Day 24 in the 33DC - a mani featuring the colour you own the most

Day 24 in the 33DC - a mani featuring the colour you own the most

Before I looked at my ever growing collection of nail polish I though the colour I had most of was Reds and Pink but it turned out to be blue, I have 13 blues all together and only 7 reds. The La Femme Beauty bottles on the right of the picture look the same but they aren't, they are different shades.

I had no inspiration just before I started to paint my nails so opted for a simple layer of blue glitter over a blue base. I 've used Models Own, Beths Blue (the middle bottle in the picture) and La Femme Beauty, Mirage (the one next to Beths Blue)

Day 23 in the 33DC - Geometric

Day 23 in the 33DC - Geometric

A short post for you today, Work is getting in the way and my internet keeps going down. say this these nails took just over an hour to do!! Purely down to doing the design on all ten nails and the nail art pens kept clogging and drying up making them really hard to get a constant even flow.

I think if I had more spare time on my hands I would have used tape but then it would have taken me twice as long!!

I've used Models Own nail art pens in Black, Blue, Pink and Yellow

Day 22 in the 33DC - 3 colour gradient + pattern

Day 22 in here and it's 3 colour gradient + pattern time.

I love gradient nails but seam to struggle to get them to look smooth and well bended. Some nails have worked better than others and some just look shit. I don't understand how this happens as do them all the same - well I think I do! I also ran out of time to do a decent clean up but hopefully it doesn't attract to much from the nails.

I've used Barielle, Going to the chapel. Simple Pleasure, mint green and pink for the gradient. All layered over a white base with vertical tape creating the stripes.

Day 21 in the 33DC - Europe

Day 21 is here and the prompt given was Europe.

I live in the UK and I've done the Union-Jack a few times and learnt that you need steady hands and lots of time to get it to look perfect and well to be honest I don't have time nor the patience right now so I ruled that idea out. The next idea was a map of Europe which well, just wasn't going to happen!!

I wasn't able to select one country to focus on because (A) There is too much choice. (B) I'm sure I should include everyone/thing that come under the umbrella of Europe and (C) I don't have a favourite locations. This got me thinking about locations and places I've been holiday. I love the sun and I love holidays. beach holidays, city breaks, weekends away and all the rest :)

So my 'nod' to the prompt of Europe is travel to and from, in particular by plane. I always feels a little more exciting when you have to travel by plane. I recently went to Bruges in Belgium and went by Eurostar. I was amazing and magical but felt close to hope because we didn't catch a plane - sounds silly but it's true :)

I've used La Femme Beauty, Light Blue for the base, Barry M Black nail art pen to draw the Plain and an un-named Stamping polish in White for the clouds.

Day 20 in the 33DC - A pattern from my wardrobe

Day 20 in the 33DC - A pattern from my wardrobe

With the weather officially miserable and winter is firmly on it's way I anted to do something which reminds me of warmer days and sunshine.

This sheer jacket has purple and cream flowers all over it. You cant really see the purple in the photo but trust me there is purple in there, I promise!  I was going to try the one stroke technique to do the flowers but I don't have the right brush so had to make do with and old make-up brush and layer white over the purple.

For my base I've used Rimmel, Chic and Cheerful. Simple Pleasures un-named purple and Models Own Snow White. adding the detail with Models Own Black nail art pen.

 

 

 

what they looked like before I added the black outline, I think I liked them more with out :)

Day 19 in the 33DC - follow someone's tutorial

Day 19 in the 33DC - follow someone's tutorial

I've wanted to try cartoon nails ever since I first sore them. I love how they look and was keen to try them.

This tutorial is by Procrastinails, please check out her blog: http://procrastinails.blogspot.co.uk/
She has made this look so simple when in reality this was harder than I thought! I'm not as steady or as neat as I want to be and I think with practise, patience and lots more practise I'm determined to master this design.

Once I'd finished I did another search and found another ways on how to create this look. they all start with a black base and then once dry adding the colour over the top leaving a slim black edge. Looking back I with I'd done it this way round. next time I do them I try it this way around so I have something to compare against.  I wonder which way round will win??

 

For my nails I've used  Models Own Pro, Black Jack and NYC Spring Tulip and a un-named white stamping polish for the 'shine' mark. I added Rimmel Matte finish to remove the shine from the polish which adds to the effect. I waited an hour before added the matte top coat but yet still it made the black run.

Halloween nails

 

Halloween nails :)

Day 18 in the 33DC - featuring 2 patterns

Day 18 is a mani featuring 2 patterns.

This challenge is certainly turning into a challenge with each prompt. How was I to incorporate two patterns into one mani?! I could do each pattern on a different nail? change of the colour/direction of the pattern - once decided on what pattern of course.

I was going to go for spots and stripes but thought that would be the safe option and the point of doing a nail challenge like this one it to try new things and be more creative.

So I used Models Own, Snow White for the base and Barry M Black nail art pen for the black stripes. I didn't want to faff around with striping tape trying to get perfect straight lines because I was going to added another pattern over the top so you wouldn't see the lines completely (well that was the plan) I went over the black and white stripes with Models Own, Smash up Pink.

