Fozzie the Bear

I entered the second week of the OPI Mani Madness contest with this manicure. The challenge was to make a manicure using Fozzie the Bear as the inspiration. I thought perhaps that I would skip this week, seeing as I got food poisoning on Monday evening last week, and did not actually get to painting this mani until Wednesday. I knew I would have some ground to cover to get the votes I needed to be on top. Instead of simply featuring the different aspects of Fozzie, like his face, necktie, and hat, I wanted to place Fozzie in a situation that would reflect his humor and his struggle with getting heckled all of the time.

I give you: Fozzie Gets Heckled! I painted Fozzie doing his thing on stage in the spotlight, and above him are Statler and Waldorf booing him from the balcony seats. I painted details of the curtains and wall decorations from the theater walls on my index and pinky fingers. 

I started with OPI Big Apple Red on my nails. This is a lovely bright red and worked really well as a base for this dramatic manicure. 

I started with my thumb by painting the theater curtains behind Fozzie. The folds are darker towards the top of the image, and lighter where the spotlight is shining on him. I used acrylic paint for all of the artwork in this manicure. 

Here's Fozzie in the early stages of the manicure. I made his head a little too short to start with, but the great thing about acrylic paint is that it lets you rework an image fairly easily. 

More shading and I added his mouth. The highlights on his fur were pure yellow paint. I find it is really important to look at the colors in the image I am trying to create and think about what colors they really are without thinking about the rest of the image. Shape and color are really exciting to isolate. 

"Patriotism swells in the heart of the American Bear!" - I love that line from Fozzie in the original Muppet Movie. So funny!

The bane of Fozzie's existence: Statler and Waldorf! Did you know that these two Muppet hecklers were named after hotels in New York? The Statler Hilton and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. 

Waldorf was voiced by Jim Henson from 1970 to 1990, which makes it even funnier that Jim would take so much glee in heckling Frank Oz who played Fozzie. Waldorf has also been voiced by Dave Goelz and Victor Yerrid. 

I really like how Statler turned out. He's got super skinny arms and his nose shadow cracks me up for some reason. It's hilarious! Statler was originally performed by Richard Hunt until 1991, then by Jerry Nelson, Steve Whitmire, and Drew Massey. 

Look! Fozzie is pointing at Fozzie! Wocka, Wocka!

I am so proud to tell you that I won this past challenge! I worked really hard on these nails, and I so appreciate all of the people who voted for me, and also who voted for the other girls too. There is a lot of talent out there! You can see my nails posted on OPI's facebook page by clicking here. The new challenge this week is to paint a manicure inspired by Gonzo. I just adore Gonzo! I am looking forward to the manicures this week and really hope that some girls take it over the top. There is so much to be inspired by with the Muppet canon. Which includes shooting Gonzo out of a cannon. ;-)

The Bird Is The Word

Please take a moment to view and vote for my Fozzie the Bear manicure in OPI's Mani Madness Contest. My entry is called "Fozzie Gets Heckled" and you can vote for me once every 24 hours. I only have until Sunday to get votes, so please ask your friends to vote for me as well! Thanks so much!

More poultry?! Ha! Well, seeing as I got food poisoning on Monday night and have only finally felt better today, I think I can stand a little more bird. This is a manicure I did for my radio station's annual recipe contest. Our theme was chicken and we got some outstanding recipes submitted.

This is the chicken's head, and it is a very stylized head. We wanted some chicken artwork that would be stylish but not too silly. This piece fit nicely. 

And on my right thumb a simple 25 to represent the number of years we have done the recipe contest. Woo hoo!

If you would like to see the finalists and winning recipe, please head to my stations' website and check them out. The recipes are all varied and they really tasted delicious. And no, I did not get food poisoning from any of these dishes. :)

Again, please take a moment to vote for my Fozzie the Bear manicure on OPI's facebook page. It's titled "Fozzie Gets Heckled" and features Fozzie, Statler, and Waldorf. You can vote once every 24 hours! Spread the word! Thanks. :)

PIG POWER

I entered this manicure in the OPI Mani Madness Contest for the Miss Piggy theme. I used a cool poster that I had on my bedroom wall when I was younger as the inspiriation. Sadly, I was not successful in winning the contest. But I will be entering the contest again this week with the Fozzie the Bear theme. I cannot post images of my Fozzie  manicure until after the voting is over as per the rules of the contest, but I would love it if you would check out the contest and vote for me.

