MSMD Monday: Checker Print like Rebecca

Hey everyone

For this edition of Monkey See Monday Do Monday we have Rebecca from Rebecca Likes Nails! She's my favorite blogger and anytime I can replicate her nails, it's a win in my book. Today's pattern is a stamp design. Now I haven't done an actual stamp in forever. Stamp Sunday quickly ended. This is my warning that they are not perfect, but stamping isn't always perfect. 

I started off with OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls on all of my nails except for my ring finger which has Zoya's Katy. I then added Maybelline's Clearly Spotted on my ring finger. (Look out for the full review of 3 of the new Maybelline's Polka Dot collection soon!). Using Wet N Wild's Black Cream and Salon Express Plate SE22 I created the checker pattern on the other nails. 

Here's Rebecca's nails here. I hope you guys like them and that I did Rebecca justice! :)

Inspired by Pinterest

Hey everyone

I love surfing Pinterest. I spend way too much time on that website. Every once in a while I find inspiration on a board other than nail art. This time it came from a dress. 

http://pinterest.com/pin/172262754469200741/

This dress to be precise. I love the colors and the rose pattern. Sadly I have yet to purchase the 2012 Bundle Monster Set so I had to pick a different flower type. But I think I made it work. I started off with Love and Beauty's Camel. Then I used alternated stripes with Zoya's Ali & Wet N Wild's Blazed. I then grabbed OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls and tried it for stamping purposes. It turned out great. Which just means that I'm extra happy that I bought a 2nd bottle of MBSW. I used Bundle Monster's BM-205 for my flower design.

How cute were these? I think they turned out great. My favorite nail is my thumb. I love the way the colors are lining up and the stamp was perfect!

Feathers

Hey everyone

Today I have a gradient stamped mani for you. I was looking for a delicate design and when I think delicate I think of soft colors. I used OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls as the base. Then I sponged on Zoya's Dove followed by Zoya's Caitlin. At the time I wasn't sure if I was going to stamp it or not, but feather manis also scream delicate to me. So I used Bundle Monster's BM-214 with my favorite silver stamping polish, Pure Ice's Silver Mercedes. 

It wasn't a perfect gradient as you can see on my ring finger, but I like the imperfect gradients. The feathers stamped perfectly. I really liked this manicure. 

SWAK: Sealed With A Kiss

Hey everyone

I'm trying to catch up on all of my February posts. I didn't do a lot of nail art and even less posting. But I'm working on playing catch up. And I'm even doing a Stamped Sunday! Progress!

This was for a February Nail Art Challenge on Instagram and it was kisses. I knew I was going to do a SWAK design. I started off with 2 coats of my favorite white, OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls. Then I grabbed Wet N Wild's Ebony Hates Chris and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri's Wined Up. I grabbed Bundle Monster plates BM-201 for the chevron print & BM-02 for the lips. 

I loved these nails so much. They were so cute. I love combining stamps and colors together. The 2nd edition of the Bundle Monster plates still didn't agree with my thumb size so I had to turn it sideways. But it still works. :)

Don't You Leave Me Broken Hearted Tonight

Hey everyone

Today's design is in preparation for Valentine's Day. I'm actually going through a divorce and will be alone on Valentine's Day for the first time in 7 years. So I had to do a "sad" design for all those singles or V-Day haters out there. This was also day 1 for the Nail Art February Challenge on Instagram.

I started out this design with Zoya's Dove. Then I used Red Angel Plate RA-114 and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear for the gray hearts. Lastly I used Salon Express Plate SE-21 with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Wined up for the big hearts. I love them. I later put a matte top coat on and loved them more. Wish I would have done that from the start. But these are still cute. 

Green With Envy

Hey everyone

I have a stamped design for you today. This one was a lot cuter than I expected. I really like this heart stamp from Red Angel.

On my thumb, index, and pinky I have OPI's Gargantuan Grape. It's a soft green that I just adore. It can be a bit streaky and takes some build, but it's a very pretty grape. On my middle and ring finger I have OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls. And then using Red Angel Plate RA-114 and Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri in Jumpin Jade I made the hearts. Super cute and simple mani. Love it!

Tattoos like Rebecca

Hey everyone

It's not really a secret that Rebecca from Rebecca Likes Nails is my favorite nail blogger. I've followed her for a few years now. I only wish I was as talented as she is. A while back Rebecca did this design featuring tattoos. I didn't have all of the same stamps that she did, but I made due with what I had.

I started off with Love & Beauty in Camel. 

