Holo Croc Nails

Hi-dee-ho, neighbors! (Brownie points if you know the reference. Hehe.) Just a quick nail of the day post. I thought I'd try some stamping with holo polish. Did these crocodile nails with Wet n Wild - Ebony Hates Chris and stamped with Color Club - Over the Moon. Yes, blue not green. I was just having fun. I used Bundle Monster paste BM-224.

Croc Skin Nail Art

Yeah, so that's about it. Haha. I actually had a nice busy weekend. Dinner and drinks with some new friends, then my nephew's birthday today. After a late night I wish I could have slept in or at least gotten a nap, but alas that didn't happen. It was totally worth it, of course, but I dread starting the work week already behind on sleep. Anyone else think like this, or am I just getting old? Lol.

Well, that's it. I hope you all had a great weekend and have a great week. Later, Lovelies. ^_^

Sakura Nail Art

Konnichiwa! (Good Afternoon/G'day) If you can't tell by my title and greeting, today's post has an Japanese theme. And while you can see cherry blossoms anywhere that cherry trees grow, these nails were inspired, in particular, by anime. If you've ever watched a spring themed episode of any anime, you probably know what I'm talking about. They are sure to feature sakura and/or hanami (sakura viewing). It is also highly likely that the imagery is soft, pastel if not water-colored, and dreamy with falling petals or whole blossoms. Here's an example I pulled from here on tumbler. I do not own this pic.

 

So, here's what I came up with.

Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Nail Art

I love these flower rhinestones for this design. It makes me think of the full blossoms that are ready to fall off. I didn't really plan out this design, I just knew what I wanted to do and did it. But I was so happy with how it turned out. I used Konad plate M66 with the sakura design.

Bonus: Did you know that the cherry trees in D.C. were a gift from Japan?

Ok, that's all today. Hope you are all having a good week. Mata ne (see you later). (^_^)

My First Nail Art Tutorial

Hey guys! So, during the Fab Collab Giveaway with Kat, many of you asked for more tutorials. Kat has been spitting them out left and right, but I have yet to do any. So, today I'm finally doing my first tutorial. I don't make videos, but I think it's easy enough. So, let's get started, shall we? ^_^

First, this is the design I came up with.

I'm going to keep this as simple as possible and just post this collage of the steps.

Nail Art Picture Tutorial

You can use any detailed design to stamp with. I thought this frilly one made it elegant. My daughter asked if I had Christmas trees on my nails. Hehe. I hope you like. If you want more detailed steps next time, let me know. I'll try to do it earlier, but it's after 11. (o.O) Have a wonderful week!

Two Halo Hues & V-day Design

Well, I was going to do a swatch and design for each color. Instead, I have two swatches and a Valentine's design for you. First up is Miss Bliss, the pretty pink. I tried to enlarge the photo for you all, but it did detract from the quality a little. Nothing, however can hide that amazing holographic effect.

Color Club Miss Bliss

Next is Eternal Beauty, my new favorite polish! I love purple and this is so gorgeous. I couldn't stop staring at my nails today. We didn't have the same sunshine as the day I wore the pink, but I still caught a little.

Color Club Eternal Beauty

Yesterday, my niece asked me to paint her nails with a Valentine's design for school this week. I let her pick everything: colors, stamping designs, etc. In the process, I came up with a little idea. I used Bundle Monster plate BM-209 to create a design that looks like music flowing. Then I used a faux-nad plate m2 and added a little stick on one of the hearts to make it look like a musical note. So, kind of like a love song.

That's it. I kept it simple. Haha. Well, I hope everyone's week is off to a great start. See ya later!

NotD: Milani Hi-Res & Stamping

Well look who decided to finally make a new post! Haha. Sorry for the absence. It's been a little crazy around here. Today I have the lovely purple holo from Milani, Hi-Res.

Milani Hi-Res

I wish it had been sunny today. I used the flash instead. This is definitely one of those polishes where you find yourself constantly staring at your nails. Seeing the whole spectrum of colors on a purple background? Dreamy. Then I thought of shattered dreams...

Well what did you think I was talking about? (^_~) I used Julep Morgan and Bundle Monster Plate 208. In all honesty, I think black would made a better impact. Guess I'll know next time. Here's one more with the flash.

So, that's all for today. Thanks for reading!

NotD: Sssnake Print

Hey, guys! So, if you read my last post you've already seen a preview of my nails. I liked them but felt that I could improve them. As we all know, this can lead to disaster. So, did it? Well, you'll just have to read and see. ^_~ I used 3 of the polishes I just won (also in my last post). First, here's my base color.

OPI Stranger Tides

OPI Stranger Tides is just that: strange. It's the oddest color nail polish I've ever seen. I'd place it somewhere between alien and zombie skin. Hahaha. I would describe it as a green hued grey. Weird, right? Not something I'd wear on it's own, but it works for nail art! Here's another pic. You can see a little more of the green in this one.

Then, I stamped using the snake skin print on one of my new Bundle Monster Plates, BM-215, and China Glaze Trendsetter.

Golden Python Snake Print Nails?

Now, I haven't matted anything in a while so...

As you can see, this kind of lightened the mani. That's when I thought I should add another color. Not only so it was more visible, but also to add more depth and maybe even make it look a little more realistic. I used Orly Nite Owl for just a little deeper color and some shimmer. Here's the final product.

Snake Skin Nails

Of course it's impossible to stamp the same pattern perfectly twice, but I didn't want to anyway. I wanted the colors to compliment each other. I like how it turned out. What do you think?

