All Good Things Must Come to an End

Well, we made it!  Today is the last day of the New 31DC with Crumpet's Nail Tarts!  It is a bittersweet moment really.  I had a lot of fun doing this challenge, but keeping up with daily manis and posting is wearing me out!  The final challenge is to recreate someone's mani from this challenge.  That was a daunting task, there have been so many great ones!  I finally settled on this one from A Girl and Her Polish.

I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls for the base with black and Revlon Hazy for the dots.  Mine didn't turn out quite as good as Katee's but I still love the look of this, simple and classy.  Thanks for following and commenting through this challenge and be sure to check out the other's below!

Favorite Technique

This one is going to be short and sweet since I'm already so late in the day.  I suppose my favorite technique is stamping because there are so many options.  My new Gals plates came today so this design is from the GA35 plate.

Base: Zoya Storm
Stamp Color: Essie Loophole
Plate: Gals GA35

New 31 DC - Day 29 Inspired by a Blogger

Today's theme is "Inspired by A Blogger"...that is a daunting challenge!  There are so many amazing nail blogs out there that finding one was a very difficult task!  I finally settled on this one by Polish Art Addiction. Leslie is an AMAZING artist, the things that girl can do with nails is crazy!  If you don't follow her blog, you should!  I recreated this look using Zoya Rekah for the red, Purity for the white which I then taped off with various pieces of striping tape and painted over with black.  The lips are from Bundle Monster BM02.  I actually used Orly Grave Mistake to stamp with because it gives a good result, but as you can see still does not cover the black.  I don't wear a lot of red polish but for some reason, I really like the way this turned out!

Inspired by Favorite Color - New 31DC

 Picking a favorite color for this was really an easy decision for me; it had to be pink.  Picking the shade of pink and other details...not so much.  I think I redid this one about four times before I was finally happy with it.  Base color is Cult Nails Devious Nature, accent nail is Butter LONDON Rosie Lee.  I think this is in my top 10 favorites!

New 31 Day Challenge - Day 27

Today's theme is "inspired by you".  If you have read my "About Me" section then you already know I am a nurse 'in real life' so this one really had to be about that.  I started with a base of L'Oreal Walk on the Beach on all but my middle finger which is Sally Hansen Black Heart.

I drew a bandage on my pinky with China Glaze Dress Me Up and outlined with black acrylic paint, stethoscope on ring finger with black acrylic paint then Zoya Lara.  I also painted the 'RN' with Lara then layered white/pink dots around the edges; index finger is Disney Villains polish in Cruella DeVil.  I added a little pink stud from Born Pretty Store to the stethoscope for the diaphragm.

I can't wait to see what everyone else has come up with for this one!

Patriotic Nails

Today's theme is "Inspired by Your Country".  This was another one that I was rushed to get finished but I really didn't want to miss any more so it isn't really what I wanted...though I'm not sure what I would have done if I had more time...Anyway, ring finger is a base of white and three coats of Lush Lacquer Snap Crackle Pop; pinky is Orly Shockwave stamped with Julep Kate.

Inspired by Childhood

I think most kids dream of going to Disney Land (or World) when they are young, I always did (ok, still do!).  Growing up "middle class" in the midwest though makes that tough.  We did however get to go to California once when I was 9 and got to go to Disney Land.  It is still the one vacation from my childhood that stands out so I knew this theme had to be Disney!  I was pressed for time with this one though so it is fairly simple.  White base, red tips with white dots and some "mouse ear" glitter I got from Born Pretty Store.  The glitter didn't lay flat like I had hoped, but again I was short on time so maybe I will try again in the future!

Inspired by a Game

I had a few different ideas for today's theme.  I had intended to go a different direction with this one but this idea came to me at the last minute and I'm glad I went with it!  We used to spend hours as kids playing Tetris on the original Nintendo and thought it was great so these were sort of nostalgic for me.

Index finger to pinky: L'Oreal Paparazzi Pleaser, OPI Did it on Em, China Glaze Aqua Baby, and Sinful Colors Pull Over.  The little studs I bought quite a while back at Born Pretty Store and hadn't had a chance to use yet.  I painted the color on and then a layer of NYC and applied them with a toothpick while the topcoat was still tacky.

Inspired by Nature

There were a lot of ideas for this theme but in the end it had to be feathers.  I have been meaning to try this anyway and now was a good excuse!  I used China Glaze Kalahari Kiss for the base, topped with NYC and added the feather to my middle finger while the topcoat was still tacky then sealed it with a coat of Seche.

Crumpets Nail Tarts: New 31 Day Challenge - Inspired by Fabirc

As a "serial crafter" I have a lot of fabric and other miscellaneous craft supplies laying around in my office so the tough choice was picking one I like and thought I could pull of with nail art.  I love the twist on colors in this fabric for cheery blossoms and I had the polish I thought would match it.  Base color is Revlon Hazy.  I used a black polish for the branches and then went back through with a dotting tool and Revlon Buttercup for the lighter color flowers.  The darker yellow flowers are a blend of two polishes, the center dots are L'Oreal The Perfect Trench.  I actually really like how this one turned out!  It would work for tomorrows "Inspired by Nature" theme as well but I have something else in mind for that.

Pink and Brown - New 31 Day Challenge

Pink and brown is one of my favorite color combos so I wanted to try to fit it into this challenge somewhere. Today's theme is "merge or melt" so this seemed like the perfect time to try a pink and brown water marble.  I have done a few in the past with various results.  I have finally determined that for me, room temperature bottled water works best.  Some polish works better or reacts differently than others.  I am going to show you an example that happened sort of by accident.  Revlon Hot for Chocolate has become my "go to" dark brown shade.  It is the perfect chocolate shade and works well for stamping so it was my obvious choice for the brown.  I selected China Glaze Designer Satin and OPI Pink Friday for the pink shades.  I started with a base of Pink Friday and then on to the marble.  I had some trouble with the brown spreading too much but tried it anyway on my middle finger.  On a whim I decided to try Zoya Codie in place of Hot for Chocolate....oh what a difference!  On all the other fingers I used Codie instead and you can see the major difference.  The lines are sharper and the colors "pop" more.  I am in LOVE with how this turned out!!

Red Velvet

Day 20 - Texture

I knew as soon as I saw this was part of the challenge that velvet nails would be my choice for the texture challenge.  I have seen a few around and they always look really cool and different, even my husband liked these!  For these I used Orly Grave Mistake as the base and some deep red flocking powder I got on clearance last year at one of the craft stores.

Caught Red Handed

Today's theme is "oldest untried".  I am horribly unorganized when it comes to which polish I have tried and which I haven't and how long I have had each one.  I try, but it just doesn't work for me.  I do know that I have had this one for several months...
I'm not sure why it has taken me this long to try it out other than I keep bringing more home!  The formula on this one was great, it went on really smooth.  My camera tends to pull more orange so the second picture is more color accurate than the first.

L'Oreal Caught Red Handed

Color Opposites

I must admit that I had to do a quick Google search to get some ideas for this one. My initial thought was black and white, but we have already done that back on day 1. Then I thought maybe yellow and purple...and I ended up with olive and burgundy; not really sure how! Base is Zoya Dree and then I added some simple dots to the tips with China Glaze Loft-y Ambitions.  Very simple but I am still pleased with how it turned out!

Zoya Dree with China Glaze Loft-y Ambitions

Please be sure and check out the other participants as well, they do some amazing work!

Watercolor Nails

This was a technique I had not yet attempted so I was excited to see how it would turn out.  I have seen some tutorials (on Pinterest I think) that used acetone to thin the polish on the nail.  I did mine a bit differently.  I painted on my base (Essie Marshmallow) and let that dry then added a small drop of a color to the nail.  Then I took a small brush dipped in polish thinner and dabbed it on the wet polish to spread the color and repeated the process with the other nails and other colors (Essie Plumberry and Luxedo and China Glaze Aqua Baby). I am sure I will be trying this with other colors!

What a Hoot!

As you probably already know, today's theme is "stamping".  I have a few sets of stamping plates...several with the plastic still on them that I haven't gotten around to trying out yet...and a new set on the way.  I had a bit of trouble deciding what to use for this one!  I had a few set aside and ended up picking Bundle Monster BM 309.  Then I just had to pick a color "theme"!  I have had L'Oreal The Perfect Trench for a while as well and had not had a chance to use it either and this proved to be a perfect combo!  I started with two coats of it and a coat of Seche to help it dry quick.  I used Revlon Hot for Chocolate, China Glaze Street Racing and Westside Warrior for the stamping colors.  Ring finger design is from plate BM 322.
I have found for me that NYC Grand Central Station works best for a final topcoat after stamping, no smearing my design!

I love how this turned out but it was unbelievably difficult to get a decent picture of for some reason!  Sorry about that! :(

Cheerful in Blue

Today's theme is "cheer yourself up".  I have had a particularly crummy weekend so this was a perfect time for this mani I guess.  When I started trying to think of what might cheer me up though all I could think of was glitter.  I ended up with a very simple mani with just China Glaze Dorothy Who? but what is more cheerful than a perfectly glossy sparkly mani?!

Also, today is my birthday and since I love good cupcakes, I added a small silver cupcake to one nail. :)

Tape Mani

 I wanted to do something much more detailed for today's post but it just didn't work out.  This is going to be a very short post since it is so late in the day.  Base for this one is Zoya Kristen stamped using Cheeky plate CH7 and Julep Helena.  I then taped off the corners and applied Helena to the tips and sealed it all with NYC.

Splatter Nails Revisited

I have done one other splatter mani in the past which you can find here, it is a very messy process so this time I decided to just do an accent nail.  I used China Glaze Dance Baby as the base color on all nails.  Then using the same technique I used the first time, I applied black, silver, and white to my ring finger.  I actually really like the way this turned out!

Geometric Nails - New 31DC Day 10

I thought I knew want I wanted to do for this look but as usual changed my mind at the last minute; that has been happening a lot lately!  Base color on this is OPI Siberian Nights, a luscious deep vampy blackened plum that I LOVE.  Then I stamped it with random patterns using China Glaze Emotion.

Can't wait to see what everyone else has done for this challenge, check them out below!

Marble Nails

Today's theme is "saran wrap nails".  This is a new technique to me, I had seen it before but hadn't tried it yet.  I started with a base of Sinful Colors Black on Black.  Once it was dry I put some random dots of China Glaze Admire and Cherish.  The tutorials I read said to ball up the plastic and dab it on the nail to remove some of the polish.  I started with that technique but found that if I just pressed the plastic to the nail and peeled it off it worked better for me.  I applied one coat of NYC Grand Central Station as a topcoat.

Then I applied a coat of NYC Matte me Crazy.  I think I like the matte look better for this one, what do ya'll think?

New 31 Day Challenge - Day 8

Today's theme is "duochrome, flakie, or holo", there is a whole lot that can be done there!  However, as it turned out I had a super long night at work tonight and just got home so I ended up deciding to just update what I already had on to make it fit the theme.  I wore OPI Roadhouse Blues to work today so there was some tipwear that I touched up first.  Then I sponged the tips with Seduction by Cult Nails.  And because I  LOVE the way flakies look with a matte topcoat, I added a coat of Hard Candy Matte-ly In Love.  Love the way these turned out!

Be sure and check out what the others have come up with, they are a talented group!

Neutral Ombre

Brown is probably one of my favorite colors overall so it was an easy choice for today's theme.  Colors used  are (from thumb to pinky) Zoya Codie, OPI I Break for Manicures, China Glaze Foie Gras, Orly Faint of Heart, and Essie Sand Tropez.  I am really pleased with how this turned out, I think the colors flow nicely from one to the next.

Don't forget to check out what the other ladies have come up with!

All About Pink

Today's theme for the New 31 Day Challenge is "Favorite Color Family". I had a bit of a tough time deciding what to do for this one because tomorrow's theme is "Ombre or Skittle" and I didn't want two very similar posts back to back.  Once I decided on pinks the tough part was then picking a few to use for a water marble...and since I did this one a few days ago, now I don't remember exactly what polishes I did use!  I know the Zoya is Lara but the rest I don't remember, sorry about that!  Once the marble was done I used some loose glitter from Born Pretty Store in very random patters across the nails for added bling.

You can find the loose glitter here Don't forget to check out what the other ladies have come up with!

Rebel Rebel

I think I did three different looks for today's purple theme before finding one that I am satisfied with.  For this one I used Ulta Celebutante for the base, a perfectly purple creme; two coats.

 Then I topped it with All That Glitters Rebel Rebel.  This one has a shimmery sheer purple base and various sizes and shapes of silver and white glitter.  Such a fun polish and the base color really let the beauty of this polish show!

Pink a Doodle Do

Pink is one of my favorite colors so I have a LOT of pink polish.  I had a tough time deciding what to do for this challenge simply because of that.  Ultimately I decided to use Lush Lacquer Pink a Doodle Do, then I just had to decide what to layer it over...also not an easy task!  Ulta Wicked was among my untried so I finally settled on it.

Sunset Matte

Today's theme is Gold.  Funny that I really never wear gold jewelry because I prefer silver, hate silver on my nails but don't mind gold....at least not this one!  I got this polish in a swap a while back and this seemed like the perfect time to give it a shot.  I own very few Nubar polishes but I'm in love with Sunset Matte!

Silver on Silver

I must say I was not thrilled with this theme.  I like silver...just not necessarily as the predominant color on my nails!  I'm not sure what I think of this one... Base is Essie Loophole with Milani Silver sponged on the tips.

New 31 Day Challenge - Day 1

The Facebook group I belong to Crumpet's Nail Tarts has been planning a new 31 day challenge and today is the day we begin!  I should preface this with saying that I will try my hardest to get this done every day but I make no guarantees!  Also, the posts themselves will probably be fairly short but I will try to let you know what polishes were used.  If you have any questions be sure to ask!

Day 1 theme is Black and White.  Basic black/white polish for the base and Spotty Dottie Dark or Light over top of the opposite color.  Love this look!!