Got Polish Challenge "Something Tropical" and NAILS Mag April Challenge "Pink"

Hello everyone! Today I am combining prompts again! The Golden Oldie Thursday challenge wanted "Something Tropical" while NAILS Mag wanted "Pink" so I combined the two and here's what happened!

I started with two coats of Jessica Purple Burst and waited for it to dry. I then stamped some hibiscus flowers from an old BM plate on to each nail with Konad white. I added in a little more detail with some white acrylic paint, used Color Club Psychedelic Scene for the pollen, Color Club Pucci-licious (thinned with a little acetone) for the petals and Barry M Gelly Greenberry for the greenery, before finishing off with another coat of Seche Vite.

 I think that I also deserve a cheer this week for remembering to use only old polishes! The last couple of weeks I realized as I typed up my posts that I may have forgotten the central point of the challenge (oops!), but I made sure this week that they are all well over a year old and despite the fact that its both pink and flowery (two of my least favourite things!), I actually think that this turned out pretty cool :)

Tomorrow's prompt is "Inspired by your favourite nail artist". I'll be honest and say that I hate this kind of prompt. I always feel like I'm copying (even though I always give full credit - I'm a good girl!), and I would much rather be doing my own thing. Still, I'll have a go and see what happens! 

Follow the links below to see all the other fabulous tropical manis from Crumpet's Nail Tarts below :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

NAILS Mag April Challenge Day 23 - Bow

Hello everyone! Despite having the worst night's sleep ever (thanks to a fox that decided to sing us the song of its people from our driveway at 2am), I'm here bright and early with today's post. When I saw the prompt for today was "Bow" I wasn't overly thrilled. I've painted some freehand bows before that didn't turn out great, but I had some success with them at Christmas and was hoping to get away with not painting any more until this coming Christmas. Fortunately I was out shopping and had a bit of a Eureka moment - this happens all too often when I'm shopping, but usually causes more damage to my credit card than this one did ;)

When I got home (with a new shirt, no shoes), I started these nails with two coats of OPI Don't Bossanova Me Around. I painted a freehand French tip in Dream Cheeky Cherry and then extended it down the sides of the nail. I added a fine outline in black (very carefully!) and then topped with Seche Vite. Before the top coat dried, I added the acrylic bows to my stilettos and they were done!

These are impractical in so many ways - yet many of the best shoes are! They also fit the Bow prompt and I didn't even have to paint any! I have to say that they couldn't possibly have stayed on for very long, but I did love them!

Tomorrow's prompt is nice and simple - Pink. There is also a "Something Tropical" prompt for the GOT Polish Challenge so I might try and tie them together. Maybe I should go shopping for more ideas! ;)

Sam xx

NAILS Magazine April Challenge Day 22 - Earth Day

Hello everyone! I'm hopping on board the NAILS Magazine April challenge with 10 days lest to spare. With such a busy month I just haven't had the time, but today Scarlett went back to school (although with exam week coming up next week, her 7 year old stress levels are about to go through the roof! Not if I can help it though!), my first Digit-al Dozen week is done and I've managed to sort my nail room to the point where the surfaces of both my desks are visible, so today has been a success and I'm ready to start trying to get ahead again!!!

Apparently, today is Earth Day. In all honesty I'd never heard of it, it doesn't seem to be a big deal over here and let's just say that I'm not exactly good at keeping up with environmental concerns and developments (I know, my bad...), but I read the wiki and am now a lot more informed (about the day if nothing else).

I decided to do a mani using earthy colours, which is a step in a new direction for me anyway, so I stuck with one of my fluid designs (thanks for the name Deb! ;) and a few dots!

I started with three coats of OPI My Vampire Is Buff. Once dry, I started by adding some random freehand sections of OPI Taupe-less Beach. I outlined those with a striping brush using Color Club Rebel Spirit and Sinful Colors Exotic Green, and then finished by adding some small dots using OPI Don't Bossanova Me Around and more Rebel Spirit, before finishing with Seche Vite.

  

Although this will be a familiar design style from me, the colours are completely the opposite. I've noticed that I've started buying some neutrals, taupes and nudes recently, but I still love my brights and always seem to reach for them first! 

Tomorrow's theme in the NAILS Mag challenge is "Bow". I've had one of my bright ideas for this one - whether or not it works out is another matter entirely!!!

