Llama Nails: O is for... Owl

       All I can say is brrr!  Now, I am not one to complain about the weather, whether I like it or not, but it is downright freezing today!  I had to leave out heater on all day so my polish wouldn't get too cold.  ;-)  All right, now on to business.  Today's post is another installment in the ABCs of nail art challenge that is being hosted by the Facebook group, Llama Nails.  Each week we post a manicure that has to do with the letter for that week.  "O" was actually last week, and this mani was done on time, but I took a little blogging hiatus when we were supposed to post these.  Better late than never, right?

Base: Pro FX Fiberized Ridge Filler

Accent base:  Audrey from Zoya - 3 coats

Base: Pink Friday from OPI - 2 coats

Owl: Body - Fly from OPI

         Belly - Olympia from Sinful Colors 

         Eyes - Morning Breath from Sinful Colors mixed with French White Tip from NYC and Black Creme from Wet N'                  

                    Wild

         Nose - Clementine from Sinful Colors

Top coat: Seche Vite

Whoops, I almost forgot the most important part of this post!  I was inspired by this post on Let Them Have Polish.  I have been wanting to do this since she first posted the adorable mani.

How is the weather in your neck of the woods?  Hopefully a little warmer than 11 degrees F.

Here are some other "O" manis, please, check them out!

Llama Nails: M is for... Minnie Mouse

       Happy Monday!  Today I have for you my weekly installment for the ABCs of nail art challenge in the Facebook group, Llama Nails.  Each week we have to do nail art related to a specific letter and this week's letter is M.  I decided to do Minnie Mouse.  I couldn't be happier with the way this turned out.  I tried a new base coat with this mani and it lasted two days!  My manicures never last this long.  I picked up the Fiberized Ridge Filler from the Pro FX line.  I got it at WalMart and a 2.5 fluid oz. bottle cost me right around five dollars.  I am so glad that I picked this up because I used it on this mani and the one I did yesterday, and my mani's have never stayed on my nails better!

Base coat: Fiberized Ridge Filler from Pro FX

Base color: Red Red from Wet N Wild - 1 coat.  UMM CAN YOU BELIEVE ONE COAT?!?!  YEAH, ME NEITHER.  OK, done freaking out about that.

White on the Spot from Milani -2 coats

White dots: Superstar from Pure Ice

Minnie Mouse: All acrylic paint is from Artist's Loft that I bought at Michaels

Black-Lamp Black

Face-Titanium White, Burnt Sienna, and Yellow Ochre

Bow-Crimson Red and Titanium White for the dots

Tongue-Crimson Red mixed with Titanium White

Top coat: Seche Vite

I used a dotting tool to apply all the polka dots that are not on my accent nail.  I used my smallest brush for all of Minnie except for the eyelashes; I used my striping brush for that.

You can check out these other "M" challenge's using the codes below.  I hope you enjoyed my Minnie Mouse mani.

SassyNails Nail-Aween Nail Art Challenge: Day 8 - Witches

     Good afternoon everyone.  I hope that everyone is having a great day.  And to everyone living on the east coast, I am praying for your safety.  I can not believe that Atlantic City is underground.  That is so scary to me!  Today is day eight of the SassyNails Nail-Aween Nail Art Challenge and the topic for today's mani is witches.  I was a little stumped on what to do as I had already used all my creative witch inspiration on this mani I did a few weeks ago, so off to YouTube I went.

    Inspiration for this mani came from this YouTube video by IHaveACupcake.  I just discovered her last week and this is the second one of her tutorials I have followed.  I am not too sure how I feel about the outcome of this one.  I tried to do Hello Kitty four times before finally leaving her the way she is and the bat on my pointer finger looks more like a sting ray.  I am so jealous of how easily she can use her dotting tools.  I always try to use them like she does and end up resorting to a brush.  One of the reasons the bat on my pointer finger looks more like a sting ray is because I first painted it grey and it was too dark.  So I painted white over it, lightened the grey and then applied it again and it was still to dark.  Lightening it one more time allowed me to finally see it.  I tried to clean it up a little but the wings came out pointy instead of round and by the time I got to this point I was ready to be done.  I didn't really even clean up around my cuticles.

