Laid-Back NEW31DC Day 26 - Inspired By Your Country

Oh my, inspired by my country. I think a lot of Americans have forgotten what the U.S. stands for, and I can't really claim to be super patriotic, but after finishing this mani, I feel quite patriotic once again. In case you are worried, fear not - I am not going to talk about politics AT ALL. I want to focus instead on the great things about America, because we do have things to be proud of. Being American is about the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and this country was built on the desire of a few great men to have those freedoms, and we are lucky that they did so much for us.

Anyway, here is my U.S. - inspired mani.

On my index finger we have an image of the moon landing - one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

On my middle finger, I have Rosie the Riveter - We Can Do It! I'm a little bummed on how this one turned out...I made her head too small - haha.

On my ring finger , I have the Statue of Liberty - she says "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free", and she is beautiful. What a beautiful thing to say and believe in.

On my pinky, I painted the liberty bell, the symbol of our country's independence.

On my thumb, I drew the first flight, by the Wright brothers, which happened right here in my home state of Ohio.

Wow, see America does have things to be proud of: brilliant scientists, extraordinarily strong women, the lovely desire to shelter others, amazing inventors, and the promise of liberty. I'm so glad I did this mani. It reminds me of all the great things that America stands for, even if it sometimes gets clouded by current events.

New 31DC - Day 26 - Inspired By Your Country

1. Glitter Me This  2. A Polished Addiction  3. Superficially Colorful  4. a girl and her chicken named betty  5. baroque fool  6. Anna's Polish Addiction  7. Dizzy Little Digits  8. Beautiful Living  9. Emma's Little Corner  10. bibian (manifix)  11. Posh Nail Art  12. Lacquer Or Leave Her!  13. Peace, Love and Polish  14. Annie Suzie  15. Mandy @ Chameleon Stampede  16. Crumpet  17. Polish. Glitter. Rock & Roll!  18. MegsManicures  19. joyluscious  20. Enigmatic Rambles  21. Christy  22. Never Mind Suzi  23. SpecialGirl Nails  24. Laurie (Dressed Up Digits)  25. Mimi Manicures  26. AGirlandHerPolish  27. Light of the Moon Nails  28. Nails From Fairy Tale  29. Smashley Sparkles  30. Tes Did It Nails  31. Patty and Goldie's Day Off  32. Teen Polish Junkie  33. Stella from My Wet Nails  34. Missy's Manis  35. Nails by Ms. Lizard  36. Fabulous Polish  37. All The Pretty Things  38. The Amateur Manicure  39. Lanes Lacquers  40. Glamfiend  41. pamela sanchez  42. ManisbyMoore  43. Angie OurPaintedWorld  44. Mandy @ Chameleon Stampede  45. Lazy Lacquerista  46. Geordie Nails  47. Nerdy for Nails  48. Delight In Nails  49. Polished Elegance  50. Kick Acetone  51. Nikki NeverWithoutPolish  52. Linziino  53. Norma'sNails  54. Sparkle & Shine Nails  55. GioNails

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Laid-Back NEW31DC Day 25 - Inspired By Your Childhood

My nail art today is inspired by...flying toasters! I don't know if any of you that are old enough had a Macintosh as a kid, but I did and I LOVED the After Dark Flying Toasters screen saver. I could watch that all day, and I did. So entertaining. We would wait for the computer to sit long enough so that the screensaver would come on and then watch those flying toasters, and this super epic song would play while they flew across the screen like an army making toast. So I am paying homage to the good old days, when computers were gigantic, and had hardly any memory on them, but they were awesome and new and the wave of the future. :)

So I started off with two coats of Pure Ice Black Rage. This is still, hands down, my favorite black polish. It is so opaque after just one coat! Then I added my nail art using China Glaze Desert Sun & Call Of The Wild for the toast, Julep Harley for the toasters, and Pure Ice SuperStar! for their wings. :)

Here is a picture of Pure Ice Black Rage all by itself.

And for those of you who have no clue what I am talking about, here is a link to a video on YouTube. And wouldn't you know, while I was looking for a video, I found out that they make this same screensaver for Windows 7 - WHAT?!

Flying Toasters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cm7tv5cM8g

Yay! Alright - so let's see what everyone else did for their childhood memories. Thanks for stopping by!

