Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! 

 

Thumb: Christmas tree

Index Finger: Reindeer

Middle Finger: Wreath

Ring Finger: Cross

Pinkie Finger: Santa's belt

 

New Polishes!

Hello, my name is Ashley, and I'm a nail polish addict. 

I just this past week, I have bought five new polishes. 

Top left: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Acceler-grape

I have see this color before but never bought it. 

I came across it in walmart in the clearance section and couldn't resist.

Top right:  China Glaze Pizazz (left) and Frostbite (right)

I found these in Sally. Usually, China Glaze polishes are $5-7 each. 

These two came in a boxed set together for $8.99.
I'm currently wearing Frostbite on my toes.
It's a really pretty deep blue shimmer.
 

Bottom left: Finger Paints Santa's Magic 

This polish makes me happy. It's a clear polish with holographic glitter!
This is my first holographic polish.

Bottom right:  Aeropostale Winter Wonderland and Mistle-Toe

Winter Wonderland is a muted light blue and Mistle-Toe is is a muted pale green.
I have never bought polish from Aeropostale and I only bought these because they were on sale.
I think the original price is $6 and I got them on sale for about $2 each.
I have been pleased with these polishes (consistency and color wise)
but I probably won't buy any more unless they are on sale again.
I actually don't really shop there so chances of me buying more are slim.

Close up of China Glaze Pizazz

Close up of Finger Paints Santa's Magic

December 21, 2012

Today is December 21, 2012.
Everyone knows what that means, right?
Today is special and I painted a special design
just for today...


Yes, today is the first day of WINTER! (officially)
The winter solstice is noted by the point at which the sun is the farthest away from the Earth with the rays hitting the Earth farther south than in the summer. 

Thumb: Snowman

Index Finger: Hot Chocolate

Middle Finger: Penguin

Ring Finger: Snowflake

Pinkie Finger: Snow covered tree



Breaking Dawn

It's finally time for the premiere of Breaking Dawn, 

the final book in the Twilight series!


Okay, actually it came out like a month ago...But I finally was able to watch it!!! 

It was such a great movie. So intense. The ending definitely got me and afterward, I felt completely emotionally drained. I'm sad it's over, but it was a great ending.
I painted this design to commemorate the series.





Thumb: Apple (Twilight cover)
Index finger: Flower (New Moon cover)
Middle finger: Ribbon (Eclipse cover)
Ring finger: Bella's engagement ring
Pinkie finger: Chess piece (Breaking Dawn cover)

If you have not seen Breaking Dawn yet, I highly recommend it!
I want to see it again.

Thanksgiving

Happy (late) Thanksgiving!

In all the festivities, I forgot to post this design on Thursday, partly because I was so busy with schoolwork and I had a stomach bug ON Thanksgiving.

 For this design, I started with a gold background 

and painted red, yellow, and orange leaves. 

On the accent finger, I painted a turkey.

Hallooooooween

Happy Halloween! 

Thumb: Candy corn.

Index finger: Black cat on an orange nail.

Middle finger: Graveyard.

Ring finger: Purple sponge French tip with spider web. 

Pinkie finger: Ghost.

Upcoming

Here's a peek at what posts are in 

the making right now! 

Check back soon! 

Mountain Day

Halloween 

Thanksgiving 

A special design for November 

Winter 

Christmas 

 

Breat Cancer Awareness

October is breast cancer awareness month. 

Click here for a link to the National Breast Cancer Institute.

Did you know..?

One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
Over 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
When breast cancer is detected early (localized), the 5-­year survival rate is 98%.
Over 30% of women are diagnosed after breast cancer has spread.

 

 This design is simple. 

It's a pink french tip with white polka dots. 

The accent finger is white with pink polka dots and a big pink ribbon.

Did you know that every type of cancer has a colored ribbon? I didn't know that until I came across this picture. 

 

Spongebob

So, I've been planning a Spongebob design for a while.
And in my head, it looked way better than this...

On the index finger I painted Spongebob's home sweet pineapple. On the middle finger, I attempted to paint Spongebob's face. (I am so bad at painting faces - see Mario and Ariel if you don't believe me! Ha!) So I messed up and just left the nail yellow. On the ring finger is a jellyfish and Gary is living on the pinkie finger. Finally, on the thumb, I painted a Krabby patty. 

This design is just awful but I decided to post anyways. I can't paint faces. Really.
And I should call the Krabby patty burnt because I don't have a light brown!! The only brown I have is so dark it looks black.. I have needed a light brown polish for YEARS and can never find the right one without glitter! So if you have one or find one, please let me know!!

FAIL.

Olympic Ending

The Olympics are over. 

I came up with this design for the top four countries. 

I painted each country's flag.

Index finger: USA 

YAY! We had the most medals!! 

We had 46 gold, 29 silver, and 29 bronze

 for 104 medals overall!

Middle finger: China 

China had 38 gold, 27 silver, and 23 bronze

 for 88 medals overall! 

Ring finger: Russia 

 Russia had 24 gold, 26 silver, and 32 bronze

 for 82 medals overall!

Pinkie finger: Great Britain

Great Britain had 29 gold, 17 silver, and 19 bronze 

for 65 medals overall!

Rhinestones

So, I don't use rhinestones that often. Mainly, because when I want to, I don't have many. The package of rhinestones I have came from Sally and they are Cina brand. It's a wheel of 250 stones that's $10.49! It looks like this:

Never again will I buy these rhinestones!! The plastic wheel doens't form a tight seal so eventually all the stones either fell out or were stuck under it. I went in Claire's the other day to get more of their 2-way nail art pens. Unfortunately, they were out of the color I wanted but the trip was a success anyways! I found their rhinestones and I bought them. I was super excited. It's a smaller wheel with 500 rhinestones for only $5.50!!!! Also, the Cina wheel only has round stones in a few colors. The one from Claire's had several different shapes in several different colors in addition to the round ones.

It looks like this:

 More stones! Smaller wheel! More shapes! Less money! YAY!
 

Super Mario

I have already painted Mario himself 

(with his face too big; click here if you haven't seen it) 

so I decided to do another Mario design including other things from the game.  

Far left: Question block
Left: Piranha plant. Yes, I forgot the white dots..
Center: Coins
Right: Mushroom
Far right: Goomba. Yes, I know he's supposed to be brown. I painted him with brown polish..I didn't realize it was a DARK brown polish :(
 

My brown polish dilemma strikes again!

Pac Man

 I bet everyone remembers playing PacMan at some point in their life. I know I do. 

But I wasn't a big fan; it made my heart race too much with those little things chasing me!

Left: PacMan himself.
Center/Right: those little ghost looking things that try to catch you!
Do they have a name? Anyone know what they're called? 

Big Bang Theory

Have you seen the Big Bang Theory? It's a show about two brilliant physicists, Leonard and Sheldon. None of that genius helps them interact with people, especially women. All this begins to change when a free-spirited beauty named Penny moves in next door. Also on the show is Leonard and Sheldon's two friends,  aerospace engineer Howard and astrophysicist Rajesh. 

I love this show and I have been trying to come up with a design for some time now. This is what I came up with. The lightning bolt seems a little off to me. This design is not one of my best.

VBS 2012

A few weeks ago, Aaron and I volunteered to help out at a local church during Vacation Bible School. The theme was "SKY: Everything is possible with God."  

Here is a picture of the logo.

This is what I came up with.  

Do You Know Your Nail Type?

I'm sure we have all had the frustration of spending time on our nails just for them to break or chip minutes after. Nails come in different types, just like skin and hair.. If you're not using products specific to your type, you could be damaging your nails instead of helping them. 

 

There are five nail types: dry, brittle, damaged, soft or normal.



*Dry Nails
Dry nails lack luster and look dull; plus, if you run your thumb over the nail, it will drag slightly instead of sliding cleanly across. The secret to treating dry nails is to rehydrate them – vitamin E is fantastic for this (just like it is on dry skin) so open vitamin capsule and rub it directly onto the nails morning and evening. It’ll also help if you always wear a moisturizing base coat to hydrate the nails 24/7 and prevent further drying by switching from soap to hand washes. Use a moisturizing acetone free nail polish remover. Finally, steer clear of pearly polish. The ingredients used to make them sparkly can be dehydrating.


