May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow...

Hey y'all!

Happy St. Patrick's day - the day when everyone claims just a bit o' the Irish heritage, if only long enough to drink beer and dance a jig!  I plan on doing some arm-curls tonight, so I have to make sure I show you these gaelic nails before I do, lest I be taken by the Guinness and forget!

First, though, a blessing:

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
Read more at http://www.theholidayspot.com/patrick/irish_blessings_and_sayings.htm#6HXuVOsThkshOcuJ.99

May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow,
and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.

And here's the nails!

To start these nails, I applied one coat of ILNP My Private Rainbow to add a bit of sparkle underneath my nail art.  I wanted to add a little sex-appeal to my look, so I stamped the fishnet/chainlink image from the MoYou London Pro-02 plate, using Essie Good As Gold on my accent ring finger, and Barry M Watermelon on all others.

Because I've learned from my mistakes, I topcoated with SV once the stamps were dry.  My next step was using cellophane tape to block off a diagonal half of each of my nails, and then painting the uncovered half with the contrasting color to the stamp (i.e.: Watermelon on accent finger, Good As Gold on all others).  I immediately removed the tape and was rewarded with color-blocked triangles.

Once those were dry, I cut sections of striping tape (gold on accent, green on all others) and placed it along the line of my triangles.  I'm starting to get the hang of using striping tape, but careful inspection will show that I didn't get all of them lined up exactly, and a bit of the fishnet peeks out.  It's okay.  I used cuticle nippers to trim the excess tape and then ran my finger along the strip to make sure it was well and truly stuck down.

Working one nail at a time, my final step was to apply a final coat of SV, and then inlaid heart-shaped rhinestones onto each nail, forming shamrocks.  I used these lovely peridot-colored ones, and on my accent nail used clear stones (though I would've preferred gold studs, unfortunately I used them all in a look you'll see on Wednesday - Game of Thrones fans definitely DO NOT want to miss it!).

You'll notice most of my shamrocks are 3-leaved, but I had to sneak in a lucky 4-leaf clover on my thumb. 

I think the final look resembles stockings and garters a bit, which was the intention.

And of course I know you wanna see macros, right??  You know I've got you covered!

I hope you like this look - I think it's a little bit classy and a little bit racy - kind of like me!  Please be sure that if you do go out tonight to celebrate that you do so responsibly.  A designated driver is an Irishman's best friend.

I'll see you guys post-hangover tomorrow!

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