40 GREAT NAIL ART IDEAS - HOBBIES

Week #1

PUZZLE BOOKS

I've signed up for a new challenge!  Yay!  This is week one and the theme (as my post title shows) is hobbies.  I don't know why I struggled with this one...I think because I knew my stamper is, well, shit.  I have another one coming in the mail and **hope** it will be here soon.

There were so many I could have chosen, but ultimately decided puzzle books.  In colder weather - like we have suddenly gotten here in Chicago - I like to curl up and either read a book or do these.  Word puzzles and mazes in a book, with a good old No. 7 pencil.  Kinda old school, but when I was growing up these kinds of books were just EVERYWHERE.  Working on them makes me a little nostalgic.

Crumpet's 52 week challenge - Week #4

Week #4 - 70's and/or grey + color

I'm back, and this is a week I've been dreading.  I didn't want to do the grey & color theme, because that would be easy.  I decided at the beginning that I was going to do the 70's, but how do I do it without it looking like...the 70's?  Avocado green, mustard yellow, rust, shag carpet...if you were alive and cognizant in that decade, you know what I'm talking about.

I ended up searching for some images, and came across 3 that I incorporated into this week's challenge, and I gotta say, I'm pleasantly surprised.  This works as an OK fall mani.  Yay me!

TNCC - October 2014 Stripes #2

I've got another Nail Challenge Collaborative post for the October 2014 theme of Stripes.  I went monochromatic this week, and I think it looks pretty cool.

TNCC - October 2014 Stripes #1

Back with another challenge mani, this time for The Nail Challenge Collaborative.  Every month a new theme is voted on, and October is stripes.  I've had this one on for a few days, because there has been no sunshine here for about a week.  This is day 6...it's been touched up though, so don't think it looks like this after almost a whole week.

NOTD for Monday 2/24/2014: Sinful Colors Orange Crush

I have a pretty orange polish for today - a little bottle of much needed sunshine.  Anyone that knows me knows that I ABSOLUTELY! LOVE!!! texture polishes.  When these first came out from Sinful Colors, I hunted for them forever, only to find out that they were exclusive to Rite Aid. UGH!!!  There are no Rite Aids anywhere near me, but thankfully my friend Dionne @ Glittery Fingers and Sparkling Toes came to my rescue and picked up the whole set for me.

GAME DAY - Blackhawks 12/27/2013

Hawks are back on the ice tonight after a short Christmas break...yeah baby!!!!

GAME DAY - Blackhawks 11/17/2013

All hell is broke loose here today, and I gotta tell you, it freaked me out a little.  More than a couple tornados were touching down in towns not too far from me today, and one of the potential storm tracks brought that super-cell over my town.  It didn't happen, but I was holding my breath for a couple of hours today.  It got so bad, they evacuated Soldier Field and delayed the Bears game - when was the last time you heard of something like that?  Football plays in anything!  Scary stuff in the middle of November.

Anyway, Blackhawks game day - another back-to-back weekend for them.  I hated to take off my Spotlight Saturday manicure.  I will definitely be wearing that again.

Mish Mash Challenge #12: Flower

Hello everyone! So, I missed last weeks challenge post. I did the manicure, but never got around to taking photos. With the holiday on Monday I got thrown off a little bit, and missed the cutoff to post in the inlinkz group...so, fudge it.

This week's challenge is flower.  I'm not a floral kind of gal...you won't see me sporting tulips or calla lilies.  This topic is way out of my comfort zone.  My artwork skills are seriously lacking, so I decided to do something a little abstract.  And, crazy enough, I kind of like the finished look.

Spotlight Saturday for 10/12/2013

Today is neutral day with my manicure.  Grey base polish with a black-and-holo microglitter in a clear base  topper.  It is so sparkly! I apologize for the photos - I took them in direct sun a couple of days ago, and didn't notice until now just how washed out they are.

GAME DAY NOTD! - Blackhawks 10/9/13

It's fall, and that means HOCKEY season!!  There's football too, but nothing beats hockey for me. Tonight's game is against the Blues, so to commemorate tonight's game & the beginnings of the hockey season, here's my game day mani:

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. 

