31DC2015 Day 26 Fishbraid

Hi Goddesses

I absolutely LOVE fishbraid manis, there's just something about the triple whammy of colour that warms my heart, but sometimes they can be a beast to do.

My success rate is about 50/50 with them, which really pees me off, as my first one was perfect, and I wasn't prepared for failure to come AFTER.   What I've earned since is that there are a LOT of variables ready to ruin your fishbraid, and I'll go through them soon in a SIMPLES tutorial.

Today we have a stunning colour combo.  In fact, the base is so delicious, it's going to get it's own post.  It's Scattering Sunlight from Lilypad Lacquer (via a duo Nicole did with Octopus Party Nail Lacquer), and it's just incredible.   You can have a little peek now, but for details on exactly HOW incredible, you need to come back in a couple of days.

To make my fishbraid, I wanted to highlight some of the colours in the polish, so picked Barry M Blood Orange for my red, and my beloved OPI Sparrow Me The Drama (below the halfway line now - eeeeek!) for the pink.

I love how these 3 polishes work together, and I was actually quite sad to take this one off.

An InLinkz Link-up

Digit-al Dozen DOES Monochrome - Pink Mosaic

Hi Goddesses

How are you?   I know it's Monday, but it's DD Week:)  This week's theme is monochrome, which was harder than it sounded.  Also, we have an amazing Giveaway - be sure to check it out.

So, I start the week with pink.  I was going for a mosaic design, but I think I *may* have accidentally ended up with a zebra lol.

My polishes are -
* OPI Steady As She Rose
* OPI Sparrow Me The Drama
* Layla Soft Touch Neon Pink
* ILNP A Few Shah (holo)
* Elevation Polish Ave Secretan

I did this mosaic differently to how I've done others, and as long as your base colour allows it, I'd say this is easier.  Previously, I've drawn black lines on my nail and then coloured them in.  This time, I painted my nail the palest colour, and then added random shapes on top - no lines.

I really love the simplicity of this - the colours also work beautifully together.

And finally ... I promised you Baby Crumpet would be more involved this year.  Well, her first contribution is Editorial, and this week, she will be giving her opinions on my nail art.  So, what did you think Boo Boo?

Lol, don't forget the Giveaway, and don't forget the other awesome ladies of the DD xx

Digit-al Dozen DOES Skittles - ALL The Pinks!

Hi Goddesses

Wow, how's your week been?  Mine has been long, like super long.  I feel like it should have been Friday 2 days ago already!  With that in mind, I'll probably only get one of tonight's scheduled posts up, that and the fact the Chinese has just arrived AND UK TV are showing Glee The Quarterback tonight.

So we end the week as we began, with a pink mani, and again, whimsy was in the air!  There's a lot of doodling going on, and I am particularly proud of the freehand spiral.

We've got a sort of ombre going on too, with Butter London Snog, OPI Hoodoo Voodoo, Zoya Lolly (not very impressed with the formula) and OPI Sparrow Me The Drama.

Yes, that's the gradient we started the week with :)  and the basket weave pattern turns out not to be too difficult either.

Enjoy your weekend - mine will be spent (where else) in the nail room.  I desperately need to get AHEAD on some of these challenges :) xx

Digit-al Dozen DOES Skittles! For Breast Cancer Awareness

Hi Goddesses

It's Skittles Week on The Digit-al Dozen this week, and I am SOOOOOO excited.  I've wanted to do a skittles week for ages!

Why?  Well because they're fun.  They're quick and easy.  They allow you to use more than 1 untried at a time AND they are a great way to experiment.  Example - pissed off with watermarbling after just one nail?  Don't worry, make it 1 nail in your skittle!

It's also an ALL NEW Digit-al Dozen this month as we welcome Emily, Nory, Shelly and Jolene - I am sure they are all going to be fabulous.  And talking of fabulous, have you checked out the new Digital Dozen blog and FB page yet?  We've created a whole online experience to share our love of nail art, and all the tips we've picked up along the way.  Make sure you click HERE to go to the blog, where can follow us in every way possible :)

So, finally, today's skittles.   I decided to do some breast cancer awareness skittles, as I hadn't done a BCA mani yet.  I love how the whole beauty community comes together to support this issue - hopefully soon there will be a cure.

And YES that is a boobie on my middle nail lol!  And the cancer ribbon on my ring finger.  After that we have a gradient, some dots and a little bit of doodling.  Simples.

For this mani I used OPI Hoodoo Voodoo from my heap of untrieds, plus my most used pink, OPI Sparrow Me The Drama.  "Skin" and subtlety courtesy of Barry M Matte Vanilla.

Digit-al Dozen DOES Fashion - Leopard Print Flip Flops

Hi Goddesses

Sorry that I am posting so late tonight.  Beth and I have had an epic day out with her beloved Auntie Fluffy, and I am super in love with my purchases, which I will show you over the weekend.

Today's post was the last mani I did for Fashion Week.  Sometimes, you look and you look, and you just can't find the right pattern, and then other days, you look, and you find inspiration in the weirdest of places.

So yes, today is inspired by a pair of flip flops lol.   I think most of us love leopard print, and it's hard to resist when that also involves more than 1 colour.  I also liked that the colours were pastel, as that's not a colour scheme you usually associate with a violent carnivore lol.

Above you see my polishes, and also the base.  This was done by painting each nail one of the 5 colours, and then adding random colour blocking and brush strokes.  With hindsight, I really wish I had used more lemon.  It's a colour I hate, but there's no denying that it helps the pattern pop more - a great example of how sometimes you have to go against your gut for the best results.

The stamping this time was from a stamping plate, the Wild At Heart Cheeky Jumbo Plate 9.  Usually I freehand, but I wanted this mani to have uniformity.   Finally, a little bit of white acrylic to colour in some of the spots.

Overall, despite the use of pukey pastels, I really like this mani.  It also features one of my favourite nail art tricks - a multi-coloured base.  They are not difficult to do, and really help a mani add up to so much more than the sum of its parts.

Enjoy xx :)