Glittery Stars

I was having a hard time deciding what to do for the 11th NPQ Christmas Challenge, the theme is Glitterbombs.  I was going to just create a manicure using red and green glitter, but wanted to do something a little different since I've done a lot of red and green lately.  I happen to be listening to some Christmas music and Elvis' version of 'O'Holy Night' came on.  This gave me an idea!  So this manicure is inspired by that song, specifically the lyrics, 'O' Holy Night, the stars were brightly shining...'

I started off with one coat of China Glaze 'One Track Mind', this is a one coat application.  I love this rich dark blue.  I also applied a quick drying top coat, to speed up the drying time.

When the polish was dry I applied a star vinyl from nailvinyls.com.  I then applied a gold polish to my stars.  I then sprinkled loose gold glitter over my gold polish while it was still wet with the nail vinyl still in place.  I pressed the glitter slightly, then tapped off the excess, and then carefully removed the vinyl.  I recommend using a polish the same color as your glitter in case any of the glitter falls off.

I used the same process (apply gold polish and sprinkle loose glitter) with hand painted half moon shape on my other fingers.  I've heard this referred to as a floating french.

I did a little cleanup by using a soft brush to brush the loose glitter slightly to make sure it was all stuck.  I then applied another thick top coat to seal in all the glitter.

There you have a slightly different Christmas song inspired manicure, that isn't red and green for a change for the 2nd day of Christmas Nail Polish Queens' Challenge.  I hope you liked this glittery nail art design.  Christmas is a few days away and I have a few more challenges to finish up so stay tuned.  Thanks for stopping by, see you soon.

Your Fellow Plebe,

Candy Cane Plaid Nails

Today's Nail Polish Queens' Challenge is: Candy Canes.  Since, I've already done one candy cane design already I wanted to try something a little different (for me) and try out a plaid design in traditional candy cane colors.  I decided to do this design freehand both the save time, minimize layers, and give myself the opportunity to practice my freehand design.

I started my design off with a nice clean white, Sinful Colors 'Snow Me White.'  This is my go to white, I use it so often I just had to purchase a new bottle.  That's a milestone for me as a nail polishaholic because I have never bought the same brand and color twice, except for this one.

On most of my fingers I painted a plaid using red and green nail art strippers.  I started with a slightly wide red stripe diagonally across my nail.  I then added a wide green stripe, followed by two somewhat narrow green stripes over top the red.  I then finished the design by drawing narrowish red stripes on either side of the wide red stripe over top the green stripes.  I switched back and forth with the colors to create a layered look giving the stripes a more woven appearance.

On my pointer I drew a criss-cross candy can accent using the red stripper polish but a smaller brush, not the applicator brush.

After a little clean up, I applied a super shiny top coat.  Voila! Candy cane stripped plaid.  I love how bold the red and green look against the white.  Though my freehand still needs some practice, I am pleased with how my stripes turned out.  They are far more consistent that I imagined they'd turn out.

I hope you enjoyed this Christmas nail art design.  Stay tuned because there is still more to come.  I hope you are enjoying your holiday season so far, thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

Gold Tip Holly Nail Art

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me: 5 Gold Bling.  Today's nails are for the Nail Polish Queen's Christmas challenge.  I love gold and I have been wanting to create a holly design so this is the design that came to mind.

I started with one coat of Sinful Colors '24 Karat.'

I then used a small sponge and applied Anise 'Gold Nugget,' to the tip of all my nails.

On my ring fingers and thumbs I drew holly designs.  I started by dotting three medium sized red dots using Essie 'Dress to Kilt.'

I then used Revlon 'Emerald' and a small brush to draw the holly leaves.

I then added a little detail to the holly berries.  I used white polish and added highlights to the berries and a brighter green to draw a vein on the leaves.

I think this is a really simple and elegant holiday nail art design that is perfect for any holiday party or event.  It is also subtle enough that you could most likely get away with wearing it in a work environment too.  It is going to be really difficult for me to take these off, because they are so pretty.  However, I have more holiday nail art coming soon.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

Frosty the Snowman Nail Art

Frosty the snowman was a happy, jolly soul, with a corn cob pipe and a button nose, and two eyes made out of coal.  What better snowman to create than Frosty himself for NPQ Christmas challenge: on the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me: six Frosty Snowmen!

I started out with one of my favorite indie polishes Lucky Lacquer 'Alpine Phlox.'  I thought the Alpine in the name really made this the right base polish to start with.

I then hand painted Frosty using both polish and acrylic paint.  Instead of making this a long winded tutorial  I took pictures at each step.  Start with the smaller pictures and work your way round.  If you have questions about this or would like more guidance just ask, I'll be glad to help the best I can.

Because I wanted Frosty to feel at home I added some falling snowflakes on my other nails in the form of little criss-crosses and small dots.

I really love this 'Alpine Phlox' and Frosty didn't turn out to bad either.  I hope you enjoyed this brief blog post, stay tuned for more Christmas themed nail art.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

 

Mistletoe Nail Art

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eight mistletoe!  For the fifth Nail Polish Queens Christmas challenge I created this sexy mistletoe manicure.  I went for the sexy approach since you are supposed to kiss under the mistletoe.

As it was pointed out by one of our Queens mistletoe and holly are not the same thing.  I was going to cheat and go with a more holly like design but then it wouldn't really be a challenge now would it.

I started off with China Glaze 'Conduct Yourself' and Sinful Colors '24 Karat'.  I love this burgundy and gold combination.

I then used my bornprettystore.com image plate QA57 and stamped the little x-shape pattern with 'Conduct Yourself' over the '24 Karat.'  I also used a striping brush and 'Conduct Yourself' and framed the entire nail.

This is the same image plate that I used my Glittery Snowflake manicure.  I have had a great deal of trouble with stamping but I have had the best luck with the image plates I have purchased through bornprettystore.com, not to meant their prices are great.  If you are interesting in purchasing from bornprettystore.com use coupon code: CREATEX31 for 10% off your purchase.

I then used two shades of green to draw squiggly vines and added small dots for leaves on my mistletoe.  I used Revlon 'Emerald' and a green Art Club stripper for my green shades.

To give the mistletoe a little character I added a few pearls for berries.  These pearls are from my Ciate Mini Manor Advent Calendar, which I am having a blast with.

I did a little clean up and added a shiny top coat to finish off my sexy mistletoe manicure.  I think this would be a great look for a party and in the absence of actual mistletoe you could use your manicure to encourage a kiss from your sweetheart.  I hope your are enjoying your holiday season so far, thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

Santa Scene Nail Art

'The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.'

~ Clement Clarke Moore

It's the ninth day of Christmas on the Nail Polish Queens' calendar and today's challenge is, nine Jolly Santa's.  I was originally just going to paint a little St. Nick face or his hat or something like that, when the poem "Twas' the Night Before Christmas" popped into my head.  So, instead I decided to paint a little scene.

I started this scene of with OPI 'Chillin Like a Villian' for the background and 'Going My Way or Norway?' at my tips, for the floor.  These are the only polishes that I used everything else is painted with acrylic paints.

On my pointer, the stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

As you move across the scene you see Santa's sack laying on the floor, a few gifts have fallen out.  A wreath decorates the wall.

On my ring finger is a lovely Christmas tree and who could that be...well it's St. Nick himself, of course.  Well at least his backside, he's placing presents under the tree.

So that's my little Christmas scene for the Santa challenge.  I'm really enjoying these challenges and having so much fun creating new designs, practicing my freehand, and trying out new techniques.  I hope you enjoyed this fun little scene, thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,