New 31DC Day 15: Watercolor

I'd never tried watercolor before this challenge. So I watched a few youtube videos and decided I was ready to try it out. It didn't really work out like I had hoped. I should have stuck with 2 colors instead of adding the 3rd. They were too dark and just kind of mushed together, not my best work.

I started with one coat of Milani- White on the Spot, then added a coat of Out the Door for added protection from the acetone. I swirled on NYC- Boundless Berry, LA Colors- Sea Siren, and a nameless purple from Maurices. I went a little too deep on a few of the colors and ended up with some holes through the white. I tried to fill them in with the next color, but it didn't work so well. Oh well, I'll try it again another time. Topped it all with one coat of Out the Door.

Adventures in Stamping

The theme for this week in the Adventures in Stamping group was spring flowers. I knew just what I wanted to do. I started with a purple gradient using Nina- Lilac-ing Discipline and Sally Hansen- Deep Purple. It's so subtle, you almost can't even see the gradient at all. I should have taken a picture before I stamped, but I forgot.

Then I stamped the flowers with BM-321 and Milani- White on the Spot. I was determined to be patient this time so my stamping wouldn't smear. I waited probably 10 minutes and then added one coat of Out the Door. It still smeared!! I was so frustrated. It didn't look nearly as bad in real life as it does in these pictures though, so I guess there's that.

New 31DC Day 14: Stamping

Ahh stamping :) A technique I feel comfortable with. For this one, the only difficult thing was narrowing it down to one look! There's so many fun things I want to try. I absolutely loved what I ended up with here. I read in the Adventures in Stamping group on Facebook that Pure Ice- Silver Star was a good silver to stamp with. So I bought a bottle, and was not disappointed! It was amazing! It stamped perfectly over the dark base. And bonus, it's super cheap :)

I started with 2 coats of Essie- Go Overboard. I could have gotten away with one careful coat, but I wasn't so careful the first time around. Which makes me want to use this color to stamp too.... 

Then I stamped with BM-210 and Pure Ice- Silver Star. I added one coat of Jordana- Crystal Ocean for a little sparkle, and one coat of Out the Door to finish.

What do you think of this one? I love the feathery look.

New 31DC Day 13: Cheer yourself up mani

I had a hard time with this theme. I don't really have a go to look for when I'm feeling down. Eventually I decided to go with my favorite color combination and figured that would make me happy. It worked! I loved this one. I absolutely LOVE gray and pink together.

On my thumb, which I now realize I never took a picture of, I did 2 coats of Milani- White on the Spot and one coat of Orly- Winter Wonderland. You'll just have to believe me when I say it was pretty :) On my index and pinky, I used 2 coats of e.l.f.- Misty Haze. I love this gray, but it chips the next day :( My middle finger is 2 coats of Sinful Colors- Easy Going, followed by one coat of KleanColor- Holo Pink. My ring finger is 2 coats of Misty Haze, then stamped with White on the Spot and BM-201. Then I used a dotting tool and Easy Going to add the little heart. One coat of Out the Door to finish it all off.

A little neon leopard

Literally :) These are my 7-year-old step-daughter's nails. She's always so excited for me to do her nails before she goes back to her Mom's house so she can show all her friends at school. And I love that she's always so happy with how they turn out. This time she told me she definitely wanted something neon, but left the rest up to me.

So...we started with 2 coats of China Glaze- Flip Flop Fantasy, a gorgeous neon coral. It's hard to really get a picture that does this color justice. Then we stamped the leopard print with BM-221 and Konad- Special Black. Then I took a Sally Hansen gold glitter polish and a dotting tool to accent the spots. I don't know the name of that polish, I've had it for so many years, it doesn't have the sticker anymore. Topped it all with one coat of Out the Door and she was ecstatic! She was even more excited when I told her I needed pictures to put on the blog :)

New 31 DC Day 12: Tape Mani

Today's theme is tape mani. I have lots of craft scissors, and had all kinds of ideas for this one...but then I put off doing it until about 11:30 last night. So let's be honest, I kinda half-assed it. But, it was my first time using striping tape! So that was fun. I have lots of other things I want to try with the striping tape, I've just been nervous to try it. I think it turned out pretty good for my first time! I didn't stick it down quite good enough on my pinky, oh well.

