The Digit-al Dozen Does Nail Heroes--Louboutin Leopard Print!

Hi Everyone!  I'm continuing on with the nail heroes theme this week and I've combined a couple.  I've paired a kick ass leopard print mani with Louboutin Rouge.  This is hero mani two fold, one who doesn't love animal print??? And two the bottle alone of Louboutin Rouge is kick ass! So today I give you Nail Heroes Louboutin Leopard print

This is a HUGE bottle!

This pic was hard because it's not an easy bottle to hold and then take pics LOL

But check out that sexy red and black gradient on the bottle! KICK ASS!

I'm surprised the red looks good on me because it leans warm and I'm more of a cool red than warm

But it's like the perfect red!  I think it looks good on everyone!

My accent nails base is Paintbox Polish Poppin Bottles which is super sparkly and perfect for my leopard print

I did free hand for my spots and I just do not think I'm at good with the dotting tool as I've seen so many others nail but it is pretty cool

I think if I could only wear one design every day for the rest of my life it would be leopard print!

Yesterday we all paid a surprise homage to Debbie to kick off our Nail Heroes week let's check out what or who everyone did for today!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen Does Geometric--Monkey See, Monkey Do Monday--online search!

Hi Everyone!  OMG can you even believe how long the title of today's post is??  This week is the Digit-al Dozen's Geometric week.  I don't know about anyone else but when I found out about it I just UG.  Even though I have a million zillion plates with geometric designs you just really want to come up with something cool and original.  Thankfully since it's Monday I didn't have to come up with anything original at all!  All I had to do was recreate something I found online for Monkey See, Monkey Do Monday post WOOT!

So a super duper long time ago when I first started  stamping my nails I found this picture online.  I saved it onto my computer where it's sat for four years now.  I recently ran across it while cleaning up some of my computer pictures and thought "hey! this would be perfect for geometric week" and so I recreated it!

I seriously first fell in love with this design when I first got into "stamping" 

I basically never tried to recreate it because A I really don't like dotting and B I really don't like tape mani's LOL!

Aaaaaaand I was basically too lazy to tape this which is why my lines aren't as sharp as they could be

Black and white though how cool is that???!

This was honestly a perfect mani to do to kick off geometric week!

Here's the picture I found years ago.  I tried to find it again doing a search but it didn't come up! There's is no watermark to be found on this baby--such a shame as I'd love to credit the original owner of this kick ass mani.  If you know who it is please let me know!

I tried to recreate the hand pose as well, mine didn't turn out so great

What do you think??? Here they are side by side

I can't wait to check out what everyone else came up with for their first day!!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

The sacrifice he made, frees me

Hi Everyone! A happy Good Friday to you all.  As a Christian today I recognize the day Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, taking upon himself the sins of the world to ensure we would all have eternal life.  It's hard to call it a celebration because there was suffering, but a celebration it is because of his sacrifice I have eternal life.

This time of year just like Christmas I try to focus on what the holiday really means to me.  Through my nail art I just don't have it in me to show Easter chicks and Easter Bunnies because it's not what the holiday means to me.  While I find all of those manicures completely adorable I need to reflect what's in my own heart.

Today I am wearing my Good Friday nails and thinking of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for me.  I truly believe I am not worthy and don't know that I ever will be.  I am, however, oh so grateful.  One day I will be with my beautiful sister again and will be in the loving arms of my dad.  This is not a sacrifice I take lightly as those two things mean the world to me.

I used some of my Sharpie markers over a  base of Sinful Colors Unicorn for my base.  I think it turned out beautiful.

I think we all know I don't do free hand well, but I was able to recreate a picture I found for inspiration!

It is hard to fathom sometimes that as Christians we rejoice in the death of our Lord, it's almost barbaric.  But through his death is the way we can truly live and for that there is definitely a reason to celebrate and rejoice.  Through him we are forgiven

Blessings to you all on this day!

The Digit-al Dozen Does Winter Wonderland--Winter Trees

Hi Everyone!

I saw a black and white picture of some trees in Winter and I just fell in love with it. At first I didn't think I could do it so I  begged Sheila from The Pointless Cafe to do it for me and she was like get out of here you can do this yourself.  So I had to try and it didn't turn out to  bad!  I paired my trees with the lovely Zoya Oswin for a simple but lovely Winter look

I think you know by know I like to use decorative plates as inspiration, this is the picture I found, I really think it's lovely

I do think I  need to work more on free hand but I am getting better

Heading over to see what everyone else did!

An InLinkz Link-up

Orange you glad it's Wednesday?!! Extend a mani!!

