Hello Kitty

Okay... I have been severely lacking in my blog postings. Oh, well... I'll try to do better.

Here is the Hello Kitty mani that I did on Saturday. :)

After my base coat, I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Presto Pink, with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On on my accent nails.

I received my free Hello Kitty image plate (from Born Pretty) in the mail on Saturday... so, of course I had to try it!! 

Before stamping Kitty, I chose Konad Special Black to stamp the cheetah design from Bundle Monster image plate BM221 onto my pink nails.

 

Then, I used the Konad Special black to stamp Hello Kitty onto my white nails!! :-D

I then used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On & my dotting tool to fill in the cheetah spots. I accented Kitty with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Presto Pink (for her bow) & SH Insta-Dri Lightening (for her nose).

 

 One good coat of SV, and... DONE!! :)

base colors: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Presto Pink & Lightening

stamp color: Konad Special Black

image plates: Bundle Monster BM-221 & Born Pretty M71

accent colors:

     Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On

     Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lightening

     Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Presto Pink

 

 ♥ Stacey

Pac-Mani

 Okay... I've seen a bunch of other takes on the Pac-Man mani, so I had to try it too! :)

Here are the colors I used (listed at the bottom):

Post base-coat... I started with base colors for the ghosts; Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lightening for Pac-Man, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Brisk Blue, Presto Pink, & Rapid Red... and OPI Flit A Bit.

I used a dotting tool to dot the eyes... Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On & Black Out for the ghosts.

For Pac-Man, I used the tip of the brush from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out to create his eye & Milani Nail Art Black Sketch to paint his mouth. (After posting this... I realized that Pac-Man's eyes are not perfectly round! They actually have a triangular cut-out! Oops...)

I used Milani Nail Art Black Sketch to paint the triangles at the tips of the ghost nails.

Add a good top coat of SV... and there ya go!! :)

 

base colors: Sally Hansen Insta Dri (Lightening, Brisk Blue; Presto Pink, Rapid Red)

                           OPI Flit A Bit

accent colors: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear (Whit On, Black Out)

                           Milani Nail Art Black Sketch

♥ Stacey

Candy-Coated Rainbows

Hello all!

Last night I wasn't really sure exactly what I wanted to do with my nails, so I turned to my box of unswatched polishes & grabbed Wet 'N Wild How I Met Your Magenta.

After I swatched this & photographed it... I realized that I actually had already swatched this when I posted my Summer Berry Candy-Mani. Oops... ;-)

I decided to add rainbows to a few of my nails, using Bundle Monster image plate BM-201.

 

*please excuse the neglected right hand... I forgot to photo after the stamp ;-) 

I used a dotting tool to fill in the rainbow color stripes (colors shown/listed below); yellow, green, blue, & purple.

Finally... I added glitter stars from Nicole by OPI Let's Get Star-ted, and one coat of Confetti Ice, Ice Baby holo-glitter.... finished by 2 coats of SV. :)

 

NOTE: I was on the phone with my sweetie during the entire creation/execution of this mani... and that is how I am justifying the lack of good pics & the "cutesy-ness" of the theme! *giggles* 

Here are the colors I used:

base colors: Wet 'N Wild How I Met Your Magenta

stamp color: Konad Special White (not pictured)

image plate: Bundle Monster BM-201

accent colors:

      Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lightening

      Wet 'N Wild Sage in the City

      Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Brisk Blue

     Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Pronto Purple

glitter:

      Nicole by OPI Let's Get Star-ted

      Confetti Ice, Ice Baby (not pictured) 

♥ Stacey

My Post-It Inspired Mani

I can't deny it... I find ideas for nail art/color combos in the most random places. The mani I did last night is no exception! My inspiration... Post-It's!! Yup! 

"The little yellow things with the stick 'um on the back." Sorry, but I just had to throw in the 'Romy & Michele' reference... :)

Anyway... Friday at work (I work at a doctor's office), I was getting patient charts ready for Monday. I used one of the neon Post-It's on my desk & a hot pink highlighter to make myself this reminder note:

After staring at it for a few minutes while making phone calls... I really began to like the color combo! I had to try to re-create it in mani-form!! :)

After my regular base coat, I used 2 coats of Jesse's Girl JulieG as the base color.

I thought the bright, cream coral was a great match to the neon, peachy Post-It! :)

I didn't know what design I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to use OPI Dim Sum Plum as the "pink highlighter" color. :)

I finally decided to stamp one of the flower patterns from Bundle Monster image plate BM12.

Add a SV top coat... and done!! I think it turned out pretty nice & good for summer! :)

Click photos to enlarge. :)

 

base colors: Jesse's Girl JulieG

stamp color: OPI Dim Sum Plum

image plate: Bundle Monster BM12

♥ Stacey

 

Pink Wednesday Marble

Alrighty... so, today is Thursday, but I did this mani last night... so, this still counts as a Pink Wednesday mani. Right?? 

First... I'm gonna expose my naked nails! Eeeek! I'm just so thrilled that they have grown out again, that I had to show off... please ignore the stains! ;-)

I wanted to use some of my neglected OPI pinks, so I decided to do a water marble mani. I haven't done water marbling since my Peacock mani, and I thought it'd be pretty. :)

I started with a base coat & 1 coat of OPI Pink of Hearts 2010 (an icy, pink shimmer... created to help support Susan G. Komen for a Cure).

