Leafy Ladybugs

Hello, Konaddicts!

What a busy summer I'm having!  I was expecting to have lots of time for sipping lemonade and polishing nails, but such has not been the case.  Well, I am happy to have a manicure to share with you today.  It's ladybugs!  This is one of my favorite stamping images.

I used the beautiful Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Chartreuse Chase as my starting color.  To make my leafy background, I used Mash 61 and MyOnline Shop Bright Green Stamping Polish.  

This was light enough stamp right over so I used GCOCL plate K05 and Milani Black Magic to stamp the ladybugs.  I filled them in using a small nail brush and Wet n Wild Red Red, Bundle Monster Art Polish 12, and SH Insta Dri Man-go Team.

I really loved how this turned out!  It was so much fun to play with the ladybug colors, and it added a lot of variety to the mani.

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you're each having an awesome summer.  Also:  have you seen the new Sally Hansen Color Foil polishes?  There's a cool post about them on Adventures in Acetone.  The old SH chrome polishes stamped beautifully.  It looks like these might not work as well, but I'm still dying to pick up a few bottles!  Anyone else tried these?

...He Loves Me Not

Hello, everyone!  Today's mani is the other side of the coin - because not all love stories end in hearts and flowers.  This is Sally Hansen Insta Dri Rapid Red topped with two coats of the subtle, glitter NYC Broadway Burgundy.  I stamped the pattern with Winstonia W203 using My Online Shop Special Polish in Black.  For the accent nail,I used a pattern from Messy Mansion MM03 and filled in the design around the heart with black.  I painted my "break" in with a nail brush.

Hope you've got your Valentine's cupcakes baked and ready to go!  Thanks for stopping by!

Rosy Variation

Hello, everyone!
Today I'm wearing a variety of roses - a mixed bouquet! I love how this simple combination turned out.

I started with that lovely nude, NYC Fashion Safari.  My stamping color is Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Cinna Snap.  For the leaves on the index finger, I used Top Speed Emerald to stamp and filled in the outline with Sinful Happy Ending.  I used a dotting tool to dab a little Wet n Wild Lavendar Creme on the rose petals on the middle finger.

I used three plates for this design: the roses with nets are from Pueen 27, the little bouquet comes from Pueen 47, and the roses on the middle finger and lace on the pinky are form BM 323.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you're doing well and that you outlook is, well, rosy!

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!

Toasty Sweater Nails

Brrrrr...time to zip into your Christmas sweaters!

Hi, everyone!  For this design, I got to try out two images that I haven't tried before - the sweater design from Winstonia W120 and the cute little zipper from BM 420.

The setup was pretty easy.  I used Sally Hansen Insta Dri Cinna Snap as the base.  I polised  Kleancolor Military Green about halfway down each nail.  I used the beige L'Oreal Walk on the Beach and Winstonia W120 for the stamping and tried to position the line more or less over my half-way point.

I decided to add the zipper just so I could try out the design and also to add a little variety.  I made these as decals - since I didn't think they would stamp well over the darker colors.  I used Konad Special polish in White and BM420.  I filled the stamp in with Kleancolor Chocolate Brown.  Peel, stick, and voila!

Well, Konaddicts, it's almost that time!  What nail goodies are on your holiday shopping list?

Royal Red

Hello, everyone!
I had a wonderful vacation and I'm just now getting back in the swing of things! I had a whirlwind trip to two places I've always dreamed of seeing - London and Paris.  What a wonderful experience - c'etait magnifique!

The manicure I'm wearing now is actually inspired by one of the awesome sights from my vacation - the Red Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.

The room is breathtaking - and apparently only open during the winter months - so I felt extra lucky to have the opportunity to see it.  This was, by far, my favorite of the rooms we visited.

From: The Anglophile

I came home determined to "nailify" this beautiful color and texture combination.  Once I got settled in, I got out my plates and polishes and got to work.

