Inspired by the Stamping Masters.

Well, Autumn is here finally!
I have a new mani this week, and have applied my new nail extensions from Custom Nail Solutions. They feel so light and easy to wear, and for the first time I have a huge canvas to put some nail art on! My inspiration for these nails came from an older post on Dressed Up Digits, an amazing blog run by an amazing nail artist Laurie. Her watermarble manicures are heavenly and make me die inside from jealousy.  I love all her nail art but this one has been sitting in my folder for a year now, and I finally built up the courage to tackle it. You can find her work here - http://dressedupdigits.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/back-into-swing-of-things.html

For the gradient base, I put on a base coat, then two coats of Sinful Colors _ Boom Boom. For the Aussie nail artistes out there, Target now stocks Sinful Colors, for about $4.95 a bottle.

The gradient was created using a triangular cosmetic sponge, and two darker shades.
First was Sinful Colors - Aubergine and the second was W7 - No.28 Black.  I had to apply a few coats of the gradient polishes to get a nice blended effect.

My new favourite nail product is HK Girl's Glisten and Glow Fast Drying Topcoat. Its fantastic, but my only peeve is that I will use it so fast that a restock is immanent. 

The stamp is from a Cici&Sisi plate - 03, and I used Essie - Nothing Else Metals to stamp. One last coat of topcoat to finish.  

 Here is Laurie's manicure first, then mine. How do you think I did?  Pass or fail? 

Greetings all!  I have had a long absence but I am back and ready to wow with my nails this season!

Summer means my workdesk is simply unbearably hot to work at, and polish won't dry when the weather is too hot and humid, so I have had naked nails for some time now.  

For this Pastel Gothic manicure - 

I used Essence ~ Free Hugs as a base colour, then stamped with white in Mundo De Unas stamping polish. 

Mundo can be bought from here - https://www.facebook.com/mundo.deunas.31?fref=ts

The houndstooth image is from BM 322 (Bundle Monster set 3)

and the skull is from an AliExpress dupe set called CF04. I used a stamping decal technique for the skulls to colour them in. 

Fabulous Stamping decal tutorial link here by Messy Mansion --->http://www.messymansion.com.au/advanced-technique-stamper-decals/


Enjoy and see you all next time I get hit with inspiration!

A Perfect Peach!

Since the beginning of Spring, I have been on the search for a perfect peach coloured polish. I have tried a few brands but they took at least three coats to cover to opaque and the colour always seemed a little off.  Enter the star of my post, Peaches and Cream from Australian indie polish maker,  Picture Polish.  I purchased a number of 11ml bottles from their range with an every day Deal offer, and received a free full sized polish! What a bargain right? 

The polish went on like a dream, and the flat style brush made application very easy.  I was happy with the colour and coverage after two coats and the drying time was about 20 minutes which was pretty reasonable. I am loving the colour, its a warm summer shade, but stops short of too much orange.  My skin can be red toned with hot colours, and this cool peach is delightful.  The gold and peach together remind me of Hollywood.

I used a Seche Vite top coat, stamped an accent finger with Pueen plate PUEEN 24 and Nabi Metallic Cinnamon.   Top coat after stamping helps protect the image from wear.  On my other nails, I added a splash of glitter with a Revlon polish, Sequins then top coated one last time.

What colours are you wearing on your nails this Spring?

Glitzy and Glamorous Nails.

Welcome back everyone! Its now officially Spring here in Australia. I am enjoying the blossoms, the daffodils and birds I see outside.  I also have lots of new projects on the go, and taking a number of short courses to try and find some employment. I have been at home raising my children for a long time, so now I am in need of some retraining.  I am trying to stay positive about going to work and managing the house but one thing at a time please!

Today's effort is part of the Sunday Stamping Challenge for 8th of Sep, 2013.  I cannot stress enough how helpful I have found the group, and I have met a lot of beautiful people as well, which has been tremendous fun.  So many talented members, and they always take the time to help out those who are new to the art of stamping. You can find their facebook page here:  http://www.facebook.com/groups/aistamping/  .

The theme was Glitz and Glamour and I was coming up blank all week.  Then I recalled a mani which inspired me and I saved in my files. The image is uncredited in all the pages I could track it on, but if anyone knows the photographer/nail artist pictured above please let me know so I can give them due acknowledgement.

