Guest post and my very own naughty LOLCAT!

I was just featured on Polished PR’s blog.  You should check it out!  Especially if you are on the job market- because along side my teal glittery nails I’ve thrown in a job interviewing tip! Here it is at Jenn’s blog >> Craftynail’s JUST FOR ME MANI

And for fun, I recently made myself an original LOLCAT meme featuring my naughty little kitteh named Fergie.  I may previously shown you a pic of her when I first caught her sitting on my boyfriend’s laptop.  At the time, I thought it was devilishly cute, but lately, she has taken it to a whole other level.  Recently she has been obsessed with sitting on the desktop tower and Justin’s laptop.  Any chance she gets…. she’s so bad!  So I made this little LOLCAT of her.  What do you think?

Nude and Neon Leopard Nails

I’m on a leopard print kick!  So here’s another fun catty mani for you!

If you’d like to see a tutorial, Polish Alcoholic has a nice one here: TUTORIAL.  A year ago I commented on her tutorial that I loved it…  why did it take me so long to try it?  I have no clue!

• I started with a base of Sally Hansen Maximum Growth
• then did two coats of OPI Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around
• then quickly made some pink, blue and green splotches using 3 neon nail lacquers from Cynthia Rowley
• then I outlined the neon dots using a black skinny striper polish from L.A. Colors
• lastly, I finished with a coat of seche vite

Hope you survived the week.  Living for the weekend, amiright?  Have a great one everybody!

Aqua Leopard Nails for #NAILLINKUP

Week 2 of the March N.A.I.L. Linkup is AQUA.  I picked through my stash for the best aqua shades (ironically two of them had the word MINT in them.. go figure) and I came up with this cute leopard print.  I only tried leopard one time before, using water-based paints and only on 2 fingers, so hopefully this came out okay!

What I’m wearing:

base color ♥ wet n wild I Need a Refresh-Mint

blue sponged on tips ♥ NYC Skyline Blue

silver spots ♥ OPI Push and Shove

teal glitter ♥ Sinful Colors  Lush Life

black striper polish ♥ L.A. Colors Art Deco in black

I’m excited to wear my new OPI Push and Shove mirror polish!  I haven’t worn it on it’s own yet, and since I’ve been dying to try it, I decided to make my leopard spots with it!  To make my silver spots look even cooler I thought I’d add my Sinful Colors teal glitter in little blobs over top… but unfortunately the sinful formula wasn’t dense enough with glitter.  So I ended up lightly swiping the glitter over the entire nail instead.  Not really the look I was going for since I really only wanted it over the silver, but as I always say… it’s good to want things! Other than that little change in plans, the leopard print was pretty easy to do.  Now I wanna try it again!

I hope you like my first ‘real’ attempt at leopard print!  You can see the other aqua designs right here:

I painted my kitty on my nails!

The theme for Nail Art Ideas Linkup this week is Animals & Pets.  So I couldn’t resist painting my own pet onto my nails.  My cat’s name is Fergie and she’s a dilute tortoiseshell kitty with cool grey and peachy colors in her fur.  Her name was actually FOGGY when I adopted her, but I changed it to Fergie and she didn’t even notice.  Nowadays she’s so Fergalicious I can’t imagine her any other way!  🙂  She’s such a fluffy little livewire!  She’s super vocal- meow meow meow all the time, and she can be quite temperamental at times!  So we basically treat her like a big baby and spoil her rotten as to not upset our special little girl!  Fergie gets the royal treatment.  (you guessed right- I don’t have kids yet LOL)

If I’m gonna paint my nails in her likeness and the root of her name is FOGGY then I might as well use my new bottle of OPI Haven’t the Foggiest.  Foggiest… Foggy… Fergie.  Makes sense!

This is the first time I’m trying this polish.  I wore it for four days on its own and I hafta say- I am LOVIN IT!!!!!!  If you like silvers or metallic shades, then you need this one!  It’s super-opaque and applied like a dream.  It has a cool brushed chrome finish and it’s not brush strokey.  After enjoying Haven’t the Foggiest for several days with no chips- I then painted my kitty Fergie on top.  I did a cartoon version of her.  Let’s check it out!

The idea to paint my kitty in a cute cartoon style came from a pinterest pin that led me to this article.  The article doesn’t link back to the nail artist that came up with it but I really like her nail art! I used it as inspiration and freehanded my design.  I also threw in some paw prints… just cause they’re adorbz. I like the way that my Fergie head came out.  I think I captured her attitude in an endearing kinda way!  

Wanna hear what Fergie did to me yesterday?  She came over to sleep near me.  I started watching a long youtube video of a guy that just kept talking and talking.  Then Justin came in the room so I started talking a lot and laughing, telling him about the funny video.  I was being kind of loud and well, apparently, Fergie was getting annoyed with me.  So she stood up from her nap, faced me, and meowed “AAGGGGHHHHHH” right at my face!  It was like she was sayin, “SHUUUUUUTTUUUUUP!”  It was hilarious!  I dunno, maybe you had to be there?  But that was the first time I ever got yelled at by a cat!  It just cracks me and Justin up!