Hi Everyone!!! Happy hump day!  I loved my orange gradient SO much I just couldn't part with it so I did a beautiful extend a mani!  Not really a oh hey let's wear a lot of these gorgeous oranges you have but it is what it is LOL!  I really do love my orange gradient so much I just could bear to get rid of it so soon and you all know that's pretty rare for me.  I decided to stamp over it and add some free hand roses to it.  YES I did free hand!

I stamped using one of my favorite images ever from DRK B and then I just did the needle swirl method with an orange and red for my roses

I'm not thrilled with my leaves but I don't free hand much so this is pretty good for someone who would rather stamp LOL!

Man this is a lovely gradient still!!!

The theme this week in my advanced nail stamping group is straight lines--stamping straight line is sometimes not easy at all ESPECIALLY if you have very curved nails like I do.  I'm going to attempt something tonight using orange, black and silver--so Halloween colors but not in a Halloween design.  I hope it turns out as I'm visioning it in my head.

Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you all have a fantastic day!

The Digit-al Dozen Does countries & Cultures--Redneck!

Hi Everyone.  Today is a sad day for me.  Today marks the day my sister finally succumbed to her breast cancer after battling it for 8 long years.  This is the 5th anniversary of her death.  It's hard to believe 5 years have gone by.  5 long years without my sister and my best friend.  People try to tell you stupid things when someone you love dies like time heals all wounds, but it doesn't.  Time can heal a physical wound but no amount of time can ever fill the gaping hole left in your heart.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about Digit-al Dozen today.  I wasn't sure I would even feel like participating in this week.  So I played it by ear.  I didn't commit to anything and I cried alot.  My sister didn't like  us to cry over her, she tried to shield us from the pain, she tried to comfort us even in the very   end.  But you do cry and we will continue to cry.  She also would have been hacked off at me for not participating today or this whole week.  So I need to pick my sad self up--stiff upper lip it--and git 'er done.

Lisa loved to wear pink camo!  I made fun of her for it all the time.  "Lisa" I would say, "there are no pink trees! there is no pink grass" but she wore it anyway.  Camouflage is actually a long standing joke in my family.  When I  was in high school I was on a camo pants kick before it was even "in"!  I wore camo pants all the time and my dad would tease me and say "I can't see you from the waist down".  I bought my dad tons of camo things thermos' for work, lunch bags, a little camo travel clock for him to take hunting--you name it, if it had camo on it I bought it for him.

When it finally got "in" like 20 years after I made it cool, Lisa started to wear it.  She actually had this little half camo jacket!  We used to tease her and call it a "jack" because it wasn't a full jacket. She had a lot of those little "jacks" LOL.  She was actually very stylish.

She was beautiful, and funny.  She was kind and loved with her whole heart.  She was one of the best parts of my life for 44 years.  Living without her is hard--there are times you just need your best friend.  You just want to pick up the phone and say "hey guess what happened today" but you can't.  The hardest thing about living after someone you love dies is actually living.  

I remember everything about her.  Am glad to have shared 44 wonderful years with her but I do long for the day we can one day be together again.

Today in honor and memory of my beautiful sister, Lisa Gage, I'm wearing some pink camo right along with my regular camo

Here's a picture of me with my beautiful sister's when we were on vacation in Florida-I'm in the middle, Lynelle my little sister is on the left and Lisa in her camo and "jack" is on the right

Many thanks to my sweet Digit-al Dozen family for letting me do whatever I wanted to do today

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen Does Decades--the 60's!

Hi Everyone!  Wow if you're in the Midwest I hope you are all above ground and dry!  Holy cow did we ever get some torrential rain last night.  I was out with friends until pretty late and driving home felt more like motor boating home than it did driving!  But it was SO worth it!  I love getting together with my nail polish friends even if last night was all about stuffing our faces with yummy food and just talking about nails instead of doing nails LOL!

So how about that first day yesterday?! OMG what another great theme for us!  I love being in a group of women who are very diverse, who have different talents for nail art, and who come up with some fan-freaking-tastic ideas!

Today I decided to show case my birth decade and do the 60's.  During the 60's we saw a lot of the rigidity in our culture dissipate.  We saw the Vietnam war reek havoc on our Nation and for the first time since the Civil War we saw Americans strike out against Americans because of it.  John F Kennedy rose to great fame--an Irish Catholic President who was then savagely assassinated right in front of his wife.  Not only did we witness the assassination of a president, Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Jr and Bobby Kennedy would all be assassinated in the 60's decade.  

It was truly a time of unrest and the battle cry of the 60's became Make Love Not War.  In a decade of free love war had never been more of out place.  Today I'm showcasing my Make Love Not War mani

I had some help with this one from the lovely No More War from Rescue Beauty Lounge

I am a sucker for those "ugly" pretty colors!

I think Tie Dye and Camouflage represent the 60's quite well today what do you think?

Let's stop by and check out what decade everyone else had in mind for today!

An InLinkz Link-up

Flowers at your fingerips

Hi Everyone!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and great start to the week.  We have been having some sunny days finally--not super warm but it definitely looks like Spring is on the way.  I wanted to do something with the little flowers I got from Amazon so I went with this little flower pastel look.  I don't know I'm not really feeling it, I think I just don't/can't do cute.

I think the purple flower is too big for my pinkie LOL!

It's kind of hard to tell from the lighting but each flower also has white in it so it gives it a more "real" look I think

And they are rubber!  So they apply nicely to rounded finger tips, just make sure you use glue or they'll pop right off LOL!

I think pastels might be starting to grow on me, sort of how neons grew on me.  I'm not going to go crazy though, I'm still a fan of darker colors or nice bright colors.

What do you think of this one?  Do you like the cute look or are you more of a leopard/zebra/spikes/drama queen person like myself???

Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you all have a fantastic day!

Digit-al Dozen Does Brands--Case IH

Hi Everyone!  The title of today's post should really read, "There Ain't No John Deere Here"!!  I was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin.  Home of the Case Tractor.  When we looked out at the fields growing up the tractors were red, nary a green and yellow tractor in sight.  I graduated from Case High School named after Jerome I Case the man behind Case Company.  today I work for Case IH right were the Case Magnum is manufactured every day.  

Today my brand is our company logo Case IH

Jerome I Case founded the company in 1844 as the Jerome I Case Threshing Company.  It operated under that name for nearly a century but by 1970 it was merely known as Case.  In 1999 Case merged with New Holland Agriculture to form CNH Global.  The company lives under 2 brands Case CE which is the world's third largest brand of construction equipment; and Case IH which is the world's second largest brand of agricultural equipment.

We manufacture the Magnum 340.  Let me tell you IT IS HUGE!  You need a ladder to get up into it!  It's quite a sight seeing several of these loaded up on a flat bed heading out for some lucky farmers out there.  During the company picnic in the summer you have the chance to climb up into one and a get a ride.  I haven't done it because I don't want someone staring at my huge rump trying to get up into the cab LOL!

Here's a pic of the Case Magnum 340

The Case Company, CNH and now Case IH is a long standing part of Racine, WI.  It's been here my whole life and I'm sure will be long after I'm gone.  I'm proud to represent a great company as part of my brands week!

Let's check out what everyone else did for their brand today!

The Digit-al Dozen Does Brands--Pepsi!

Hi Everyone!!! Happy Wednesday!  I'm typing this up Tuesday night so I'm not sure it will happen BUT it's supposed to snow again! OIY!  We had almost 50 degree weather the other day and now snow again.  They were talking between 1 and 5 inches.  If I wake up to snow on the ground I am going to be so hacked off!

I might need a nice cool refreshing beverage to help me cool off and I can think of none I like better than Pepsi! Yep this girl is not a Coke girl.  I love Diet Pesi and especially Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi!  I knew I was going to have to attempt some Pepsi nails for brand week and here's what I came up with!

Pepsi was first created in 1893--can you believe it!  It was first named Brad's Drink.  In 1898 it was renamed Pepsi-Cola and in 1961 was renamed to just Pepsi.  I find it rather interesting that both Coke and Pepsi were first created to be a product to aid in digestion. 

The Coca-Cola offered to buy Pepsi way back when on 3 separate occasions but as you can see it was a no go.  I'm glad, I definitely prefer Pepsi to Coke!

Our brand week is coming along amazingly well!  I think all my fellow Dozeners have come up with great ideas!  Check out what everyone did today!

An InLinkz Link-up

We will, we will----Rock You!

Hi Everyone!!! Happy Monday!  Today starts Rocks & Minerals week and for those of you who are die hard Breaking Bad fans I know, I know--they aren't rocks they are just minerals!  I never watched it but when I told my son what the theme was this week he told all about the rocks vs minerals thing and actually he's right.  DO NOT TELL HIM I SAID THAT!

I am a sucker for those bag of rocks you can get whenever you travel.  I love digging through the bins and looking for really cool shapes and colors.  I have a dish of them sitting out at home as well as around my monitor tray at work.  There is just something looking at them I find soothing.

I dug through my stash at home to see if I could recreate anything I had and for the first one up I think I did pretty good!

I had a heck of a time trying to get confirmation on the name of this rock though!

No stamping at all as you can see--this baby is all free hand!

At first we thought it might be dalmation jasper or some sort of rutilated quartz.  But after checking out lots of pics I've settled on Dendric Agate

I think it looks pretty cool

What do you think?  Think it's pretty close?

A few of my friends and I are working on some mineral mani's all week--check em out!