Crumpet's 31DC: Recreate One of Your Own Old Manis

This was a tough one for me!  I originally started this blog for 2 reasons: to earn extra entries in giveaways by sharing the information and remembering/documenting polish looks I tried and liked.  I've felt a lot of pressure NOT to recreate old looks. which is really why I liked this--silly, huh?
There were plenty of designs or color combos that I LOVED and thought about wearing again, as well as looks I...butchered, for lack of a kinder word...that I'd like a second chance on.
With so much to think over, I went simple and obvious.  This is the first mani I ever posted:

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Zoya Zuza
*2 coats Icing Lemme See Your Peacock (accent)
*1 coat Out the Door

This was actually a combo I loved then and love now.  The glitters work well with Zuza, which I never get tired of wearing.  (The whole Surf collection was gorgeous and remain some of my favorite polishes).  Zuza is 2 easy, thin, perfect coats, just as it was then.  Lemme See Your Peacock got super thick, so I dumped polish thinner in.  While it revives, it's still a little difficult, so I had to dab a bit.  No biggie!
So there it is--where this blog, though DEFINITELY not my love of polish and nail art, started.

What have you revisited that you love better/improved upon?  What do you think I should give another try?

Crumpet's 31DC: Film

I learned in college that I am more creative with more restrictions.  When my options are wide open, I drown in them.  This happened with today's prompt: "film."
I thought through a hundred different movies to try to use for inspiration.  I looked at pictures and manis of actual film.  I thought about film on things, like bubbles.  I started to stress, and that's not what this should be about!
So, I thought of what color/polish I wanted to use, and then made it work.

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats China Glaze Altantis
*2 coats China Glaze Gothic Lolita
*1 coat Sinful Colors Pearl Harbor
*2 coats Out the Door

I got Atlantis for Christmas last year after falling in love with swatches online (seriously, this picture does NOT do it justice--check out Scrangie).  I'm kicking myself for just trying it now!  The teal jelly base is packed with holo glitter.  I only did 2 coats because this will come off tomorrow, but would either layer it or go for a third if I were wearing it longer to cover the visible nail line.  Honestly, though, it's gorgeous and I'm totally over any bald patches now (which are far more noticeable in photos that real life) :)  This is a very gritty glitter, though, so I used 2 thick top coat layers and would probably add a 3rd tomorrow if it was going to stay on longer. 
I used Gothic Lolita, a gorgeous lavender almost-creme with a subtle shimmer for my accent, then added Pearl Harbor on top for a little added shimmer.

So, have you figured out what I did for "film?"

I went with my favorite movie as a girl (that I may still be able to recite every line of...): The Little Mermaid!

How do you narrow down idea when there are so many options?  I'd love your advice!

31DC: Inspired by art

Like fashion, I am not really knowledgeable about art.  I'm a big believer of the cliche "I don't know art but I know what I like" and, really, "I know it when I see it."  Call me uncultured, that's okay.  I was nervous about this challenge until I remembered the bird and artist I fell in love with when I visited my friend in New Orleans last fall.  The delightful and talented Katie Leese is my inspiration today!  Please, please, please go check out her Etsy shop and take in all the adorable awesomeness!  I was fortunate enough to see her work and meet her as she sold her work at Jackson Square--her little bird is really the only souvenir I took home with me.  No untrieds today.

How cute is that?  "Love is the answer" with a crossword puzzle?  Brilliant!  I could not get enough of these little birds and it was SUCH a hard choice to just pick one! 

This was another polish-heavy art mani, so I'll run them down for each nail as I go.

 

I was worried that my bird would look nothing like a bird!  In this close up I can see that the eye needed a touch-up, but in real life you can't see that.  I was really happy with how he turned out!  I used 2 coats of Sinful Colors Unicorn for my background.  I outlined the bird with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out and a small paint brush.  The body is China Glaze Four Leaf Clover and the wing and beak are Zoya America.  I used the red and teal because those are the colors of my own little guy.

This is my little crossword puzzle nail.  I used 2 coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White and Black Out for the squares.

 

This one is based on another painting that I have fallen in love with!  "I love olive you" is 2 coats of Zoya Yara with America and Black Out for the accent.  This turned out really well!

 

 

This, however, did not... I needed a fifth design, and should have done another little bird.  Instead, I tried to make her little signature/logo.  This was not wise.  We'll move on...

 

I had to get the long legs and little bird feet in!  This is 2 coats of China Glaze Gothic Lolita and Black Out.

