Snowflake Sparkles

Hello, everyone!  We're about to say goodbye to 2013!  I hope it's been a great year for you, and I pray that you have an even better 2014!

I've been enjoying my holidays so much that I forgot to post this Christmas mani.  I also immediately ordered some K.B. Shimmer polishes after seeing Cait at Polish Hound's post on those adorable winter glitters, so I've been experimenting on and off with those.

So - back to the (late) snowflakes!

This is a base of the lovely green Pure Ice Not Now topped with the Christmasy glitter of Sinful Sleigh Ride.  From there, I used silver and assorted snowflake designs to stamp my flakes.

I got so many compliments on this one, so, even though it's late, I thought I would share!  Now, to get to work on the design to welcome in 2014!

Have a great (and safe) meeting with the new year, Konaddicts!

Rudolph Peek-a-Boo Nails

Hi everyone,

Santa's coming soon!  This year, I decided to try my hand at reindeer nails.

I used a combination of stamping and easy freehand "painting" for this mani.  For the patterned nails, I used Sally Hansen Insta Dri Rapid Red as a base and stamped the geometric pattern using Sinful Super Star and QA 56 (I love this pattern!).  I wanted to add a little Christmas flair, so I made dots in the pattern using the bright green Kleancolor Green Glass and topped that with green glitter.

For my Rudolph nail, I used an easy 4 step photo tutorial from blanketprint.tumblr.com.  My base is the nude NYC Fashion Safari.  Rudolph's body is Kleancolor Chocolate Brown and his antlers and pupils are Revlon Top Speed Espresso.  There's also a little Rapid Red and Super Star for eyes and nose.

I love it!

I'm not the best at free hand designs.  The design on my left hand turned out well.  The Rudolph on my left hand looks like he's had too much egg nog.

Take care, Konaddicts, and go easy on the egg nog!

Christmas Cheer

Hi, everyone!

It's hard to believe that we've only got 11 days until Christmas!  Well, I was feeling in the spirit this week, and decided to whip up some off-beat Christmas nails.

I chose two different patterns - the traditional candy cane stripes from BM-423and some circles from Gals GA-26.  I used a simple red and stamping white for the candy cane stripes.  For the circles, I chose Sally Hansen Insta Dri Lickety-Split Lime stamped with Revlon Top Speed Emerald.  I used L'Oreal Walk on the Beach and Wet n Wild Red Creme to fill in the circles.  I topped off my red with a lovely red glitter, Pure Ice First Party.

I'm loving my holiday nails!  I think that means I'll have to try more!

Hope you're having a good start to the Christmas season, Konaddicts!  Thanks for stopping by!

Furry Grinch Nails

Hello, everyone!
So, I've been wanting to try out a velvet manicure for a while now.  I also haven't done many holiday designs - I've been too obsessed with my magnetic polishes.  So, when I started this manicure, I figured I could knock out two birds with one stone - a velvet manicure with a holiday theme!

I ordered flocking powder especially for nails, but while I was waiting for that to arrive, I decided to try out Martha Stewart flocking powder (with glitter!) from a local craft store.

I started with a Martha's flocking powder in green and I selected a polish color to match.

Once I got the polish on, I thought, "Hey, this reminds me of the Grinch!"  I'm not much of an artist, so when I saw a crochet patter for this hat, I had an idea of how to draw a simple Grinch face.  I added a little red and white with a nail pen to add to the Christmas theme.

So I was thrilled with these!  I couldn't wait until the next day to try to take a nice photo in the sunlight.

Unfortunately, all of my flocking fell off!!  It seems like (at least to me) the fibers aren't long enough to really say in the polish and to give the nail that fuzzy look.  It might also be a result of the glitter - which looks lovely, but must also make the flocking less dense.

So...

by the next day...

my Grinches were kind of balding!

Oh...now that makes me feel Grinchy indeed!

Oh well, I wanted to share anyway!  I hope your holiday nails are staying together better than mine! :)

By the way, there have been some GREAT holiday designs floating around the blogosphere.  I LOVE the designs that look like cities or snowglobes.  I think I am officially obsessed with Playful Polish's Christmas Design here.  Isn't that the cutest thing?  I think I might have to try it before the holidays are over!  Are there any designs you're trying to fit in before the holidays are over?

Icy Winter Nails

Brr...
It's finally beginning to feel a little like winter outside!
I have been mulling over ideas for an icy manicure for a while.  The weather's changed, so it seemed like a good time to give it a try.

