How to Survive The Summer Challenge

Hi Goddesses

Earlier this week, I posted details of the Purple Crumpet Fairy Summer Challenge, and it's been great to see how many of you have asked to join in.  (You can sign up by clicking here).

One of the most frequent questions since then has been - "any tips?"  Why yes, sweet ladies, yes :)  This will be my 3rd full-on challenge, although I've done a couple of minis as well.  So here, for all of you who are curious, is my guide to How To Survive A Challenge.....

1.  print it out and stick it on your wall.  It might sound silly or obvious, but it just makes it much more real.  Look at the dates - are you going to have any issues with any of them.  Just look at it, and keep looking at it, and know what you have coming up.

2.   prepare in advance.   Ideally, you'll know you're about to do the challenge before it actually starts.  Use that time wisely to get ahead.  The worst part of a challenge is realising you don't have anything prepared for today's task ... or worse, falling behind.

3.  Pace yourself.   My first challenge was the Christmas one and we did 31 consecutive days.  It was brutal.  There was just no time to sit and recover, it was march, march, march!   With the Spring Challenge and this Summer one, there are deliberately break days built in so that you can pace yourself, but also, take the time to enjoy your mani, rather than whipping it off as soon as the photos are taken.

4.  You don't have to do it in the same order.   Just because your posts have to be in a certain order does not mean your manis have to be.  In the Christmas Challenge, I somehow managed to do a beautiful angel on one finger.   Rather than obliterate her, I left her on, and only removed the other fingers.  The same angel got used 3 times, but on totally different days.  Be smart.

5.   Look for where you can "recycle" your mani.   This is where you can get a 2fer, or if you're lucky, a 3fer.   This is critical to your success.  Look for ways you can adapt one mani into becoming another.  The angel example is a classic.   Quite often, there is a day where you can just do a swatch.  This is then the perfect time to use that swatch as a base for a gradient, or a splatter, or whatever else is coming up.   Which brings me to ......

6.  Plan.   Look at what you can link together.   Look at which manis you need to do out of sync and where you can double up.  Also, use Google images or pinterest for inspiration.  Plan.   Paste pictures that inspire you, or clip art that you can use as a starting point.  It's time well spent.

7.  Have fun.  These challenges are not supposed to be a chore.  If it's not fun, STOP.   Life's too short.  Enjoy yourself, and the opportunity to explore different types of nail art, but if it becomes boring or exhausting or too time-consuming, STOP.   It's just not worth it.




I am looking forward to sharing the next challenge with you - we start in 2 and a half weeks EEEEEK! 




Enojy xx :)