Monday, March 26, 2012

Blue and White China


Greetings Jelly Beans!

I've seen some blue and white manicures around the internet that remind me SO much of fine china, that I finally decided to give it a shot. I started with 2 coats of Wet n' Wild French White Creme, then stamped using a full nail stamp off #BM-224 and Sally Hansen Thinking of Blue. Finished with a coat of Seche Vite! If you look close on my thumb you'll see the nasty seam I got when I was double stamping. My right thumb turned out better, but I'm having so much trouble taking a non-blurry shot with my good hand I didn't even try to switch it up.


I really enjoy how effective this is! It's fresh and spring-y too! The fiber artist in me also sees reference to those heirloom applique quilts in blue and white.


One more shot in the bright light:


I've been rounding up some un-trieds and doubles from my stash, as we begin paring down the stuff in our house for the big move. Planning for an exciting giveaway! :)

Best wishes and thanks for stopping by!


JQ

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Happy Rainbows and good news!

Greetings Fellow Finger Painting Earthlings!

We got HUGE news yesterday!

My husband got an amazing job and it means we will be able to move back out to the country and live on an acreage. And THAT means..I get to have my Studio! I'm really REALLY excited! I can't even describe it!

But I painted my nails to reflect my energy level yesterday after finding out the big news.


For this I used one coat of Sally Hansen White Tip as a base, then used four of my brightest Art Deco nail striper polishes. Neon green, sunshine yellow, pink and purple!


I double coated every colour and triple coated the green because it was quite thin, and I was going to copycat this manicure that I fell in love with over the weekend, but I just kept staring at my fingertips and grinning, so I left them as is and finished with a coat of Seche Vite.

I really want to get my hands on some good brushes for painting details and stripes. Maybe I'll have to splurge this month!

Happy Tuesday everyone!


JQ

Friday, March 16, 2012

St Patty's Day Manicure


♥ Happy St Patty's Day (for tomorrow) Everyone!
Will YOU be wearing green?

For the base of my manicure I was inspired by this Emma Watson Nail tutorial by Sokolum79

I began by painting a thick coat of NYC Flat Iron Green, then using my finger to wipe away the middle of the polish, leaving only the outline of my nail dark. Then I waited a few seconds for the NYC to get a bit tacky and painted 2 coats of Sinful Colors Show Me The Way, the first one overlapping the dark rim, and the second coat just thickening the polish over the lighter area for less VNL. You can see there is still some VNL in the photos, but this is less in reality unless you are holding them in the direct sunshine.

Indoor:

After the polish was dry I used white acrylic paint to paint the four leaf clover, then painted over it with apple green, and outlined using a dark green acrylic that I mixed to match the NYC Flat Iron Green. I then used my dotting tool with that dark mixture for some details around the clover. Once that was all dry I went to town with the dotting tool and some China Glaze Midnight Kiss (a nice sparkly metallic gold). Top Coat was Seche Vite!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone is looking forward to a lovely weekend! Maybe some green beers, a leprechaun and a pot o' gold? :)


JQ

Friday, March 2, 2012

Hot pink with Polka Dots!


I was on the phone with an old friend--that lovely, quirky gal that got me hooked on nail art to begin with--and while we were chatting I was inspired to pull out my polish and take my beat up nails out of retirement. I filed them nicely and gave them 2 coats of Nina Ultra Pro Passion Pink, then took my dotting tools and made large black dots using Claire's Black Hole, and smaller white ones inside with Sally Hansen White Tip. I used the good old Seche Vite for a quick seal. :) It's a super happy manicure, in tribute to an uplifting phone call and a great friend. Thanks Alicia!

So I've been AWOL, coming back in only to post one winter mani and before that I think it was Halloween. This winter has been super hard on my eczema, and I've been concentrating hard on my Tapestry and other fibre work that does a lot of damage to my fingers and nails. I've also been suffering some terrible morning sickness the past 2.5 months, and that hasn't made it easy to drag out the stinky polishes and remover. :p

I do hope to keep on making nail art posts, even if they are few and far between. Sorry to everyone I usually visit and leave notes, because I've been absent there also. Hope everyone has been having a wonderful few months since Christmas. Sending out best wishes!

♥ ♥ ♥
JQ

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Excuses!

Hello Jellos!
I'm still here!

Point form update/excuses:
1) Prepping for the big November sale
2) Prepping for Christmas
3) Eczema outbreak from hell (I love you winter!)
4) Hosting meetings and gatherings/being gone all through the holidays
5) CLEAN UP

Did I mention I have a 2.5 year old boy? :P That's busy all by itself!

ANYWAYS. I did manage to paint my nails with something fancy ONCE this holiday. I did a white french tip, then a coat of a clear polish with opalescent sparkles suspended inside, and finished off by stamping a snowflake image from the first bundle monster set, using Gosh metallic Blue. Seche Vite top coat. Sorry about the super dryness of my skin! It's been real torture this winter, so I've basically given my nails and skin a break from polish and remover, and have been applying my hypo-allergenic lotion non-stop.

Christmas was a blast and I did wind up purchasing a few new polishes and getting a couple as gifts, so I'll try to get in over the next few days and at least post about my small haul. I also have a little surprise!

Hope the season has been good to you!

JQ