31 Day Challenge 2011-2012 Re-Cap Post!!

Hello darlings!! 

  This is a quick post to update you guys on my new "31 Days of Nail Art" Tab. It has been updated with the photos from the 31 Day Challenge looks of 2012. But just for fun...

Day 1: Red 2011-2012

To see the rest of the looks just keep on reading :D! 

 For more details on these manicres you can head to my 31 Day Challenge tab under the Categories column or you can head to the [31 Days of Nail Art 2011-2012] Page at the top of the blog ♥.

Ok! I'm off to finalize my "top of 2012" lists... I keep changing my mind lol!! There were seriously SO many amazing colors this year!! 

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31 Day Challenge 2012! Day 31: Re-create a Mani

OMG!!!

  SO sorry I didn't post this earlier today! I had them ready to go and it totally slipped my mind that today was Tuesday!!! I'm caught up in the Holiday haze I guess lol. Too many 3-wick BBW Candle fumes? Anyways! Today is day 31 of the 31 day challenge!! We had quite a few hiccups, we lost a gal, but Sammy and I made it to the end! Battered, bruised and bloody, but we made it (dramatic much? lol) . So for my recreation I actually chose one of Rie's manis.
  I figured since I re-created Sammy's Dior nails for my day 30 nails, that I would pick one of Rie's looks for my final day. Miss Rie was not able to finish the challenge, she did make it pretty far in though. I went with Miss Rie's Tribal manicure. Now... you guys know my hatred of all things tribal right? So yeah, I was pretty much shocked at myself for loving this look so much. Miss Rie was inspired by a fellow nail blogger as well. This is a different take on tribal, and it just stole my heart!

 My base color is Bettina Starfish. The black accents were done with Milani Black Swift. The white accents were done with Milani White on the Spot, and the yellow with Milani Yellow Whiz. The accents of soft Blue are Zoya Jo. I was surprised at how simple this lok was to achieve and how much I loved it! Thank you Miss Rie for the inspiration!!

  So, that is it guys!!! I will be doing a recap post soon with all of the looks. I also want to update my 31 Days of Nail Art tab. I think it will be cool to see what a year of practice can do in terms of improvement.   I'm glad we did the challenge again, even though it took us quite a bit longer than 31 days. We did it!!! Now to focus on some Holiday nail art!! Don't forget to stop by my challenge partners Rie and Sam's to see their looks!

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31 Day Challenge 2012! Day 30: Inspired by a Tutorial

Good morning and happy Friday!!

  

  Today I am catching up to Sammy!! The prompt for day 29 is to be inspired by a tutorial. I went with Sammy's very recent tutorial for her Fashion inspired nails. She was inspired by a beautiful Dior gown. The look is very simple but extremely elegant, and really depicts the inspiration perfectly. I knew I HAD to try this look the second I saw Sammy's post. I am so glad she did a tutorial, because it was the perfect excuse to give this look a whirl right MEOW!

 I used thin striping tape placed horizontally across my naked nails. I used my Cult Nails Nevermore. It is a perfect, One-coat, Black creme. After I pulled my tape strips off I waited a second for my polish to dry a bit and I top coated with Seche Vite.

 Don't forget to stop by Sam's to see her tutorial nails!

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31 Day Challenge 2012! Day 29: Inspired by the Supernatural

Good evening everyone!!

  I am finally caught up with miss Sam. Well, kind of.. Tonight's post is my Day 29 prompt, Inspired by the Supernatural. I've actually already done my final Three looks so I feel like I can breathe now :D. So, for this prompt last year I did little ghost stamps, like Sammy's, but different colors. So I got to thinking, "the supernatural" doesn't have to mean scary. There are plenty of cute supernatural creatures.... Like... Faeries!

 I've had this idea in my head since the day I got my Red Angel stamping plate set. This look features all Zoya Nail polish, except for the top coats. My base colors (from Index to Pinkie) are Zoya: Dana, Arizona, Wednesday and Tru. I top coated my base and then went for the gradients. My gradient colors are (from Index to Pinkie) Zoya: Shelby, Pippa, Tracie and  Kendall. 

  The cute fairies all came from my Red Angel stamping plate set. Plate numbers: RA111, RA112 and RA113. The vines on my Ring finger are from Bundle Monster plate BM314. The flowers the Fairies are sitting on are from Bundle Monster plate BM313. I used Konad Black special polish for my stamping to give a silhouetted effect. 

  I top coated the entire look with some Seche Vite and once it was dry enough I went over the Fairies and my Ring finger with INM Northern Lights. To give the fairies sparkle I blobbed out some INM Northern Lights and used a very fine brush to add twinkle to the fairies. 

  So what do you guys think about my Supernatural look? Don't forget to stop by Sammy's to see her latest challenge looks! OH and only Two more days to enter my Zoya Ornate Collection Giveaway!! 

(**Zoya products provided for consideration**)

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31 Day Challenge 2012! Day 28: Inspired by a Flag

Good evening! 

  So, after the ordeal that was my, Day 27, Artwork prompt I needed to take it easy.. So I shut my brain off and reached for my checker Cheeky plate and did this for my flag inspired day lol... I REALLY needed a break..

 This look started with Two coats of O.P.I My Boyfriend Scales Walls. The stamp is from Cheeky plate CH3. I used Konad Red and Black special polishes to get nice crisp lines. I had a hard time keeping the checkers steady and even. The sparkle is INM Northern Lights top coat.

Now don't forget to stop by my challenge partners Rie and Sam's to see their looks!

