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Wednesday 30 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 30 : Inspired By A Tutorial

The moment I saw the Ethereal Dreamcatcher Nails, from Meghan at Will Paint Nails For Food, I fell in love. The rustic, earthy feel of the gradient background really tickles my happyness.

So here is my attempt, after weeks of drooling over Meghan's nails! My background turned out much darker than in the tutorial, but I didn't use any polishes which were the same. Because of the darkness, I decided to make my dreamcatchers lighter. Those dreamcatchers took two tries..... My first attempt I used polish, and I just couldn't get it, so I tried again with acrylic paint.

I began with a base of Revlon - Smoky Canvas, which was much darker than Meghan's base colour. I think in future I will try this with a lighter base.

 

 

 

The gradient was acheived using :

NYC - Lexington Yellow

Rimmel - Orgasm & Aqua Cool

Revlon - Midnight Affair

I used some dilluted Rimmel - Hot Black To Go, to do the border. I used some Seche Restore to dillute.

After painting my dreamcatchers, I topped with HK Girls - Glisten & Glow, then finished with Rimmel Matte Finish.

Please remember to check out what the other girls are doing today.

Last day tomorrow!!!

 

Tuesday 29 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 29 : Inspired By The Supernatural

So my first instinct was to go with vampires...... But I always choose vampires, so I went on the hunt for something else. Mermaids? A Phoenix? I couldn't decide. Until I remembered about everyone's favourite supernatural, mystery crime fighters!

So it wasn't until I saw the photo, I noticed the tiny missed bits and bad lines, but it's done now. Here's is the mystery machine inspired, Scooby & Shaggy nails.

I used :

Barry M - Key Lime & Mushroom

Rimmel - Sunshine, Hot White Love & Mind The Gap, Victoria

Also red, blue, yellow, white and black acrylic paint and a nail art brush.

 

 

These look much better from a distance..... who looks at your nails this close anyway? ;-)

Tomorrow is inspired by a tutorial, and I have had mine looked out for a long time. I'm actually quite nervous about it as I promised the artist a link to have a look :-o

Check out what the other girls are doing for the challenge today.

 

 

Monday 28 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 28 : Inspired By A Flag

I racked my brain trying to come up with something a bit different, and the answer was staring me in the face! I based my flag design on Rimmel London, one of my favourite nail polish brands.

The Union Jack features in a variety of colours and styles on many Rimmel products. This one is based on one of their old shopping bags. I kept with the theme, and only used Rimmel polishes :

White Hot Love

Trend Spotting

Red Obsession

Ultra Violet

Simply Sizzling

Orgasm

Riviera Red

Disco Fever

Isn't She Precious

 

I combined the flag with the Rimmel crown logo, and I tried to feature the Rita Ora stamp. It isn't perfect, but you get the idea. People faces have never been my strong subject.

I used red, yellow, blue, white and black acrylic paint to do the thumb.

Have a look at what everyone else is up to today.

 

Sunday 27 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 27 : Inspired By Artwork

After some debate, I decided to stick to my original plan and go with some Charles Rennie Mackinosh inspired nails. And now I am glad I did, they turned out much better than I hoped.

I based these on various elements of lead lined windows and mirrors, using a mix of silver and black acrylic paint to do the outlines, to mimic pewter. The effect is fab, but not nice to photograph.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was all freehand, and I started with a base of Ciate - la confidential, which is a perfect creamy white base, but needed 4 coats to achieve full coverage.

I then used white acrylic paint to paint on my guide lines. I used the following polishes to colour in the design:

Fearne - attention seeker

Barry M - cyan blue, fuchsia & blueberry

 

Then outlined the design with my "pewter" mix.

 

 

 

I'm pretty sure I'll be trying ones like these again in the future..... I'm just sad they need to come off for tomorrow's challenge.

Remember to check out what the other girls are doing for the challenge.

 

Saturday 26 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 26 : Inspired By A Pattern

When it comes to patterns, I usually reach for the stamps. I admit, I do like my patterns to look precise, but I managed to find a pattern I liked, that didn't really rely on precision to make it work.

I found the background image on google images, and I instantly loved it. I changed the base colour so I could make use of my new Rimmel polish - Mary Mary Quite Contrary.

For the freehand leaves, I used :

Barry M - Guava & Key Lime

Rimmel - Aqua Cool, Navy Seal & Sage Green

And acrylic black for the outlines.

I used Rimmel Matte top coat after applying HK Girl - Glisten & Glow.

It was just begging to be mattefied.

I am quite pleased with how they turned out, but I need to keep reminding myself that it's "inspired by", and not "copied from".

Please remember to check out what the other girls are doing for the challenge.

 

 

Friday 25 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 25 : Inspired By Fashion

This one has had me on the verge of a polish break up! Seriously, I have done, and redone this one so many times, with different styles, I've lost count. And it still looks like crap! But enough is enough for today. This will have to do.

I couldn't resist trying out my new Pueen stamps. Pueen 50 has the printed "fashion" writing on it, you know I just had to... The rest is freehand.

The Pueen plates have some very nice images, but they just do not compare to my precious MoYou.

Polishes :

Barry M - Denim

Rimmel - White Hot Love, Coral Romance & Matte Finish

Konad - Black Pearl

Acrylic gold.

I'm thinking now, I should have just stuck to my original plan of denim, leather & studs. Can't go wrong with that. It did look much better than this, until I messed it up. Anyway, it's done, out of the way, never again!

Remember to have a look at what everyone else is doing for the challenge.

 

Thursday 24 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 24 : Inspired By A Book

I'm not much of a book worm, but I have read many Stephen King books over the last few years. The master of thriller and suspense, I'm sure many agree. So it was obvious that I would choose a book from his vast collection.

“Want your boat, Georgie?' Pennywise asked. 'I only repeat myself because you really do not seem that eager.' He held it up, smiling. He was wearing a baggy silk suit with great big orange buttons. A bright tie, electric-blue, flopped down his front, and on his hands were big white gloves, like the kind Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck always wore.

Yes, sure,' George said, looking into the stormdrain.

And a balloon? I’ve got red and green and yellow and blue...'

Do they float?'

Float?' The clown’s grin widened. 'Oh yes, indeed they do. They float! And there’s cotton candy...'

George reached.

The clown seized his arm.

And George saw the clown’s face change.

What he saw then was terrible enough to make his worst imaginings of the thing in the cellar look like sweet dreams; what he saw destroyed his sanity in one clawing stroke.

They float,' the thing in the drain crooned in a clotted, chuckling voice. It held George’s arm in its thick and wormy grip, it pulled George toward that terrible darkness where the water rushed and roared and bellowed as it bore its cargo of storm debris toward the sea. George craned his neck away from that final blackness and began to scream into the rain, to scream mindlessly into the white autumn sky which curved above Derry on that day in the fall of 1957. His screams were shrill and piercing, and all up and down Witcham Street people came to their windows or bolted out onto their porches.

They float,' it growled, 'they float, Georgie, and when you’re down here with me, you’ll float, too–'

George's shoulder socked against the cement of the curb and Dave Gardener, who had stayed home from his job at The Shoeboat that day because of the flood, saw only a small boy in a yellow rain-slicker, a small boy who was screaming and writhing in the gutter with muddy water surfing over his face and making his screams sound bubbly.

Everything down here floats,' that chuckling, rotten voice whispered, and suddenly there was a ripping noise and a flaring sheet of agony, and George Denbrough knew no more.

Dave Gardener was the first to get there, and although he arrived only forty-five seconds after the first scream, George Denbrough was already dead. Gardener grabbed him by the back of the slicker, pulled him into the street...and began to scream himself as George's body turned over in his hands. The left side of George’s slicker was now bright red. Blood flowed into the stormdrain from the tattered hole where his left arm had been. A knob of bone, horribly bright, peeked through the torn cloth.

The boy’s eyes stared up into the white sky, and as Dave staggered away toward the others already running pell-mell down the street, they began to fill with rain.” - Stephen King - IT

So I tried to keep it simple, but Pennywise took a little more work. I think he's the best thing about the mani.

I used only one polish for this, my new Polish Me Silly - Shift Happens. I thought it was fitting to use a colour shift, as Pennywise shifts from innocent looking clown, to a horrific monster before your eyes, in the book. All other colours are acrylic paint.

Just 7 days left now! I can't believe I'm nearly done.

Check out what everyone else is doing for the challenge today.

 

Wednesday 23 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 23 : Inspired By A Movie

I had so many ideas for this one, but I was finding that the designs would be too intricate to translate to my nails. It was time to simplify and have fun.

I am pretty sure these need no introduction. In case you have been living on another planet for the last 19 years, they are Toy Story inspired.

Even though the design itself is simpler, I used much more polishes than the song challenge. So here goes :

Rimmel - White Hot Love, Coral Romance & Mind The Gap, Victoria

NYC - Prince Street & Lexington Yellow

Constance Carroll - Neon Green

Ciate - Palm Tree

Barry M - Denim

Bourjois - Santal Opulent

And red, white, black & silver acrylic paint.