*Brittle Nails
Gently press the sides of your nails together. Do they bend?

If your nail doesn’t bend, chances are you have brittle nails. These have no moisture left in them at all. Which also means they have no flexibility and shatter as soon as they bash on something. This causes most people to reach for the nail hardening products, but this is the worst thing you can do as it makes the nail even more rigid. It’s better to boost flexibility by oiling the nails nightly with almond oil instead. Use cuticle cream regularly! The shape of your nails will also add strength. The best is a squoval shape (where the sides of the nail are left straight and only the top is rounded), as this helps the nail absorb shocks better.


*Damaged Nails
Look closely at the surface of your nails. If your nails are flaking or splitting, you have damaged nails. These are most commonly caused by severe dehydration. Acrylic nails can be a culprit. Help them with a treatment base coat to heal the nail, but make sure that, as you apply it, you stipple it into any flaky spots (just like you would cover peeling paint). This will prevent air bubbles forming under the polish and stop flaking – which is important, as flaking polish takes nail cells with it, increasing damage. You also need to ensure that the cells that grow through next time are strong and healthy, so use cuticle oil twice daily; if the cuticle is supple, the new cells can push through more easily so they arrive at the nail bed in the best of health. Avoid having nails polished continuously; remove polish and leave it off occasionally to allow your nails to breathe. Drink more water.


*Soft Nails
If your nails bend at the slightest touch and rarely grow past your fingertip you’ve got soft nails. To get them back into shape, you need to harden them up. The simple way to do this is to apply a nail hardener. Certain base coats (and even some colored nail polish) contain hardeners  In fact, any oil will help strengthen soft nails as it keeps out their main enemy, water, which softens them even further. Always wear gloves when you’re washing dishes and cleaning and apply hand cream often.


*Normal Nails
If you have none of the above problems – your nails bend slightly when pressed, look pink and shiny and will grow easily – you’re lucky, you naturally have normal nails. Try to keep them that way by moisturizing them regularly with hand creams, and avoiding harsh detergents and overly hot water.

Chick Fil A

Chick Fil A founder recently announced his support fir traditional marriage and that Chick Fil A, as a family owned and operated company, doesn't support gay marriage. Mike Huckabee declared August 1st to be Chick Fil A Appreciation Day. I support Chick Fil A and everything they stand for. I think it's great that we have a company like Chick Fil A to take a stand/make a public statement for what they believe is right. I definitely went to Chick Fil A on August 1. It was packed!! From what I heard, the restaurant was packed all day long!

 Here is a picture of the blob of people crowded in front of the counter.

I painted this design in honor of Chick Fil A Appreciation Day. 

It's the Chick Fil A  logo and a cow print nail.

Eat More Chickin!

HOW TO: Give Yourself a Manicure

Have you ever wanted a manicure without dealing with a salon? I can show you how to give yourself a manicure at home, which is less hassle and cheaper than going to a salon.

You will need:

Nail polish remover

Cotton balls

Nail Clippers

Nail File
Big Bowl

Warm Water

Few drops of lemon juice or oil
Cuticle Cream

Orangewood Stick

Lotion

Base Coat

Nail Polish

Top Coat

*Clean

First, you must remove any  polish already on your nails. Even if you don't have any polish on your nails, give them a swipe with remover anyways to get rid of any oils that could be on your nails.

*Shape

Use nail clippers and a file to shape your nails. The best way is to cut straight across to the length you want and then use a file to shape the edges. Make sure not to file back and forth; move only in one direction.

*Soak

Fill a big bowl with warm water and add some drops of lemon juice. The citric acid will whiten your nails and the warm water will soften your cuticles. If you don't need whiter nails, instead of lemon juice, use a few drops of oil. For more info on how to whiten your nails, click here. Soak for about 5 minutes and then dry.

