Sunday Stamping: Unnatural Animals

This week the stamping challenge for the group Adventure in Stamping was truly a fun one. The challenge was a stamped manicure with the theme of unnatural animals. I have been wanting to try a rainbow gradient animal print for quite a while, so this was the perfect opportunity for it. What could be more unnatural than a rainbow zebra?

For the gradient I used the technique of layering all the colors on a cosmetic sponge and then sponging them on all at once. I'm so in love with this technique that now I look for any excuse to do a gradient. I stamped using Wet 'n Wild Black Creme and Bundle Monster plate BM-223. I then matted the whole thing using Essie Matte About You. The matte topcoat smudged the stamped pattern a bit, so in hindsight I probably should have used a regular top coat first and then the matte.The good news is that the smudges are only visible up close :)

A few shots of what the gradient looked like before I stamped and matted it. For the base I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, a soft white with a hint of gray. Swatches of that polish are coming soon. For the rest of the colors I used nearly every polish from the Color Club POPtastic collection. Scroll down to see the full list...

Colors used (left to right): Wet 'n Wild Caught Red Handed, Color Club Wham! Pow!, Almost Famous, Twiggie, Chelsea Girl and Pucci Licious. I love this collection when I need primary colors for a manicure. The only thing it is missing in my opinion is a good red hence why I had to use a Wet 'n Wild Polish. The set contains two pinks instead which I didn't use for this manicure. You can see the cosmetic sponge that I used and my "palette" to dab on. The purple didn't actually make it onto my nails since they were too short. Guess there is always next time :D

I would love to know what you think of this! What kind of unnatural animal would you have created?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

I'm home!

I'm finally home after a week long trip of vising family in Chicago and attending a gorgeous wedding. I am so thrilled that I got to go and wish the newlyweds all the best! I had scheduled posts for my time away and intended to reply to comments while there, but I ended up with no internet access. I did borrow a smart phone here and there, but I'm seriously incapable of functioning on those so I couldn't respond. I will be catching up with all your comments as soon as I can :)

Since being back I have things to catch up on at home and I've had to work longer hours to make up for some of the time off so I have no manicures to show you. Instead I want to show you just a few photos from the trip. It was my first trip to Chicago and I really fell in love with the city...

Baha'i Temple that is absolutely stunning. We got lucky with the weather, it was sunny although really cold...

View of downtown through the fog...

I did end up coming home with a few new polishes. A set of 4 elf polishes and three Spoiled polishes: The Parking Meteor Expired, Toad-ally Amazing, and Are Mermaids Real?

The Spoiled polishes are CVS exclusive and we are not privy enough to have a CVS in Seattle so I'm excited to get my hands on these. There were a lot of other beautiful colors in the Spoiled line, but the ones that caught my eye were either dupes to existing Wet 'n Wild polishes (the parent company to Spoiled) or looked like dupes to Sinful Colors polishes. I tried not to get dupes, but I did end up getting Toad-ally Amazing which I am now convinced is a dupe to Sinful Colors Mint Apple...

I will hopefully catch up with what I need to do soon so I can come back to blogging, commenting, and being a better follower of other blogs. I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment at how many unread blog posts I have in my reader. :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

OPI Vintage Minnie Mouse Polka Dot

I just couldn't resist creating a polka dot manicure with polishes from the OPI Vintage Minnie Mouse collection. Minnie Mouse and polka dots just two things that always go together in my mind. For the base I started out with OPI I'm All Ears on all the fingers except the ring finger. The dots were added using OPI If You Moust You Moust. The ring finger has the colors reversed (If You Moust You Moust for the base and I'm All Ears for the dots).

The colors work so well together for a nice, subtle polka dot manicure. I love the shimmer of I'm All Ears that comes through in the dots on the ring finger...

What do you think of this polka dot manicure? :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** These polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **