Cheeky Rainbow Skittles

 

 Yes, I stayed up WAY past my bedtime.  For a rainbow XL stamping frenzy! Photos taken  in a hurry the morning after I did this because we were driving into the city and I had a feeling I would ding them up while we were gone.  And I DID.  Badly.  L.A. COLORS BASE/TOP, you make me sad.

 Base L.A. COLORS BASE/TOP

Colors: OPI Pamplona Purple, SH X-Treme Wear Sun Kissed, OPI Green-Wich Village, OPI Off With Her Red!, SH Complete Salon Manicure Thinking of Blue, Nina Ultra Pro Like Butta

Stamp: SH Hard as Nails Black Heart

Plates: Cheeky XL plates A, B, D

Top: Seche Vite.

 

I wanted to play with all the different images, and had done a similar manicure with BM plates on my friend Jenna a few Christmases back, because we couldn't decide on just one.  My favorite is the pebbles on my pointer finger on the above image.  That was my instinctive choice for a full mani, and now I know I could have gone with it. Personally, I think it is the most successful combo.

 Glad I took these before I left, even though I wish I'd been able to get better shots.  The first image (flash) is actually quite nice and gives a good idea of how it looked overall, but it really made me shiny.

I LOVE MY NEW PLATES!   

Happy painting y'all!

 ♥

JQ

Cheeky Image Plate Review

GUYS. I got some seriously CHEEKY mail a week and a half ago. ;p

I splurged and ordered these fabulous rectangular nail plates from Cheeky.  AND THEY ARE SO BADASS.

I am a Bundle Monster gal.  I have 6 Konad plates from when I first started and the rest are all BM. I LOVE THEM. 

But a good friend and fellow nail head let me in on the fact that you could get these other image plates through amazon.ca  And that they had pretty much a whole plate full of PAISLEY. I got 8 plates. The price has even gone down slightly from when I bought these, but my order averaged to less than 10$/plate, which I think is pretty reasonable.  I did the math, counting all the images over 8 Cheeky plates. There are 563.  In the 3 BM sets there are 440. I also took the average images per BM set.  (140, 150, 150) which is about 146.5.  Then divided the number of images in the Cheeky set by 145.5 to see how many BM sets it is the equivalent to. 3.84.  Anyways.  I'm not a math wiz by any stretch, but that was enough to tell me I got a pretty decent deal. SO. PICTURES.

The packaging was great.  Inside the bubble wrap lined envelope, each plate had a little sleeve of bubble wrap.  I got a cute little card congratulating me.  It's a party!  A nail art party! 

 

They all had that nice protective blue film that just peels away, and a really cool touch is that each plate is backed with pink plastic and it extends beyond the plate, so it gives a really nice finish, while keeping your paws, the table, and the other plates from getting scratched.

Shiney!

 

Another thing I really appreciate is the size of the full nail images.  They are nice and big! Big enough that I can select the area to paint and transfer to the nail. Every full nail image has one concave edge that makes them very versatile;  It eliminates the need to have separate images for french tips, and gives me the option for a moon manicure effect as well.I have decent sized fingernails, and I really dislike trying to double stamp.  It's so hard to get a good seam. 

For reference here is a picture of the large Cheeky images next to a larger BM image and the original BM full nail image:

I also like that a lot of the images have reflections so you can stamp the other paw, or mess around with mirroring.



Not only do they do reflections, but also a few different sizes of the same image.  So you can do that darn pinky finger the same as the others, or give the thumb a big one.  :)

 

 Thanks Cheeky!



I'm a fan!



Here are a few pics of the manicures I have done so far:

 

The very first one was the celtic image.  I absolutely HAD to find out what that looked like.

Base: China Glaze Concrete Catwalk 

Stamp: GOSH Metallic Green.  

Plate: Cheeky D

Top: Seche Vite



Manicure #2 kinda reminded me of circuit boards.
Base: Finger Paints Go Van Gogh
Stamp: Essie Good as Gold
Plate: Cheeky B
Top: SV



 Manicure #3 was subtle. I only got a quick shot in the evening, but irl it looked way prettier.
Base: Sally Hansen CSM: Wet Clay
Stamp: Billie Cosmetics Reign
Plate: Cheeky B
Top: SV



Currently!

