Thursday 5 December 2013

Crumpet's Nail Tarts Christmas Winter Challenge D1: White Christmas

Hey y'all!

So yesterday I went to my first British dental appointment.  I have to say that the Brits get a bad rap when it comes to dentistry in general.  Although it's been many years since I'd seen a dentist in the States because I've not had dental coverage for a long while, I have to say that the experience was not at all different from any other dental appointment I've had.  Got a couple of fillings and the colors match and they're just as good as any work I've had done before.  The only noticeable difference was that she didn't have nitrous oxide (which I usually prefer, as it helps keeps me from having anxiety problems in the chair) - but overall I was able to breathe through my nerves and was only there for an hour.  I'm very pleased and not at all as nervous as I had been about the series of appointments to come, as I've got a few issues to address (like I said, I've not had coverage for a while).

Anyway... so today starts a new challenge I've taken up, which I mentioned in yesterday's post, hosted by Crumpet's Nail Tarts on Facebook.  I'll be posting new nail art twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays.  Today's theme is White Christmas.

Personally, I've never seen a White Christmas, since I hail from Central Texas and we only see snow once every few years.  Even the winters I spent in Chicago and England last year didn't see snow on Christmas day, so I can only imagine and look at pictures for inspiration.  Also, the movie White Christmas was oddly uninspiring, although I do love hearing Bing sing and Vera-Ellen dance, and Danny Kaye cracks me up.

So here's what I did:



I started with my usual base coat (still using Seche Rebuild for the time being, but will be switching once this bottle is empty), and then laid down China Glaze Temptation Carnation, which I picked up at Sally's on my trip back to Texas.  It's a sheer pink polish with a faint shimmer that reads beautifully iridescent on the nail.  From there, I layered in "snow" on my tips using OPI Solitaire, a white Liquid Sand sprinkled with silver glitter.  I used this over my entire middle finger to create an accent nail.

I wanted to kind of recreate holly berries in the white and metallic notes that I associate with White Christmas, so I painted on some holly leaves in Barry M Gold Foil.  Unfortunately this didn't read as well as I'd hoped against the shimmer of my base color, and the camera certainly wasn't able to pick them up.  I used white rhinestones to make the "berries" on each leaf at the top of the nail.


On my accent nail, I randomly placed more of the white rhinestones, and dotted in the Gold Foil to add some extra sparkle and shine.

Colors Used:
China Glaze Temptation Carnation
OPI Solitaire
Barry M Gold Foil

Overall I'm very pleased with the snowy and shiny look of this mani.  I hope it reads White Christmas to everyone else.

Have you ever seen a White Christmas?  Did it feel magical?  Did it make you sing the song?

Much love,
Ali

Please make sure to visit all the other White Christmas looks from the ladies of Crumpet's Nail Tarts.


6 comments:

  1. I totally got white Christmas out of these! I love the texture place of the polish vs. your berries clusters, very lovely!

    So glad you were able to share this look in the first ever Best Of: Nail Art link party. Looking forward to seeing your work next week too!

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  2. Thank you so much! Also, thank you for hosting the link party, and I noticed you pinned this look as well, for which I'm blown away that it's been repinned! It means so much when other bloggers help promote a newbie's work. Thank you for providing a place for us to share what we've done!

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    1. Oh I LOVE hosting it (even though it's only been one week). I really love seeing what everyone comes up with creatively, it's just so amazing to see. Glad you are getting some views from Pinterest, it's well deserved traffic! :)

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  3. Even though the holly leaves didn't come out, I still really like this look. It looks awesome! :)

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  4. Quite a classy mani!! I love the rhinestones you used :) I moved to Canada from the States last year and was finally able to go to a dentist after having no dental insurance for years in the States. I also get anxiety in the chair!! And... we also don't get white Christmases here :( It's quite similar to England's weather I think - grey and rainy!

    Bailey
    aka Bailey

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    1. Thank you so much! It's quite frustrating knowing that you need to have work done and not being able to afford it, isn't it? Glad you've been able to get to a place where you could get care as well. I have several friends (and a few readers) in Canada as well, and whereas some of them are definitely getting snow, a lot of them are just as you describe - wet and overcast. Best of luck to you in your new country!

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