Friday 30 November 2012

Last mani before the Xmas nails began...

A Happy Friday to you all!

It's been a couple days.  Tis the season though. I'm soooo excited to put up the Christmas tree tomorrow.  It's a pre lit Christmas tree so it can be a pain plugging in to the proper parts.  It has a bunch of different functions so if you don't get it in to the right socket it does not work properly. I've tried labelling them but it still gets screwy.  I plan on assembling tonight then decorating tomorrow. The last thing I want is to get all pissed off and crazy. This combined with the dogs trying to steal ornaments will drive me nuts.

Anywhoo enough about my upcoming frustrations and excitement. Today I have none other than a dotted manicure.  Nothing too fancy but the dots calm me.  Tomorrow is the first so start expecting Christmas nails!!!  YIPEEEEE!!!


Monday 26 November 2012

Safari Chic Dots

Well hello strangers!!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine consisted of some Christmas decorating which also involved crafting a few decorations.  I forgot to take some pictures but I will definitely do that soon.  I also had my nephews 2nd birthday party to go to.  It was a jammed pack weekend of to-dos!

These nails were done on Thursday or Friday night. I really can't recall do to all the craziness.  For the full nails I used L'Oreals 'Safari Chic' which is a beautiful army green colour.  I used a swipe or two of Essence Black on the tips.  It didn't look right so I added a few glitter dots by Quo.

Hope you like


Friday 23 November 2012

Accent Black

Woop Woop its Fridayyyyy!

It feels so weird not posting everyday. Although its good for getting other things done during this busy season I feel I'm missing out. I don't get to see every ones beautiful nails and ideas.  One more month and that will change though

Today I have something simple for you. I'm not sure if I like it though.  It may just be the colour that is not working for me.  I've been wanting to try this stamp from Bundle Monster BM225  for awhile. Not just because its pretty but very intimidating.  I'm proud to say that I got it on my first try though.






Now that I'm done my post I'm coming to see yours!


Wednesday 21 November 2012

Tis' it the Season for black?

Happy Wednesday everyone

Recently I've started to love gold on black.  I personally think it can fit the season we are fast approaching.  Black alone, not so much. However if you add a touch of gold then all is good in the world.

How do you guys feel? Is this season appropriate?

My blog posts are not going to be very frequent due to the holiday season.  I'm a craft-y-ish type person so I have a lot to do for Christmas.  Most important I have to get my husbands cross stitched stocking finished.  I've done everyone in my family not including me and my brothers.(mom did those when we were itty bitty).  Scott was the last in line because he was the last to join the family.  Four years later he is finally going to get one.  That's if I pull away a tad from the nails.  I promise I will be back to every day posts come December 26th!

For this mani I used Finger Paints Black.  I'm not sure of the name but don't think its really required when its just white or black polish.  The gold is Quo by Orly's 'Filthy Rich'. I love love love this polish. I'm not really sure what to call the finish.  It looks like a billion pieces of glitter but goes on like any other regular polish and is easy to remove. Perhaps microglitter???


Monday 19 November 2012

Nicole Gets Nailed Epic Giveaway Winnings

Howdy Folks!

Today I have something fun for you.  Awhile ago Nicole Gets Nailed had a 100 follower giveaway and the winnings were pretty awesome.  She had three prize packs which you can see here on her EPIC 100 follower Giveaway post.  This was my first winnings from a blog.  I could not of been happier with my prize. I stole her picture from her post without permission...which you can see below.  It's all good though because she loves me.  I decided to do something a little fun in an ode to Nicole gets Nailed.  I tried to keep the colours Nicolish.....she loves the pink and black.

Although the black polish did not come in the prize pack I had to use it for her.  The pink is from the Orly French Manicure kit (included in kit was a base/top coat, white polish, pink polish and nail tip guides).  Being extremely careful I stamped on the letters from the alphabet stamping plates she sent.  It took me a couple goes to lift the stamp. Although I did not perfectly stamp them I still love it!  +
I've always been very skeptical of the Bling stickers. Let me tell ya though...they are pretty kickass.  At first glance I thought they were black and white until I peeled one up a bit.  So cool that you can add any colour polish as the base. I had a bit of a wrinkle in my thumb because I didn't realize how sticky the were.

