Mermaid Nails

I had good intentions for this post but for whatever reason my internet was jacked up last night (or very early this morning to be honest) and I just gave up and went to bed.  So this is actually Friday's post for the Summer Challenge.  I made notes on the print out I made of the challenges for ideas and this was one that I had some idea early on what I wanted to do.  My Zoya order came in the mail yesterday as well and was perfectly timed for this!  For this one I started out with two coats of OPI Mermaid's Tears (perfect name and color for this theme!).  On my ring finger I placed a mix of silver and blue glitter from Born Pretty Store while the polish was still tacky and topped it with my newly acquired Zoya Frida which also turned out to be perfect for this.  On the other nails I sponged Julep Portia on the tips in sort of a gradient and added a coat of Seche to help speed they drying process and make it smooth.  Once that was dry I stamped the "fishnet" pattern from the Bundle Monster BM-209 plate and China Glaze Adore and then a quick topcoat of NYC to finish everything off.

Bumblebee in a Rain Storm

Today's theme is "Bumblebees".  This is another of the themes that I knew I wanted to try but put off until the last minute.  I will likely revisit the bumblebee theme in the future as I do have some other ideas that could have been lots of fun...  For this one, I started with a base of Sinful Colors Rain Storm which is a gorgeous navy blue cream shade.  I used black polish and a striping brush for the lines and the same brush to freehand the bee detail.  NYC Lexington Yellow for the yellow stripes and for the wings I used Zoya Purity topped with Revlon Coconut Crush for a little shimmer.

Summer Challenge: A day at the Zoo!

 Today's theme is "A Day at the Zoo".  Since I already did a giraffe print for the jungle theme, I decided to mix it up a bit and do several different prints...mostly because I couldn't decide on just one!  

The stamping on the index finger didn't turn out quite right but that was the second attempt so I just said to hell with it and left it!  Index finger is essie Brooch the Subject stamped with Zoya Codie, middle is OPI Call me Gwen-ever stamped with black stamping polish from Born Pretty store (see link at right), ring finger is China Glaze Kalahari Kiss stamped with Zoya Coie, pinky is Zoya Purity and black stamping polish.  All finished with NYC Grand Central Station (pictured).  The ring finger was stamped with Bundle Monster BM-215, all others are Cheeky CH2.  What do you think?  Which is your favorite?

Pucker Up, Buttercup!

 Today's Summer Challenge theme is "Buttercups".  I made this theme into a sort of mini challenge for myself to try to do it freehand and with only drugstore polish.  All things considered I'm pleased with the way it turned out, especially after yesterday's disaster.  I do sort of wish I had used a darker base color though; alas, live and learn.

Base: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure: Lavender Cloud
Flowers: Revlon Buttercup, Sinful Colors Pull Over and Olympia
Scrolls: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Golden-I
Topcoat: NYC Grand Central Station

What do you think?  Please be sure and use the tab above or links below to check out what the other girls came up with!

How NOT to do a Summer Love mani..

So today's theme was Summer Lovin'...this is not how I had this pictured in my head.  I'm not really sure what went wrong, too many metallics maybe?  IDK, I'm just not happy with how it turned out and almost didn't even post it but here it is for the world to see.

She Sells Seashells

I have been dreading today's theme since I read it on the list.  I'm not sure why, I love the beach and seashells...I even have a sea-inspired bathroom.  But for some reason this challenge stumped me; I guess that's why it's called a challenge!  At any rate, I sort of had an idea in my head about what I wanted to achieve with today's mani and I think it came across relatively well.  I started by trying to use the two colors in a gradient but it really didn't work well (due to the opacity?) so I ended up painting on two coats of Cult Nails Princess a gorgeous dusky blue shade with a copper shimmer and sponging OPI DS Classic on the tips to resemble (sparkly) sand.  While that was still tacky I used a toothpick to apply tiny pieces of shells that I got in a nail art kit from Sally's and sealed with a topcoat.

Be sure and check out the other girls blogs as well!

