Monsters?! Nobody said there was going to be monsters! -Fidget from the video game Dust: An Elysian Tail
There were a lot of ways I could have gone with this, making it a great theme. Originally, I wanted to do mummies, but the striping tape that I ordered hasn't arrive yet, and I was too lazy to do it with regular tape. Thus, I went with some Frankenstein monsters. I can always do the mummies next year. I've seen quite a few of these floating around this week; here is my interpretation of them.
I used a nail art pen and dotting tools.
Base color: China Glaze Gaga for Green
Zoya Purity and Raven for the eyes
So today we have a rare peek at the elusive right hand! My love of the critter art was so great that I didn't want to take it off. Plus, I want to see how long the waterslide decal will last. Thus, my right hand is making its debut. Generally, this is a pretty accurate portrayal of my work:
Luckily, I decided to try out a new technique for the blood theme. It turned out to be relatively easy and not so hard to do onto my right hand. The technique is using a straw to create a splattered look. Basically all I did was pour some polish into my paint palette, dip a straw end into it, and blow over my nails. easy peasy! One tip that I can give you is to put on your top coat after the base and let it dry. That way, if you mess up, you can take off the splatter with acetone without messing up the base. Just make sure you redo the top coat and wait for it to dry before trying again. The same goes for stamping. Also, make sure the splatter is totally dry before applying the final top coat. I waited half an hour, and it still smeared when I applied mine (I use seche vite btw). I think it may have been the quality of the red polish.
While preparing for this theme, I realized that I only own one actual red nail polish. Even more, it is a tiny little bottle from a set and is about gone. I ended up just buying a 99 cent bottle from the drug store, as I didn't feel like driving out to ulta to get a brand that I like. I got what I paid for, sadly! I think it looks a bit Dexter-ish. Speaking of Dexter, the ending was so lame.
Also, I want to comment on the white polish that I have been using. It is the only one that I own, and overall, I am not all that happy with it. I plan to buy a couple different brands and do a review blog after the holidays. I have read, though, that generally white polishes are a bit lacking. Any suggestions?
My boyfriend is not a fan of this one. He says it looks too real, so it really bothers him. haha
Zoya Purity
Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby
CRITTERS! So I would say that of all the Halloween themes, I was looking forward most to critters. I had so many ideas, I had a hard time choosing! At first, I was going to try to do a different critter for each nail: cat, bat, mouse, owl, and spider. I then realized that A. that was a lot of work and B. that doesn't leave me a lot of room for future Halloween critters if I do it all at once, so I decided to go with something more simple... and I love it! I have to say I am very happy with how this turned out. I ordered some owl nail decals on a whim from amazon.com. I didn't know this, but they are something called "waterslide" not stickers. Basically, you cut the picture out of the paper, let it sit in warm water for 35 seconds, and then put it on your nail. It looks like I painted it on there, too! I bought these from a company called alexcole. $3.99 for a sheet of 18 (plus shipping). I let the polish and top coat dry before adding the decal and then applied more top coat. I actually went for a swim in between polish and decal. I'm not sure how long it will last, since the product recommends use on acrylic or gel polish. Plus, I'm going for another lap swim tonight, so we will see the durability of it. Also, please feel free to leave comments or questions!
Essie: Little Brown Dress
China Glaze: Kalahari Kiss
Hello, friends! I am happy to announce that my blogs are pretty much caught up to present day for the Halloween Challenge! This one I am posting today was for the 19th: pumpkins. The next one is for today (critters). Luckily, I am not a fan of the pumpkins, so I am not so sad to be taking it off after less than a day of wearing them to trade for the critters! They really just didn't turn out how my brain had envisioned them. I did, however, level up in my stamping skill (+2).
I didn't have trouble at all this time transferring the image from the plate to the stamper! I think my issue before was that I used the grey frankenpolish that I made in an art palate. I believe that due to increased surface exposure to air (since I didn't want to waste my entire bottles to make the new color) on the palate caused the polish to dry too fast; thus, the transfers were unsuccessful before. This time my issue involved two things: color and positioning! I originally wanted the green background with and orange pumpkin. Sadly, the only orange polish that I own did not show up at all on my green nails!! I also seem to have a tendency to stamp towards the right side of my nail, so they are all off-center once again. I redid two of them, and then got frustrated and said oh well! Not like I am wearing it for that long anyway. The gradient also did not look as good as I wanted it.
