31 Day Challenge: Floral

Today's challenge is floral nails and besides Audrey II, that lovable man-eating flower, the other deadly bloom is Belladonna, or deadly nightshade.

I did a gradient of China Glaze Glittering Garland, Zoya Midori, and Sally Hansen Lickety-Split Lime. Then I added the stems, leaves, and flowers using acrylic paints. I am pretty happy with how this turned out.

Click here to see my floral nails from 2011.

Beast Mode Nails

These are the nails I did for the Superbowl on Sunday, and I did them right before we were headed out to watch the game at our favorite watering hole. My husband was chomping at the bit for me to get done already, so we could score good seats to watch the game. And so I am sharing these with a caveat: I didn't have time to moisturize and make sure all of my cleanup/lines looked good. I was kind of horrified to look at close up pictures of this mani. SO DRY! With that in mind...

I deconstructed the Seahawks logo. You can see part of the beak on my index finger, and the eyes on my middle and pinkie fingers. On my ring finger is The Beast from Disney's Beauty and The Beast. For those unfamiliar with the Seahawks, one of the players, Marshawn Lynch, is nicknamed 'Beast Mode' for his amazing skills as a running back. So these are my Beast Mode Nails!

The base colors I used were Zoya Dove, Orly Fresh, OPI Ogre The Top Blue, and Sinful Colors Snow Me White. All of the artwork is done with acrylic paints, then topped with Seche Vite. And obviously no moisturizer. What have we learned from this, kids?! Always moisturize your cuticles!

I think it was totally worth it to keep my husband waiting while I finished these. Can you imagine what would have happened if I hadn't?! LOL

Broke A Nail

I am sure this had happened to you. One nail breaks and you have to file it down to a little nubbin. And then you have to worry about the other nails: do they have to go, too? What did THEY do to deserve THIS?! After my index nail broke this week I decided, no! No, I will not file them all down. Instead, I will put a band-aid on it until it gets better.

There there, you'll be back to your old self soon, little guy.

I started with a base of Zoya Wednesday, a dusty turquoise. This is a hard color to photograph as it likes to turn my hands into lobster colored claws. This is the best true-to-color shot I could get.

I painted a little band-aid on my index finger using acrylic paints, then topcoated with Seche Vite. Now it is time to take my vitamins and get that nail to grow out! 

Bloggers Against Bullying

Bullying is not funny.  It is not cool.  It is not right.  And more importantly, it is not okay.

Most of us are thankfully residents of countries that support tolerance and many of our families have settled in these places simply for that reason.  Generations later, it is our responsibility to perpetuate that message of tolerance across our new social platforms, including the internet.

As members of the nail polish community, we all share a love of beauty, color, and lacquer.  Other than that, we are remarkably different: from our race to our religion to our hair color and even to our polish application techniques.  To look down on anyone because of those differences is completely unacceptable and today I take a stand against that.  I refuse to allow other people's view of "normal" dictate how I behave, believe, and blog.

In solidarity with a multitude of bloggers linked below, my purple manicure represents my proud commitment to the anti-bullying movement.  Today, November 8, I dedicate my post  to ending bullying of any kind and to encouraging diversity and imperfection among our colorful community.

I used Zoya Lotus for the base and hand painted little hearts on my ring finger with OPI Rumple's Wiggin'. 

We have all had to deal with bullying, either as a witness or a victim of it. I am so worried for my teen aged step daughter because I know how cruel kids can be, but we need to all take a stand against bullying. Just like you talk to your children about safety from strangers, and the inevitable sex talk, it is also important to talk about bullying. And adult bullies need to grow up and practice kindness instead.

Gradient Graveyard

I've been a little bit behind on the Halloween Challenge posts. Sorry about that! I have been covering for coworkers and just did a major broadcast from Napa that required three trips to the site to get it done. I would prefer not to drive to Napa again any time soon, LOL.