Mish Mash Challenge #5: Music

Ah, music...I wasn't sure what I was going to do for this week.  I got a stamping plate from Cheeky that I wasn't expecting for a couple more weeks, so I was going to do the music notes, staff, instrument thing, but then...the VMA's happened (and just an FYI - this is one of the rare posts where I have video's embedded; with this challenge topic, I couldn't pass up the opportunity).  For those that don't know, MTV has an annual Video Music Award program, and no, it is not Miley Cyrus inspired.  That would have been a nude colored polish with a mouth and tongue accent nail...oh yea, and a foam finger worked in somewhere...

Tri-Polish Challenge: August #3

Crumpet's Nail Tarts Tri-Polish Challenge for August 2013 - colors are Red, Yellow and Green.  This is my #3 manicure for this month, and with the oppressive heat outside, and only a small portable A/C unit in the house, I opted for something light...and fast. Plus, I want to work on my stamping, and this week is perfect for it.

Tri-Polish Challenge: August #2

AUGUST 2013 colors:  Red, Yellow, and Green.  Oy!

Crumpet's Nail Tarts:  Tri-Polish Challenge.  It's 4 manis using three different color polishes.  The colors are given for each month, and you have to use the same 3 for all 4 manicures.

So, since yellow is just not my thing for a base, I decided to switch it around for this manicure.  Still a little stumped for creativity for the moment, so I went with and old favorite - a dotticure.

Colors used for the whole August challenge:
Love and Beauty (by Forever21) - Glittering Sea Green
Sinful Colors - Unicorn
Flower - NP14 Budding Romance

I decided to go with a red base on this one.  Flower is a brand that is exclusively sold at Walmart, and is a cosmetic line created by Drew Barrymore.  The colors are very...safe.  This particular red is very pretty.  It has a micro shimmer in it that it not a WOW kind of thing; it just makes it kind of glow when the sun hits it.

So, here it is:  my dotticure.

 















Two down.  Whew!  A few days for me to come up with something for next week!  Check out everyone else below for this crazy color combo!

Later!
Liz

Tri-Polish Challenge: August #1

AUGUST 2013 colors:  Red, Yellow, and Green.  Oy!

Crumpet's Nail Tarts has a challenge every month, called the Tri-Polish Challenge.  What is it, you ask?  Well, it's 4 manis using...you guessed it, three different color polishes.  The colors are given for each month, and you have to use the same 3 for all 4 manicures.  Simple, right? 

Well...the colors for August are:  Red, Yellow, and Green.  Can I just say O.M.G.  The only thing that popped into my head once I read those colors is a stoplight.  Can't get that image out.  So to say this is a challenge is an understatement.  I like yellow, but not on me.  And green and red?  Screams Christmas, at least to me.  Add in yellow?  There's the stoplight again.  So...yea.  I'm working on it.

ABC Challenge - "W" is for Watch it Shine

Long time everyone, but I am back to being able to post regularly!  The hell that was session B of the Spring semester at school is over, and taking 12 hours along with working full time was not a smart decision.  It was a necessary one, but definitely not smart.  I've got a week off before it starts up all over again, but I won't be working full time any longer, so I can breathe....aaaahhhhhhhh.

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

Autism Awareness Mani #3

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Been a little under the weather, so I'm a little late posting this week (I like to post these on Friday's).  Here is my 3rd blue Autism Awareness manicure, and I chose another pair of drugstore brand polishes that I found.  I LOVE the combination of these two - the glitter topper is unusual for this brand, so I snagged up the only bottle of this I have ever seen at any Walgreens.  And let me tell you, I can easily find about 20 of them within a 5-mile radius of my work and home.  Add to that, my work is about 40 miles from my home, and you could probably add another 10 that I pass on the way...we have a LOT of Walgreens in the area.

FACETED and NEPTUNE, by SINFUL Colors.

Neptune is a denim blue, with a really nice silver shimmer to it (the bottom picture is more true to color, not the lighter periwinkle-leaning top photo).  This would have been beautiful on it's own...

