Monkey See Monkey Do Monday - Week 3 - Blue Pastel Dots

Hi Goddesses  

Behold, for there was a miracle in England today, and the Lord did bringeth the sunshine !!!  So today, you get garden backdrops, a little bit of shadow, but LOTS of natural light - wooo hoooo !!

So, to the mani, and if I'm honest, I ran out of time this week.  I had a bit of a blogging log jam over the weekend, so this week's one is a bit fly, but valid nonetheless.

MSMD is about what inspires you.  Often, that is other people's nails.  This week, it's some wrapping paper we had in the office for our Birthday Club - look, isn't it pretty ?

I fell in love with it when I saw it, and it is both sad AND true that my 2nd thought was, "I could so do that pattern on my nails".  So, lol, I did.

This is a base of 2 coats of Models Own Beth's Blue, one of my favourite blues, dotted with large white dots, and then filled with smaller dots of  -

* OPI Sparrow Me The Drama

* Cult Nails Manipulative

* Sally Hansen Delphinium

* Barielle Myrza's Meadow

* CG Lemon Fizz

I am a little annoyed that the dots on my left hand are wonkier, but I guess that's to be expected, right ?  Also, there's a spot on my right index finger that I had to redo 3 times.  3 !!  Every time I plopped a dot of Sparrow Me The Drama on it, I knocked it on something - very annoying!

But look, can you even TELL where the paper ends and my hand begins ?  Lol.

This is super easy, and really pretty.  It was a surprise winner in the office today - everyone seemed to really like it, which was nice.  I'm a bit pastelled out at the moment, but this is a nice change to all the heavy glitter I'm about to bring your way.  Oh yeah :)

Enjoy xx :)

The Giveaway Winner .... and some help please :)

Hi Goddesses   

Thank you to everyone who entered the Giveaway, and a SPECIAL big thanks to everyone who took the time to leave feedback.

I'll announce the winner in a minute but first I'd like your help.  The feedback always throws up some interesting ideas, so I would REALLY appreciate it if you would leave comments below or on my Facebook page (here) with your thoughts on the following - 

* apparently some of you would like to see tutorials.  I've never considered myself neat and tidy enough before to do them so .... do you want them, and if so, what sort of tutorials would you like to see ?

* would you like to see a series on really basic nail art how to ? eg layering, gradients, dotting tools?

* remember, you can set me a challenge at any time via either the OVER TO YOU tab at the top of my page or via FB - is there a comparison you want to see, or do you have an idea for a post ?  Let me know!

* after the Summer Challenge, I will probably be embracing shorter challenges - do you prefer that idea ?

* do you like Theme Weeks like Independents Week - do you like to know what's coming up?

Thank you - all your comments will be really appreciated.

And so to our winner ..... who is .....

Sandra from http://maggienails90.blogspot.pt

Congratulations Sandra, your 2 Models Own glitters will be on their way to you very soon :)

Enjoy xx :)

Picture Polish DENIM v Essie SMOOTH SAILING

Hi Goddesses  

A short little post today, featuring Picture Polish Denim, and its kissing cousin, Essie Smooth Sailing.

You can see my original post on Denim here - I love it, it's a great mix of a vibrant colour and a unique texture.   All the time I was wearing it, I wondered how similar it was to Smooth Sailing, so here they are.

Denim = index + ring

Smooth Sailing = middle + pinkie

At first glance, and from a normal distance (ie without bringing the hand any closer than it would normally be), these are spot on identical, however, bring them closer, and the subtle differences appear.

Denim is the more intense of the two - deeper and more opaque.  It also has more visible flecking, with the white specks quite noticeable.  Smooth Sailing, on the other hand, is a smoothed out version of Denim, easier on the eye, and with more subtlety.   It's like it whizzed Denim through the blender and the white flecks evened out.

I don't need both however, so Smooth Sailing is now on its way to its new Momma, El Road.  Oh, and if you haven't succumbed to Picture Polish yet, you really should - you can get a good selection on Llarowe.






Enjoy xx :)

LOST-athon - The End & A BIIIIIG Round Up

Hi Goddesses  

I have LOVED this week in Nail-Land.  Not only did I get to celebrate the best TV series of all time on my nails, I got to do it with 5 of my best polish friends - Bee, Kirsten, Emma, Kerrie and Stamping Sarah.

