Where Have I Been?!

I haven't posted for well over a week which is really strange for me but I'm trying new things. Last week I signed up for an Instagram account and I've been trying to post on there this past week. If you aren't following me on Instagram you can find me under thenailglossary.

But don't worry! I haven't given up blogging. I just wanted to try something new and going forward I'm sure I'll do both. Here's what I have for you today:

These are two colours by Butter London. The base colour is called Slapper and the middle stripe is called Knackered. I got these two minis for $10!

I then did an accent stripe of different coloured green and silver rhinestones.

Knackered and Slapper

I love Butter London's funny British names. It makes me remember my time living in England and smile. And I love these colours! So much fun.

As I write this it is snowing pretty hard! What happened to our sun?! Bring on the spring!

Happy painting friends!

Recreate Another's-Valentine's Week Challenge

Happy Valentine's Day. It's the last day of the challenge!! Oh my gosh I've really enjoyed this. It's been great having a focus for a week.

Day 5-Freestyle/Recreate Another's

Today's prompt was either doing your own design or recreating one that someone had done during the challenge. I really wanted to do a riff on what someone else had done since there have been so many great designs this week. I chose to take inspiration from Valerie Wilson at Nail Artsy. She did a purple background with a simple and beautiful rose design on it.

Here's my take:

without flash

I started with a base of Zoya Belinda which is an absolutely gorgeous deep purple. I then added the rosettes with a nail art pen.

I then added a layer of deborah lippmann Diamonds and Pearls which is just a beautiful shimmery overlay.

with flash

I then blinged the heck out of my ring finger (can you see that the bottom jewel is a heart?).

It's obviously not exactly like Valerie's but I was definitely inspired by her design.

I'm so glad I took part in this challenge. There are much longer challenges which I hope to be a part of but I know I'll have to plan it a bit better!!

Happy painting friends!

An InLinkz Link-up

Hearts-Valentine's Week Challenge

I had an epic fail with the first manicure I tried to do with this theme. I think it'll make my blooper reel at the end of the year!

Day 4- Hearts

What says Valentine's Day more than Hearts? There are so many beautiful things you can do around this theme and I must admit I was overwhelmed with choices. I finally settled on doing a lace effect with hearts in the center.

I started with one coat of deborah lippmann Run Run Rudolph which is officially my new favourite red. It goes on so beautifully and it's only one coat! J'adore!!

I then went in with a black nail pen and did the lace detail. I did a similar design in white and blue which you can view in my Blasts from the Past post.

with matte top coat

It's not as clean as I would like it to be but I felt a little rushed with this one.

Tomorrow is freestyle or recreate someone else's look. Again, I haven't even started this one! ARGHH, I should have planned a little better.

Happy painting friends!

An InLinkz Link-up

Roses-Valentine's Week Challenge

This was possibly my favourite prompt! I knew right away what I wanted to do and couldn't wait to get started on it. It took me awhile to choose my base but I absolutely love how these came out and I think they would be appropriate year round!

Day 3- Roses

I decided that I was going to do something fairly simple but elegant and what says elegant but a French manicure?

I started with a base of three coats of Zoya Jacqueline (cream) and then painted one coat of Orly Goin' to the Chapel over it which gave it a really pretty soft pearlescent look.

I then went in with deborah lippmann Run, run Rudolph (which is technically a Christmas shade I guess) and blobbed on the rose shapes. I love love love this red!

I added in the rose details with a black nail pen and then the leaves are made from piCture pOlish Jealousy. I added Glisten and Glow Top Coat, a bit of bling (rhinestone stickers I got from Michael's) and then called it a day.

I'm in "love"! It turned out exactly how I was hoping, simple and elegant.

Tomorrow's prompt is Hearts and as I write this I haven't completed my look yet. I need some inspiration!!

Happy painting friends!

An InLinkz Link-up

Kisses- Valentine's Week Challenge

I love doing this challenge! I was a bit stumped with things at first but I feel like I've hit a stride.

Day 2- Kisses

Today's prompt is Kisses. I must say that I really could only think of lips but I thought I would need to push the boat out a bit. I've wanted to do comic strip nails for awhile and thought I could meld the two.

Here's what I came up with:

I like how these turned out but I wish a couple things were different. The writing on the "Kiss Me" nail is really bothering me and the edges on the lips aren't as smooth as I'd like. But maybe I'm just being picky!

I couldn't do it on both hands so the other one is just white with red polka dots. But I couldn't take it off!

Here are the main polishes I used:

All of the details were done with nail pens.

I'm really looking forward to showing you tomorrow's look. It turned out beautifully (if I do say so myself!).

Happy painting friends!

An InLinkz Link-up

Candy Hearts- Valentine's Week Challenge

I'm participating in a week long challenge involving Valentine's nail art. This is the first ever challenge I've ever taken on and I'm excited! I've wanted to do one for awhile and the thirty day one seems a little daunting so I was super pumped to see Jessica over at Be Happy and Buy Polish start a challenge centered around love.

Day 1- Candy Heart Sayings

I must say that I struggled a bit with this one. I wasn't really sure how to interpret it and my mom started suggesting some different ideas and I went with the "Bee Mine" one she came up with.

I really like how this turned out. I think it looks very cute and feminine. I started with a base of Orly Cotton Candy and then did a gradient with that and Orly Pink Chocolate (don't you love that name!). The hearts, writing and bee were done with nail pens.

Orly Pink Chocolate

I thought we were being really original until I googled some images and realized that people had done things like this before. I'd already finished my design though and liked it so much that I didn't have the "heart" to take it off, lol.

I guess I'll just have to put my thinking cap on and try to "bee" more original next time. Ok, no more puns ;)

Happy painting friends!

An InLinkz Link-up

Nude Leopard

I just can't get enough of the leopard print! It's so easy to do and I think it looks so fun. I started with a base of Zoya Jacqueline which is just a beautiful smooth nude colour. I then went in with a black and red nail pen and added the leopard and stripe detail.

I of course used my trusty new light box to take my photos.

The flash didn't really want to come out to play and I kind of wish I had forced it because these are looking a bit shaded.

Still getting used to the light box but I think with practice I'll get some really good photos.

Happy painting friends!

Adventures in a Light Box

So as I mentioned the other day in one of my posts I built a homemade light box so that I can get my lighting more even for my photos. So far I really like it but it's taking some getting used to.

Today I'm going to show you some of my first trial pics. The nail art is not crazily amazing but I was more trying to just test the box out.

So let's take a look!

without flash

With flash

 I think I need to work on my hand poses to properly catch the light. My thumb in the above photo is kind of in the shadows.

Oh I could eat this colour up! It's so gorgeous. a england Jane Eyre; just amazing. The flowers are done with piCture pOlish Ultra Violence and a silver nail pen. I really like how the light captures these colours.

The above is piCture pOlish Peacock. I was a little disappointed with this polish as it looks a bit bolder in the bottle but it photographs nicely.

So there you have it, my first attempts at my light box. I'm so glad I made it and I'm excited to try it out more. Stay tuned for better pictures (I hope!).

Happy painting friends!