...but I needed some bling.  I am not sure what color those bars actually are. They change from aqua to gold to pink and even green, all mixed up with dark purple-blue micro glitter.  And FYI - I did not experience any curling with this bar glitter, but they are pretty small pieces.

We FINALLY get some sunshine in the area, and I get laid out by the nasty flu bug that is going around.  The only good thing is that it was a little chilly - we traded 60-70 degree rainy weather for 40-50 degree sunshine.  I'll take it; I can at least still see the sun out the windows!  I'd almost forgotten what it looked like.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

ABC Challenge- "M" is for Magic Attraction

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Back for another week - wow, they are coming fast.  I had originally planned for this week to do a cute manicure of the funny little guys from the animated movie "Despicable Me" - Minions. 

 

But, I didn't feel like cute.  Holidays are still hard, and the depression still sets in, though not quite as badly as Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I needed something pretty and...girly, hoping that it would help lift my mood (trust me on this - cute and juvenile would have made things worse).  So the little twinkie guys had to go, but they are still a possibility somewhere down the line. 

While I was out shopping, I always take a walk down the cosmetic aisles - not that I need to, mind you - I just can't help but make a pass through.  I wanted to pick up another bottle of the fabulous flakie I used last week, and came across the beauty I have used this week - Magic Attraction.  Here is the finished product:

 

I had to take photos of this before I did the striping on it - check out the bling:  Had to take a blurry picture to get the colors flashing off the glitter.  Sorry that photos are so washed out - with flash too bright, and without too dark.

So, I used the following - all drugstore brands this week (from left to right in photo):

1. Sinful: Starfish /  2. Pure Ice: Superstar!  / 3. Sinful:  Folly /  4. Studio M:  Magic Attraction

I'm pretty happy with the final effect.  Lines were free-handed - not too shabby, if I do say so myself.  And it did perk me up - mission accomplished.  Oh, and had to share this photo - I put this box on the futon next to me, and turned around to pick up a couple of bags of things I wanted to put in the box.  When I turned back, this is what I was greeted with:

AND her name is Maize - she fits in with the letter this week!
 

So again, big thanks to Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner for organizing this weekly challenge.  
If you are interested in joining, just head on over to her page, click on the ABC Challenge link under her banner, and get the info to e-mail her your request to join.  This is a closed group, so you will need to get the OK to be added, but anyone & everyone is welcome. We still have half the alphabet left, so plenty of time to get in.

Please stop and take a look at all the other ladies in the challenge, and enjoy the rest of the week.  Only 2 more days till the weekend starts!

ABC Challenge - "L" is for lemon-lime

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Since I was so long winded last week, I will be short (for me) on this one. I don't think I'm keeping this mani on very long. It is below freezing, blustery winds, and snow is in the forecast - again!. It was meant to perk me up and make me look forward to spring, but it's just not working...

I took this week's letter to heart, and not only is the concept comply to the rules, so do the 4 polishes I used (all were in my stash, hard to believe):

Maybelline Color Show - Lustrous Lime

Jessica - Lime Cooler
Sinful Colors - Let's Meet.
Orly - Lemonade

First time sponging, and it was fun - definitely will be doing this again.  It seemed a little blah, so I put on a topper of iridescent flakies from Studio M, and a purposeful mistake - from a comment RiaG made last week - on my accent nail with Hard Candy, Piece of Papaya.  FYI - this color is AWESOME!  I may wear Papaya and make a blog post if I do. 


Before:                                                                                        After:  Topper is:
Not bad, but too blah for my mood...                                            Studio M - Covered in Diamonds

 

It was almost impossible for me to get a photo where the greens read as green - the "naked" one on the left was the closest I could get.  In real life, it's much more noticeable.  Probably because these were yellow-greens and not blue-greens, the camera couldn't make the distinction.

And as always, cheers to Kimber's Lacquer Korner for starting off this challenge - it's never too late to join. Just see her website, and request to be included.  It is a laid back challenge - once a week, as opposed to every day - because she realized that life sometimes comes before polish.  Shocking, but true!

Thanks for taking the time to read...and now, onward to all the other lovely ladies' submissions for the letter "L"...