The Nail Challenge Collaborative presents "Skittles" 2 - Colour blocking

Hello everyone! Today I have a quick post with my second NCC mani for May. The theme for this month is skittles and I'm loving this month! 

I got my striping tape out for today and went for geometric colour block skittles. I started witha  white base and then taped off different shapes on each nail, before filling in the individual sections with either Cuccio Cheeky in Helsinki or Barry M Gelly Blueberry, Greenberry or Papaya, before finishing with Seche Vite.

I am so pleased with these, the lines stayed so crisp :) The colour combination isn't one I'd normally go for either, but I wanted to play with my new Cuccio and I think it works.

Sam xx

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The Digit-al Dozen does Texture Day 4 - Gemstone Nails

Hello everyone! Another wholly impractical mani for you today as part of Texture week with The Digi-al Dozen! Those of you that know me know that I also make jewellery. I closed my business before I had my daughter as there was no way I could balance all that work with a baby and now its mostly a hobby, but the occasional piece makes it on to Etsy with the nails and other bits and pieces. Anyway, as a result I have cases full of gems and beads. I was joking with Alessandra (The Sparkle Queen) back in January that I should mix it up with the nails and now that time has come!

I went through looking for the smallest chips and settled on some Iolite (one of my favourites because of its lovely violet blue colour. After the denim debacle I couldn't face gluing them to five nails so settled instead for two and created a skittlette. 

All the nails were painted with a base of Sinful Colors Glass Pink. I added a layer of nail glue and added the Iolite chips to my middle and ring fingers. I had to place a couple with tweezers to fill gaps, but for the most part they adhered really well! I added a coat of Color Club Covered in Diamonds to the index finger as the large holo flakes added to the gem effect. For the thumb and little finger, I used a ton of striping tape to create a triangular pattern (again similar to the Iolite effect) and filled in the sections with Nail Essentials Silver Shimmer, Barry M Gelly Picky Pear and LA Colors Illusion.

This is far from being one of my favourites, but its one of those things that I had to see through once I'd had the idea, and despite how it turned out, I'd put too much work into it not to post it!

One more to go for my first DD week and its been a blast! :)

Sam xx

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NAILS Mag 31DC - Colour Block Patchwork

Hello everyone! The theme for today in the NAILS Mag March Challenge is "Colour Block". Normally I would go right into a taping mani but today I felt like doing something a little different. I have been looking through some old photos with my parents recently and was reminded of my favourite duvet cover from when I was little. It was purple patchwork and I thought it would be fun to try and replicate it for this challenge.

I started with a white base and then drew in some guidelines with a purple Sharpie. I filled in the sections with Barry M Gelly Prickly Pear, Collection 2000 Hot Looks Go Retro! and China Glaze Spontaneous and then added flowers, spots and criss cross patterns for the patchwork feel. To finish, I went over the lines with the Sharpie and added some little "stitches" before finishing with Seche Vite (after the Sharpie had had plenty of time to dry)

So there's a trip down memory lane and my version of colour blocking for this March challenge. I've been reliably informed that NAILS Mag are also holding an April challenge which I will be joining in on as much as possible - although with the school Easter holidays in full swing and my first Digit-al Dozen week coming up I'm not sure how much I will get through! All my NAILS Mag challenge posts are on IG with the tag #31NAILS2014, so if you've missed any head over and take a look here - you can see all my pics without having to to read my verbose nonsense ;)

Sam xx

The NCC presents "Untrieds" and NAILS Mag 31DC "Your newest polish"

Hello everyone! Today I have a double post for you as the prompts for the NCC and the NAILS Mag 31DC cross over - yay!!!

I recently took advantage of Kleancolor sale and managed to pick up some neons and a glitter for £1 each. I hadn't bought Kleancolor polishes before and couldn't decide which to use, so in true FingerFood tradition, I used all of them! I also couldn't decide which pattern to do so I did a few of those as well and created another skittlette. This mani can pretty much be summed up with this picture- it also comes with a sunglasses advisory...

I colour blocked my thumb and little finger nails with tape and filled in the gaps with Neon Yellow, Neon Pink and two Neon Purples (they are meant to be the same colour but there had been a problem with one batch and it was lighter than the other purples - I liked it anyway!). I used the Neon Yellow as a base for the middle and ring fingers and then painted bubbly/dotty/spotty shapes using all the other colours (over a bit of white to keep the colours clean - spot the unintentional pun?!). For the index finger, I painted City Never Sleeps over Neon Purple and then glued it all together with Seche Vite :)

Okay so its a bit mad/random, but that's not necessarily a bad thing! I think it works in a quirky, bright kind of way and I got to showcase all my new Kleancolor polishes in one go!

I am super excited to show you tomorrow's mani - its another double prompt post for Tri Polish Tuesdays and Nails Mag 31DC. Its a different kind of design style for me but I am hoping you're all going to like it - you won't need protective eyewear to look at it either, promise!

Sam xx

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GOT Polish Challenge - Orange

Hello everyone! Today's theme for the GOT Polish Challenge is Orange! Its not my favourite colour, but despite that I seem to have a lot of it! I do use it a lot in nail art so it appears that I've picked one up from all my favourite polish brands over the years and I chose four of those for this colour block mani.

I taped two different patterns over a French White base and added Color Club Psychedelic Scene, Barry M Gelly Satsuma, LA Colors Spat! and Ciate Speed Dial. 

The photos are still censored but I'm pleased to say that although its still not pretty, its all looking a little bit less gruesome, so I think I'll be dispensing with the "censorship" of new manis as of next week. I think this mani has changed my opinion of orange a little. Maybe I should be a little more open minded to its zesty, bright goodness in future! :)

Our theme for the GOT Challenge next week is Skittles - yay! I love painting skittles, and with no colour restriction I can really go for it :) Check out all the other fabulous orange creations by following the links below.

Sam xx 

An InLinkz Link-up