Base: Sponge gradient OPI Off With Her Red, CR #89, Billie Cosmetics Orange
Stamp: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Black Heart
Plate: Cheeky A
  Top: SV


Thank you so much for popping by!  Happy painting!

♥
JQ

POP!

POP!

Hello!!

I used several image plates and polishes for this, and if anyone is curious which ones just drop me a note.

I'm pretty sure the blue and yellow were SH insta-dri, and the red was OPI Off With Her Red. Top Coat was SH Insta-Dri.  

I'm sorry for the up close of my eczema on my right hand.  It hit me pretty hard between the move and the harsh temp/humidity changes we've had this winter.  I'm trying just plain coconut oil on it now.  I've heard it's pretty awesome for eczema, so I'm hopeful it will work for me.

Almost have it all together for my giveaway so please stay tuned!  Thanks for popping by!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

JQ

Suit Up!

Hello Jellos!

Sooo I had to file my nails down to super nubbies. I am--in a haphazard way-- learning how to play guitar! But the really nice thing is that most of my full nail images will fit my nail now to that's a plus. And the guitar is coming along nicely! I hope to be able to play and sing my first song (Wheat Kings by The Tragically Hip) before the end of the month!

Lately I've been really expanding from just my nails to a bit of make-up and a fancy suit. I got all dressed up the other day and painted my nails to match my new outfit! It's a super cute brown casual skirt and jacket. There is a slight woven look to the fabric that I thought I could mimic with a stamped plaid.


And you get a good idea of how the plaid matches the texture of the fabric here:


Also my accent finger is painted to go with my shirt!

BM03 and Konad M60 were used to create this manicure. For all fingers except the ring finger I used 2 coats of Essie Little Brown Dress, and for the plaid, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Wet Clay. For the ring finger 2 coats of a frankened ivory creme, sponged on a bit of Nina Ultra Pro Like Butta, and Sinful Colors Vacation Time in opposing corners of the nail. Then stamped the flowers using Essie Little Brown Dress over Vacation Time, and OPI Off With Her Red atop Like Butta. Did a few criss-crossed with Wet Clay, and filled in some areas with tiny dots of Off With Her Red and Little Brown Dress to tie the nail in with my shirt.

And...okay this is a picture of my feet. 2 coats Sinful Colors Vacation Time and a coat of KleanColor V.I.P. (ooooh sparklies) and my Shooooes lalala...


I wouldn't really consider myself a fashion blogger, but I do enjoy making manicures to match my outfits, and have been dabbling in *gasp* makeup. :P What does everyone think if I do a post here and there to show the complete look?

Thanks for stopping by everyone!
Hearts off the charts!
JQ

Fish Nets, Pink Skullies and a Guest Mani!

FISH NETS:


2 coast Essie Lacquered Up and stamped using Gosh Nero and Sally Hansen Chrome Sizzlin' Gold with image plates bm-209 and bm04. One red rhinestone for the fish's eye and a coat of Seche Vite.


If I remember correctly the fish caught in the fishnets was at the behest of my friend Naomi. :) She's got a whimsical side.


PINK SKULLIES:


2 coats of Revlon Orchid and--forgive me--I don't remember for sure, but I think it was Sally Hansen HD Digital to achieve the pink on pink skully action (bm-211). Then I went over the skull on my ring finger using OPI My Private Jet. One coat Seche Vite.



GUEST MANI:



My friend Naomi came all the way down from the Yukon last month just to visit Moi! I felt so special! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ...sooo we painted her nails in skittles with polishes that matched the colours in her camouflage pants. Then we tied them all together using pink retro flowers made with dotting tools and a toothpick.


Again, forgive me, but I don't remember FOR SURE. I'm pretty sure the thumb=Essie Little Brown Dress, pointer=Joe Moss, middle=Essie Sew Psyched, ring=franken pale green, pinkie=franken ivory. I think the flowers were Revlon Orchid and a franken lighter pink. I then meticulously placed five or six bullion beads in the center of each flower and sealed everything with a coat of Seche Vite. It was fun spoiling her with a really time consuming manicure. The results were awesome.

