Textured Cable Knit

Hello Lovelies! This week's WNAC2015 prompt is Christmas Sweater. I've always liked fuzzy cable knit sweaters in neutral colors. However, I don't use gel and I've never worked with acrylic. So, I decided to try to make my own 3D texture.

Materials I used:
Basecoat: Yellowstopper
Essie 'Wrap Me Up' Cashmere Matte
Baking Soda
Dotting tool

I began with a solid base of matte polish. I used matte polish because I don't own any shiny sweaters.

I mixed a small amount of matte polish with baking soda. Using a dotting tool, I created a cable knit pattern. I had to layer this in some places to give it the dimension I wanted.

Once, I was satisfied with the pattern, I applied another layer of the matte polish to help smooth out the texture slightly.

Though the pattern is imperfect and a bit rough, I like the realistic feel of the overall design.  I hope you too enjoyed this design, and if you want to do 3D nail art without gel or acrylic I recommend you try the baking soda method. I've also heard of some people using flour to achieve the same thing. I'm curious if anyone has tried thismethod for 3D nail art? Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,



Retro Snowflakes

Hello Lovelies! It's officially December, the beginning of the winter and holiday season. I've decided to participate in this months Weekly Nail Art Challenge (#wnac2015) from Instagram. The first prompt is snowflakes, a staple nail art design of the season. I have seen some gorgeous snowflake manis recently, but I wanted to do something a little different. This is what I came up with for my snowflake design...

Materials I used:

Basecoat - SuperChic Lacquer "Bring it On!"

Polishes - Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Black Out," Revlon Top Speed "Metallic," China Glaze "Thistle Do Nicely," & "Capacity to See Beyond"

Makeup sponge

Small brush

Dotting tools

Topcoat - SuperChic Lacquer "Marvel"

I began with a solid black base.

I then used a small piece of a makeup sponge to sponge silver over some areas of my nails. 

Using a small brush, I painted the prongs of my snowflake. Using a medium dotting tool, and dotted the ends of the prongs. Switching to a slightly smaller dotting tool I dotted black in the center of each previous dot. I repeated this in a second color. Lastly, using a very small dotting tool and both colors I filled in the voids around the flakes.

As usual, I performed a bit of cleanup with acetone and a brush and applied a layer of glossy topcoat.

Many of you know I love retro styles so it's safe to say I love this design. The bright colors really pop against the black.

I'm hoping to complete many Christmas and winter themed manis this season but it this the season. I should be able to finish the WNAC in the very least. I do feel like I'm off to a good start. I hope you enjoyed this nail art design, thanks for stopping by, see you next time. 

Your Fellow Plebe,

Paisley Print DIY Decals

Hello Lovelies!  I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday weekend (or a nice weekend for those of you who don't celebrate Thanksgiving)!  I finally got around to finishing the final prompt of the Weekly Nail Art Challenge (#WNAC) from Instagram.  The last prompt was Paisley print, which I have always wanted to try but wasn't sure I could make it look good.  I think I did pretty well, what do you think?

Materials I used:
Basecoat - SuperChic Lacquer 'Bring it On!'
Base polish - Milani 'Gold Glitz' (Dollar Store find)
Calligraphy pen and black ink
UberChic Beauty Uber Mat
Topcoat - SuperChic Lacquer 'Marvel'

I started off with two coats of my sparkly gold glitter polish.  I wanted this design to be blingy yet mature and I thought this made the perfect base.

After practicing with both polish and acryclic paints and a small brush to try and create a paisley design, I got frustrated and switched to my calligraphy pen.  Lately, this has been my go-to drawing tool because the ink is much like acrylic paint and I have much better control.  Using my Uber Mat,  I started with a generous layer of topcoat, which I let dry completely.  I drew a couple of paisleys for each finger and filled in the voids with swirls and little things that look almost like commas.

For those of you who would like to see a brief video of me drawing this pattern, checkout my Instagram account.

Once, I was satisfied with my decals.  I removed them from the mat using a pair of tweezers.  I applied a layer of topcoat to my nail and placed the decal carefully on my nail.  If you've made your decal too thin it will most likely tear and give you problems during placement, that is why I recommend using a generous layer or two thin layers of topcoat for your decal base.  After carefully pressing the decal down, trim some of the excess decal away with cuticle scissors or nail clippers.  Dissolve the remaining decal away using gentle acetone and a brush,  don't forget to do this around the free end of your nail as well.

I topped this all off with a final layer of quick drying glossy topcoat.  This is important to ensure that the decal is sealed down onto the nail, and it helps smooth out wrinkles that my occur during the application process.

For those of you who haven't tried calligraphy nail art, I highly recommend it.  For those of you who have tried it and found its not your thing, but you also don't like using a paint brush, I recommend trying a gel pen to create this and similar nail art designs.  I personally haven't tried gel pens yet but it is on my nail art bucket list.  I have heard from many other nail artist that gel pens are really easy to work with.  I'm curious, have any of you tried calligraphy or gel pens in your nail art yet?  What did you think?

When I first started creating this nail art design, I didn't think I would be pleased with the final results.  However, I love the way they turned out and I hope you do too.  Thank you for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

Watercolour Fall Foliage

Hello Lovelies!  Today, I have a very easy, yet very pretty DIY watercolour mani for you.  I created these for this week's WNAC, this month's theme is elegant and this week's prompt is watercolour.  I think some of the most elegant nail art designs are simple and subdued, that is why I went with this design...

Materials I used:
Basecoat - SuperChic Lacquer "Bring it On!"
Base polish - China Glaze "Don't Honk Your Thorn!"
Sharpies in red, brown, orange, and yellow
91% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol
Small plastic or glass container, such as a shot glass or paint pallet
Small brushes
Brown polish - Color Club "Fondue for Two"
Topcoat - New York Color matte topcoat

I started with my favorite nude polish for a base color, China Glaze "Don't Honk Your Thorn!"  I opted for a nude base because I wanted my colors to be subdued, not too bright.  If you want your watercolour to turn out brighter, I would recommend a white base color.

I had to make my own watercolour because I don't own any.  I've seen many nail artist use Sharpies to make their own waercolours and I've used Sharpies to create watercolour nail art before but with a different technique (Sharpie Gradientish Stripes). For this nail art, I used the more conventional method.  Using a glass or plastic container, color the bottom with a Sharpie (I started using a shot glass, but switched to a plastic paint palette by the second color).  Then pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol into the container.  Use a brush to mix the Sharpie ink and the alcohol together.  For more opaque colors use as little rubbing alcohol as possible for less opaque colors add more rubbing alcohol.

I blobbed on my watercolours in random areas of my nail.  Continuing the process with various fall colors until I was satisfied with the layers and coverage.

Then using a thin brush and dark brown polish I painted thin trees and tree limbs to give the appearance of Autumn trees.

I cleaned my cuticles with rubbing alcohol and a brush, and applied a matte topcoat.

It has been a while since I have fallen madly in love with one of my nail art design, but this is a keeper.  I love the fall colors, I love matte texture, and I love the subtle, yet eye catching colors.  I feel this nail art design has a simplistic elegant feel to it.  How about you?  Do you think this is elegant?  If not what qualities do you feel a nail art design needs to be deemed elegant?

Whether or not you think this is elegant, I hope you enjoyed this nail art design.  I highly recommend you try creating your own watercolours using Sharpies.  It's easy to do and a great way to add some interesting color and texture to your nail art.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,