She sent me a little extra somethin somethin which I have used but no photos. I'll wait and let you know what it is when I have some pics.

Add caption







If you don't already follow Nicole Gets Nailed please go check her out.  Her skills are amazing.  How she is able to create such itty bitty pictures on her nails is beyond me

Sunday 18 November 2012

31 Day Challenge: Re-Create Favorite Challenge

Final day Folks :o(  I've had an amazing time doing this challenge.  Doing it every third day has given us so much more freedom.  A huge thank you to Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner for getting together this group of amazing girls.  Christmas is fast approaching so hopefully we can come up with a challenge to celebrate the season!

I couldn't decide which challenge was my favourite so I decided to do a couple

GALAXY NAILS
TRIBAL NAILS (sort of)
GRADIENT
POLKA DOTS.

UPDATE!
My husband somehow deleted my photo.  Can you believe it?!  ARGH!!!Final day and he ruined it. lol I obviously typed everything up above before realizing this.  So I've decided to post the nails I had the most fun with.
 
 
 
 


Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa
-Mari at Nailista
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L
-Gini at Sassy Paints
-Chameleon Stampede
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish
- Robin Sparkles 

Saturday 17 November 2012

31 Day Challenge: Inspired by a Book

YIKES!!!!
 
I totally skipped this challenge and realized that I had to get it in before day 31.  I had such a hard time picking a book. I've even tried some but they all turned out nasty! Instead of using inspiration from a particular book I chose to go with the look of books. 
My mom has  a bunch of really old books.  They usually tend to be that reddish leather with the gold leaf lining. I'm never quite sure if the book started out brown or dark burgundy. Either way they have both colours on them 100 years later :oP  I tried to recreate that and It actually looks quite similar.  My choice to not use a top coat was purely for the effect of the leather.  This mani did not last long though.
 
Hope you like! See you tomorrow for the final challenge!
 
 


Friday 16 November 2012

Attacked by the Silver Cheetah

The title says it all.  Check out the bottom picture.  Damn stamping plate

END OF STORY!


Polishes used:

 Base in L'Oreal's 'Eiffel for You
Stamp in Sally Hansen's Insta Dry 'Silver Sweep'
Stamping Plate. Bundle Monster BM221





Don't worry I won!



Peace out
Bex

Thursday 15 November 2012

31 Day Challenge: Inspired by a Tutorial

It's the second last day of the 31 Day Challenge.   Time sure does fly.

I'm posting later then usual today.  I took the day off work to go see my nearly 2 year old nephew at gymnastics. Let me tell ya it's the funniest thing ever!

On to the nails. I searched  YouTube and came across this cute little mani by Arcadia Nail Art.  I was looking for something that could be done on short nails.  Now that I look at my nails they aren't too short.
Hope you enjoy my version of  'Cute Under the Sea Nail Art Tutorial on Short Nails'. You can go take a look at the video  here.


 
I decided to go with just the starfish. I was scared I would mess it up so I stopped while I was ahead.  I will definitely try this look again though. Too cute
 
 
Make sure to check out my buddies nails


Tuesday 13 November 2012

Just Playin'

As per my post title...I was just playin'.  I had no idea what to do last night so I just doodled on my nails.  Usually I don't post my doodles but I figured why the hell not ;o)


Full nail is in Orly's 'Decades of Dysfunction'.  The silver is Avon's 'Starry Sky'.The photo is not exactly true to colour because it was taken inside. I promised myself that I would not let crappy photos prevent me from posting during the crappy dark winterish months


Monday 12 November 2012

31 Day Challenge: Inspired by Supernatural

  So you're probably thinking 'Huh?'  right about now.  How does the supernatural and bright rainbow colours have anything to do with each other?  Well I will explain

