31DC-D29 - Blue Base

Hey y'all!

Well, I finally saw the dentist yesterday, and prognosis: root canal.  Fun!  All I can say is that I'm happy that I'm not in the overwhelming pain that I've suffered the past 5 days waiting for that appointment!  Now we can return to regular broadcasting... whatever that means around here.  Today's prompt for the 31DC is Blue Base, so I decided to play around with another abstract technique to create this look.

31DC-D22 - Blobbicure

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Hope you're all feelin footloose and fancy free!  Today's prompt for the 31-Day Challenge was to create a Blobbicure, also known as a pebble manicure.  I decided to play with some textures and tones to create this... almost patriotic look.

31DC-D16 - Tranquility

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Ah, Friday is here at last, and this one in particular also would have been my dad's 74th birthday, so I am thinking of him today.  The theme for the 31-Day Challenge today is Tranquility, which is a nice, open prompt that gives lots of wiggle room for technique and interpretation.  Because I liked yesterday's green smoky watercolor effect so much, I wanted to practice with it a bit more, so I give you these blue smoked nails to represent the theme.  They have an aquatic feel that I think translates to tranquility for a lot of people.

31DC-D15 - Green Base

Hey y'all!

We're just about halfway through this 31-day challenge, and the fatigue is starting to show on me, but I still feel like I'm accidentally coming up with some cool looking nail art, so on I persevere.  Today's prompt is Green Base, so I grabbed a handful of green polishes in different finishes, and went to work adapting an older technique to suit my purpose.

Acetone wash neon - TPTC

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I actually did this look a couple weeks back, as you'll be able to tell if you pay attention to the length and shape of my nails, but I wanted to do a bit more playing and research before I revealed it.  I haven't seen anyone else use this particular technique, so I'm calling it an acetone wash. It could be considered a variation of the watercolor technique, but the key difference here is that this technique lets gravity do all the work - I don't manipulate the polish with any tools except the acetone.

Spotted watercolor nail art - TPTC

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It's JUNE!  It's like it's almost officially summertime!  Happily for me June also meant a changing of the guards in the Tri-Polish Tuesdays Challenge, and our new colors this month are turquoise, coral, and nude.  That leaves a LOT of wiggle room because nude can incorporate a pretty big array of shades, and turquoise is a bit ambiguous as well.  I decided to have a play with some polishes and ended up with this look, which I think is fairly watercolor-y, then added some dots for interest.

"Fluid" abstract inspired by FingerFood - TPTC

Hey y'all!

Welcome to another Tri-Polish Tuesday!  Today's look is brought to you in just about every way by the lovely and talented Sam at FingerFood.  If you aren't familiar, you definitely need to first crawl out from under your rock, then hop on over and check out her blog, because she does some of the most amazing artwork on her nails.  I've had the privilege of befriending her over these past few months as a budding nail blogger, and when she learned that I was having trouble finding good cheap neon polishes in my part of the country, she offered to help me fix that problem!  Last week I got a little package containing some LA Colors neons, and a surprise bonus leather effect polish from Pretty that my local Poundland doesn't carry.  How sweet is that?  I felt the only appropriate way to repay her was to do this week's Tri-Polish in her signature style, using the colors that she'd sent me, and so I present you with this...

Tutorial: Duochrome pebble nail art

*** This post contains items which were sent for review and affiliate links. ***

Hey y'all!

Today I have a tutorial video for you on how to create these color-shifting nails with a colorful oval stud on the accent nail:

Stamped watercolor nail art featuring e.l.f. polishes - TPTC

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Tri-Polish Tuesday rolls round once more, and we're still working with the April colors of blue, pink, and yellow.  With today's look, I wanted to accomplish two things:  create a soft pastel watercolor effect, and use all three polishes by the same brand, and this nail art featuring three elf polishes fits the bill!

Abstract Neon Brushstroke Mani - LNTC

*** Update:  I passed! ***


Hey y'all!

So as this posts, I am setting off on my practical driving exam... for which I'll post an update once it's done, but if you're reading this between 10-12 GMT on Feb 26, 2014... wish me some luck!  That said, today's nails are all about the Llama Nails Technique Challenge: Brushstroke Mani.  The brushstroke mani automatically lends itself to abstract designs, so I added a neon theme in the secondary color scheme, and here is the result: