Day 7-Ebony and Ivory (aka Black and White)

This manicure was really a no brainer for me as far as coming up with an idea.  I play the piano, and a piano is black and white.  So there you have it. I play classical music and have two tattoos that are music inspired.  My favorite composer is Frederick Chopin....the Fantaisie Impromptu is my arch nemesis. It is such a beautiful song but sooo hard. Some day I will get it right :-P
So, the question was which stamps to use since I have a bunch of music inspired stamps.  In the end I chose to go with my newest ones.  Not much more to say...it actually went pretty smoothly and quick.  I just need to get better at putting the stamp on straight.  I think I may have figured out the trick by the end of this manicure.  I will have to do some more testing and then I will let you know the technique (if I can explain it)

Black Base-Milani Black Swift with Orly Androgynie on top
White Base-Sally Hansen Hard to Get
Stamps- sheet music is m73 using Black Swift & the piano is m58 using Spoiled Correction Tape

My lovely piano 

I have included the Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu played by the uncomparable Rubenstein if you want to listen to a beautiful piece of music.  I just listened to it for the umpteenth time and it still brings me to tears. I'm a dork, I know. 

Thanks for stopping by.  I appreciate all comments you leave!

Don't forget to check out the other ladies that are participating too

Day 6-Candied Violets

Two things I am in love with today:

1.  The new shape and equal length of my nails
2.  Another D & R Apothecary polish

It only took me 8 months :-P but i finally was able to get my nails to be pretty much the same length and figured out how to shape them correctly.  It sounds like it would be a simple thing, but it wasn't.  I don't know why, it just wasn't.  I love the rounded square nails, but was never able to get it right.  I finally figured it out.  I may be an idiot for it taking this long, but that's alright.  I think I was afraid to cut my longer nails even though they weren't the shape I wanted them to be.

So, today was day 6-violet.  I love purple.  (Because yes, purple is violet.  Potato, potatoe). It's almost up there with green.  I especially love purple and green together! But today, I stuck with just purple. It's so pretty that I almost want to eat my nails.  I used another D & R Apothecary polish called Candied Violets for my base.  I tried to go with the name of this polish for my inspiration....candy! yum.  I even used a candy stamp on my accent nail, although it is really hard to see. I really love this manicure....almost enough to not want to take it off tomorrow! Naaah

Such a pretty glitter with purples and whites....even some color changing glitters

Base-Sally Hansen Brilliant Blush then D & R Apothecary Candied Violets
Tips- It's So Easy Striper purple
Accent Nail Base-Milani Hi Res
Stamp-BM 306 using Maybeline Color Show Amethyst Ablaze

Here you can actually see the detail of the candy stamp :-)

Thanks again for stopping by! Hope you enjoyed today's mani :-)

As always, check out the other ladies who are participating in the 31 day challenge!

Liebster Award

What a wonderful thing to wake up to....a blog award! I was nominated by a new blogger herself named Jess over at Too Cute-icle.  (btw, she has a giveaway going on right now.....go check her out!)  I just love the nail world, people are so supportive and nice.  It's good to be involved in something so genuinely well.....good.  To be doing it for the love of color and art and taking care of ourselves.  I am sure there are a lot of girls out there who think our love for polish is frivolous and silly (in fact I'm pretty sure I was once one of those people).  But that's ok, we know why we do it and who can argue with glitter :-)



So anyway, the Liebster award is apparently awarded to bloggers who have under 200 followers.  That is definitely me.  I love my 55 followers, they make loving this even sweeter.  In order to accept this, here are the things that need to be done.

1. Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.


2. They must also answer the 11 questions the 'tagger' has set for them.

3. They must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers they have decided to tag.

4. They must then choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers and tag them in their post.

5. These lucky bloggers must then be told.

6. There's no tag backs.


So here goes.......


