On the Eighth Day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me... Winter Foliage!

Once again (Seasons) greetings, and welcome to day eight of the Christmas Challenge! Today's theme leaves (ha ha) a lot of room for interpretation- Winter Foliage. Garlands, wreaths, pine boughs, and holly are just some of the themes I considered for today. My decision to do mistletoe was made when a friend bought me a holiday nail polish for my birthday. I took further inspiration from Susan's lovely birthday gift to me- a Betsey Johnson Glitter Lips bangle.

Without further adieu I present you the most Valentine's Day Christmas manicure ever... I started with a coat of Finger Paints Paper Mache to create a solid base for the featured color. I then painted two coats of Wet N Wild's Can-Can You Hang the Mistletoe- a gorgeous neon pink glitter jelly.

On my thumb, I painted the leaves of the mistletoe with Sinful Colors striper in Jungle and Revlon's Posh. I used a dotting tool and Paper Mache for the berries. On my remaining fingers, with a dotting tool and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Fuchsia Power I drew lip patterns.

Check out my fabulous Challenge partner, Kelly, at Tuxarina to see her foliage mani. Share the comments, share the love!

On the ninth day of Christmas, my nail are gave to me... Christmas cookies & treats! ( Yum!!!)

Stay tuned...

On the Seventh Day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me...Gingerbread!

"Not my gumdrop buttons!"

I can't believe it is Friday and a whole week of the nail challenge is complete! And yes, I stared the post with a quote from Gingy (of Shrek fame). I have had a lot of fun and learned a few new techniques along the way. My new brushes haven't hurt either (thanks, Jes, did I mention that you are the best ever?) Making gingerbread cookies and constructing a gingerbread house are things I do every holiday season, so I was loving today's theme. I contemplated picking up I Love NP's Ginger Spice Latte (forgot about buying until it was too late) or Lynnderella's Gingerbread Hearts ($24.00 for a seasonal polish...eek.)  I ended up using my own tried and trues in the end, but I like how it came out.

Since I warned you, you knew you were going to be seeing some kind of trigger mani again- well a trigger-french hybrid, technically. I started with a base coat of Sinful Colors Nirvana- a soft brown creme.  I then did a coat of Nicole by OPI's Rainbow in the S-Kylie (I'll be featuring one of the NOPI Kardashian Kolors Holiday collection next week.) With a dotting tool and Finger Paints Paper Mache, I created the icing drips.

With Revlon's Graceful and a nail brush, I painted a gingerbread man and house on my index finger and thumb. I added the details with Stripe Rite in White and then added Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Disco Ball. I topped the whole mani with Sephora by OPI's matte coat.

Before I forget, welcome to all my new followers and visitors! Remember share the comments and share the love! It's time for you to go check out my partner-in-nail art-crime, Kelly at Tuxarina. I am loving her fab and fancy holiday nails!

I will be resuming normal posting this weekend and then on Monday....

On the eighth day of Christmas, my nail are gave to me... winter foliage! (love me some foliage...)

Stay tuned...

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me... Christmas Trees!

We are already at the halfway point of the challenge- day six! I promise that there are a few more theme related glitters in store, continued bad ass nail art and of course- since it's me- a couple more trigger manicures for this holiday season. ( Remember- I warned you in advance.) 

I have to confess, I did my tree nails three times. At first I had a more conventional hunter green tree formed entirely out of dots with silver and gold ornaments and star glitter. Fail. Then I went to a 1950's white and pastel Christmas with a lavender background and a feathery white tree with glitter. Fail. It wasn't that they came out terribly, I just didn't feel like they were me. So I walked away from my nail stuff, got Mojo, and thought about Christmas. And trees.

And this is how inspiration struck... I started running all these images of Christmas trees through my head from the iconic ( tree at Rockefeller Center) to the personal ( trees from childhood and when Jes and I first got married). Then I literally heard a voice in my mind of a little gruff voiced girl named Peppermint Patty saying "Hey, Chuck!" Oh yes, you know where this is going... Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree. The best holiday special featuring deficient holiday foliage EVER! ( I'll also take a minute to send a virtual kiss to my Dad, who happens to be named Chuck. Hope the palm trees are sparkly & bright in Florida...)

On to the mani... I don't know what it's called when you accent your pinky and thumb only, but that is what I did. Let me know if you come up with a cool name. I started with a base of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Emerald City. On my accent nails I used Stripe Rite in white and Sinful Colors striper in Be My Valentine to illustrate the tree and ornaments. The blanket was done in Essie's Turquoise & Caicos. ( I need to get more Essie, but can't commit to a shade...) 

On my ring, middle, and index fingers I am featuring another of Julep's December release full coverage glitters- Colbie. This is a chunky peridot green glitter that has a smooth application. 

Now that you have taken a trip down inspiration lane with me... go check out my Challenge Companion, Kelly at Tuxarina. You will be impressed!

On the seventh day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me...Gingerbread!

Stay tuned...

 

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me...Presents!

Welcome to a festive day five! Today's theme is a bit of a variation on a theme of my Breakfast at Elena's mani. I liked the look of the presents and wanted to kick it up a notch.

Speaking of presents, as a part of my birthday gift Jesse stocked me up with nail supplies- a 20 piece nail art brush/ dotting tool set and a new UV dryer for my gels. Nice. Now to see what Christmas will bring... ( I have my fingers crossed for some Whimsical Ideas by Pam, Spy Princess, or OPI gelcolors)

I used two of my tried and true one coat metallics today- Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Golden-I and Celeb City. I have said this before, but I love a fun, flashy polish that is a one-coat. Woo hoo! Gold polishes are a little bit tough, sometimes they come off as way too yellow or brassy. Golden-I is a nice rich shade, I definitely recommend it and it will only set you back about $3.00.

For the ribbons, I used Sinful Colors stripers in Jungle and Be My Valentine and Stripe Rite in white. For the tag I used Finger Paints Paper Mache and a thin tipped black paint pen for the lettering. 

Most importantly, I hope you have been checking out Kelly's awesome designs at Tuxarina.

Thank you so much to everyone for the love this week! Almost 400 page views since Monday- wow! Please feel free to comment, I enjoy the feedback. 

On the sixth day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me...Christmas Trees!

Stay tuned...

On the Fourth Day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me... Snowmen!

I can't believe we are in day four of the challenge already! I have to say even though I love Halloween, I have really enjoyed the Christmas themes. Also, I think the more you do something the better you get at it. As promised today is another "two-fer", a theme and a review.

Today I bring to you another smashing stunner from Whimsical Ideas by Pam- Cookie Monster. This polish is the most amazing shade of blue ( for all of you art buffs I think this is totally International Klein Blue). It consists of multi sized cobalt matte hexes, white matte hexes, and black matte hexes. Like Peppermint Schtick, this formula was smooth and applied like a dream! This polish works well over light and dark base colors. I highly recommend any of Pam's lovely Whimsical shades.

For my mani today, I went with the seldom used accent thumb. I have smallish nails, and when I want to do something detailed I need all of the nail real estate I can get. My base coat for this mani is Ivy, a new Julep December release. It's a gorgeous cobalt/indigo duochrome micro shimmer. I topped it with two coats of Cookie Monster. Amazing.

 

For my snowman I used Finger Paints Paper Mache for the body and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Emerald City and Sinful Colors striper in Jungle for the hat. I finshed the details with Sinful Colors striper in Be My Valentine and Finger Paints striper in Ch-Art-coal Black. I finished the mani off with a Sephora by OPI matte coat. (Pam highly recommends Cookie Monster plus matte.)

Once again, thank you to Pam, Kismet, and the "Whimsical Lovelies" for their support! Please check out Pam's site and purchase often!

