Growing Nails Through Art!

Fantasy on Purple

2011-01-10T20:24:00.000-06:00

As always, click to enlarge.

Basecoat: e.l.f Royal Purple
All-over nail squares (you can't really see them, but they're there): e.l.f Bubble Gum Pink
Fantasy Designs (unicorn, mermaid, goddess*, Cupid, fairy): Konad White
Topcoat: Covergirl Boundless Color Ameythist Mist

*My interpretation anyway, since I needed 5 designs.

New Year's Fireworks

2011-01-04T12:43:00.006-06:00

After almost a yearlong hiatus, I'm back! It's been almost long enough that it feels like a completely new start. For example, whatever proficiencies I'd gained in steadiness and cleanup weren't there when I went to paint my nails Sunday. I know that it will all come back to me with time and practice, so please bear with me through the smudges! :)

As always, click any picture to see a larger version.

Left Hand

Right Hand

Basecoat: Maybelline Express Finish Go Go Green -- Perhaps to attract wealth in the new year :D
2nd coat: Gosh Rainbow -- I'm afraid none of the photos captured the magic of this polish. In person, you can see flecks of green and red shining out over the basecoat
Designs: Blue Konad special polish
Topcoat: New York Color Starry Silver Glitter

Add a star-shaped nail gem to each thumb, and there you have it!

Concert Nails

2010-02-24T23:05:00.001-06:00

(Click any pic to enlarge.)

I am going to the Billy Joel and Elton John concert tomorrow, so I wanted my nails to go with that theme. Nothing about this design went right, and I'm actually not really happy with it, but it's okay.

First, I put on the tips with a Konad special polish. The color didn't come out at all like I expected. I looks like a dark purple in the bottle (which doesn't even really show in the picture of the bottle), but it came out reddish-brown on my nails. Nathan says it's Burgundy, so I'll go with that.

Then I put design over the tips with Konad special polish in Gold. (You can just barely see this, in the picture and in person.) And I can't for the life of me think of the word for the design! Ts? Stripes? Graph? Whatever. Moving on. I painted over the whole thing with Zoya Elise. I've never painted the tips and then the nail, or even the tips and the nail! I topped it all off with the music lines and notes in the same Burgundy polish.

I got the idea to take a picture of myself holding the bottles from Susie!

Pink Stripe Tips

2010-02-22T21:56:00.000-06:00

(Click to enlarge, though this one looks a lot better from far away/smaller!)

The white is Konad special polish. The stripes are e.l.f. in Berry Pink. The sparkly topcoat is CoverGirl Boundless Color in Amethyst Mist. I applied it too early and smudged the tips and stripes. :( You can see a whole area on my thumb that I accidentally "erased" with the topcoat. I also didn't realize how far the stripes extended past the tips until I saw the picture. It looks really nice from the normal distance you usually see someone's hand though. (Of course, now that it's been on over a week, not so much! But it has stayed on the best of any tips I've ever done. Maybe it's the topcoat.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-15T20:28:00.000-06:00

(Click pics to enlarge.)

I used the Konad special polish in red and white. By the time I made it to work the next day to take a picture with one of my duckies, I'd already chipped my thumb! At least it was in a non-designed area. It's weird how thick the base coat + top coat are though, huh?

I did this design on February 7th and wore it until today, when I redid my nails. Who knows when I'll post that design! :D My nails were pretty trashed by the end of the week though. I don't know why I'm so obsessed with doing tip designs when I can't keep them on!

Tiger or Fire?

2010-02-15T20:20:00.002-06:00

(Click to enlarge.)

I knew it would happen! I'm on a little kick of designed tips (which I'm just going to go ahead and call "French" for the sake of tags), rather than whole nail designs. I used the Konad special polish in orange and yellow on this one. I can't decide whether it looks like a tiger in the wrong colors or a fire.

Also, I'm behind on posting again. This was the design I did on January 31st.

Red Polka Dot French

2010-01-28T18:15:00.000-06:00

(Click to enlarge.)

This is simple, but I love it! The red and white are both Konad's special polish. I cannot get the French stamps on to save my life (and I also can't keep a French looking nice to save my life), so Nathan did this for me. He did a really good job, eh? I called this a reverse Minnie Mouse. :) I think I'm going to be obsessed with doing these types of designs now, so I hope my blog doesn't get monotonous!

Aquatic

2010-01-24T18:47:00.000-06:00

(Click to enlarge.)

Basecoat: Wet 'n Wild Wild Shine (Carribean Frost)
All-Over Designs: Konad special nail polish (Light Blue)
Bubbles: Konad special nail polish (White)

I think the all-over design is actually supposed to be cow print, but I meant for it to look like fish scales. I think the bubbles help pull off that intended effect.

Oh, and I'm not quite a full week behind, since I haven't yet removed this polish and started on this week's nails! :)

Windy

2010-01-11T20:55:00.003-06:00

(Click to enlarge.)

Basecoat: CoverGirl Boundless Color (Violet Vision)
All-Over Designs: CoverGirl 3-in-1 (Rythmic Blue)
Wind: Konad special nail polish (White)
Topcoat: CoverGirl Boundless Color (Gold Rush)

I'm getting pretty advanced now, using 4 polishes! I think there is a lot of subtlety to this design though, so it's not over the top like 4 polishes could have been. This seems very weather-appropriate to me, though I was afraid at first that it would be very springy, since the basecoat is pastel purple.

I just got a whole batch of nail polishes in that I ordered from drugstore.com. All of the polishes except the white are from that batch. I think I might be becoming a nail polish addict! Uh-oh. Well, I've already half-thought that I might have a shopping addiction, so I guess that would just be a facet of that. It's not an extra addiction, at least!

Let's Drink to 2010

2010-01-04T21:41:00.002-06:00

(Click to enlarge.)

Basecoat: Zoya nail polish (Gabrielle)
Squares: Konad special nail polish (Wine)
Designs: Konad special nail polish (White)

I had a massage at a local spa, and they had some colors of Zoya nail polish on sale, so I bought this color and another orange color. This color is a shimmery orange, and I really like the look. I couldn't capture a picture of the shimmer, but it looks really neat as the basecoat. Actually, this design was hard to photgraph all around. I think you can see that it's 2010 across the fingers, but in case you can't tell, it's champagne glasses on my thumbs. I've named this Konad polish, which is a dark reddish purple, "wine." Why doesn't Konad label them?

Silver Swirls on Purple

2010-01-04T21:33:00.001-06:00

(Click to enlarge.)

Basecoat: e.l.f. nail polish (Royal Purple)
Swirls: Konad special nail polish (Silver)

I'm behind on posting again! I had this design on the week after Christmas. I thought the colors were a little festive, but not overly-much, appropriate for the holiday comedown.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T22:50:00.002-06:00

(Click any pic to enlarge.)

Basecoat: Maybelline Salon Finish (Brick Creme)
Accent and designs: Konad special nail polish (Green, White)

Another successful composition, if I do say so myself! I wonder if I could get away with red, green, and white when it's not Christmas season. I'll try to think of something, because I think the colors look nice together.

I thought this was such a great idea for a picture! I'm sad to report that only now, after my nails aren't looking brand new, did I realize one finger is missing from the shot!

Bonus duckless pics! I took a lot of pictures of this set.

Snow

2009-12-14T20:57:00.001-06:00

Basecoat: Konad special nail polish (Light Blue), Pure Ice nail polish (Calypso)
Designs: Konad special nail polish (White)

The thumb is meant to look like blowing snow. The middle three fingers are meant to look like snowflakes. The pinky is meant to look like snowballs. To my surprise, I don't have any actual snowflake designs! As with the candy canes, you have to use your imagination a bit.

The basecoat design on this one is different than my usual routine. I sponged on the light blue, but I thought it was too textured, so I painted over it with the calypso. I'm happy with the effect.

Candy Canes

2009-12-14T20:41:00.005-06:00

I'm at it again with my late posting. This is last week's nail design. It's the closest rendition to candy canes I could do with what I have. What do you think? I used all Konad polish, with the red sponged on.

Basecoat: Konad special nail polish (Red)
Ribbons and Pearls: Konad special nail polish (White)

Punk Zebra

2009-12-04T22:43:00.002-06:00

Basecoat: e.l.f. nail polish (Royal Purple)
Swirls: Konad special nail polish (Yellow)

I'm very excited about this design! It would make it near the top on a favorites list. I'd like to try it with other color combinations, but I'll be moving to winter designs next.

I think this is a really great purple!

Harvest Nails

2009-12-04T22:35:00.001-06:00

Basecoat: e.l.f. nail polish (Chocolate)
Square design: Konad special nail polish (Orange)
Symbols: Konad special nail polish (Yellow)

This is the latest I've ever been posting! A whole other week has passed and needs to be posted too. I need to get on the ball! This is how I painted my nails for the week of Thanksgiving. I was going for something that would look autumnal and I'm pleased with the result.

Here's another view, and you can see my shoe in the background!

Animals on Blue

2009-11-20T18:47:00.002-06:00

Basecoat: e.l.f nail polish (Dark Navy)
Line designs: Konad special nail polish (Midnight Blue)
Animals: Konad special nail polish (Light Blue)

This is my first design I've done using different shades of one color. (Amazing how black the dark navy looks on my nails, huh?) This one would be toward the bottom of the list if I ranked all the designs I've done. I was disappointed with how dark the basecoat turned out. (Look how pretty it is on e.l.f.'s website!) The line designs didn't show up as well as I'd hoped either. I wonder if the problem is all in the design composition, the colors, or if it's a combination of both. I might try something like this again with different colors. I'd definitely at least like to try the animals again. They're so cute!

