My Lucky Summer Dragonflies! #2014BloggerChallenge-Nails

Hey y'all!

Topic 5 for the #2014BloggerChallenge seemed almost too easy when Gaby sent out the announcement, but then I remembered that only a few of us participating are actually nail bloggers.  The theme is always open for interpretation, but since I'm already in the nail blogging niche, I thought I would share a very special NOTD with you - my Lucky Summer Dragonflies!

I already hear you asking, "What makes these so lucky?"  This is the manicure I wore on my driving test last week, and they must've done something for me because I passed with only one minor mark on my score sheet!  If you guys had any idea how badly I'd been sweating that test, you'd totally understand why I was so relieved!

Left to right:
Models Own Coral Glaze
elf Party Peach
LilypadLacquer Orange

My inspiration for these color choices stems mostly from knowing that I wanted something bright and colorful to cheer me up about my driving test.  I thought Coral Glaze would make an excellent tropical gradient, then spied the LilypadLacquer Orange in my untried case and decided it was time to come out and play.  I selected the Party Peach as a transitional shade and I was off to the sponging!

It's unfortunate that the contrast in this gradient really doesn't show up on camera, because it's really vibrant in real life - practically glowing!  The bright pink of the coral slides really beautifully into the neon orange because of the peach, and you can still see all three shades clearly even though the transition is really smooth.  Not to toot my own horn, but I think this is probably my most successful sponge gradient yet, and that probably has everything to do with color choice. 

Maybe it was that aforementioned glow, or maybe it was because I'm ready for summer to BE HERE ALREADY(!!!), I remembered that I had some little firefly and butterfly appliques in a nail art wheel.  Although I've never actually worked with them before, I'm pretty sure that these are FIMO cane slices because they got soft and sort of curled after I added SV over top.  I love these little cutie pies, and I wish I had a purple one to go with them!  I wanted them to look like they were all coming off of my ring finger and flying all about, so I positioned them as such.

After I applied them, I decided they just looked stuck there, so I added the little dot trails in yellow acrylic paint with my finest-pointed nail art brush, and called it a day!

I hope you like this whimsical summer look.  I know I surely do - it's my lucky manicure, after all!  If you'd like to see more looks like this, please feel free to leave me a comment and tell me about it!  Better yet, take a moment to subscribe and see all of my updates!

If you're interested in the other nail posts in the #2014BloggerChallenge, Gaby has them all conveniently linked on AnotherGirlyBlg.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a fantastic week!