31DC2014 Day 28: Inspired By A Flag

Ahoy!!!

The prompt for today's 31 Day Challenge 2014 is Inspired By A Flag. I was going to do the American flag but looking back on my manicures I've done at least two American flag manicures so I really wanted to change it up this time so......... PIRATE FLAG! I can't believe I never thought of doing this before, I love pirates and pirate flags! Want to see what I came up with? Keep on reading then :)

I started with a base of Essie Blanc on my pointer nail, Maybelline Color Show Bold Gold on my middle, Wet n Wild Black Creme on my ring, and OPI You Don't Know Jacques! on my pinky. On my pointer I used OPI Big Apple Red for the stripes and then I took Zoya 18K and E.L.F Gold Star to create the "gold" on my middle. I painted the skull flag on my ring using white and light grey acrylic paint and finally I painted the peg leg wood pattern with NYC Royal Chick. I sealed everything in with a generous layer of Essie Good To Go and that was it!

Love, love, love this! The only thing that I don't like is that my pirate skull looks a bit too happy... ;) LOL But really, I need to do more pirate themed manicures, it's just too much fun! 

But now it's your turn! Post a link to your 31DC2014 Inspired By A Flag nails in the comments so I can see!! 

Thanks loves :) 

Galaxy Nails: Tribal Space Edition

Yes this awesomesauceness of a manicure just happened.... whatttttt

I don't even know where this idea came from but I am obsessed! I wanted to do some more galaxy nails because I haven't done any in a while and then I just started painting over them with white acrylic paint and then this happened... galaxy nails, the tribal space edition ;) 

Okay let's get this process rolling! I started with a base of E.L.F Sea Escape on all of my nails. When that was dry I created the galaxies using Essie Blanc, Color Club Over The Moon, Color Club Eternal Beauty, Lime Crime Parfait Day and Lime Crime Lavendairy. I added a layer of China Glaze Fairy Dust for the starry effect but you really can't even see it -_- LOL Then I used white acrylic paint and a small nail art brush to create the tribal design on top. When everything was dry I decided to mattify it with NYC Matte Me Crazy and tadaaaaa! 

Does this next picture look incredibly orange to you? In my files it looks normal but every time I upload it to blogger it looks so orange and no matter how many times I delete it and upload it again it won't change... so I hope it looks normal but if it doesn't I'll have to delete it again boo!!!

I really just love these so much! A little bit of self love isn't bad right...... right?! LOL 

So what do you guys think? Do you have any other ideas for galaxy nails?
Thanks loves :) 

Fabric swatch-spiration skittles

Mehhhhhh NUBS!!

Yeah you read that right.. NUBS! T.T I haven't had a bad break in a long time so I suppose it was about time. I snapped off my middle finger nail trying to pull up my covers on my bed. I won't repeat to you all the select words I decided to use when it happened.... I don't want to skew your view of me! ;) LOL Needless to say I wasn't a happy camper. So I filed my nails back down to nubs, my middle nail actually snapped the corner off lower then I could file but I tried to position my nails so that you couldn't quite see that part ;) 

Anyways, I was surfing the web looking for some nail inspiration and I have heard that some bloggers use fabric swatches for inspiration and I'm like "DUH" why haven't I tried that? -_- Sometimes I'm not the brightest crayon in the box... or ever ;) But hey what are you going to do?? One of the first things that came up was a pile of pastel yellow and gray fabric swatches with various patterns and I immediately fell in love. I didn't use all of the patterns on the fabric because I just wanted to run with the yellow / gray idea and I'm super excited about the out come!

I started with a white base of OPI Alpine Snow on my index finger. On my pinky and thumb I used E.L.F Misty Haze and on my middle and ring I used Lime Crime Crema De Limon. I used white acrylic paint for all of the details except for my index where I used E.L.F Misty Haze to create the chevrons. I top coated everything with a generous coat of Poshe and I was good to go :) 

How did I do camouflaging the break? With the exception of the middle picture of course.. I'm not really sure why I thought that was a good hand pose -_- lol! But I really loved the gray and pastel yellow color combination and I was so happy that all of the designs worked so well together! I know it's a little bit difficult to see the designs on the yellow nails, they were much more apparent in real life, but I like that it gives the finished product a soft look.

What do you think?
Thanks loves :)  

Supah Supah Late Mish Mash Challenge: Grey

fjlcsbjklvdajvdfjnkvalkjlnrkl!!!!!!!!!!!

HELLO!

Ack I'm so sorry guys! I told you I wouldn't run away and then what did I do? Got up and ran away -_- I truly am sorry that I haven't posted guys, this past week that I've been gone I was struggling with some personal issues, nothing bad, just basically life decided to pile up and slap me in the face. I just had to take a step back, do some deep breathing, and put me first again [and a good cry session never hurt anyone ;)]. I hated being away from the blog because you guys don't know how important this blog is to me. All of you lovely readers, whether you comment or not, are the reason I do this. You all are what keep me going and it makes me sad when I can't be here. But not to worry I'm back and better then ever! Enough with the mushy stuff now it's time for some super late mish mash nails!!!

I've literally been trying to get these up since Wednesday but I haven't had a moment to spare! The theme for this week was gray and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Among all of the very talented nail artists on instagram THIS manicue from @kgrdnr has made me drool ever since I saw it. I really wanted to do it in pink but alas, grey is the theme so it will have to do ;) I'm really happy with the way these turned out so make sure you take a look :) 

I started with a base of Azature White and then sponged on the gradient using the same and ELF Misty Haze. Then I used gray acrylic paint to paint on the design. For my accent nail I used OPI This Gown Needs A Crown and placed a pearl at the base. 

I've got to say I love this! It doesn't do justice to @kgrdnr's original design but I'm definitely still happy with it. 

So thanks again for sticking with me everyone!! Muah!!! <3 

Space Pants

Hello earthlings ;)

Yes I'm quite aware the 'Space Pants' is a strange title for a post, especially when it has nothing to do with actual pants.... But hey! it made ya curious didn't it?? LOL! At least it has a little bit to do with space, that is, if you count galaxy nails! I've only done galaxy nails twice on this blog and I really love them. Eventually I want to start experimenting with the colors but I'm not quite brave enough... yet!

So want to check out some space nails?!

I started with a base of ELF Sea Escape and then used Maybelline Color Club Navy Narcissist, Color Club Eternal Beauty, Lime Crime Parfait Day, and Azature White to create the galaxy-thing part. I dotted on some stars with white acrylic paint after that. When that was dry I added a layer of China Glaze Fairy Dust because let's face it, you can never have enough stars / sparkles!! :) Finally I top coated with some Poshe and the design was finished.

Love them! People tell me I'm like outer space... well spacey at least... close enough right? ;) I'm feeling more confident in my galaxy nails so maybe the next time they make an appearance on this blog they'll be fun colors!

What's your favorite color combination for galaxy nails?
Thanks lovelies! 

Drip, drip, drip...

Hello cupcakes!

I've got some nail art today that I've been wanting to try for a very long time. I had some free time the other day and thought I'd give them a try and boy am I sure glad I did! ;) 

So.... galaxy drip nails anyone? 

I used a lot of colors here but I'm going to try to remember what I used. I started with a base of ELF Sea Escape. Then I used a torn up makeup sponge and sponged on Maybelline Color Show Navy Narcissist, Color Club Eternal Beauty, Lime Crime Parfait Day, and Azature White to create the galaxy look. Then I put on some dots and a few stars with white acrylic paint. After that was dry I painted a layer of China Glaze Fairy Dust. And FINALLY I created the drips using Azature White. *deep breath* LOL!  

*Ahem* I think these nails are out of this world if I do say so myself ;) Besides taking forever to create I loved having these on I think I actually kept them on for like four days! I wonder if there is an easier way to do this design though.. I feel like doing the galaxy nails on all my nails was kind of a waste of time because I covered so much of it up. Hmmmmm... must do some research!! :)

Thanks so much loves! 

Mish Mash Challenge: Metallic

Hi cupcakes!

It's Wednesday so you know what that means right?! Another challenge day for the Mish Mash Challenge hosted by Kimber's Lacquer Korner. :) Today's challenge day theme is metallic. I know exactly what you guys are going to say when you see mine... "another tape mani really?" But hey I didn't know what else to do! And I always love how tape manicures end up so... deal with it yo! ;) 

Anyways, I don't actually own very mani metallic polishes because I don't like them. I don't like being able to see brush strokes and generally I'm just not a big fan of the way they look. But I do have a few and decided to go with a gold, silver, bronze look here.

To start off I painted all of my nails with Sally Hansen InstaDri Silver Sweep. Then I taped off my nails and painted with Maybelline Color Show Bold Gold and ELF Copper. After that I took all three colors and free handed some more triangles on the sides and inside the other ones. Then I used NCY Matte Me Crazy because I like the way metallics look mattified better and added a rhinestone to each and I was done! 

