31DC2014, Day 02: advanced stamping

Topic #2 for the  31 Day Challenge is Orange Nails. Orange is so not my color, so I didn't even have an idea what to do until I saw this vintage wallpaper pattern on Pinterest:

I've searched through my stamping plates and came up with this:

This time I tried the advanced stamping technique - coloring the design on the stamper and then stamp over a slightly tacky top coat as shown in this tutorial.
Although the technique on itself worked great for me, I'm less than thrilled with my nails. Somehow the final design doesn't work for me... :-/ But good to know this technique is pretty easy, so I can do better next time ;)

Base color: Essence Flashy Pumpkin
Stamping: pattern from MoYou Pro XL 06 plate, stamped with Mundo de Uñas Chocolate. Flowers colored with OPI My Vampire Is Buff

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Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope you're having a wonderful time with your family or friends!
I'm having my own way to express my joy over this cozy and cheerful holiday - I've been waiting for months to do this Three Kings Christmas mani :)

The awesome shapes of camel riders are stamped using Messy Mansion's Christimas plate MM01.

I saw this design in summer and had to order the plate IMMEDIATELY. Then I've waited patiently month after month for the right day to recreate it. Finally!!! :) I'm being a total copycat here, but c'mon, isn't it just awesome!?!

I used dark blue and two gold glitter polishes to create the glittery background. I didn't have my camera with me so it was really difficult to capture the amazing sparkle of the China Glaze's I'm Not A Lion.
I love this mani - it is so festive and glittered perfectly in the candle light :)

Base color: my trusty blue Midnight Cami by Essie

Glitter: China Glaze I'm Not A Lion and some big gold glitter by Essence called Gold Fever
Top Coat: Northern Lights over the top ("sky")-part of the nail and a coat of Seche Vite

Enjoy the second Christmas day and prepare yourself for the New Year Paa-haarty!!! :)

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31DC2013: Day 10, Gradient Nails

I wanted to try some unusual color combination for the gradient day of the challenge, so I went for rust color + dark green gradient. I like this autumn mani. Would a lighter version of the same green have been better? Probably... But I like it anyway :)

Gradient: Sponged Essence Deep Sea, Baby(dark green) and Barielle Rusty Vintage Boots (rust colored) over 2 coats of Barielle polish
Stripes: stamped stripes pattern from an OB-Nail XXL E stamping plate bought on ebay, with the same Essence green polish (yeehaa, another regular polish, which is great for stamping!) Read More......

#31DC2013: Day 06, Violet nails

I had a wonderful holiday in Riga (think Hotel Papa ;) ) and had some quality time with my cute little nephews. Now back in Hamburg,  it's high time to proceed with 31 Day Challenge. I'm totally late, but still determined to go through the themes.
The next theme is Violet Nails. I've been looking forward to try out the China Glaze Ombre set I bought on ebay. I first saw the gradient on Chalkboardnails blog and just fell in love with the beautiful colors. This is how it looks on my nails:

I know, it doesn't look as fantastic as on Chalkboardnails, but hey, that's just me, my limited nail art skills and rather ungraceful roundish nails. Who cares! I matched my mani with a violet silk scarf to work and felt like a diva :D.
But I think I'm rather a skittlette girl, so I used my Cheeky Plates to mix things up the next day:

Base color: Gradient with China Glaze Grape Expectations
Stamping: ikat pattern from the Cheeky Plate A stamped with silver Jolfin stamping polish
Skittlette: pinkie with Essence silver polish and textured P2  Sand Style polish  called "Strict" on my ring finger (I'm in love with Cheeky Plates, btw)

Since I don't have silver studs, I just used some gold ones, which I covered with silver polish as shown at Lucy's Stash Blog, and pimped up my thumbs with them.
It's amazing how you can change your mani with nail art, don't you think?

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#31DC2013: Day 04, Green Nails

I'm doing the challenge in my own pace and it is so much fun!!! I must confess though, the idea for today's mani was entirely not mine :) I saw this amazing design and had to order the stamping plate MM16 by Messy Mansion immediately! :) I looked forward to the "green" day of the challenge, so I could recreate the design:

Since I didn't have the same shade of green as the sample mani, I decided to try sponging several green shades and even some gold over each other. I absolutely adore this newly discovered marble-like sponging technique!!! It is so easy, so I will definitely do this kind of color blending again!

I thought that black stamps with only one green accent nail looked very dark on my wide nails. The black hid the vibrant green color, so I added just one inverted stamp to my right hand.

Base Color: two coats of grass green Essie Shake Your $$ Makers, than randomly sponged some China Glaze I'm With The Lifeguard(neon green with shimmer), CG Sun-Kissed (neon marker-yellow), P2 Perfectly Good(dark green) and P2 Next Exit: Party! (gold)
Stamping: MM16 plate by Messy Mansion ordered online stamped with black Jolfin stamping polish.
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Recently I discovered Nail Art and the meditational value of nail polishing :) My first experiments were fueled by numerous tutorials on youtube and jaw-dropping creations shown by some serious nail bloggers.
Highly motivated I tried some nail art techniques like stamping or gradients and got some astoundingly pretty designs. Some of them I liked so much, I decided I need to document how I managed to do them and which nail polishes I used.
So here I come with my first pics.

To hide the growing out line of my acrylic nails I tried out some simple glitter gradient (Gold fever by Essence) over two layers of Essie's A crewed interest. It was a bit too sparkly for my regular business day, but I thought it was not thaaat flashy, really pretty -  and most important, it absolutely covered the bump of my acrylic nails. A great way to "wait" for the next appointment at the nail studio.

In direct sunlight

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