Sunday Stamping: Something I Love with Ulta Into Astrono-Me?

I had every intention of making and posting this manicure in time for Sunday, but time just got away from me. The weather in Seattle has been amazing and sunny and I have been spending what little daytime I have before work outside. Partly because of the weather and partly because my front (and back) yard are in major need of a clean up. My HOA gave me 30 days to clean up or else... so I got an estimate to see how much it would cost for someone else to do the work and let's just say that the $800 quote was just the push shove that I needed to get my butt outside and weeding :D

Ok, back to the topic at hand. The theme for this Sunday Stamping challenge in the group Adventures in Stamping was "Something you love." I rather enjoy open ended challenges such as this because everyone creates something completely different! One thing that I love is astrology. This love comes from years of listening to my boyfriend tell me all about the different signs of the zodiac. We enjoy analyzing the different signs and seeing how they fit or don't fit the people in our lives.

For my manicure I chose to go with the zodiac signs of my boyfriend (Leo) and me (Gemini )...

I started out with a base of Ulta Into-Astrono-Me?. Yes, I did choose it purely based on the name, but I just couldn't resist. All the stamping was done with no brand plates I got from Ebay. The stars in the background were stamped using UltaHigh Roller and plate M81. The Gemini (plate m59) and Leo (plate m55) were stamped using Pure Ice Silver Mercedes.

I love how the manicure turned out, but because the cheap Ebay plates are less than perfect, the Gemini didn't transfer too well and I think the little twins look a bit... umm... scary... Good thing I don't usually look quite this close in real life. On the other hand finger, how adorable is that Leo? :)

Ulta's Into Astrono-Me? is a darkened teal with a nice micro-shimmer. Normally I love dark colors such as this, but somehow I wasn't loving it on it's own. Maybe I'm finally craving summer colors now that the sun is out? The formula on this was nice. Two coats for full coverage and no problems with application.

It does look a lot better outside when you can see the gorgeous shimmer come out...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Ulta Collection: main line Color Name/Number: Into Astrono-Me? Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Sunday Stamping: The Sky's the Limit

It is Sunday again, which means another edition of Sunday Stamping in the group Adventures in Stamping. The challenge for today is "The Sky's the Limit." The title first had me fooled into thinking it was a free for all, but turns out it had to be something sky related including things that can be found in the sky such as clouds, birds, etc...

I was still not ready to part with my Barielle Falling Star manicure from a few days ago and it fit the theme perfectly so I just went with it. I sponged the tips using China Glaze In Awe of Amber. Then using Pure Ice Silver Mercedes I stamped the moon and the stars. Silver Mercedes by the way is my new absolute favorite stamping silver! The moon and tiny stars surrounding it come from Shany plate SH08. The larger stars are from an ebay plate M08. I'm quite happy with how this turned out considering that I'm still not feeling well enough to sit still for something more complicated...

Here is what it looked like before the stamping. I think the copper sponged tips really bring out the copper glitter in this blue polish...

I would love to know what you think of this mani!

Is it just me or does it look like the glitter sprinkled down and settled at the tips?...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Sunday Stamping using Multiple Stamps Over a Gradient

After taking two weeks off from Sunday Stamping challenges, I am excited to once again participate. Every week the members of the group Adventures in Stamping vote on a challenge theme. For the first time this week there was a tie between choices, stamping over a gradient and stamping using multiple stamps. Since both won, I thought it would be fun to combine both challenges in the same manicure.

I started out by creating a gradient using Borghese Mezanotte Blue, Color Club Chelsea Girl and Wet 'n Wild French White Creme. The tips were stamped using a pattern from an Ebay plate M88 that reminded me of waves. The fish is from a Shany plate SH19. Both were stamped using Wet 'n Wild French White Creme. It all looked kind of boring, so I colored in the fish gold using Pure Ice Bite Me. Then, using Sally Hansen Celeb City, I accented a few of the "waves." I'm loving the touch of metal in this. What do you think the chances are that this goldfish will grant me some wishes? :)

A closeup of the goldfish...

I also wanted to show you the gradient itself. To make this, I used a really easy technique that I was trying for the first time. Instead of adding one color at a time as I have done before, these are all layered onto a cosmetic wedge and sponged at the same time. The result is a much smoother gradient as the colors mix much better. It looks as though it was spray painted. I've seen a few tutorials out there, but Laynie of LaynieFingers has a great how to video on the technique, so be sure to check it out.

I keep thinking of how much this reminds me of my black to white gradient and how much quicker this was to create versus that one... Love learning new techniques!

Have you tried creating a gradient using this method?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Sinful Colors Easy Going and Sunday Stamping Challenge

It is time again for the weekly Sunday Stamping Challenge in the Facebook group Adventures in Stamping. I have been feeling sick the past few days, barely motivating myself enough to go to work and I really didn't think I would be participating in this week's challenge. I woke up (just a few hours ago) feeling a little bit better and decided to attempt something for the challenge before I have to leave for work. This week the challenge was to make a manicure using a stamping plate ending in 3. I chose one of the generic plates I got from Ebay numbered M63.

I started out with Sinful Colors Easy Going. The name seems to really match my mood at the moment. I stamped using Borghese Mezzanotte Blue and a flower image from the plate M63. Mezzanotte Blue is a very pigmented dark navy blue. In a full manicure it is so dark that most of the time it looks black, but it was perfect for stamping. To the center of the flower I added a small (2mm) pink rhinestone.

Sinful Colors Easy Going is a very light pink cream. It is almost white with just a hint of pink. The formula on this was great, opaque in two coats. The brush, however, was very stiff and left scratch marks in the polish. I have a feeling this is just a problem with the bottle that I have, since I don't usually have problems with Sinful Colors brushes. I applied three coats to even everything out and that worked just fine. This is with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Sinful Colors Collection: Main Line Color Name/Number: Easy Going, 300 Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

I hope you like my last minute attempt at the stamping challenge. I'd love to know what you think!


Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)