It's a perfect nude for me. I'm fairly certain they have discontinued this color, so when I run out I will be heartbroken. I have a hard time with nudes because I'm so pale that I practically reflect. Yet my hands are typically red around my fingers so I have to watch out for lobster claws. 

To achieve this look I used Wet N Wild's Black Cream and a few Stamping Plates:

• BM 05: Stars on Thumb
• BM 21: Smaller stars on Index
• BM 08: Anchor on Index
• RA 116: Rose on Middle
• SE 19: Butterflies on Middle
• RA 115: Wings on Ring
• BM 13: Cross on Pinky

The wings and cross are a little strange looking to me. But I really enjoy the other fingers. I finished of the design with a few extra stars and some dots all over. I hope you guys like this design. Check out Rebecca's fantastic work as well!

ACNC Day 18: Classic

Hey everyone

Today is a day 18 and it's Classic. This really took me a second to figure out what I wanted to do. Then I decided I wanted to do a half moon, but what kind? I didn't want to just do a plain one. So I looked through a folder of my favorite nails I've seen on the web. I then found The Nailasaurus' half moon she did for the Tadashi Shoji Nail Art Challenge. I knew I had to try them. It's very rare for me to see a stamped design and actually have the stamp these days. I still need the 2012 Bundle Monster collection. This mani features Bundle Monster Plate BM21 from their 2010 collection. Today I'm going to also show you step by step how to do this mani. I'm quite excited and I hope you are too!

Start off with your base coat. Then cut hole reinforcers in half. Put them on your fingers one at a time right above your cuticle line. I used OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls to cover anything that wasn't covered by the hole reinforcers. 

I then used Pure Ice's Celestial along with BM21 to stamp the design on my nails. Pure Ice is the go to polish when it comes to water marbling and stamping. I'm not sure what makes them so different from the bigger brands, but they are perfect for these techniques. I couldn't recommend them enough. And they are so cheap too! 

Once they stamp is done remove the hole reinforcers. This will give you a clean line. If you have any leakage from under the tape use a little bit of acetone and just wipe it away with a Q-Tip or brush.

Now you can leave it like this if you want. If you have longer nails you could even do this as a french manicure instead of a half moon mani. But I wanted to smooth everything out. So I then used a nail brush from my Bundle Monster nail brush collection and traced the line of the half moon with Celestial.

I'm quite in love with these nails. I know I've said that a bunch throughout this challenge, but I'm quite happy with myself. I haven't really done my nails a whole lot since I had my son, so I was worried I'd lost my touch. I think I'm only getting better. I hope I've done Sam justice and you guys like these! If you attempt this mani using my tutorial please send me the link to your nails, I'd love to see them! 

ACNC Day 4: SILVER

Hey everyone

Day 4 for the Advent Calendar Nail Challenge was SILVER. I painted my nails with a base of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Wined Up. Then using Sinful Colors Silver Mercedes. I did a stamp design. Seriously Silver Mercedes is probably the best stamp polish I've used. I don't actually own polish made specifically for stamping.

This is probably one of my favorite stamps. I use it often with lighter colors for a subtle stamp. This is Bundle Monster Plate BM19 from their 2010 line of stamping plates. As you can see the plate is a little small for my thumbs but worked on all the other nails. 

Holy Glitter Batman!!!

Hey everyone!

The Dark Knight Rises comes out today! My husband is a huge Batman fan. So huge in fact that had I been asleep when they came in for the birth certificate, my son might have been named Bruce Wayne. Hubby is still trying to talk me into the name Robin if we have a girl later on. Anyway, I decided to decorate my nails for the movie, but before that I had to create polish of course!

Meet Holy Glitter Batman! This polish can be for sale if you'd like, but it will be limited edition at a first come first served basis. If you are interested than leave me a comment below and I can create a custom listing. 

Stamped Sunday!

Hey everyone!


Today I'm participating in Stamped Sunday! I'm featuring and oldie but a goodie. 

I love doing stamps with gradients underneath and that's how I achieved this look here. Read more to find out how I did this!

4th of July 2012

Hey everyone!

I have a 4th of July mani just for you guys. I'm super excited. It's a variation of what I did last year. I'm really happy with it.

I love it! I started off with 2 coats of Claire's Snowball. Then with Pure Ice's Celestial and Bundle Monster Plate BM20 I made the blue stars. Then I took Pure Ice's Siren and Bundle Monster Plate BM20 to make the stripes. Lastly I took both Pure Ice polishes and Bundle Monster plate BM 201 to do the abstract firework design. Add in a coat of Wet N Wild's Kaleidoscope and top it all off with Seche Vite and you have this completed mani! A quick and easy mani for the 4th of July.

Hope you all enjoy it!