31 Day Challenge: Metallic

Today's challenge is Metallic nails. I could not think of a better metal than GOLD. Woohoo! I used the real 22K gold leaf topcoat I got from Lori at spectraflair4u.com. It needs to be applied in a dabbing method to work well, but it is such a thrill to say that you have real gold on your finger tips!

I used OPI San-Tan-Tonio as the base, then used the gold topcoat on most of my nails. I added the ring finger design using acrylic paint. There's a skull, a little bug/spider dude, and a bat. I am pretty happy with how it turned out!

Click here to see my metallic nails from 2011.

31 Day Challenge: Orange

For the orange challenge, I decided to try a jelly sandwich. I then stamped a fun pattern of skulls on my ring finger.

I started with one coat of OPI Y'All Come Back Now Ya Hear? and then used one coat of Sonoma Nail Art Pumpkin Hurl, then added another coat of the OPI polish. I love how squishy and pretty it looks! On my ring finger, I used Konad Black to stamp an image of skulls from Sugar Bubbles SB023. 

Here is what I did for the orange challenge in 2011.

You can buy Sonoma Nail Art Pumpkin Hurl in my esty store now! :)

Skull and Roses Inspired by Robin Moses

Hey, that rhymes! Robin Moses recently did a tutorial with this gorgeous design. I modified it a bit when I did it this past weekend.

I used Cult Nails Mazo as a base and painted the skull and roses by hand using acrylic paints. Robin's design was a modified french manicure. I put the roses at the top of the nail bed.

Here's Cult Nails Mazo on its own. It is a really interesting nude shade with a gorgeous green/yellow/orange shimmer. I just love it. This is two coats.

ACTION SHOT! I actually did this mani (the nail art part of it) while I was at a broadcast for my radio station. We had to get there really early due to road closures, so I sat at our booth and did this nail art waiting for the broadcast to start. :) And I really need to wash that grey right outta my hair, LOL.

See, there's my palette and my tiny little nail brush. This was a fun design to do (although I realized as I painted this on Cinco de Mayo that I had my Mexican holidays mixed up). 

Another shot of the skull and roses mani. This is a fairly simple manicure to do with really only three colors of acrylic paint to work with. 

Here's Cult Nails Mazo. I love Maria's polishes and this one was really easy to apply and covered in two coats. Now for a little begging: I have entered a nail stamping contest with Bundle Monster. If you would take a second to click this link and vote for me, I would really appreciate it! And be sure to check out the other entries, there are some really talented ladies out there! https://apps.facebook.com/winnailplates/contests/216667/voteable_entries/48985009

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Inspired by a Flag

I was thinking of doing a "Freak Flag," which probably would have been fun, but instead chose this as my Halloween flag. It's the good ol' Skull and Crossbones.

I just painted the skull and crossbones on my ring finger. It was a fairly quick manicure, although looking closely at these picks, I should have spent more time cleaning up my cuticles. Ah well...

I painted the skull and crossbones with white acrylic paint, and used black acrylic paint to add the eye sockets and nose. Also used black polish to clean up some of the lines. Acrylic paint makes mistakes go away!

Here are both hands together. Yes, it was a really quick mani. I could have done more with it, but I realized that I was behind in posting, so this is what it is. The polish I used in this manicure is Wet 'n Wild Fast Dry Ebony Hates Chris. 

This is my 40th post which means I will be making another donation to Women's Recovery Services. Every 20 posts I will donate $10 to this organization. They help women get back on their feet after dealing with substance abuse. Part of their program offers women toiletries and personal grooming items. Every woman deserves a chance to feel good about herself, and a bit of make up can really boost self-confidence. Find out more about Women's Recovery Service online by clicking here. 

Next up: Nails inspired by the supernatural.... ooooOOOoooOoo!

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Rainbow Nails

I was not quite sure how to work rainbows into a Halloween theme. That is, until I thought about the very vibrant and colorful sugar skulls that are part of the traditional El Dia de Los Muertos celebrations in Latin cultures. Skulls made of sugar are decorated with colorful icing and placed in alters and on gravestones as a way to 'sweeten death' and to remember a loved one who has passed away. I took this idea and translated it to a very colorful rainbow manicure:

Look at how cute they turned out! Eee! I did not add any bling to these, but a few dots of silver or gold, or some glitter polishes would be rad.

I started with a bright base color for each nail. See the end of this post for a list of the polishes I used. 

I actually kind of like my right hand better in this manicure, which doesn't happen often! Most of the nails required two coats of polish for coverage, except the orange and red. 

I painted the outline of skulls in black acrylic paint on each nail. I added little protruding cheek bones on each skull, since many of the examples of Day of the Dead Skulls seemed to be in this style. 

Then it was just a matter of mixing acrylic paints in complimentary and contrasting colors, and filling in each skull, then adding details in contrasting paint. I could have added more details, but these did turn out pretty close to what I had imagined. 

Here are the finished nails on my right hand. The thumb skull kind of looks like an alien, ha!

Here are the two hands together. El Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead is celebrated by Latinos here in California, and increasingly people of all cultures are embracing this holiday. The town of Petaluma in Sonoma County has a whole month of exhibits, workshops, parades, and other celebrations in observance of El Dia de Los Muertos. Find out more on the Petaluma Arts Center website. I really want to do the sugar skull workshop next weekend, it looks like so much fun!

Here are the polishes I used in this manicure: Wet 'n Wild Everybody Loves Redmond, Wet 'n Wild Sunny Side Up, China Glaze Happy Go Lucky (love this yellow!), Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lickety-Split Lime, Wet 'n Wild Blueberry Fizz, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Urgent Orchid, Essie All In One Basecoat, and Seche Vite Topcoat.

Whew! That's a lotta polish!

On a COMPLETELY different note: I have decided to make regular donations to Women's Recovery Services with this blog. Every 20 posts I will donate $10 to help women in my community. From their website: "Women’s Recovery Services (WRS) is a haven where women struggling to live free from addiction can find the support and specialized treatment they need." 

During their stay with WRS, women will receive hygiene and grooming products. As beauty bloggers well know, having a nice hair style, or wearing a bit of pretty make up, or even a nice manicure can really boost self confidence and make someone feel worthwhile. For a woman going through a transition to a sober and healthy lifestyle, this boost of confidence can mean a lot. In this small way, I hope my nail blog will help someone have a better life and another chance.

I encourage YOU to think about ways your blog can help your own community! You of course can make donations to Women's Recovery Services, but you can also look for a similar program where you live. As bloggers, we have the luxury to buy pretty polishes and make fun artwork. Think about how a bottle of beautiful polish or a trip to a salon would make another woman feel, a women who may have lost confidence in herself and who could really use our compassion.

Tomorrow another nail art challenge: gradient. I think I have a pretty interesting interpretation of this style. Come back tomorrow to see it!