What do you think? I'm so iffy on metallics but I actually kind of liked how these turned out! I think the matte top coat made me like it more too it made the brush strokes less visible in my opinion. 

I can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with don't forget to check them out!
Thanks guys :) 

You're outta this world!

Happy Sunday everyone!

I decided to revisit some galaxy nails! I've only ever done one and I knew I wanted to try them again. I actually wanted to do some galaxy drip nails really bad but time was not on my side -_- I will do them soon for sure though! 

I tried to go off of memory on galaxy nails. I know they're pretty easy because you just sponge on some colors but I'm too picky! Lol! But I really enjoyed recreating these nails so make sure you check them out :) 

Colors used:
- Sally Hansen Heart of Stone
- Sally Hansen Hard to Get
- ELF Sean Escape
- SInful Colors Let's Talk
- Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope 
- Color Club Gift of Sparkle

Not too shabby right? ;) I really want to try some of the yellow-y orange ones but I'm still a bit frightened! I also have seen some really pretty turquoise ones. I know I'll be doing some more galaxy nails in the near future!

Oh and today is the Super Bowl woohoo!! Since my Patriots have been knocked out I may or may not watch the it... but I know what I am watching... THE PUPPY BOWL! Hah! It's literally puppies playing in a super bowl-esque arena, probably the cutest thing I have ever watched in my entire life. It's on at 3 on Animal Planet if any of you puppy lovers want to watch! LOL

So what do you think? Are you going to watch the Super Bowl? Who are you rooting for? :)

Thanks for reading guys!! :) 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!

Well it's been 2013 for a couple of hours now and I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to remember to write 13 on all my work stuff -_- LOL

Anyways I say we welcome in the new year with something new! Animal print is no stranger to this blog but some of you may remember that I've been trying to perfect my free-hand leopard... well it's not near perfect but I'm jumping in this new year with both feet and posting them! So here's something new to the blog... free-hand leopard nails :) 

Colors used:
- China Glaze Fast Track
- ELF Blushing Beauty
- Black Acrylic Paint

I'm pretty proud of these ones. They're the first ones to actually look like leopard spots ;) I can't wait to try these again with different color combos!!

So what do you guys think? What did you wear on your nails for New Years?

Thanks for reading! :) 

Finally a braid!!

Good morning!

Happy day after Christmas everyone! :) I don't know about you guys but I'm POOPED! Lol!! But Santa was very good to me and gave me lots of polish to play with ;) So I'll be spending my day swatching those for you guys! Thank goodness I've got a few posts saved up so here's one where I was finally able to do a braided mani without messing it up! Enjoy :) 

I'm so excited today because I've finally been able to do my first successful fishtail braided mani! Woohoo! I've always loved the way fishtail braided manis look but every time I did them I failed MISERABLY. I'm talking too bad to even show on here as a fail -_- LOL but I followed THIS tutorial by Lucy over at Lucy's Stash. I put mine way close together but it's the same concept hah! Lucy's nails are always AMAZING! I don't even know if she has the capability to do nails that are less then perfect LOL! And her tutorials are really great and easy to follow you guys should definitely go check her out! So here's what I came up with...

Colors used:
- ELF Misty Haze
- ELF Dazzle Diva
- Sinful Colors Cream Pink

I only did an accent nail because I figured I would screw up at least one if I did them all hah. I love the pink and gray combo I actually wore these nail for a whopping 3 days! That means I really had to like them LOL. I still need practice but I'm so happy I've finally been successful at one of these :)

What do you guys think? Do you like fishtail braided manis??

Thanks for reading :) 

12DoC: Elves

Good morning!

Wow I can't believe it's almost Christmas! I feel like I've been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off -_- LOL Oh well hustle and bustle and all that ;) Speaking of almost Christmas, our challenge is coming to an end! :( Wah! I hope your all still having fun though! 

The prompt for today is elves! I had NO idea what to do... I think my creative juices are running low! LOL So I trusted Google and came up with THIS pic from the lovely Rina Alcantara of Simply Rins! And it served as my inspiration! So check out my elf nails :) 

Colors used:
- Sally Hansen Naturel Pink
- Finger Paints Well-Cultured Pearl
- Color Club Ho Ho Holly
- Ms Pedicure Red
- Sinful Colors San Francisco 
- Sally Hansen Heart of Stone
- Black Acrylic Paint
- White Acrylic Paint

Aww so cute.... though he could look a little happier -_- LOL oh well! I felt so festive wearing these!! :) 

So what do you guys think?

Thanks for reading and make sure you check out all of the other elf nails!! :)