Jacava Water Marble

Morning Goddesses

And yes you heard right - Crumpet did a water marble!   They are one of my very very favourite nail art techniques, but I really struggle with them for a variety of reasons I've bored you with before.  I do think I am starting to eliminate the culprits though, and I am hoping to practice practice practice until I am GOOOOOOD lol.

This watermarble features the 3 Jacava polishes I was sent for review - Mont Blanc, Blueberry Muffin and Knightsbridge Opulence.  I think they work really well together.

Whilst I do like how this turned out, I am obviously drawn to the imperfections lol.  It bugs me that the ring finger is crisp and clean and the others are muddier - anyone have any ideas about that?

I also like how, totally by accident, the index and middle finger look like I've created a butterfly haha.

So water marble, still my favourite - to look at, not to do lol.

Enjoy xx :)

30 Days of Purple - Day 1 - Water Marble

Hi Goddesses

Wow, thanks so much for your response to the teaser post I put out earlier - crikey, all that expectation ups the pressure a little lol.

I decided there was only one way to start - with a water marble.  There is nothing I love more on a nail than a water marble, and those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will know the difficulty I've been having with marbling recently.  To cut a very long story short, I think the nail room has been too cold or drafty, and that was why I couldn't get the bullseye to spread.  Oh and also, British water prefers a glass la de dah. No, no cheap plastic cups for our marbling darling, nooooooo.

This is probably the best water marble I've ever done, which seems fitting for today!  It's not perfect, not by a long shot, but most importantly, it's ENCOURAGING, and now I'm excited to try another.

The base for this is the stunning Sally Hansen Delphinium, which you'll be seeing quite a lot of this month.  It's so dreamy and beautiful, and also the perfect base.

I then marbled with all OPIs - My Boyfriend Scales Walls, Planks A Lot and Ink.   I'm lazy, so I never do 1 finger per dip.  I marble 3 times - thumb; index and middle; ring and pinkie - and you can usually tell this from the pattern.

All in all, I like how these turned out.  Thumb - nearly perfect.  Index and middle - wow, look how FINE that detail is .... until I splodged it popping the water bubble.  Ring and pinkie - like the ring, hate the pinkie.

I've got lots of art and stamping in store for you - if there's anything you're keen to see, I haven't planned all the days yet, so I'm open to Reader's Challenges !  Ha ha.

Enjoy xx :)

Stamping Sunday Meets Recycled Nails - Circles!

Hi Goddesses

Wow, can you believe it's July?  I can't.  Typically, as I look out my window at the British summer, all I can see is wind, black clouds and looming rain.  Triffic.  Do they not know I have HOLOS I want to wear?

Today's Stamping Sunday theme was circles or dots and I layered it on top of yesterday's Summer Challenge mani which was Water Marble!  Why ?  Well, as you know, Recycled Nails Rule, and also, I ran out of time a little.  Celebration 500 took a lot of planning, and even then I still didn't cram everything in, AND I have 3 challenge manis due this week which I still haven't started - argh!  Crumpet does not like to be behind :(

So, here is how this mani looked yesterday, a water marble of 3 of the CG Neons - Pink Plumeria, Under The Boardwalk, and Love's a Beach.  I cannot tell you how BRIGHT this pink was - super obnoxious lol.

I then chose this lovely design from Cheeky CH10 - it reminds me a little of clockwork - and the plan was to do it over the pink in an equally obnoxious colour, so that we could have the clash of the vulgar brights!   Alas, this didn't work.  Pink too strong.  Pink fight off stampers.  :(   So I turned to Konad white - ironically the blandest colour of all was the only one that could shut the neons up!

And this is why I love Recycled Nails.  The water marble on its own would have lasted a couple of days, and then stamping over it extends it for a couple more.  If I was keeping it, I might then have glittered over it - and before you know it, your mani has lasted the whole week, or at least Monday to Friday.

Right, lots to do, see you soon, and don't forget to enter the Giveawaaaaaaaaaaaaaay :)  Enjoy xx

Summer Challenge Day 25 - Water Marble

Hi Goddesses

Relax, relax, I'm here, I'm here.  I bet you thought I accidentally "forgot" didn't you, that I was pulling a flanker so I didn't have to do the water marble lol.

