Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Creative Designs by Sue - Stamping contest entry

China Glaze Man Hunt base
Prisma Silver Glitter top coat
Stamped with Konad White using BM 323


Monday, May 14, 2012

Zoya Jem

This is another Zoya I picked up with my $20 gift certificate from Bloom.com.

Jem is a deep burgundy shimmer polish with a hint of fine gold glitter.  I have a mini bottle of polish from Flirt cosmetics from Kohl's - and I wanted to find another one similar  - I didn't know Jem would be the match.






 The application of this polish was just as nice as Myrta.  Opaque in one coat and a semi-gloss finish. 


To finish this manicure off I wanted to do an off set stamp - I love a stamp set off to the side at an angle.
This was stamped using a Bundle Monster Set 2 with Konad Special White..

Thanks for reading and keep on painting!

- Sharon

Pampered Chef / Bloom Giveaway - First OPI and Zoya

For mother's day Pampered Chef partnered up with Bloom.com to acknowledge mothers.

So I wrote a passage about my mom - a shorter version of my previous post - just to see if it was true.  And it surprisingly worked!  I received a $20 coupon code for Bloom.com.  And was entered in a contest to win a whole bunch of pampered chef products for my mom and I.  Well I didn't win the contest, but I did snag my first OPI and Zoya polishes!!


I don't know why I waited so long to buy these brands....I am a cheapskate - I admit it.  But WOW!  The first one here is Zoya Myrta - an orange shimmer from the Summer 2012 collection.  It is beautiful!  The formula is so smooth and coverage is great.  The photo below is two coats without top coat.

This next polish has been a wish list item for awhile - since the first time I saw Chanel Peridot.  I am a HUGE fan of green and a huge fan of duo-chromes.  When I first saw the OPI Spider-man collection and spotted this polish I knew I had to have it - regardless of the price!  So when the $20 credit came through, this was the first polish in my basket.

The photos below do not do it justice!  I wish I could have taken more pictures to capture the color better - but OMG wow!!

The formula was smooth and clean.  The coverage unbelievable -  I need to own more OPI!!





Thanks for reading and keep on painting!!

- Sharon

My mom - Mothers Day Giveaway


What makes my mom special?  She is my rock, my friend and my supporter.  My mom lives 1500 miles away, but I know any time of the day or night I can pick up the phone and talk to her - make it feel like she is right here with me.  Unfortunately she has been going through some rough medical issues lately and I was lucky enough to be home when she needed me most.  My dad was in a rehab facility for his knee and my mom was struggling - unbeknownst to her - she had major gall stones.  I came home with my girls for spring break to spend time with them, and they needed me.  I was able to shuttle my mom to her doctor and then to stay with her at the hospital when she had her emergency surgery for the gall bladder removal.  It was almost like a reversal of role from back in 1993 - I was involved in a major car accident where I hit another car head on at about 55 mph.  I ended up in the hospital for 7 days and home from school for nearly 2 months.  My mom pushed me in a wheel chair from doctor to doctor - and here I was pushing her from doctor to doctor.  God knew where I needed to be this spring break - I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.



Thanks for reading - Keep Painting

Adventures in Stamping - Sunday Challenge - May 6th

I'm a bit behind in blogging so tonight i am trying to catch up. 

Last Sunday in our Facebook group Adventures in Stamping the challenge was Un-natural Animals.

Being a child of the 80s - who doesn't love Lisa Frank?  Bright neon colors, happy animals and Stickers galore! She was my inspiration for this weeks challenge.
Lisa Frank Website

A few weeks back, doing some polish shopping I came across the 6 pack of LA Colors Neon Polish.  As soon as I saw this collection I thought of doing a Neon Water Marble.  This was the perfect challenge to attempt this!  Unfortunately my water marble attempt with the colors was an epic failure.  I was rushing, ceiling fan on and waiting too long to marble. So I scrapped that idea - and went for a rainbow gradient across my nails using the LA Colors.  I used pink - orange - yellow and then green -blue - purple.

To make the animal pattern I used Konad Special Black and Cheeky XL plate D to make a lizard skin.
I was so happy with how this turned out, it brought me right back to the 80s and collecting Lisa Frank items.


Thanks for reading and keep on painting!!

