Sunday Stamping: Between Jelly Layers...

I decided to take part in today's Sunday Stamping challenge for Adventures in Stamping. The challenge for this week is to sandwich stamping in between layers of jelly polish. It sounded like a fun technique to try to give some depth to the manicure. This is actually my second attempt at this manicure. My first attempt was ruined by using a jelly that wasn't sheer enough. Turns out I don't have very many sheer jellies because I never felt I had a need for them. Now I'm on a quest to find more because this was messy but fun...

This manicure has a WAY more layers than I would normally want in my manicure. Waiting for everything to dry enough to stamp was a nightmare. It is a good thing I'm pretty stubborn. If you are curious as to what exactly makes up this manicure, read on...

I started out with a white base, a coat of OPI Blue it Out of Proportion and a coat of OPI Pirouette My Whistle. I then stamped the seaweed pattern using white nail polish with the MoYou London Sailor Collection 05 plate. On top of the stamping I added two coats of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu! and a coat of Pirouette My Whistle. I then stamped using the same pattern from MoYou London Sailor Collection 05 plate just slightly shifted down. I topped all of that off with Blue it Out of Proportion, added my self made decals of the sea creatures and stamped a little bit more of the same pattern in white along the corners. And just because that wasn't enough, I dabbed Pirouette My Whistle around for a bit of sparkle. Phew! It's about 13 coats of polish, not including the stamping.

To create the decals I used MoYou London Sailor Collection 01. I stamped using Color Club Lady Holiday and colored them in using white acrylic paint. This was my first time trying out MoYou London stamping plates and I'm really pleased with their quality...

What do you think of this manicure?

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: The Great Thanksgiving Heist...

Is seems like ages since the last time I participated in a Sunday Stamping challenge for the group Adventures in Stamping. With the holidays quickly approaching, this week's theme is Thanksgiving or Winter nails. I chose to go with the Thanksgiving theme and I'm happy to present my manicure to you. I have affectionately been referring to it as "The Great Thanksgiving Heist"...

The manicure started out with a base of Nicole by OPI Who Red My Journal??? stamped with Essie Good as Gold using Messy Mansion plate MM19. I recently purchased the Essie Mirror Metallics collection (all except for the silver) for stamping and they all work perfectly! Essie Good as Gold is just slightly lighter, more of a champagne gold, than my favorite Maybelline Bold Gold, but works just as well...

I created stamped decals for the rest of the images. The woodland creatures are from the same Messy Mansion MM19 plate. I stamped with SinfulColors Black on Black and then colored them in using acrylic paints. The pumpkin is also stamped with Black on Black using Bundle Monster plate BM-H11 and colored in using acrylic paint. To give the creatures a bit of a base to stand on, I added gold tips using Good as Gold...

I imagine the little fox sneaking in to steal the pumpkin for a big Thanksgiving celebration in the forest. The two hedgies are standing guard while the theft takes place. The perfect heist, although looks like the hedgie on my pinkie nail is asleep on the job. This is because I used a stamper to stamper technique to flip him and he got distorted in the processes, but I think it turned out even better that way...

Let me know what you think of this manicure!

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 Over Black Base

I've been in a bit of a nail art funk lately after burning out halfway through the 31 Day Nail Challenge. I'm still determined to finish it, but for today I decided to take part in a different challenge. It has been way too long since I participated in Sunday Stamping with the group Adventures in Stamping. Somehow these challenges always get my creative juices flowing and today's theme of stamping over black turned to this...

For this manicure I started out with a base of Wet 'n Wild Black Creme...

I then added three coats of Essence Fly Firefly Fly glow in the dark top coat. It does alter the base color a bit which is why it looks gray rather than black...

I stamped the spiderweb from Bundle Monster plate BM-H07 using Color Club Cherubic, a peachy holographic beauty. The spiders were stamped using Pure Ice Silver Mercedes and Bundle Monster plate BM13. Each spider accented with a red rhinestone...

And now for the glow in the dark shot. Is it OK to admit that it actually creeps me out in the dark? The spiders look too real for comfort... *shudder*. I'm debating entering these in the Bundle Monster nail art contest....

