Feather Skittlette

You may have heard of the Skittlette contest hosted by Marta on ChitChatNails. Skittlette is a term that Marta has come up with to refer to her unique manicure style. Unlike the typical skittle manicure where each nail is different, a skittlette by Marta's definition is "a manicure consisting of two, or three, different accent nails on each hand". I like to think of it as two to three nails are the same and the rest are different.

I was really excited to challenge myself to create this style and I honestly love how it turned out. Of course I waited until the very last minute to enter since I wanted my nails to grow out as much as possible after the break. Take a look at what I created and you can see more incredible skittlette contest entries on ChitChatNails...

This manicure features feathers which were given to me by a friend. After seeing my last feather manicure, she offered to collect a few feathers from her gorgeous blue and green parrot for me. The feathers were all naturally shed so no sweet birds were harmed for this manicure. I used the tips of smaller feathers in the manicure itself and I'm holding one of the larger feathers in the photos. The colors of the feathers inspired the colors of my manicure...

On my ringer finger is SinfulColors Happy Ending, a beautiful lime green with a gold shimmer. The rest of the nails were done in Cult Nails Time Traveler, a super pigmented dark navy blue. I thought it was so appropriate to use Cult Nails for Marta's challenge as it is her gorgeous photo spreads of the lacquers that made me want to get this polish in the first place.

I added the feathers on my index and middle fingers and covered them with two or three layers (I can't remember for sure) of top coat to smooth it all out. The feather image on the ringer finger was stamped using Cult Nails Time Traveler and Mash plate Mash-29. Time Traveler is thick and pigmented enough that it worked perfectly for stamping. For the pinkie finger I used a lime green round rhinestone to match...

I'd love to know what you think of this manicure and don't forget that you can see more incredible skittlette contest entries on ChitChatNails...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Plucked Chicken!

So the title might be a somewhat misleading... I did not actually pluck or otherwise harm any chickens! Just thought it would make for a funny title. My brother and his family got five baby chicks this past spring. They have been growing and shedding some pretty feathers. I happened to be at their house a few weeks ago and picked up a few feathers outside the pen that I thought where pretty. This is a manicure I've wanted to make for quite a while, although honestly I always assumed it would be with store bought feathers. This just made it more fun...

Here are the two feathers I picked up. The pattern on these is so pretty...

For the manicure, I used a base of OPI Don't Talk Bach to Me and added the feathers. I'm not entirely sure I like this color combo, but I wanted the feathers to stand out a bit. Maybe next time I will try it over a beige base...

Here are the chicks shortly after they first got them. So little and already starting to get their pretty colors...

Here is what they looked like a few weeks ago when I got the feathers. One of those chicks turned out to be a rooster. I'm kind of hoping he looses some pretty tail feathers at some point. The little gray/orange hen at the front could also contribute...

Oh and did I mention that my mom has two hens as well that are black and white speckled... I'm seeing some feather manis in my future. This one was fun :)

P.S. As I was was sorting the photos for this post, I was also trying to read my blog subscriptions and I came across a manicure by Neues vom Kellerkind. She created a manicure using feathers from her mother's hens! Her mom's hens look just like my mom's hens... black and white speckled. What an awesome coincidence. Be sure to check out her manicure. I think she did an amazing job and it is exactly what I'd like to try next time... over beige :)

I'd love to know what you think of this! Let me know by commenting below :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

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