Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Hello Kitty of the Month: Bling Kitty

Whoa - it's almost the end of May!  I had better get my monthly Hello Kitty mani in!

For this mani, I decided to depart from my usual kitty-pastel-sweetness.  This time, I went for bling!  This isn't typically my style, so it's fun to try something new.



The base is Wet n Wild Black Creme.  I used China Glaze Passion and Cheeky plate CH5 for the stamping.  I used B87 to stamp kitty.  Kitty's bow and nose are filled with a cheapie Nail Star nail pen.  The rhinestones are stickers.

Every now and then, I look down and think "Who's blinged out hands are these?" Ha!  I guess that means I need to try new things more often.

Take care, Konaddicts.  Try something new this week!

Saturday, May 26, 2012

More Ladybugs



Hi, everyone!  We have had some beautiful weather and along with the lovely weather, there are ladybugs about!  Those cute little critters inspired me to pull out my ladybug plate (a favorite) and see what I could come up with.

This time, I used Sally Hansen Jade Jump as a base.  I stamped the background using BM20 and Sally Hansen Sea Breeze.  I used Milani Black Magic and GCOCL plate K05 to stamp the ladybugs.  Instead of using my nail pens, I filled them in using a dotting tool and Pure Ice Siren (the red) and Heaven Waikiki Sunset (the burgundy glitter).




I love this plate!  Ladybugs are so much fun.  I also love, love, love the Heaven polish (picked up on sale at Albertson's!).  As soon as I can figure out a pretty way to wear it, I will definitely show you more of this lovely color.

Hope you're well, Konaddicts, and enjoying these longer days!

----
PS:  I won something!  I won a bottle of that hard-to-find beauty, Whimsical, from Jamie at Fancy Schmancy Nails!



Thank you, Jamie!   It's so much fun to win something, especially when it comes in such pretty packaging! I can't wait to try this out!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Summer Island Nails


Summer is here, and thank goodness for that!  Here's a summer island mani to celebrate summer.

I started with two coats of Kleancolor Pastel Blue.  I stamped the wavy tips using Kleancolor Beach Blue and one of the French manicure designs on BM216.  I stamped my "islands" using plate A33 and Sally Hansen Insta Dri In-a-Blink Blue for the wave, Revlon Top Speed Espresso for the palm tree trunks, and Revlon Top Speed Emerald for the tops. (I love these polishes; what would I do without my Top Speeds?)

My waves/island bottom didn't blend like I (magically) expected them to, but this breezy mani is fun all the same.

I hope it's smooth sailing for you, Konaddicts!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Chrome Hearts


Here's another quick mani.  For this mani, I decided to combine two colors that I love.  The base is Maybelline Express Finish in Racing Rubies, a deep burgundy red.  I stamped with Pure Ice Outrageous, a beautiful pink chrome.  The hearts are from the DRK-A plate.

I like how this one turned out!  I have to experiment more with stamping in pink (rather than always just reaching for the silver!).

Hope you're having a great May, Konaddicts!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Summer Flower Layers


So...this didn't come out exactly like I was hoping it would.  I wanted to do more layers and the intention was to layer flowers over a leafy base. 

Here are the layers:
1) Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mint Sorbet
2) Kleancolor Holo Green
3) I stamped the leafy image from M83 with Finger Paints Sketch n Etch,a sheer green.
4) Finally, I stamped the flowers from Cheeky plate CH14 in Kleancolor Metallics Metallic Pink and Metallic Fuchsia (mixed around a little with the scraper before stamping).   I dotted with Kleancolor Metallic Yellow.

Well...I like the blending in the flowers, but I was hoping to see more of the "leafy" base.  I tend to like clean, crisp images and this pairing makes the flowers look a little like blobs.  I love the almost "hippie" like style of the flowers, but I don't think it worked for my design.

Oh, well...I'll take the "E" for "effort" and make a grab for the remover.  Take care, Konaddicts!

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Simply electric!


Short on time (and on inspiration), I grabbed one of my Cheeky plates for quick and shocking results.  I used Sally Hansen Insta Dri Lightening as the base and stamped an image from CH-5 using Wet and Wild Black Creme.

Dashing off, Konaddicts!  Thanks for stopping by!

