Another Canada Day Mani!

As I mentioned in the last Canada Day mani post a few days ago, there aren't too many Canada Day appropriate images but as I was going through my plate stash the night before July 1st, I seen a cluster of maple leaves on one of the Lesly plates and thought it would be a good image for another Canada Day mani. These were the nails I was wearing on Canada Day...nothing says Canada more than red, white and maple leaves!

Started with a base of two coats each of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and Nicole by OPI Please Red-Cycle, topped with HKGirl quick dry topcoat.  

Stamped with maple leaves from LS20 using red and white Konad special polishes.  Added Canada to thumb from fauxnad m56.

Topped with HKGirl topcoat to finish.

Digit-al Dozen challenge week is around the corner and these Canada Day nails are an appropriate introduction to the theme challenge which is Countries and Cultures.....but I'm sure another Canada related mani will show up at some point during the week!

Thanks for looking!

Canada Day Nails

I did a couple of Canada Day mani's for the occasion and while I shared on IG, unfortunately, didn't get around to sharing on the blog til now.  I still wish there was a plate that says "Happy Canada Day!"   Maybe in time for next year (crosses fingers and toes!)  Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of plates to create Canada Day nails but I do try to come up with something a little different each year.  This is one of the mani's I was sporting the weekend before Canada Day at some local Canada Day festivities.  

Started with a base of three coats of OPI All Girls Love Diamonds, no topcoat. 

Decided to matte using Essie Matte About You.

Added assortment of images using red Konad special polish using plates fauxnad m56 (Canada Flag and large maple leaves and random placed Canada works, which are both part of the flag image) and Mash 26 (small maple leaves).

(all pix taken in natural light; either sun or shade as I did these while I was away for the weekend and no lighting set up!)

I had planned on leaving this matte but decided to topcoat using HKGirl to finish.

Thanks for looking!

Purple Sweater Nails!

This is a mani I did way back in February, just hadn't gotten around to sharing now.  I remember at the time I was sooo happy that the stamping was lined up and centred fairly well....only because of using a squishy stamper, which really helps in lining up images I find!  Here's what I came up with!

Started with a base coat of L.A. Girl 3D Effects, Purple Effect, two coats and topped with SV.

Stamped using Infinity 36.

A closer look at Infinity 36**.   I used the image top row centre but turned it sideways. 

 

It fit all my nails fully except the thumb which was just a little short.

Added a little stamping at the cuticle of the thumb to fill in the gap.

Topped with SV to finish.

Thanks for looking!

**item provided for review; please refer to disclosure policy for more information.

Funky Valentine's Day Nails

This is another one of those nontraditional themed mani's I like to do every so often; a Valentine's Day mani that's a little on the different side!

I wanted a mani with bright, bold colours and all random.  After applying one coat of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, sponged using an assortment of colours.  Polishes used were China Glaze Happy Go Lucky (yellow), Sally Hansen Insta-dri Heat Flash (orange), China Glaze Starboard (green), Icing Fifi (pink) and Essie Avenue Maintain (blue).  The sponging didn't turn out as bold and bright as I was looking for but didn't mind it never the less.

Stamped using FUN black stamping polish using Cheeky Jumbo 6, Happy Holidays.  

This is a lot of black to clean up...which is why I used FUN stamping polish for the mani versus the harder to clean up Konad.  This is a pix after clean up!  

Topped with SV to finish.

I did skittles in the same colours on my other hand but no sponging...I actually really liked how it turned out too!  It had more of the bright, boldness I was looking for...but wasn't too thrilled with my recent nail break on the middle finger and the subsequent shortening of the rest a bit to somewhat match...it's growing out slowly, but surely!  Yes, I walk around with mismatching nails and nail lengths....all the time in fact!

Have a fantastic weekend....thanks for looking!

Quick Hearts for Valentine's

Here's a quick and easy Valentine's Day mani I did recently. 

Started with a base of two coats of Jade Diamond Scarlet, no topcoat. Glass fleck is one of my favourite finishes (they just seem to glow, not to mention that I find generally they have easy cleanup!) and this beauty doesn't disappoint.





Stamped using white Konad special polish using VL009 on all fingers except accent; accent is VL001.



Topped with SV to finish.  Topcoat dulled the stamping ever so slightly but hardly noticeable IRL.



While this was just sheer luck, I love the placement of the little itty bitty heart at the cuticle on the middle finger....I couldn't have planned it better if I had have tried lol!

Hope you're having a great week...and thanks for looking!

Super Bowl Mani-Broncos vs. Seahawks

Did you watch the Super Bowl yesterday?  I didn't see too much of it...watched the national anthem (still trying to figure out about opera at the Super Bowl...just didn't seem to fit!), then watched the game until around half time...and a little after half time, but that's about it.  Congrats to the Seahawks fans on your teams win!  I don't really follow football but I did do a mani for the game just because I love to do themed mani's...and it's the only other time I could use some of the images on these plates! Here's what I came up with!