We also did a Harry Potter manicure for her the last day she was here, because she was on her way to Vancouver to watch HP and the Deathly Hollows part 2 with some friends...but alas I forgot to get a photo. It was inspired by this manicure by Emerald Sparkled. She makes AWESOME manicures ALL the time. Check her stuff out!

Thanks for stopping by! Sorry it's been so long since my last post!
♥
JQ

Canada Day Manicure

Greetings fellow earthlings!

It's Canada Day today and to celebrate I painted my nails red and white:


2 coats of OPI Off With Her Red (my favorite red) and 2 coats of Sally Hansen 07 White Tip on the ring fingers. Stamped using Off With Her Red and image plate BM04.


Then I used one coat of my Cover Girl Sparkle Topcoat City Lights (SADNESS! I am almost out) on the red nails, and a couple sweeps with my Art Deco Silver Glitter to bling up the leafy nails. Seche Vite top coat and voila!


I did this on the fly last night and only managed to snap a few shots in the van on the way to the park this morning. Thankfully the sun came out from behind those nasty clouds and set the sparkle ablaze!

Hope everyone has a happy weekend! :D
♥
JQ

Blended Red Paisley

Hi everybody! I hope your week is going well! Mine has been pretty sunny and wonderful. No complaints here!

This is the manicure that I've been sporting the past 4 days. It's finally chipping and I'm excited to try something new.



For this manicure I used 3 coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On that I frankened into a creamy colour by adding about 14 drops of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Yellow that didn't have a name. I just didn't want a glaring white for this one.

Once that was fully dry I used image plate m60 paisley pattern, and painted one side of the image with Revlon Matte Suede Ruby Ribbon, and the other side with OPI Off With Her Red. I scraped a couple times to blend the colours a little and then stamped each nail so that the darker red was at the base. Seche Vite and voila!

This is in the shade:


And direct sunlight:



Thanks for taking a peek!
♥
JQ

2 syruppy frenches and a guest manicure!

Greetings JellyBeans!

These are two frenches I did near the beginning of March. This first one started by sponging a few layers of Sinful Colors Love Nails, then halfway towards the tips a few layers of SC Bali Mist, and right at the tips a Layer of SC Fiji to darken it up. Then over the whole nail I painted one coat of Color Club Si Vous Please! and at the tips sponged a layer of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Rockstar Pink.



For the second french I sponged 3 coats of sheer bluish tinted Claire's Pink (unnamed from a pack) trying to get a good gradation from base to tip. Then at the tips I sponged two coats of SC Show Me The Way which is this swampy green sheer with little flakies, but it made the pink look gold! Then over the whole thing I painted a coat of Sally Hansen Diamonds.



Both of the above manicures were stamped using Gosh Nero and Bundle Monster image plate# BM11

And this is one of the other guest manicures I did on my friend who was up for a visit the first 10 days of March. One half of each nail was Claire's Raindrops, and the other half was OPI Ski Teal We Drop. Stamped using Konad image Plate # m60 and GOSH Metallic Blue.


The stamp doesn't really disappear over Raindrops, but it takes on this weird floaty look. Super cool. I want to try more!


Thanks for stopping by! Hope everyone has a fabulous week!
♥
JQ

Spring Bling

Hello jellos!

Anybody else wishing for spring? Well it already sprung on my nails. :P

I just want to begin by sending out mad props to Ainos at Glammed-Up for all her deliciously layered manicures. They remind me of those intricately hand painted silks I saw when I was in the fibre department of my art school. She's really inspired me to look at every polish for stamping purposes, to layer stamps and polishes and to try for partial stamping too! This is my first purposefully layered manicure. Not ONE special stamping polish was used!


I started with a base coat of Seche Clear, then one coat of Sally Hansen Insta Dri Lickety-Split Lime. When that was dry I sponged on three layers of OPI Green-Wich Village three quarters of the way up my nail, then a few layers of Sinful Colors Show Me The Way just at the tips.


