31DC2013 Day 10 - Gradient

It is time for Day 10 of the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge. The theme today is gradient nails. Although I'm sure this Fall manicure is not in line with my current mood on a (hopefully) sunny vacation. The few days before I left, Seattle was really looking like Fall with rain and thunderstorms. Granted it was still warm, but looking like sweater weather never the less...

For this manicure I created a gradient using three Zoya shades from the Cashmeres collection, Hunter, Pepper and Sailor. I stamped the pattern using Nailz Craze plate NC 03 and Wet 'n Wild French White Creme...

Doesn't this look like the perfect Holiday sweater?..

A look at what the gradient looked like before the stamping. I just love these Zoya Fall shades together...

What do you think of this manicure? Not ready for sweater weather yet?

P.S. This post is pre-scheduled while I'm on vacation. I may not be able to respond to comments until I return, but I greatly appreciate them and will respond as soon as I return!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

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

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

Sunday Stamping: Multiple Colors

I'm going to try to keep this post brief because it is starting to get light outside and I still have not gone to bed. I had four hours of sleep last night followed by a very long day and when I got home at 3 am today this is what I decided to do instead of going to bed. I've had this idea for today's Sunday Stamping challenge in my head all day and it had to be done. The challenge today is to stamp with multiple colors on one image...

For this manicure I started out with a base of Wet 'n Wild Black Creme. I stamped the design using Nailz Craze plate NC 03 with Pure Ice First Time and Essence Stamp Me! White. The reason I used white is because I don't have a good stamping red, so I stamped the strawberries using white and the stems using First Time. I then sponged over the white using Nicole by OPI Challenge Red-y. It is not the cleanest operation, so I definitely need to find a good red to stamp with. For the red berries, I again used Challenge Red-y to dot over them. Finally using KleanColor Metallic Yellow, I added small gold dots throughout the design...

I'm so excited about how this manicure turned out. It was inspired by a pair of Russian souvenir spoons that I kidnapped from my parents for photos. The NC 03 Russian themed plate is a spot on match for these spoons and I've been wanting to try this manicure for a while. Today's theme finally gave me the excuse to do it...

I hope you enjoy this mani! I'm heading to bed :)

P.S. I got new lights for my light box that I'm still experimenting with. The color of the manicure is true to life, but my skin tone looks a bit off...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Some polishes used in this post were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

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

Blue Flowers Over Holo...

This is a manicure that I wore a while ago, but am only now getting the chance to show it to you. Truth be told I'm sneaking it in here because I'm a bit behind on swatching what I had intended to show you today. Instead I hope to distract you with this sweet blue number...

The base of the manicure is the beautiful Color Club Over the Moon, a strong blue holographic stunner. I stamped the floral pattern from Nailz Craze plate NC 03 using OPI OPI...Eurso Euro. I adore this floral pattern and can see myself using it in lots of different color combos...

That's it for today. Expect more short little post in the next few days as I scramble to catch up :)

Thanks for looking and commenting!
Anutka :)

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

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

Sunday Stamping: Orange Base

It is once again time for the Sunday Stamping in the group Adventures in Stamping. This week the challenge is to stamp over an orange base. It gave me the perfect opportunity to create a manicure I've been thinking about for a while. I even bought brown flocking powder specifically for this little guy. For those of you from Russia or the former Soviet Union, he needs no introduction, but for those who have not seen him before, his name is Cheburashka. He is a sweet and lovable children's cartoon character...

Cheburashka is a creature of unknown species who lived in a tropical forest. One day he climbed into a crate of oranges and fell asleep. While sleeping in the crate he gets transported to a grocery store in Russia. From there his adventures begin. Given Cheburashka's affection for oranges, he fit perfectly with today's theme of an orange base...

I started out with a base of OPI A Roll in the Hague and stamped the orange slice pattern from the Winstonia plate W118 using Wet 'n Wild French White Creme. I created a decal of Cheburashka by stamping him with Sally Hansen Coco a-go-go and Nailz Craze plate NC 03. I chose to create a decal rather than stamping him directly on the nail so that I could color in the face and belly using orange acrylic paint, without loosing the stamped facial features...

Since Cheburashka is a fuzzy little creatures, I had fun with some flocking powder and I'm so thrilled with how he turned out...

Here is a close up of the little guy. I think he might be my new blog mascot. In hind sight I should have colored his eyes white, but I completely forgot until searching for an image to show you. Also, I probably should have made his face lighter since he turned out a bit too orange. I suppose that just gives me an excuse to do a manicure with him again...

Here is a photo of the toy version of Cheburashka!

source 

A few fresh swatches of OPI A Roll in the Hague, a beautiful orange cream. The formula on this one is very nice and smooth, easy to apply. Only problem with this one is it stains my skin yellow. Swatches are two coats with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: OPI Collection: Holland, Spring 2012 Color Name/Number: A Roll in the Hague, NL H53 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

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

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