Bold Abstract Stamp

Hello, Fireflies!

I don't know what's going on with the AIS group these days - seems there are fewer official Sunday Stamping challenges going on.  I still love having Sunday Stamping, though, so for now I'll just keep sharing with you what I've done on my own.  This week, I've gone simple and bold with a black-on-nude bold pattern.

Latest Lippie Haul - Lots of pinks and nudes!

Hello, Fireflies!

I haul way, way too many lippies.  I have a real addiction! I want to show you some of the latest things I've picked up - I've got some new technologies, new collections, and some new-to-me brands, too!

Daisy Chain

Hello, Fireflies!

Today is usually Stamping Sunday, and I do have a stamped mani for you, but it's the last floral challenge for May, instead.

NYE Nude Nails

Hello, Fireflies!

Happy NYE! Whether you're going out and partying, or bringing in the New Year with the TV, you can still have fabulous nails, right?  For me, the trend was nude, with a little (or a lot) of bling!  I reached into the vault to bring up some looks you might want to try to ring in your 2015.

Never Boring Nude NYE Nails

 Hello, Fireflies!

Today's AIS challenge is New Years' Nails.  I didn't have much time to prepare these, since I was traveling all day from visiting my family for Christmas, so I started with what I already had on - Azature Diamond Opal. 

MMMM... Pie! #ChallengeYourNailArt #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Challenge Your Nail Art prompt is for Fall Food.  Nothing says Fall to me more than baking!  It's too hot here in Florida to do a lot of baking in the summer, anyway, but the really good apples don't get ripe until the Fall.

So when I saw this nail art (original author unknown) for cherry pie, I thought, well, I'd rather have apple.

I started off with Revlon Orient Express, but it was too red, so I put a layer of OPI Glints Of Glinda over it, which gave it a milky, softened look that was more like what I wanted.

I used a short brush to daub Zoya Flynn in a cross-hatch pattern, like a lattice-top pie.  To give it more dimension (and golden-brown deliciousness,) I added little spots of Lacquerhead Polish Ashlyn, a dark brown holo.

Yeah, it still looks like a cherry pie, I guess.  Which is okay.  It's still pie, after all.

Bottle shot:  Revlon Orient Express, OPI Glints of Glinda, Zoya Flynn, and Lacquerhead Polish Ashlyn.

Will you be indulging in a little pie this week?  What's your fave?  It's so hard to decide, but a good peach pie is hard to beat!

MDSun (shine) on my face makes me happy...

Product provided for review.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

Have you heard about MDSun? The founder of MDSun, Dr. George Sun, is a plastic surgeon who specializes in biochemical research.  He created his pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical lines to give his clients the best products to either maintain their plastic surgery results, or to give the best non-surgical results.  I had the pleasure of trying two of their most popular products: the Super Hydration B Serum, and the Intensive Eye Gel. 

Did I like them?  I'll give you a hint - I did one an homage nail art that is one of my most recent favorites!

Leftover Halloween Candy? Or Fall Pumpkins?

Hello, Fireflies!

Have you recovered from the festivities of yesterday?  Whether you indulged in black cocktails, or chocolate candies, there's always a Halloween Hangover.

The best part? Bags of candy go on sale!

One of my fave Halloween candies is the mallowcreme pumpkin.  This mani is an homage to that pumpkin, but it's also a sign of fall in general. The mani I was inspired by was a Fall Pumpkin mani by Plump & Polished.

I used OPI Glints of Glinda for the whole nail, then painted the pumpkin with Urban Decay Bang, and made the stripes with China Glaze Metro Pollin-tin.  The stems are painted with a metallic green striper.

I remember, as a kid, sitting with my brother and emptying out our bags of candy and trading.  Mom would always come in and take the candy she wanted.  Mostly, I didn't mind, because she liked all the coconut ones I didn't like as a kid.  But, she never traded for anything!

Hey, mitts off my candy!

Are you going to buy discounted Halloween candy favorites, or are you happy to put all the sugar aside until Christmastime?

Ghosts In The Mist

Hello, Fireflies! 

Today, I have a boo-tiful no-water-marble-turned swirly ghosts mani to show you!  This is straight up a Robin Moses design.  I just did it in polish instead of acrylic, and with much less talent than she has.

Still, this is the first even remotely successful needle drag marble I've ever done, so let's celebrate!

I painted the nail with OPI Glints of Glinda, and then, while the second coat was still wet, dropped little bits of Revlon Sequin (silver), Sally Hansen Raisin The Bar (metallic pink), and Finger Paints Black Expressionism (black) and Paper Mache (white) on one nail at a time.  I ran a small nail art brush through the drops of polish to create the swirls, then pulled the excess polish off my finger the way Robin Moses taught me to.

Using a little more Paper Mache, thinned a little with polish thinner, I added the ghosties and outlined them with the black striper and added the faces.  Then, I added in some of the pink glitter.

Bottle shot:  OPI Glints of Glinda, Sally Hansen Raisin The Bar, Revlon Sequin, Finger Paints Black Expressionism and Paper Mache, and nail art stripers in pink glitter and black.

I think these may be the prettiest ghost nails I've ever done! Brava to Robin Moses for their conception and great tutorial.  Are you more of a fan of the gory Halloween, or the pretty costumes?

Googly Mummies

Hello, Fireflies!

I love Halloween nail art, and I hope you enjoy the bounty of it I have for you over the next couple of weeks. 

This is an easy one, pumped up with a little craft store magic.  I got the idea from Pinterest.  I couldn't figure out who did the original artwork.

I started with a nude polish from Bonita - bought in a collection at Ross, so of course it has no name.  I then took Orly Point Blanche and made these stripes to look like my nail was wrapped loosely.

On some of the nails I made large black dots next, and some I didn't.  One could also just paint a black stripe, as well.

Perfect opportunity to use my 2mm googly eyes! Silly mummies.

Eyeballs literally just rolling around in their heads..

Bottle shot:  Bonita nude (unknown name), Orly Point Blanche, and Milani Black Swift.

Did you ever dress up like a Mummy on the cheap and just wrap yourself in toilet paper?

This Map Be Such Crap, My Loot Will Be Moot

Avast, Fireflies!

Did ye landlubbers be thinking of stealin' me booty?  Well, ye'd have t' find it first! See if ye ken follow me crappy mappy.

I started with China Glaze Don't Honk Your Thorn, a pretty nude with the slightest shimmer/frost.

To give my 'sand' some texture, I did a dry brush technique to get the tiniest amount of Joss Desert Sunset on the nail. It has a little bit of glimmer, just like real sand! I'm feeling pretty clever at this point.

I use Wet 'n Wild Black Creme and BM 510, from their new Ocean plates to get the tiny treasure map (though it doesn't all fit on my finger!) and then Cici & Sisi 09 to get the wandering dotted path and a few GIANT footprints.  Seriously. Not To Scale.

Try following that path to the treasure!

X marks all kinds of spots.  Probably where my dogs hid their toys, really.

Bottle shot:  China Glaze Don't Honk Your Thorn, Joss Desert Sunset, Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, and a black striper.

Have you ever followed a 'treasure map'?  If this is how I make one, you can only imagine how I'd follow one...

If At First You Don't Succeed, Keep On Stampin' 'Till You Do Succeed

Hello, Fireflies!

Last month, as part of the Nail Challenge Collaborative Tea Party challenge, I saw this nude lace mani from Doctor Crafty that I absolutely fell in love with.  I wanted to try and do a similar version, but it was harder than I thought it would be!

First, I had to find a nude polish I liked.  I tried ELF Nude, but it kinda reads 'grandma' to me.  There's just something about it that feels old..er than I want to be perceived!

I didn't have the same stamp as Doctor Crafty, but I found this swirly stamp on Cici & Sisi 10 (though I'm loving that tribal-esque mask stamp!)

Fail.  I've stamped with Revlon Spirit before, but I couldn't get the stamp to work, no matter what.  What a mess.

Bottle shot: ELF Nude, and Revlon Spirit.

Next, I tried OPI My Vampire is Buff, a cream nude.  Hmm. Compared to ELF Nude, it's crazy light. I really liked it, though.  Somehow I managed to forget to get a picture of just the OPI, though.  Pretend you don't see the stamp yet, so it'll be a surprise when you scroll down.

I thought this butterfly pattern would read more lacy with such a subtle difference between the Revlon Spirit white and the OPI cream, but, uh, yeah, it still looks like butterflies.

I did kinda like this one.  Very demure, a definite palate-cleanser.

Bottle shot: OPI My Vampire is Buff, and Revlon Spirit.

I'm still not sure I've found the perfect nude for this look.  What's your favorite 'nude' polish?

Tea Party Nudity

Hello, Fireflies!

Some of you might be into strip Poker, but I'm more into a Public Nudity tea party.

I mean, nail art done to match this month's Tea Party theme, with Glitzkrieg War Paint Public Nudity, a lovely nude with linear holo.

I had these rose decals from Born Pretty Store that reminded me of a blue vintage china pattern, like the kind you might find on tea cups.

I love how the polish almost gives me mannequin hands, but for the holo.

Even though the roses are a saturated blue, they still read vintage to me.  I'd totally love this in a china pattern.

What do you drink your tea out of? 

An InLinkz Link-up

TRI Tuesday - Faux Feathers

Hello, Fireflies!

Have you ever wanted to do a type of nail art, but found yourself lacking in the materials to make it? I wanted to do a feather mani, but didn't have what I wanted.  So, in those ancient words of wisdom, I decided to fake it 'till I made it!

I started off with my nude color, Zoya Jacqueline.  Pretty almond color, lumpy, patchy formula.  Jackie is kind of a b!tch.

I may have found the perfect summer coral color in China Glaze Mimosa's Before Mani's. Thank goodness the color is amazing, because its punctuation is atrocious.

Completing the colorful faux-feather look is Takko Lacquer Nirvana, a turquoise creme with gold flakies.  These little takkitos are hard to get! She restocks once a month, and the polishes last about 3 seconds.

Doesn't this pattern remind you of feathers? From like a really weird bird? Maybe if you squint and walk away from your monitor a little.

A little more...

Keep going...

I knew you could see it.  You're so creative.  Mr. Rogers was so right about you.

Oh, that coral.  I'm in love.

Bottle shot:  Zoya Jacqueline, China Glaze Mimosa's Before Mani's, and Takko Lacquer Nirvana.

Do you fake it in your creative endeavors?  Cooking, crafting, performing?

   

    An InLinkz Link-up