I thought it would be a great idea to base the nails on one of my own experiences.  This popped into my head right away.  It's colourful and happy, so perfect for a mani.  We've all had experiences whether we know it or not.  This particular one was not crazy or over the top but it makes me happy for some reason.  Simple story...Some years ago I was at work talking with a co-worker.  Behind him a way I saw what I am assuming is like an aura or spirit.  It was these exact colours in the same sequence.  Pink on top, green in the middle and blue on the bottom.  Apparently my attention went straight to it because my co-worker asked what I saw.  I was a little scared to tell him but once I did it was like he knew.  He said he knew by the way I looked that I had to of seen something. No one else has ever been around when I've felt or seen something so it was great reassurance that I'm not crazy.  That's probably why it sticks out in my mind


I'd also like to add a  'YAYYYY ME!'.  I have struggled with gradients forever. Finally I was able to create one I can say I'm proud of.  This is the first success I had but it did not last long because I was itching to try another.  Yesterdays post In Flanders fields was my second.  I didn't think it was very appropriate to add the 'YAYYYY ME' in that post though.

The pink is Revlon's 'Bubble Gum'
The green is Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in 'Grass Slipper'
The blue is Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear in 'Blue Me Away'

I had to post more than one picture.  What do you guys think?  Proud of me????? I even took the pictures inside!!!








Make sure to check out the other ladies inspirations.  Only two days left of the challenge!!!


-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance

Sunday 11 November 2012

In Flanders Fields....

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada.  I hope you all take a moment of silence at the 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11th month to remember all those who fought for us and gave there lives for our Country.
 
I would like to keep this short and just follow with a very commonly known poem by Canadian Poet  Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae ' In Flanders Fields.'  All of us Canadian children grew up learning this poem on Remembrance Day


Poppies are well known as a Remembrance day symbol.  I chose something simple to represent this poem

Friday 9 November 2012

31 Day Challenge: Inspired by a Flag

I'm pretty impressed with myself.  I have a challenge post on the actual day it's due.  What's this world coming to!

Today's challenge is 'Inspired by a Flag'.  This is always so difficult.  There is no way I can create a maple leaf on my nail for the Canadian flag. I'm very proud to be Canadian so it kind of sucks.  Someone needs to come out with a maple leaf stamp.  So instead of doing my Country's flag I decided on my Province.....Ontario.

I've posted the picture of the Ontario flag below the picture of my nails.   If your wondering why the Union Jack is in there it's because Canada is part of the Commonwealth of Nations (which is mainly comprised of former British colonies that are now independent states).  If your interested Wikipedia can help you out.  The Queen is on all of our coins and our 20 dollar bill.

Anywhoo enough history.  Once again I went with the 'inspired by' technique.  I used parts of the Union Jack on all my nails.   For the accent nail I chose to use the the three golden maple leafs from the Ontario Shield of Arms.  I figured it would be okay to use the dotter to make these as it was so small.

Although this may not be the best it was all freehand. No tape, no nothing.  :)








Make sure to check out the other ladies flag inspirations!


-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance

Thursday 8 November 2012

Jammie Nails!

I told you it was coming..... I just had to do another mani based on my pajamas.  The grey and white polka dot background didn't make it on to my original.  If you didn't see my first pajama mani then you can check it out  here. 

As you know any opportunity to do polka dot nails I'm all over.  To my surprise polka dots work well with my short nubbin nails.  Subtle light colours also really help them out.

I used a Gosh grey for the full nail and added the white polka dots with Sally Hansen's 'White On'.

Hope you like!


Wednesday 7 November 2012

31 Day Challenge: Inspired by Art

The key word is 'INSPIRED'.  I've seen alot of Starry Night inspired nails. I'm not very talented at the free hand and replicating exact pictures so I basically tried to recreate the technique of the painting.

