Weird Wednesdays ~ Meow Graffiti Nail Art ala Gnarly Gnails!

Hello Dahlings!

 

This is my 2nd attempt to make my own nail art decals, da 1st was an abysmal failure due to using overhead acetate as a base to put under da polish. Da polish bonded to it & wouldn't come off! This time I followed da instructions & used a plastic bag like Missy says to do in her tutorial: Tokidoki Graffiti Mani & Tutorial.

My technique still needs work, but at least I got usable results this time. LOL

 

 Da line up: NYC Long Wearing Extra Shiny (it's a slow drying top coat); Finger Paints Black Expressionism & Paper Mache; Orly La Vida Loca, It's Up To Blue & Close Your Eyes.

 

 Da left hand has 1 alternating nails of one coat of Black Expressionism

& 2 coats of Paper Mache.

 

 Da right hand has da same polishes on da opposite fingers. (Da 2nd coat of Paper Mache was to smooth it out. BE went on just dandy fine in one coat.)

 

 I put da black stamped decals over da white nails

& da white stamped over da black nails...

 

 and da opposite again for da left hand.

I like da black base color nails more than da white ones.

Maybe da black hides flaws better?

 

 This is my best nail. Both PM & BE stamp pretty well. Where I ran into problems was my clear decal base. As da NYC dried, it curled up & off da plastic. This did make sponging a bit of a challenge, but doable by pinning da edge down with tweezers. At least getting them off da plastic was a no brainer this time. LOL Next time I'll try putting 2 coats of clear polish down to see if da thicker base is less prone to curling. To put my DIY decals on my nails: I applied a very thin coat of da NYC on a nail then stuck da decal over it. I gently patted da decal down & used da flat end of my wooden cuticle stick to press da decal to da edge of da nail. I applied them to one nail at a time then I used da pointy end of my C stick dipped in acetone to remove da excess.

I added a coat of Seche Vite to seal it.

 

I used da cat images on my brand spanky new Cheeky Jumbo plates #8 & #9 for da stamping & they worked just fine. My stamping needs practice, but that's not da fault of da plates. Alas, I discovered da hard way that da decorative plaid Cheeky has printed on da back & front edges of these plates can be removed with acetone. If you look next to da butterfly, you can see da light aqua stripe. There used to be stripes next to da cat face

& da panda too. #8(

 

I will be trying this technique again! I just need to practice my stamping a bit more.

Thanks for stopping by for Weird Wednesdays!

~ Inky

Milani Texture Polish Nail Art!

Hello Dahlings!

 

Your  Monday Quickie is all about texture! I picked up 2 Milani Texture polishes at my local Fred Meyer & another at Milani's web site during a half price sale the had last month. I haven't been too sure about this texture fad. I know when I have flocking, fish eggs, studs or other 3D embellishments on my nails, I tend to get distracted by it...running my finger tips over the raised bits almost obsessively.

How bad would my OCD get when da whole nail is covered with texture? Let's find out...

 

 Da line up: Milani Texture in Spoiled in Fuchsia, Purple Streak & Shady Gray

 

 This is 2 coats of each. The texture becomes more obvious as da polish cures.

 

 TA DA! Yeah, I know...I just can't leave well enuf alone. LOL I added Double Line French Tips to both pinky & thumb, dots using my largest dotting tool on both index & ring, & stripes using my short striper on da middle finger. I had to go over everything twice to get good coverage, but getting the texture was worth it! While I enjoyed the sand papery feel of it & da semi gloss finish, I wondered...

How much would top coat eliminate the texture?

 

Not as much as I thot it might!

While it did soften the effect, the coat of Seche Vite mostly just added high shine.

The polish still had texture, just more like textured walls than sand paper.

 

I don't how far into this current fad I'll get, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky 

Does It Stamp? ~ More Specialty Polishes!

Hello Dahlings!

 

Today's Does It Stamp? is about Glow-in-the-dark polishes

metallic known as chromes & foils.

 

G-I-T-D ~ Born Pretty Store Hello Kitty #27, Claire's & Blue Cross pumpkin.

Alas, while my testing showed that some glow-in-the-dark polishes can be used for stamping, they don't glow in the dark if you use them this way. I think da polish layer that gets transferred to da nail is too thin for da magic to work. I choose to test da HK #27 over the other HK g-i-t-d polishes I have cuz it was almost a one coater when I used it in da past. The others I have, while they glow just fine, needed 3 coats just to even out da streakiness & had more of a jelly quality to them.