I do have the image plate above (Konad M63) but decided to use one from the Pueen stamping plate set numbered PUEEN26.

For a base coat, I used a Sally Hansen Miracle Nail Thickener Treatment, then one coat only of W7 Black creme polish.
W7 is a UK brand, and was a random but valuable find.   It is sold at the Chemist Discount Warehouse in Australia, but colours do vary from store to store. It is cheap, about $3 a bottle and the colours which I have all apply very well, and dry reasonably well but at a guess, they are not 3Free formulas. The black goes on very smoothly and self levels. It also has a lovely vinyl patent finish.

I covered the base coat with Seche Vite fast dry topcoat.  Then stamped over using a squishy type stamper and Harp On It, a holographic silver polish from Color Club.  Its an amazing polish, and works a dream in one coat as a base, or equally well as a stamping polish.

Another coat of Seche Vite and I was done. I cleaned my cuticles with 100% Acetone and a small hobby brush with a flat edge. Then the usual handcream and cuticle oil.
I buy sorbolene lotion in bulk and have a pump pack beside the two sinks and one at my computer desk.  It is great to wash my hands then put some lotion on.  The cuticle oil I am using right now is Solar Oil by CND.

I have a full schedule until the school holidays hit in about two weeks, so wish me luck and I will try to blog again as soon as I have time. Au Revoir!

Polished on a budget.

I have been busy collecting some really great ideas to save you money on your nail addiction. 
As I find more I will add them in. If you have your own great economising tips please put them in the comments.
*  Buy 100% acetone from the hardware store in large bottles. It is exactly the same as store bought polish remover, and if you are worried about it being drying on the hands, you can add a small amount of glycerine as a softener.

* Instead of pouring remover into a bowl and then throwing away the excess, purchase some plastic pump dispensers from Amazon or Ebay and refill over and over. They are really handy too, and stop you making a mess of your mani when you are cleaning up.

*  You can use one cotton ball for all ten fingers if you unroll it and tear the strip into sections.
Check out this handy tutorial with pictures from http://www.thesobremesa.com/


How to remove polish with one cotton ball.



* Cheap drugstore polishes can work just as well as expensive ones.  True!

Some stamping polishes are super cheap if you shop online as well, so do a quick google on places which ship to your location.  I haunt the discount bins at all the chemists, supermarkets and department stores to make sure I never pay full price. 



*Use paper masking tape to cut out designs, make stripes and other shapes on your nails. 


This beautiful mani by NailZilla uses regular cheap paper masking tape.

http://www.nailzilla.com/

*Use your stamper to make decals instead of buying stickers.

Messy Mansion has a great tutorial here which shows you step by step how to make your own full nail decals and infilled images.

http://www.messymansion.com.au/advanced-technique-stamper-decals/

*A cheap option to cuticle oil is almond massage oil, jojoba or olive oil. Blend your own and add your own non allergenic essential oil.  Add a capsule of vitamin E oil which acts as a preservative and it should should last you years if stored in a cool dark place.

* Buy a small bottle of polish thinner solution. It will help revive old polish which has gone gloopy and save you from throwing out the last half of the bottle. Remember that some polishes need specific thinners, like Seche Vite.

* Try and double up on polishes, some are great as base coat colours and for stamping, so if you can collect those then you are spending money wisely.




*Remember this can be a hobby you can keep for decades, so a little investment will go a long way. 

AIS Sunday Stamping Challenge ~ August 4th.

This post was for the AIS Sunday Challenge, "Plates Ending in 8", 4/8/13.

I used a beige base coat, Champagne, by Savvy. Its a super cheap brand, but this is one colour I wear over and over. The second coat was a holographic nude by Born Pretty. Its number 6 from their collection.

I was using a Bettina plate (B18) design, from the Betina nail plate collection.  

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Plaquinhas-Betina


I stamped using Kleancolor Metallic Brown. 
Once the stamping was dry, I top coated with Seche Vite.

I found all the polishes very simple to use, and the flash from my camera picked up colors not visible in the daylight. (Its Winter here in Australia, and very dull at the moment.)  
For once I managed to get through a whole mani without repainting anything, and clean up was a simple once over using acetone and a tiny square end hobby brush.  
I hope you enjoy, and happy stamping!

AIS Sunday Challenge ~ Butterflies.