11 Things about me

1. I am a mom of two wonderful children, Holly (4) and Jack (almost 1)
2. I was a 5th grade teacher for 9 years and left to take care of my kids when Jack was born (I miss it a little. But only the students and the teaching, not the other B.S that comes along with it)
3. I play the piano, mostly classical, but lately it has been nursery rhymes and disney songs
4. I have only been addicted to nail polish for about 8 months....it all started when I saw nail taping on pinterest
5. I am a super nerd....all things science fiction and fantasy (books, movies, tv shows)
6. I have three tattoos. Two on my back of musical stuff and one on my ankle of a black cat
7. I am a highly independent person even though I love being around other people.  The first sentence out of my mouth was I can do it myself!
8. I just finished watching Lost on Netflix (no commercials or waiting rocks!) and I feel lonely without the characters now.  I need a daily Sawyer fix. 
9. I am lucky to be married to my best friend.  My husband is an amazing person
10. I love DIY projects.  It turns out this makes me more like my father than I ever thought.
11. I have been working really hard to lose some weight so I can look like the 18 year old I still feel like on the inside 

Answers to the questions





1.  Why did you start playing with polish?
I was on pinterest and saw a tutorial on how to do nail designs using tape.  It completely snowballed from there!


2. What is your favorite thing to do with your nails?
A french manicure (often a funky one) and one accent nail
 
3. Cats or dogs?
Cats.  I have one named Rosie.  And I have always had a cat for as long as I can remember


4.  Favorite thing to do on your day(s) of relaxation?
Read and eat meals without being interrupted by some crises or another.  Also, take a bath :-)
 
5. Favorite food?? (RECIPE linkaaageee if it is a dish ;))
Thai food.  Especially Panang Curry. yummmmmm
 
6. What is your #1 Lemming polish?
Floam!!!
 
7. What inspired you to turn your polish hobby into a blogging hobby?
I needed to find a way to share all of my thoughts and ideas without making the people around me crazy with my non-stop talking.  I also didn't want to alienate some of my guy friends on facebook by posting pictures of my nails all the time. 


8. If you could design your own indie polish, what would it look like?
Hey....this was going to be a question I asked!  I'm still going to :-P  I would have collections inspired by dorky movies.  The first being The Princess Bride, with polishes like 'Hello, my name is INDIGO' and 'Princess Buttercup'  


9.  House is on fire.  What do you grab to take out? Only time to grab one thing (weight is not an object, pretend you are super strong)
I am answering this question with the assumption that none of my family is inside because if that were the case I would grab them.  But I think I would grab the portable hard drive with all of the pictures of my children on it. You can't replace that
 
10. Favorite song?
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel
 
11. Favorite polish you own?
Currently it is either Candied Violets from the indie polish maker D & R Apothecary or Gladiator by Ultra Pro (this is really a hard question just so you know!)


My 11 questions for you

1. Who is your hero and why?
2. Where is one place you would go if money weren't an object?
3. What are your three favorite things to do when you have no other obligations?
4. What is your most prized possession (not a person)?
5. What is your favorite memory?
6. How did you choose the name of your blog?
7. What is your favorite thing about blogging?
8. If you could design your own polish line what would it be called and what would be the first collection you would create?
9. What is your go to color?
10. Where do you get inspiration for your manicures?
11. Do you own any indie polishes? If so, what kind? If not, what is the first one you would buy?

(P.S I can't wait to read everyone's answers!!)


My nominations

1. The Clockwise Nail Polish
2. Nail Pron
3. Ruby's Nails
4. Try it With Carmella
5. Glitter in my Veins
6. Apple Lacquer
7. Enchanted Nails and Fluffy Dog Tails
8. The Cute-icle Chronicles
9. No Holos!
10. My Indie Glam Addiction
11. Polish Crazed

I chose all of these blogs because they are all ones that I look forward to seeing new posts from whether it be because they have a great eye for color or are great nail artists. Please go and check all of these ladies out!

Thank you again to Jess from Too Cute-icle.  I can't wait to read everyone's answers and to learn more about these bloggers.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Day 5-Blue Mash

I have been eyeing this manicure on pinterest for some time now.  I have no idea who it belongs to as the link takes me to a social networking page that I don't have an account for.  But I have been wanting to do something similar and decided to do it for this mani.  I really like it.  I have so many blues and in so many different shades that I couldn't decide what to do.  I literally sat my blues out in front of me and stared at them until one of them told me which one to use. :-P I kid. No, my polishes don't talk to me, I'm not THAT crazy.  I did sit there for a long time trying to decide though.  Eventually, I decided to go with a metallic Maybeline and a glitter Finger Paints.  The Maybeline was called Blue Blowout, which I have only ever used for stamping.  I was a little disappointed in the application of it as it was very streaky.  I know this happens with metallics, but this was unusually so.  The Glitter was called Art you Wondering and took three coats to cover, which is also pretty typical.  Well, onto the pictures.

