Patriotic Nails

I know, I know, I'm a day late!  I was on Pinterest last week looking for some inspiration for my toes and found this pin which I had seen before but somehow hadn't pinned.  At any rate, I used the inspiration for my toes.  I did some much simpler designs for my nails through the week and decided to match the toes for the weekend.  I really wanted to find the source of the image and give proper credit but even an image search was not helpful.  So just know these are not my original design and if you know who I should give credit to, let me know in the comments!

For these I used Sally Hansen Pacific Blue (original), OPI Over and Over A-Gwen, and Zoya Snow White.  The anchor is one of my own vinyl decals made smaller to fit the design and all topped with 

Glisten & Glow HK Girl topcoat.  These were really quite easy to do, so much so that I may use the design and use other colors...I'm thinking mint and navy with pale gray....

Inspired by a Pinterest Find

I have been spending more time on Pinterest lately than I probably should....it is so addictive!  I had stumbled across this pin a while back and thought it was amazing but never had the time to try it out until today!  Credit for this design goes to A Girl and Her Polish, the original post can be seen here, while you are there check out the rest of her super-amazing blog!

 For the base of mine, I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Ion the stamped with Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Black Heart.  Red dots are Nails Inc. Charing Cross. Such a fun design!

Trashcan Nails?!

Got your attention, didn't I?  This post is meant to make you think.  Think about what inspires you, where do ideas come from?  Years ago, starting out as a bead artist, I learned to see inspiration in everything.  The way the colors in a room work together, the pattern on a bold fabric, the colors in nature and the designs.  I have taken some of this with me in this newer addiction.  Colors are everywhere, in everything we see.  As a nurse, lots of the modern scrubs have very bold colors with sometimes funky designs (unfortunately for me, I am stuck wearing nothing but navy; how boring!).  Some may find inspiration on Pinterest or as part of a group you belong to or a variety of other avenues...maybe even a trashcan.  Yup, you read right; I said a trashcan.  My "polish room" is actually part of my lampwork studio (which has been grossly neglected lately), my craft room, and my office all rolled in to one.  It's my own space to create whatever I feel like creating that particular day and I love it.  The walls aren't finished, and the floor is concrete but for my needs, it is perfect.  Anyway, back to the trashcan.  I found it years ago at Target, it was $1 and I liked the colors, so I bought it.  It sits beside my desk, unused because for here it is too small; but tonight it was inspiration.  The colors and the pattern, I though would translate well into some funky nail art.  I will let you decide for yourselves what you think.

Trashcan Inspiration

I used a black cream base and for the colors I used China Glaze Aqua Baby, OPI Did it on 'Em, and L'Oreal Paparazzi Pleaser.  I freehanded the stripes using a striping brush and used a dotting tool for the dots.

I was quite pleased with how they turned out, though I think I like them best with a matte finish.