*Cuticle Cream/Oil

Massage cuticle cream or oil into each nail bed. If you don't have one, you can use olive oil or vaseline.

*Push Cuticles Back

Use the tip of an orange wood stick to gently push back all your cuticles. Your cuticles should be softened by now and will move easily. Don't cut them!! It's too easy to clip too much or too close, which can lead to pain, bleeding, and even infection! The orange wood stick is also great for cleaning under the nail.

*Lotion

Apply lotion all over your hands and wrists. Move in small circles to increase blood flow. 

*Base Coat

Wipe the lotion off the nail surface of each nail. If they still feel greasy or look shiny, you could wash them and give them a quick swipe of nail polish remover. Any oil or greasy spots will keep the polish from sticking to the nail and can lead to chipping sooner! Apply a base coat (not too thick!). A base coat will protect your nail from staining and create a smooth surface for your color polish, helping it last longer. In a pinch or if you don't have a base coat, you can use clear nail polish. My favorite is Beauty Secrets base coat. I also like using ones with nail hardeners. 

*Color

After base coat has fully dried (5-7 minutes) you're ready for color! Starting in the center of each nail, apply your color polish in a thin coat using three even strokes. After about three minutes, apply a second coat. Wait longer than that for thicker polish. Take care to wipe excess nail polish off of the brush to avoid an unfortunate ‘blob’ situation, and allow a full ten minutes or so for the paint to dry to avoid smudging. Don’t give in to the temptation to get up and start doing things with your hands. For some polishes, three coats may be needed to look opaque, drying completely between coats. If you get polish on your skin, dip the orange wood stick or a Q tip in remover to clean it up.   

*Top Coat

When your nails are fully dry to the touch, seal them nails with a top coat. This will help prevent chips and will make the color last longer. 

I hope this post has shown you that you don't have to go to a salon and pay to be pampered. It's easy to do at home and several of these things you probably already have around the house. If you don't, a quick trip to Walmart will fix that and it will be cheap too!

Angry Birds

Finally, the inevitable design.

I painted Angry Birds, perhaps the most downloaded app of all time. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you must live under a rock. Recently, society has exploded with Angry Birds merchandise. The whole point of the game is to dish out revenge on the green pigs who have taken the birds' eggs. Each bird does a different thing when launched. If you haven't played this game, I highly recommend it. Angry Birds is an all-around great game.

Summer Olympics 2012

The 2012 London Summer Olympics have begun!

I painted the Olympic torch.

I also painted a gold medal.with my favorite team.

On the other fingers, I painted the symbol for my three favorite sports to watch.

Far Left: Volleyball

Left: Torch

Center: Gymnastics

Right: Gold Medal and "USA" 

Far Right: Diving

HOW TO: Grow Nails Fast

*Take Vitamins

The most important tip to grow nails fast is to make sure you get all your vitamins, mainly vitamins A, B, C and D. You can either get these vitamins from your diet or take a multivitamin. Taking vitamins will help strengthen your nails and promote nail growth. 

*Get Moving 

Did you know that getting the blood flowing to your fingers is one of the most effective tips to grow nails fast? If you type often, play piano, cook or do basically anything involving your hands, you’re helping yourself to get a pair of longer nails faster. 

*Take Care 

Keeping your nails healthy and strong will help them grow faster. One of the most important tips to grow nails fast and keep them strong and healthy is to properly clean and moisturize your nails and cuticles regularly. Use cuticle oil to moisturize and apply a protective clear coat every other day to bare nails to prevent cracking, peeling and provide a shield between your nails and the elements.

*Balance 

Eating a healthy and consistently balanced diet is one of the best ways to trim some inches off of your waist and it will also help grow nails faster and stronger. Make it a habit to eat balanced meals and get your daily intake of lean protein, fiber and fresh produce to get a speedy set of nails!