Well, finally, phew, thank you God, angels, Goddesses, my water marble worked!  It's not my best, it's not even my favourite, BUT IT WORKED.  So really, no, I didn't care what it turned out like as long as it turned out lol.

Water marbles frustrate a lot of people.  There are people like Colette of My Simple Little Pleasures and Jodi of Captivating Claws who make it look as easy as stealing sweets from a baby ... and then there is everybody else :)

What was bugging me most is that I CAN water marble.  There are about 5 posts of water marbles on this blog, but for some reason, my polish would no longer spread.   I've gotten it to work today by doing the following - 

* I bought bottled water.  Yes for polish.  My water is apparently so bad that not even filtering it helps

* I stood the bottle outside in the sun to warm it up

* I used a plastic cup rather than a paper cup

* I shut the window in the nail room

It worked.  Something was making my polish dry too fast on the water, either the temp of the water itself or breezes.  Next time, I might stop the heavy breathing too, you never now, it might help.

This bullseye didn't spread perfectly, but nevertheless it did spread, and for that I am SUPER grateful.   I used 3 of the China Glaze Neons - Under The Boardwalk, Love's A Beach and Pink Plumeria. Top coated with Northern Lights by Out The Door.   The thumb is definitely the best.

It made me laugh that the camera couldn't handle all the neon in some of the photos!  I had to fiddle with all sorts of buttons in Picasa to get it to look "right".   It was super bright, and look, it matched my top too!

Right, I'm off cos I'm still behind - see you tomo!  xx Enjoy :)

Spring Challenge Day 4 - Spring Water Marble

Hi Goddesses

I cannot even begin to share with you how much pain this water marble has caused me.  This is actually Take 3.

Ready for some "humour"?   Knock yourself out at this - 

Take 1.   Polish will not spread.   Under any circumstances.   Crumpet stamps feet.  Polish still doesn't spread.  We try tap water, cold water, warm water, filter water.   For crying out loud it's the same water I always use !!  But no joy depsite major tantrumage.

It was beyond bad.   So bad I didn't even take any photos bad.   That bad!   I don't know if the water was too cold, or the air temp too cold, or maybe the different brands just didn't want to play together.  I dunno.  It bugged the crap out of me though.

Take 2.   Later in the evening, all OPI.   Better, but not brilliant.  Seems the water prefers the plastic cup to the glass.  Go figure.   2 nails look good.  This sucks, but that's a 40% improvement on Take 1.

The fact that I hate it doesn't matter at all.  Noooooo.  It's not even springlike, is it?

Take 3.   Aarrrggghhhh!!!  Filtered water, heated for 20 seconds in the microwave, maybe this will help the polish spread.  OPIs only - Sparrow Me The Drama, Planks a Lot and Mermaid's Tears.   3 drops, 3 rings = hurrah.   4th drop = **** all.  Aaaarrrghhhhh.

I don't get it, I just DON'T get it.   It's the same water!!!!!  So, this is what we end up with - 1 nail, the thumb, where I just kept dropping the polish in.  Because it wouldn't spread, the polish ends up thicker than my thighs, and yo, what an interesting mush colour I've created.

Nails index and middle I always do together, and these sort of work as I do bigger drops and tilt the cup to try and stretch the bullseye.

Nails ring and pinkie - pah!   We're back to no spreading, so after 2 rounds of drops, I start stretching the bullseye with my tooth pick, to give the rest of the drops a head start.  It "sort" of works, but there's so much spreading going on that it makes the pattern super fine .... and VERY intermingled.

And do you know what?  I cannot be ARSED to try another.  Water marbles, foxtrot oscar in THAT direction, and leave me alone to sulk.  I don't even care that my cuticles look like they've been ravaged by a starving dog.   Bugger off!

Finally, if you've any experience with this same problem, I'd love to hear from you.  I'm by no means a water marbling genius, but I can do them.   I just need the chuffing polish to spread.

Crumpet.  Seriously dischuffed.

Pah xx :(