The NCC presents "Music/Movies/TV" - The Mystery Machine

Hello everyone! Today I have my last NCC Mani for April and I'm quite relieved! I think there was just so much choice for this theme that my brain couldn't cope with it! I was looking at options for another upcoming theme week when I stumbled across this idea and decided that it would fit well for my final mani. Who doesn't love Scooby Doo??? :)

I started with a base of Barry M Gelly Key Lime, and then added in the lower turquoise section with Barry M Gelly Guava. I separated the green and blue with a fine(ish) line of Ciate Vintage and then allowed it to dry before painting in the orange flowers with Revlon Siren and outlining them with a little more Vintage. I finished with Seche Vite.

This was a little bit of a last minute throw together mani (when I realized that there was only one day of April left to post this!), but I think its worked out ok in the end :)

Next month I am far more excited about our theme, which is "Skittles"! The troublesome nerve in my neck is playing up again, but luckily I've got the jump on this one, so hopefully I won't be posting on the last day of the month next time! Hopefully... ;)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

FingerFood's Theme Buffet (Gothic) and NCC Movies - Nosferatu

Hello everyone! Today I have some nail art to show you that I am insanely proud of! The theme this week in FingerFood's Theme Buffet is one that is very close to my heart as its been a huge part of my life for over 20 years now! It was suggested by the lovely Sarah from Penny Pinching Polish and I was so happy that she put it forward :) This also fits in with the NCC's Movies/Music/TV month so its a double win! 

Goth isn't all maudlin black and it has grown its own set of sub genres over the years (including the fluffy, neon cyber goths), but I'm pretty much old school apart from my nails, so I decided to try and recreate an iconic image from "Nosferatu", the 1922 film starring Max Schreck.

I started with a base of LA Colors French White and sponged on the "frame" using Color Club Silver Lake, Ciate Vintage and LA Colors Black Velvet. I used a black Sharpie to draw in guidelines for the bannister, doorway and Dracula himself, and then carefully painted them in with more black, using a little more of the Vintage and Silver Lake for detail. I finished with a coat of Seche Vite.

Here's the image I worked from:

This is one of those manis that I had to try once I'd had the idea, but had no hopes of it turning out well enough for me to be able to post it! Instead I am really pleased with myself! I know that it has areas which need refining, but I think it captures the essence of the original image and this style of nail art is way out of my comfort zone!

I have one more NCC mani coming at you for April and the theme for the Buffet next week is to try "something new". I'm going to take the rest of the evening off and look at these nails some more, and I will be back with you soon - please follow the links below to check out all the other fabulous NCC and Buffet manis :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

The NCC Presents Movies/Music/TV #2 - A Twin Peaks Skittlette

Hello everyone! And Happy Easter to those of you that celebrate! As I mentioned, I'm not really doing any Easter manis, but I do have some swatches of my Easter present polishes coming up later today and some of those colours are a little bit Easter-ish, so that'll have to do.

This post has my second April mani for the Nail Challenge Collabrative and I've painted a skittlette inspired by one of my favourite TV series of all time - Twin Peaks. I remember watching it when it was first on TV with my Dad when my Mum was out at an evening class. I was definitely too young to watch it and my Mum would never have let me, so its also tied in with a lot of nostalgia and some fond memories of time with my Dad. Its also not his usual kind of TV at all, but he loved it and we're planning to make time to watch the DVDs through again sometime soon.

I wanted to recreate the style of the Red Room in the Black Lodge/White Lodge, so I started by painting my ring and middle nails with white and allowed them to dry. I then applied some vinyl nail decals (which I bought on Ebay after reading this post on Glowstars.net), painted over the spaces in All About Nails Liqorice and removed the decals (I totally arsed this up so the chevrons are more than a little bit wonky, but I was tight for time so couldn't redo). I painted my thumb and little finger with Dream Cheeky Cherry and while still wet, dragged through lines of Barry M Passion Fruit, MAC Vintage Vamp and a little white with a striping brush. For the index finger I did a simple glitter gradient using Color Club Art of Seduction over black. All finished with a coat of Seche Vite.

An InLinkz Link-up

The Nail Challenge Collaborative presents Music/Movies/TV #1 - GnR inspired

Hello everyone! I'm starting my NCC manis a little late this month - I had ideas in place but haven't had time to do them justice, so I thought it would be better to leave them for a while. Starting with a mani inspired by a bandana (why not?).

I spent my early teens obsessed with Guns n' Roses and Axl Rose and seeing them play with Soundgarden, Faith No More and Brian May at Wembley Stadium when I was 15 is still a massive highlight of my music landscape. His trademark paisley bandanas were everywhere as all my teenage boy friends tried to emulate the look (and let's face it, a bandana was more practical than Slash's top hat). Most failed miserably, but they tried... ;)

I started with two coats of Barry M Gelly Passion Fruit and then painted in the paisley shapes with white acrylic paint (Yes, you read right! I used paint for once!!!) and dotted along the edges. I went in and added inner detail using Barry M Gelly Lychee and Color Club In The Limelight before finishing with Seche Vite.

These nails have made me soooooo nostalgic and I think they are the best paisley print I've done. I'm glad I tried out the acrylic paint for the base of the print too, as it allowed me to have a clean surface to add the detail without having to wait for a layer of white polish to dry.

Here's the man himself wearing my nail design on his head ;)

So there's number one out of the way, I'm off to sing loudly along to "Appetite for Destruction" and will be back with another nostalgic TV-inspired NCC mani for you soon. Don't forget to check out all the other awesome manis from the NCC ladies below...

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up