 *Start Rubbing 

This one is weird. I haven't tried it myself, but it’s worth a try if you really want longer nails. Take a clove of garlic and rub it on your nails for 30 minutes and rinse. Afterward, to avoid smelling like vampire repellant, rub a lemon wedge on your fingers and nails. Another option is to chop garlic and put it in your polish and apply to nails. Garlic is said to help strength and harden wimpy nails and you can often find garlic extract on the list of ingredients for nail hardeners.

*Stop Filing

Granted, your nails need to be filed to maintain shape, but if you find yourself filing all the tip..there's no way your nails will grow fast. Avoid over-filing your nails and  be sure that when you do file them, that you are filing correctly (in one direction). Nail files are porous and can easily spread bacteria so replace it often.

*Bring Out the OJ

Another tip is to soak your fingers in orange juice for 10 minutes then rinse off. Orange juice is packed with Vitamin C and folic acid, both which are awesome to induce nail growth. If you can’t stand the smell of garlic, this method might be a better option. 

*Protect 

Protect your hands and fingers from anything abrasive such as dish detergent or cleaning with harsh household cleaners. Also, avoid using acetone nail polish remover more than once per week as it can weaken and dry out your nails. Wearing gloves while washing dishes and cleaning will save your hands from drying out as well as saving your nails.

*Drink Water 

The last and perhaps most important tip to grow nails fast is to stay hydrated and drink lots of water. We all know how essential it is to drink at least 8-10 glasses of water per day for health and weight loss. If we needed another reason to drink up, we now know we need to hydrate ourselves consistently to grow nails long and strong.

If you have read my post on how to get strong nails, then you probably notice this post is very similar. If you haven't read it, please click here. Following these tips can lead you to healthier, stronger, AND longer nails. 

HOW TO: Get Strong Nails

*File Correctly
It’s important to file in one direction. Filing back and forth like a saw can separate the nail layers. Be sure your nails are always dry when filing. Wet nails are softer and can break easily.


*Treat yourself
Give yourself a mini manicure! Take a cotton ball and wrap it around an orange stick. Dip it into some vitamin E oil. Use it to gently push your cuticles back. Add a clear coat of nail-strengthening polish and rub moisturizer or lotion into your cuticles once or twice a day.


*Switch Removers
If you're like me and love nail polish, then your nail polish remover could be making your nails brittle over time. Acetone-based removers are very drying on your nails. Look for removers that say moisturizing, strengthening, or nourishing (or even acetone free!) on the bottle.

*Drink Water
Staying hydrated can affect the health of your nails. If you have a hard time getting the recommended eight glasses of water each and every day, try adding a glass of milk. Milk is rich in zinc, which can really help toughen up your nails for better strength, giving you strong nails.


*Get Enough Protein
Since your nail are made of laminated layers of keratin proteins, getting enough protein in your diet can really do wonders to help them grow and stay strong. Women are recommended to consume about 4 to 6 ounces (or about 25 grams) of protein during each meal. Try choosing from lean sources like chicken, turkey, cold water fish, low-fat dairy products and soy products. If that's still not enough, try protein bars or adding protein powder to cereal or smoothies.


*Consider Taking Biotin
Biotin supplements include B-complex vitamins, which are recommended by the National Institute of Health to help strengthen hair and nails. Taking just 300 micrograms of biotin daily can help improve brittle nails, and transform them into strong nails.


*Eat Iron and Omega-3 Fats
Iron is important to help keep skin, hair and nails healthy looking. Make sure you’re getting enough iron by eating 100 percent whole grain breads and pastas along with dark and leafy vegetables or legumes (like green beans), meats and eggs. As an added diet tip, it’s also recommended to consume omega-3 fats from foods like almonds and walnuts, which can help provide those fatty acids your nails need to keep from splitting (and are also good for your heart).


*Don't Pick
Finally, try to avoid using your nails as tool to pick, pry, and open things. This can weaken nails and they will fray or break. It will also chip your polish! These changes won't be so hard to make and your nails will thank you for it. 

 

Half of this list deals with your diet. Eating better can make you healthier 

AND make your nails stronger and prettier! 

Rachel's Toes

I painted this for my friend Rachel. She wanted something colorful.
The first design is a rainbow leopard print on a pearly white base. 