-Sharon

Mary Kay Polish - Lavish Sable

One of the benefits of being known as a polish enthusiast is friends giving me polish they won't use and I never turn down a free bottle.  That being said my old office mate at work dropped off my first bottle of Mary Kay Polish called Lavish Sable.  It is a cream cocoa brown color.  Unfortunately the formula of the polish leaves quite a bit to be desired.  It was thin, and required 3 coats to provide the finish you see below.
 I loved the color once the 3 coats were complete.  The finish of the polish was more of a semi-gloss - this photo shows the polish with a coat of Seche Vite - my favorite top coat.

It's been months since I wore just a plain color on my nails, so I felt this needed a bit of a pick me up.  And I had just the right flair to spice it up a bit.

KleanColor Tahiti Sunset - It is a brown/gold glitter that has small and medium orange glitters as well as holographic bar glitter.  You may have to fish for some of the holo bar glitters - but it coated evenly with the brown/gold and orange glitters. 
This photo is just a single coat of the Tahiti Sunset. 

Thanks for reading and keep on painting!

Sharon

Klean Color Chunky Black Holo over Dark Blue

This is another manicure I did with Klean Color Chunky Black Holo.  The previous entry was done with a deep red color which failed to showcase the true colors of this manicure.

I started with a base of NYC Skin Tight Denim - this is my FAVORITE deep blue color.  The application is flawless.

I then added two coats of Klean Color Chunky Black Holo.

 In direct light you cannot see the beauty of this glitter.

 This is the results without flash under incandescent light.  You can see how it is more like a flakies with a multi-chrome finish.
This is another picture using florescent light.

I wish I could have gotten a picture of this manicure under natural light, but it was 11 pm by the time I finished and the following day was rainy.  And of course my manicures don't go for more than a day or a two and I never caught a sunny day!  This will definitely be a combo that will be on my fingers in the future!

Thanks for reading and keep on painting!!

Sharon

Sunday, April 29, 2012

April Showers Challenge #8 - Matte Magic


I love matte manicures!  It was a matte manicure that started my delve into the polish world.  :)

For this challenge I wanted to try to do a splatter manicure under the matte top coat.  But I also wanted to incorporate the Finger Paints flakies in this manicure - because Matte does something beautiful to flakies!

I started the manicure with Orly Le Chateau, a deep rich green.
With Flash - looks slightly Blue

Under Incandescent Light - Looks Black

Another view under Incandescent Light

Natural Light - shows the deep green.

To do the splatter I chose three bright metallics from KleanColor - Jazz Olive, Fuchsia and Metallic Purple
Then used my dotting tool to gather a drop of polish and then drag it out to the sides of each drop to create a splatter.

Then I topped it off with a coat of Finger Paints Asylum flakies - it is hard to see from the picture below.  So I took two others trying to get the flakies to shine in the pictures.



I then topped off the entire manicure with a coat of NYC You Matte me Crazy.   This dulls the colors of the splatters but makes the flakies shine.


Check out these other talented ladies who are doing the April Showers challenge with me!


-          http://diypolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-challenge-day-8-matte-magic.html
-          http://nearlynaturalnails.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-challenge-day-8-matte-magic.html
-          http://charlottes-nails.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/april-showers-challenge-matte-magic.html
-          http://karinea0a.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-8-matte-magic.html
-          http://onenailtoanother.blogspot.com/2012/04/another-untried-and-asbmf-matte-maic.html


Thanks for reading and keep Painting!

April Showers Challenge #7 - Glitter Tips






In a previous post I talked about picking up the new Elle brand polish from Kohl's.  This is the second color I picked up while shopping it is a deep blue that reminds me of a beach blue.  This color is called Seaside Chic.  The formula is the same as the About Thyme, opaque in one coat and an unbelievable shine with no brush marks.  This picture was taken before any top coat was applied.


For the glitter I chose KleanColor Firework, it has orange and blue circular glitter and fine gold glitter in a pale yellow jelly polish.



I loved the combination of these colors, it looks so elegant!

Check out the other talented ladies who are doing the April Showers challenge with me!



-          http://diypolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-challenge-day-7-glitter-tips-and.html
-          http://nearlynaturalnails.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-day-7-glitter-tips.html
-          http://charlottes-nails.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/april-showers-challenge-glitter-tips.html
-          http://onenailtoanother.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-glitter-tips.html
-          http://karinea0a.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-7-glitter-tips-for-autism.html

Thanks for reading and keep on painting!!