A few photos of Essence Fly Firefly Fly before all the stamping. This is three coats over black. I originally tried just two coats as suggested on the bottle, but it didn't glow quite bright enough. It glows really brightly in the bottle (see photo above), but this doesn't quite translate onto the nail. The effect seems to fade rather quickly after the lights are out. Swatches are with no top coat...

Over black, you can see the little fluorescent particles. More coats equals more particles, less visible base and brighter glow...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Essence Color Name/Number: 18 Fly Firefly Fly Number of coats: 3 (layered over black) Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

I'd love to know what you think of this manicure!

P.S. Sorry if I freaked any of you out with spiders :)

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: Autumn

Today it is time for the Sunday Stamping challenge in Adventures in Stamping. The theme today is Autumn nails. I've got just a quick manicure to show you. I didn't create it specifically for the challenge, but it happened to fit the theme and I since I have not had time in the past few days to play around with nail polish and create something new, I figured I would share this one...

I started out with a base of Shimmer Trisha over OPI Lost on Lombard. For the stamping I used Winstonia plate W119 and Maybelline Bold Gold. I should really stock up on Bold Gold because I'm making good use out the small bottle that I have. I'm tempted to stamp everything with it because let's face it... gold just goes with everything and this particular gold works perfectly even over glitter...

Are you all ready for turkey time? Gobble, Gobble! :D

Shimmer Trisha is a clear base packed with a variety of  glitter colors and sizes. It is predominantly on the warmer scale with glitter in orange, gold and copper shades, but it also has beautiful blue glitter peppered throughout for a bit of contrast. I used one generous coat over OPI Lost on Lombard. Swatches are with a top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Shimmer Collection: core Color Name/Number: Trisha Number of coats: 1 (layered over OPI Lost on Lombard) Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

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

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: Glitzy Glam

Well since one challenge is not enough for me, I decided to take part in the Sunday Stamping challenge in Adventures in Stamping as well. Someone smack me next time I have the idea to schedule enough posts to last my entire vacation! This week the challenge is Glitzy Glam nails. Here is what I came up with...

For this manicure, I sandwiched Essie Set in Stones in between two coats of the dark blue Color Club Williamsburg jelly. It is such a gorgeous combination and I'm sad I didn't get to wear it longer! For the stamping I used Pure Ice Silver Mercedes and Pueen plate Pueen26. I used this mirror image stamping technique to reverse the image on my ring finger...

Again, sorry for the lobster hands! I wish I knew why blogger is messing with me...

Here is what Essie Set in Stones looked like over Color Club Williamsburg...

And here is the yummy glitter jelly sandwich...

Let me know what you think of this! Do you think it is 'glitzy glam'?

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: Over a Nude Base

It is once again that day of the week when I take on a Sunday Stamping challenge in the group Adventures in Stamping. Today's theme is to stamp over a nude base. The open ended theme really had me stumped with no idea what I was going to do until I sat down to do it. Then this happened...

To create this manicure, I started with the nude base of Zoya Avery. I stamped the flower pattern from Pueen plate Pueen25 using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Quick Brick. I absolutely love the images in this set, but they are too short for my nails, so I must be creative. Oh Pueen, why do you torture me so? A few millimeters longer (or just minus the pesky curve) and I would be using this set all the time. As it is, I just glance at it and sigh! Okay, sorry, I digress...

To make up for the short images, I decided to try the latest cutout trend. Using a small brush and and acetone, I cleared the polish from the half-moon of each nail. Then with a detail brush, I lined the half-moon and the tips with Zoya Neve before adding the glitter...

The glitter bled as soon as I added a top coat! I didn't even think to test it first... so sad! FYI, this is glitter from the Nail Art mini bottles found at the Dollar Tree. Beware, they can bleed!

Ugh! Just look at that bleeding glitter! I cry and run to buy new loose glitter...

A few fresh swatches of the beautiful Zoya Avery because I'd like to think my swatches improved since I first swatched it here ;)

Avery is a full coverage nude cream. It is opaque in just two coats. Formula is very smooth and easy to apply. I used a top coat in these swatches...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Zoya Collection: Feel, Winter 2011 Color Name/Number: Avery, ZP596 Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

This manicure reminds me of something, but I can quite place my finger on it... any ideas?

I'd love to know what you think!

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 **