Celestal Nails

Lace Nail Art

2014-07-06T15:42:00.000-05:00

Another Sunday, another Sunday challenge in Adventures In Stamping. This week's challenge was lace and with my new BBF plates I got a bit ago in a group buy, I couldn't resist doing it. Well no rambling lets just get on with the purtiness!

What I Used:
Base Color - Julep - Soraphine
Stamping Color - Milani - White On The Spot
Stamping Plate - BBF 04
Tools - Scraper & Messy Mansion Purple Rectangular Stamper

How I Did It:
After applying my base coat, I applied 2 coats of Julep's Soraphine which is a milky white sheer and applied a quick dry top coat to speed up the drying. I then used the lace design on the bottom row of the BBF plate 04 and Milani's White On The Spot to stamp with. Finally, I applied another coat of a quick dry top coat and that's it!

Quick, simple, pretty. Just how I like it. Actually, it's looks perfect for a wedding, very bridal.

Well my thumb is killing me and I need to put on my brace, so that's it for now kiddies. Now go forth and do nail art!

Textured Swirls Nail Art

2014-05-27T15:34:00.001-05:00

Long time no see. I haven't posted in a while because of a lot of personal issues I've been dealing with, let's just leave it at that because I highly doubt anyone wants to hear my long story. So I'm just going to apologize and we'll move onto why we're all here, the purty nail art.

Anyone that knows me, knows my absolute dislike for textured nail polishes. That being said, I accidentally bought a few not so long ago. Sally Beauty was having their anniversary sale a couple weeks ago and I picked up a ridiculous amount of nail polish and supplies...stupid, stupid Jenni! Anywho, I got a few Finger Paint polishes that were gorgeous in the bottles and didn't realize until I got home that they were textured. They're not as textured as some of the other polishes on the market and when you have lemons, you create purty nail art. So onto it.

What I Used:
Base Color - Finger Paints - Rock Hard Lilac
Stamping Color - Frankenpolish - Midnight
Stamping Plate - BBF 16
Tools - Scraper, FUN Rectangular Stamper

How I Did It:
After applying my base coat, I painted 2 coats of Rock Hard Lilac and let that dry. Being a matte like polish it dried pretty quickly. Next I used the swirly image from my BBF 16 plate and my Frankenpolish (which I've renamed Midnight) to stamp. I liked how my nails looked sans top coat, so that's it!

I'm still not a fan of textured polishes, so don't expect me to run out and start buying up all that I can find. But because the texture is a little more subtle I quite like this. I also was dying to use one of my new BBF plates I got in a group buy. Although that was a headache in of itself that I won't go into. Either way the plates I got are gorgeous. I mean just look at that plate, how pretty is that?!

Well that's it for now kiddies. Now go forth and do nail art!

Chinese New Years Nails

2014-02-02T23:42:00.000-06:00

I know that the Chinese New Year was on Friday, but the challenge in Adventures In Stamping was for today. Why don't we just move straight to the nails?

What I Used:

Base Colors: OPI - Goldeneye & Kleancolors - Metallic Red

Stamping Colors: Milani - Black Swift & Maybelline - Bold Gold

Stamping Plates: BM-H15, W112, & W117

Tools: FUN stamper & scraper

How I Did It:

I painted 2 coats of Kleancolor's Metallic Red on all my fingers except my ring fingers, which I painted 4 coats of OPI's Goldeneye. Then I applied a fast dry top coat to speed up the drying. I used the horse on Winstonia's W117 plate and Milani's Black Swift on my ring finger nails. Then, I the top image (not exactly sure what you'd call it) on Winstonia's W112 in Maybelline's Bold Gold on my thumbs (couldn't get a good image of this...sorry!). Finally, I used the three top images on the rest of my nails from Bundle Monster's BM-H15 also using Maybelline's Bold Gold. Top coated, cleaned up, and sat back admiring my hard work. That's it.

I'll be honest, this was not what I had planned. I couldn't get what was in my head to translate to my experiments and some of my experiments to translate to my nails. But such is life. I still love it though. The red is so much deeper in real life and the gold much prettier as well. I swear I will get better at my pictures!

Well, it late and I have to get up WAY to early for work tomorrow so I must say goodnight. Stay as long as you'd like, but please try and keep it down and you break it, you bought it. Now go forth and do nail art!

Remember comments are love and I love to get them. Mostly I just love to hear that I'm doing/making something you all enjoy. So please drop me one if you do like it.

Damask Nail Art

2014-01-19T23:13:00.001-06:00

I jinxed myself BIG TIME! I had said in the last post that work would've been slowing down, and boy was I wrong! I've worked about 112hrs in the last 2 weeks. To say I'm exhausted is an understatement. Such as life though. Well, anywho I bring you another Adventures In Stamping Sunday challenge, the challenge was to stamp a fabric. I choose to do a damask fabric, so let's see it!

What I Used:
Base Color - Sally Hansen's Red-io Action
Stamping Color - Milani's Black Swift
Stamping Plate - MyOnline Shop's MJ XX
Tools - Scraper and FUN Rectangle Stamp

How I Did It:
I applied 2 coats of Red-io Active and let that dry. Then, I applied the damask stamp on the MJ XX plate using Black Swift. Finally, I cleaned up and applied a fast dry top coat. That's it!

I went through a lot of different color combos, but one just spoke to me. It's so purty! I also debated not top coating after the stamp because it left the red shiny, but the stamp itself matte. Ultimately, I decided against it, mostly because I want this to last a bit. :)

I can't think of anything else, except how late it is and how early I have to get up to work. So with that I bid you goodnight. Now go forth and do nail art!