Started with a base of two coats of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, topped with SV (no pix as have shown before).  Stamped using A05 ("seahawk"), MJ XXIV original (Bronco, and NFL symbol), MJ XVIII (Go Team and ref) and CH35 (helmet and footfall), using assortment of Mundo de Unas special polishes, Konad black special polish and Kiko 323.  Mundo de Unas 14, which I've used before and stamps navy, stamped more purple this time...it really was meant to be navy!).



A closer look at MJ XXIV....lots of team logo's on it...I only wish they were all available on a plate!


Added assortment of dots in both teams colours.



Topped with SV to finish.



Congrats to Kacy S. who responded about the last giveaway over the weekend and is now the winner...the raffleopter has been updated for anyone who is following!  The Digit-al Dozen is also working on verifying the last mega giveaway so again, please remember to check your emails on a regular basis!  Lastly, I do have another sponsored giveaway planned which should be up by the end of the week!

Thanks for looking!

Valentine's Day Mani

Quickly before I forget, a winner has been chosen for the CNF giveaway posted here!  The email has gone out and the winner has 48 hours to respond...so if you entered, please check your email!  Thanks! 

Is it too early for a Valentine's Day mani?  I hope not because I have quite a few to share already and with World Cancer Day, Groundhog Day, Olympics, Chinese New Year and the Super Bowl all happening between now and February 14th, I'll be doing well to get the ones I already have posted before February 14.....not to mention any new ones I put on my nails between now and then! So this is the first of a few that will be shown over the next few weeks!



Started with a base of two coats of Kiko Sugar Mat 452 on all fingers except accent which is WingDust Collections Muskoka Sunset, which I think accents the hot pink Kiko nicely with the hot pink glitter in it!  I have to thank a very generous nail friend overseas for this awesome Kiko polish which was received as part of a group Christmas Secret Santa exchange.



Closer look at Kiko Sugar Mat 452.  There is golden shimmer in there too but it wasn't that obvious until the polish was top coated but you can somewhat see the sparkle in the bottle.



Stamped with an assortment of plates using white Konad special polish; BM-317 (index), DRK-A (thumb and middle), and MJ (no number; one of the original MJ plates; pinky).



Topped with SV to finish (the golden shimmer in the Kiko is more obvious once top coated as you can see below).



While I was liking how this turned out, I thought the ring finger needed some stamping, so added an image from Chez Divers 001 on accent and topped with SV to finish....really this time!



Hope you are having a great week...and thanks for looking!

Shimmer Sarah

Here's a mani I did a few days ago using a gorgeous polish I received from Shimmer Polish for review, using one of the larger MoYou images.  As I mentioned in a prior post, there are some of the MoYou images that are too far too large for my nails...I think almost everyone's nails except one or two ladies that I'm familiar with from the blogesphere and/or FB or online groups! Here's what I did to make the image work!  

Started with a base of two coats of OPI Taylor Blue, no topcoat.  

For layering, chose Shimmer Sarah.  Here's a close up of this beauty!



This is one coat of Shimmer Sarah over OPI Taylor Blue. Shimmer Sarah has a mix of blue, green, and purple glitter (and looks like a little gold too!); application was easy and there was no having to dab here and there to get good coverage.  I really like how the super teal fine micro glitter and the contrast of the purple glitter pops on the base of OPI Taylor, even though it is a complimentary teal creme base. Absolutely stunning glitter polish!



This pix is with a layer of topcoat.





When I was looking for a stamping plate to use, the first thing I thought of when I seen this combination was water or some type of aquatic nails.  But when I was looking through my plates, the salamander image from MoYou Tourist 09 caught my eye and I decided to give it a try instead.  The problem was stamping the super size image on my tiny nails, which are pretty curvy when they are long too.  Stamped using Konad white special polish using MoYou Tourist 09 on all nails except pinky, which is MoYou Explorer 06.



A closer look at MoYou Tourist 9.







Decided to add a few random dots using Konad orange pearl special polish which I thought would be a great contrast to the teal base.  Once I added the dots, I also thought that a glitter with orange in it too would be a fantastic layering option on top of Shimmer Sarah another day!



Added topcoat to finish.



I love how the shimmer from Shimmer Sarah is evident underneath the stamping design.



This pix, the images are lined up a little better but the focus isn't as sharp for some reason.



Shimmer Polishes are available via the Shimmer etsy store here.  They retail for $12USD and international shipping is available.

Thanks for looking!

**polish provided for review.  Please refer to my disclosure policy for further information.

Edited to correct plate name!