Minion Mania

Have you seen Despicable Me? It's been out for a while and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by it. I didn't particularly want to see it; I thought the previews looked a bit... well, stupid. But I went after all and was glad I did. It's a cute movie with some really funny parts."It's so FLUFFY!"

So this is my take on a Despicable Me nail design (0riginal by The Daily Nail).

Aren't they adorable?
Products used: Finger Paints base coat Orly in Angel Face Pure Ice in Black Rage Pure Ice in Oh Baby! Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Blue it N.Y.C. in Taxi Yellow Stripe Rite in black Stripe Rite in white dotting tools Beauty Secrets top coat

Lovely Leopard

This is the first design using my new image plates that I added to my Konad collection. It's almost painfully simple with just a pink base color and a white leopard print overlay.

Product used:
Finger Paints base coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Flashy Fuchsia Konad Special Polish in white image plate m57 stamper scraper Beauty Secrets Top coat

KONAD!!!!!

FINALLY!! On Monday, I ordered some more Konad goodies from OCnailart and they came today!!!! Here is a picture of everything I got.

A dual-sided stamper that came with an extra stamper.

A one-touch pump bottle. This thing is AWESOME. I used to pour my nail polish remover in the cap and set it down while I was working, but sometimes it would get knocked over getting everything wet and nail polish remover can be damaging to hard wood floors and fabrics.....

But with this bottle, the mess is gone and all spills are avoided!!

 

and three image plates

m40

m56

m57

Dippin' Dots

I came up with this very simple design when I got new dotting tools. They came in a set of 5 and included several different sizes. In the picture it's kinda hard to see but there's a glitter topcoat over the dots.

Products used: Finger Paints base coat Pure Ice in Oh Baby! China Glaze in For Audrey N.Y.C. in Taxi Yellow Pure Ice in Don't You Wish OPI in I'm Indi-a Mood for Love OPI in Rumple's Wiggin' dotting tools Beauty Secrets top coat

Cutie Cupcakes

Yummy cupcakes. Each with a different color wrapper, colorful sprinkles, and glitter icing.

Products used: Finger Paints base coat N.Y.C. in Taxi Yellow Stripe Rite in yellow OPI in I'm Indi-a Mood for Love Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Hot Magenta OPI in What's With the Cattitude? China Glaze in For Audrey OPI in Rumple's Wiggin Love My Nails in True Lilac Stripe Rite in white Pure Ice in Oh Baby! Pure Ice in Flirt Alert Pure Ice in Wild Thing China Glaze in Shower Together Sally Girl Mini polish in bright purple Pure Ice in Don't You Wish assorted nail brushes Beauty Secrets top coat

Sports Crazies

Time out! Now let's play ball! Football. Basketball. Baseball. Tennis. Soccer.

School Days

Teacher, school, education theme. Complete with a school bus, a chalkboard with letters, and apple, a graded paper, and a pencil. 

Acetone & Detail Polishes

Recently, I bought some pure acetone to use as remover and to remove artificial nails. I also came across some polishes with a long skinny brush used for details and lines. I usually use the brand Stripe Rite from the beauty supply store but these came from Wal-Mart (so they were cheaper!) and the brand is Kiss. They work great and I really like them. They came in a pack of three in lime green, bright pink, and royal blue.

Bright Blossoms

My latest design using Konad products. It's very simple because it's just a base color and an overlay.

Products used: Finger Paints base coat Sally Girl Mini polish in bright purple Konad image plate m73 Konad special polish in white Beauty Secrets top coat

Konad

Konad products are awesome and really easy to use. Here are all the Konad items I have, but I plan on getting more really soon!

stamper and scraper
image plate holder
image plates: m2, m3, m12, m19, m26, m59, m73
special polish (5ml): red, white, blue
special polish (11ml): white, black, green, violet pearl, pastel pink
special polish (12ml) princess: psych hot pink

Japanese Cherry Blossom Tree

Japanese cherry blossom tree scene spread over five nails. The tree branches are black because I didn't have brown with a long skinny brush so I used black. They would probably look better brown, but oh well.

Products used: Finger Paints base coat, OPI in What's With the Cattitude?, China Glaze in Shower Together, Stripe Rite in black, Pure Ice in Oh Baby!, OPI in I'm Indi-a Mood for Love, sponge, dotting tool, Beauty Secrets top coat

Nail Foils ....and disappointment

I discovered a video about a technique using nail foils and I had never heard of them before so I got excited and was planning on trying them them out. The video mentioned a website that sells the foils VERY cheap (just $1 - yeah a dollar!!!) and will even include a free container of adhesive when you buy 6 nail foils! Sounds great right? Pretty good deal... Or so I thought. It turns out that the minimum order amount online is $25, which is alot when everything on that website is only $1! The only way you can order less than $25 is by printing out a form and mailing it in... which I do not plan on doing. I was not a happy camper when I read that fine print about a minimum purchase amount, what mumbo jumbo! Well it's their loss, because I was going to buy some nail foils in several colors from that site, but now I will have to find the foils somewhere else.

Here is the link to the website:
http://dollarnailart.com/cat_pages/foils.html

and the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cky5eGb8AH8

Twilight Nail Stickers!!

Twilight + Ashley + eBay = Edward nails stickers!!

I ordered some nail decals off eBay a few days ago and they came in the mail today!!! They are pretty great, except they're are not regular stickers you peel and stick on... they're water decals. I had never heard of water decals until I stumbled upon them on eBay. I haven't tried them out yet, but they seem pretty easy to use. After it's soaked in water for 30 seconds, the white backing should peel off and the sticker can be applied like a regular nail decal and sealed with a top coat.