Remember, comments are love and I love to get them. Mostly I just love to hear that I'm doing/making something you all enjoy. So please drop me one if you do like.

Calla Lily Nail Art

2014-01-05T20:09:00.000-06:00

I have to start this post with an apology for not having posted anything in so long. December was a hard month to find any free time. With the holidays, my schedule at work became insane...sometimes working extra days, working 12hr days. Then there was just celebrating with my family. Finally, I spent the last week of the year sick because people don't know how to cover their mouth when they cough, I'm actually still congested. I did do a couple of nail arts, but trying to find the time and/or energy to photograph them and post it up was impossible. So, I'm sorry and I can only say that I hope to do better since hopefully things will start to calm/slow down in all aspects of my life. *fingers crossed/knocks wood*

With that said let's move on to the prettiness. This prettiness is brought to you from the Adventures In Stamping Sunday challenge, the challenge being to stamp our favorite flower. Now, Calla Lilies aren't my favorite flower, but I do think they are gorgeous. I don't really have a favorite flower, I've received so few in my life, that I appreciate and admire almost all flowers.

So without further ado, on to the purty!

What I Used:
Julep - Abigail
Stamping Polish - Black Frankenpolish
Stamping Plate - FUN 6
Tools - Scrapper & FUN Rectangle Stamper

How I Did It:
I first applied my base coat, OPI's Nail Envy, and let that dry. Next, I applied 3 coats of Julep's Abigail (I could've gotten away with 2 coats, but for some reason I've gotten into the habit of 3 coats...don't know why.) I waited for it to dry on it's on instead of applying a fast dry top coat because Abigail dries to a Satin finish and I thought that would look gorgeous in the end. Luckily with it being a Satin finish it dried faster than a regular shiny polishes do, so I moved on to the stamping. I used the Calla Lilies image from the Fab Ur Nails plate FUN 6 and a black frankenpolish. Then I cleaned up around my nails and that's all she wrote!

I didn't apply a top coat for the simple fact that I love the satin finish. I know it'll probably chip like mad and fast, but I couldn't bring myself to change to finish. It's kind of funny that I love this so much because I am not a pink girl whatsoever! I never have been, it's too girly. But this is just so gorgeous, I can't not love it.

Anyone interested about the Black Frankenpolish let me explain. I had heard a while ago that striping polishes are really good stamping polishes, especially the blacks. Well I had 3 that I bought long, long ago and have never used (was not a fan of the brushes). I tested them out when I heard about their stamping abilities and they did work, but again hated the brushes. So in a drawer they went, until I got ambitious yesterday and decided to dump them in an empty polish bottle. It took FOREVER because of how thick each were, but eventually I got enough to fill the bottle. I used Sinful Colors Time Off, Maxi S-Black, and Art Deco Black. I did have to be careful cleaning up around my cuticles because the blacks have a tendency to stain if your clean up brush isn't clean. It just meant I did short strokes and wiped of the brush off each time before dipping it back in the acetone. I'm thinking of calling it Celestal Nails Pitch Black, it's catchy!

Finally, I have a fantabulous family and for my Christmas presents most just gave me money and said "Go buy nail stuff." And I did of course. I bought A LOT of nail stuff...LOL! The FUN plate from above is actually one of them. Anywho, I am planning to do a post once everything finally gets here, a haul post. So keep your eyes out for it because I have a lot of lovelies to share with you all!

Well that's it for now. Now go forth and do nail art!

Wrapping Paper Nail Art

2013-12-08T23:52:00.002-06:00

The challenge this week in Adventures In Stamping was to use 3 blues, with blue being my favorite color you can understand how excited I was about this. I quickly grabbed my binder of plates to figure out what I was gonna do and off I went. Strangely, my favorite thing to do during Christmas is wrap presents. I love it so much, my mother just ended up letting me wrap my own presents in my teens. (I would peek at my presents every year anyway, I'm not a patient person.) So this nail art is perfect for me.

What I Used:
China Glaze - Sci-Fly By
China Glaze - Fairy Dust
Stamping Polishes - Kleancolor - Metallic Aqua & Sapphire
Stamping Plates - Mash-40 & BM-SE1
Tools - Scrapper, Konad Double Stamper, & FUN Rectangle Stamper

How I Did It:
I applied 2 coats of China Glaze's Sci-Fly By and then a quick dry top coat. Next I applied the first stamp using Mash-40, Kleancolor's Metallic Aqua, and the FUN Stamper. I applied another quick dry top coat, because when I did my experiments I sometimes had issues with transferring the image. Then, I used BM-SE1, Kleancolor's Metallic Sapphire, and the Konad Double Stamper. I then applied a coat of China Glaze's Fairy Dust before finally applying a final top coat and cleaning up. That's it!

This whole process is why I'm glad I experiment/practice. My original idea had different polishes, but I wasn't happy with it. I had thought of using a different stamp than the swirls, but I didn't like the final result. But the big reason I was happy I decided to experiment first was because of the BM-SE1 plate. My first polish didn't want to pick up and on top of that, none of my various stampers wanted to pick up the image except my old Konad Double Stamper. This my friends is why I almost always experiment first!

Anywho, I just love this. I've had this sort of idea about wrapping paper nails in my head ever since I first saw the BM-SE1 plate. I love the final product, the holo from the Fairy Dust and Sci-Fly By is just unbelievable!

That's it for now. Now go forth and do nail art!