April Showers Challenge #6 - Ombre






Unfortunately I do not have a good selection of shades of one color, so I did a modified version with shades of purple.  I am not too happy with this manicure - but I had to do this one and didn't want to skip one of the challenges.



The colors used in this manicure are:
Thumb - Sinful Colors (unknown name)
Index - Wet and Wild - On a Trip
Middle - Wet and Wild -  Bite the Bullet
Ring - Sinful Colors - Bali Mist
Pinkie - SH Xtreme Wear - Lacy Lilac

Take a look at these other talented ladies who are participating in this challenge with me!



-          http://diypolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-challenge-day-6-ombre-and-autism.html
-          http://nearlynaturalnails.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-day-6-ombre-caviar.html
-          http://charlottes-nails.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/april-showers-challenge-ombre.html
-          http://mandyspolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-6-ombre.html
-          http://creativenaildesignbysue.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-6-ombre.html
-          http://onenailtoanother.blogspot.ca/2012/04/asbmf-ombre-nails.html
-          http://footballandfingernails.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-showers-challenge-autism.html
-          http://karinea0a.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-6-ombre.html

 Thanks for reading and keep on Painting!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

April Showers Challenge #5 - Rainbow After the Rain



For this challenge I didn't want to do the standard rainbow,  I wanted something a little abstract.  While shopping last week I went into Marshalls for the first time in ages....I read a previous blog that you can sometimes find marked down polish.  Well I was in luck!  I found a 7 bottle set of LA Colors Neon.   So this manicure design was just calling for me to use them!
The only color of the manicure that wasn't LA Colors was the yellow,  that color is Sally Hansen InstaDry Lightning.   Unfortunatley the LA Colors don't have names.  =(
Then to add some definition between the colors, I used a nail art white to add the stripe.


Check out these other talented ladies doing the April showers challenge with me!


-          http://diypolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-challenge-day-5-rainbow-after.html
-          http://charlottes-nails.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/april-showers-challenge-rainbow-after.html
-          http://mandyspolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-5-rainbow-after-rain.html
-          http://onenailtoanother.blogspot.ca/2012/04/asbmf-rainbow-after-rain.html
-          http://creativenaildesignbysue.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-challenge-5-rainbowfuzzy-that-is.html
-          http://polished-prisms.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-5-rainbow-after-rain.html
-          http://footballandfingernails.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-showers-challenge-rainbow-after.html
-          http://karinea0a.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-5-rainbow-after-rain.html
-          http://www.manicurator.com/2012/04/april-showers-bring-may-flowers-rainbow.html

 Thanks for reading and keep painting!







April Showers Challenge #4 - April Showers



For this challenge manicure,  the only thing I could think of was rain clouds.   For the base coat I used Sally Hansen's Blizzard Blue,  I picked up this color during one of my Target runs.  It is a light pearlescent blue that is quite sheer.  This picture shows two coats,  to get a color closer to the bottle you would need 3 or more coats.  But I was going for a light background for a nice contrast for my rain drops.


For the clouds I used LA Colors white and made a scalloped french tip.  Then topped it off with fine silver glitter from LA Colors.


For the rain drops I used Klean Color Beach Blue and one of my dotting tools.  Made a dot and dragged it upwards towards the clouds.
I then topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite.


Check out these other talented ladies doing the April Showers challenge with me!

-          http://diypolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-challenge-day-4-april-showers.html
-          http://charlottes-nails.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/april-showers-challenge-april-showers.html
-          http://onenailtoanother.blogspot.ca/2012/04/asbmf-april-showers.html
-          http://footballandfingernails.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-showers-bring-may-flowers_13.html
-          http://www.manicurator.com/2012/04/april-showers-bring-may-flowers-april.html
-          http://nearlynaturalnails.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-showers-bring-may-flowers_11.html
-          http://polished-prisms.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-4-april-showers.html
-          http://karinea0a.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-4-april-showers.html
-          http://countingdowntobliss.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-day-4-april-showers.html
-          http://allthispolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-asbmf-challenge-4-april-showers.html

Thanks for reading and keep on painting!


April Showers #2 - Ladybugs - Elle - About Thyme



Last weekend I was at Kohls shortly after they set up the Elle display of nail polishes,  so I had to take a look.  Two colors caught my eye,  this green was one of them.  Its called About Thyme.   It is a great formula that covers in one coat.   The picture of the color below is without a top coat, it is so smooth and shiny...its hard to cover up its natural shine.