Base coat: Sally Hansen Triple Strong Advanced Gel Nail Fortifier

Base color: Smooth Sailing from Essie - 2 coats

Top coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

All artwork was done with Artist's Loft acrylic paint

White: Titanium White

Yellow: Lemon Yellow and Titanium White

Red: Crimson Red

Black: Lamp Black

Grey: Lamp Black and Titanium White

Taken inside without flash

Well, I hope that you like my attempt at this mani.  Please feel free to comment below.  Comments make us bloggers feel the love.  :-)

SassyNails Nail-Aween Nail Art Challenge: Day 7 - Spiders

       Well, if you have been reading my blog for the last month you will know that I started out this month by doing two Halloween challenges.  This one, which is a self paced one, and another one for the Facebook group, Crumpet's Nail Tarts.  I can't express how crazy it has been to be doing nail art every single day.  It is hard to get everything done.  Much respect to those who can do it.  I decided yesterday that I am not going to finish the one for Crumpet's Nail Tarts.  The main reason is because the next challenge I had to do was inspired by a scary movie.  I DO NOT watch scary movies and I don't really want to spend 3 hours doing intense nail art and then take it right back off.  Blood, guts, and creepy movies are not my thing.  

     On to today's mani, spiders.  I really don't like spiders, but this mani turned out pretty cute.  I received some Sally Girl mini polishes in a swap last week and they were perfect for this one.  As with most neons, I layered Amped over a white base to make the neon color really pop.  Unfortunately this resulted in easy chipping.  I didn't even do anything except sweep and mop last night and it was chipped.  :-(  I applied the spider webs and legs of the spiders with a small nail art brush and the bodies of the spiders with a dotting tool.  I hope you like these.

Base coat: Sally Hansen Triple Strong Advanced Gel Nail Fortifier

Base color: Orange - Amped (812161) from Sally Girl - 2 coats over 2 coats of Superstar! from Pure Ice

                   Black -  Poser (812051) from Sally Girl - 2 coats

Nail Art is done with Artist's Loft Acrylic paint in Titanium White and Lamp Black

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

Taken inside without the flash

CNT Halloween Nail Art Challenge: Pumpkins

       It is time to post another mani for the Halloween Nail Art Challenge that is being put on by the Facebook group, Crumpet's Nail Tarts.  I threw this mani together at the last minute last night so I don't really have too much to say about it except that I really like the way that it turned out!  I think it is very simple, cute, and different.  All though I haven't looked at everyone else's manis so I could be wrong about the unique look.  I did forget to leave my accent nail blank while painting the orange, so the Black Creme is over a layer of orange, but Wet N Wild's Black Creme is opaque in one coat anyways.  :-)  Napping before mani-ing is dangerous.  ;-)

Base coat: Sally Hansen Triple Strong Advanced Gel Nail Fortifier

Base color: Citrine from Sinful Colors - 1 coat, Black Creme from Wet N Wild - 1 coat

Over Citrine I layered one Layer of Serena and Chloe from Sinful Colors.  I wanted to do both layers in Serena and Chloe but I was afraid it would photograph more red than orange.

Pumpkins:  A mixture of Crimson Red, Lemon Yellow, and Titanium White acrylic paint from Artist's Loft applied with a dotting tool

Stems: A mixture of Viridian acrylic paint from Artist's loft and my franken orange, applied with a small detail brush

Face: Lamp Black acrylic paint from Artist's Loft, applied with a small detail brush

Top coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

Taken inside without flash

Thanks for stopping by and do feel free to leave some comment love, or creative criticism.

Check out the other pumpkin nails below!

 

SassyNails Nail-Aween Nail Art Challenge: Day 5 - Ghosts and Goblins

     Hey everyone.  It has been a few days since I have posted anything, but for good reason.  On Friday my friends and I took their kids out to a pumpkin patch close by and they do this corn maze every year.  This is one of the things I really look forward to every fall.  Escpecially since this year they did a Pac Man maze!  I love Pac Man!  Whenever I go to our local bowling alley I play Pac Man and Centipede for ever.  But really, who can resist those awesome, classic arcade games?!   

     The inspiration for these ghosts came from another YouTube video from IHaveACupcake.  Here is a link to the video.  I just thought these were so cute and I knew there was no way I would be able to do a goblin so I went with these.

     Unfortunately, I went a little to thick on my base color and never let it fully dry before applying the glow in the dark layers an it chipped off rather quick at work the next day.  :-(  Oh well. 

Base coat: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Hardener

Base color: Ibiza from Zoya - 1 thick coat followed by Go With The Glow from Wet N' Wild Fantasy Makers - 3 coats

Ghosts: Titanium White acrylic paint from Artist's Loft and Lamp Black (eyes)

Top coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

Taken inside without flash

Taken inside with flash

I tried so hard to get a picute of these glowing in the dark but my camera is part of my phone and the light from the screen would cancel out the glow in the dark and only take black pictures.  :-(  Just know that it was really cute.