Today I am combining two of the challenge topics together: gradient (today's challenge) and graveyard. They really work well together!

Creeeeeepy! It is supposed to look like the mist on a an overcast day in a sinister graveyard. And who is that specter amongst the tombstones?!?! Run! Save yourselves!!!!

I started with Essie Blanc for my base, then did a gradient using Essie Blanc, Zoya Dove, and a franken of Wet n Wild black and white. I searched through my stash to see if I had a dark grey that might work, but realized I only had light greys. And like 5 bottles of basically the same grey color. Don't tell my husband, ha ha.

Then I used white and black acrylic paints to make the graveyard and spooky ghosty guy. Making the items in the background lighter makes them appear to be further away. Be sure to check out the other people who did a Halloween Challenge today too! 

My next etsy sale is coming up this evening in about 2 hours, so if you were looking for my Halloween collection of polishes, this will be your last chance! Here is the link to my store. The sale will be at 6:30pm Pacific Time (9:30pm Eastern) today, October 22nd.

Halloween Challenge: Horror Movies

I am taking part in another Halloween Challenge this year! I did the 31 Day Nail Art challenge last year at this time, but it was VERY time consuming and I just don't have to capacity to do that much this year. So this challenge will hopefully be more manageable and still be just as fun! Today's theme is Horror Movies. I chose one of the scariest movies I could think of: Poltergeist.

When I turned 12 years old my mom let me have my first boy-girl party and I chose this movie for us to watch. I have no idea why my mom let us watch this, it is terrifying!! The pool! The meat! The CLOWN! OMG, the CLOWN!!! Seriously, I am scarred for life because of that movie. Little Carol Anne could not be any creepier. Gah, I have goosebumps just thinking about it. 

I started with Zoya Skylar for the base. This color sort of reminded me of the blueish glow in a room when the tv is on a static signal. 

Then I used acrylic paints to make a static tv screen. This is a combination of white and blues. I used a dotting stroke to try to mimic the static blips on the screen.

Next I painted the little darling herself. Carol Anne in front of the tv screen, communicating with people only she can hear. Heebie Jeebie time FOR SURE!! I used white to outline her hands and head, so that there is a glow around her. 

Here are the other challenges I will be trying this month. It is a fun list of ideas!

And be sure to check out the other people who are trying this challenge. Maybe you should check them out with the lights ON. ;)

Writer's Block Nails and 500 Followers Winner!

I laughingly call this mani my Writer's Block Nails because I painted my digits with Essie Blanc, meaning to do something for my friend Sarah's Dotting Tool Contest, and this is what I ended up wearing for 3 days. o.O

Yeah, not very inspired. I am happy to report that I did eventually come up with a design for Sarah's contest and I will post those soon. Meanwhile, I am thrilled to announce that Courtney Young is the winner of my 500 Follower contest! I asked you to paint your nails using your favorite color (you didn't have to do any artwork, but it certainly was welcome) and submit it for voting on Facebook. Courtney's nails received the most likes and she has won a selection of 6 nail polishes in my favorite hue: blue!

Here is what Courtney said about her sushi nails: "I used Zoya Apple and did some sushi nail art over it. Thanks so much for the contest. I can't wait to see everyone else's favorites!"

There really were some great entries and I thank everyone for sending in your photos and for voting on your favorites. I loved every single entry. 

Mardi Gras Nails

Laissez les bon temps rouler! Happy Fat Tuesday everyone! I have never celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but I have celebrated Fasnacht in Basel, Switzerland twice. It is one of the top 5 experiences of my life so far. Imagine giant paper lantern floats, led by teams of pipers and drummers decked out in crazy masks, all with paper lanterns on their heads, too! The lights of Basel go out at 4am and then it's a parade and a party until the sun comes up (and even after that). The pipers and drummers start to wander off onto side streets and you might end up following just a few of them down a little alleyway. Then you stop and get some coffee or beer, and Zwiebelkuchen, an onion-y quiche. Then you head back out for more! It's magical.