My next step was to stamp a leaf pattern horizontally across each nail at about the halfway mark. To do this I used Revlon Matte Suede Emerald City and Bundle Monster image plate BM11 (the outline leaf rather than the solid leaf pattern). I was pleasantly surprised at how the stamp showed up, plus I was excited because I knew that matte polishes have a subtle glimmer after top coat is applied so I knew it would be purdy. :P


I then used GOSH Metallic Green and BM10 to stamp a random spray of little flowers. It also hinted at a dewy sparkle.


After that step I thought I failed my nail. I used GOSH Metallic Purple and BM06 to stamp the Dalia-esque flower. There wasn't very much contrast at all and it just looked like a light metallic pink blob on top of all that work! But I have seen stamping done over top of smudges of color-especially with flowers-before so I hurriedly chose the Revlon Matte Suede Ruby Ribbon and stamped on the flower image from BM03 over top. SAVED! And it looked prettier than I could have hoped!


I only placed the pink flowers on every second nail, then I placed rhinestone stars in the center of every pink flower, and a flower rhinestone coupled with a tiny round rhinestone on the other four remaining nails just to even out the sparkle.


Come on Springtime! :D
Thanks again for stopping by. I can't believe how my list of friends has grown and I thank you all for you support and comments! I want to say that I am on a hunt for GOSH Holographic and if I find some I'll buy two! One for me and one for my giveaway! Still working on that puppy.

♥
JQ

Christmas Haul

Hi everybody,

This is just a big picture post of all the goodies I locked down by doing fun manicures for family and friends. I'm really excited to show it all off, but really this is just filler while I go about collecting photos from all my friends of their funky nail-dos so I can do a guest mani post. Sorry it's winding up being about a week between posts here. I think that's going to be the norm until April, as I am working on a tapestry submission for an upcoming touring exhibition.

Also I promise PROMISE I am working away at my first giveaway. I'm pretty excited about it. I put my little stash together and I've decided I want to add a few more polishes to the mix, so that will probably take until after my next payday. But it's in the works!

Okay here are the pics :P

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in: Lightening, Brisk Blue, Lickety-Split Lime, Whirlwind White

I found out that the white, and the yellow will work for stamping. the yellow one, of course only really works on some colors, but I look forward to trying out the blue and green as well. Hey, I can do some fun manicures on light backgrounds. :D You can see I've used quite a bit of the yellow and white already. :) I actually picked up another bottle of white and I have a slightly different yellow which hasn't got a name just the number 04.


Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in: Gray By Gray, Thinking of Blue, Wet Clay, and Commander in Chic. Drool. The Thinking of Blue I've actually used as a one coater under full nail stamps. I love one coaters. Also the bruses are really wide, and I found they worked for me, especially when painting other people's nails.

SH Xtreme Wear in: Black Out, Sun Kissed, Lime Lights, Emerald City, Blue It, White On, and three frankens using 3 bottles of White On and a few drops of more saturated colors. Sorry I can't remember which ones!

Left to Right: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Diamonds and Brilliant Blush, Joe Moss, L'Oreal Luminescence and Party Hop, Revlon No Shrinking Violet, Minted, Totally Toffee.


Sally Hansen HD Hi-Def, Digital, and Resolution, Red Girl-dollar store finds by the hubby-Star (holo hearts and circles) and Illusions (holo bar glitters), Cover Girl Disco Dazzle, and Pink Twinkle.


OPI Top Coat and Drip Dry, China Glaze Cheers to You and Midnight Kiss.


My first OPI! Green-wich Village, Ski Teal We Drop, Pamplona Purple, Malaga Wine, Off With Her Red and My Private Jet (Fweeee! SOOO spoiled)


Gosh is my new best friend right now. All four of these stamp and stamp well. Left to right: Nero, Metallic Purple, Metallic Green, Metallic Blue. I went out and picked up a second bottle of Nero already because stamping black is a staple for me.

And the IsaDora!

Graffiti Nail Top in Subway Green--Which is this most amazing dark teal YUM. and Plain White for the base color.

OHHHH Boy that was a lot of spam. Sorry for the lame color quality!

Cheers and have a great week!
JQ