This challenge is being put on by SassyNails and it is a self paced challenge.  We have until the end of October to create our ten manicures.

Check out all of the NailAween Nail Art Artists!

datyorkLOVES

Erica's Nails and More

DreamyMM Nails & Make Up

 Tes Did It Nails
Sassy Paints 
Nicole gets Nailed 
Wicked Tips 
Fancy Schmancy Nails
Delight In Nails
Polish Groupie 
My Nail Journey 
Get Polished Up! 
Just A Girl and Her Polish
Spellbound Nails
Le nail's corner d'Alex
Hello.Lacquer
Color the world with polish
Cutie Cuticles (nail art by Laraib) 
Wacky Laki 
Nail-Aween Nail Art Challenge October 1-31st, 2012 
GLAMOROUS NAILS 
Over The Topcoat 
Polish Gone Crazy 
tragedystipsandtreats
Susy In Color
Countess Nails 
(List includes blogs and FB pages)

CNT Halloween Nail Art Challenge: Things That Go Bump In The Night

     If you're confused with the topic for today's challenge, don't worry, I was too.  Off to the side it said monsters and my brain isn't very creative so I was set on doing something with monsters.  I really wanted to do Monsters, Inc. Sulley and Mike, but as I watching a YouTube tutorial on One Stroke Petals another tutorial cought my eye. 

I am now in love with IHaveACupcake's YouTube channel.  If you are ever low on inspiration, please check her channel out!

     This mani was so easy to re-create and I am so happy with how it turned out.  I hope that you guys like it as well.

*All acrylic paint is from Artist's Loft*

*All black, unless otherwise specified, is Lamp Black acrylic paint*

*All white, unless otherwise specified, is Platinum White acrylic paint*

Base coat: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Hardener

Top coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

Pinky: face - Black Cream from Wet N' Wild - 1 coat

            yellow: Lemon Yellow acrylic paint

            pink: My own creation using Platinum White and Crimson Red acrylic paint

Ring finger: French White Tip from NYC - 3 coats

                     bow: same mixture as used for the cat nose

Middle finger: Black Creme from Wet N' Wild - 2 coats

                        green: a mixture of Viridian, Platinum White, and Lemon Yellow acrylic paint

Pointer finger: Sassy from Revlong - 2 coats

                        eyeball: Cobalt Blue acrylic paint

Thumb: Wet Cement from Wet N' Wild - 3 coats

Taken inside with flash

If you would like to see what the other ladies in this group are doing, please check out their blogs using the thumbnails below.

Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to comment.  I love hearing from you gals and guys.

 

Sat-ART-day Challenge: Tarts

     Hey everyone!  Today marks the start of a new art challenge!  Debbie Crumpet, owner of the Facebook group, Crumpet's Nail Tarts, decided to start a new challenge since our summer one ended.  I only participated in a few days of the summer challenge because I joined about half way through.  I also didn't know how fun they were!  The thing I love about a group challenge is seeing the variety of nails people can come up with for one theme.

     Today's theme was... tarts.  I know, I know, right?!  What the hell!  Debbie posted this in the beginning of September, ( I think) and I brainstormed the entire month!  I almost didn't participate but I figured, what the hell, it is a challenge for a reason!  Off to google I went.  Turns out there are two definitions for a tart.  One, "a small pie containing fruit or the like,"  and two, a "prostitute or promiscuous woman. " Both definitions come from the dictionary.  So, if you're anything like me, your jaw just dropped.  You know it did.  How the hell am I supposed to draw a pastry on my nails!  I sure as hell wasn't going to put prostitutes on my nails!  Welp, I believe I solved the problem.  As soon as I was done with these, I asked my hubs what was on my nails and he guessed on the first try, so I figure they can't be that bad, right?  Hopefully you can guess as well.

If you guess strawberries, you're wrong!  They're blueberries!  I am very pleased with how this turned out and I hope that you were able to guess what they were.

Base coat: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Hardener

Base color: Audrey from Zoya - 2 coats

French tip color: Superstar from Pure Ice

Blueberries:

 light blue - Vintage Blue from Avon

 dark blue - Why Not from Sinful Colors (both applied with a dotting tool)

  stems - Scream from Pure Ice (applied with a small brush)

Top coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

If you're curious as to how others approached this tart challenge, check out these other blogs!

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to comment! :-)

 

Sassy Nails Nailaween Challenge: Day 2 - Matte Doticure

     It is time for me to post day 2's post for the Nailaween Nail Art Challenge.  There are 10 topic in this challenge and the one thing that I love about this is that it is self pace.  We have until October 31 to post all of our manicures.  This works great seeing as how I am in like a gazillion challenges this month...  Not to sure why I did this, but oh well.  It is keeping me busy and I like it.