Sailing into the Sunset

This is another version of my Sunset Paradise design. The sky is a coral color instead of blue, the water is a lighter shade of blue, there is just one palm tree, and a tiny sailboat in this version.

Summer Strawberries

Strawberries. Simple enough.

Products used: Finger Paints base coat, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Cherry Red, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Emerald City, Pure Ice in Black Rage, dotting tool, Beauty Secrets top coat

Acrylic Overlay

I added a purple overlay to my acrylic tips using the Konad stamping System. The design is made of little flowers that are connected with tiny vines.

Products used: Konad image plate m73, Konad Special Polish in Violet Pearl, image plate holder, stamper, scraper, Beauty Secrets top coat

Brush Care

These are my nail brushes and I clean them with Beauty Secrets Brush Cleaner from the beauty supply store. Keeping nail brushes clean will ensure they perform to their full capability, reduce product build up, and extend brush life. I recently bought this cleaner and started using it and it does the job just fine. Brushes should be cleaned regularly, wiped dry with a soft cloth, and then stored properly. I used to just throw my brushes in a small Vera Bradley pencil bag but the bristles would get messed up, so now I store them in a clear plastic container to protect the bristles.

ACRYLICS!!!!

SUPER EXCITED!!! I have only had acrylic nails twice but I have always wanted to learn to do them to see if I could. AND I CAN! On Friday, we made a trip to the beauty supply store and bought a small kit that had all the powders and liquids you need, a brush, and white tips. So I attempted to put them on that night and it wasn't that difficult. It was tricky to handle the nail glue and I glued my fingers together, to the bottle, to the nails themselves, the table, pretty much everything.... But after that, it took forever to file them down and the it was hard to put on the acrylic and keep it smooth, so... mine are a little lumpy in some places. But overall, they turned out pretty good for my first attempt. Next time, I will know what not to do and hopefully they will come out even better!

Products used: (most are ASP, All Season's Professional brand) ASP pack of 100 count french white nail tips with instant nail glue, ASP Prep N' Clean Dehydrant, ASP Bonding Acrylic Liquid, ASP Primer Pen, ASP Bonding Acrylic Powder in white, pink, and clear, Beauty Secrets 180 grit Zebra nail file, Beauty Secrets super round #8 sable brush, glass dappen dish, sculptured dappen dish (two dishes in one)

Spring Dragonfly

This design is a light blue background with a small dragonfly in one corner and a large pink flower in the other corner. The other toes have coordinating pink dots in a diagonal pattern down one side of the nail. I really like the dots.

Products used: Finger Paints base coat, OPI in What's With the Cattitude?, CoverGirl Boundless Color in Midnight Magic, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On, Pure Ice in Flirt Alert, Pure Ice in Wild Thing, N.Y.C. in Taxi Yellow, dotting tool, assorted nail brushes, Beauty Secrets top coat

Tropical Sunset

Sunset. Complete with palm trees, mountains, and waves. This design was actually very easy to paint. The only problem I had was mixing colors to make the coral color for the sky and applying it with a fan brush and then waiting on all the different layers of the design to dry.

I used: Finger Paints base coat, China Glaze in Shower Together, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On, N.Y.C. in Times Square Tangerine, Pure Ice in Flirt Alert, Stripe Rite in Yellow, Stripe Rite in White, Stripe Rite in Black, assorted nail brushes, fan brush, dotting tool, Beauty Secrets top coat

Patriotic Swirl

My design for the 4th of July. This is another attempt at water marbling that also turned out really well.

I used: Finger Paints base coat, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Cherry Red, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Blue It, bowl of room temperature water, Beauty Secrets top coat

Penguin

A cute little penguin perfect for winter. There's no background in this design but a light blue with dots or snowflakes will give a bright winter vibe. 

I used: Finger Paints base coat, Pure Ice in Black Rage, Pure Ice in Oh Baby!, N.Y.C. in Times Square Tangerine, dotting tool, assorted nail brushes, Beauty Secrets top coat

Snowflakes

Snowflake design using the Konad system. The base color is light blue with stamped dark blue and white snowflakes and a glitter topcoat. I have also done another snowflake design with freehand snowflakes and it was the hardest design I have ever done to my own nails.

Products used: Finger Paints base coat, China Glaze in For Audrey, Sally Girl in Twinkle, Konad image plate m59, Konad Special Polish in White, Konad Special Polish in Royal Blue, image plate holder, stamper, scraper, Beauty Secrets top coat

Pink Swirl

 Pink and white swirl. This is my first attempt at water marbling and it turned out really well. Water marbling is a technique that involves dropping nail polish into water in layers and swirling it around to make a design. You just dip your nails into the water to apply it to the nail. It's a great way to create fun and unique designs with different colors. The only downsides are that it can be messy and it uses ALOT of polish (so don't use your good stuff!).

I used: Finger Paints base coat, N.Y.C. in Fuchsia Shock, CQ in French White, bowl of room temperature water, Q tips, toothpick, nail polish remover, paper towel, Beauty Secrets top coat

Summer Watermelon

Watermelon. Perfect for summer. This design was very simple to do, especially since it's only on one toe.

I used: Finger Paints base coat, Pure Ice in Flirt Alert, Pure Ice in Wild Thing, Pure Ice in Black Rage, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Emerald City, Beauty Secrets top coat, dotting tool

Dotted French

This is an earlier design, from when I was just getting started in nail art. It's just a simple white french tip with black dots and a thin black line. I used Finger Paints base coat, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On, Pure Ice in Black Rage, Beauty Secrets top coat, dotting tool