TNCC - October 2014 Stripes #3

Time for another challenge mani for October...this is my 3rd striped mani for the month, and I'm not so sure I like it.  It's probably because I liked the base of this so much, I hated covering it up.

GOT Polish for 2/27/2014: Orange

It's Thursday again, time for the GOT Polish challenge.  It feels good to start getting back into some easy-going challenges, although fighting to get motivation sometimes is a little tough, since winter just does not want to leave the Chicago area.



This week is orange, and it's a tough one.  I don't have many orange polishes at all, and I have almost none that are over a year old.  So pickings for this week were very slim.  I'm toeing the line here with the color choice, but it's the only color I have that I was willing to wear out of the house right now.  It's a fiery orange...like a dark fire opal, or an orange-y tomato red.  And just FYI, my camera was NOT happy with this polish.  I did the best I could to get the color correct, so my skin tone may look a little weird.

Spotlight Saturday for 9/28/2013

OK, so I had this post done, you know on SATURDAY, when I was supposed to post it.  Turns out I saved and closed it instead of publishing.  Woops!!

 



 

Spotlight Saturday, and I've got a drugstore polish this week.  This is not my usual kind of color pairing, but I just can't stop staring at my nails. 

A Wedding Day big fat fail!

Hello all - a rare non-challenge post for me.  I can't sleep, so I figured I may as well do SOMETHING. 

One of my favorite indie brands, KraftyGurl, has this gorgeous polish called Wedding Day.  Soft and pale pink, blue & green (or are they yellow?) glitters with some whites and holos thrown in the mix - LOVE IT.  I had envisioned a pretty manicure with this beauty, but there was a disconnect somewhere between my mind and my fingers.

ABC Challenge - "Q" is for Queen of Speed

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Hello all!  I got very lucky this week.  I had this "Q" in my stash that was my fallback in case I didn't think of anything else better, so I didn't feel too pressured trying to figure out what to do.  And best of all, it is the perfect base for my themed manicure that fits right in this time of the year.

Before the photos, let me just tell you two things:  1) I live near Chicago, and 2) I am a rabid hockey fan.  So, regular season just ended on Saturday 4/27, and the best team in the NHL is...drumroll, please...the Chicago Blackhawks.  But the post-season is just beginning this week, and everything basically resets to zero.  It doesn't matter what they did anymore, it's what they do from here on out.  **UPDATE - And all they did was win game 1...in overtime.  YAY!**  So to show my appreciation for the best professional sports team in the city, I did a little Blackhawks inspired manicure.  Oh, and the team colors?  Red, black, and white.

Queen of Speed from Color Club is a VERY sheer red - it would have taken a lot of coats for full opacity.  I was not willing to wait that long, so I used a coat of Wisp underneath, with two coats of the Queen.  It made this polish a very bright red.  PERFECT.

Not sure why pointer finger looks so orange...
doesn't look that way in real life.

For my thumb, I did a base of Wisp, and sponged on the red, green, yellow and orange (these are the colors in the feathers in the logo).  Is it a little messy? Yes; my transfers weren't the best, and my lines...looks like I was a little drunk when I drew them.  Unfortunately, I was not. 

Colors used:
Black striper
Midnight in NY (black shimmer) - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure
Wisp (white) - Sinful Shine
Queen of Speed (red) - Color Club
Fresh (green) - Orly
Let's Meet (yellow) - Sinful
Drive Me Crazy (orange) - Pure Ice

And here is my inspiration:

I used Lisa's at LOZLOSA newspaper technique (yes, again), for the tomahawks and the Indian head logos.  My only issue:  they are backwards on the nail (obviously).  I think I know how to correct that, so with a little tweaking and playing with my software, I can get these images flipped before I print, so they transfer correctly.  **UPDATE - found a free online flipping tool, and have reversed images in less than 2 minutes.**

I had a little bit of trouble this time, because I was TOO DAMN IMPATIENT.   I wanted this manicure on my nails, RIGHT NOW, and they are messy.  I don't feel as bad as I should - work has been brutal on my hands this past week, and they are already looking pretty sad.  I'm going to have to redo them, but as long as the Blackhawks are in the playoffs, I'll be sporting some version of this.

So, here is my weekly shout out to Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner, the master of ceremonies to this little challenge.  Even though we are (quickly) coming to the end of the alphabet, there are still 9 weeks left...plenty of time to join.  And just because the alphabet will be ending, doesn't mean that the challenges will be over.  If you are interested in jumping in, it is a closed group.  You will need to click on the ABC Challenge tab on her web page, and shoot her an e-mail to request to join.  Simple as that.

Now, onward.
Liz

ABC Challenge - "J" for Jindie Nails

Another week, another letter.  This week is going to be short and sweet.  I was planning green with St. Patrick's Day theme - got the first color on my fingers and it did NOT look good at all.  Green - at least the light greens I have that start with "J" - are not working for me while I am winter pale. 

In the middle of this dilemma, I got nail mail from Jindie.  Problem solved.  Although I still look deathly pale, I love this polish.  It's just fun.  Excuse the nicks and cuts all over my fingers - spent the day at work filing and handling papers, and couldn't keep my hands moisturized enough and got pretty cut up.

Jindie Nails - Barbies Have More Fun (pink and black round and micro matte glitter)
over Pure Ice - Superstar! (plain white)






















Take a peek at all the other ladies in the challenge below, and thanks again to Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner for bringing us together.

Have a good week everyone!