 Van Gogh's Starry Night is one of my favourites.  It's all about the sky and the itty bitty brush strokes.  I recreated this by using lots of dots in different shades of blue, grey and white.  I then used my pin to swirl them all together.  I wasn't going to add the moon but figured this is a challenge so I best try.  I'm not totally disappointed with it but not too impressed either.  I definitely want to try this again when I have more time and patience.  (I lack in the patience department)

Hope you like my nubbins! They were even shorter but thank goodness my nails grow fast.

I've also come to grips with the fact that during the winter 75% of my pictures will be indoors because it's dark out in the evening.  I hate how its hard to capture the details and proper colouring but what can ya do :oP



Make sure to check out the other ladies work that actually did it in time


-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista
 -Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish
-Robin Sparkles 

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Black Pearls

Not really sure what's going on here. My options were limited as far as vault photos.  I did these sometime last week so I wouldn't necessarily classify them as 'vault' yet.  My nails are in horrible shape right now....were talking disgusting.  Blah!

Today is suppose to be 'Inspired by Artwork' on the 31 Day challenge but alas I'm late again. I think I'll just suck it up and do them tonight regardless of how nasty my nails are. I think you guys can handle it and if not just look away ;)

For these nails I used Rimmel's 'Red Stilleto' and the black is Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in a sparkly black







Monday 5 November 2012

Here a Pink, There a Pink

Good morning all!  

It's the beginning of yet another work week.  I just found out today that I can start working 8 to 4 instead of 8:30 to 5.  I'm pretty stoked about it. The earlier I can get in and out the better. It means only a half hour lunch but I'm okay with that.  My boss is so easy going that if I take longer it's no problem.

I have something pretty simple but fun today.  The lines are by no means straight but I'm not going to hold it against myself. I don't seem to use pink that often so it was due time.

The dark pink is Revlon's 'Raspberry Rupture' and the light is Quo by Orly's 'Tease'.  I can't believe I remembered the colours.  I've been a big time slacker in recording my polishes used.  



Saturday 3 November 2012

31 Day Challenge: Inspired by a Pattern

I was really looking forward to this day on the challenge.  I had so many different ideas of what to do. Everything changed after I saw Nicole Gets Nailed pajama pattern inspired nails.  At that moment I knew I had to do my pattern mani based on my pajamas. 

She did a much better......more detailed...... amazing job than me..... buuuttttt.....MY PAJAMAS ARE CUTER!!!  Haha Sucka!!!! ;)
 If you haven't seen her insanely perfectly detailed mani check it out here here.

I kept each nail to a design on the wiener dogs.  Looking at my pants now though I think a grey and white polka dot mani is in the near future







My Pajamas! Sorry about the wrinkliness but I just took them off for the photo ;)


Be sure to check out my other buddies inspirations!


Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa
-Mari at Nailista
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L
-Gini at Sassy Paints
-Chameleon Stampede
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish
- Robin Sparkles 

Friday 2 November 2012

From the Vault!!!

Yayyyy Friday!

Quick post today.  I'm back to work and actually have work to do! Shocking!

Today I have a stamped manicure for you.  If the stamp looks familiar it's because I've used it before.  This actually is a vault mani.  As you know I haven't been able to do my nails much lately but I see that turning around soon despite my short nubbies I'm sporting now.
All I know about this mani is the purple is Revlon's 'Posh'.  It's still my go to purple.




Thursday 1 November 2012

31 Day Challenge: Inspired by Fashion

Hi All!

I feel like I've been neglecting my blog......or should I say others.  After such a rough weekend I've been all over the place but things are finally going back to normal. No more seizures!!!  I have many of your blogs to catch up on.  I'll have all day at work tomorrow to do that ;)

I lucked out with this design.  Not just because I had a stamp of it but also a shirt.  I thought this design was called herringbone but apparently not.  Any body else know? 

I don't have the plate number on me right now but it is Bundle Monster and hopefully I will remember to add it later





Don't forget to check out the other ladies fashion inspired nails

Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa
-Mari at Nailista
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L
-Gini at Sassy Paints
-Chameleon Stampede
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish
- Robin Sparkles