Please check out the talented Miss Kelly at Tuxarina. She has been rocking this challenge so far and I am so excited to be doing this with her!

On the fifth day of Christmas, my nail art gave to me... presents!

Stay tuned...

Day Ten TDoHNC: Werewolves of London

Our second week concludes with day ten's theme- werewolves. Like yesterday I had a bit of fun with this challenge. I was inspired by the Warren Zevon track " Werewolves of London".  Any song that has lyrics such as " Little old lady got mutilated late last night..." definitely has that je ne sais pas.

I started with a base of Sinful Colors Nirvana ( except on my ring finger where I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Caribbean Coral.

I added the details for the werewolves in Stripe Rite in white and Finger Paints Striper in Chart-Art-coal Black. I finished the Union Jack design with my white striper and Revlon Fashionista.

These nails may me happy and Jes refers to them as werehamsters ( Mojo approves).

As usual check out the spectacular blogs of the other ladies, I love seeing what they do every day!

Kelly from Tuxarina

Heather from Peace, Love, & Polish

Jennifer from Little J's Nail Corner

Another weekend hiatus for the challenge, but my regular blogging will ensue.

Stay tuned for day eleven... full moons!

Day Nine TDoHNC: There Will Be Blood

I have to say that I have been dreading today- day nine, blood. I am not particularly inclined towards red. That's not entirely true, I mean back in the nineties I wore OPI's I'm Not Really A Waitress to my Freshman Winter Formal. I have to say today achieved two things a fun nail design and a red that I really like!

I could have gone for something gory and oozy but I just wasn't feeling that. I wanted fun, and excitement, and maybe a drink...lol. So, I channelled that into some party nails with a dripping blood French Manicure and a bit of freehand art in the shape of a Bloody Mary cocktail.

I started with a base of Finger Paints Paper Mache. Then with Julep Vivian I did a glitter coat. I love the shimmer and gold hex combo. On my four fingers, I dabbed on Julep Demi to get the dripped blood effect.

On my thumb, I drew the main part of the glass with Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby. I added shading with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow and Julep Demi. I drew the stem and outlined the glass in Finger Paints Striper in Ch-Art-coal Black. The celery stalk and lime slice were painted with Revlon Posh, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow and Stripe Rite in white. I dabbed Julep Vivian around the glass to finish.

I love, love, love these nails. Makes me want to do some tiki bar nails at some point. Be sure to check out the other girls' blogs, they have been doing some awesome work!

Kelly from Tuxarina

Heather from Peace, Love, & Polish

Jennifer from Little J's Nail Corner

 

Stay tuned day ten... werewolves! AHHHHWOOOOOOO!

Day Eight TDoHNC: Totally Vamped Out

Day eight, we are halfway through the challenge already! This week features a lot of the Halloween creatures of the night. Today's theme features the most fearsome, intriguing- and thanks to TV and film lately- and sexy of them all. Vampires. 

I prefer smoldering Damon Salvatore to sparkly Edward Cullen any day of the week, but I am digressing. My vampires are far from sexy. I they are relatives of another TV vampire- Sesame Street's The Count. I also wanted to try a ruffian mani and thought it would work with the faces.

I started with a base of Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby. I actually had to go out and buy a basic red. I then did the smaller nail shape in Finger Paints Paper Mache. With Julep Ellie I covered over the white. This color gave me the perfect undead flesh tone- pinky with a bluish undertone.

The details were added with Stripe Rite in white and Finger Paints Striper in Ch-Art-coal Black.

Overall, these weren't my fave, but they got the theme across. To make myself feel better, I caught a few episodes of Vampire Diaries. (Maybe I'm biased because the main character is named Elena.)

Check out the other lovely ladies of the the challenge...

                                                    Kelly from Tuxarina
                                        Heather from Peace, Love, & Polish
                                         Jennifer from Little J's Nail Corner

 

Stay tuned, day nine... blood!