Berries

A few semesters ago, I took a class called Micro/Botany and this design is inspired by that class. What comes to mind when you hear the word fruit? Probably apples, grapes, and strawberries, right? What is a fruit? A fruit is the edible part of a plant that contains seeds.
 

Now, what comes to mind when you hear the word vegetable? We think of things like tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes, right? A vegetable is commonly thought of as the other edible parts of plants that are not a particularly sweet fruit or a seed. Vegetables can be leaves, like lettuce, stems, like celery, and roots, like carrots.

What about the tomato? Is it a fruit or a vegetable?
The culinary industry is to blame for the confusion. A chef will use a tomato more like a vegetable instead of like a fruit. A botanical fruit is a fruit according to a scientific definition. A culinary vegetable is a vegetable used for cooking and preparing meals. We get confused about how to classify tomatoes because a tomato is BOTH a culinary vegetable and a botanical fruit.

When you hear the word berry, I bet you think of strawberries and blueberries, right? Well, a tomato is also a berry! First let's consider flower anatomy. Flowers have both male and female parts on the same plant. The male parts of the flower are collectively called the stamen, which is a long filament with an anther on the end. The female parts are collectively called the carpel, which is a stigma on the end of a long style, which stems from a round ovary with an ovule inside. The simple scientific definition of a fruit is a mature ovary of a flower. After pollen fertilizes the ovule, the ovary begins to develop into what will become the fruit. The ovule will become the seed.

So, how is a tomato a berry?
In general English, the word berry has come to be known as any small edible fruit. This does not go along with the definition of a true berry. A berry can be botanically defined as a type of simple fruit with seeds within one or more ovary. A true berry has fused carpels.

So here is the design of other foods that may be considered a vegetable, but are actually fruits.
All of these fruits are also berries.



Index finger: Avocado
Middle finger: Bananas
Ring finger: Tomatoes
Pinkie finger: Pumpkin

Up, up, and Away

I saw this on Pinterest and wanted to try it. 

This design is really simple and fun. 

It reminds me of the movie Up.

What do balloons make you think of?

Shooting Stars

I saw this design on Pinterest and I wanted to try it. I really like it. 

It would also look great in a light pink. Or maybe a pale yellow.
It would look awesome on silver, especially if you paint the star a different color.

I did three different versions of this design.
The first version has all star outlines.
The second version has one finger with a star outline.
The third version has all solid stars.

Version 1. 

Version 2.

Version 3.

Sparkle Flower

This is what I have painted on my toes right now. 

It's a bright blue background with part of a white flower in one corner. There's glitter highlighting each of the three petals. Two trails of dots emerge from the flower and meet over the center petal.

Daytona Beach

So, back in June, Aaron and I went on vacation in Daytona for two weeks with his parents.

Yep, two whole weeks of beach!

I have a post on my other blog about all we did, if anyone wants to read it.

(I mainly talk about all the food we ate! Click here for a link to that post.)

I came up with this design after the trip.

Index finger. 

I painted a birthday cupcake.

 I turned 21 on the day we left for Daytona. 

Middle finger. 

On this finger, I painted a crab. 

Every time we go to the beach, we go crabbing!

It's always alot of fun, but you really have to move. 

Those little crabs are fast! 

Ring finger.

I painted cow print for Cowlick's, 

which is this cute little ice cream shop 

with an over the top cow theme. It's so good. 

Pinkie finger. 

This nail is dark and hard to see. 

Aaron and I went putt putting. 

I painted the green with a hole and a flag. 

I lost...badly!

Junior Year

  After finishing up my third year of college, 

I came up with this design for all the classes I took.

I can't believe next year will be my last year. 

It doesn't feel like I should be graduating yet. 

It's almost unreal.

........................................................