     The second day of this challenge is to produce a matte doticure.  I was really excited for this one because I have wanted to do a doticure like the one I am showing you for quite some time.  I am so let down with how this turned out.  I had such high hopes and it wasn't what I wanted.  It would have worked if I had a more opaqe orange, but this one would barely show up on the black so I ended up having to use a white base, only for the dots that are overlapping the black, and you can tell that it isn't right.

     I applied the black over the orange using the tape method. After the black dried I went in and added the dots with a dotting tool to give it the interlocking look.

Base coat: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Hardener

Base color: Citrine from Sinful Colors - 2 coats

Black: Black Creme from Wet N' Wild

Top coat: Essence Nail Art Special Effect! Topper

Taken inside with flash

Taken inside without flash

Well I hope that you like this even though I don't. :)

Feel free to check out these other ladies blogs who are partcipating in this challenge.

Check out all of the NailAween Nail Art Artists!

datyorkLOVES

Erica's Nails and More

DreamyMM Nails & Make Up

 Tes Did It Nails
Sassy Paints 
Nicole gets Nailed 
glitznglammer
Finger Food 
Wicked Tips 
Fancy Schmancy Nails
Delight In Nails
Polish Groupie 
My Nail Journey 
Get Polished Up! 
Just A Girl and Her Polish
Spellbound Nails
Le nail's corner d'Alex
Hello.Lacquer
 Countess Nails 
Color the world with polish
Nail Crime Nail Art
Coat of Mani Colors
Cutie Cuticles (nail art by Laraib) 
Wacky Laki 
Nail-Aween Nail Art Challenge October 1-31st, 2012 
GLAMOROUS NAILS 
Over The Topcoat 
Polish Gone Crazy 
tragedystipsandtreats
(List includes blogs and FB pages)

MSMD: Shoelace Manicure

     Today's Monkey see, Monkey do (MSMD) manicure is brought to you via Michelle from Mimi's Manicure's.  She posted this manicure in Polish-o-rama, one of the Facebook groups that I am in, and I immediatly fell in love.  She quickly came out with a tutorial and I followed it to the tea.  I love the way that this turned out.  I should have waited a little longer to apply my top coat, as you can see it smeared on my pinky, but what's a manicure without a little smear?!  I also think that this looks more like the back of a  corset then shoes, which makes them even more sexy.  I really encourage you to check out the mani that Michelle did because her nails are sexy long and look way better than mine.

Base coat: Sally Hansen Diamond Strenght Hardener

Base color: Smooth Sailing from Essie - 2 coats

Black: Black cream from Wet N' Wild - applied with a striping brush

Top coat:  Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip top coat

Taken inside with flash

Taken inside without the flash

Do you think shoes or corset when you see these?  I hope to hear from you all, have a great Monday!  Oh, and don't forget to check out these other lovely ladies who have participated in the MSMD challenge today! :-)

Flip Flop Mani

     Today's challenge mani topic was flip flops.  I was a little sad when I read this because I don't have the cute stamp that everyone has with the flip flops on it and I wasn't very inspired because I only have flip flops with a straight color, not a cute design on them.  I was just going to do a skittle mani with all of the colors of flip flops I own, but then I remembered how I wanted to paint the designs from my pedi bag onto my nails.  It was the perfect idea!

See, flip flops!  The bag is very sheer so here is a picture of one of the bottles of products that comes in this uber cute bag.




Base coat: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Hardener
Base color: Glazed Pearl from SXY by Unforgettable Moments - 2 coats
Pink: Pink Friday from OPI
Green: I Need a Refresh-Mint from Wet N' Wild
White:
     Straps on flip flops: White from Kiss Brush On Nail Art Paint
     Flowers on flip flops and dots: French White Tip from NYC
     Stamped flowers: Stamp Me! White from Essence
Stamping plate: Mash plate 35

As I am sure you will be able to tell, the green and pink flowers were done by hand.  I used a dotting tool to do these and the random dots that are all over.  The white flower on my middle finger was the only one that was stamped on to my nail.

Taken inside without flash










So, what do you think of my recreation?

Tic-Tac-Toe Nail Art

     In the Facebook group Crumpet's Nail Tarts, formally know as the Purple Crumpet Fairy, on Mondays we do Monkey See, Monkey Do manicures.  All this means is that we recreate our favorite mani's that we have seen on other blog's and show our interpretation of them on ours.  I like doing this because it showcases other's blogs and gets the word out about them.  Hopefully bringing in new readers to their blogs.