 

Chromes & Foils ~ NYC Foil'er Up, Sally Hansen Fuchsia Sapphire,

Sally Hansen Quick Color Fuchsia Chrome (polish pen) & Wet N' Wild Precious Petals.

I think pretty much any of da polishes in these lines will work for stamping.

(I chose these to test so da samples would coordinate.)

 

While these drug store brands are well known, these particular lines are no longer in stores. You can find da NYC & Sally Hansen polishes at Cassie Cosmetics on eBay The Wet N' Wild Chromes were out last summer & you still may be able to find them at some retailers or on eBay.

 

Have you been testing your polishes to find new stamping gems?

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

 

 

My Version of Chalkboard Nails Camouflage Nail Art

Hello Dahlings!

 

I had my last regular camp of da SU catalogue year last Saturday & wanted some fun nails for da event. Even tho' most of my rubber stamping peeps don't seem to notice my nails, I still like to do something fun that relates to da theme of each camp. I do it for me! I had recently seen Sarah from Chalkboard Nails Sally Hansen tutorial for Camouflage Nail Art

& thought I'd give it a try...

 

 Da line up is all L.A. Colors in: Live 571, Sparkling Fuchsia 459, Perfect Plum 471, Wired 566 & Black Pearl 472

 

 This is 2 coats of Live. It really is a one coater, but I like to use 2 coats

to smooth out da brush strokes. It works for stamping too!

Me thinks my technique needs practice! I didn't do a hideous job of it, but my colors are more blobby than Sarah's. I used the smallest ball tipped dotting tool I have, but next time I'll try da pointed tip on da other end & see if that helps.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

Weird Wednesdays ~ Smooch Your Nails!

Hello Dahlings!

 

Today's adventure into da weird is all about Smooching your nails!

 

Da line up: China Glaze Liquid Leather plus Clearsnap Smooch Pearlized Accent Inks in Moonlight, Grape Soda, Silver Fox & Plum Twist.

 

 Smooch inks are opaque, permanent, dry fast & can handle Seche Vite Fast Dry top coat! The 'brush' is more like a marker tip than a polish brush in that it has no bristles, just a soft formed point. I had pretty good control while dotting away, tho' more practice will be needed before I feel comfy enuf to freehand images. 

Ta Da! I did a dotted line of each color, going in a different direction, using the 'brush' in da bottles. I did this over 2 coats of Liquid Leather. Da Plum Twist doesn't show up well against da black polish, but it would over a slightly lighter color. I so enjoy discovering crafting supplies (that I already have) that will work for nail art!

 

Smooch inks are available online & in some craft stores. Check the rubber stamping aisle near the stamp pads & other ink supplies. To learn more about these nifty inks & what you can use them for, go visit Clearsnap.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky 

Monday Quickie!

Hello Dahlings!

 

Here's your Monday Quickie...

 

 Da line up: Blue Cross Mardi Gras (all da colors had this name on da bottom & no #s) & Stanford Uniball Gel Impact gold pen. Blue Cross also makes those cute pumpkin & snowman seasonal LE polishes seen in drugstores.

 

 This is 2 coats of Mardi Gras. 3-4 coats or undies are needed for full opacity,

but I had something else in mind...

 

TA DA! I used da pen to add a faux French tip over da VNL.

 

That's it & thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

Does It Stamp? ~ Specialty Polishes!

Hello Dahlings!

 

So after going thru' my main polish stash & testing like a fiend, I got to pondering about whether some of my specialty polishes would stamp...

 

 Magnetic polishes ~ Nabi dark red, Finger Paints Hypnotic & Sinful Colors Captivate Me

 

 Finger Paints Cop An Attitude, China Glaze Bond-tastic & Attraction

 

China Glaze Con-fused?, Claire's blue, Finger Paints Electro Magnet & Magnetix blue

 

 China Glaze Instant Chemistry & Drawn To You, Essence Magic Wand

 

Mood polishes ~ Claire's Peaceful/Confident & Calm/Wild

 

These types of novelty polishes can easily end up in da back of da drawer

& forgotten about, but they can be used as a regular polish 

as well as possibly be good for stamping too!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky