[AiS]: Stamping over a striped background

There was an interesting challenge in Adventure in Stamping FB group for today: stamping over a striped background. I thought combining stripes and stamping would not be easy, so I decided to try it :)

It was a tough job to think of a style with stripes and stamping. I didn't want to stamp hearts, bows or kisses, so I ended up with this. I cannot say I love this mani, although it'd be probably a cute look for a holiday at the beach.  But hey, a challenge is a challenge, and I'm glad I've managed to think at least of something :)

Base color:  p2 Gel Look Crazy Beauty  (matches perfectly to the MdU stamping polish!) and Cult Nails Tempest (white)  for my middle and ring fingers.
Stamping: Stripes from MoYou Pro XL 01 plate, stamped with Mundo de Uñas #49, Lavender. Flowers from MoYou Pro XL 06, stamped with MdU #29 neon pink.
Studs: 1mm neon studs from Ebay Read More......

31DC2013, Day 22: Inspired by a song

I had surprizingly many ideas for the next topic of the 31 Day Challenge. But it had to be something I could actually pull off ;). There is this really cool technique for Distressed/Grunge-Nails I wanted to try out for ages. So here I go!

Who can inspire a Grunge manicure better than Nirvana, the Godfathers of Grunge?!?

"Come as you are" is from the 90ies (1992 to be precise), but unlike some electro experiments from the same time (*shudder*) it still sounds really cool, I think. I was humming the song all the time I did my nails and the next day as well! :D

Come as you are,
As you were
As I wish you to be.
As a friend
As a friend
As an old enemy...

Yeah!!! :)
Gunge Nails is something anyone can do. Really! Check out this awesome tutorial at Sarah's Chalkboardnails and try it out! I used acrylic paint for the letters.

For beginners out there: I didn't trust my shaky hands and painted the letters on a smooth plastic bag. After the paint was dry, I covered it with clear top coat, waited a bit and then used tweezers to pull this self-made decal from the plastic and place it over my freshly painted nail. It's cheating, but who cares if it looks good, right? ;)

Base color: one coat of white Cult Nails Tempest
Grunge effect:  neon pink China Glaze Pool Party, marker-yellow China Glaze Sun-Kissed, bright blue Shopping Day at Bluemingdales by Catrice and black Cult Nails Fetish
Accent Nail:  Cult Nails Fetish and white acrylic paint
Matte Top Coat: Cult Nails Wax That...

Familyyy-yyy-yah!
Familyyy-yyy-yah!
(still humming ;))

Read More......

31DC2013, Day 19: Galaxies

Galaxies is the next topic of the 31 Day Challenge. I've never done such a mani before, but there are so many tutorials on youtube, that you can spend days watching them :) One of my favorites is this one, done by a fantastic Pauline from Blogenbeaute blog.
There are also thousands of galaxy nails pics on Google. While looking at some really fantastic examples of nail art, I decided that I liked a mani more if there was not so much "stuff" on the nails. Where you could see the starry skies and don't get drown in all the nebulas :) I also decided that I don't like these white dots, which represent the stars. Equipped with this theoretical knowledge, I set to work.

So please welcome my first galaxy mani!

I'm so totally in love with this design, I'll probably wear it until it starts chipping. Doing these astral clouds was so much fun! I totally get it now why so many manis look overloaded with nebulas - I had to force myself to stop "nebulating" on my middle finger :D

Base color: navy blue Essie's Midningt Cami and just a little of the black A-England's Camelot to create some depth in the skies

Nebulas: no-name white, China Glaze Towel Boy Toy (bright blue), Essence Break Through (purple), China Glaze Pool Party (neon pink)
Stars: Northern Lights Top Coat I got from US on Ebay

Do you like the color combination?  I would try a slightly darker blue color next time and maybe create clouds with lighter, more transparent edges. Wouldn't it look better..?

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31DC2013: Day 16, Tribal Print

The next topic of the 31 day challenge  (which every one else has finished in September ;) )  is tribal nails. There are so many really cool designs, but my favorites are all kinds of Aztec patterns.  Since I'm still really bad with free handing, I decided to use acrylic paint for lines and then just fill the spaces with neon pink nail polish.
It was really hard to draw the thin lines until I found a solution and used a toothpick instead of the brush! It's almost cheating ;), but hey, we all have to start somewhere! :)

Base color: white Cult Nails Tempest
Tribal patterns: googled for Aztec patterns and free handed with a toothpick and black acrylic paint
Neon Accents: China Glaze Pool Party Read More......