I used a lovely purple polish (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Urgent Orchid) for the background and did all of the rest of the artwork with acrylic paints. 

Here is the poster that hung on my bedroom door when I was an early teen. I kept it there for years because I loved it so! I found this image online here: http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Muppet_posters

Here is the beginning of Piggy. I had the most difficulty with shading. 

Here's Piggy pretty much done. She's so fierce looking! Hiyyyyyaah!

I added her purple silk gloved hand in a karate chop move. The white accent around the glove gives it fun motion and drama. 

Thanks for checking this out, and be sure to vote on my Fozzie the Bear manicure this week.

Attitude Adjust-Mint Vintage Swimming Pool

Hi everyone! This manicure reminded me of vintage swimming pools, and those fun mint green patterns and colors of the 1950s and 1960s. I used a new polish I got from Lynnderella called Attitude Adjust-Mint from her Funny Money collection. I believe that Llarowe will begin selling Lynnderella polishes in December, so check there if you are interested in purchasing Lynnderella's gorgeous glitter polishes.

I added some little dots to a few accent nails to give this design a retro feel and reinforce the pool/bubble idea. 

This photo is what I thought of when I finished this manicure. Image from: http://www.bombago.com/101805/~max0073.jpg

Here's the mani before I added the dots. It is really cute with just two coats of the base polish and one coat of the glitter polish. 

Close up of the glittery goodness! There are different colors and shapes of hexagon glitter, and also a really lovely micro greenish glitter. So interesting!

Here is my right hand. Again, I just did the dot design on two accent nails. I used two different sizes of dotting tools to get the different sized dots. 

Both hands together.

Polishes used in this manicure: Revlon Minted (base polish with two coats), Lynnderella Attitude Adjust-Mint (one coat), and for the dots: Borghese Menta and Sinful Colors Snow Me White. I also used Essie All In One Basecoat, Relvon Quick Dry Top Coat, and Seche Vite topcoat.

This would be a fun holiday manicure with reds or darker greens. A creme color base, topped with a coat of matching glitter, and then a few contrasting dots on accent nails. If you try it, please post a link here, I would love to see it!

Jacob Black

I am definitely Team Jacob. He's hotter, he's not dead, he is not as controlling as Edward (even though he still is a bit), and he is way better for Bella than freaky obsessive Edward. Ok, now that I have alienated half of you... ha ha! Anywho, here is the Jacob Black mani on my other hand to complete the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 manicure.

Ok, so he looks a little.... puffy. It was really hard to do this nail art. I was using my non-dominant hand to paint it. So considering that, I will give myself some slack for painting Jacob as if he needed to hit the gym after a few too many Twinkies. 

I really like the base for these nails! I started with a golden shimmery polish, then sponged on a deep red polish and a shimmery brown polish around the edges to get this grungy look. I think it is really beautiful!

Yeah, his face started out too round and didn't get better from there. Oh well. I used acrylic paints to make the Jacob portrait. Sadly, my nails are not long enough to fit his abs in the painting. 

Here is Jake before top coat. I was concentrating so hard on painting this that I totally missed everything my husband said to me last night. I hope it wasn't anything important. 

Here is a side shot of the finished Jacob. I was hoping it would hide his chubbiness. I blame his extra weight on the curvature of my nail. It's like the Doppler Effect!

Polished used in this manicure: Wet n Wild un-labled mini polish (I think it is The Gold and The Beautiful), Revlon Bewitching Bordeaux, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Coco a-go-go. Also Essie All In One Basecoat and Seche Vite topcoat.

My hubby bought tickets for me and my step daughter to go see Breaking Dawn tonight. Should be a squealing good time! LOL

Edward Cullen

In honor of the new Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn Part 1, here are my Edward Cullen nails! I am taking my step daughter to see the movie on Friday. She is beside herself with excitement. I am a Team Jacob girl myself, and I will share those nails here tomorrow. This manicure takes some inspiration from Robin Moses who did a spot on Edward Cullen mani a while ago. Check her version out by clicking here.

As my husband would say (in a falsetto voice), "Oh Edwin!" He also likes to refer to sparkle vampire #1 as Edgar. It drives his daughter crazy. :)

I started with a fun base of a pearly blue polish, then sponged some steel colored polish around the edges and finally sponged some black on it as well. I was going for a grungy/moody feeling like the dark pics of Edward Cullen on the movie posters. 