I like it when a plan comes together, and it does look way better than my 2 second doodle ;-)

I am always happier when I doodle out my design first, I should really remember to do it more often.

Please have a look at the rest of the girls doing the challenge.

 

Tuesday 22 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 22 : Inspired By A Song

How do you choose just one song, out of the hundreds and thousands that spark up a memory or feeling, each time you hear it? Hard choice huh! As it's my Birthday, I chose the song that was number one, the day I was born.

I tested it out on my husband, to see if he could guess the song. He said "Spice Girls"! Just because of the Union Jack. Wrong!

Do you know what it is? Answers below ;-)

I used :

Ciate - LA Confidential

Rimmel - Riviera Red & Loafer Love For You

Acryclic paint, dotting tool & a nail art brush.

And just because I like a guessing game, here's another one based on a song. ;-)

Some of it is taken from the music video, and other parts from the lyrics. Hopefully the thumb is a big help for you.

I used :

Ciate - Boom Box & Palm Tree

Barry M - Black Multi Glitter

Picture Polish - Shocked, Altered State & Illusionist

Rimmel - White Hot Love

Acrylic paints, cosmetic sponge and a nail art brush.

 

 

I'm hoping some of you can guess at least one out of the two.... Please do check out what the rest of the group are doing for the challenge.

 

*UPDATE* The first one is Let's Dance by David Bowie, can you believe that is 31 years old now! And the second one is Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californiacation. I was hoping for some more guesses, but considering Magali guessed right almost right away, I'm happy that my effort wasn't totally wasted.

 

 

Monday 21 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 21 : Inspired By A Colour

If there is one colour that always gets me happy, it's this. Turquoise & teal has a magical essence to it, don't you think?

A while ago, one of my fave NPQ's - Magali, mentioned that my ipad cover would make a good pattern for a mani. So I gave it a go.

 

 

 

 

 

I found it difficult to focus on the pattern while painting my nails, so it is just an inspiration job. It was also a bit rushed, as I had mis copied the challenge list and I thought it was "inspired by colour"! I had missed out the "a". That ruined my plans!

I used Barry M - Guava for the base. Acrylic white and L'Oreal - Blue Reef.

 

 

 

 

 

This was the set of nails I had painted, before realising it was a single colour! I prefer the way these ones turned out, using the dry brushing technique again.

 

Please remember to have a look at everyone else's challenge nails.

 

 

 

Sunday 20 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 20 : Water Marbling

Ok, so water marbling still isn't a favourite of mine. But I do like how it looks, unlike half moons. I just wish I could do it a bit better. The mess really puts me off perfecting it, but this is probably one of my better attempts.

My original plan was to have my stamping decals as they are, and water marble some flames for the other nails, in yellow, orange, red and black, but the polishes just weren't working. So I went with Barry M - Black Multi Glitter and W7 - Fuchsia.

The decals looked out of place with a 3 - 2 combi, so I removed the marbling from the middle finger and replaced it with a plain background and dots. It's the best I could come up with whilst salvaging the work I had done.

The decals were made with MoYou - Roxy 01 and the following polishes.

Rimmel - Oh, Mr. Darcy & Red Obsession

Barry M - Silver Foil & Pomegranate

Revlon - Smoky Canvas

NYC - High Line Green

Now onto the difficult section of the challenge <grits teeth> time to get the pen and paper out!

Remember to have a look at what my challenge buddies are up to today.

 

Saturday 19 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 19 : Galaxies

I have done galaxies before, but I wanted to do something a bit different this time. My attempt with special polishes (Picture Polish - illusionist & altered state), didn't quite work out, so I returned to what I knew.

galaxy nails

Excuse the bad photo, but I was trying to highlight the glitter "stars".

I used a sponge to add the lighter colours, all at the same time, over a base of Barry M - Black Multi Glitter.

The other colours were,

NYC - Lincoln Square Lavander & Blue Sky

Revlon - Midnight Affair

Models Own - White Light

Barry M - Shocking Pink & Diamond Glitter

 

After my standard galaxy base was dry, I got out my acrylic paints - black, white, red, orange, yellow, green and silver - to add some space stuff.

My arty skills are limited, but I just went for it, and again, I resisted the temptation to put in too much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And don't forget my little green alien...... And that's how I did my galaxy nails, a little bit differently.

I am so not looking forward until tomorrow. It is water marbling...... Let's see if I can get a proper pattern out of it for once.

Please click through, and check out the challenge nails from the other girls.

