Summer Fashion

Here's another design for Neverland Nail Blog's Summer Challenge. Today we are featuring nail art inspired by our favorite summer fashion. This is inspired by my favorite sarong that I picked up while on vacation in the Bahamas. I like to wear this as a wrap when I head down to the pool.

I actually managed to paint BOTH hands with this design. I know, crazy! And I like how this ended up looking kind of like a batik pattern. 

I started with one coat of my favorite black: Wet n Wild Ebony Hates Chris. Then I added the designs using white acrylic paint. 

After I had gone through and added the white designs, I topped them with a very watered down yellow wash of acrylic paint. This did not have to be super exact, because I wanted to give it a hand made kind of feel. 

Finally I added bits of orange acrylic paint in areas of the design to get more depth and mimic the pattern of the sarong. Then I topped with two coats of Seche Vite. 

Pool Party Nails

Here is another design for Neverland Nail Blog's Summer Nail Art Challenge. The theme is pool party. I happen to live above the pool at my apartment complex, so the feeling of a pool party is a bit different for me than for other people who don't live above/right next to a pool. For about 5 months out of the year, almost every night is a pool party. I get the pleasure of hearing my neighbors yack it up in and around the pool. So for me, a pool party means NOISE! LOL

MARCO! POLO! And lots of screaming and swearing. Gotta love kids in their first apartments who think it is awesome to swear around a pool full of children. o.O

I started with a base of OPI Fly from the Nicki Minaj collection. This is a great blue, although it is a jelly and could use three coats (I used two).

This is what I WISH it was like to live above the pool: calm, reflective water and just the sounds of ripples on the surface. No. Such. Luck. These ripples are painted on with acrylic paint.

Then I added black words on my nails and filled them in with other colors to make them pop. Whoever invented the Marco Polo water game should be drowned.

The gradient on the Marco Polo nails was fun to do and emphasizes the VOLUME at which children scream the words out during their games.

This last shot includes my thumb (but I am sad that the corner of it broke) and the voice of at least one kid who always is trying to get his/her mom's attention. Mom, mom, mommy, momma, hey mom! Mommy! Look at me! Look what I can do! Ma! Mommy, mom, mom, ma! Are you looking? Mom!

Check out the other (possibly less manic) interpretations of Pool Party nails!

Summer Lovin': Let's Do It

Today's post is part of a challenge that my friend Lindsey of Neverland Nail Blog has put together. I have been swamped with work, nail polish sales, and now a very inconvenient summer cold, so this is my first entry and it is already late. :( I chose this design for the "Summer Lovin'" theme: Let's Do It!

This design is inspired by the Cole Porter song, "Let's Do It" which mentions lots of different types of creatures falling in love. The images here are from the song lyrics: "Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it" and  the line "Sentimental Centipedes do it, Let's do it, let's fall in love."

I used OPI La Paz-itively Hot Matte as my base. Then I used acrylic paints to do the artwork. 

These kissing fish cracked me up!

I thought about adding a matte topcoat to keep the whole manicure matte, but I just topped everything with Seche Vite and called it good. :)

Here is the mani in the shade outside. The base color is really flattering and fun to wear. 

And be sure to check out the other fun manis with a Summer Lovin' theme!