These probably look a little more fancy than they actually are...

These probably look a little more fancy than they actually are, but I don't mind that. LOL I did not want to go through the week with naked nails, so I sat down to paint them pretty late last night. Aside from the time issue, I used my new peel-off basecoat, Ready for Takeoff by UNT. I wouldn't have used that, BUT, I've been doing some damage to my nails lately. I don't know why, but I've been picking at them. Must be nerves or something, but anyway, this was an attempt to minimize the damange I'd do by picking my polish. So, since I wasn't sure how long my nail polish would actually stay on using a peel-off basecoat, I didn't want to put too much work into my paint job.

I got this glitter from Sally's. It's by Bitzy and it is called Funky Melon. Since the glitters are huge and neon and there was no purple in it, I decided to try it over purple. But first, I topped my purple with Fairy Dust by China Glaze, because DUH - everything is better with glitter! I wasn't planning to stamp over the glitter, but I really did not like the way it looked just plain. So I stamped this pattern, which was picked out by my son. I thought it would look horrible, but I actually kind of like it now. Funny how you smush a bunch of ugly things together and it sometimes turns out really cool. LOL

Anyway. My stamping is a little off on my pointer finger and thumb. I'm still using the second stamper I ever bought, back in 2011. It's a squishy eraser-colored one that I ordered from Germany, because I was having no luck with my Konad stamper. I have some nice clear stampers, but they don't always pick up well, so there is no point in that. I have a few coming from Ali Express that I'm pretty excited to try, but we'll see how that goes when they get here. Maybe I won't be stamping crooked for much longer. Here's hoping! 🙂

Tried something new this weekend.

Tried something new this weekend. Instead of water marbling and dipping each finger I made one design, let it dry on the water, carefully took it out, and then cut it up and used them like decals. I don't know if I would always be able to make that work, but my nails are so short and nubby right now that it went just fine. I liked doing it that way because you USUALLY waste less polish, and it's USUALLY much less messy.

However, this time it was a huge mess. I spilled not only hot water on myself, but 3 open bottles of nail polish. EPIC FAIL. I was sitting there saying to Shadow (in an attempt to elicit help from him) "HOT WATER! NAIL POLISH!" Those are about all the words I could manage for a minute because I could not believe what I'd just done. He just looked at me like I was crazy until I screamed for him to get a towel.

I'm usually much more calm and prepared when doing my nails, but I had a "dying vole on my porch" type of situation to handle so I found myself suddenly chatting with Wild Mammal Care in the middle of my nail-doing. They asked me if she'd moved and when I got up to check I spilled everything everywhere because I am awesome. Also, my little porch vole didn't make it. 🙁 I'm not super surprised, though, because you don't see them out usually unless something is wrong.

So yeah. Nubs for now. That is what happens when I go a month without polish. My new nail / cuticle oil is doing a great job on keeping my nails from peeling, but having some layers of polish on is really what protects mine from breaking.

Also, pardon all the bubbles in my topcoat. It was getting too thick, but I gave my polish thinner to a friend so I just had to deal with it. LOL I gotta put thinner on my list of things to buy ASAP. Those bubbles drive me crazy!

I've been trying for several days...

I've been trying for several days to get a photograph of these to put up.  This is not the original manicure - I had more stones and one more finger full of hearts, but because I took so long to get pics a few fingers were starting to look crappy.  I decided to take them off and accent them in other ways since I don't have time to make more decals at the moment.  It's really ok with me - I'm digging these.  I usually have have pretty predictable "accent finger" patterns, but this time I think it's harder to tell what's an accent or not.  Maybe they all are!  Woohoo!  😂

Now I'm off to study.  Probably can't do nails again until after finals on Tuesday, but then I'm gonna go nuts!  THE END OF THE SEMESTER IS IN SIGHT!  😃

The kitty cat nails didn't last long.

The kitty cat nails didn't last long.  The collar glequins and bowtie started coming off so then of course I started picking at them and just had to take all the polish off so that I didn't do actual damage to my nails from picking at them.  I'm the worst about picking.  Once I start it's all over with, so they just had to go.

So I did these last night.  I showed them to my guy today and he was like, "What made you do that?"  He looked truly baffled.   😂  Honestly, I saw something very similar in a blog and I liked the way it looked, so there you go.  They used totally different colors and no stones, but as you know I can't just leave well enough alone.  😁

I imagine that I will have the same problem with these as the kitty cat nails because of the stones, but that's ok.  I don't mind doing one last awesome mani before spring break ends.  😃

Spring and Butterflies

I felt like I deserved it so I treated myself last night.  I painted my nails!  Woohoo!  😃

I didn't go with the whole "butterfly on each finger" thing.  I just can't.  It feels so wrong to try to match my nails.  And when I inevitably fail it will look dumb, too because they won't be perfect, so... there's that.  😂

I wish this lighting would have captured the beauty of my base coat, Demure Vixen by Essie.  I know it's not the best match to my skin, but I love the pink / lavender undertone.

I also meant for one of my butterflies to turn out blue (the one on the thumb), but the way I layered the colors it didn't work out that way.  Oh well.  At least it is somewhat different than the green and purple on the ring finger.

Anyway.  I did it.  And I like it.  But I wish I could take it off already and paint something else now.  😂  I'm terrible.

I am not even about to admit how late I stayed up doing my nails...