Gradient: Zoya Purity, China Glaze GaGa for Green, Ulta Envy
Stamping: Zoya Raven
Bundle Monster holiday plate BM-H06
This post almost catches me up to real time. And actually, it would, except that I am behind on the current theme. I just finished the one for the 19th today, the 22nd. Tomorrow there is already a new one! Anyway, the theme for the 16th was graveyard. oooooo spoookies. This is my first attempt at nail stamping. I bought the bundle monster holiday edition. So honestly, I had a bit of trouble doing the stamping. My main issue was getting the image to transfer to the stamping tool. I got a couple to work, but they are a bit off center. Practice makes perfect, right? That saying is certainly the case for my skill in gradients. I think this one looks pretty awesome! Yay for ombre!
This also is my first try at something known as "frankenpolish." Basically, it is just mixing your own nail colors. The grey that I have is too dark to show up on the background colors that I used, so I mixed it with white and voila!
Gradient: OPI My Private Jet, Ulta Alter Ego
Stamping Frankenpolish: Zoya Purity and China Glaze Concrete Catwalk
Glitter: Dollish Polish Gotham City
Hello, my lovelies (all three of my friends that look at my blog hah). Next in the October challenge is Ghosts! I saw many ideas on pinterest for ghosts, and I ended up using some of them for inspiration. I did a bit of a mash-up of techniques this time: gradient, freehand, dotting tools, and taping. The gradient turned out really cool, but not quite what I had wanted. It looks like snow, but I suppose that is ok since it has already snowed TWICE here in Colorado this month. The second time it even stayed on the ground! The ghost I freehanded with a nail art pen. It turned out a bit translucent, but that makes it spookier! I used a tutorial from here: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/309692911847150840/
After I finish this nail art challenge, I will be started some installments of some actual nail art and noms! I hope I come across a November challenge, so if anyone sees one posted somewhere, please share it with me! I also need to get a better camera. I currently use my ancient iphone; I hope to get something better for Christmas!
And now on to the polishes:
OPI Yoga-ta get this blue
China Glaze Concrete Catwalk
Zoya Purity
Sally Hanson nail art pens
The next theme on the list is trick or treat. I ended up trying to draw the candies by freehand with a Sally Hanson nail art pen. I think it turned out pretty nice, despite the lollipop kind of looking like a rose. I used hot pink to take a break from the traditional Halloween and Autumn colors. Plus, this particular polish is one of my all-time favorites! I also used a little sticker that says Halloween for my nubby nail. These first couple pictures I didn't do a very good job of clean-up, as I was too excited to share. I've been better about it since these first themes.
China Glaze: Escaping Reality
Dollish Polish: Say Hello to my Kitty (the glitter bits)
The next October challenge theme is patterns. I was a bit unexcited about this one. I ordered stamping plates, but they hadn't come in yet. I almost cheated and used an old checkered print nail that I did months ago, but I decided not to. I ended up just doing a simple polka dot using my dotting tools. I still haven't mastered this technique, sometimes the dots are more like ovals.
I used Zoya Raven and Amy.
The second Halloween themed art is.... Candy Corn! I did a little research onto different interpretations of candy corn nails via pinterest. It seemed to me that I had four choices: using tape to make three stripes, drawing them, stamping, and gradient. I don't have stamps, so that wasn't an option. I also am not so great at drawing. That left me with tape- which I have some experience with- or gradient- which I have never attempted. I chose gradient! I used the makeup sponge method. Basically I painted my nails white and let them dry. Then I painted overlapping stripes onto the sponge and rolled it over my nails. Overall, it was fairly easy, but incredibly messy! I've read you can tape up your fingers to avoid some of the mess, maybe I will do that next time.
I used Zoya (loving this brand) Purity, Amy, and Darcy.
Hello, world! I'm Ali and for a while now, I have wanted to start a blog for my baking and nail art adventures. Today I finally got around to it! I am new to nail art, and I'd like to share my trials and tribulations while trying new techniques and ideas. I recently moved to Colorado and am learning how to bake in high altitude. All in all, I hope this blog brings you lots of pretty and yummy things to look at!
This month, I am doing a nail art challenge where every 3 days I am doing a different October themed nail art. Since it is a bit through the month, my first posts are going to be a lot closer together until I catch up. After that, I'm not sure how often I'll be posting.
I broke one of my nails a day before this challenge started, so it is a bit nubby! The first is gold. I chose to do a medley of styles in gold and black.
Zoya Raven, Zoya Gilty, SOPI gold (from the Christmas red and gold set), and SOPI Blasted Black
