Absenteeism

I've got to say sorry again, But I am almost ready to get back on the nail polish horse. As you read in my last post my nails were destroyed in my art studio and now that it has just ended (literally Thursday) I will be painting again. My index finger nail is almost all the way grown back and all my other nails are back to the normal length again to be painted. I need to show you guys the most recent injuries that I have gained, I think they will shock and aw many of you because let's face it who could cause this much injury in one day with a welding torch and rod? So trust me you will be the first to know when I paint again, keep having a great summer out there in internet land. And as always happy painting!

It's been so long

So I'd like to say sorry to you out there, I've been gone for a long time without any posts. However, I have good news and bad news. Bad news first, I've just started a sculpture class and my hands are taking a hard hit, one day I broke a nail and then from there it all seemed to go down the shoot. While in class I basically made my fingers into nubs and now it hurts to touch anything. Now for the good news, I do have about 14 different pictures and designs that I can show you guys while my nails are growing back. I'll be showing you guys, maybe tomorrow, the pictures of what you should never let happen to you hands, it just so happens that I make the best examples. So until next time, Happy July 4th! It's one of my very favorite holidays.

Spittin' Seeds

So, I'm sure some of you out there know that watermelon is incredibly popular in the south, I for one feel like it hasn't been summer without a really good watermelon. I found these little fruits and I couldn't help myself from making a watermelon themed design. I know it's been done before, but trust me next week I'll come up with something that will pop!

1. I started, like always, with a base coat to protect my natural nail from staining on both my fingers and toes. I use Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure #110 Clear'd For Takeoff.
2. For my toes the second step was one coat of a sparkle red, I only did one coat to keep it from going too dark and also to keep the drying time down. 
3. The second step on my fingers was to make the french tip, I use the manicure pen made by Sally Hansen, with a steady hand it can be very easy to use.
4. On my toes I used the same pen to create a tip that would make the watermelon rind stand out better and create the fade of the watermelon flesh.
5. The third step for my nails was Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Shell We Dance the I used the same Clear'd For Takeoff to seal it.
6. The third step of my toes was China Glaze Watermelon Rind, I used another nail pen to create the seeds on the toes.
7. The fourth step for the nails was to add the tiny watermelon slices, I used Cina nail creations Fruit Salad and simple stuck them in place with a little clear coat and then sealed them in place with a final top coat for both my toes and fingers.

As always until next time
Happy Painting!

Devil Came Down To Georgia

So these weren't too hard to do but they take a little work and detail. If you haven't checked the weather
channel lately it is HOT in Georgia especially south Georgia. So here are the instructions:

1. As always start with a clear coat to protect your natural nail, I use Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure #110 Clear'd For Takeoff. Let it dry and move on from there.
2. Then pick up again with a yellow color, I chose something with a little iridescence which was Finger Paints Nail Color #806163 Art Nouv-Yellow, two coats.
3. Once those dry move on to two coats of an orange color, I used Nina Ultra Pro Salon Formula #709035 Evening Sun. With this color you paint down from the cuticle a jagged edge, don't go all the way to the tip with the lowest point go about 2/3's of the way down.
4. The third color that you'll use is any red color that you'd like, mine has lost it label so I can't tell you what I used but use the same technique with the red that you did for the orange.
5. If you haven't noticed the edges of the different colors are square like the tips of the brushes so I used two colors of So Easy Stripe Rite Gold Metallic and Red Glitter to create points on the edges of the colors.
6. Then to add just a little more flare I put the Red Glitter on the edges of the nails.
7. And then finish it off with a clear coat to seal it and add shine.

Until next time Happy Painting!

Flight of the Bumble Bee

I know it's been a long while since my last post but man have I been busy! So this song came up the other day and I couldn't help but use the theme. Now here come the directions:

1. Start with a clear coat to protect your natural nail, if you haven't noticed I'm kinda a Sally lover so I started with Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure #110 Clear'd For Takeoff.
2. Then I continued with two coats of a light blue color to simulate the sky, I chose Orly Nail Lacquer #40661 Blue Collar.
3. I waited for those coats to dry before adding the next layers each time and then I made the clouds in the sky by drying off the tip of a brush as much as I could and stamping the tip on to the nail in little cloud shapes. I used Sally Hansen Teflon Tuff 10 Day Nail Color #17 French White tip. 
4. After all these coats were dry I felt comfortable moving on to creating the trail of the bee and the bee himself. I started the trail on my pinky finger so to make a well conected line the whole way. They were just very simple dashes made with Kiss Brush-On Nail Art Paint in black. The bee's body started by making two dots one smaller than the other, I used So Easy Stripe Rite Gold Metalic.
5. Once those were dry I came back in with the black and added stripes legs and other details to the bee to make him cute. 

So until next time Happy Painting!

Directions to A Day at the Beach

1. First on nails and toes start with a clear coat to protect your natural nail, I use Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure #110 Clear'd for Takeoff. 
2. On toes lay down a layer of a darker blue than you're going to use on your fingers, I chose Nina Ultra Pro Salon Formula #709514 Blue Blaze
3. On fingers depending on how light your blue color is you may want to put down a white base before adding the color. I put down Sally Hansen Teflon Tuff # 17 French White Tip so I could get a brighter color when I put down Orly # 40661 Blue Collar.
4. After all those base colors dried I started with all the detail work. On the toes using the white from step 3 I painted a wavy tip on the toes, after that dried I use So Easy Stripe Rite Gold to create a sandy sea bed.
5. When the nails were dry I took Sally Hansen Hard As Nails #4403-12 Ice Frost and painted the top half of my nails so the sky was brighter, and used the darker blue from the toes to make the tips darker for the water. 
6. I then used the gold from step 4 to create a wavy beach line about half way up my nail.
7. The surf and the clouds were really easy I used the white from step 3, I swiped the brush on the bottle as much as I could so I wouldn't have too much paint and the using the tip of the brush I dabbed the surf and clouds where I wanted
8. I used Kiss Brush-On Nail Art Paint White to lay down a base for the sea grass, when that was dry I went over it with So Easy Stripe Rite Hot Green. I used the same step for the sea weed on the toes.
9. To create the see creatures I used Cina Nail Creations # 133038 Under the Sea and I placed them where ever I left space for them
10. Once everything was in it's place and dry I added a clear coat to make sure the creatures stayed in place and that I had a pretty shine to the nails. I hope this was helpful.

A day at the beach

  So I was thinking about this design for a couple days, and you'll see why. It's been getting hotter in Georgia and I'm starting to wonder when the next time is that I can head to the beach and so I brought the beach to me. I've been trying to steer clear of stickers but when I saw these I just couldn't say no. I've also decided that it may be too long of a blog to put all the directions in. The post for all the directions for this design under this one. 
Until next time,
Happy Painting!