 Index finger: Cell Biology

I heard terrible stories about this class.  I was terrified to take this class. But I needed to take it. I was surprised.  I LOVED THIS CLASS. It was a really hard class but has been my favorite college class. I was challenged academically. The first few months I was actually making a C. I have never, ever made a C before. It was stressing me out! I was reading a whole chapter for every class, each one being at least fifty pages long. We had an online quiz for every class. Those tricky things killed my grade in the beginning.But I worked hard to pull it back up and made an A in the class! I will never forget the day we watched this video. Click here for a link. You should watch it too. It's called 'The Inner Life of a Cell.' Call me a nerd, but I sat in total awe seeing this for the first time. It's such a great clip, especially to think it's happening in you right now! I can tell I'm in the right major, because I think that video is awesome. For this design, I painted a piece of DNA.

 

Middle finger: Physics

Let me start off by saying...I hate physics. With a passion. Mainly because I don't understand it. I had trouble with this class too (not like Cell Bio though) Lab was painful to sit through, but we did get out early almost every day. For the first semester, I made a B. So sad. But for the second semester, I squeaked out an A. For this design, I painted a prism. White light goes in and a rainbow comes out as each color is diffracted. 

 

Ring finger: Organic Chemistry

I was also dreading organic. I didn't retain much from gen chem and I was afraid that would really hurt me in ochem. But everything was okay. Organic is related to gen chem, but was mostly its own thing. I actually enjoyed organic. I had an awesome teacher, which helped alot too. My new favorite element? Carbon, of course! For this design, I painted a benzene ring.

  Pinkie finger: Yoga

 I needed another activity class, and I chose yoga. Best decision ever. I love yoga!!I was so sad when it ended, especially since it only last half the semester.I loved seeing my own progress. I gained more flexibility and better balance. Taking yoga also helped keep stress at bay. My favorite things were sun salutations, child's pose, the warrior poses, and legs on the wall. For this design, I pained a figure in a warrior pose.

 Thumb: First Aid

 I enjoyed this class as well. I learned many interesting things. We made first aid kits. Mine now lives in my car. I have now completed all requirements for American Red Cross certification in adult CPR/AED. For this design, I painted a heart, with a heart monitor line inside. 

What's next? My senior year!! And also tackling the big decision of whether or not to be a PA or an MD. I'm excited for next semester. I'll be taking Biochemistry. I'm not excited about Analytical Chemistry.. actually kinda dreading it. I'll also be in TWO art classes, one is a survey class (a boring gen ed) and the other is called 2D design. I'm nervous excited about that one. The only artistic things I can do are paint nails and play clarinet.

Watermelon and a Blue Zebra.

What goes great with summer?
Watermelon.

Did you know that every part of a watermelon is edible? Even the seeds and rind. Did you know the Japanese grow watermelons in boxes so they have a square shape? These toes belong to my cousin, Acelynn. 

This design is so simple. 

 Acelynn also wanted zebra on her nails. We decided on a blue background with black stripes. The ring finger is a pale green background with glitter stripes. This one is fairly simple too.

REVIEW: Salon Express

I'm sure everyone has seen the commercials for Salon Express. The first time I saw the commercial, I knew it was a Konad knock-off and said it probably wouldn't work. I saw it in Walmart several times. Finally, I broke down and decided to try it. It was only $10. The package looks like this:

(Front)

 (Back)

These are the instructions.

And the contents. 

A scrape plate. Scraper. Stamper.  

 Here are the plates. 

These are reason I broke down and bought Salon Express. 

They are different from Konad plates. Plus, Konad plates are like $8 a piece. 

For $10, I got five with this set!

I was really excited to try the new designs on the plates.
But.... I wasted my money on Salon Express.

 Don't waste yours too, if you haven't already.

Salon Express is crap. 

It doesn't work. Period. Not even a little bit. The plates are super shiny, almost blinding. I like the stamper. I would like it better if it worked. Almost every time, the polish stayed on the stamper. The very few times it did transfer to the nail, it was so faint you couldn't even see it.I even tried dark polish and it still looked very faint. I glanced back at the directions, just to make sure I was doing it right or didn't miss anything. I noticed it said to use nail PAINT. Nail paint? Hmm. Obviously that doesn't mean regular nail polish.  

I was excited about this, and then let down. I might even just throw it away.

I think I'll just stick to Konad. No more knock-offs.