PS: Am I the only one waiting with bated breath for the new Cheeky plates and new set of Bundle Monster plates to be released?  I am not a patient woman and am simply bursting to get my hands on these two new sets!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Green Paisley



Hello, everyone!  I decided to try another paisley manicure.  After a fair bit of fiddling around - it's hard to get the placement right - I decided to look at some paisley patterns online.  I tried different sizes of the paisley design, but I noticed that the smaller designs require a thinner line and I didn't like using the same design with different line widths (oh, brother, these are nails and not the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel!).

I looked at some paisley designs again and noticed that little flowers are often incorporated into the designs.  Since the different sizes didn't work, I decided to give flowers a go. I like how the combo turned out!

Here's what I used:


I started with a base of Kleancolor Military Green (D), a thick formula forest green.  To make sure the design would stand out on such a dark background, I decided to try out the tiny $3 bottle of stamping polish I bought from Beautiful Scratchers.  I used XL Image Plate I and Beautiful Scratcher's AnyWear Special Polish in Mint (B) to stamp the paisley.  The polish worked pretty well - the image was sharp and the color didn't fade under topcoat.

To add the flowers, I used a portion of a design on plate A03 and Konad Special Polish in Pastel Pink (A). To finish, I used a dotting tool to stamp a dot of Kleancolor Metallic Pink (C) on the paisley and Kleancolor Jazz Olive (E) in the center of the flowers.

Here's an indoor picture using flash - this one is closest to showing the richness of the green.


Well, I hope you like the paisley!  Be well, Konaddicts!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Fresh Watermelon Nails


Hello, everyone!  Apparently, I can not resist Sally Hansen Insta Dri Fuchsia Flare this summer.  When I look at my polishes, my hand is just drawn to this bottle.

This time, I found it to be a perfect base for a watermelon mani.  Fuchsia Flare is the base color.  I freehanded the tips in Pure Ice Siren (it took two coats to make sure the pink didn't peep out).  I stamped the "rind" with Kleancolor Green Grass using one of the French Tips on Konad M45. The "seeds" were stamped using the polka dots from my Hello Kitty plate QA-12.  I topped it with a topcoat with Spectraflair.

Who's ready for a picnic, Konaddicts?

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Easy Summer Checks and Bows



Here's a quick and easy summer mani.  I used Sally Hansen Insta Dri Fuchsia Flare as the base.  I used Pure Ice Super Star, my less opaque white, and Konad M64 for the checks.  I used Konad Special Polish in White to make the bows and used that classic bow on Konad M56.

Here's wishing you a sweet start to summer, Konaddicts!

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Red Angel Peacocks


So, after fiddling around unsuccessfully with the peacock on plate BM-15 - I just couldn't figure out to how get the placement right - I heaved one last sigh, and decided I would have to pick some other design.

I flipped through my nail plates binder and noticed that there's a peacock on Red Angel plate RA-102!

Hooray!  I put my imagination to work to see if I could accommodate my hankering for peacocks after all.

I used China Glaze Kinetic Candy as a base.  I used XL Stamping Plate B for the background design.

I stamped the pattern - not sure how to describe it, but it's circled in the piture - using three colors - Sally Hansen Insta Dri Jade Jump, China Glaze Secret Peri-Wink-Le, and Revlon Top Speed Stormy. I tried to mush the colors a bit with the scraper so that the colors would mix a little at the edges.


Finally, I used Revlon Top Speed Espresso and Red Angel RA-102 to stamp this awesome little image of a peacock on top (I love its little "top feather").


Well, Konaddicts, there's one nail obsession temporarily assuaged...these things never last long, though.  I'm sure I'll have a bee in my bonnet for another design any time.  

Wait a minute - do I have any bees? :)

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Seeing Stars (the Remix)

Hi, everyone!
Now that my Layla Hologram Effects Flash Black has arrived, I thought I would give my Seeing Stars mani another try.

Flash Black is an awesome color!  In the shade, it's a mild charcoal grey.  


In the sun, Flash Black is dazzling!


Here's another look:


I used the same plate - Cheeky Plate CH4 - to stamp the stars and substituted Sally Hansen Insta Dri Whirlwind White for the silver I used last time.

What do you think of this redo, Konaddicts?

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