I decided to start by sponging Milani Sail Away, the darker Kleancolor Metallic Sapphire, and Pure Ice Superstar over a base of Kleancolor Pastel Blue.  That gave me a few high and low lights for my ice.  I used BM 208 and Konad Special Polish in white for the "cracks" in the ice.

Good...but...what else can I add?

I decided to go with holographic glitter - Covergirl City Lights - to add a little sparkle to my ice.  I decided I would finish by adding snowflakes.  White wouldn't show up over my lines, so I decided to use Sail Away again for the snowflakes.  I used BM232 for the tiny snowflakes on the fingers and I used A39 for the larger one on the thumb.

I like the frosty final look!

Take care, Konaddicts!  Stay warm and toasty!

New Year's Nails

For this manicure, I have confetti and streamers (and a spotty glass of wine!) to welcome the new year.

The plate is A16.  I love, love, love the A-series plates (and eBay searches show that new designs have been released - hooray!).

I used Milani Black Magic as the base and Sally Hansen Chrome Nail Makeup in Gold Chrome for the stamp.  I used my brand new dotting tools to add color to the "confetti" in various metallics.


Best wishes for a wonderful start to the New Year, Konaddicts!

PS: Santa's Amazon Gift Card means that new nail plates are on the way - Red Angel, a brand I haven't heard of before (you can see them on Amazon here).  I'll give you the low down when they arrive, so stay tuned! 

Christmas Tree Nails

Three coats of Finger Paints Sketch and Etch stamped with silver using plate BM205  

Christmas Wreath Nails

This mani was inspired by all of the lovely Christmas wreaths around this time of year.  I started with a base of Sally Hansen Insta Dri Jade Jump.  I stamped the leaves with Kleancolor Military Green using Konad Plate M83.  I painted a stripe of Jade Jump over the pattern to serve as a background for my bow.  Finally, I stamped the bow with Insta Dri in Racin' Red using Konad M56.   

Ah...this mani reminds me of winter trips through the mountains and deep breaths of clean mountain air.  I think we could probably all use a deep breath in this holiday rush! Take care, Konaddicts!

My little dog, Barley, is also doing her impression of a wreath. :)

Santa Sightings: Santa Hat Nails

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Jade Jump, Racin' Red, Whirlwind White; Stamped with Plate BM 214; Dotted with Silver

I'm hoping to get on the Nice List while there's still time!

Falling Snow(men)

Christmas nails continue!  Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Brisk Blue is the base.  I used one coat of Pure Ice In the Mood to add the lavender blue sparkle.  The snowmen were stamped in Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White using plate H-12 (you can see a picture of the plate in the Asian Inspired Nails post).  The tiny snowflakes came from an unnamed plate that I received as a bonus with an order.

The snowmen were fun to stamp - even when their heads went on a little crooked! (Sorry about that, Frosty!).

Well, Konaddicts, there are only a few days left before Christmas!  I hope you like the mani and that you have your lists all ready for Santa!

Christmas Candycanes

I'm back with another Christmas manicure!

For these simple stripes, I started with a base of Pure Ice Siren and used Revlon Top Speed Emerald for the accent nail.  Once those base coats dried, I used a thin coat of Out the Door top coat before stamping the stripes in Sally Hansen Insta Dri Whirlwind White (just to try to keep the white and red from smearing when the final top coat went on).

I used Bundle Monster plates for the stripe.  The pattern on BM 20  is pretty small, so I had to try to match up my lines in some places in order for the pattern to fit the whole nail.  It wasn't always perfect, but the final product turned out okay.

I freehanded the tips in white.  I found that if I tried to stamp them, the polish wasn't thick enough to cover the bottom of the stripes.

I intended to leave things there but I felt like something was missing.  I added a few rhinestones (I didn't have any in red!) for a little contrast.

As a side note, I'm almost 80% done with my Christmas shopping!  Woo hoo!

I hope you like the design.  Be well, Konaddicts, and remember to be good.  Santa will be here in no time!

Christmas Stripe Nails

Today I'm wearing a simple and festive design.  I used Sally Hansen Inst Dri Racy Red as a base.  Over that, I used one very thin coat of Kleancolor Metallic White, a shimmery type of white.

I stamped the stripe in Konad Special Polish in White using Konad Plate M44.  Hope you like it; thanks for reading!

Snowflake Nails

Snowflake Nails; Kleancolor Metallic Sapphire and Love My Nails Silver

I didn't have to look hard for inspiration for these nails! Brrr!  Stay warm, Konaddicts!