Full of Hot Air

Hi, everyone!
Today, I'm sharing my hot air balloon mani.  It didn't come out exactly as I had hoped.  I was trying to go for a brighter, lighter, look.  Even though it wasn't exactly what I had in mind, it was still fun to wear.

I used Sally Hansen Insta Dri Blue Blast for my sky.  For the background clouds, I used NYC French White Tip and the cloud image from Mash 37.  The balloon image is from the Cheeky European Romance plate.  I used Milani Black magic for the stamping since I didn't want to risk smearing as I filled in the balloons.  Then, I just grabbed a bunch of colors and a tiny nail brush and got to filling in the balloon colors.

If I were redoing this mani, I would probably start with a lighter blue - or even a pastel or pearly blue.  That might have brightened up the sky a bit and have allowed for lighter balloon colors.  I guess I'll know what the try the next time I feel "flighty"!

Up, up, and away, Konnadicts!

Sea Creatures

Hi all,
Today I've got a beach inspired mani  to share with you.  I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted, so this one kind of evolved as I went along.

I started with a base of Sinful Colors Cinderella.  I used a nail brush to add a "shore" of Kleancolor Mocha, and dotted it with NYC Fashion Safari and Revlon Top Speed Stormy.

I decided to add decorations to my beach shore.  I tried stamping a little crab but it didn't really work well with this color set up so I decided to switch to the "decal method" for the designs.  The outline provides a lot of detail and really makes the design stand out.

So, for the decorations, I used these plates:
Octopus - Mash 37
Palm Tree - Shany SH19
Crab & Seahorse - Cheeky CH39
Starfish - Gals 42

In some places, the polish got a little thick from the layers and the stamp decal, but it's a small price to pay to keep company with such cute little critters.

Keep swimming, Konaddicts!