We've had the best of times doing these manis, and we've rehashed and re-cried about some of our favourite moments from the show.  I don't think there will EVER be a TV show like it, and that makes me sad, but thank God for boxed sets and summer holidays.  Also, Beth has been itching to watch it for a while, and as she's almost 9, I don't think that's such a good idea.  Hell, most of us adults couldn't follow it, can you imagine how long it would take to watch an episode with her with all the questions she'd have?  Lol. Anyways, we wanted to end with a celebration, and a thank you, to each other, and to you, our readers who have left some lovely comments this week.  Thank you.

My collage round up -

I'm not sure which of my manis is my favourite, but I definitely love some more than others.  Season 5 makes me smile, and I also really like Season 2.  Now, onto the other Lost lovelies - 

My favourite mani of Bee's came from Season 4, JUST.  It was a tough call.  All of Bee's manis were brilliant, and her level of LOST knowledge was phenomenal.  This also led her to doing some really specific images on her nails which didn't even occur to me - Mittelos BioScience, anyone?  Bravo Bee, I think your manis are the best of all of us.   You can check out all of Bee's posts on her blog, here.  (I especially love Daniel Faraday's tie on this one).

My favourite mani of Kirsten's came from Season 1.  I love that she did a turnip, and I also love that she did an island.   You should also check out her Season 6 post for added spookiness!   You can check out all of Kirsten's posts on her blog, here.

My favourite mani of Emma's came from Season 3.  Picking my fave Emma mani was really hard because all of hers felt very different to me.  I loved how she did Kate's engagement ring in Season 4, and I also loved her day-glo Season 2 mani.   You can check out all of Emma's posts on her blog, here.

My favourite mani of Sarah's came from Season 3.  I love Sarah dearly, but she IS the stamping goddess, so for me, the best parts of this challenge have been when she has done manis that DON'T involve stamping.  I've also loved that she's gone into detail about how she creates her base colours - really informative.   You can check out all of Stamping Sarah's posts on her blog, here.

My favourite mani of Kerrie's came from Season 2, where she depicted those numbers.  Hands up if you were OBSESSED with the numbers lol.   You can check out all of Kerrie's posts on her blog, here.

And that's it. LOST will never die.  It is one of my Top 5 entertainment / art experiences ever, up there with Sylvia Plath, Kate Bush's Hounds of Love, Star Wars and the Harry Potter books ..... more on which ..... soon :)

Lots of love, and thank you, we're so glad you enjoyed xxx  :)

Stamping Sunday - Queensday!

Hi Goddesses  

Apparently, today is Queensday in Holland, which by the sounds of it, is a great excuse for a celebration, merriment and general happiness.   So the challenge today was to create something that either echoed that or matched the Dutch colours.  Personally, I love the idea - how else would I EVER have stumbled across doing a Queensday mani.

This is a very simple post, so it's quite a short one. It's not my best mani, but hopefully it represents the theme and does my Dutch friends proud :)

I've been wearing HITS Hula for most of the week, a deliciously juicy orange flakey, with an accent nail of HITS Salsa (the pink one).  It seemed to make the perfect base, so on top of this I stamped a gold crown using Mash 19 and Barry M gold foil.

This looked a little lonely, and I didn't want to do more crowns, so I then used a stamp I would never have otherwise turned to - Konad m64 and did white arches with Konad white polish.  I then added some Queenly sparkle with the holographic Out The Door top coat.

So, as I said, not the most stunning mani, but the heart is in the right place.    Claudia, Diana, Malinka and my other friends - enjoy your weekend xxx

Enjoy xx :)

Recycled Nails - Purple Holo Dots

Hi Goddesses  

If you go down to the woods today .... lol.  If you head over to Nails Adored, I am today's guest poster while Jamie has a well deserved break.   I seriously recommend you check out her blog.  You can also read my post below -

Well hello Jamie's readers.  Today you belong to The Crumpet mwahahahaha.  Lol.  For those of you who don't know me, I have a strange sense of humour.  I like pretty nails and pussycats and White Reeces and ... oh sorry, the mani ?

Ah yes, it's not easy turning your blog over to someone else.  I love that Jamie's posts and photos are always so clean and simple, and I wanted to do something that would fit in with her blog.

I'm a bit more wordy than she is, so bear with, but today I bring you - Recycled Nails.  Yes!  This is my own personal challenge that I have, where I allow myself to "just" paint my nails if I am running low on time, as long as the on the 2nd day, I do something to jazz them up.

So this is Dutch Ya Just Love OPI and its Day 2 makeover, courtesy of a dotting tool, Parlez Vous OPI, OPI DS Original and Sally Hansen Delphinium.

It's a really simple look.  The larger dots are created with the largest dotting tool, and stretched a little, and then have a smaller dot inside them for contrast.   I love the impact of the DS Original dots, but boy they made photographing this hard.  Between the white light of the room I take photos in, the holo AND the glossiness of Poshe, my poor camera just didn't know what to do with itself - hence all the glare.

Feel free to meander over and take a look at my blog - if you like it, it's all credit to Jamie as she designed the funky layout for me.

Thanks for putting up with me today :)  xxx

LOST-athon Season 6

Hi Goddesses  

Season 6 .... sob .... sigh .... I'm still really conflicted about Season 6.   On the one hand, I think it is pure spiritual perfection, and I congratulate Darlton on honouring their commitment that however the show ends, it would stay true to the characters.   

I love the reappearance of Desmond, the "loophole", the reunion of Jin and Sun, the submarine, the lighthouse, the candidates, Richard's back story ... all of it sooo sooo rich.

And yet I hate the whole crap with the temple, I still don't know what the fuck really happened to Sayid, and ugh, I still don't even know if I buy the whole "sideways" world.   So yes, colour me conflicted.

Those of you who know me on Facebook, know me as a creature who likes my sleep.  The last episode of Lost was shown around the world at the same time, and I got up at 5am to watch.  There is nothing else in the whole wide world that would have made me do that (I barely used to hear my baby in the middle of the night) and I remember going to work so frustrated (with the ending) and annoyed that I hadn't booked the day off to watch it over and over and surf the net for theories and answers.

So I got home from work, jumped online, and read my favourite reviewers, and gradually, it all began to make sense.  And then I watched it again, and sobbed for about half an hour.   There is majesty to that episode, sheer majesty, but the whole sideways thing still feels a little trite to me.  Just a little.

Oh and then bloody stupid ABC muppets who ran footage of the plane wreckage over the final credits!!  Do you know, I still meet people who think Jack dreamt the whole thing.  No, it was just a twat at ABC.  And this was the island, not Dallas.

So, to my final set of nails.   Well actually, my final 2 sets, cos there's a special bonus at the end :)

The thumb depicts where the season started - the surprise death of Jacob, with Ben, the arch manipulator, perfectly manipulated.  This is Jacob's sandy cave, and the firepit he was thrown into.  This is Essie Jazz with some Metro Chic rocks.  Fire courtesy of CG Orange Marmalade and OPI The It Color.

The index finger depicts the black and white theme which, although it has been there since Season 1, really came to fruition in Season 6.  This is a base of Zoya Dove and then my usual black and white.

The middle finger represents the emotional centre of the season - the bittersweet reunion of Jin and Sun.  Who would ever have guessed that the cracked marriage of Season 1 would turn into the love story that defined the show?  A masterful emotional tour de force, this is their final moment, their wedding rings shining in a sea of WnW Blue Wants To Be A Millionaire.  Mattified.

The ring finger is the church.  The hokey trite Sideways church, although those final moments again .... man, they were skilfully done.  I think this is also the time to comment on Michael Giacchino's scoring.  The music has always been an integral part of Lost, propelling key moments to their emotional crescendo, and never more so than in the moment where Jack hugs every member of the congregation.   (Oh and I know my church sucks, but man, this has been a beast of a challenge on a tight schedule lol).

And finally, just like the show, we end where we began, with Jack's eye.  One of the many reasons I love Darlton, right there.  Along with the symmetry - seasons 1 and 6 are island, 2 and 5 are Dharma and 3 and 4 are about getting off the island.  Genius.  

So, what's your bonus ?  Welllll, it's just irresistible isn't it, the black smoke over all 5 nails :)

To tell you truth, I am a little bummed with my Season 6 nails.  I feel really disappointed that I am ending with my weakest mani rather than my strongest, and all week I've agonised whether to change them or not.  To be fair it's the church.  I can't for the life of me think why I thought it was a good idea to do it with the brush from the bottle rather than with a dotting tool or smaller brush.  Sloppy Crumpet!

For the black smoke snaking through the jungle, I started with a base of Nails Inc Porchester Square (a lovely creamy taupe), acetone washed some CG Agro over the top in vertical strokes to replicate the bamboo, and then sponged black on top.