It took a bunch of tries before I got the combination I wanted.  I finally settled on a base of Love My Nails Pomegranate stamped with the darker and more opaque Sally Hansen Insta Dri Rapid Red.  The shape and width of the lines on BM206 was about as close as I could get to the brocaded image.  For the accents, I used Essie Good as Gold and Mash 27.  I added a rhinestone for shimmer and as a nod to the color and shape of those beautiful light fixtures.

Nothing, alas, can replicate a room fit for a king...but this mani is a little reminder of a glimpse into the life of royalty that I was fortunate to have.

The weather, however, has refused to cooperate with my little homage  - we've had overcast skies and snow! - so I've had to take my pics indoors with and without the flash.

Thanks for reading!  Even after a dream vacation, it's always a blessing to come home to family and friends.  Thanks for stopping by!

Raggedy Ann Patchwork Nails

Hi, everyone!

Do any of you remember Raggedy Ann and Andy?  I remember them!  I've had the idea for this design in the back of my mind for a while - I just never quite got a chance to try it out.  Well, with a season of The Closer on DVD, I decided I would sit down with my polishes to see what I could come up with.

The lovely L'Oreal Walk on the Beach is my base color.  I used Konad Special in Black and plate A48 for the patchwork stamp.  I filled in the patches using a nail brush with Milani Sail Away and the gel-like Sally Hansen Royal Red Creme.  To add a little variety, I dotted some of them with NYC French White Tip.  

The adorable Raggedy Ann design is from the MJ XVI plate (I think I purchased mine from Etsy).  I could not color her "within the lines", but I tried, using the lighter Wet n Wild Red Red and the more sheer Sinful Midnight Blue.

I can't decide whether my Raggedy Ann came out cute or a little bit creepy - or maybe some of both! - but I'm enjoying this little trip down memory lane all the same.

Thanks for stopping by, Konaddicts!  I hope your week is off to a great start!

Festive Fourth Nails

So...I don't usually do 4th of July nails.  Typically, they turn out to be a great big mess.  This year, I thought I'd give it another try and, well, I just couldn't stop - stars and glitter and flags and the Statue of Liberty and dots!

In my head, I had some kind of lean and sophisticated look going, but in fact, it's like The Party Store exploded all over my nails...and I kinda like it. :)

I used Wet n Wild Red Creme and Revlon Urban as the base colors.  I went about it the easy way and polished the whole nail red, stamped my stripes with Sally Hansen Whirlwind White, painted the blue tips, and stamped the stars over that.  Cheeky CH4 provided the perfect stars and wavy stripes.  I used Cheeky CH51 for the star image on the thumb and Essie No Place Like Chrome for the stamping.

My favorite part of the mani is the way over the top image of the Statue of Liberty on the accent nail.  This plate is Winstonia W114 and, boy, is it cute! Decorated with a little red glitter and silver dots, it's a fun added touch!

Well, thanks for stopping by, Konaddicts!  If you're reading here in the US, I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday!

A Berry Busy Mani

"Classic" Strawberry Shortcake?  It's a nail dream come true!

I've always hoped to find decals of the 1980s version of Strawberry Shortcake but have never come across any.  These little decals from Pretty Girly Girl totally made my day!

I wasn't really sure what the best "set up" would be for my awesome decals, so I chose a pastel pink - Essie Fiji - as a background.  The decals appear to be the "homemade" variety - the ones printed on water decal printer paper.  The design was perfect - no issues there - I just had trouble getting them to stay in place on the nail.

I opted for two contrasting nails - which broke up the design and also meant I didn't need to do anymore wrestling with the decals.  The contrasting nails are polished with Pure Ice Siren and stamped with Konad Special polish in White using Shany SH19.  To finish, I used a dotting tool to add dots of the contrast color around the decals.

Even with my "technical difficulties", I really love this one.  I think the ladies also approve!

Aren't they cute?  They were an awesome eBay find!

Take care, Konaddicts?  Have you had nail dreams come true?  Tell me about it!

