Retro Flowers

Raise your hand if you like skittle manis! No, not the candy...for those who don't know, a "skittle" is typically a mani that has different colors/patterns/designs on each nail. I really like doing these since it gives me a theme, yet gives me a lot of freedom within that theme. I went a bit retro with these nails. Partly because I enjoy retro patterns, but partly because there is a retro themed contest on Instagram that I am contemplating entering ;) It's always nice to have some inspiration. 

I did this design free hand and I like the outcome a lot. They are definitely funky and different, but I'm happy with them. I'm still learning how to create smooth curves and arcs, but it's tough in a small area with a brush that refuses to listen to you. Sometimes I think I'm improving, and then other times my hand and brian don't talk and suddenly I have polish everywhere but where I intended it to go. 

I always make an attempt at doing my dominant hand (though sometimes I'm just way too burnt out to do it) so here is my right hand...the line work isn't as clean, and I accidentally hit my middle finger before it was dry so that stems are all muddled. Regardless, I feel like I have a complete look :)

I also had a pretty cute helper for this mani. Fonzi snuggled up and got cozy on the couch while I was busy nail paintin'. Again, he's no where near spoiled ;) 

Dog paw! <3

Happy Polishing :)

The Crumpet February Amateur Nail Art Contest

Well something exciting happened today! At the beginning of February I entered this heart mani in Debbie at The Crumpet's Amateur Nail Art Contest in hopes of getting mentioned by her on her blog as well as being able to do a guest post on her blog. 

First off, if you love nail polish and nail art, you should definitely check out The Crumpet! Debbie has some fabulous stuff on her blog and is so supportive of anyone and everyone interested in nail art. 

Anyway, several very talented ladies entered their nails in the contest as well and at the end of the month, voting went live for a few days when people were able to vote for their favorite submission. Looking at the way the voting went, one girl had almost 50 votes for her nails to my 7. However, as Debbie explained it, I guess the theme was strictly Love and Heartbreak so the mani with the most votes didn't keep with that theme. So, that meant the winner went to me! I feel bad that this other girl had more votes and wasn't selected, but that doesn't stop me from feeling excited to be deemed the "winner."You can check out the post about it here and hopefully sometime soon I'll get to do a guest post on The Crumpet! Still slightly in shock and can't believe I was even in the running as there were some fabulous other manis entered. 

Okay, I'm off to go grin stupidly by myself ;) 

Happy Polishing :)

March Nail Art Challenge - Day 1: Chevrons

Well, apparently it's already March? Where did the time go!? Craziness!! March brings with it the start of a new monthly challenge with new themes! I definitely failed and didn't finish the February Nail Art Challenge...however, I did complete 5 of them which is far better than I have done with the other monthly challenges. I figure I'll actually be able to complete every theme in the month by say, September or so ;) 

The first theme for March is Chevrons! I wasn't quite sure which way to go with these as I did chevrons only two posts ago but I recently received a bunch of loose glitter and figured I'd make something with those! These were pretty simple to do, but definitely a bit more time consuming. I ended up watching a movie while working on these which made the tedious task of hand placing tiny hexagons on my nails slightly more bearable :) As it's nearing spring and I've been feeling bright colors lately, I decided to go with a bright neon pink as my base. This is China Glaze's Escaping Reality and 4 different colored glitters.

I'm never going to get this glitter off my hands! Eek!

Here is this Month's Challenge for anyone looking to partake :)

Happy Polishing :)

Scott's Saturday of Several Different Skulls

Scott Middlehurst has been here before with this symbolic illustration, and now he's back with a diverse set of new skulls in all different mediums.

Scott knows how to keep his creativity flowing by switching up his game(love the hobo nickel).  He's a prime example of how even one person can do so many different works of the same subject.  It's almost like some kind of theme for a skull art blog I know of.......  Thanks again, Scott!

Data Skull

Steven Rodrig of  PCB Creations in Newport News, VA sent us this data skull made
from recycled printed circuit boards and components.

Next Generation C says:

Dead Media at its best. It is amazing to think about that just 25 years ago these circuit boards would have been considered too precious or too expensive to throw away and now they end up in the landfill by the truck load.  Thank you for finding a second life for these by-products of our modern-life and also for sharing your work with us.

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win a "Skeleton Office" Prize Pack from CyberINK Online

This contest has ended. Thanks to everyone who participated with your comments. Stay tuned for more great giveaways coming soon!

Don't be late for your meeting!  Remember that you only have until 11:59:59 Eastern Time TONIGHT to get entered to win a FREE "Skeleton Office" prize pack from CyberINK Online.

Here's your chance to win 1- 18"x24" poster, 1- coffee mug, and 1- mouse pad featuring the "Skeleton Office" design available from CyberINK Online.

[NOTE: If you are reading this on Facebook or Google+, you must go to THE ACTUAL BLOG POST HERE to enter this contest! You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+]

Don't worry if you don't win, you can always feel like a winner by picking up any of the awesomely cool skull designs for all of your gadget needs at CyberINK Online.  Thanks again, Jean!

Simple Tribal Print & Zoya's Avery

Something super quick and simple tonight...I'm tired! Thankfully it's Friday today! I ended up using Zoya's Avery as my base color and a nude polish like this tends to create mannequin hands...you know, like no finger nails and what not. So I went in with my striping brush and made a simple tribal pattern of sorts. I really like how these look in person. They didn't photograph as well as I'd hoped - so many imperfections! - but I like these nonetheless :)

These are really easy to create. Just take your striping brush and and draw three black lines, evenly spaced. Then go in and add your chevrons with the same black striper. Finally, paint in your different colors...like a coloring book :) If you've gotten things a bit messy, just go back over your line work with the black until you've got a straight and even line. 

 Happy Polishing :)