So this is definitely not my most fabulous photo.  I know that you aren't really supposed to take pics in full sunlight, BUT THE RAINBOWS.  😳

I am not even about to admit how late I stayed up doing my nails, but I was having a lot of fun.  I finally ended up getting the nail art mat I wanted so I was dying to play with it.  The holo swirls are actually more stamping decals, but instead of being made on a stamper - they were made WITH a stamper - ON the mat.  Which for me, (since I don't have quite a thousandy stampers yet), meant that I could make enough decals for all of my fingers at one time.  And I did.

So why only 3 on this hand?  Well, the time was getting ridiculou, and since it was my first go at making them not all of them turned out perfect... and that's just not gonna cut it.  😂  On my best days I have perfectionist tendencies, but in times of stress it gets worse.  MUCH worse.  I have a ton of homework this weekend so I couldn't be using some ugly, janky decals on my right hand.  😂

So my left hand is fully adorned in decals, but mostly because I was making sure I was doing a great job at getting them put down without messing them up.  These were a little thicker because you had to start with two coats of clear, (unlike the ones made on the stamper where you start with the stamp only).  I used some of the less-great ones on that hand (because it's the test hand!  😂), but it's ok.  Lefty is allowed to be janky for some reason.  I can't explain it.

Anyway.  I used 8 different holo polishes to fill in the swirls and I love how in the sunlight the holo-ness sometimes makes them blend - like you can't tell where one color starts and the next stops.  Might be a thing that only happens in person, but dang - I'm really happy with these.

So the stars?  Yeah, I can't even fathom the idea of having all matching nails. I can't.  I just can't.  I mean, with all of the choices of things you can do it almost seems wrong to make them all the same.

These look all Valentine's Day...

These look all Valentine's Day, but that was not my intention.  Oh well.  😂

These are the bizarro, fugly nails I did.

These are the bizarro, fugly nails I did.  I'mma go ahead and admit that I did NOT have any plan when I sat down to do these other than that I wanted to practice my gradient-ing.  😂  So the base is one of my FAVORITE EVER greens.  Then on top of that at the tip I sponged a lighter green glitter, and on top of THAT I sponged the edges a very dark green.  Since that just apparently wasn't enough going on I added the round disc glitter things at the cuticle.

It's like, glamorous Swamp Thing or something.  😂😂😂  They are definitely INTERESTING if nothing else.  And I think that my gradient skillz are coming along.  I just don't know about these.  I look at them and I kind of like them for their weirdness, but on the other hand... ehh... I just don't know about that.  😛

I really wanted to do something wayyy cool and fancy...

I really wanted to do something wayyy cool and fancy, but I have not had the time.  So, Saran Wrap mani it was!  I used a bluish-gray and a lavenderish-pink over an off white base.  Striping tape and a random stud I found on the table somehow brought it all together.  Yay for a messy nail table!  😂

For all you cat people out there. 😉

For all you cat people out there.  😉

This is what I'm wearing today!

This is what I'm wearing today!  I did everything to them.  😂  Was in the mood for purple for whatever reason.  🙂

So I went for something different...

So I went for something different.  TOTALLY DIFFERENT.  😂

Michael Jackson nails

Michael Jackson nails.  These did not last long.  I was popping off studs left and right.  😂😂😂

I ❤ beetles. 🙂

I saved my favorite polish from Janet for last!  It's GREEN LIKE A JUNE BUG!  👀  I hadn't had a chance to use my little gold balls so here they are.  FINALLY.  😃  The whole paint job - color and lumpiness - makes me think of beetles.  I ❤ beetles.  🙂

Wet, rainy day nails. 🙂

Wet, rainy day nails. 🙂 This is another polish that Janet sent me. I really like the color - it makes me think beach-y thoughts. I also thought that water droplets just kind of completed the theme and dressed it up a little. So, that's all. Nothing too fancy, but it's fun to look at. 🙂

All I can say is that these are NOT my style.

Wow.  All I can say is that these are NOT my style.  This is the first time in my life I've ever worn a "French" type manicure.  My nail tips are generally pretty white on their own (unless stained by some wonky polish) so I have the French look when I have naked nails - which I usually end up covering with polish.  😛  I know that this is not my best photo ever, but my flash was making my tips not appear as they really do, which was making them totally NOT look nice with the stone.  In any case at certain angles and in certain lights this shit matches - as you MIGHT be able to tell.  This is another pretty color-flipping polish from the lovely Janet.  It goes from pink to purple to blue.  😃

This lovely color-flipping polish...

This lovely color-flipping polish is one that Janet sent me, and I ❤ it so! Greenish brownish goldish purplish - all at once! I had the HARDEST time last night trying to figure out which one of the 9 she sent me to use first! I guess that's not a bad problem to have. 🙂

I'm really into these studs, too. SUPER easy to put on, and dresses up any paint job without a lot of hassle. This is what I've got on today and until it starts chipping. I really like it! 😃

Gradient Nails, Take 2.

Gradient Nails, Take 2.  😁  I think the fade on these is MUCH better than on my first try.  I think the thumb is still too harsh and the middle finger too blended, but the rest I'm pretty pleased with.  I think I'll try it again this weekend with colors that are more different.  We'll see how that goes.  🙂

Nails today!

Nails today!  🙂  I had major plans for these - taping, stamping, layers, etc - but then I got tired.  I didn't want just a plain paint job, though, and then I remembered my little metal bits.  😃  These are pretty flat - they have a bit of a dome shape, but I just smushed them down in my polish and then cleared over them.  They aren't bothersome at all and I kind of like rubbing them.  It feels neat!

Janet, these are the little studs I got from www.bornprettystore.com.  I still have some other little neat thingamabobs that I haven't posted yet, but maybe I'll get to try them all out soon.  😃