Sam xx

GOT Polish Challenge and NAILS Mag April Challenge - Pastel

Hello everyone! Today I painted my nails while watching "Frozen" with Scarlett which may be responsible for some of the colour choices. I'm not really a fan of pastel colours, or Disney films if I'm honest, but I'm enjoying this one so far, and its the quietest that Scarlett has been for about a week in one sitting, so I'm happy with that! Luckily, the NAILS Mag challenge prompt for today is also Pastel (serendipity, yay!) so its a buy one, get one free today too :D

I started with a base of Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau (I adore this as its opaque in one coat!), and then added curves of graduated dots in Nail Essentials Silver Shimmer. Once dry I added smaller dots inside the silver of OPI Gargantuan Green Grape, and Models Own Lilac Dream and Lemon Meringue before finishing with Seche Vite.

Quite a simple design for me, and I toyed with the idea of adding more to it, but I think it works fine as it is so I'll leave it there :)

I have had the chance for a bit of a catch up this morning and am making good progress with my first Digit-al Dozen manis which will be coming at you from the 14th April - I can't wait to show you all some of them. It'll also explain why my fingers have spent a lot of this morning stuck together with nail glue, and why I am therefore now missing sections of skin from a couple of fingers... 

My MoYou plates also arrived today and I haven't even had the chance to play with them yet - how's that for self control?! If I get a chance later today, that's next on my agenda, so hopefully I'll have some manis featuring those too...

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

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

NAILS Magazine 31DC - Mint (Is it summer yet?)

Hello everyone! I'm back again and we're almost at the end of the NAILS Magazine March challenge. Today's theme is "Mint". There were lots of options open for this one, but he furst thing that pops into my head is Mint Choc Chip ice cream and I stopped thinking right about then :)

I started by painting a base of Sinful Colors Glass Pink and then painted across the lower half of each nail with Color Club Earthy Angel. Next I added some fine criss cross detail using Models Own Nude Beige with a fine detail brush and the cone was done. For the ice cream itself, I used Barry M Greenberry (I used the brush straight from the bottle to add it) and added irregular chocolate chips with Color Club Rebel Spirit before finishing with Seche Vite.

Something cute and fun for Friday! The madness of the Easter holiday starts here at midday - Scarlett has over three weeks off so I will be balancing nails with entertaining housefuls of 7 and 8 year olds who want their nails painted! They may even get their own post if I'm running short! In other news I'm looking into doing a course that will allow me to teach nail art/colour theory etc - so exciting! But more about that another day :)

We're in for a lovely warm weekend here in London so maybe I will actually get to eat an ice cream instead of looking longingly at these nails!!!

Sam xx

GOT Polish Challenge Yellow/Peach and NAILS Mag 31DC - Marbling

Hello everyone! Another Thursday and another GOT polish challenge day has come around. The colours for this week are yellow/peach and I can't say I was thrilled with them, especially as I wamted to be able to tie them in with the NAILS Mag prompt "Marbling". Many of you know that I have a love/hate relationship with water matbling (love how it looks, HATE doing it!), so that was a no go from the off. However I have been trying out Robin Moses No Water Marbling technique (tutorial here) with up to now fairly inconsistent results and today it all finally clicked into place - I am so happy! 

The base is LA Colors Illusion. It really is an illusion as I promise I didn't really use purple in a yellow/peach prompt, honest! ;) Then while the polish was still wet, I added blobs of LA Colors  French White and Hottie along with Models Own Lemon Meringue. I used a fine detail brush to drag the wet polish into marble patterns and allowed to dry for a good while before finishing with Seche Vite.

I was so happy to have got this technique right finally that I did two sets, one in the GOT colours (ignore the glaring misuse of purple - but it needed a background colour to make the yellow/peach work, so that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!), and another in coffee and chocolate similar to the ones in Robin's video. Here is a sneaky peak at my yummy "mocha coffee chocolate frappuccino" version:

I'm off to do some more of this, playing around with the vast array of colour combinations alone are enough to keep me going for weeks, so expect to see a few of these. I've also spotted a tutorial on how to do flowers in this style - I am all over that!

