Saturday, September 14, 2013

31DC2013 Day 14: Flowers

This is only my third go at floral nails.  My very first nail art manicure was floral, and well, it was my first time. My second attempt was my Days of Stripes and Roses, which is still one of my favorites. The roses were fairly easy, especially since I followed a tutorial. This time I wanted to try something I haven't seen before. something more challenging, to really test my skills. Well, as you can see, they were really tested! But now I feel like I have that much more experience under my belt.



Today's floral theme was inspired by one of my favorite flowers, African Violets. Or more correctly, (as I just found out), Saintpaulia. I'm pretty sure I'll never call them that. It doesn't sound nearly as exotic. Kind of like how I will only call Amaryllis, "Naked Ladies", because it's way more fun.

One of the challenges here was to decide on the arrangement. Since they grow in a group, I wanted to have at least some representation of that. I felt it would look too busy to have that on every nail. So I spread them out and did more of a close-up on the other nails.



I've been having a lot better luck avoiding shrinkage with my Seche Vite top coat lately. Last night though, it screwed me. I had the polish around my cuticles at a perfect edge. Then overnight they shrank and left it wonky. I know, nail problems.







These flowers remind me of home. Not in Africa.. we just always had these in our house.




What I used:
OPI No Bees Please- white/nude micro shimmer base
Essie DJ Play That Song- purple
Jenna Hipp I Can Afford It- darker purple with blue shimmer
Barielle Banana Drop- yellow
It's So Easy Stripe Rite- black
Seche Vite top coat

p.s. Sorry for my nasty cuticle, I had a little accident. If I was more deft with my photoshop skills, I would have fixed it.

7 comments:

  1. This is so lovely! I knew right off you were giving us the classic deep violet African violets. The cream shade used for the base is perfect.

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  2. Love this. Yes, it does remind me of home. I actually just inherited one of Mom's oldies, and it's getting acclimated to my windowsill.
    I love the variation of this manicure, and that the pinky just got a leaf. Super pretty. :)

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  3. I was touched by your nod to African Violets. We always had them at home because my mother always had them, and she had them because her mother-in-law (Louisa Mary Shepherd Call) always had them in her garden window above the kitchen sink in Afton, WY. I brought the twin of the one Heather has back to Sandy, but I miss having a windowsill in my kitchen to put them on and enjoy them every day. Great job on the mani!!

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    1. Thank you for the family history! Someday when I have a kitchen window sill I will have to acquire one.

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  4. Awesome job! I love the variety and you did a great job accurately depicting the African Violets. I love that with each of the days' assignments you have thought outside of the box. Each time I read the title of the day's manicure I'm always surprised and amazed by the design you have chosen. I love reading your blog!

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    1. Thanks for reading it Mel! I always like reading your feedback. :)

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