 

Friday 18 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 18 : Half Moons

I didn't like half moons before, and I don't like them now. It's not a style I find attractive, and no way it can replace the forever classic, French tip. But it was called for in the challenge, so here we are.

This is probably the one and only pic you'll ever see of me doing this.

I started with a base of Picture Polish - Lagoon, which is gorgeous, I let it dry before applying 1 coat of L'Oreal - Divine Indigo on top to do the Saran Wrap technique. I ended with quite a subtle finish which was nice.

I then totally ruined it by adding the half moons....... A curved tip guide and OPI - Honey Ryder saw to that.

As I'm sure you can tell, I am not thrilled with this at all.

Be sure to check out what everyone is up to for today.

 

Thursday 17 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 17 : Glitter

Oh I had high hopes for this when I finally got my hands on some glequins, but no. It wasn't to be. I found it quite difficult with the ones I have as they weren't uniform in size. So some were placing fine, and others were too small, cut funny or just around the wrong way. Glequin glitter placement is far more difficult than it looks. I started again and this time kept it simple with these.

A single line of (almost) hex glitter, and double lines for the accent. I resisted the temptation of covering the whole nail.

The base colour is Barry M - Black Multi Glitter, which considering it is packed with teeny, weeny multi glitter, it has a great opaque coverage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a dark shot, with some light to reflect the glitter. Sparkly!

It's been a long time since I've used loose glitter in this way. I should really make better use of my stash in future.

Have a look at what the other girls are doing for the challenge. +Cynthia Lee Perez is out of the game at the moment as she has an injury, preventing her from taking part. I hope she gets better soon.

 

Wednesday 16 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 16 : Tribal Print

I admit, I was quite worried about trying this one. It's a style I've been itching to try for a while, but I always seemed to put myself off. I'm not sure if it was the propsed mess, or the patterns, but it scared me off. Now I wonder what the hell I was worried about.

tribal-print-nails

Way back, before starting the challenge, I had browsed the internet for images as inspiration for the tribal print. My intention was to try aboriginal print, but decided just to go for this. All out of my head too.

I wonder now why I've never tried before, it wasn't messy at all, in fact, probably one of my cleaner jobs recently. I kept the pattern simpleand chose two bold colours and one neutral over a white base.

I even managed to snap some how to's. Just to remind myself how freaking easy it was.

 

 

 

1. A base coat of white - Rimmel's White Hot Love, seems to be my go to, at the moment. It dries quick!

2. Using a striper brush I applied one band of Barry M - Key Lime and one band of Rimmel - Brit Pop to each nail, followed by a thinner stripe of Rimmel - Grey Matters at the right edge of each band.

3. Using my striper, I lined the colours with acrylic black.

4. Again with the acrylic and striper, I painted on my patterns, keeping each colour the same on every nail. Also a dotting tool to stick some dots it.

It doesn't seem to matter what the pattern is, but keeping each nail the same is the key.

 

Yeah, I'm quite pleased! I think I'll be trying variations of this out in the future, maybe even get my original plan into action too.

Remember to check out what everyone else is doing for the challenge.

 

Tuesday 15 April 2014

31 Day Challenge : Day 15 : Delicate Print

Yes, I struggled with this one. I lost count on how many attempts I made, and I ended up resorting to stamps again. I think it's time I sat down and planned out some more for the rest of the month, before this ends up being a total fail. So here we go.

This is just Barry M glitter, ( Superdrug Special Edition - E 334) over a base coat and stamped with one of my more delicate looking stamps.

I am a fan of my delicate stamps, and there's not many in my collection I haven't used.

This one is from MoYou Pro Collection XL 14.

I used Konad white, which I managed to fix(ish), by leaving the top off the bottle for a while. It was quite runny and appeared to be separating, but it looks much better now.

 

I did take these pics with the flash on, I never do this nowadays, but the glitter asked me to. As you know, glitter is bad for photographing, and the delicate print didn't make it much easier.

But there we go, out of the way! Phew! I'm so glad to be back on track.

Remember to check out the rest of the girls doing the challenge.

 

 

 

31 Day Challenge : Day 14 : Flowers

Ok, so I am a day behind. Oh dear.... someone drank too much on Sunday! I'm still not fully with it today, hence my super quickie with some stamps. I really didn't want to do stamping for the challenge, but steady hands, I have not.

I'm going to have to do another set for today, just to keep up. That's what I get I suppose.

Anyway, here's Picture Polish - Shocked

Stamped with Konad - Black Pearl using MoYou Pro Plate 10.

Off and onto the next one!