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Friday, 3 August 2012

Friday Friends - Katee from A Girl and Her Polish

Hi Goddesses



Today's Friday Friend is a lovely lady who is sooooo friendly, she's doing an awesome swap with me, as we speak!


Katee blogs as A Girl and Her Polish.  Her nail art is always clean and colourful, and regularly makes me growl with envy.  One of the things I most love about her blog is that she photographs her nail art at each stage, so you get a total picture of how the mani has evolved.  Great if like me you ever turn your head 90 degrees and say "how DID she do that?" :)

Over to Kateeeeeeeeeee xx

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What is your name and what is your blog 
Katee
A Girl and Her Polish – www.agirlandherpolish.blogspot.com
Twitter - @AGirlaHerPolish

What can we expect to see on your blog / How would you describe your style / your blog’s style
My blog is mainly about my successes and failures with nail art.  I use stamping and freehand to create new and inspired designs.  I do my best to provide step-by-step instructions so that anyone who wants to try the design knows what to do.  I have recently started adding swatches due to so many requests by my readers.  My goal is to show people that you don’t have to be an artist to create amazing designs!

Why did you decide to start the blog –
I decided to start my blog because sharing my photos on my Facebook page was not enough.  I wanted to share my new hobby with others who would find inspiration like I did from other nail bloggers.  It was more of a way to share and collect all the different ideas I was trying.  It also justified my new obsession with buying nail polish! J


How many followers do you have / how many visitors do you get a day / if you have an established blog, how have you “built” your following
Right now I have 722 readers.  I average between 150-190 visitors a day.  My FaceBook page has 1464 likes. I am in no way an established blog, but I spend a lot of time reading and commenting on other blogs.  I think that this is a big reason my blog has grown.  If I am going to take the time to read your blog I am going to leave a comment that is more than “Cool, check me out!”  I don’t promote my blog, other than the 2 giveaways I had.  I want people to read my blog because they are interested in what I am doing, that’s what means the most.


What do you do in the real world, and how do you fit blogging in with your lifestyle ?
In real life I am a High School Social Studies Teacher.  I have a lot of free time in the evenings during the week to play around with different designs and that is when I do the majority of my blogging or preparing to blog.  My students and co-workers love my hobby!  They can’t wait to see what I have done and are always looking to see and comment on my nails. They are very supportive!


What is the favourite post you have done 
Really??? My favourite post??? It’s so hard to narrow it down to one!!  I am going to go with my owl mani.  One of the reasons that I decided to start my blog was because I was inspired by Nailasaurus and Cris at Let Them Have Polish.  These were the first bloggers that I found and read.  My owls were a dedication to Cris.  I loved the owls that she did and know I wanted to recreate it! I was also one of my first, perfect freehand designs!

What is your most popular ever post – pls provide photo and link
My most popular ever post was my swatches of butter LONDON’s Lillibet’s Jubilee.   I’m actually surprised because I thought it would be a nail art post!


Which blogger do you most admire / who do you follow / who are your go to bloggers
The blogger I most admire is Sammy at Nailasaurus.  She is someone that I have followed from the beginning and I just love her.  I think everything she does is amazing!  Her nail art abilities are what I aspire to achieve. 
I follow so many bloggers that it would take forever to list.  I typically look for bloggers that have awesome nail art and take great pictures. 


When blog posts go wrong – pls share a photo and link of a blog post of your own that you are ashamed of / wish you could redo / didn’t turn out how you wanted it to.  
I had a student request a mani using dark purple, lime green and yellow.  The results were horrible!


Pick a further 3 manis of your choice from your blog
The following design is a fav because it was the first design that people really started noticing what I was doing.

I love this design because it was the first time that I made stamping my bee-yotch!  It turned out perfect and I was so excited about it!


For the last one I am going with my Spring Watermarble.  The first time I had a watermarble turn out the way it should! And the colors were gorgeous!


Finally your stash – talk about your favourite brands, colours, must have tools, your “number” etc
My favourite brands are Essence, butter LONDON and Barry M.  I have others this are great but these 3 are always at the top of my list.  Right now my favourite color is white!  I go bananas for a white mani!  I also like purples, blues and greens.  My must have tools are my clean up brush, cuticle pusher and dotting tools.
I can’t give you a number because I haven’t counted my stash.  Let’s just say that I have one PACKED Helmer and polish hidden in various places in a closet. Shhhh, don’t tell the hubby! J
I plan on creating a list this summer with swatches! That’s my summer break task! J

Oh and one last thing – what tip would you share with someone who is thinking about starting a blog ?
Make sure that you are starting a blog for the right reasons.  Nail blogging isn’t about getting stuff for free, it’s about sharing your love of all things nail polish related.  I love sharing everything I am learning about in the nail polish world and that comes across in my posts, makes them interesting.  If the love doesn’t come across, no one will care to read your blog.
Also, clean up your nails and get a good camera.  No one likes to look at nails that are covered in polish or blurry pictures.  If we can’t see what you are doing why post it?


Let’s Get Personal
What’s your earliest polish memory
I don’t know??? Maybe getting my nails done for the first time in high school and thinking I was so special because I had tips!  That’s right SPECIAL!!! J

Fave film
I don’t have one favourite film I have a library.  Watching movies and tv is one of my favourite things to do. 

Fave type of music
I listen to music that makes me feel something, which could be in almost any genre.  Most of the music I listen to is out of the UK.  I LOVE Robbie Williams!  I play his music the most.

How old are you lol
In all seriousness this is something that I am always getting wrong! For some reason I cannot remember how old I am! I’m serious!! I can never remember and I can’t do the math in my head!  Let’s see…2011 – 1977 =34?

Are you a cat or dog person
Definitely a dog person, now if my hubby would finally let me get one!!!

Fave book
This is another I can’t answer!  A couple years ago the hubby bought me a Kindle in the hope that I would stop buying books.  He was getting sick of all the bookcases throughout the house!  My books are my children and there are not many that I don’t like.  The series that I have read so many times is the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon.  However lately they have not been that good. L

If you won £5million on the lottery, what would you do
Paying off all my bills, buy a house, give some to my mom and sister, quit my job and move to Maine, might take the hubby with me! J

What inspires you
Inspiration comes to me in many different ways: things people do and say, movies, books, places and spaces.  To me it’s about making a connection.

Share a quote that means a lot to you
You're the only wife I've got or ever will have. You are my whole existence, and I will love you until my very last breath.” This is from Young Victoria.  It is exactly how I feel about my husband and it makes me all warm and fuzzy every time I hear/read it!