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!

1up

Hey out there, so I found out recently that Super Mario is having it's 25th anniversary this year and I couldn't wait for the actual date to do a tribute. I started with a clear coat of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Clear'd for Takeoff to protect my natural nail. As soon as that was dry I moved on to making the french tip, I used Sally Hansen French Manicure Pen. I had a hard time with the pen the first few times but soon got the hang of it, benefit is that it dries amazingly fast. I then added a coat of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Shell We Dance? After that layer dried I grabbed my It's So Easy Stripe Rite in a very bright green, but you could use a bright red or blue, because those are also colors of the mushrooms in the game. Make sure that before you put down any layer of color you put down at least 1 layer of white so the color comes out better. Once the mushroom layer has dried, I used the head of a push pin to create the spots of the little green guy. Make sure that you put 5 spots and then move on to the eyes, I use Kiss Brush-On Nail Art Paint. Last but not least, I add one last coat of clear coat to give a beautiful shine to the nail.
Until next time,
Happy Painting

Stripes and Spots

So I know I just posted my Racing Stripes 1 but I was getting a little tired of it. On Stripes and Spots I started with a base clear coat, Clear'd for Takeoff by Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure, to protect my natural nail. The next step was to lay down two coats of OPI Nail Lacquer La Paz-itively Hot. Once all those were dry I moved on to the detail work. I started with either the black or the white down the center of the nail and then surrounded it by the opposite color. I used Kiss Brush-On Nail Art Paint in both the white and the black. The spots were created using a tooth pick, I know it's a little cheap but it's what I had on hand. I hope you guys like this design. And once all the designs were dry I finished off with another clear coat to add a beautiful shine using the Sally Hansen again.
Until next time,
Happy Painting.

Racing Stripes 1

Hey out there, so this is not my first attempt at racing stripes but I discovered that it is very versatile. My favorite use for this technique is going to have to be for sports. I realize that these colors are Eagles colors but I only noticed that after wards (sorry Steelers). First I started with a base clear coat, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Clear'd for Takeoff, and I waited for it to dry before I moved onto the next step of adding a base color. After two coats of Sally Hansen Hi-Definition Nail Color, and again waiting until it was dry I drew a thin silver line diagonally across the nail and followed that by surrounding it with black and white stripes, all three stripe colors were by Kiss Brush-On Nail Art Paint. The gems were next and were added using a dab of clear to keep them sticking with I waited for everything to dry. Lastly, I added a clear top coat to give the nail a healthy shine and to keep the gems safely in place so they wouldn't come off with wear. If you have any questions hit me up.
Until next time,
Happy Painting

In's and Out's

I thought I'd give you guys an invite to hit me with some feed back so I thought you'd want to know a little more about my mani-pedi habits. I love giving myself pedicures but who really has the time to do them every day or even once a week. So I will be doing my nails every week while my toes every other week. This way it won't get too crazy. And let me know if you'd like me to try something special or you have any ideas you'd like me to try, I'd love to hear them. Also if there are any nail products out there that you think I should try let me know and I'll do my best to try them. I also wanted to say that I only use my natural nails, some how I got blessed with strong thick nails that can take a beating and keep on going. That having been said I probably won't ever use any imitation nail products. I'm also thinking of starting a weekly tips and tricks entry that I know many would find useful and I am also welcoming your experiences in that area.
Until next time,
Happy Painting

Better Be Betty

So I've just done these and I like how they have a Betty Boop feel. Well I started with squaring off my nails, which is new to me because I've only ever had them rounded. First I started with a base clear coat; Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Clear'd For Take Off. Then I started the white by drawing a fine line with Kiss Brush-On Nail Art Paint. I filled in the side of the white line that I wished with Sally Hansen Teflon Tuff 10 Day Nail Color #17 French White Tip. After the first coats dried, I went over the whole nail with Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure # 160 Shell We Dance? The next step was to add the decor in black with Kiss Brush-On Nail Art Paint, I used the brush for the stripe and a toothpick for the dots, I know the toothpick is cheap but it does good work. The gems where easy to add with just a dot of clear to help them stick and after the base coats are all dry I added a last clear coat to help the gems stay in place and to add shine to the whole design.
Until next week.
Happy Painting

All New to Me

Well, first off I'm happy to say hello to all you out there in internet land and welcome to my blog. This is my second blog ever and it is my first blog about my nails and how I create my nail art. I'm hoping to give you girls out there ideas to get you started and make your own creative nail art. I hope you enjoy and give me lots of feed back. Check back every week to see a new design I'll be waiting for ya!