I started with 2 coats of Orly-Dazzle. I really like this silver, it doesn't stamp well though. Still searching for a good silver stamper. I taped off my lines and added one kind of thickish coat of Salon Perfect- Pure Azure. Topped with one coat of Out the Door.

I'm going to try something hopefully more exciting with the striping tape in the near future.

Adventures in Stamping

The theme for this week over in the Adventures in Stamping group on Facebook was using a plate that ended in the number 6. I really only had about 6 to choose from, so this is the design that I chose. I was happy with it! I like this design a lot, I noticed after that they kind of look like little suns :)

For the base color, I used 2 coats of NYC- Boundless Berry. You can hardly see it after I stamped over it, but it is gorgeous! My 3-year-old picked it out at Walmart last week, and I think she made an excellent selection. I stamped with BM-206 and Milani- White on the Spot. Finished with one coat of Out the Door.

This was one of my husband's favorites.

New 31DC Day 11: Splatter

The theme for day 11 is splatter mani. I'd never done this technique before, so I looked at a bunch of others, watched a few youtube videos, and this is what I ended up with. I got really frustrated doing this one...for some reason, I couldn't get the polish to splatter right for the life of me! So these are the only 4 nails that ended up being splattered :) 

I wanted to do a springy look, but it didn't really turn out how I had imagined. I tried to use yellow too, but absolutely couldn't get it to work.

I started with one coat of Milani- White on the Spot. For the splats I used Essie- Cute as a Button, Nina- Lilac-ing Discipline, and Sally Hansen- Mint Sorbet. All topped with one coat of Out the Door.

In the end, I think it's kind of cool looking, but I think it's a little to messy for me. I just didn't love it. Maybe I'll try again another time with different colors and see how I feel.

March SquareHue Box

I was excited to get my new SquareHue Box in the mail! This month's box was the O'Hue Collection.

 The fist color is blond ale. It's kind of a pale gold with subtle shimmer.

 The next is amber lager. It's a brownish coppery color, also has a little shimmer.

The last is patty's pint. It's a really pretty dark green, it looked shimmery in the bottle, but not as much on my nails.

 This is a pretty color, but not so much with my skin tone. The formula was a little sheer, this is 3 coats of blonde ale, no top coat.

 The finish on this one with kind of metallic-y. I actually liked it more than I thought I would. It looked a little more brown than orange on the nail. This is 2 coats of amber lager, no top coat.

This one looks a lot darker on the nail than in the bottle. But I really like it. It's so pretty and perfect for St. Patrick's Day! And look at that shine! This is 2 coats of patty's pint, no top coat.

New 31 Day Challenge Day 10: Geometric

Today's theme is geometric. I couldn't come up with anything fancy, so I just went with stamping. This blue has been sitting in my untried pile for awhile now, and I really like it!

I started with 2 coats of NYC- Water Street Blue, followed by one coat of Out the Door. I stamped with BM-319 and Milani- White on the Spot, all topped with one more coat of Out the Door.

This was also the first time I used White on the Spot. It was great for stamping!

New 31 Day Challenge Day 9: Saran Wrap

This was my first time trying the saran wrap technique. My nails are super short right now, I've had quite a few breaks lately :( Boo. This wasn't my favorite look...it's just kind of messy, and I'm too OCD for that. Maybe if I tried it again, or maybe with different colors...I don't know. Just something about it, I don't love.

I started with 2 coats of Essie- Cute as a Button (love this color!!). Then one coat of Out the Door. I blobbed on some spots of Nina- Lilac-ing Discipline, Sinful Colors- Snow Me White, and Cute as a Button. Then used the saran wrap to sponge it around. I added one coat of Jordana- Crystal Ocean for some sparkle, and one coat of Out the Door.