I chose Mardi Grad colors and did a skittles mani (skittles=different colors on each nail, like a bag of Skittles candy). Then I added a bit of nail art to make it festive.

Here are the nails before I added nail art.

I did the fleur de lis freehand using gold acrylic paint. To find out more about my technique for nail art and the tools and paints I use, please check out my FAQ section. 

On my right hand I added a string of beads using more gold acrylic paint.

Colors used in this manicure: Zoya Mimi, Ulta Envy, and L'Oreal Amazon's Flash. All of these shades are gorgeous!

If you are interested in Basel's Fasnacht celebration, check out this short video. Those lanterns following the big floats are attached to the tops of people's heads!

Finally, don't forget to cast your vote in my 500 Follower contest! I have all of the photos posted on my Facebook page. Simply 'like' the picture to cast your vote. Voting ends on Friday, February 24th at 5pm Pacific Time. Thanks!

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

For today's edition of the 12 Days of Christmas Manis, I did characters from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the claymation special from 1964. Did you know, that this is the longest running Christmas television special? How cool is that?!

On my thumb is Santa Claus, on my middle finger is Hermy the Misfit Elf, and on my ring finger is good ol Rudolph. 

I started with a base of Zoya's Marina. It is a blue grey slate color, and it has the right kind of wintry feel for this manicure. 

Here is a closer look at Santa. 

My hubby used to work at a dental lab, and his boss always decorated with pictures of Hermy the Misfit Elf during the holidays. You will remember that Hermy did not want to make toys like the other elves, his real passion was dentistry. LOL

Polishes used in this manicure: Zoya Marina, Essie All In One Base Coat and Seche Vite topcoat.

This is my 60th post on Sonoma Nail Art, and it means I am making another $10 donation to Women's Recovery Services. Women's Recovery Services helps women who are transitioning out of chemical dependence get back on their feet. Part of the items they supply to women are beauty products and personal care items. We all know how much a nice manicure or some pretty make up can boost self esteem. Every 20 posts, I like to donate to this cause to help women feel better about themselves. I encourage you to find ways to make your blog do good in your community, too! Find out more about Women's Recovery Services online by clicking here.

This is part of the 12 Days of Christmas Manis challenge. Join in if you would like! And be sure to take a look at other girls who are participating as well:

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/

Dragonflies Holo

This manicure was suggested by my friend Lauren after she saw my new holo polishes that I scored on eBay. Yes, I gave into temptation and ordered bottles from the China Glaze OMG Collection. They have a mythic status with nail bloggers due to their amazing linear holographic shimmer. This is different than holographic glitter. I know that I would be happy if China Glaze brought these holos back, it's such a pretty collection.

I started this manicure with a base of Zoya "Caitlin", a dusty lavender. Here it is in the shade. I only have two Zoya polishes in my collection. I really love the formula. This is two coats.

Here's a shot of Zoya "Caitlin" with a flash. As you can see, the color changes a lot depending on the lighting.

I am still getting the hang of using my camera during the stages of painting the manicure. I remembered to take a pic before I finished adding the eyeballs to the dragonfly on the left. And the right side is the ring finger on my left hand, before topcoat. I used a technique that I have seen Robin Moses do, like with her Nicki Minaj super bass nails. She added blobs of color on top of a black background to give it a scale-type look. Dragonfly wings have that scale design, too.

Finished mani in the sun. Click on the picture to see a larger version. The holographic effect really pops in the sunlight. You can see a bit of the glow on my thumb.

I started with the outline of the dragonflies in black acrylic paint, then added the holo polishes on top of the black to create the lacy wings and the glowing eyeballs.

Here are the polishes I used for this design: Zoya "Caitlin" for the base, China Glaze LOL for the eyeballs, and China Glaze 2NITE for the wings. I used Essie All In One Base for a basecoat and Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat to top it all off. What do you think? I think it's elegant and interesting, but not too out there.