Cardinal Jelly Sandwich Nail Art

2013-12-01T22:20:00.000-06:00

Another Sunday, another challenge in Adventures In Stamping. This time the challenge was a stamping jelly sandwich. I was so thrilled/excited about this challenge. I've of course heard of Jelly Sandwich nails, I posted up one not too long ago, but I never thought about doing one with stamping. Of course, after the thrill died down, I remembered something important...I've made it a point in the past not to buy jelly polishes. I do have a few, but my options colorwise were severely limited for this challenge. But once a challenge is accepted, it must be done. So, without further ado...

What I Used:
Sally Hansen - Right Said Red
Sinful Colors - Pumpkin Spice
Stamping Plate - BM-H02
Stamping Polish - Spoiled - Correction Tape
Tools - Scrapper & Stamper

How I Did It:
I applied a coat of OPI's Nail Envy first and then 2 coats of Sally Hansen's Right Said Red. Next, I used the cardinal image on Bundle Monster's BM-H02 plate with Spoiled's Correction Tape to stamp my ring and pointer fingers. On my thumb, pinkie, and middle fingers I applied a coat of Sinful Color's Pumpkin Spice. Once all that was dry, I carefully applied a thin coat of Sally Hansen's Right Said Red. Finally, I applied a top coat and cleaned up. That's it!

I'm really excited with how this turned out, I just thinks it's absolutely beautiful. I'm also glad I decided to add the glitter, although I couldn't capture it in the photos, when it shifts and the light hits...stunning!

Well it's time for bed, so I must leave you, but you are more than welcome to stick around. Just please don't break anything. Now go forth and do nail art!

Wintery Trees Nail Art

2013-11-25T21:27:00.000-06:00

I did this nail art for the challenge yesterday in Adventures In Stamping, the challenge was Winter or Thanksgiving. I was totally intending to do a Thanksgiving nail art, but somehow I zigged to winter instead. Although, I find it funny, when I did this I had no idea it was supposed to snow today...and oh my god did it snow! Anywho, let's get to this.

What I Used:
OPI - I Vant To Be A-Lone Star
Kleancolors - Metallic White
Sally Hansen - Glass Slipper
Stamping Color - CoverGirl - Copper-ccino
Stamping Plate - W102
White Acrylic Paint
Tools - Small & thin paint brush, Makeup sponge, Stamper, & Scrapper

How I Did It:
As always, I started with a base coat and then moved onto my base color, OPI's I Vant To Be A-Lone Star. I applied 4 coats, but I probably only needed to do 2 because of the next step. After my base was dried, I took a small piece of the makeup sponge and the white acrylic paint and sponged my nails. I tried not to be heavy handed with the sponging because I wanted the blue to show through. That dried quickly so I moved on to the stamping. I used the tree image on Winstonia's W102 plate and CoverGirl's Copper-ccino for the color. Next, I used the small paint brush to line the top of the branches with white paint. After that, I sponged the white across the tip of my nail, making sure to completely cover the roots of the trees. Next, I applied a thin coat of Kleancolors' Metallc White and Sally Hansen's Glass Slipper. Finally, I applied a top coat and cleaned up around my cuticles. That's it!

Despite how long the description is, it wasn't that hard, but it is so pretty! The light hitting the glitters reminds me so much of when the sun hits the snow and it just sparkles.

My nubbins are starting to grow out, so yay! Although, I did decide to go out and buy OPI's Nail Envy. I've used it in the past and I'm hoping it'll help with my nails. Fingers crossed!

Well, I do believe that's it for now. I must head to bed, but you'll all welcome to stay as long as you wish, just please don't break anything. Now go forth and do nail art!

Fish Scales Nail Art

2013-11-10T20:20:00.001-06:00

Warning! Warning!

Beware something truly terrifying lay ahead...Nubbins!! AAAAAHHHHH! Turn back now if you don't think you can handle it, I'll understand. *hangs head in shame*

I've mentioned before about the meds I'm on for my endometriosis have been making my nails weak, well this week was a bad one for my nails. I had 3 nails with tears in them and several others with cracks. I kept patching them, but on Thursday one of the nails with a tear in it completely tore off, no saving it. Well, I'd had enough, I grabbed my clippers and cut all my nails down. My OCD and frustration meant I couldn't just cut one down, they all had to go! I was angry, sad, disgusted, etc. I haven't had all my nails this short in over 2 years. I iz sad! Hopefully, they'll grow out stronger, because I already miss my nails!

Well no point in delaying this, I give you my nubbins... *cries loudly*

What I Used:
Rimmel - Marine Blue
Pure Ice - Champagne
Jordana - Copper Blaze
Wet n Wild - Flossy Flossy
Wet n Wild - Kaleidoscope Eye
Stamping Color - Milani - Black Swift
Stamping Plate - Mash-39
Tools - Stamper & Scrapper

How I Did It:
I applied one coat of Rimmel's Marine Blue and then one coat of Pure Ice's Champagne for the base color. Next, I applied the glitters, Jordana's Copper Blaze, Wet n Wild's Flossy Flossy, and Wet n Wild's Kaleidoscope Eyes in that order. I then applied a fast dry top coat to smooth out my nails and speed up the drying. For the stamping, I used the fish scale design on Mash's Mash-39 plate and Milani's Black Swift. Finally, I applied my top coat and cleaned up around my edges with acetone. That's it!

This was for a challenge in Adventures In Stamping, the challenge being nails inspired by water. This challenge was perfect for me, because I've wanted to do a fish scale manicure for forever. Don't know why I never did, but it's moot now.

Besides my nubbins *head still hanging in shame* I absolutely love this! The pictures just can't do it justice, because when the light hits the glitter changes at different angles it's just perfection! I can't say it's exactly like what I pictured in my head, or even my practice attempts, because it's so much better. I die! (Points to those who get the reference).

