Summer Challenge Day 40 - A Day At The Zoo

Hi Goddesses

Today's challenge is also known as "an excuse to use your stamping plates" lol.   If you're very clever, you can do the mani that Jacki from Adventures in Acetone did here, but if you're me, you'll do this :)

I actually had another mani all done for today, but loved it too much - so I've decided to keep it for a special theme week.  Instead, you have some stamping, some sponging, some art and some touch-up.  Ready ?

Just so there's no confusion, let's tick these beasts off, from the thumb - elephant, leopard, zebra, tiger and giraffe.

The thumb was the easiest.  2 coats of Zoya Harley, and then the same polish, darkened with a tinge of black, brushed on to make a tail, and then just as the brush was getting dry, make the tufty bits at the end of the tail.

The leopard is a white base, sponged with CG Kalahari Kiss and then with a few dabbings of CG Desert Sun.   Stamped with Konad m57.

Zebra ... ah, it all looked so good.  White base, stamped with Konad m57.   And then I Poshed, and decided there was still enough on my brush after top coating the leopard ....  Turns out there wasn't, and it dragged the stripes.  Boooooo!  So I resorted to a little touch up - it's not perfect, but it certainly hid the worst.  I used a cocktail stick and the white polish to cover the smudges.  The cocktail stick was the perfect tool, especially for a pattern that has such thin gaps between the lines.

Tiger.  He's a freehand.  White base, sponged with CG Life Preserver.   Trusty CG Ink Pot?  Check.   And then some freehand stripes.

And then we have the giraffe.   Roh dear :(   I had seen Colores de Carol do an amazing giraffe stamp using CG Desert Sun and Kalahari Kiss, so that was what I went for.  Except ... I got the colours the wrong way round, and had to start again.   Then when I did stamp, you couldn't see it, or when I double stamped it.   So I reverted to the cocktail stick to manually colour in the giraffe blobs.

Have you ever seen a giraffe?  They are the most amazing feat of engineering.  Their undercarriage is truly a work of art.  They really look like it shouldn't be possible for them to move.  Fascinating creatures.




Super chuffed with this mani.  LOVED IT.  What's your favourite zoo creature ? (mine is the lemur) Enjoy xx :)

NAILS I LOVE - Zoya - HARLEY

Nails I Love

Nails I Love is written to celebrate some of the most beautiful nail varnishes on earth and to help you choose which colours and styles will suit you. 

Each posting will feature details about the colour as well as photos.  I guarantee every photo will show the varnish as it looks on your fingers, otherwise, what’s the point ? 

Top Tip – if you’re ever unsure what a nail colour looks like, go to Google images, which will give you plenty of contrasts and compares.

ZOYA – Harley

HARLEY is from the Intimate Collection and is a super soft fluffy grey.  Really!  In the bottle, it looks to have a beigey undertone to it, but this disappears on the nail, although there is still something there giving it warmth.  It’s a beautifully soft colour with subtle underhints of mushroom and lilac lush.  This contains a massive amount of micro-shimmer which all adds to its plush effect. 

Lovely and subtle and with enough going on that it’s not remotely boring.