Blue Cirque Reciprocal Gradient

Hello everyone! Today I have some quick nail art for you. For this mani I had the idea in mind to do a vertical reciprocal gradient using  X pattern stencils. I tried it on my other hand first and realized you couldn't really tell what was going on at all. So I tried a different approach, clipping off some of the Xs. I'm still not sure if it would have been better to remove some of the vinyl from the sides instead of the top. I guess I should have done more experimenting first. But the way that I went with made a big enough difference that I liked how it turned out. I hope you do too!

31DC2014 Day 09: Rainbow Sparkle Gradient

Hello lovelies!
Okay, I need to begin by saying that I completely love this manicure! I think it's gorgeous and I should be completely satisfied with it. But... the only problem is that I had bigger plans for it. Thank goodness I had the foresight to photograph it "just in case" I completely muffed it up. I had this amazing water marble design in mind that I couldn't execute for the life of me. I spent 2-3 hours trying to make it work before I eventually gave up. I finally came to the conclusion that with 22 more days left of the challenge, I need to hold on to my sanity while I still can.

Southwestern Wedding Anniversary Nails

Last Saturday my husband and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary! Each year I give myself a nice pat on the back for making it this far. Yay for us!

Last year's anniversary nails were more soft and romantic. This year I went with colorful and graphic. Our wedding colors were blue and orange. It's one of my favorite combinations because I love blue, and I love bright colors!

My Bikini Is Not Quite So Teeny

Greetings! Random question today: How many of you lovely ladies feel the pressure to get ready for "bikini season"? I would say that in years past I have felt the pressure and the anxiety in the months leading up to summer, to whip myself into shape. I've at least put some effort into it, like eating a salad or two. This year I just feel like, "What's the point?" It's not so much about giving up, because I still like to be in shape. The fact of the matter is that I'm currently out of shape, and although I have plans (somewhere in the future) to rectify that, I'm not too concerned right now.

Get Out Your Sunglasses Water Marble

Yay! It's May! That means the temperatures are getting warmer, the days are getting longer, and I can spend more time outside. The weather was absolutely gorgeous yesterday and I was compelled to break out the neons. It's not summer yet, but being the 2nd of May in Utah, it will be here in a flash.

For this mani I started with a base of white polish so the neon would really pop. Then I prepped around the nails with Vaseline to make cleanup faster. I still don't know if I prefer this method, or just using tape. The Vaseline can be really messy, but the tape can ruin the polish if you don't take it off carefully enough. 

Then I commenced with the water marble using Forever 21 Neon Green, Finger Paints Pink Perspective, and Sinful Colors Coral Riff. For more information on how to water marble, check out my Distressed Water Marble Tutorial and just skip the distressing part.

I love water marble manis because once you've found polishes that will work, it's pretty quick. Even when you mess up the same nail twice (my ring finger couldn't get it together), it doesn't take that long. Especially compared to other nail art I've done. I'm looking at you spiraling dots! I think I got this done in about an hour. With more practice I'm sure I'll be even speedier.

What do you think? Do you like wearing a mani that refuses not to be noticed?

What I used:
Sephora by OPI White Hot- base color
Forever 21 Neon Green
Finger Paints Pink Perspective
Sinful Colors Coral Riff
Out The Door Northern Lights top coat

Bonus Cuteness Overload photo

I found these little cuties while I was outside taking my photos.

So when does summer officially start in your book? Once the weather reaches a certain temperature? Once your kids are out of school? When the calendar says it is? For me summer always arrives on Memorial Day Weekend, when my pool opens!

Heavenly Pastels

You know how sometimes you do a beautiful manicure that you really like, but you still only wear it for one day, because you have something else you want to try? That happens a lot for me. Occasionally though, I create a manicure that I just can't bear to take off, and find myself staring at it constantly. This was one such occasion. I timed it perfectly too. On day two of this mani I worked at a ticket booth for the Scrapbook USA Expo where I sold hundreds of tickets, and applied just as many wristbands. It was pretty much the best possible situation for tons of people to see my nails and compliment me on them. Hey, I'm not shy about it. I love praise. Why else would I publish my photos for the whole world to see? ;)

A close up of all the cloudy, cotton candy-y, sparkly goodness.