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31 Day Challenge 2012! Day 27: Inspired by Artwork

Hello and good morning!! 

  Today I finally have my day 27, artwork inspired nails for the 31 day challenge. Miss Sam is on top of her shiz and will be posting her flag nails today. Not sure what's goin on with miss Rie lol! I will be posting my flag nails later this afternoon. So, last year, on this prompt I went with Van Gogh's Starry Night. This year, after much debate (and with you guys' halp on Facebook), I landed on Munch's The Scream. Similar styles, both amazing pieces of art. It danced around these nails for a whole week. And when it came time to sit down and paint and I had to take a deep breath and jump right into it. I could type 18,746,287 words and none of them would convey the frenzy I had worked myself into over this nail art. I really wanted to push my boundaries.... Mission accomplished. 

 I must say that I feel like I greatly overestimated my freehand capabilities here, but I am actually really pleased with the end result. I think this has been the most challenging, time consuming nail art I have EVER done. So, on that basis alone; I am proud of myself for pushing through my fear of freehand nail art and actually going for it. 

  All in all, this look took me almost Three hours to complete. There were a lot of steps and a lot of waiting for layers to dry. Oh and, yes, this was all done with nail polish and nail polish only. I decided to not top coat my completed look to really give it the feel of an oil painting. I'm still kinda cracking up at my little screamer though... "Guuurrrrllll.. look at dem shoes!!!!" lol! 

 And now for a close-up of my attempt. Not too shabby for someone who pretty much curls up and cries at the thought of freehand nail art, right?

 At this point I'm not even really sure which colors are where. Luckily, I made a list of every color I blobbed out onto my paper palette. There was a lot of custom color mixing and a lot of thinning with acetone. As challenging as this was, it was really fun to see it come together and mixing many techniques to achieve the look I wanted.

  I used all the following colors from Bettina: Base #192, Brown, Earth, Birds, Sunrise, Starfish, Glitter Jean, Peaches 'n' Creme, #192, #12, #195, Ortensia, Indigo, Vintage Jean, #15, Premium Wash and Aqua. I also used  Sation I used Weed out the Wimps, Cult Nails Nevermore and Zoya Arizona. There was a lot of blending done with acetone to give the colors a paint-like consistency. 

 And for reference, here is the inspiration. I kind of forget that the task is to be inspired by the painting, not to actually replicate, but that was part of the challenge I set for myself :D. 

image source

 And there is my take on this famous painting! Now don't forget to stop by my challenge partners Rie and Sam's to see their  looks today! Also!! Don't forget to check out my Zoya Ornate Giveaway!! And I will see you guys again later! 

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31 Day Challenge 2012! Day 26: Inspired by a Pattern

Hello and happy Thursday!! 

  Today Sam, Rie(she is a little behind because she actually has a life, unlike me lolol) and I are taking on the 26th day in the 31 Day Challenge. The prompt for today is to be inspired by a pattern. That is another of those tasks that I take as "do what ever the hell you want" lol. "Inspired by a Pattern" leaves things pretty open for interpretation haha. So I went with a Steampunk inspired pattern/ look using one of my most favorite stamps and a STUNNING A England polish. 

 My base is Two effortless coats of the stunning beauty that is A England Beauty Never Fails. This polish should be called Adina Never Fails because she just can't make an ugly polish!! I will go on in length about the polish itself later on. I have a good A England post coming your way soon. For the stamp I went to one of my most favorite stamps ever. This design comes from the first Bundle Monster set, plate BM20. The stamping polish is China Glaze Passion. 

 For how simple these are, I am fairly deep in love with them. Sometimes less really is more. The combination of the metallic stamping an the gorgeous glowing base is just perfect! There is something so classy, yet ornate about this particular stamp. I LOVE it!! 

Now don't forget to stop by my challenge partners Rie and Sam's to see their Pattern inspired looks for day 26!

(**A England provided for consideration**)

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31 Day Challenge 2012! Day 25: Inspired by Fashion

Hello my lovelies!! 

  Today Sammy, Rie and I are doing the 25th prompt of the 31 day challenge. The task is to nails inspired by fashion. Much like last year, I knew exactly which dress I was going to use as my muse. I saw the dress about a year ago, but I knew someday I would do nails inspired by the awesome Betsey Johnson creation. Finally "Fashion Day" came and i even got tro try out a new-to-me technique.  

 She looks like Quinceañera Barbie and I am LOVING it! 

 Onto the look! 

 I started with a base of Lime Crime nail polish in Milky Ways. I then did a gradient over my Milky Ways base with China Glaze Beach Cruise-r and O.P.I Don't Touch my Tutu and top coated it to protect it before starting on the next step. I used the watercolor technique for the cool blend of colors you see. I really like this tutorial from Rebecca, though my technique differed a little. For the watercolor technique I used all the following colors from Lime Crime: Crema de Limon, Peaches ♥ Creme, Parfait Day, Once in a Blue Mousse and Lavendairy. For the darker touches I used China Glaze Ride the Waves. I topped it all off with some Seche Vite, followed by some INM Northern Lights(because I have a problem and I layer it over everything lol).

  The dress that inspired this look is from the Betsey Johnson Spring 2011 Collection. This dress walked the runway back in September of 2010. I can't get enough of the colors. 

[Image Source]

 I am in love with how this mani turned out! Also, the watercolor technique is SO much fun! There is really no wrong way of doing it. I cannot wait to try a look like this one again soon! Now don't forget to stop by my challenge partners Rie and Sam's to see their Fashion inspired looks for day 25!

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