Well I do believe that's it for now. I'm gonna go hope and pray and wish my nails longer. But to you I say...Now go forth and do nail art!

Purple People Eater Nail Art

2013-10-31T18:18:00.000-05:00

It was a one eyed, one horned, flying purple people eater!

I am so thrilled to share this with you all! I am especially thrilled I got to do it. I'm so jumpy, happy that I'm just gonna go straight into it.

What I Used:

Sally Hansen - Eel Skin

Stamp - W116

Stamping Colors - Sally Hansen - Pronto Purple, Sally Hansen - Purple Haste, Sally Hansen - Grape Escape

Acrylic Paints - White, Gold, Black, Light & Dark Purple

Tools - Stamper, Scrapper, Small & Large Dotting Tool

How I Did It:

I painted 3 coats of Sally Hansen's Eel Skin on all my nails and let that dry. Next, I took the skeleton stamp from Winstonia's W116 plate and stamped different shades of purple to various nails. Now to the hard part. I took a large dotting tool and did the dark purple. Once that was dry, I used the large dotting tool to do the light purple on the body and the small one for the wings. After it all dried, I did the eye and horn. Finally, I top coated and cleaned up. That's it!

It makes me so happy! Bouncy happy!

The purple people eater didn't turn out exactly how I had envisioned, but as I'm still bouncy happy! Everyone that's seen this has loved it, and that makes me happy too. I honestly just don't have words for this, it just makes me smile every time I look down at my hands. I'm just happy, happy, happy! And I will not apologize for the over usage of the word happy!

Well, that's all for now. I hope you all have a great Halloween and I'll see you laters. Now go forth and do nail art!

Bloody Nails

2013-10-30T21:50:00.000-05:00

This is a common nail art that many people do for Halloween, but I couldn't resist doing it as well.

For This Nail Art I Used:
China Glaze - Seduce Me
Tools - Small & Medium Dotting Tool, and Scrap Paper

To Do This Nail Art:
I applied a rough thin french tip on all my nails with China Glaze's Seduce Me. On a piece of scrap paper, I put a large dollop of Seduce Me on it. I then took my medium dotting tool and dipped it the polish. After that, I touched it to the middle of my nail and lightly dragged it toward the tip of my nail. I continued to do that across all of my nails, sometimes using the small dotting tool. I then took the small dotting tool dipped it in the polish, wiped off as much polish as possible, and quickly swiped it closer to my cuticles for splatter. Finally, I top coated and that's it!

Like I said, a lot of people do this nail art for Halloween, I even did it last year, but it's a quick, simple, and dramatic nail art. That's why I like doing it. I love when people see the drama of it, I always get so many compliments on it. I just wish I could've captured the color better, the red is so much deeper in person. Oh well, such is life.

Well, I believe that's it for now. Now go forth and do nail art!

PS Stay tuned for tomorrow. I'll be posting a nail art that I'm so excited to share with you all!

Witchy Moon Nail Art

2013-10-29T19:59:00.000-05:00

The month is winding down, but I still have a bit more Halloween nail arts to share with you all and I couldn't not to a witchy nail art. Witches were always my favorite costume for Halloween. Anywho, let's not dawdle...onto the purty.

For This Nail Art I Used:
Sinful Colors - Black on Black
Sally Hansen - Mellow Yellow
Plate - W116
Black Acrylic Paint
Tools - Small/Thin brush, stamper, & scrapper

To Do This Nail Art:
I painted all of my nails with 2 coats of Sinful Color's Black on Black except for my ring fingers. On my ring fingers I painted 3 coats of Sally Hansen's Mellow Yellow. In the center of my ring nails, I stamped the witch from Winstonia's W116 plate using Sinful Color's Black on Black. Next, I took the black acrylic paint and painted my ring nails, leaving only a circle of yellow. Finally, I top coated and cleaned up around my cuticles. That's it!

It's a nice and simple nail art, but I really love it. I've gotten a lot of compliments on it as well. Like, I've said before, sometimes the simplest of designs can be some of the best.

Well, I do believe that's it for now. Now go for and do nail art!

PS Stay tuned. I'm gonna be posting a nail art I'm really excited about in a few days!

Grave Halloween Nails

2013-10-27T21:51:00.000-05:00

I'm a little later in posting this than I had planned, I was really sick this weekend and ended up going to the ER this morning, but here it is. It being Sunday and it being stamping, this is of course for the Sunday Nail Challenge in Adventures In Stamping. It wasn't what I had planned for the challenge, but with how much pain and how sick I've been this weekend I really didn't have the energy to do the nail art I had planned. Hopefully, I'll get better and be able to do it before Halloween on Thursday.

Anywho, enough of that. Let's move onto the purtiness...

For This Nail Art I Used:
Sally Hansen - No S-pear Time
Sinful Colors - Glow In The Dark
Kleancolors - Metallic Black
Plate - BM-H08
Tools - Stamper & Scrapper

To Do This Nail Art:
I applied 3 coats of Sally Hansen's No S-pear Time and once that dried I applied 2 coats of Sinful Colors' Glow In The Dark. I applied a quick dry top coat before moving onto the stamping. Then, using Kleancolor's Metallic Black, I stamped the full image of the hands from Bundle Monster's BM-H08 plate onto my pointer, ring, and pinkie fingers on both hands. On my middle and thumbs, I stamped the tombstone from the same plate. Sealed it all with a top coat and cleaned up around my cuticles. That's it!

I had done this nail art earlier last week, but had an itching to try my glow in the dark under it so I had to redo it. I just wish I could've taken a better picture of it, but my camera's not the greatest (I'm planning to buy a different one). In the dark the stamp is really defined and looks amazing, unfortunately like I said I couldn't get a great photo of it.