Tomorrow's prompt for the 31DC is "Mint" and I have something fun lined up for that one! Until then, follow the Inlinkz for all the other GOT manis :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

NAILS Mag 31DC Match Day 26 - Accent Nail

Hello everyone! Today I have another bright fruit-based design for you! The prompt for today is the 31DC is "Accent Nail" and this mani does indeed have an accent nail - it just so happens that ther is a ton of other stuff going on too!

I started with a French white base and painted in cherries with LA Colors Red Carnation and added white detail. The stalks are two sweeps of Sinful Colors Exotic Green and Barry M Gelly Key Lime and just in case there wasn't enough happening, I added a black polka dot background with LA Colors Black Velvet before finishing with Seche Vite.

 I've decided that these are my stylized 50s comic book rockabilly nails - simple moniker eh? ;) Either way, its continuing the fruit theme that the strawberries started last week and I really like these (unlike the majority of real fruit, but you can't win them all!). Onwards and upwards to more fruit! :)

Sam xx

Tri Polish Tuesdays and NAILS Mag 31DC "Holo"

Hello everyone! I am totally in love with the nail art that I have to show you today. I realized that I always seem to work with plain backgrounds and usually add the glitzy detail over the top, but decided to work it the other way around for today! I've used all three colours in my other March Tri Polish manis si went with just the blue and purple this time round

I started with a base of Nails Inc Motcomb Street and topped it with Cacee Nails Sapphire Dazzle which is a simply stunning holo glitter topcoat (glitter toppers are allowed!). I then added a freehand painted a floral swirly design (technical term for you right there!) using a blend of China Glaze Spontaneous and Barry M Gelly Prickly Pear before finishing with Seche Vite.

I know I may have cheated slightly with the two purples, but hopefully you'll let me off for this one!

We have our new April colours starting next week - yellow, pink and blue, so there will be some new Tri polish looks popping up as of next week. Here are the colours I have chosen for the next three months:

Don't forget to check out everyone else's fab designs via the Inlinkz below!

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

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

An InLinkz Link-up

NAILS Mag Day 19 - Outline

Hello everyone! Today's prompt in the NAILS Mag 31DC is Outline. I haven't done many of these manis so far as they tend to be a bit understated and my nail-style is pretty much anything but that. Since working on this design I've some up with some ideas for outline manis that fit my personality a little more, so stay tuned for those, but in the meantime, I couldn't resist adding a little bling to this one too :)

I started with three coats of the stunning Nails Inc King's Road and then painted in the outline with LA Colors Black Velvet (and a very steady hand!). I had already planned to do an accent nail to break it up a bit, but decided to use a rainbow of rhinestones (part of a prize I won from the fab nail art forum Nail Artsy!) for the outline on my ring finger, set into carefully applied glue. A coat of Seche Vite finished the look.

This Nails Inc polish is really something else, a really subtle rose gold foil effect. If I went for subtle polishes I would get through sooooo much of this polish! I do like the outline look, although I always have to resist the urge to turn them into cartoon nails. However, like I said earlier, I have some more of this design style on the way that are a little less subtle all round! :)

A GOT polish challenge and NAILS Mag 31DC combo coming your way tomorrow. The GOT prompt is "Ruffle mani" and NAILS Mag is "A New Technique" - yay for fortuitous timing!

Sam xx

NAILS Mag 31DC Day 18 - Fade (more glitter!)

Hello everyone! Today I have yet another glitter bomb for you! The prompt for the 31DC today is Fade and I decided to take that as a gradient/colour fade. I had some glitters I'd been dying to mix up and was not disappointed with the finished result :)

I started with a simple, single coat green to blue sponged base to give the glitters a fair start and then layered and blended L-A Glitter Nails Apple, Aqua, Peacock and Sapphire and finished with Seche Vite.

These are so sparkly that they have made me super happy! It felt like the easiest glitter gradient ever - so much glitter packed into each bottle that there wasn't the problem with coverage that is sometimes a problem with glitter gradients. I have almost a full spectrum of these so I think that there may be a few more fade/gradients like this one!

Tomorrow's prompt is "Outline" and I have something a little less glittery lined up for you. There is still some bling involved, but its a far more understated, classy look (I know! From me! Who knew? Lol)  

I will also be road testing a new product called Flexiglaze before I offer it to my clients and will be writing about it and giving progress updates on here. I'm hoping it'll help my poor nails that have refused to grow out nicely since I've been ill (they've become stubborn little buggers!), so there's plenty coming up :)

Sam xx