     I found this image on Pinterest and from what I can see Steff did this manicure.  I don't quite understand Reddit's layout or what it even is but, the Pinterest link took me to her page.  You can see her mani here.  I immediately knew I needed to do this mani.  Now, I got VERY sidetracked while doing this mani.  I wanted it to be perfect so I ended up redoing the pinky, which still smeared, and the thumb.  I spent WAY to much time on it, but I think it paid off.  It is so stinking cute.  I applied the hearts with different sized dotting tools and used a stiping brush for the Tic-Tac-Toe board and the x's on my thumb.

Base coat: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Hardener

White: French White Tip from N.Y.C. - 3 coats

Black: Black Creme from Wet N' Wild - 2 coats

Pink: Strawberry from Avon

Black for the tic tac toe board: Black from Kiss Brush On Nail Art Paint

Both of these pictures were taken inside with out flash, in the same room.  Can anyone explain to me why my skin tone is so different in each of these pictures?

Sorry for my crusty cuticle on my thumb.  I try to hide my thumbs as much as possible but I had to show it for this post.  I really hope that you guys like this.  

If you would like to see some more MSMD manis please feel free to check out these other blogs!

Debbie at The Crumpet - http://thecrumpet.blogspot.co.uk

Missy @ Gnarly Gnails - http://gnarlygnails.blogspot.com

Melissa - http://www.misadventuresofawannabemartha.com/

Laurie - http://dressedupdigits.blogspot.com/

Layka- http://www.kawaiinize.es

Elizabeth http://nailpolishismycrack.blogspot.com/

Kristin http://www.manicuredmonkey.com

Erin http://erinsbeautybumbles.blogspot.com

Nayade at Toxic Vanity - http://www.toxicvanity.com

Jenn at Polish Crazed http://www.polishcrazed.blogspot.ca/

Jen http://jenspaintedtips.blogspot.com/

Amber www.amberdidit.com

Cristina http://theclockwisenailpolish.blogspot.pt/

Kirsten - http://geekyowl.blogspot.com/

Alyssa at Fancy Phalanges - http://fancyphalanges.blogspot.com/

Ashley http://followtheyellowpolishroad.blogspot.com/

Amber http://nevernakednails.blogspot.com

Emily Esqueleta: http://macabremanicures.blogspot.com/

Misha @ Enigmatic Rambles: www.enigmatic-rambles.blogspot.com

Carrie @ LeSamowen:Life, Love, and Nail Polish: http://lesamowen.blogspot.com/

Basia (or Bazzia) @ polish my mind: http://polishmymind.blogspot.com/

Helena: www.nailwish.blogspot.com

Ana Cris: http://www.estacerradaladrogueria.blogspot.com.es/

Kim @ www.apolishedaddiction.blogspot.com

Emma http://manicurity.blogspot.com/

arlene @ : http://euzefelus27-nailart.blogspot.com

Gwenn: http://www.sugar-nails.com

Ney "Neivys": http://maquiclubgirl.blogspot.com/

Ana at cherrys Sweets http://cherriessweets.blogspot.com.es

Isabel - Little Fairy: http://isaspinods.blogspot.com/

Stella - My Wet Nails: http://mywetnails.blogspot.com

Michelle-Lacquer Or Leave Her!: http://lacquerorleaveher.blogspot.com

Sheila: http://pointlesscafe.com/

Angie: http://ourpaintedworld.wordpress.com

Veronica http://gorgeois.blogspot.com

Angi @ Angelina´s Nails & More www.angelinaswelt.blogspot.de/

Kia @ Lacquered Libra  http://lacqueredlibra.blogspot.com/

Susy @ http://susyincolor.com

Dina @ http://secretarysnailart.blogspot.no

Candace @ http://lifeakandistar.blogspot.ca

Emily @ http://emily-nailtales.blogspot.com

Sandy-http://beachingnails.blogspot.com/

Courtney - http://www.cute-iclechronicles.com/

Rin- http://www.rinsnailfiles.com/

Bee - http://www.beepolished.blogspot.com/

Joy (Julianne) - http://drugstorejunkie13.blogspot.com/

Jessica @ http://onceuponapolish.com

Katherine Medrano Blog: http://fashiondisaster101.blogspot.com/

Noémie @ http://chroniquesdunegreluche.wordpress.com

Dayze (Daysi) @ http://nailcrazewithdayze.blogspot.com/

Helen @ http://nail-newbie.blogspot.com/

Franziska @ http://justanailpolishaddict.blogspot.de/

Natalie Elise @ http://www.walkinmyeyeshadow.com