For my water marble, I chose OPI Pink of Hearts 2010, OPI And This Little Piggy, & OPI Mauve-lous Memories.

I like it! It turned out light, subtle, & shimmery pink. :)

base colors: OPI Pink of Hearts 2010

marble colors: OPI Pink of Hearts 2010, OPI And This Little Piggy, OPI Mauve-lous Memories

♥ Stacey

Just a little something...

Hello, loves!

I feel like I have been neglecting my blog! I promise, I'll try to do better!

This is a mani that I started Sunday night. After the base coat, I used 2 coats of OPI Diva of Geneva (magenta plum with bit of shimmer).

I wore it as a solid for about a day, but I had to add something for the 2nd day. I opted for a bit of silver. I  used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep to stamp the wiry, wavy lined pattern from Bundle Monster image plate BM-209.

I rotated the image 180° on alternating nails, to mix it up. I added Confetti Ice, Ice Baby (bluish-aqua iridescent, micro-glitter in a clear base) & a top coat of SV.

TTFN!! :)

base colors: OPI Diva of Geneva

stamp color: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep

glitter: Confetti Ice, Ice Baby

image plate: Bundle Monster BM-209

 

♥ Stacey

Purple Nails for Caylee

I found this event on Facebook this morning... and of course, I had to participate! Here's the link --> "Purple Nails for Caylee Anthony"

I started with 2 coats of OPI Rumple's Wiggin (a light, soft lilac purple cream). This polish just happened to be in my stash of un-swatched polishes... un-swatched no-more! ;-)

In honor of Caylee, I added some little-girl fun... glitter stars! I added Nicole by OPI Let's Get Star-ted. This polish is really pretty in the bottle (holographic purple stars in a clear, micro-glitter base), but it's a pain to apply. I felt like I was trying to fish the stars out of the bottle. I was able to apply 3-4 stars per nail, and it really requires a good top coat (Seche Vite) to smooth out the stars/glitter. In all, definitely worth the effort. :)

Well... goodnight, loves! :)

base colors: OPI Rumple's Wiggin

glitter: Nicole by OPI Let's Get Star-ted 

♥ Stacey

Water Marble Photo Tutorial

A couple months ago, I created a water marble photo album for my personal Facebook page. I have decided to upload the pics to my blog!! Photo heavy!! Enjoy! :)

Here's what you'll need: (l-r)  base coat, toothpicks (or an orange stick), Scotch tape, small cup of ROOM TEMPERATURE water, 2-5 polishes, top coat, nail polish remover, cotton swabs, & clean fingernails! :)

Start with a good base coat... so ya don't stain your nails. :)
(My pinkie is still kinda blue 'cause I forgot to use a base coat on it a couple weeks ago. Meh.)

Now for a base color. Do this 'cause the colors will look washed out without it.

You can use nude or white... but I use the lightest of the colors I'm gonna marble... it's just easier. :)

Now... tape off your skin. (This keeps the polish off your fingers & makes clean-up a heck of a lot easier!)

Start with one piece at the base of the nail, just under the cuticle.

With a 2nd piece... wrap from one side of your finger, around the tip of the finger, and down the other side.

Get as close to the nail as you can.

(the other side)

My taped-up fingers. :)

(You can do one at a time, if you prefer.)

Now the fun part!!!

Drip 1 drop of polish in the cup of water. Get kind of close to the water, without actually touching the surface. If it drips from to high up... it will bead up and sink to bottom of the cup.

The polish will spread out to cover the surface.

Continue dripping the other colors.

1 drop per color, 1 color at a time.

It will start to look like a bullseye.

I used 3 drips each.

Pink-purple-blue... pink-purple-blue... pink-purple-blue

Use the end of a toothpick to lightly pull the polish into your marble design.

I like to do a flower design. :)

Now, find a part of your design that you like and dip your taped nail right into it. Keep your nail flat, until your finger is completely in the water.

 

While keeping your finger under the water... use a toothpick to swirl around the surface of the water. This way you can "catch" the leftover polish on the toothpick & avoid "double-dipping" the nail & messing it up.

(Couldn't take a pic of me cleaning the surface... as one hand was in the water & one hand had the camera. LOL!)

Dipped nail!! (pre-clean-up... of course.)

Keep on truckin' with your other nails...

I just thought this one was pretty. ;-)

Messy!!

(Once you get more practice... you can do 2+ nails in the water at once)

For this hand... I dipped the middle & thumb together, the pinkie & ring finger together, and the index finger alone.

Carefully, peel off the tape.

After all the tape is gone... before the final clean-up. :)

Use cotton swabs dipped in nail polish remover to clean up the polish around the cuticles.

(I like to put my remover in a shot glass... LOL!)

Don't forget to clean-up the under-side of the nails... 'cause they'll be swirly too. :)

The aftermath!!

 Don't forget to use a top coat... to protect all of your hard work!!

(I use Seche Vite... it is the BEST EVER!! It stays super-shiny, you can put it on while your polish is still tacky, and it is DRY in about 5 mins!!! ♥ )

♥ The End ♥

♥ Stacey