Blogger of the Month - Break Rules, Not Nails

Hi Goddesses

I've been reading your answers to some of the questions on The Readers Poll Giveaway (have you entered?  you should, click here), and a frequent comment is that you miss me showcasing other blogs.  I do too, and for a few weeks, I've been thinking this amazing lady deserves some attention, so here we are :)



The blog is Break Rules, Not Nails, and it's run by the incredible Michelle, who takes talent and inventiveness to a new level.  The stuff she produces is like nothing I have ever seen before.  Now, not all of these manis are going to be to everyone's tastes, but you cannot deny the following -

* they are visually arresting, they make you stop and look
* they really ARE art
* the detail is incredible - one of the costume nails for Hallowe'en features snakeskin shed by her own snake!







I love the madness, mayhem and sheer artistic outrageousness of Michelle's work - go and give her some love -
Facebook
Blog


In the meantime, lean back, and enjoy :) xx

Crumpet Blogger of the Month - JUNE - Now Open

Hi Goddesses

The June Blogger of the Month Competition is now open.  

So, a reminder of the rules ....

- you can only enter if your blog has fewer than 500 followers

- to enter, use the Add Your Link button at the end of this post to add 1 (just one) link to your favourite blog post you have done over the last 6 weeks.  This is the only way to submit your entry.

- you have until the 27th of the month to enter, so that a winner can be chosen by the end of the month.

- the winner will be chosen based on the link they submitted, and the overall quality of their blog during the month

- the winner will be announced on The Crumpet at the end of the month, where your "prize" will be exposure for several of your blog posts on this blog.  You can also (if you want to) do a Guest Post for me.

So, that's it - go for it !  I'm really excited to see everyone's work.  I love finding and promoting new blogs, and I will try and give as many honourable mentions as I can too.

Love xx

Guest Post from Emma of Cambridge Nails - April's Nail Art Winner

Hi Goddesses

Today we have a Guest from Emma of Cambridge Nails who won the April Nail Art Contest.  Without further ado - here we go!

********************************************************

Wow a guest post on The Crumpet and I'm so excited, I love The Crumpet. I won the April Amateur Nail Art Contest with my Daisy Chain nails so this is completely different. I decided to go for a geometric design that I've been planning all week. It's based on this type of optical illusion (by ParrotBoy) where you can see the cubes in 3D and they flip in and out. I decided to do this as an accent nail mani as it would get a bit too much if it were on every nail.

I think this turned out really well although the black could have done with a little bit more of a going over (one of those things the camera brings up which isn't visible in real life). It's not as good as on a  flat surface because my nails are very curved so the perspective isn't quite right.

I tried a few different weird hand poses to get both my accent nails in a similar orientation but this was the best one. What I mean by the cubes flashing in and out is that the turquoise diamonds can be either the top or the bottom of the cubes, clever huh?

The polishes involved are NYC Blue Sky, Nails Inc Hampstead Heath, Barry M Indigo and Barry M Black nail art pen. I used a small nail art brush to fill in the squares I had mapped out with the colours and then went over with the nail art pen to outline. If anyone wants a tutorial I'm happy to show you how I mapped out the pattern on my nails.

I want to say thanks to Debbie for hosting such an awesome nail art contest which encourages people like me who are just starting out to enter and for allowing me to write a guest post :).

Winner - April Blogger of the Month !!

Hi Goddesses

Erm .... how do I say this - sorry?  I just had too many blog posts to do, and this one takes HOURS to compile so I am so sorry this is delayed.  If it makes you feel better, it's all your fault lol.  There were 50 entrants this month, all of whom were AMAZING, and it takes time to sit, read and rank 50 blogs.

For this reason, there is no competition for May, but both Blogger and the Nail Art Competition will be back for June.

Ok, this is THE HARDEST MONTH EVER for picking a winner.   So, I am going to show you 5 amazing blogs, and then tell you who I picked.

First up we have a blog I am hearing a lot about at the moment - Sarah Lou Nails.  I LOVE the crazy colourfulness of this mani -

I also loved these - beautiful - 

Then we have Valiantly Varnished - I love how tasteful everything is on this blog.

Then we have Will Paint Nails for Food.  I've been aware of this blog for a few months, but Meghan suddenly seems to have broken through to the next level.  She's become a great swatcher, but also delivers cool nail art.

Next we have Nails at 2am which I think I have mentioned before - this is a blog just dripping with cool.

And finally a blog that is new to me - Brush Me Blush - this is insanely awesome!

Phew!  See what I mean?  How on earth do you choose from these 5 blogs, they are ALL awesome.  This is the biggest struggle I have ever had in trying to pick a winner.   I want to cop out and say that all 5 have won, but ....

Ok, my winner is ......  Brush Me Blush, very closely followed by Will Paint Nails for Food, whose level of output is relentless.  I know from experience how hard it is to try and deliver quantity AND quality.

So Ria, if you would like to get in touch on crumpet@the-crumpet.com we can arrange your guest post, and Meghan, we can arrange one too if you're interested.

Wow - EPIC blogs ladies, EPIC xx

April Blogger of The Month

Hi Goddesses

The April Blogger of the Month Competition is now open.  

So, a reminder of the rules ....

- you can only enter if your blog has fewer than 500 followers

- to enter, use the Add Your Link button at the end of this post to add 1 (just one) link to your favourite blog post you have done over the last 6 weeks.  This is the only way to submit your entry.

- you have until the 27th of the month to enter, so that a winner can be chosen by the end of the month.

- the winner will be chosen based on the link they submitted, and the overall quality of their blog during the month

- the winner will be announced on The Crumpet at the end of the month, where your "prize" will be exposure for several of your blog posts on this blog.  You can also (if you want to) do a Guest Post for me.

So, that's it - go for it !  I'm really excited to see everyone's work.  I love finding and promoting new blogs, and I will try and give as many honourable mentions as I can too.

Love xx

Winner - March Blogger of the Month

Hi Goddesses

Let's find out who won the Match Blogger of the Month.

Just before we start, Little Miss Nail Polish who won last month, I don't think you've contacted me about your guest post.  I don't remember seeing anything, so please email me on crumpet@the-crumpet.com to set something up.

Ok, so ... eenie meenie miney mo .... this is getting harder you know, especially as there are now some familiar faces in there, and blogs I know I have mentioned in previous months. Have any of them improved from a favourable to a win?  We shall see.

Mentions first ....   Cazzy from Special Girl Nails.   Quirky.  uses matte top coat a lot.  Visually interesting.

And this one, which I thought was HILARIOUS !!

Next we have Denise from Dizzy Little Digits.  A great blog - you can see Denise is getting better through posting consistently.  This was my favourite of hers - truly awesome.

I also LOVED bunny :)

And now .. to the winner.  I think this has been the toughest month to judge.  All 3 ladies are awesome, and the only thing for me that makes the winner stand out is a little more consistency - there was just more of her work that I personally liked, but all 3 ladies are awesome.

Anyway, step forward, Megan of Meg's Manicures !!!!!!!!!

Well done Megan!!  Please contact me to get your guest post arranged :)

Seriously, well done to all 3 ladies, all of your blogs are wonderful xx :)