I do believe that's it for now, I'm gonna go rest. Now go forth and do nail art!

Holographic Halloween Nail Art

2013-10-20T19:35:00.000-05:00

Another day, another challenge in Adventures In Stamping. This challenge was to stamp over a holographic base, luckily I bought a bunch of holographic's a couple of weeks ago so I had some choices. It being October, I obviously had to do a Halloween holographic nail art.

For This Nail Art I Used:
China Glaze - OMG A UFO
Kleancolor - Metallic Black
Plates - W116 & BM-305
Tools - Stamper & Scrapper

To Do This Nail Art:
I applied 2 coats of base coat because I don't own an aqua base or any other base coat that's for holographic nail polish. It helped somewhat to smooth the ridges in my nails, but not completely. Once that was dry, I applied 3 coats of China Glaze's OMG A UFO. (Let me just say that OMG it was a pain applying this polish! But it's my first time playing with a holographic polish and I learned a lot more than I knew when I started.) It dried quickly so I moved to the stamping. I used the haunted house image from Bundle Monster's BM-305 plate and stamped my ring and pointer on both hands using Kleancolor's Metallic Black. Next I used the bat image on Winstonia's W116 plate on the rest of my fingers. I double stamped the bats on my thumbs, and once I was all done my ring and pointer fingers looked a little empty so I stamped the bats above the houses. Finally, I top coated it and that was it.

I'm not too happy with the base color by itself, but c'est le vie and other than that I quite like this. Though I love when the color shifts under the stamp and the rainbow shows underneath it. It's like it glows.

You can kinda see the rainbow in this pic. Not only was this one of the first times I've tried a holographic nail polish, it's obviously the first time I've photographed it. It was a pain trying to get a good picture of the holo effect. Normally I try not to get any blurry photos, but to best show a holo the photo has to be blurry.

Well, I do believe that's it for now. Now go forth and do nail art!

Monster Blood Drops Nail Art

2013-10-13T17:22:00.002-05:00

Today was another challenge in Adventures In Stamping, stamp over a black base. It being October and Halloween being one of my favorite holidays, I've made it a rule that any nail art this month has to be Halloween related. So without further ado, I give you nail art.

For This Nail Art I Used:
Sinful Colors - Black On Black
Sally Hansen - In Record Lime
Stamping Plate - BM-405
Tools - Stamper and Scraper

To Do This Nail Art:
After painting a base coat and letting it dry, I painted 2 coats of Sinful Colors Black On Black. I then painted a quick dry top coat to speed up the drying. Next, I used Sally Hansen's In Record Lime and the drip design on the Bundle Monster plate BM-405 to do the stamp. Finally, I applied another coat of a quick dry top coat and cleaned up around my cuticles with acetone. That's it.

I so wanted to do this stamp the first time I saw it and this challenge just seemed like a perfect opportunity to use it. Of course, I couldn't just do a regular blood drop with red like almost everyone else, I had to do something a little different. Hence, the green. I think it makes it more interesting and fun, how about you?

Well, I believe that's it for now. So I bid adieu to you. Now go forth and do nail art!

Frankenstein Nail Art

2013-10-06T00:19:00.000-05:00

Halloween is my second favorite holiday and I love, love, love all of the different nail arts for it. I'm practically bouncing around with all of the different designs and ideas I have. So I give you the first of hopefully many Halloween nail arts.

For This Nail Art I Used:
Rimmel - French Rose
Sally Hansen - Grass Slipper
Black and White Acrylic Paint
Medium Striper Brush, Small and Medium Dotting Tool

To Do This Nail Art:
As always, I started with a base coat first. Next, I painted 1 coat of Rimmel's French Rose on my pinky and pointer fingers on both hands. After that dried, I painted on a coat of Sally Hansen's Grass Slipper diagonally across my nails. On the rest of my fingers, I painted 2 coats of Grass Slipper. Once that was all dry, I painted on the stitches and hair with a medium striper brush. For the eyes I took a medium dotting tool and dotted the white for the eyes, and then a small dotting tool for the pupils. I dotted the pupils in all different directions to add more fun and goofiness.

I like how fun and goofy this is. It's also so easy, because it doesn't have to be perfect or precise. It's Frankenstein, it can be a little jacked up...LOL.

I'm also excited because I finally got around to making my lightbox, I can't believe I waited so long! I do my nails at night and I hate having to wait until the next day for the light to take pictures. I usually end up chipping my nails or something at work so I can't take pics of my nails. Now I won't have to wait anymore. Granted I still have a long way to go in photographing my nails, but for now I iz happy!

Well that's it for now. Now go forth and do nail art!

Fruity Pebbles Nail Art

2013-09-22T16:34:00.000-05:00

I had done a jelly sandwich a while ago and I had the urge to do it again, but I wanted a different take on it. I've seen red, blue, purple, and so on jelly sandwiches, but almost no white ones. So I give you my white "jelly" sandwich.

For This Nail Art I Used:
Spoiled - Correction Tape
Wet n Wild - Party of Five Glitters
Sally Hansen - Polar Bear

To Do This Nail Art:
This nail art was another simple one. I painted a base coat and then did 2 coats of Spolied's Correction Tape, although I could've gotten away with just one coat. I then applied a coat of Wet n Wild's Party of Five Glitters, moving the glitters around to get a placement I was happy with. Next, I applied 3 coats of Sally Hansen's Polar Bear. Finally, I applied a fast dry top coat and cleaned up. That's it!