Valentine Hearts and Roses

Hello, everyone!  Valentine's day is long gone (thank goodness!), but I'm still in the mood for hearts and flowers.  Luckily, Mash 39 has a unique design that is both roses and hearts!

I have been eyeing this plate for a while but I hadn't been able to come up with a design I liked.  This time, I opted for double stamping, and I love the result!

This is a base of Orly Sweet Temptation with a thin coat of holographic glitter - Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope.  I thought about sponging a background, but opted for something a little quicker.  Instead, I stamped the design once with Konad Special Polish in Pastel Pink and then stamped the design again with the darker Orly Mind's Eye.  I tried to line the designs up, but didn't worry too much about overlap.

Pink + Hearts + Flowers?  Love it!

Wishing you much love, Konaddicts!  See you soon!

Sparkly Valentine

Hello, everyone, and happy almost Valentine's Day!
I took advantage of the last bit of evening sun in order to catch a photo of my glittery Valentine nails.

This is an easy (if busy!) mani made with a base of Pure Ice Siren and a coat of Pure Ice First Party - a red glitter in a clear base.

I stamped this sparkly confection with Pure Ice Super Star using one of the heart patterns on BM 312.  The ring finger heart is from QA12.

Here's an indoor photo.

Well, Konaddicts, I hope you have wonderful plans for the special day.  Those of you who don't have plans can share it in spirit with me! :)  And, on a good note, all the Valentine's day "stuff" will be out of the stores very soon!

Catch you soon!

Hello Kitty: Glitter Kitty

Sorry for the light - I had to take these inside.

Hello, Konaddicts!  I've seen a lot of Hello Kitty designs using a red background.  It's been a while since I've worn a Hello Kitty mani, so I decided to try one out using red.

I started with Love My Nails Pomegranate.  I stamped kitty in white using plate B87 - a good, full sized Hello Kitty image.  I filled in that outline with a nail brush using Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Whirlwind White.

I stamped kitty in Wet n Wild Black Creme over my white circle and used a nail brush to fill in edges.

I did the accents next, using Insta Dri Lightening for kitty's nose and Kleancolor Metallic Red for her bow.

I was planning to use some glitter on my ring finger as an accent nail.  I decided this would be a perfect occasion to try out Milani Jewel FX Gems - a color I've been saving "for the right time" (you nail folks know what I mean!).

I added Jewel Fix to the accent nails, but I liked the sparkle so much, I had to add it to all the other nails.  I tried to polish around kitty.

Finally, used Konad Special polish in white and plate QA12 for KT design on accent nail.

Here's a view of them without the flash.

And one last closeup:

Even with the less than great light, it's obvious that these are my most sparkly kitties yet!

Take care, Konaddicts!

Simple Zig Zags

Hi, everyone!

Today, I've opted for a simple mani using Konad M78, a pattern I've always wanted to use but never quite got around to trying out.  This is Milani Cherry Pie stamped with Love My Nails Silver Sweep.  It's simple and oh so sweet!

Catch you soon, Konaddicts!

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 25: Inspired by a Fashion

I had a hard time coming up with something that I could say was inspired by a fashion.  I decided to go with something inspired by the 50s.  I wanted VERY MUCH to make poodle skirts, but that dang poodle on BM04 was just too big.  

Since my poodles, didn't work, I opted for polka dot, since so many vintage dresses seem to sport them.

I started with my stand-by red, Pure Ice Siren.  I taped the bottoms with scotch tape and polished the top portion black.  I used the dots from BM 19 to stamp the polka dots over the tips in Konad Special polish in white.  

Lot of 50s dresses have a flower on the bodice, so I added a flower from Red Angel 109 as an accent and dotted the center with red.

I like it!  I don't usually like my nails to be so dark, but the red really livens it up!"

Cool it, Konaddicts, and I'll catch you later for "Inspired by a Pattern" nails!

