31 Day Challenge: Glitter

For today's challenge I of course had to use my own fabulous glitter toppers! Who loves Sonoma Nail Art?! I heart Sonoma Nail Art. (See what I did there?)

I started by painting my nails with Wet n Wild Ebony Hates Chris, then topped the black with Pumpkin Hurl (a gorgeous orange, red, and yellow topper), and the middle finger with Grape Stomp (purple squishy goodness). Both of these shades and other gorgeous colors are available in my etsy store right now. And that orange topper would look great for any Bay Area sports fans right about now, wink wink. On my ring finger I started with butter LONDON Minger, then used acrylic paint to make the Jack Skellington head. 

Click here to see my glitter manicure from 2011.

P.S. I am going to have to take a breather from the challenge for a bit. I am supposed to be getting ready for a group open studio at my art studios and I really need to get ready for that. Plus, I am just stretching myself too thin right now, and starting to not feel good. So I will probably pick the challenge back up in November. Thanks for your support! Oh and if you are in Sonoma County and want to come to my art show (it's free!), it is at 3840 Finley Avenue in Santa Rosa. It will be November 1st and 2nd from 11am to 5pm. We will have a little reception on Saturday the 1st, from 5pm to 6pm. 

Nightmare Before Christmas

I was really looking forward to doing this challenge in the 12 Days of Christmas Manis challenge. I love this movie so much, and it is awesome that I get to do this theme twice a year (for Halloween AND Christmas)!

It's Jack Skellington in his Santa Claus (Claws) suit, with Oogie Boogie on my middle finger. Oogie has his own little holiday hat on. 

This is the image I used as the model for my manicure. I found this image online here. 

I started with a base of OPI Brand New Skates. This is three coats, and there is still visible nail line, but when I look at my nails in less harsh light (not directly under a lamp like these photos) the nail line is much less prominent. Brand New Skates was part of OPI's Holiday In Toyland line. It came out in 2008, but oddly enough, my local drugstore has it now. 

Here's Jack before I topcoated. I used acrylic paints to do the artwork on these nails. See my FAQ section to learn more about the tools I use for my nail art. 

Oogie Boogie was super fun to paint. I mixed yellow acrylic paint into my green paint to give him a little bit of a sickly glow. I thought about giving him a top coat of Ghoulish Glow glow in the dark polish, but that kind of mutes the nail art. 

On my right hand I painted some holly leaves and berries. It was a simple bit of nail art that ties the two hands together, and wasn't too difficult to do with my non-dominant hand. 

This is part of the 12 Days of Christmas Manis challenge. Feel free to join in if you'd like! The rules are very loose, you can do as little or as much as you'd like, and in any order you want. 

Here are some other nail bloggers who are doing this challenge. Check them out for great holiday nail art!

Amber - http://amberdunson.blogspot.com/

Chilli - http://polishandpoise.blogspot.com/

Jamie - http://www.nailsadored.com

Jen - http://sweettipsnails.blogspot.com/

Pauline - http://omgnoodles.blogspot.com/

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Inspired by a Pattern

Today's nails are inspired by the pattern on Sally's dress from Nightmare Before Christmas! I thought this was a perfect way to do a Halloween pattern mani. I first saw the patchwork-style on the whole nail manicure done by Kayla Shevonne. You can see her amazing patchwork manicure by clicking here. I did not do my patchwork in the same way she did hers, by starting with the black, but I like both styles and they are really fun! Also, check out Robin Moses for more patchwork ideas. Her videos are incredibly helpful for learning new techniques.

I studied Sally's dress closely to match the fabric styles of her dress. I did all of this freehand, but you could totally stamp on the swirls on the purple instead.

I started with this lavender polish from Sally Hansen, and then added random patches of green polish. The green polish is from Claire's and it is actually a color changing polish from bright green to light green depending on your  mood. I wonder what mood I was in when I took this pic?

Then I randomly added the other colors, with a dusky blue, an orange, and a burnt umber kind of color. Saying burnt umber always reminds me of Bob Ross, and thinking of Bob Ross makes me smile. You will see that I did not include every color on every nail. I think that makes the manicure more interesting. 

Then I added details to some of the fabric using acrylic paints. Again, you could totally stamp the swirly pattern on the purple at the beginning, to save yourself some time. I tried to make the patterns match Sally's dress as well as I could. 

Here's the mani with all of the black lines and stitches added. This part is really easy. Just outline the areas and add a few stitches here and there. It doesn't have to be perfect, in fact it looks better if it isn't. Add topcoat and you are done!

Polishes used in this manicure: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Delphinium, butter LONDON Minger, China Glaze Happy Go Lucky, Essie Very Structured, Cult Nails Awakening, Claire's Mood Nail Polish in Happy/Earthy. (Apparently I was feeling Earthy!)

Thursday's mani: Nails inspired by Artwork. Ooo, this will be fun. :)