If you’re feeling inspired to paint your pet on your nails- you really should do it! 🙂  If not for fun, then for posterity!  Then post your pics somewhere online and link them here:  NAIL LINKUP.  If you’ve never used the inlinkz thing before and you have questions, then just email me!   I hope to see your pet or animal-themed nails!

Animals & Pets :

DIY Glequins… sorta!

I’ve seen so many cute nail designs online lately using glequins.  (A glequin is a big piece of glitter that’s kinda like a sequin.)  For some reason I haven’t purchased any yet!  I don’t have a lot of beauty supply stores near me so I’d hafta order them online.  Since that hasn’t happened yet- I decided to make my own!  You can too if you have a polish with kinda big glitter pieces in it!

All you do is simply dab some of your glitter polish onto your work surface (glossy paper works great for this technique).  No- I didn’t dab it on my kitteh’s face- this is a cut up piece of a kitty wall calendar (repurposed work surface post). Then grab a toothpick or dotting tool and fish out some of the big pieces of glitter.  It’s as easy as that!  Sure, you waste a few drops of polish… but now you have a bunch of glequins set aside for your cool nail art ideas!

Check out my glequin creation below!  For this design I painted my nails with 2 coats of China Glaze Westside Warrior which is a nice funky army green.  Then I painted two coats of glitter polish on top called Get Carried Away! by China Glaze (but I kept my ring finger plain in preparation of my glequins!)  Then I painted some clear polish on top of my green nail (to make a sticky surface) and I strategically placed my glequins on top using my dotting tool.  Quick, easy and fun! 

What a creative way to make good use of your glitter polishes!  Check out your glitter polish stash- you may have a bottle that would be perfect for DIY glequins!  (When Monkeys Fly by OPI comes to mind!)

Here comes the sun!

I have been recently nominated for the Sunshine Award!  Wow I’m so grateful to learn that I inspire other bloggers out there!  Four ladies nominated me and I faithfully follow each one of their blogs, so it’s wonderful to hear that the love is reciprocated.  Oh, blogosphere- you are so full of inspiration, friendship and warm fuzzies!  A special thanks to the lovely bloggers who nominated me:

Brjit’s Digits

Diary of a Beauty Therapy Student

Little Bits and Pieces of Life

Eeeek! Nail Polish!

Here’s the deets about the Sunshine Award: 

-Thank the person who nominated you
-Post the award logo on your blog
-Share 7 facts about yourself
-Nominate 5 or more other blogs that inspire you

Who I nominate:

Ooh La La Nails–  Amy’s always inspiring me!  I wanna copycat her ruffian next 🙂

Upclose & Polished– I love Marthe’s feather nails!  Makes me want to dig out my feathers, for sure!

Nail Art for Dummies– Are these nails inspired by Kill Bill or sneakers?  Both!  And I love them!

Sparkling Noise – check out these raindrop nails! SOOO cool!

My Adventures in Nail Art– Months later I still remember this heart manicure of hers.  Amazing!

Seven facts about me:

1) Ya know how some people hate to see other people wearing pajama pants in public?  They think it looks sloppy and lazy I guess.  Well, it doesn’t really bother me.  I think hmmm, you look comfy.

2) I have a bread machine that I love and I use it all the time to make pizza dough.  Check out some of my creations (I get the side with eggplant n veggies, he gets pepperoni! And the white one is a chicken alfredo pizza).

3) The reason I’m posting pics of food is because I’m currently on day two of the 3 Day Military Diet and I feel really really hungry right now!

4) I have two cats named Fergie and Aphrodite.  They’re the perfect combo of sugar n spice!

 

5)  I may not be the most patient person in the world, but I don’t really get road rage.  I figure some people drive stupid and there’s nothing I can do to change that. 

6) I’m looking forward to summer because I love getting tan, my hair gets blonder and I can go swimming!  When I was a kid I’d stay in the pool as long as possible.. or until my lips turned purple and my mom would make me get out!

7) I ordered some nail stuff from an amazon seller but they totally messed up my order.  Once they ship me the correct items I plan to organize a sweet giveaway.  One prize pack for US entrants, and another one for international!

Thanks again for the Sunshine Award!  All this sunshine brings a big smile to my face!

Liebster Award and some LOLCATs

I have been lucky enough to be nominated for the Liebster award!!  It’s such a joy to share my nails with you all, and to know that you view my blog and actually LIKE IT!  Ya never know when you start a blog how it will work out.  Especially since most of the people in my life couldn’t give two hoots about my fingernails.  So, I start a blog and expect complete strangers to give a hoot??  Well, it turns out– many hoots have been given!  Over 11,000 hoots (views) to be exact!  And those ‘complete strangers’ are no longer strangers… you’re all like my online friends now!  It’s so cool to pull up wordpress and check in with you all everyday !