Pink and Purple Studded Nails

Today's theme for the Summer Challenge is "pink + purple".  I tried a few other designs that failed horribly before remembering that I had these great pink studs that I had yet to use!  And so a mani was created!  I wanted a cream finish base and oddly I don't have many purples (going to have to work on that!).  I finally decided on China Glaze Urban-Night which I think turned out to be the perfect complement to the studs.  I painted all nails with one coat of the base and then individually pained each nail and applied the studs with a toothpick.  Once I was done with all the nails I used a topcoat of NYC to seal them down and add some shine!  What do you think?  Have you tried any studs yet?  These are from Born Pretty Store, you will find a link to the right and if you hurry they are currently 20% off!

Late Nite Summer Challenge Post - Beach Towels

I struggled with what to do for this design, there are so many different things that can be done with today's theme and the ideas were overwhelming.  I finally decided to try a gradient design, I usually fail miserably at them and wanted to push myself a bit.  I ended up using the tutorial by Sammy at the Nailasaurs which can be found here.  I had tried this method once before and failed, I'm not sure what I did wrong but this one turned out better than I expected!  I started with a base of white and used Sinful Colors Fusion Neon (pink) and Why Not (blue) for the gradient.  The accent nail is China Glaze Kinetic Candy stamped in a stripe pattern (Cheeky CH6) with China Glaze Aqua Baby and then the seahorse design from with plate m27 (fake Konad).  The flip flop design is from the new Bundle Monster set and is plate BM-309.  Overall I'm pleased with how they turned out.  Don't forget to check out the others!!

Summer Chevrons

Today's Summer Challenge theme is "summer chevrons".  I had not attempted this design before the challenge but had been meaning to give it a try so this was the perfect chance.  I started with a base of L'Oreal Walk on the Beach.  Once dry, I taped off the "v" and applied a coat of L'Oreal Now You Sea Me, and free-handed the gold accent between the two colors.  It is also a L'Oreal shade called Because You're Worth It.  Overall I was pleased with how this turned out and I'm sure it's a design I will do again in the future.

What do you think? Is the chevron design one you would wear?  Don't forget to check out the other ladies' blogs and remember to check out the Summer Challenge tab at the top!

Summer Water Marble

Let me just say, one more time; I am really not a fan of water marble!  Not the look; if done right, they can look really cool and intricate.  If anything goes wrong, you wind up with...well, this.  It's not all bad really; maybe part of it stems from my dislike of neons on my own nails.  I don't know.  At any rate, here it is in all its gory glory for all the world to see.

Underneath the Stars - Galaxy Nails

Ok, if you haven't tried galaxy nails, you really should!  I had so much fun with this mani!  Even a beginner can pull this off (evidence below!) using a few or several colors.  I started with a base of a basic black cream and pieces of a makeup sponge torn apart.  From there, I pulled out a few colors that I thought would look good and started sponging and layering. I can't even remember now all the colors I used but I'm sure there is some pink, blue, orange, yellow and purple in there...and who knows what else!  I added a few dots of silver for the larger "stars" and a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust.  I will defiantly be doing this again!

This was also part of the Purple Crumpet Fairy Summer Challenge, be sure and check out the links below and see what the others came up with!

Summer Challenge : Blue + Aqua + Green

Blue, aqua, and green....had a bit of a tough time with this one.  I KNEW I didn't want to tackle another water marble yet, especially since there is one coming up on the list, so I had to come up with another way to combine the three somehow.  I pulled out several colors from my stash and none of them really looked like they went together so finally I decided on Essie Bobbing for Baubles which we saw in yesterday's post.  I recently got my set of Cheeky plates so I looked through them until something jumped out at me.  I tried a few other things first but none really worked out so I ended up with one of the designs form the CH12 plate and China Glaze Cherish for the green.  It is one of those that is perfect for stamping and it looked good against the deep blue background.  I added some aqua rhinestones and here is the result.  Overall I'm quite pleased with how it turned out!  I can't wait to see what the others have come up with!

Picnic Time!

Today's theme for the PCF Summer Challenge is Picnic.  I had an idea what I wanted to do for this one a while back but managed to put it off until the last minute... I think they turned out ok...not quite like I had pictured but "good enough".  Base is Zoya Purity with Orly's Grave Mistake and Cheeky plate CH3 for the pattern.  Dotting tool and art brush for the ants.  I used several colors layered/sponged to get the "fruit" part of the watermelon accent nail, art brush with black for the seeds and China Glaze Starbord and Glittering Garland for the watermelon rind.  Be sure and check out the other participants posts for today as well!!

Giraffe Nails

***Welcome Pinterest fans!!  Please be sure and check out some of my other posts!***

Today's theme for the Summer Challenge is "jungle mani or Parrots".  I wish I could tell you I had an amazing idea that was flawlessly executed but clearly that is not the case!  Are giraffes even jungle animals?  Probably not.  But, it is almost 4am and I am really tired so, giraffe nails it is.  I hope to do better tomorrow, but who knows?!

Base of China Glaze Lemon Fizz stamped with Revlon Hot for Chocolate and Bundle Monster BM-215.

Summer Challenge: Kite Nails!

Today's theme for the Summer Challenge is ballooning/kite nails.  When I looked at the list tonight to see when the next challenge was and what the theme was, I almost didn't do it.  Now I'm kinda glad I did!  I wanted to use some polishes that I hadn't used yet so I started with a base of Color Club's Take Me To Your Chateau.  I must say I am very impressed with this polish!  For a pastel creme it is VERY easy to use! I think I could have actually gotten away with one coat but I used two for this mani.  I then freehand painted the kites using OPI If You Moust You Moust, then a black polish and nail art brush to do the outline and strings.  Then I went back with OPI I'm All Ears for the accent color on the kites.  I used a doting tool and Zoya Purity for the clouds and a silver polish for slight little outlines on the clouds.  This is one of my favorite challenge manis so far!  Don't forget to check the links below and see what the others came up with, and feel free to leave me some feedback and let me know what you think!

A Retro Water Marble

 I don't know why I keep trying to do water marbles, I am never truly satisfied with how they turn out...think I just answered my own question though; I am a perfectionist.  If I don't like how something turns out I will keep at it until I get it right, *sigh* I guess that means I will be getting more practice.  At any rate, I am more pleased with this one than the pink/blue one from last week but it still didn't turn out as "crisp" as I would have liked.  But, I really wanted something that resembled a bright tie-dye and I think it does do that.

Don't forget to check out the links below and see what the others came up with!

Ladybug Nails and a Lesson

Today's theme for the Summer Challenge is "Ladybird"...when I hear that all I can see is Hank Hill and his dog.  Obviously, that is not the theme for today, rather ladybird is simply another name for a ladybug.  The "lesson" I learned with this mani is that not all fast dry top coats are created equal.  I used Julep's and while it does dry fast, it also caused my work to streak! :(  Back to Seche for me!

Hot Pink Freestyle

 The theme for today for the Purple Crumpet Fairy Summer Challenge is Hot Pink - Freestyle.  I had kind of a hard time with this one because while I do love pink, HOT pink is a bit out of my comfort zone.  That said, I am really happy with how these turned out though they took FOREVER!  Tips are Color Club Warhol.

What do you think?  Be sure and check out the other participant's blogs too and see what they came up with for today!

Hot, Hot, HOT!

The theme for today's Purple Crumpet Fairy Summer Challenge is HOT, HOT, HOT.  Earlier this week I eluded that there would be an upcoming post using both of the polishes from this months Julep Maven box.  Well, this is it.  I started with two coats of Courteney and then taped off sections and painted on Lily.  Once that was dry, I free-handed the gold lines using Selena, also a Julep color and topped it off with a coat of Seche.  What do you think?  Be sure and check out the other participant's blogs as well to see their take on today's theme!

Summer Challenge - Pink and Blue

So today's theme is pink and blue, simple enough right?  I have known the theme for a while now and knew it was one I would be attempting so I should have loads of ideas by now, right?  Nope!  Nada.  So I finally decided to attempt a water marble.  I have such a love/hate relationship with them.  I love the way some bloggers out there can get theirs to look, hate the time consuming mess mine usually turn in to.  But decided to attempt it anyway...at 8PM no less.  So, here is my sad attempt at a water marble and very late Purple Crumpet Fairy Challenge mani for today.  I used all China Glaze colors, First Mate, Electric Beat, and Kinetic Candy for the blues; Make an Entrance, Traffic Jam, and Dance Baby for the pinks.

Pink and Blue Water Marble