Ah LOST, how I miss you.  There has never been a TV show able to stir my emotions the way this show did.  Thanks to Bee, Kirsten, Emma, Kerrie and Sarah for taking this journey with me.  The thing we've all agreed on is how doing the manis has made us want to go back and watch it all over again, especially after we blubbed to some awesome YouTube clips.   I'll leave you with the best one right now, but if you wonder where I am over the next few weeks, in front of the TV with a box of tissues might be a good answer :)

So that's ALMOST it.  There just *might* be something special tomo to wrap up the series from all of us - 


Bee - Bee Polished
Emma - Manicurity
Stamping Sarah - Spellbinding Nails
Kirsten - Geeky Owl
Kerrie - Pish Posh and Polish

Thanks for sharing this with us xxx 




Namaste :)




http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=O9_F6qCw3_A 

LOST-athon Season 5

Hi Goddesses  

Season 5 is a strange beast.  Ask me outright, and I wouldn't say it was one of my favourites, but once I started breaking it down and planning my mani ... well, let's just say that emotionally, it's a Season that packs a HELL of a wallop.

My great sadnesses of Season 5 are Charlotte and Daniel - I loved those characters sooooo much, and I could have happily lived with them for another 3 years.  Miles, however, is one of my absolute faves, and I LOVE that he got to move centre stage.

It was the unexpected moments that gave Season 5 it's highlights - finding Jin, Rousseau, Locke (in that same relaxed beachside pose he had in Season 1), the unexpected bloom of love between Sawyer and Juliet, the Greek tragedy of Daniel and his mother and the Hitler argument, embodied by young Benjamin Linus.   Oh and Sun with the canoe paddle.  I loved that A LOT lol.

There is one thing though that sticks in my craw from Season 5.  Remember in the first few episodes, when the island was hopping through time, Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, Charlotte, Frank and Miles were in a giant canoe, paddling through a tropical storm, when they came under rifle fire from another boat.  I was CONVINCED that was THE story that was going to break my heart more than Charlie's death once we got to Season 6  ...... and yet it never came up.  I really really regret that.  Oversight ?  Maybe.  Or maybe my mind is just too dramatic lol.

So, on to the nails, and these are pretty much all Dharma-Days related, except one.

On the thumb, we have the VW camper van that featured in so many scenes lol.  This is SH Insta-Dri in Brisk Blue, with SH White On and SH Celeb City for the trimmings.   The van features in an immortal moment between Miles and Hurley, where it's revealed Hurley has been writing a little story called Star Wars ..... classic.

Next we have Charlotte's nose bleed.  Poor Charlotte.  I really dug (fnar fnar) her whiny yet spunky character, and I didn't want her to die so soon.  But die she did, and it was a gooooood death, very dramatic, lots of build up, lots of pathos.   This is 2 coats of I don't know what lol - some SH that's a milky jelly, and then sponging with my favourite blood, OPI Royal Rajah Ruby.

Middle finger is the hideous Dharma jumpsuits lol, greige before such a colour existed.  This is 2 coats of Nails Inc Porchester Square, with Konad White and then the octagon was made with my CG Ink pot.

Ring finger .... LaFleur.  Ah, LaFleur.   Just when you thought Sawyer couldn't get any dreamier or hotter or more noble or HOTTER, he went and grewed up and got HOTTER.  Bless him.    Sawyer, what a leader.  I'll follow,  me, me.  This is 2 coats of Urban Decay Exhaust, and then the flower is OPI The It Color, with a CG Agro stem and a CG Harvest Moon centre.

And the little finger is Juliet.   To be fair, she's a character I never really liked, and it's ironic, because it's the things she did for survival that turned me off her.  Yet with Sawyer, she was redeemed, and the minute she walked onto the set of the last episode wearing the infamous Red Shirt, we knew she was doomed (plus she'd signed to star in another series, but we'll ignore that).   So this is my homage to the red shirts, of all seasons, who are always bloodied, sweatied, or both. This is 2 coats of Barielle Thrilling and then my usual sponging with RRR blood.

And so there we left Season 5, on a precipice, mid-breath, waiting to see whether The Incident was THE Incident, or whether something else had happened and time would be rebooted.  Little did we know that we wouldn't get ALL the answers we wanted, and yet somehow we would get answers we forgot to ask for.




Don't forget to check out what's going on with the other Lostathon Lovelies -

Emma at Manicurity
Bee at Bee Polished
Kirsten at Geeky Owl
Kerrie at PishPosh and Polish
and Sarah (stamping Sarah with all the stamping plates) at Spellbinding Nails  


Until tomorrow, the final .. sob .. day - enjoy xx :) and Namaste