April's Nail That Technique Challenge Recap

Hello Lovelies!  I have a lot of new nail art planned for the coming week's I just have to find time to create them, take pictures, edit, write, and post them for you to view.  In the meantime I wanted to recap all the designs I created for April's Nail That Technique IG Challenge. 

For the fan brush technique I created a simple two-tone design http://polishplebe.blogspot.com/2015/04/two-toned-fanbrush.html.  In hindsight, I consider this to be the least exciting design I created for this challenge, but I do like the colors.

I was excited about the Geometric Gradient prompt, because I have recently fallen in love with gradients.  This prompt helped me take my gradient designs to a new level. http://polishplebe.blogspot.com/2015/04/geometric-gradient.html

For the next prompt, Glitter Tint my biggest challenge was I don't own any tints so I had to create my own.  Creating tints isn't difficult but getting the opacity just right can be a bit tricky.  However, I really liked how these turned.  http://polishplebe.blogspot.com/2015/04/leopard-print-glitter-tint.html
I had a really difficult time getting clear pictures of this design because the glitter was so sparkly.

I just finished and posted the last prompt of the challenge yesterday.  The prompt for Double Stamping was probably the biggest challenge for my skills because I have a terrible time stamping.  Because I didn't have high hopes for this design, I decided to go with a color scheme that I wouldn't normally do.  This manicure turned out a bit better than I anticipated, even though the stamping isn't the greatest, and I actually really like the color scheme.  http://polishplebe.blogspot.com/2015/05/double-stamping.html

This is the third month in a row that I have participated in this challenge, and the second month in a row that I completed all the prompts.  I really like this challenge because it allows me to try techniques I have never tried before or prompts me to work on ones that I need to practice.  Though there hasn't been a posting for May's prompts yet, I plan on participating in this challenge again.  I hope you enjoyed these designs, and join in, in this challenge.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

 



Double Stamping

Hello Lovelies!  Today, I have a design created for the last prompt of the Nail That Technique IG challenge for April.  The prompt is for the double stamping technique.  This seems like a very easy tasks, because it just involves stamping two images over one another.  However, I have no luck with stamping, but I had to try anyways.  I also decided to go with a color scheme that I wouldn't normally do...

Materials I used:
Base coat - Seche Vite
Neon green polish - Fairytale Finish 'Radioactive Leprechaun'
Purple polish - Lucky Lacquer 'Dahlia'
Black polish - Sinful Colors 'Black on Black'
Stamping plate - Pureen 06
Black stamping polish - from bornprettystore.com
Stamper and scraper (I use an old credit card for a scrapper, I find it works best)
Striping tape
Top coat - Rica 'Glossy Glam'

I started out this design with my two coats of green on my mid and ring finger, and two coats of black on my thumb, pointer, and pinky.  I was going to apply a quick drying top coat, but I found that the polish I used dried very quickly and opted not to add the unnecessary layer of polish.  I find the fewer or thinner coats of polish I use the longer the manicure lasts.

With my base color dry, I started my double stamping design on my ring finger.  There are many ways to do a double stamped design, but either way the technique is the same.  You simply stamp two images on one nail.  You can use two different images or you can use the same image in two different colors.  I opted for the later and used the same image but with two different colors.  I started with a layer of black stamped dots.

Using the same image and my purple polish, I stamped the same image but I flipped it upside down.

Because I am not very good with stamping, I decided to do a simple vertical stripe design on my mid finger.  I applied striping tapes, then filled in the exposed areas alternating between my black and purple polish.  I removed the tape between stripes as I was painting to keep from pulling the polish.

I then performed my usual clean up and applied a layer of top coat.

This is not the best stamping job, but its not bad for me.  I was hoping that the purple stamping would have shown up a bit better over the green but I think it ended up creating an interesting subtle affect. 

As for the color scheme, I didn't think I liked it at first but it has quickly grown on me.  It kind of reminds me of Beetle Juice.  What do you think of the colors? Yay or nay?  I hope you enjoyed this nail art design, thank you for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,



April's Freehand Challenge Recap

Hello Lovelies!  I apologize for the lack of new posts lately, but between traveling, a cold, and life in general I'm having a hard time keeping up with everything.  However, I did finish up all of April's Freehand IG challenge prompts.  The last prompt I have not shared with you here yet.

For the first prompt, Flowers, I created an Easter themed scene http://polishplebe.blogspot.com/2015/04/garden-easter-egg-hunt.html.  I was very proud of this design.

For the second prompt, I created a geometric design that I think was probably my least successful design of this months challenge prompts, http://polishplebe.blogspot.com/2015/04/geometric-freehand-fail.html.  I love the idea but I think my execution could use some work.  Of course, this was created with my non-dominant hand, so maybe with my dominant hand (or more practice) this would have turned out a bit better.

Prompt number three was animal prints, so I used this as an opportunity to create my first zebra print design ever, http://polishplebe.blogspot.com/2015/04/matte-metallic-zebra-print.html.  Again, I like the concept of this design but feel I could use some practice.  But for it being my first zebra print I don't think its so bad.

The next prompt, dotticure, was and is my favorite prompt.  I love dotticures because they are so easy to create and so versatile.  http://polishplebe.blogspot.com/2015/04/clustered-dotticure.html.  I decided to go with bright colors for this prompt, because it just seemed right, plus its spring time, and I needed a brighter perspective.

 The last prompt is to recreate a design, either of our own or of another artist.  I had a difficult time with this prompt because I have never recreated another's artwork for fear of not doing them justice.  It took me a couple of attempts but I finally recreated something I thought was presentable.

I decided to recreate a design from one of my biggest IG inspirations @ane_li.  She has created so many interesting and creative nail art design most of which are painted freehand.  My recreation hardly does her original (in the bottom left corner) justice, but I really liked the design.

For those of you who are curious, I did not create an individual post for this last prompt, because I didn't create the original design.  There is an excellent video on @ane_li IG feed of her painting this design.  If you are not familiar with her work I highly recommend you check out her account.

I really enjoyed April's prompts.  I think this is a great challenge, and is really helpful for practicing your freehand skills.  So, you know I will be participating in May's challenge (prompts listed below).  I hope you enjoyed these nail art designs, and I hope you'll give this challenge a try.  Thanks for stopping by see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,