Stars on Pink with Silver Ribbons and Pearls

2009-11-11T13:09:00.001-06:00

Basecoat: e.l.f nail polish (Berry Pink)
Ribbons and Pearls: Konad special nail polish (Silver)
Stars: Konad special nail polish (Midnight Blue)

I am really impressed with this design. It's also a favorite, though in a different way Gold Roses on Burgundy was. I can't really explain it! If I could categorize the styles, I'd say this is my favorite in this style, while the other is my favorite in that style.

I didn't realize this when I picked silver as my second color, but the berry pink has a silver cast.

Gold Roses on Burgundy

2009-11-03T20:25:00.001-06:00

Basecoat: e.l.f. nail polish (Burgundy)
Design: Konad special nail polish (Gold)

This design is much more subtle than anything I've done before, but I love it! I think it is my favorite so far! It reminds me of really fancy curtains. (That almost doesn't sound like a nice thing to say about a nail polish design.)

I had a hard time getting a picture of the design, so here are pictures of the components.

Bonus seal!

As you can see from e.l.f.'s product photo, the burgundy has a gold cast, so I thought the basecoat and designs would go well together.

Plate m65 with the rose design I used

Halloween!

2009-10-27T21:32:00.003-05:00

Basecoat: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear (Black Out)
Designs*: Konad's special nail polish (Orange and White)

*I'm not good a describing/naming most of these designs! The first layer design is a mix between plaid and checks, I think. Or just one or the other? I've also got an extra detail at the tip of the thumb. I'd just call that a triple line X, I guess. The white designs are easier, mostly. We've got a pumpkin with Halloween written under it, a skull and crossbones, a face/mask, drops (implied blood, in this case, even though they're not red), and a spider.

I am so happy with this design! I'm not even going to show you the way I originally painted my nails on Sunday night. It was boooring! That means I've now designed my nails twice and not posted pics. Just think of all the money I'm saving!

Coraline in Houndstooth

2009-10-20T14:03:00.001-05:00

Basecoat: Sally Hansen Fast Dry Nail Color Pen (Hot Pink)
Houndstooth: Konad special polish (in what I'm calling Midnight Blue)
Coraline designs: Konad special polish (White)

I love that little mousie! I think he's my favorite on the Coraline plate I have.

Is this too close to Argyle Butterflies? Hot pink is pretty much my only basecoat color right now, because I don't paint well with regular polish and that is my only polish pen. I need to get some basecoats in fall colors! I've got a Halloween design already planned for next week!

Look, Nathan's iPhone!

French Fruits

2009-10-12T20:05:00.001-05:00

I only used Konad's special nail polish this time. I sponged on some pink, put on white tips, and then put a kiwi, grapes, and blueberries (I think?) on every other finger.

I'm not really happy with this design. It is very hard for me to get the tips stamped correctly. You can probably tell! On some nails, the stamp does not go all the way to the end of the nail. On other nails, it's crooked. And it's almost impossible for me to keep this style on my nails anyway, it seems. I already have chips! The midnight blue (I'm guessing on the names, since they aren't labeled) streaked a little bit on me, even though I watched a movie before putting on top coat!

I originally wanted the fingers on one hand to each have a different fruit, but the other fruits are an orange (or lemon?), an apple, and strawberries. The red wouldn't show up on the pink, and neither would the orange. I also wanted to have a design over the tips, but I was getting tired of having to "erase" and start over, and adding another tip design probably would have lead to more of that, since I struggle with them so much right now!

I've decided I'll go through holding my rubber ducks! It will be like an added bonus. How did she do her nails? And what will the duck look like? :)

Argyle Butterflies

2009-10-07T19:51:00.001-05:00

Basecoat: Sally Hansen Fast Dry Nail Color Pen (Hot Pink)

I did the designs with Konad's special nail polish. The butterflies are obviously white, and the argyle is some sort of purple, but I don't know the exact name, since they're not labeled.

I originally thought I only had 9 butterfly stamps, so all of my fingers have different butterflies except for my pinkies. Then I realized that I have at least 11 butterfly stamps! I probably need to build a spreadsheet catalog!

I wonder how much someone would pay to have their nails done like this. (I'd do a much better job on cleanup!) Every time I do my own nails, I consider myself to have saved $15, since that is how much I would pay for a French manicure (including tip). My Konad kit plus extra plates will be paid for in no time, but I've also been thinking of putting an ad on craigslist to stamp other people's nails. I don't know how much to charge/what people would pay though!

I think I'll switch to holding a ball for taking pictures of my nails, though I do like the splayed across the chest look. (Bonus: Threadless shirt!) It's not good for a detail view though! And flat hands don't get the thumbs.