Now I know that technically this isn't a jelly sandwich because the bottom white is opaque and the top is sheer instead of jelly, but that's just semantics. LOL. It kind of reminds me of a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. It's just so much fun and makes me smile when I look at it. I really love this.

That's it for now. Now go forth and do nail art!

Hearts and Flames Nail Art

2013-09-15T18:56:00.001-05:00

There was another challenge this week in the Facebook stamping group I belong to, Adventures In Stamping. The challenge was to do a nail stamping inspired by your favorite song. Now I don't have a "favorite" song per se, so instead I chose a song that I've been singing and humming a lot lately. P!nk's Try was my inspiration for this nail art. So, to borrow from another P!nk song, let's get the party started.

For This Nail Art I Used:
Sinful Colors - Black On Black
Sally Hansen - Red-io Active
Stamping Plates - Mash-48 & SE21
Tools - Plastic Card & Stamper

To Do This Nail Art:
I began by painting a base coat and letting that dry before painting 2 coats of Black On Black to all of my nails except the ring nails where I painted 2 coats of Red-io Active. Then, I painted on a coat of Seche Vite to speed up the drying so I could move onto the stamping as fast as possible. Once my nails were dry, I did the hearts on my ring fingers using Black On Black and the Salon Express plate SE21. On the rest of my nails I used Red-io Active and the Mash plate Mash-48 for the flames. I stamped the flames twice on each nail to add more depth because they just seemed a little sparse. I then applied another coat of Seche Vite and cleaned up around my nails. That's it.

I'm really happy with how this turned out. I had tried another nail stamp earlier this weekend and I couldn't get the idea in my head to translate onto my nails so I had to abandon it for the time being. So anywho, I was a little pessimistic going into this, but it turned out better then what I had pictured.

If your wondering where in the song the nail art was inspired from. It came from the chorus:

Where there is desire
There is gonna be a flame
Where there is a flame
Someone's bound to get burned
But just because it burns
Doesn't mean you're gonna die
You've gotta get up and try try try

I love P!nk all by herself and this song is just beautiful. Check out the video HERE on YouTube.

Well, I think that's it for now. Now go forth and do nail art!

Robin's Egg Nail Art

2013-09-07T19:25:00.001-05:00

Thought I'd do a quick post and share the purtiness on my nails. This came about completely by accident and I wasn't even planning on posting it, but after finishing it and seeing how gorgeous it was I couldn't not share this.

For This Nail Art I Used:
China Glaze - For Audrey
Hard Candy - Black Tie Optional

My last nail art lasted for a while, but on Thursday it chipped like crazy. I obviously couldn't leave it like that, so I removed it. Because it was so late and I was so very tired, I decided I'd fix the patches on my nails another day. Unfortunately, after slapping on 3 coats of For Aubrey I realized it was a mistake not fixing the patches because the unevenness and outline of them was clearly visible. I decided to put some glitter on top to try and hide the patches. I bought Hard Candy's Black Tie Optional a while a ago, but could never figure out what to put it over. Since this was just supposed to be a get-me-through-tomorrow-night-so-I-can-change-it manicure, I thought whatever let's try it. I'm so glad I did.

I really love this and can't stop staring at it. My mom's the one that actually said it looked like a Robin's Egg and it kinda does. It's funny how the simplest nail art's can be some of your favorites.

Well that's it for now. Now go forth and do nail art!

Black and White Filigree Nail Art

2013-09-02T18:28:00.000-05:00

I was looking around the net for inspiration, when I ran across a bunch of french nail arts. I had had an idea in my head for a while now about doing some kind of french nail art with stamping and this just seemed like as good of time as any to do it. So without further ado, I give you nail art.

For This Nail Art I Used:
Spoiled - Correction Tape
Sally Hansen - Black Out
Stamping Color - Sinful Colors - Black On Black
Stamping Plate - BM-314
Tools - Stamper, Plastic Scraper, Hole Reinforcements, Tweezers, Thin Paintbrush

To Do This Nail Art:
First, I painted a base coat and once it was dried I painted 3 coats of Spoiled's Correction Tape. I applied a coat of Seche Vite to speed up the drying. I then took the hole reinforcements, cut them in half, and applied them to my nails near the smile lines. I pressed them down firmly and then painted a coat of Sally Hansen's Black Out on my tips. I removed each hole reinforcement as soon I finished painting the tip, using the tweezers to slowing and carefully pull them off. I went back with a thin paintbrush and nail polish to clean up any uneven lines and applied another coat of Seche Vite to speed up the drying. Next, I used the Filigree design on Bundle Monster's BM-314 plate to stamp over the french manicure. Finally, I applied another coat of Seche Vite and cleaned up around my nails. That's it.

I love using black and white for nail arts, the contrast between the 2 just looks so elegant to me. I had originally planned to do this in blue and silver, but while experimenting I tried it in black and white and was blown away. I also had just planned on using French Nail Art Stickers/Guides or just free-handing the french but once again during my experiments I like the french being higher on the sides and decided to go with the hole reinforcements. This just goes to show you that you should always plan out any nail art before hand.

I love this, it's just so elegant and purty! Makes me happy.

Well that's it for now, so I bid you all a farewell. Now go forth and do nail art!

Trees in the Sunset Gradient Nail Art

2013-08-26T20:45:00.000-05:00

I've had this desire for the longest while to use the tree from the Red Angel plate RA-115, but never followed it through. Then suddenly...BAM! It just clicked and I had to do a sunset gradient under a tree silhouette. I'll tell you a little secret...I've only done one other gradient and it was a really simple one, so I was really nervous/terrified going into this. Anywho, let's get this show on the road.