I had several Liebster nominations piling up…why did it take me so long to write this post?  Not sure,  maybe because it feels like bragging?  Anyone else know what I’m talking about? lol  Well, I got over it, and the time has finally come for me to shout a big THANKS to the following bloggers who nominated me.  There’s some gems here so check ’em out:

http://littlebitsandpiecesoflife.wordpress.com

http://willworkforpolish.com

http://dailycharme.wordpress.com

http://brushmeblush.blogspot.com

http://brijitsdigits.net

http://oohlalanails.wordpress.com

http://paintthosepiggies.blogspot.com

http://10prettyfingers.wordpress.com

It’s hard to find the official rules for this award, but here’s how the Liebster work if you have been nominated:

1. List 11 random facts about yourself. 
2. Answer the questions designated by the blogger(s) who nominated you.
3. Place YOUR nominations for the Liebster Award!  Nominate five (or more)  other bloggers that have less than 200 followers.  Make sure to notify them via comment/email, etc.
4. Make up a set of questions for those nominated bloggers to answer.  I chose 5 questions.
5. Lastly, display the Liebster award badge on your blog!
   

HERE’S WHO I NOMINATE:

Small Things Made Significant– http://stmsignificant.wordpress.com

Flight of Whimsy– http://flightofwhimsy.wordpress.com

My Faves Journal– http://myfavesjournal.com

Sockmonkey’s Kitchen– http://sockmonkeyskitchen.com/

3 City Girls NYC– http://3citygirlsnyc.wordpress.com

escape.by.beauty– http://escapebybeauty.com/

HERE’S THE QUESTIONS I’D LIKE THEM TO ANSWER:

What’s your favorite post that you’ve written?

If someone told you that you had to start a brand new blog with a different  topic… what would you blog about?

Big city or small town?

Do you have any pet peeves?

What’s your star sign?  Do you believe in horoscopes?

What’s your favorite band or album?

11 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:

1. My hair is long and straight so I don’t really style it.  Wash, brush and go!
2. I ❤ Leonardo DiCaprio
3. I can’t live without vegetables!
4. When I was a kid I was awesome at Bowling!  I won 2nd place in New York State in a big Coca-Cola Tournament.
5. What’s my favorite word in the english language?  WHATEVER
6. You can’t tell from looking at my nails- but I am very tall.  Almost 6 feet!
7. I love Pixar kids movies.
8. I have a Bachelor’s degree in International Business.
9. I have been a fan of Sinead O’Connor’s music for decades now.
10. I exercise a lot but I am not skinny and it looks like I never will be.
11. I didn’t know exactly how many polishes I owned… but it didn’t feel like a lot to me.  So I just counted them-  I have 166 full sized bottles of polishes and 42 mini bottles or stripers.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS THAT BRIJIT ASKED ME:

1. What made you start blogging? — That I was always painting my nails and wanted to talk about them… but no one really cared.   So I decided to widen my audience!
2. Do your ‘real life’ friends and family know about your blog? Do they follow? –Yeah my friends and family know but most don’t read my blog regularly.  Well, maybe more people read it than I think?  But they don’t hit the ‘follow’ button so I shall never know.
3. How many blogs do you follow? –I follow 296 blogs in wordpress.  A few more from outside of wordpress too.
4. Are they all beauty blogs? –Nope.  Most are about nails, crafts, cooking and diet/nutrition.
5. What is your must-have nail polish right now? –Zoya Ali.  I got it for free a few months back as part of my Zoya order around valentines day.  I only tried it a few wks ago and it’s hot pink and I love how bright it is!  I can’t wait to wear it this summer when I’m rocking a nice tan.  Would look great on my toes too!
6. Your favorite nail art technique?  –Chevron French Manicures.  They make your nails look long and strong and if you use nail guide stickers they are super easy.
7. Do you take part in nail art challenges?  I’m participating in my first one right now.  Lotsa fun!
8. Are you more of a summer or winter person?  –Both.  I really love them both.  Spring and autumn are just blah for me.  I like the extremes: snowy white winter… or sunny and hot!
9. How do you store your nail polish?  –I have a built-in floor to ceiling corner shelf in the main living area of my house.  I sort by brand…and they’re all pretty on display.  I also have a lot of boxes/containers that I store my not-so- faves in.  That helps keep everything consolidated.
10. Do you prefer cats or dogs? —I love all animals!  I have two cats but I really want a dog too.
11. If you were a biscuit, what type of biscuit would you be? –In the U.S. a biscuit is a roll that you eat with dinner.  But biscuit may also mean a COOKIE, right?  I guess I would be an Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie. Good and bad all at once..but nice and sweet!

Thank you for reading my blog!  If you made it all the way through- then you deserve a prize.  Here’s a LOLCAT just for you….