STAMPING- OPI Chevron for #NAILLINKUP

This is my first Nail Art Ideas Linkup design for the month of March.  I’m excited for the themes we have this month!  Especially AQUA for some reason . 😀

The theme for week 1 is STAMPING so I reached for my new Bundle Monster set!  I finally got the Create Your Own 2013 set that I’ve been lusting after.  I’m so excited to use them all!  For this easy chevron I used plate BM-423.

I’ve never done a traditional chevron using little pieces of zig zaggy tape or anything.  I’ve always felt like if I tried I would screw it up!  Me and tape don’t always get along.  So using a stamping plate instead was the perfect solution for me! I generally have good luck with stamping.

Besides my bundle monster plate, I used three different OPIs for this manicure. I like how the different colors coordinate and clash all at the same time for a cool 80’s vibe.  Here’s what I’m wearing:

♥ Did It On ‘Em ♥ Elephantastic Pink ♥ Haven’t the Foggiest 

Thinking of joining in on the March N.A.I.L. fun?  More info right here- NAILLINKUP.  And don’t forget to check out the other stamping manis >>

Stamping –

A Lovely Award and Some Lovely Nail Spam!

Just a quick post to thank a few bloggers for recently nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award!  I read each and every one of their lovely blogs!  Here’s a special shout out to these ladies for nominating me:

Eeeek! Nail Polish!

Short & Sweet in Texas

Ooh La La Nails

buy ALL  the colors!

The Nail Boss

Nail Art for Dummies

DailySofia

Award Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you
2. Add the ”One Lovely Blog Award” image to your post
3. Share 7 things about you
4. Pass the award on to seven nominees
5. Inform your nominees by posting a comment on their blogs

Here’s who I nominate:

Maiden Aunt

everysensory

Polish Me, Please!

PROMAKEUPME

Pocket Money Polishes

In The Gray Areas

Here’s my 7 random facts:

1. I played field hockey and basketball in high school.  Field hockey I can live without, but sometimes I miss playing basketball all the time.
2. I’m seriously thinking about getting one of those fitness gadgets that you wear 24hrs.  Like maybe FitBit, Nike Fuelband or the Jawbone UP.  Did you know some of them monitor your sleep and have an alarm that won’t wake you up til you reach the correct sleep cycle?  I need all the help I can get when it comes to waking up in the AM!
3. I have become addicted to seltzer lately.  Water, tea and seltzer are my faves.
4. I have the weirdest dreams and remember most of them in the morning.
5. My favorite nail polish brand is Orly.  But they recently changed the design of their bottle and cap?  This is upsetting to me.
6. If I ever have a son he will probably be very tall and blond and I wanna name him THOR… but I bet my friends and family won’t let me 😦
7. My name is Jacqueline but the shortened version is JACQUI.  Everyone spells it like the more common version: JACKIE.  My name is misspelled so often I don’t even notice it anymore!

Here’s some random pics of my nails… a lil spam is always nice!

Orly Gumdrop… a nice cream turquoise.  I used this as the base for my AriZona Green Tea Nails ↓

OPI Elephantastic Pink… a beautiful vibrant pink.  I used this color for my crazy underside mani ↓

Nautical nails using my new Cheeky stamping plates (CH36 and CH38)↓

Thanks for reading… and thanks for thinking my blog is lovely!!  Muah!

Ten Minute Tie Dye Nails

Ten minute nail art?  How cool is that?  I whipped these babies together in no time!  I did a base coat or Orly Ridge Filler… then I painted four different strips of bright colors.  I just sort of glopped them on very thick and messy.  Then I dragged a dotting tool through them to create the tie dye effect.  It would probably look nice with a bright white base coat- but I was going for quick and easy today so I skipped that part.  For such a ‘quick n dirty’ technique it came out pretty cool I think.  This could be a great option for some quick summertime nail art!

Have you ever tried tie dye nails?  I imagine that there’s a lot of different tie dye techniques out there!

Yellow ♥ China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Orange ♥ China Glaze Sun Worshiper

Pink ♥ OPI Elephantastic Pink

Teal ♥ wet n wild I Need a Refresh-Mint

Studded Underside Mani

Day 28 of the nail art challenge is upon us!  The theme for today is ‘inspired by fashion’.  I’m pulling my inspiration from Christian Louboutin and the trendy ‘Louboutin manicure’.  Last time I did a Louboutin manicure on myself I absolutely loved it!  You can view my louboutin mani here.   That’s when I fell in love with the idea of painting the underside of my nail with a pretty color!  That makes sense when you think about it- especially for ladies with very long nails. We work hard to grow our nails this length- why not show them off?  We make the top all nice and pretty but then the non-painted underside looks so blah?  Well, I don’t think so!!!  This underside mani is dedicated to all the fashionistas out there that want pretty nails from top to bottom!  It’s a 360 degree manicure and I love it!  I haven’t really seen too much of it online so here’s my version of a studded underside mani!

To create this look I did a quick coat of Orly Ridge Filler on top and under my nails.  After that was dry I applied 2 coats of Elephantistic Pink from OPI.  When I painted, I did the underside first… then the top of the nails.  But I don’t think the order really matters, especially if you’re using the same color on top and bottom.  Then I applied a topcoat of seche vite (on top and underneath my nail) and waited for that to dry.  Lastly, I dotted some clear polish and applied black studs from Claire’s Cosmetics.  I’m glad I was able to fit exactly two studs on the underside of each nail so it looks symmetrical.

The idea of painting the underside of my nail is not really new to me.  When I apply nail strengthener as my basecoat- I apply it under the free edge of my nail (the underside) and I also make sure to wrap my tip well.  I do this each time I start a new mani.  I think this is a great way to protect your nails and help them grow nice and long.  If I go through all that then I might as well paint them pink and add studs too, right?  So what do you think of my pink underside mani?

Summery Pink Panels

Today is PINK  DAY as part of the 30 Day Nail Challenge.  I created a nail art design I’ll call pink panels using only a dotting tool .  I started with two coats of Orly Kiss The Bride– which is pretty watery and streaky.  If I was wearing Kiss the Bride on it’s own then I would definitely have needed three coats.  Then I selected the following three pink polishes for my panels/squares:

OPI ♥ Elephantistic Pink

Zoya ♥ Ali

China Glaze ♥ Dance Baby

I used my smallest dotting tool to shape the squares.  I got pretty good control and clean corners from using that tool-  I’m sure I woulda muffed it up if I used a paintbrush!  This design was pretty easy to do, but a little time consuming.  I’d say the squares took me about an hour from start to finish.  I like the outcome and how the Zoya Ali looks like so bright against the other pinks!  I didn’t realize how neon Ali is- I will definitely be wearing it this summer!

Now I’m inspired to try this look with green polishes – I bet it would look like a tortoise shell 🙂