I was hoping that the pink would be thicker, bolder and not as transparent as it turned out to be - to be honest it was a little disappointing. I wanted the pink to be bold and then through the cracks it created you'd pot the black and white lines but in the end it turned out looking more like a red/pink brick wall!!

  

Day 17 in the 33DC - artwork featuring your favourite brand

Day 17 in the 33DC - artwork featuring your favourite brand

This post is gonna be two in one, 33DC and Halloween :)

It's no secret that my favourite nail polish brand is Models Own. I last counted how many bottle I had back in July and the magic number was 50, I know I've added a few more to the collection so I'm fast approaching 60 :)  

I've used Becca's Brown, Concrete Mixer, Nude Beige, Snow White and Jacks black.

Day 16 in the 33DC - South America

Day 16 is South America in the 33DC.

I had no idea where to start when I sore todays prompt. I had images of white sand beaches, lost Aztec villages, carnivals and vibrant colours. This got me scared, how was I supposed to apply this to my nails!? I headed hesitantly to Google image search and typed in 'simple south American design' a few pages down I spotted this.

"Each quilt is a unique, one-of-a-kind work of art with visually arresting patterns ranging from traditional to original designs, from patchwork quilts, to story quilts and strip quilts, each distinguished by a lively improvisation that juxtaposes bright or subdued colors with bold design"

 

That paragraph says it all, bright or subdued colours with bold design. this to me sums up south American design and I love the design of the quilt.

 

I own a few blue polishes but strangely I don't have a clean bold blue like the one in the quilt so I used Sally Hansen, Xtreme wear, Navy blue because it has this wonderful subtle shimmer that is almost the right shade of blue :)  I've also used a Barry M nail pen, in white to draw on the line freehand (not very neatly though!) and used an un named red.

 

Looking back I guess I could have used tape to do the lines but that would have lost a bit of the charm.

 

Day 15 in the 33DC - Animals

Day 15 is all about animals

I would normally have gone straight for leopard print or tiger stripes as I love animal print but I wanted to something different. I tried to think of another animal print and found it quite hard to think anything other than Giraffe, Snake, Fish or Zebra. These all sounded too tricky to put onto a nail so I headed to Google for inspiration.

The cow print was the design that took my eye and this is what I did. (please ignore the messy sides, I didn't do a clean up before I took the pics)

I've used Models Own, Snow White and Barry M nail art pen.

Day 14 in the 33DC - Abstract

Day 14 is Abstract

I've used Sally Hansen Instra dry, Coco a-go-go and Models Own, Blue Moon for the base. the added the black a white lines using Barry M Nail pens.

This designed worked so much better in my head. It turned out a bit dull and unexciting and I'm not overly happy with my index finger with the bulls eye/target turning into a messy splodge but I do like the patterns and criss-cross lines this designed brings.

Please check out the other people joining in with the 33DC.

Day 13 in the 33DC - Chinese

Day 13 is Chinese

When I think of China and all things Chinese, I instantly think of a few things .... red, gold, dragons, noodles and lanterns. I had no idea how I was going to put a dragon on my nail or even noodles come to that!

I liked the idea of doing sky lanterns, I tried and failed so I went for red and gold. I've used Collection 2000 Scarlet for the red base. Then I used a gold foil that came in my Rio foil set. The thumb nail came out really well I'm super chuffed. Just look how shinny and reflective it is - just beautiful The ring finger was meant to be a swirl/spiral but turned more into a foil mess but I like the effect anyway.

Day 12 in the 33DC - A pattern in your home

Day 12 in the 33DC - A pattern in your home

I've wanted to re-create this vase pattern for some time. The cream colour dripping down over the deep red is just gorgeous don't you think?

I've used Sally Hansen Berry Sweet which is a truly stunning deep red. The camera has made the red look more pink but in true life the colour is rich and almost an autumn berry. I've used a thin brush to sweep No7 So Simple over the top. It's a neutral cream colour that looks a little lost on it's own but perfect when paired with a bold colour,

I'm happy with how these nails have turned out but I'd love to know what you think!

 

Day 11 in the 33DC - 3D

Day 11 in the 33DC - 3D

I was hoping to do so much more for this prompt. I had big plans but yet again I ran out of time and had to do theses nails quickly. I've added a blue tear drop gem to each nail, this is my 'nod' to the 3D element in to challenge.

I've used from thumb to pinkie:
Models Own Blue Moon
Models Own Beth's Blue
Models Own Feeling Blue
Models Own Dream Steam
Models Own Betty Blue

Day 10 in the 33DC - Flowers

Day 10 is Flowers

These nails were done in a hurry and are not as neat or as pretty as I wish they were. The colours are bolder and as I was aiming for a playful, cartoon effect but I feel they look more like a pre-school painting.

Am I happy with them? No. Do I have enough time to redo them? Nope. Am I brave enough to show you? Yes. Will I learn to plan my time, not rush by doing my nails on the evening of the challenge ... urm - hopefully :)