Metallic Blue- Maybeline Color Show Blue Blowout
Glitter Base- is Finger Paints Art You Wondering?
Teal Base-Sinful Colors Rise & Shine
Striper-Kiss White
Stamps-BM317 & m59 using Spoiled Correction Tape

This was my inspiration mani....if you want to see it on pinterest  click on the picture

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate all of your comments :-)

Check out the other ladies that are participating below.  It is a great way to see so many different and fabulous interpretations of one color! 

Day 4-Mossy Britches

So yesterday's mani was difficult when it should have been easy.  Today's mani went off without a hitch! I just love the color green.  It is my favorite color....it goes with purple, pink, brown, coppers, black, yellow...you get the picture.  I also love it because it is the color of Ireland, the country of my ancestors. ( A little fact: My maiden name is Kelly Michelle Finn.  Doesn't get much more Irish than that. Well, unless you added O'Connell) Green is the color of trees and grass and nature.  It is a beautifully natural color.  I have A LOT of green nail polish, so it was hard to choose this time.  I decided to go with one I recently purchased by Ultra Pro called Mossy Britches.  Don't you just love that name?  It really is a great mossy color.  I also used another of my D & R Apothecary indie polishes called High Tech.  It is a clear base with black glitter and green, yellow, and black hexagon glitters.  Of course, I also did an accent nail because I can't stop myself.

Base-Ultra Pro Mossy Britches
Glitter-D & R Apothecary High Tech
Accent-Gradient using Essence High Spirits
Stamp-BM210 using Kleancolor Black

I would like to know your opinion on using the accent nail.  This is one of my favorite things to do, but what do you think?  Should I do more with all nails the same? or do you like the accent nail?  

Thanks for stopping by and having a look! I appreciate all of your comments. 

Check out the other lovely ladies participating below :-)

Day 3-Yellow Buzzz

This mani was supposed to be easy.  I had planned for it to take about 20 minutes.  Color, stamp, stripe, done.  HA! Of course everything that can go wrong with a simple mani, did.  The base coat went on great, but the humidity just wouldn't allow it to dry.  Painting the tips with the striper went alright, but my accent nail still wasn't dry.  So, I decided to put a coat of fast dry on to move things along.  Needless to say I ended up smudging that so I had to start all over.  This happened twice. GRRRRRR.  I finally got all that done and wanted to do one little bee stamp and it kept drying so fast that I had to stamp twice. So my bee looks all janktified (spelling?)  All in all it turned out alright and I sure do like this bright color.  The bee is so cute....he just looks like he's been chopped in half. :-P Buzz Buzz

Base-Sally Hansen HD Lite
Stripers- Kiss Black & It's So Easy Yellow
Stamp-BM301 using Kleancolor Black

Have a wonderful day! Thanks for looking and I appreciate all your comments.

Please check out the other ladies participating before you go 

Day 2-Orange You Glad you joined the Coast Guard?

Happy day! I was able once again to fit two challenges into one mani! Day 2 of the 31 day challenge is Orange.  And today is the Coast Guard Challenge for my 52 week challenge.  How convenient she says.  The Coast Guard colors are orange and white.  Some might argue that it is more of a red but I know the truth since my husband was in the Coast Guard (keep reading and you get to see pictures of him in uniform!) I had put the Coast Guard on my schedule since the 4th is their birthday! Take a moment to sing Happy birthday to the Coast Guard.  I'll wait.  This year, they celebrate their 222nd birthday.  If you want to know a little more about the history you can check it out at the official U.S Coast Guard website. Just so you know, the Coasties are a crazy bunch of people.  My husband and his Coast Guard friends always have stories to tell that would make a sailor blush.  A Navy sailor, not a coastie.  Did you know that the Navy calls them the Hooligan Navy? Not very flattering, but true.  A fun bunch of folks!

Orange Base & Stripe-Spoiled Orange you Glad
White Base-Sally Hansen Hard to Get
Blue Stripe-Sally Hansen Co-Bolt Blue
Stamp-QA5 with Maybeline Bold Gold

Why, so serious Stuart?  I mean Sir Cooke.

This was all before I knew him! 

HeHe. Look how cute he is....and how young!!

Well, thanks again for stopping by! I appreciate all your comments.  Come back tomorrow to see yellow nails! I have no idea what I am going to do yet, so I will be surprised too :-P

Before you leave check out the other lovely ladies participating.  Have a wonderful day!