For This Nail Art I Used:

Spoiled - Correction Tape

Sally Hansen - Black Out

Stamping Color - Kleancolor - Metallic Black

Acrylic Paints - Blue, Dusty Medium Purple, Golden Yellow

Stamping Plate - RA-115
Tools - Makeup Sponge, Flat and Small Paintbrush, Toothpick, Paper, Blank Credit Card, Stamper

To Do This Nail Art:
First off, I started as I would any other nail art and applied a base coat. Next, I applied 1 coat of Spoiled Correction Tape. It wasn't opaque, but it wasn't necessary being that the next steps will build upon this. After it dried, I painted on a thin coat of the golden yellow acrylic paint. I discovered during my testing that just using the white didn't create the image in my head, but using a thin layer of the golden yellow acrylic paint helped create the final product more so how I had envisioned it. After that dried, I then took a piece of scrap paper and painted on a dollop of the blue, dusty medium purple, and golden yellow in the order. I grabbed a toothpick and blended the edges to each a little, after that I took the makeup sponge (which was slightly dampened) and pressed it onto it to pick up the paint. I sponged it onto the nail repeating this for every nail. I applied 3-4 coats on each nail, letting it dry in between each layer. Once I achieved my desired look I applied a coat of Seche Vite to smooth out the design and to make clean up easier. Clean up sucked! I took a coat ball soaked with rubbing alcohol scrubbed off the excess paint as much as I could.

Now onto the silhouette. I applied a small dollop of the Kleancolor Metallic Black to the tree on the Red Angel RA-115 plate and scrapped it off with the blank card. I then used my stamper to pick up the design and transferred it on to my nails. I took a small paintbrush and painted hills on with the Sally Hansen Black Out. To finish it off, I applied another coat of Seche Vite and preceded onto the clean up. That's it!

Excuse the crack in my nail. These pics were taken after work and for some unknown reason, that nail keeps cracking, even with a patch on. IDK! Anywho, don't ask why I didn't just use black acrylic paint for the hills, I'm an idiot and had put all my acrylic paints away and didn't feel like getting them back out. So I just grabbed a black polish. I do have to say, I am so happy I went with acrylic paint instead of nail polish to do the gradient, it was a million times easier to work with and the clean up was a dream. Also I couldn't find the colors I wanted among my polish collection. Shocking with how large my collection is I know, but such is life.

I am so, so, so, so happy with how this turned out. It's better than I even envisioned it, and I've gotten so many compliments on this. Although, I want to shake my fists at the Seche Vite for the shrinkage around the cuticle, but beggars can't be choosers. I just love this nail art and with how easy this was compared to my last gradient, I think I will definitely be doing more in the future.

Anywho, there are some amazing YouTube videos on gradients and stamping if anyone wants to see more or needs more explanations. But this is it for me for now, so it's with a heavy heart that I bid you all a farewell. Now go forth and do nail art!

Double Black and White Zebra Nail Art

2013-08-11T19:16:00.000-05:00

Every week there's a nail stamping challenge in a Facebook group I belong to, Adventures In Stamping. It's just a fun little challenge, and it can give you ideas for stamping that you may not have thought of before. Anywho, this week's challenge was to stamp using 2 or more different colors, well I give you what I came up with.

For this nail art I used:

1st Base Color - Spoiled - Correction Tape

2nd Base Color - Sally Hansen - Black Out

1st Stamping Color - Kleancolor - Metallic Black

2nd Stamping Color - Sinful Colors - Snow Me White

Stamping Plate - Mash-41

Tools - Blank plastic card & XL Silicone Stamper

To do this nail art:

First, I painted a base coat and once it dried, I painted 3 coats of the Spoiled Correction Tape. Once the white is completely dry you could use tape to do the black, but I was in a hurry and just free handed it once the white was tacky dry. I had to make sure the black was less than half of the nail so it would line up with the stamp. I then applied a coat of Seche Vite's Fast Dry Top Coat to speed up the drying process and also to smooth it all out. Now on to the stamping. I applied Kleancolor's Metallic Black to just over half of the image and then used Sinful Colors' Snow Me White to cover the rest of it. I scrapped the plastic card across it, making sure to go straight across. I quickly grabbed to the stamper and and lightly pressed it into the image. Next, as quickly as possible, I lined it up so the black on the stamper would be on the white on my nail and the white on the stamper would be on the black on my nail. I then just rolled it across my nail instead of pressing like normal, so I could make sure it lined up all the way across my nail. Finally, I applied another coat of Seche Vite, cleaned up, and that's it!

This wasn't an easy nail art to do because of how precise you have to be to make sure everything lines up correctly, but I do like how it turned out (even it I didn't get everything perfect). It's just kinda different and fun.

Well I think that's it for now. Now go forth and do nail art!

Purple and Copper Nails

2013-08-10T19:40:00.000-05:00

They say life can always get better or worse, but it can also get crazier. My life has been nuts lately, so much so that I've overruled my OCD and gone with chips in my nail polish some days. It's just been an exhausting and frustrating couple of weeks, so I apologize for not posting for so long. Because of my work schedule, I paint my nails before going to bed and plan to take pictures the next day, but then I end up ruining the manicure at work. A lot of that has to do with the fact that my nails are still so weak, but such is life. Then because I'm still recovering from the surgery complications in May, I've been exhausted and don't fix the manicures (which really sucks because I did some really, really cute nail arts). I'm sorry! I'm going to try and do better!

Anywho, I was going through some old nail wheels I've done experiments on and one caught my attention. It was just a really beautiful color combo that I couldn't resist. So without further ado, on to the purtiness!

For this nail art I used:
Wet 'n Wild - Ferguson Crest Syrah
Sally Hansen - Copper Penny

To do this nail art:
This nail art was very, very simple. First I applied a base coat, once it dried, I applied 2 coats of the Wet 'n Wild Ferguson Crest Syrah (it was opaque in 1 coat, but I always do 2 coats of any polish, old habits die hard). I then took the Sally Hansen Copper Penny and wiped the brush off on the insides of the bottle, leaving as little as possible left on the brush. I then brushed/dabbed it randomly on different areas on each nail. Finally, I applied a top coat and that's it. Easy peasy!

I am in absolute love with this manicure, it's gorgeous! And so simple. I really love the randomness of the glitter also. I experimented with covering the nail completely with the glitter, but it was just a little too much. I also thought about stamping or something, but nothing I tried worked. It all seemed to just distract from the prettiness instead of adding. Sometimes I do see that fine line between just right and too much...LOL.

I just wish I could've taken a better photo to show the prettiness, but this manicure was stubborn and a pain to photograph. The only photos that I took that came close aren't the best looking quality wise, so sorry!

Well, that's it for now. Now go forth and do nail art!

4th of July Nail Art

2013-07-01T20:42:00.001-05:00

My nails have been extremely weak lately; breaking, bending, and such. Finally figured out the probable cause, a med I had been taking for a couple months. Which is why my nails are so short right now, I had to do a cut down because of a multiple breaks. Hopefully it'll work it's way out of my system soon. Until then, I'll just have to deal and patch them when I can.

Anywho, onto the pretty, pretty nail art. It being the 4th of July week, I just had to do a 4th of July nail art.

For this nail art I used:
Jordana - White
Sally Hansen - Gem-stone
Wet n Wild - The Star of the Show
Acrylic Paint - White, Red
Thin nail art/paint brushes
Toothpick
Base and top coat polishes

To do this nail art:
To start, I applied a base coat and waited for it to dry. I then painted 3 coats of the Jordana White to all my fingers except the middle finger. On my middle finger, I painted 2 coats of the Sally Hansen Gem-stone. Then, I took a nail art brush and using the Sally Hansen Gem-stone, I drew half circles on about half of my pointer and ring fingernails. Because I don't have any loose star shaped glitter, I used Wet n Wild The Star of the Show and placed the stars on with a toothpick. Placing them onto my pointer, middle, and ring fingers. Next, I took a thin nail art brush and red paint and painted on the red strips to the areas on my nails with the white polish. A steady hand is somewhat mandatory, which I don't exactly have. I did go back with white paint and try and tidy up the lines. I then applied a couple coats of a top coat to finish off and to smooth out the glitter. That's it!

Besides trying to get the red stripes straight, this is an easy nail art. It's bought a smile to everyone that's seen it and keeps drawing my own eyes to admire the prettiness. A nice thing about this also, is a lot of items could be substituted. Instead of paint you could use a red striper polish (none of mine were the color I was looking for) and of course if you can find loose star glitter you can use that instead.

I'm happy with this though, it's exactly how I pictured it in my head. I do plan to get out at least one more nail art for the 4th, so please keep an eye out for it!

Anywho, that's it for now. Now go forth and do nail art!

Fried Eggs For Breakfast Nail Art

2013-06-29T20:55:00.003-05:00

I did a nail art a bit ago, the Sunny Days Nail Art, and someone had said from a distance that the sun looked like eggs, I couldn't see it, but it did make me want to do an egg nail art. Here it is!

For this nail art I used:
Base Color - China Glaze - Stone Cold
Acrylic Paints - White, Yellow, Light Grey, Darker Yellow/Gold
Brushes - Medium and Thin
Top Coats - NYC - Matte Me Crazy Mattifying Top Coat and Seche Vite - Dry Fast Top Coat

To do this nail art:
I painted a base coat and after it dried, I painted on 2 coats of China Glaze's Stone Cold. Stone Cold dries matte so I didn't have to wait long, I did apply a coat of Seche Vite to speed up the drying process because it was late and I had to go to bed. Upon waking up I applied Matte Me Crazy, it didn't change the look of the matte of Stone Cold from what I could see. Moving on, I got out my acrylic paints and using a medium brush painted on random blobs of white, to me the randomness looked more realistic and eye pleasing than trying for a more uniform/structured look. I only had to do one coat of the white paint because mine is really thick (I need to thin it out). Then, I painted the lighter yellow for the yokes in blobs because again I thought it looked better. Once it was dry I went in and painted the highlights, this step is optional. I used a very thin brush and painted the light grey around part of the white and the darker yellow around the same edge of the yellow. I also added a white highlight to the yoke. Finally, I took the same thin brush after making sure it was completely clean of the paint and carefully painted on some of the Seche Vite to the egg. After it was dry I did have to go back with Matte Me Crazy and fix were the Seche Vite had gone over onto the base color. That's it!

It wasn't a hard nail art to do, but I love it! I got a lot of compliments wearing this. I love the shininess of the egg against the matte of the base color. Sorry it's not very noticeable in the photos, I couldn't get a good photo of it, but trust me it was in person. A quick tip, keep in mind that applying lotions or cuticle oils will affect the look of the matte polishes.

I was surprised about how long the wear of this was also, I was able to wear this for about 3 days before I got a chip, which is amazing for me. I'm lucky if I can get 2 days out of any polish or nail art. I've tried a lot of different base coats, polishes, top coats and nothing has helped to make my manicures last longer. My manicures can't even last past me washing my hair. I've been trying a new product and it's just amazing! If anyone's curious about it, I can to do a review of it because it is a-maz-ing!

Anywho, that's it for now. Now go forth and do nail art!