So, I'm 85% happy with this.  That ring finger is a mess, so ignore that, and the res isn't too bad.  This macro setting is a bit less forgiving than the naked eye is, but overall I'm glad that I remembered these little bird and this super-cute artist for today!  Do you have any really cool artist finds on Etsy (aside from polish--it's a given that I'm already stalking dozens of those shops!)?  I'd love to find more ways to wast time on there!

31DC: Rainbow

This is a combination of the past challenges (except metallic, I guess): rainbow!  I had found a lot of really cute rainbows to try and there are a lot of really great interpretations for this challenge.  I decided to try a really cute pin I found on Pinterest.  I tried really hard to find this original source, but couldn't.  If you know who made this mani let me know so I can give credit!  This has 5 untrieds!

*Yello-Out base coat
*1 coat Sally Hansen Insta Dri Presto Pink (thumb)
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed (index)
*1 coat China Glaze Four Leaf Clover (middle)
*1 coat Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blew Me Away (ring)
*2 coats China Glaze Gothic Lolita (pinkie)
*2 coats Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*1 coat Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Disco Ball
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Seche Vite

The colors I chose were so pretty on their own that I almost just left them a skittle.  I really wanted to see if I could pull of the balloon, though.  Overall, they were okay.  Almost every plosh was a one-coat color, which was awesome with so many to use!  I can't find my scotch tape right now, so I used some old French manicure strips I found, that actually had a good shape to them.  Because they are old, though, the adhesive was a little funky, which made for some bad lines.  I should have taken the time to clean up edges, but this one took a while and I didn't want to push my luck and mess up what I had. 

I had to add just a little sparkle to this one (though these creams are SO pretty) with some Disco Ball over the white. This was fine on all my nails except for the Four Leaf Clover. This got a funky green tint to it--I must have hit some wet polish? But it didn't show up on any other nail...oh well! I think I'll definitely try this one again sometime, maybe not as a rainbow. I'll need to work on my strings a bit, but overall I was actually surprised about how well this one came out!

Diving in!

Welcome!
It is with a little trepidation that I start this blog.  I know that I am new to the world of nail art.  I am not nearly as talented as most of the girls out there who are doing this.  I am not especially artistic or creative and will never freehand art like the blogs I swoon over.
But I love nail polish!  I have always done my own nails and have loved polish since I was in junior high school.  I've loved bright, funky colors, loved glitter, loved layering and shimmer.  I like the way that polish makes me feel a little girly and a little artsy, even when I am not particularly either!  I'm at home in jeans and a tee shirt, but feel naked without some sparkle on my hands!
More than anything, this is a scrapbook of sorts for me.  I try combinations that I love, and then later forget what they were.  This way, I will have a running list of what works (and maybe doesn't!).  This will also let me support and connect with other polish-addicts out there who do awesome work--I'm excited to have a way to show some love for your art!
So here goes nothing!
I'm working two jobs and sleeping whenever I can, so my nails don't usually get more than one mani a week, but I still want to give this a go.  Here's what's going on today:

(Another reservation I have is my lack of photography skill.  My little camera cannot do what many can, and my unsteady hand cannot get pictures too sharp, so be kind and use a little imagination when looking at the pictures!)
I've been thinking about a peacock colored manicure for a while now.  I recently nabbed some of the gorgeous Zoya Surf line in their Pinterest giveaway, so Zuza is taking center stage here.
 
*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Nails (my go-to base)
*2 coats Zuza
*2 coats Icing Lemme See Your Peacock
*1 coat Healthy Hoof Lacquer (awesome top coat--shinny and thick to even out glitter)
*1 coat Seche Vite for a quick dry

I keep my nails down short because something is bound to break them working in retail.  I LOVE this glitter!  Zuza is the perfect base for it and I can't stop staring at it when I'm outside.  I'd love to put it on all 10, but chunky glitter can be such a beast to pry off, so I restrained myself to an accent nail.
Zuza covered so much better than I expected from such a shimmery blue, that I almost could have eked by with one coat. 
Lemme See Your Peacock is a beautiful mix of medium-sized hex glitters in a teal, kelly green and magenta.  It's decent coverage for one coat, but I wanted a little more sparkle so I went with two.  It lays relatively flat for a chunky glitter. 

So there it is: my first nail post!  I hope to get better at this--both the painting and the blogging.  Until then, this is a nice little record of my "me-time!"  If you enjoy it too, or feel like talking polish, well then, that's an added bonus!