Day 25, Simple

Hey there... again, this is late, but it is what it is at this point!


I feel like this cue was actually pretty intimidating for me, as I don't typically have simple or plain nails. That's for boring folks. Uncreative peoples. I like color. And sparkles.  And weird crap on my nails.


But there was a time... when I was still a nail biter. I was like, April, you are a professional woman, you need professional nails. I got acrylics put on. I loved those silly pearl white tips. Then I was like, they are trimming my real nail from under this. Can I just grow it out? So I had them removed. And I got gel manicures.  Again, I loved a french tip. Because that's what professional women get. Then I got tired of that junk, and after watching them do my nails so often I got the techniques down. Hey, I'm artsy-fartsy... I can do that! It was all over by then.


So that was a long story for these simple french tips. I used OPI Alpine Snow,  and then used my clean up brush to make the edge crisp. Over top I did 2 coats of OPI Don't Burst My Bubble to give it a softer look.

This is pretty much freaking me out. I want to add glitter. Or dots. Or a lady halfway immersed in popcorn.

I'm sure this will last a whole entire day before I get so twitchy that I either pick it off or slop some glittah on it.   =)

Sometimes simple is nice. Or it drives you crazy. Meh!   Also, I'm trying out the new lightbox that the hubs made for me... I'm trying to figure out the lighting,  and so let me know your thoughts. I think I prefer my outdoor shots only because my hands are so not this red!

Happy Wednesday!
April

Polka Dot Drops

Happy Tuesday chickadees. Today I have the second prompt for the February nail art challenge.  Polka Dots!!! I again wanted to do something in somewhat of a Valentines theme, but not overly so.

I used OPI Sweetheart for the pink, and OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls for the "white". The white has Essie's Pure Pearlfection on top to give it a touch of shimmer. Speckle on top a bunch of girly dots, and Ding! Polka spotted mani.

Know what these remind me of?  Those eyeball tests that you have to see the number in the dots.

That's all I've got. Unless you want to hear that we're getting more snow tomorrow.  Again. I'm never going to see the sun.

Enjoy the day!
April

Christmas Polka!

Sooo excited my chickadees! !! Today is the last day of work for me until after Christmas.  I need to do some major baking and shopping,  so looking forward to that!

I've got a little something different today.  Definitely more my style.

I've decided to call this midnight snow globe. Base is one coat of Essie Licorice, and then a slew of white dots. Go back over the dots with red and lime green, voila! Accent nailamajig is L'Oreal Sparkalicious. This is great beginner nail art.

Ah, glitter nail, how I have missed you.


I'm sure that I will have a few more Christmas manis before the holiday,  so stay tuned.

5 pm countdown is on!!!!
April

Let it Snow!

If you read my post from yesterday,  you know we we finally got some snow. People are driving like they've never seen snow before,  and the grocery store was insane. I mean, come on... it's Iowa. This happens every year. At least with the the snow,  it provides some fun inspiration.


The fabulous Wintermint polish I bought was just screaming to be the base for this snowy scape. I then sponged some white polish on the tips and then topped it off with that lovely Blue Bells Ring polish for snowflakes.

I missed to mention yesterday that my nail that was broken and then repaired snapped off on Friday.  I think it was just too far far broken. It thankfully didn't hurt. It looks all kinds of ridiculous though. It reminds me of when I used to bite my nails. And I'm not gonna lie,  a little part of me, that old nailbiter, wanted to chomp on that bad boy. Gross!  Ha!


Let me know what you think!
April

On the 12th day, stripes!

You know, for someone that doesn't care for white nails, I am sure doing that a lot during this challenge.

Day 12 is stripes. I had seen a technique similar to this not too long ago, but wanted to make it fresh. I free hand painted horizontal stripes using 4 different colors that were bright and fun. Wait for that to fully dry, and then added striping tape in various patterns.  I then topped it off with a coat of white.

So bright and sunny! 

Here's what I liked about this one... it was fresh, bright,  perfect for a fun warm day. The bad? There are two coats of white polish on here, and the green color peeked through.  Yuck. Maybe white was a bad choice.  This would have looked great with black as the top color, but then it would have looked like the example I saw so long ago. And no one likes a copycat. 

I definitely need some more practice with striping tape.  It's best to remove the tape quickly after applying the overcoat, but with using white I needed two coats. And that's why you see some wobbly parts. 

Whatcha think? Are you an expert striper? 

April