Prom (a bit late)

As a high school librarian, I come into contact with kids and teenagers everyday.  I have the chance to make a difference in some of their lives.  Sometimes it is in a big way and at other times it may be something small.  This year I had a student that spent a lot of time at school with me and she became homeless during the school year.  She struggled  with having the money needed to buy all the things that go along with a senior year.  When she asked if I would mind to do her nails for prom, I had no problem saying yes.  So I brought my nail stuff to school and we played nail salon in the library.

  I know that it was something small, but I hope that even that little bit helped and maybe made her day.  She said it did.  The nails turned out really pretty and went perfectly with her dress (which is amazing because I hadn't seen the dress and had to guess at the color!)

Paint Drip

I have seen so many Paint Drip manis on the web and have been wanting to try one for a while.  I saw one similar to this and just loved it.  It was really easy to create.  I started with a base coat of white then added the black stripes.  Then I used a lilac color to create the drips.  I outlined them in black and added white accent stripes for simulated shine. Voila! Paint drip nails.  I have really enjoyed the contrast between the white/black and the purple.

Shattered Glitter

These nails were very quick and easy to accomplish.  I painted the two accent nails with two different kinds of silver glitter then a top coat of some fat silver glitter that has moon, star, and diamond confetti in it.  I painted the other nails black with silver tips.  Then using black I painted the accent nails with the broken lines.  I started with a diamond or triangle shape in the middle and went outwards from there.  I wish you could see all the glitter and shine on the accent nails.  The picture really doesn't do it justice.

Going Cartoon!

I am in love with the nail art tutorials put out by CutePolish on YouTube.  Each week she has a simple yet impressive design.  She explains very clearly and concisely how to acheive her awesome looks.  Plus most videos are only a couple of minutes long.  I saw this design the other day and told my students that I was going to turn into a cartoon over the weekend.  And I did, at least my nails did.  This was such an interesting concept and so simple of a design.  Plus it introduced me to matte top coat which (I am ashamed to admit) I didn't know exsisted.  I had always wondered how you were able to protect your matte manis and now I know.  I really liked this nail art and was pleased with the response I got from it (especially from my students who love anime).  Check out the picture and click the link to view CutePolish's video tutorial.

Cute Polish Animated Nails Tutorial

April Showers Brought May Flowers

It is finally spring although it doesn't feel like it outside.   I did not ask for my May to start out with rain and cool temps, but nobody asked me. So I decided to bring some springtime elements into my nail art.  This design was super easy.  Just a layer of pretty pink and some pinkish iridescent over that.  Then using a white striper I created the flowers and finally added a yellow dot for the center.  Very simple but I was pleased with the results.  I think it would also be cute with different colored flowers on each side.

Marble Nail (attempt)

So I saw a really cool water marble technique on YouTube and wanted to give it a shot.  The idea is that you paint your nails a base color or colors and then use black polish on the water and spray it with hand sanitizer.  The sanitizer eats holes through the black polish then you dip your nail into it.  This creates a layer over the base coat has has rips, tears, or holes in it.  Very cool - if you can get it to work.  I have looked everywhere for spray hand santizer and am having a very difficult time finding it.  So I thought to myself perhaps the effect is mostly created by the alcohol in the sanitzer.  I decided to test my theory by using whiteboard cleaner instead since I had some of that already.  It didn't work exactly like the video, but it did give me some interesting results.  I plan to continue my search for the hand sanitzer and try again soon.  Still I kinda like the look.  I think maybe next time I will try hot pink underneath a hole-ly layer of bright purple.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!

Hello, all!  We went to Disney this year for spring break and it was amazing.  It was, of course, incredibly busy, but tons of fun all the same.  I knew that I needed something Disney for my nails for the week and finally came up with this idea.  I was very pleased with it.  I even got some embarassing attention from one of the performers when I got called to the stage to "help"the band via the cowbell.  The leader announced that I must not have been able to decide which color to paint my nails and decided to go with four different colors.  I showed him the Mickey on my thumb and he said "Wow! That's creative!"  This design was not all that impressive but I enjoyed having it in the Disney spirit.

Rainbow Stripes and Hearts

Wow!  This manicure was so easy, so much fun, and garnered loads of compliments.  I hated to take it off after a week and I will certainly do this one again.  I began with a base coat of white and added the two side stripes on each nail of yellow, pink, green, and purplely blue.  When I painted those colors I used a thin coat and somewhat unevenly so that a bit of the white would show through like whitewashing.  I liked the effect.  Then I added the center stripe of either orange or light blue.  Next using a dotting tool to create my hearts.  I did this by placing two small dots in a row on the nail and then pulling each of them diagonally to meet at the bottom. Instant hearts!

This Little Piggy

Anyone who visits my library or my home can instantly see that I adore pigs.  My students love to point pigs out to me from books or on the Internet.  My two children are quick to let me know if they see any kind of pig anything in a store or on tv.  I decided this week to combine two of my favorite things _ pigs and nails.  I have really enjoyed these and love seeing people smile or even giggle when they realize I have Piggies on my finger nails.
These were very simple although there was dry time in between the steps.  I started with some sparkly blue polish for a base, then added light pink half moons on the tips.  With a dotting tool, I added hot pink triangles for ears and a smaller half moon on the very tip.  Lastly I used a black striper to add snout holes and eyes.  So cute!