I started with a base color of Essie Bikini So Teeny (one of my faves!) on each nail. For my middle and ring fingers I applied one coat of Love & Beauty Mint Confetti glitter, and finished off with Seche Vite top coat. For my thumb, index, and pinky, I alternately sponged Bikini So Teeny, a mint shade, and white polish over the base color. I repeated the sponging until I had the desired effect. I topped those nails off with Out The Door Northern Lights, a fast-drying top coat with a beautiful holo sparkle!

What I used:
Essie Bikini So Teeny- periwinkle blue
(Forever 21) Love & Beauty Mint Confetti- glitter
Love, Charlotte XO (no name mint shade)
Sephora by OPI White Hot- white
Out the Door Northern Lights top coat- holographic glitter


I loved the simplicity and wear-ability of this mani. What visions does it conjure up for you? Tell me what you think in the comments, and have a fabulous day!

Distressed Water Marble

Hey everyone! For today's mani I had this BRILLIANT idea of combining water marbling with one of my favorite nail art techniques, water spotting! Let me introduce you to.. distressed water marbling! Maybe someone had already already done this? If so, I've never come across it. Don't ruin it for me, let me think I invented this okay?

To start, I applied my base color, two coats of OPI My Vampire is Buff. Then I picked a ton of colors I thought would look together. I tested them all in the water to see which ones would spread out well.

I eventually narrowed it down to five polishes and started my water marble. I made as many rings of polish in my plastic cup as would spread out, then with my toothpick I dragged through the rings making little swirly designs.

Next I used some perfume (to make use of the high alcohol content and pump spray nozzle) and sprayed directly on the polish. This created the spotted/distressed look. I dipped my finger in a part of the design that I liked, and then before pulling it out, cleaned up the excess polish off the surface of the water with a toothpick. There weren't very many usable areas, so I ended up going through the whole process for each nail. Yeah, I know. It took forever. Totally worth it though.

It might be useful to mention that I had prepped around the nail with Scotch tape to make cleanup easier. I finished it all off with a coat of Out The Door Northern Lights top coat!

My thumb came out so awesome! It looks just like what I had in mind.

It's been quite awhile since I last used Out The Door Northern Lights, and I don't know why it has been so long! It is so beautiful with the tiny holographic sparkles. 

What I used:
OPI My Vampire is Buff
OPI Every Month is Octoberfest
Essie Lilacism
OPI Dutch You Just Love OPI?
China Glaze In a Lily Bit
Sephora by OPI Iris I Was Thinner
Out The Door Northern Lights top coat

So what do you think? I am pretty happy with the results! Is this something you would try? If you do, I'd love to see it!

Silvery Swoopy Stamping

First things first, you will notice my nails are decidedly shorter here. I have always had super thin nails, so growing them out that long has been quite an accomplishment for me. They were splitting badly and it was time to start fresh. I've been trying my bestest to care for them, and I'm still hoping they'll eventually get a little bit stronger.

Here is my first ever attempt with nail art stamping. If you have seen or done stamping before, don't judge me! If you have no experience with it, doesn't this look awesome?!

 View from a distance.

Close up.

You will notice, especially on my thumb, that the stamp design was too small for my nails. Apparently these fit other people, but mine are too gigantic? I know I'm not the only one that has this problem, so it's confusing why they're not all made bigger. The plate I bought is from Born Pretty and it was only $3, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. (The stamper and scraper together were $2)

Besides the design not being big enough, I think the grooves were also too shallow? It's hard to tell. Maybe it was just me, because some seemed to stamp better than others. There are varying qualities of stamping plates out there from what I've read, but I don't really know where these land in the spectrum.

I followed Sarah's stamping tutorial from Chalkboard Nails. It was really straightforward and easy to follow. Basically you just paint the polish in the design on the plate, scrape off the excess, stamp the plate, then stamp onto your nail!

Despite some of the issue I had here, it was SUPER fun! I am really looking forward to finding some better quality plates, and hopefully ones that fit!

What I used:
a england Sleeping Palace- purple base color (GORGEOUS color, I will have to give you a better look soon)
Sephora by OPI Queen of Everything- silver design
Out The Door Northern Lights Hologram (Silver) top coat
New Curve Design Nail Art Stamp Template M69