Thanks for reading! ^_^

Stamping Mani & an Award?!

Hello you wonderful, supportive people, you. I'm going to start with my nails and then move on to the good stuff. This is kind of a long post, so only 2 pics. Today I have a stamping mani:

The base color is Color Club in Shabby Drab and the stamping is Color Club Rad Nomad. The stamping design is from Mash plate 20. I was originally going to do an accent nail, but I loved this design too much.

I tried to get a little bit of natural light for this pic, but a window is no substitute for being outside in direct light. (^_^;)

Ok, now on to the award! My wonderful friend at Kat Stays Polished has nominated me for the Liebster Award!

 She's too kind, really. I've barely begun to blog and have a lot to learn and try still. So, I'm truly flattered. Thanks, Kat!

Here are the details and rules for this award:

When you receive the award, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you.

Pass the award onto 11 other blogs (make sure you tell them you nominated them!) and ask them 11 questions.

You are not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated you!

Make sure the blogs you chose have 200 or LESS followers.

My 11 Random Facts:

1: I'm half Japanese but can barely speak any Japanese.

2: That just made me love my heritage even more. I LOVE Japanese movies, tv shows, music, food...etc.

3: I've only been to Japan once, but it was for 4 amazing weeks.

4: That was the only time I've ever met any of my mother's side of the family.

5: I have a cousin on my dad's side of the family who is the same age as my mother. (o_O) 6: I've never felt calling someone that much older than me by their given name. So, I always called her Cousin Sandy. hahah

7: I'm also part Italian on my father's side. Our traditional Christmas dinner is homemade lasagna rather than turkey or ham, though sometimes we'll have one of those too.

8: I'm extremely hairy. I think it's the Italian in me. I try to keep my hairy knuckles out of pics, but may not always pay attention. Sorry. (-_-) hehe.

9: My odd eyebrows don't lay flat against my face. If you look at them from an angle, you can see they stick out. haha.

10: I like to get to know people before I open up. Obviously not the case here. LOL.

11: I'm not afraid to laugh at myself...and I give myself plenty of opportunity. I'll have to share a story or two sometime. (^_^)

Questions to Answer from Kat Stays Polished:

1. Do you remember what your FIRST polish was? No. I've been into polish (on & off) since about 6 yrs old. haha

2. Milk chocolate or dark chocolate? DARK. Hands down, no competition.

3. Coffee or tea? Tea. Surprised, Kat? hehe

4. Coke or Pepsi? No preference really.

5. Do you send out Christmas cards to family? No. We all live relatively close.

6. What was the best vacation you ever went on? 4 Weeks in Okinawa, Japan!

7. Where would you love to have your ultimate dream vacation? Tokyo!

8. If you have kids, how many do you have. If you don't currently have kids, how many do you want? I have 1 beautiful (she looks like her dad, so no I'm not bragging. hahah),  smart, hilarious little girl.

9. Does your husband, boyfriend, partner have an influence on your blog? Absolutely.

10. Is polish your life? No...polish is my escape from reality. ^_^

11. What will be your New Year's resolution? Too cliche, but I NEED to lose weight.

My nominees:

1: Can't Hold My Lacquer

2: Life as Kandistar

3: Dipped in Lacquer

4: Shell Bell's Nails

5: Enchanted Nails & Fluffy Dog Tails

6: Erica's Nails and More

7: Glitter Me This

8: Glittery Fingers & Sparkling Toes

9: hellolacquer

10: Iced Lacquer

11: Lacqueriss

My 11 Questions:

1: What is your favorite polish-related memory?

2: What is your favorite sweet/dessert/candy?

3: What's the weirdest food you've tried and liked?

4: If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

5: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

6: In your opinion, where should everyone go at least once?

7: Cats or Dogs, and why?

8: Funniest/weirdest name you've given a pet.

9: Funniest/most embarrassing pet name/nickname you've given a person.

10: Worst school memory.

11: What scent makes you nostalgic and why?

Thanks for reading!

Now We're Bloggin' & Tone on Tone Stamping.

My second post! It takes at least 2 wins to be on a winning streak. So, I guess I can officially say I'm a blogger and not a one post wonder. ^_^

Today I have what I'm jokingly calling my shower curtain nails. Why, you ask? Well, I'll get to that. First lets have a look at the beautiful Butter London All Hail the Queen that I used for my base.

Butter London All Hail the Queen

Best neutral/nude everrr! So gorgeous. Since I was stamping, I didn't clean up for this pic. Sorry. Okay, now for the stamping. I used Color Club Nomadic in Nude as well as Spoiled by Wet n Wild Pumping Gas. (I'd like to know where they get some of these names. Haha) The stamping is a piece of the bamboo image from Konad plate m66.

Bamboo Nail Stamping

I don't know about you, but I love the subtle elegance of tone on tone stamping. However, the bamboo and neutrals make me think of some HGTV modern, spa-like bathroom remodel. I guess it doesn't help that I actually have a bamboo print shower curtain. ^_^;

Also, I don't know if you can tell, but the ring finger has the 2 colors stamped while the others only have 1. I thought it added a little more depth and dimension. I probably should have done it on all nails, but I'll know next time. Here's a look at my right hand:

I think you can tell there are 2 colors a little better on this ring finger. Finally, with a flash so you can see the beautiful shimmer and added contrast of All Hail the Queen:

So, what do you think? Do they remind you of shower curtains? ^_^ I hope you enjoyed and visit again. Thanks for reading!