Hi Goddesses
How are we all? I am sorry I have been absent a lot over the last week. Real life has intervened in a really rude and scary way and I am ferociously job hunting. Truth though, I've missed blogging, and the yogic calm I get from painting my nails, but I've felt guilty whenever my mind has veered in that direction. Must Get A Job FIRST.
Anyhow, today is one of my very favourite manis that I've done for this #33DC. It's called the Distressed Mani and I originally saw it on Chalkboard Nails HERE. I liked it, but then really fell in love with it when Brit Nails did a slightly different version HERE.
The key to this mani is to apply your polish as sparingly as if it is stardust - that's like half a micro-granule of a droplet on your brush. THIS is what gives the smeared and streaky effect. More streaky = goooood. Too much droplets = saaaaad (and hard for a "slop it on" girl like me).
I like how they both remind me a little of crackle, and also of acid wash manis, and let's face it, they're splodges aren't they? No wonder they make me happy!
For my mani I used -
* w7 Black
* Essie - Orange It's Obvious
* OPI - The It Colour
* OPI Flashbulb Fuchsia (shimmer)
* Smitten Polish Imperio (glitter)
I've said this before, but AGAIN the introduction of a shimmer and a glitter added extra magic to my mani, the glitter in particular working its dazzle through the colours. Overall, this reminds me a LOT of an exotic parrot.
Me likey :)
Hi Goddesses
Today's pattern is one I wouldn't have thought of in a million years, but whilst browsing for inspiration, I came across this cushion.
I was immediately drawn to the delicate lines and the dots and the interconnectedness of the pattern, and so, here we are :)
The hardest part of this mani is that my Barry M Nail Pens did not appreciate being used over Poshe Top Coat. They really were not having it. I've got a good 2-3 coats of the pens here, and it's annoying, because I particularly like how fine the line is in the original pattern.
I used my w7 black and white again. I didn't want to use the pens on top of the polish as they can sometimes cut a groove through your polish. Maybe I'll have to experiment with matte coat next time, and see if that helps :)
Hi Goddesses
The love of the last DD theme hasn't left me, and I am still hungry for excuses to knock out a skittles mani.
Today's mani again uses 2 "cheap" polishes by w7. I think I wanted to prove that you don't have to spend a lot on your polishes to get them to do interesting things.
The thumb features a "pond mani" which has suddenly become really popular. My friend Jacki at Adventures in Acetone has done a few of them recently, and they have a gorgeous fragility that I really love. Unfortunately they require a lot of patience, as you're painting your art between thin layers of a jelly polish. This mani is for laydeez more patient than The Crumpet lol.
We then have a standard stripe pattern (mint humbugs?) and a dotty pattern, which I really like. It used 3 sizes of dotting tool to fill the space really neatly.
The ring finger is a starburst. I put a blob of white in the centre, and then used a thin art brush to whoosh it out to the sides of my nail. I had to go round at least twice to thin it out to the shape I wanted.
And finally the little finger aka the finger of running out of ideas lol. This is no more than a random doodle.
Don't forget to check out the other talented ladies!
Hi Goddesses
It's Digit-al Dozen Week again! Today we welcome the insanely talented Lindsey of Wondrously Polished and Meghan of Will Paint Nails For Food to the DD. I'm especially excited as both were featured heavily in Blogger of the Month posts earlier this year.
This month's theme is Black and White and was chosen by Missy. Gggggrrrr black and white. Where's all the colour?? Initally I hated this theme, but actually, in the end, I like every mani I've done, partly because it's put the focus on the art and the pattern, and not the colours.
So today's post is inspired by the lovely Michelle at work. It's a sad sign of how utterly one track my mind is that for the last few months, every time Michelle wears this top (almost always on a Monday), I've been thinking - that would make a cute mani. And once black and white week was announced, it was a deal.
There is no science or great mystery to this post. 2 very cheap w7 polishes and 1 dotting tool - medium sized.
For all the nails, I did the ring of 5 dots first, and then placed the centre dot at the end. Super simple. And isn't it always the case that the simple ones look the best? I'm seriously happy with this one, and Michelle and I looked great together all day :)
Hi Goddesses
This is not the mani I thought I would do for this challenge :) I started off thinking I would do my winter slippers, but as they are ALSO leopard print, I decided it was just too similar to Day 12. Then I decided to do my Animal (from The Muppets) t-shirt ... but that didn't go so well. So quite accidentally, we end up -
HERE. And here is a blouse I have. It's a black background, with green berries on it, and white whatevers linking them together.
On base we have w7 Black, the white I used is OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, and the green is the classic China Glaze, Starboard.
You'll notice my berries aren't identical to the blouse, but I really like them. I think they capture the essence of the blouse AND the mani looks cool in its own right.
Hurrah!
