Crumpet's 31DC: Inspired by Pinterest

Also known as "My Blog."

I try to be as up front as possible about where my ideas come from, and they are 70% Pinterest ideas, 28% blogs I already read, and about 2% my own.  I'm a word girl, not an art girl.  I do, though, enjoy trying new things, so I'm so thankful for all of the ladies out there who ARE art girls and creative and inspiring.  I also try to always give as much credit as possible where it is due.
So, this post is basically any other post for me :)  I browsed through my nail board and decided to go for a subtle-ish look that I love:

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Essie Lady Like
*3 coats I Am Strong (middle)
*2 coats China Glaze I'm Not Lion
*1 coat Out the Door (2 on I'm Not Lion)

The colors that Anne at Grape Fizz Nails used in the original mani are a bit more muted and a little different in tone, but I like how these went together (and now have hers on my wish list).  While I Am Strong is brighter than I thought it would be, I like how the 3 colors work together.
I'm becoming more and more of a double accent nail fan, so I'm digging this.  I'm also learning to let creams be and NOT add shimmer/glitter/sparkle on top. 

What have you found on Pinterest that I need to see?  (Honestly, what ISN'T on Pinterest that I need to see?!)

Clovers and Gold

I wanted to wear some St. Patrick's day looks, and this is one that I pinned a while ago (originally painted by Glitter and Nails) and have been wanting to wear because the colors are awesome together.  My camera, however, does not capture Four Leaf Clover at all.  The problem, I think, is my flash.  When I simply use a lamp to light my photos the colors are MUCH truer, but the pictures are always blurry.  When I use the flash they are clear, but colors are off.  Do you have any tips?

*1 coat Hoof Lacquer
*2 coats China Glaze Four Leaf Clover
*3 coats China Glaze Gingerbread
*2 coats Out the Door

In real life, Four Leaf Clover is much darker and greener.  Here it looks like Aquadellic or For Audrey, but it is actually a really pretty blue-green cream.  It applies easily and I used 2 coats to get a clean, smooth finish.
Gingerbread is a polish that I bought a couple of Christmases ago and it is just stunning.  Macro photos are always rough on coverage, but in real life you can't see any gaps or nail.  I used 3 coats, even though I don't usually do full-coverage glitter, and loved it!  It is a warm holo gold glitter in a clear base.  It is pretty dense, but still sparse enough for layering in one coat.
I loved this look and it wore well until I went to work.  Then some tape took off a whole index nail and somehow I lost a whole accent nail.  I spotted it on the floor later--it just slipped off, like I had a glue base!  It made removal a lot easier, but it also made it come sooner than I had hoped.  

Rockin' around the Christmas tree

This is a post where I wish my photography skills were better.  I am learning little by little, but still not so great with the pictures.  These nails were so much better in person, mainly because I killed them with my auto flash.  As soon as I saw Nailslide's Abstract Trees, I knew I wanted to try them (and apparently everyone else does too because they are awesome and popping up all over!).  I'm glad that I went back and looked at them again before I painted.  I had planned to do a gold base and green top, which would have worked out just fine, but I really liked the little gold trees!

*1 coat Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats OPI Skip the Gift Wrap
*1 coat China Glaze Winter Holly
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I
*1 coat Out the Door

 I was going to just layer Winter Holly up, but decided to use it over a base.  I used 2 coats of Skip the Gift Wrap (a dark, shimmery green that dries to a foil finish) for opacity and then 1 coat of Winter Holly for all of its glittery goodness.  I don't know if I will ever get tired of this green, gold, holo beauty!

I taped off triangles like she suggests and then tried out striping tape for the first time, which I won in a giveaway.  I was really surprised by how thin it is, laying very close to the nail, and how much comes in one little roll.  I made the strips long enough to stick to the Scotch tape, which made removal so easy--one careful pull and they were done!
Golden-I was a good cover, one thick coat over the tape and it was set.  I was a little unsure of myself, so I didn't get too creative with the garland/tape, but I really liked how they looked today.  I added a little rhinestone for the tree topper and, despite everything that screamed "add some more glitter on top!" (I know, I have a problem), I let them be with a good, thick top coat. 
In person, the definition of color is much stronger and sharper, but overall I really liked how these turned out!  Now I not only have rhinestones and new dotting tools to play with, but a whole lot of striping tape to try new designs with!

"Santa Claus is coming to town..."

This is not what I intended to wear today.  I had planned (and tried) to do a candy cane mani.  Last Christmas, when I was just beginning to read blogs and think beyond simply painting and layering polish, I did candy cane stripes on my thumbs with red nails (my first accent nail!).  I was going to do stripes again, but better.  I taped off thick red stripes and then added smaller ones to look more like candy canes.  They looked...not good.  So, late last night I went with another Christmas design that I think turned out pretty cute!  Here's a hint: it shakes when he laughs like a bowl full of jelly...

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats China Glaze Ruby Pumps
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*butter London Fairy Cake
*2 coats Out the Door top coat

 

I was pinspired by this mani I found on Pinterest (which was also inspired by another blogger).  I realized after the fact that I made my buckle a little wrong.  I should remember to look back at photos as I work...

 

 

I started with 2 coats of China Glaze Ruby Pumps.  I hadn't used this red for a Christmas mani yet so I dug it out.  You'll be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't love this squishy, glittery red!  It's actually a bit darker than it looks in these photos and a-mazing.  I taped off a narrow strip and used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out for the belt.

I used butter London's Fairy Cake for the glittery buckle.  This polish is SO pretty!  It's dense, silvery, holo goodness in a bottle.  The one downside is that it is a glitter, so I had to do a couple of passes with the nail art brush to make the lines opaque, which made them less crisp than I would have liked. 
Aside from the buckles, the one thing I think I might change next year is using Ruby Pumps.  Half of me loves how uber-sparkly this is and half of me thinks that the pretty cream finish looks so nice.  I'm torn!  Have you done a fun Santa mani this year?  Any cool interpretations of him?  Do tell!

Pinterest inspiration

As soon as I spotted this on Pinterest, I knew that I wanted it on my fingers!  I followed the link to All That Is Gorgeous and quickly decided that Jenn is a polisher after my own heart.  (No, seriously, go check out her awesome work!)  So, I looked through my stash to see if there was something that I could recreate the look with.  No go.  So, since the polishes are cheap and easy enough to track down, I nabbed both and decided to give it a try.

(I have such a hard time figuing out flash or no flash...neither was good)

 



*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails base

*3 coats Sinful Colors Unicorn

*1 coat Sally Girl gold glitter

*2 coats Seche Vite

I was determined to love this yellow.  I have others that are shimmery, golden polishes, but nothing that is this soft, baby chick yellow.  I read reviews that bemoaned its streaks, but I was determined...

I wanted so badly to love it.  One coat was thin.  Two coats streaked.  I went for a slightly thicker third.  It was full coverage, which is great, but it streaked, no matter how hard I tried.  It is due more to the creamy polish than the color, I think, but I was so frustrated.  So how do you fix that?  Slap the glitter on and some thick top coat and hope for the best!

The glitter did help even out the look a lot.  I was sorta satisfied with the look, though my photos do not do it justice like hers do.  It was a nice look, the light yellow and bright gold.  I actually got a number of compliments about this one, too, despite my streaks (that no one but me seemed to notice).  I even had one lady ask where she could find the stickers I used.  When I told her it was polish she was amazed and said the glitter was too uniform!  Well, if that doesn't make your day...

So, I think that this is one I would do again.  The yellow will be great for dotting because it is so creamy when most are sheer.  If I can put my perfectionist aside, the color is gorgeous and a little glitter can hide most any of the imperfections!