Cupcakes

Yum!  I love me some cupcakes.  Especially with loads of icing and sprinkles!  I had to try some cupcake nails in tribute to one of my favorite sweet treats. I started with a couple coats of a shimmery blue then added pink halfway up the nail for the cupcake holder.  I then put purple stripes on the cupcake holder.  Next I used white to make the fluffy icing and put a red dot cherry on top.  I personally don't like cherries (or any fruit for that matter) but I thought it kinda completed the cupcake.  You can't really tell in the photo due to the lighting. but I also added some iridescent glitter on top of the icing. I love glitter!

Busy Bee Nails

Hurry up Spring!  I am so ready for sunshine, warm weather, and working out in the garden.  This is a mani to hopefully put me in a spring mood even if the weather doesn't comply.  This nail art was pretty easy.  I started with a base coat of a springy sky blue and then used yellow and a dotting tool to make the little bee's body.  Over the yellow I added the black stripes, flight trail, and other doo-dads.  Then I sponged on some clouds with white.  Added a layer of top coat and you have busy bee nails.  I got lots of compliments on these - everybody thought that were quite cute.  Maybe these nails helped put other people in a springy mood as well.

Lime Zebra

This this nail design, I started with a lime green base.  This is the prettiest color, but it is so strong that it bleeds onto and through other colors, even with top coat under and on top of it.  After putting on the base coat, I added a diagonal stripe of white across the nail.  The white then bled into a light green.  I free-handed zebra stripes across the white (now light green) and then added a border of silver glitter striper.  I think this style could be accomplished with just about any color and look great.

Valentine's Hearts

Happy Valentine's Week!  This is the week of love and what better way to show my love for my sweet husband than to honor him in my nail art design this week.  I choose to have a pink base with red and white hearts stamped on.  On my thumb I also stamped on his name, Brian (although in the picture it is hard to see the "I" so it looks like "Bran"OOPS)  After the stamping I put on a layer of pink based glitter.  This turned my white stamped hearts into light pink stamped hearts but I would up liking the effect.  I was pleased with them and I like the little reminder of my husband of 12 years every time I glance down at my nails.  Happy love week ya'll!

Disco Nails

I have a very simple design for today. I had ordered some glequins and knew they would be coming in any day now. So I had a dilemma, I needed to change my nail design, but I really wanted to use my glequins as soon as I got them. So I decided to do something quick and easy. Something that I would not be devastated to take off earlier than usual. So I chose a hot pink polish with an accent nail of some gunmetal glitter that I had wanted to try out.  When I was finished I decided they needed something else, so I added the small decals.  Those are so handy in a pinch.  I was pleased with the results. What I wasn't pleased with was the amount of time it took to remove the glitter polish. That is always the worst part. Hope you enjoy this simple, yet effective design.

Galaxy Nails

I know you have all seen plenty of galaxy nails all over Pinterest.  I have fallen in love with this nail design.  I have wanted to try it for a long time but really felt too intimidated.  So after pinning about a million versions of it and sitting around on a Saturday with a few hours to work on my nails, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a shot.  Here are my results.  I will say that for my first try I was very pleased with the outcome.  And they really weren't that hard thanks to my favorite nail artist/teacher on YouTube, cute polish.  Below you can see the picture of my nails and I have added a link to the video tutorial that I watched to be able to accomplish this.  Give it a try too!

Check out the tutorial here: Galaxy Nails by cute polish

Spun Sugar Nails

I have seen so many version of this interesting nail art technique and I thought I would give it a spin.  The idea is to pour out a small amount of polish on something and stir it around until it dries just enough to make it "string" when you pull your stirrer up.  I hope that made sense.  It is kinda like making peanut brittle and you wait until the mixture makes a string of sugar from the spoon when pulled out of the pan.  After you have said string of polish, you lay it across your nail.  Then do this about 30 more times per nail (which takes quite a while, mind you) and you're done!  I used just one color for the spun sugar overlay this time, but I think that it would look good to layer four or five different "sugar strings" or maybe sponge several colors on the nail and then lay black polish strings over the top of it.  I enjoyed it - hope you do too.

Rock Candy Nails

Hello all!  I hope that everybody is having a great start to 2013.  I got some interesting nail art stuff in my stocking and I couldn't wait to give it a try.  I am not sure if these pieces are bits of rock or maybe shell, but when I put them on my nails they reminded me of rock candy.  Anywho, I put down a layer of this strange but fun greeny color then added purple glitter and finally the rock candy stuff on top.  I had to use a bonder top coat instead of my usual clear coat.  I was very surprised with how well these decorations stayed on.  I thought they would get caught on things and pop off, but, to my amazement, they stayed on for a whole week.  I loved the color combination and can't wait to try the same basic style with different colors.  Kudos to my hubby for picking out the fun nail art.  Unfortunately for my picture the remains of last week's manicure is visible around the edges of my nails.  I had some bright neon green that didn't want to leave.  I scrubbed and scrubbed my nails after removing the color and then did a soak in baking soda and peroxide (which usually does the trick).  I don't know what possessed it to hang on so long, but it is what it is.