I mixed white and silver acrylic paints to give Edward's skin a subtle sparkly sheen. You can kind of see it in person, but it doesn't translate on these pics. 

After I took this pic, I realized that Edward needed more highlights in his hair. It looked way too much like an afro in this pic. Which could be a good look for him...

There's the mussy bed head we all know and love! 

I took this pic in the sunlight, hoping it would show off the sparkle in his skin a bit more. No, not really. I also added his little pea coat. Edward is so stylin'! Looking at these pics closeup, I realize I should have tried to add pupils to his eyes, but honestly, you can't tell in real life. His eyes are TINY.

Polishes used in this mani: Revlon Steel-her Heart, Wet n Wild Black Creme, and a mini un-labled Wet n Wild, though I am pretty sure it is Rain Check. I also used Essie All In One Basecoat, and topped it all with Seche Vite topcoat. 

And finally, I have a REALLY BIG FAVOR to ask you, my lovely followers! I have entered the OPI Muppets Madness contest with a manicure of Miss Piggy. I cannot post a picture of it here, since the rules specify that it cannot be published anywhere else, other than the contest page. If you have facebook, I would really appreciate you taking a look and please vote for my mani: PIG POWER by Michelle Marques. Thank you soooo much! Here is the link to my entry. Voting ends on Sunday.

Mom's Pumpkin Nails and Giveaway Winner

Today's post is actually a manicure I did for my mom when she was here for a visit at the beginning of October. I followed a design by Robin Moses for this simple fall themed manicure. My mom really liked it and she said it lasted for almost two weeks! Wow!

I started with a base of butter LONDON All Hail The Queen. Mom picked out this color, and it is soooo pretty! It has a holographic sheen to it, really nice!

I painted the pumpkin and pumpkin vines using acrylic paint. Robin Moses's video on this technique is really helpful, I encourage you to click on the link above to see how she does it. 

Here are mom's finished nails in the sunlight. Dang, I should send mom some Lemony Flutter cuticle cream! Moisturize those cuticles, mom!

Here's her left hand. I didn't get too crazy with the design because we were headed to a gourd festival and needed to get her manicure done quickly. 

HI MOM!!

Polishes I used in this manicure: Essie All In One Basecoat, butter LONDON All Hail The Queen, and Revlon Quick Dry Topcoat. 

Ok, on to the part you quickly scrolled down to, skipping the manicure to find out if you had won my giveaway, LOL! I had a great response to the giveaway, thank you all for entering and showing such interest in my nail art. It is fun to do, and even more fun to share. I had 326 entries! And the winner is....

Congrats to rachlovespenguins! I have sent you an email Rachel. 

These Go To Eleven

In honor of 11-11-11, also known as Nigel Tufnel Day, I have painted these awesome nails. On a scale of one to ten, these go to eleven. Bwahahahaha! If you have no idea what I am talking about, you need to go see a great movie called "This Is Spinal Tap" an amazing spoof on rockumentary films. A friend on mine on facebook shared an awesome image of Nigel Tufnel on a guitar pick in honor of today, and I used that image to create this manicure.

This is Nigel Tufnel, lead guitarist for the band Spinal Tap, as played by the actor Christopher Guest. (Christopher Guest is incredible, and he also played the 6 Fingered Man in The Princess Bride!!)

The base polish for this mani is Wet n Wild Ebony Hates Chris. I love this polish! It applies so well, and is perfectly opaque in one coat. Yay!

I used acrylic paints in white and black to paint Nigel. Here you can see the base white paint to start the image. 

This is Nigel before I topcoated. The eye on the right was actually really perfect and then I started messing with it trying to adjust it, and it took me about 10 minutes to fix it back to somewhat ok. Why oh why do I mess with things when they are just fine??! Arrg!

On my right hand, I painted the number 11. During a scene in This Is Spinal Tap, Nigel shows off an amplifier that has knobs going up to eleven. So funny! I will link the clip at the end of this post.

Here is the piece that got me laughing and inspired me to create this manicure. This is artwork by Metaluna 5 Media. You can find them on facebook by clicking here. 

Here are the two hands together. This manicure killed me, it was too funny. And really, if you haven't seen This Is Spinal Tap, go watch it. You'll love it!