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 23: Inspired by a Movie

Hello, everyone!  I'm finally getting a chance to post my "Inspired by a Movie" nails.  It took me a while to decide what movie to choose.  Here's the mani I came up:

Can you guess the movie?
It's Kung Fu Panda!

This was a  fun one, and it was a perfect use of my new set of MASH and Bundle Monster plates!

I started my Kung Fu Panda nails with a base of Sinful Colors Pull Over stamped with the lines from BM 301 and Nail Savvy in brown (sorry - the label fell off!).

I stamped the panda outline in white using Pure Ice Super Star and Mash 30 as a guide.  I filled in that outline with white and stamped the panda again using Konad Special Polish in black.  My outlines weren't perfect - you an see on the thumb in the picture above - but this one is fun even considering the imperfections.

Take care, Konaddicts!  I'll see you soon for "Inspired by a Fashion" nails!

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 18: Half Moons

Hello, everyone! Today's challenge was "half moons", another new look for me!  I started with a base of Love My Nails Angel - a chrome kind of white.  I used french manicure stickers to section off the nail before polishing Kleancolor Metallic Red at the bottom.  I used plate A28 and Silver Bullet to stamp the little flower.

I loved this look!  I've used Kleancolor Metallic Red for stamping but I haven't worn it on its own.  It's a stunner!

"Galaxy" nails are next - see you then!

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 26: Inspired by a Pattern

Today, I was supposed to have "tribal" nails.  I turned to Bollywood - as I always do! - for inspiration.  I chose a movie filmed in Rajasthan, a part of India known for its beautiful folk art and patterns.  Instead of picking a nice tribal pattern, I was enthralled (as I always am) with this beautiful wedding costume that our heroine wears - that's her, peeking out from under her bridal veil.

Rani Mukherjee in the film Paheli

Her beautiful saree inspired this mani.

This is a base of Sally Hansen Insta Dri Rapid Red stamped with the lovely palm design on Konad M83.  I useed Sally Hansen Insta Dri Snappy Sorbet for the stamp.   I freehanded the tips with Snappy Sorbet.  My other golds or bronzes didn't stamp well over this combination, so I pulled out my "heavy".  I used the Sally Hansen Gold Chrome Nail Pen and BM 11 to stamp the accents.

Wow!  I love this!  It's simple and surprisingly quick (especially using the fast dry polishes).  Every time I look down, I want to start singing songs from the movie!

If I ever take this off (haha), another attempt at "tribal" nails is next!

See you soon (at least when this wears off!), Konaddicts!

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 1: Red Nails

Hello, everyone.
It's been about six weeks since we lost my father to colon cancer.  Dad was diagnosed three years ago, and our family had many ups and downs over the past several years.  We knew the prognosis wasn't good, but I don't think you're ever really prepared to say goodbye to someone you love so much.

My Dad, my niece and me (that's me on the left)

Parent, advisor, staunch supporter, and friend, my dad was a huge part of my life.  Without him, the world is a much less colorful place.  Lately, I've been a bit short on motivation (for most things) and on inspiration.

So...

I decided I would start a nail challenge to give me some incentive to get polishing again, to narrow the focus to someone manageable, and to give me something fun to think about.  I probably won't be able to post every day, but I figure that getting back to doing some of the things I like is a step in the right direction.

I chose the simplest of the nail challenges, the one where the first week is primarily polish only, to get myself back in the groove.  I thought, "Red nails?  I can manage that!".  So here's my post for the first day of this challenge.

I chose Heaven Waikiki Sunset, a surprisingly pretty polish I noticed at the grocery store (on sale for about $2)!  It's a magenta glitter and is slightly matte without topcoat.  I also used this polish to color in one of my ladybug manis.

Here's the nail challenge, in case you're not familiar with it.  It's been floating around for a while out there although I'm not sure who initially created it.

Well - I made it through Day 1 - hooray!

Thanks for reading, polish friends!  I'll try to post the next challenge soon.

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!