With todays theme,  I am using my tattoo as inspiration.  my tattoo is located on my right ankle and represents my two daughters.  One lady bug has 6 spots and one has 2;  they represent 2006 and 2002 the years they were born.


To create the lady bug I made a dot of red konad special polish on my nail and then used shany plate SH12 and Konad special black to stamp the lady bugs on the nails.
And of course topped it all with Seche Vite.



Check out these other talented ladies doing this April Showers Challenge with me!


-          http://diypolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-challenge-day-2-lady-bugs.html
-          http://www.agirlandherpolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-challenge-day-2-ladybugs.html
-          http://mandyspolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-challenge-lady-bugs.html
-          http://charlottes-nails.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/april-showers-challenge-ladybirds.html
-          http://creativenaildesignbysue.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-showers-bring-may-flowers.html
-          http://www.manicurator.com/2012/04/april-showers-bring-may-flowers.html
-          http://rusticcomfort.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-challenge-day-2-ladybugs.html
-          http://polished-prisms.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-2-ladybugs.html
-          http://footballandfingernails.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-showers-challenge-ladybugs.html
-          http://kayonolan.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-challenge-2-ladybugs.html
-          http://countingdowntobliss.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-challenge-2-ladybugs.html
-          http://allthispolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-challenge-2-ladybugs.html
-          http://karinea0a.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-2-ladybugs.html
-          http://countingdowntobliss.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-challenge-2-ladybugs.html

Thanks for reading and keep painting!


April showers #3 - Glitter Sammie



Here is my mani for the second entry in the April Showers challenge.

Base coat - Claire's Neon Glow in the Dark Pink
First layer - WnW Coloricon - dense blue and plurple fine glitter
Second layer - Claire's Candy Shop
Third Layer - Claire's Neon Glow in the Dark Pink
Top coat - Seche Vite
My first glitter sandwich.....and you cannot go wrong with Candy Shop!!

Check out these other talented ladies who are doing the April Challenge with me!


-          http://diypolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-challenge-day-3-glitter-sammy.html
-          http://charlottes-nails.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/april-showerschallenge-glitter-sammy.html
-          http://mandyspolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-challenge-glitter-sammy.html
-          http://creativenaildesignbysue.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-showers-bring-may-flowers_11.html
-          http://polished-prisms.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-3-glitter-sammy.html
-          http://kayonolan.blogspot.de/2012/04/spring-challenge-3-glitter-sammy.html
-          http://rusticcomfort.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-challenge-day-3-glitter-sammy.html
-          http://www.manicurator.com/2012/04/april-showers-bring-may-flowers-glitter.html
-          http://footballandfingernails.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-showers-bring-may-flowers.html
-          http://onenailtoanother.blogspot.ca/2012/04/asbmf-glitter-sammy.html
-          http://allthispolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-challenge-3-glitter-sammy.html
-          http://countingdowntobliss.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-day-3-glitter-sammy.html
-          http://agirlandherpolish.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-challenge-day-3-glitter-sammy.html
-          http://karinea0a.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-3-glitter-sammy.html
-          http://countingdowntobliss.blogspot.com/2012/04/asbmf-day-3-glitter-sammy.html

Thanks for reading and keep on Painting!




Sunday, April 22, 2012

April Showers Bring May Flowers Challenge - Post #1 - Spring Pastels


This is my first entry!

I started with a different pastel color on each finger.
Thumb - SH - Lacy Lilac
Index - Sinful Colors - Cinderella
Middle - Spoiled - Toadaly Amazing
Ring - SH InstaDry Lightning
Pinkie - Saavy - Pink Ice

Then i used a Bundle Monster Plate (BM 224) and Konad Special White to stamp a flower design on each nail.  Then used my dotting tool to color the center of the flowers with the Lightning to make small daisys.


Check out these other blog posts of the others participating in this challenge!

-          Tess at Football and Fingernails
-          Hannah - the creator - at Polished-Prisms
-          Victoria at Manicurator
-          April at MuniasNails
-          Katee at AgirlandherPolish
-          Heidi at DIYPolish
-          Ashley at OneNailToAnother
-          Mandy at Mandy'sPolish
-          Dani at Rustic Comfort
-          Sue at CreativeNailDesignbySue
-          Amanda at CountingdowntoBliss
-          Sarah at AllThisPolish
-          Kayone
-          Cari at Carislittlecorner
-          Karine at Karinea0a