Gold X's

I was feeling pretty uninspired about my ultra-short nails last week...and I have a "thing" about dark polish on super-short nails (I don't like it). So I decided this glittery gold color would work for a light fall color. I started with 3 coats of Sinful Colors "All About Me".

Then I put a black dot in the center of each nail, and used that as the central point for a large "X"...was I crossing out my short nails, I wonder?

And as you can see, I decided gold rhinestones would work nicely to give my edgy/rough X's a little flair.

I've been using Avon's nail corrector pen recently to clean up the edges...and unlike most remover pens, it really does work. I'm quite happy with the results.

It's very odd how the flash makes the gold polish look translucent...it really was quite opaque.

Not the prettiest manicure, but I thought it was kind of edgy, and it reflected my short-nail angst at the time. Do your nails reflect your mood?

Next week, a lovely lavender mani with stenciled purple bows for something a little more "girly". Until then, happy polishing!

Autumn Crosses

We'll get to the nail art in just a minute, I promise. First, thanks to Rachel for emailing me to let me know that Nail Art Tuesday made the SpaSchools.com top 50 nail blogs list! I'm number 13...which is very cool. Go check it out, along with all the other fabulous blogs on the list!

On to this week's design. My "finished" photos are dark for some reason - sorry about that. The base color is Finger Paints "Autumn Blazes", and is a dark berry wine color that I just love. This was my first experience with Finger Paints polish, and i have to say, I really really like it. Super nice formula, goes on great, highly pigmented - excellent overall. I doubt this will be my last bottle.

This is a better photo of the color, though a little bright due to the flash. After two coats of the base polish (over China Glaze base coat), I got out my white Cina nail art pen and put the first cross on each nail. I tried to offset the intersections, and vary the heights for interest.

Then I got the black nail art pen out, and went over them again, making a second cross just next to the first.

I was going to stop there...but it needed...something. So I grabbed my rhinestones and put a clear one at each intersection for a little extra 3D bling, set in a thin layer of China Glaze quick-dry top coat.

One more coat of top coat to seal, and clean up in the morning - voila! A very simple, yet interesting design.

Next week...hmm. Maybe something gold, I think.

Until then, happy polishing!

Vintage Fishnets

I don't think anything could accurately capture this gorgeous robin's egg blue, but I love it! This week, I needed something super-simple, and I'm quite pleased with the way this turned out. Finished photos are without flash, "in progress" photos are with flash (which is why they look washed out).

I started with two coats of a new Avon color, "Vintage Blue". I got a purple and gray at the same time...love the muted colors!

Then I used my handy-dandy Cina nail art pen (bought it myself - and *need* more...I love these!) to put diagonal stripes over the top for a fishnet look.

And the finished fishnet:

Then for a little extra sparkly goodness, I put light blue rhinestones at each of the main cross-points.

Two coats of Seche Vite to seal, and some clean-up the next morning. I really like how these turned out, kind of sassy and subtle all at once.

I realize my thumbnails are super-short - I broke both of them off below my fingertip weeks ago, and they just finally grew out enough to cut off straight. With any luck, they'll be back to normal length in another couple weeks. Meanwhile, I keep jamming my poor thumbs on things without the nail to protect my pansy-fingers. *eyeroll*

Whatcha got on your tips this week?

Happy polishing!

Dotty Purple

This was supposed to be purple with a yellow diamond pattern, per a Twitter poll last night. Needless to say, the diamond pattern didn't work out so well, as you'll see later. But I think the dotted design turned out pretty well.

I started with two coats Urban Decay "Meltdown", a deep, shimmery royal purple.

Then I got out the 3-D Nail Art Pen in Yellow that Nail Art Delights was kind enough to send me free with my last order. I thought it looked like fun.

I used the pen to create a lattice/diamond pattern on my left hand...but I had a hard time controlling both the flow and the application. The paint was very thick, and I think it may be acrylic rather than nail polish. I think you'll agree it didn't turn out well.

Yeah. Needless to say, I grabbed the polish remover and started over. Once I got back to the "purple" stage, I took a bottle of Zoya "Creamy" and my handy dotting tool, and started playing with dots. I tried to make a diamond lattice design, but it jumbled together.

I decided just dotted stripes would be fine, and finished off my nails with those.

Two coats Seche Vite and some cleanup...and voila, dotty purple nails.

This flash photo is true to the actual colors. The photo at the very top is without a flash, and looks a little more blue than it should.

Next week, something gold or green, I think. Until then, happy polishing!

Green Squares

Apologies for the lack of posting last week - I got behind and simply forgot to post this. It's all good though since this week's manicure didn't exactly work out, so I'm glad I have this to share with you. :-)

There are a lot of photos this week...bear with me! For this manicure, I used some of the new stencils from Nail Art Delights (linked to the right). As a point of disclaimer, I bought these (and several other sets) to try...and I'll be buying more. I love them! Settle in - I'll show you how they work. Before I started polishing, I cut the stencil stickers in half - I wanted to use the squares/diamonds three at a time rather than six.

I started with a base of Avon's new green, "Jade". Two coats, and it dries very quickly. Nice that Avon is finally putting out new nail colors!

 

Then I put two coats of another new Avon color, "Olive Green" diagonally across each nail.

I defined the line between the colors with my black Sally Hansen nail art pen, which I'm completely in love with.

Then it was time to start stenciling! These stencils have adhesive on the back. Avon polish dries quickly, but as per the stencil directions, I stuck them to the pads of my fingers several times to take the adhesive down a bit. Then I positioned it on the Jade side of my thumb.

I brushed on Olive Green to fill the stencil:

And then I pulled the stencil off carefully right away. If you leave the stencil on, the polish will seal it to your nail - don't do that!

Then I did the Olive side with Jade squares:

And voila! Neat little squares in a straight line, no rhinestones or embellishments needed.

I sealed them with two coats of Seche Vite, and cleaned them up the next morning. This is after a few days of wear.

As you can see, I didn't get the polish as smooth as I'd have liked, but I still think it turned out pretty well, overall. I can't wait to try more of these stencils - so much easier than stamping for me!

Stop by Friday for Notable Nail Art around the blogosphere! Until then, Happy Polishing...