New 31DC - Day 25 - Inspired By Your Childhood

1. Anna's Polish Addiction  2. Superficially Colorful  3. baroque fool  4. a girl and her chicken named betty  5. Dizzy Little Digits  6. Emma's Little Corner  7. bibian (manifix)  8. Posh Nail Art  9. Lacquer Or Leave Her!  10. Smashley Sparkles  11. A Polished Addiction  12. Crumpet  13. AGirlandHerPolish  14. Mandy @ Chameleon Stampede  15. Peace, Love and Polish  16. Laurie (Dressed Up Digits)  17. Glitter Me This  18. Christy  19. Annie Suzie  20. Enigmatic Rambles  21. SpecialGirl Nails  22. joyluscious  23. Teen Polish Junkie  24. Nails From Fairy Tale  25. Mimi Manicures  26. Polish. Glitter. Rock & Roll!  27. Lanes Lacquers  28. The Amateur Manicure  29. Light of the Moon Nails  30. MegsManicures  31. Stella from My Wet Nails  32. Never Mind Suzi  33. Tes Did It Nails  34. Missy's Manis  35. All The Pretty Things  36. Glamfiend  37. pamela sanchez  38. Geordie Nails  39. Polished Elegance  40. Angie OurPaintedWorld  41. Mandy @ Chameleon Stampede  42. ManisbyMoore  43. Linziino  44. Sparkle & Shine Nails  45. Nerdy for Nails  46. Kick Acetone  47. Nikki NeverWithoutPolish  48. Lazy Lacquerista  49. Norma'sNails  50. GioNails

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New Challenge: 30 Day Flower Challenge!

Hey all! I am collaborating with Dahlia over at datyorkloves on a new challenge for the month of May. A different flower every day for 30 days! That's intense. Hopefully I will be able to pull it off. You may be seeing some other hands on this blog besides my own during this one, as I have asked for volunteers. I only have 2 hands and like to enjoy my manis for longer than one day, so you will probably see some mom, sister, cousin, and friend hands on here too. I figure I might as well share the love. :)

Here is an outline of the challenge. If you would like to join in, just join Dahlia's group on facebook!

Nailpolish Storage Overhaul!

Good morning! When you see what my old way of storing nailpolish was, you will laugh. It worked out alright at first...but then starting overflowing as I got more nailpolish and my existing containers just couldn't hold them all.

So first, I will show you some before shots. My friends and family have already seen this and I'm sure your comments will be the same as theirs haha. Just remember that it's better now, you will see that further down in the post!

First up, we have my three plastic storage drawers that take up half of my bathroom vanity. These were perfect at first, but I outgrew them.

Next, this is another plastic storage drawer under my vanity that houses random nailpolish that I couldn't fit in the other drawers.

This is another random bin of nailpolish stuff. My sister's comment was "I keep my rock candy with my emory boards too, what a coincidence". Mmmhmm. Sass.

Another random spot I stash polish and polish related things, under the coffee table.

And, my oldschool caboodle full of nail stuff.

And last, but certainly not least, the top of my coffee table. This does pose a problem when we have visitors

Now for the main event. Drumroll please!

I got myself a melmer! Well several melmers actually. Michael's had them for 40% off a couple weeks ago, so I just had to get them. Check this out!

I am so excited to have everything stashed in its own neat little drawer, with room to grow. And of course, my collection has grown since these pictures were taken due to some serious birthday shopping with my hubby! I suppose I will have to share my birthday haul with you in another post, since I know you are dying to see it. No? Well, you're going to see it anyway. ;) See you next time!

Laid-Back NEW31DC Day 24 - Inspired By A Game

Ahhhh! I've been waiting for this day to arrive! Now, those of you who have been following me for a while, you know I am a gamer. I LOVE video games. I do (somewhat) have priorities though, so I don't put in as much game time as I would like. BUT, I got all my homework done early this weekend, so I could have the time to do some decent nail art (and celebrate my birthday, coincidentally)! So, without further ado, here is my Minecraft mani! Yay!

I love the way this mani turned out. So. Much.

I absolutely adore Minecraft - I can't really explain it. I just can't stop digging. And building things.  :)

So now for an explanation of each of the nails. On my index we have a creeper. I hate these stupid things. Because they do just that - they creep up on you and then you die and your house has a giant hole in it.

Next, we have my middle finger, with one of my favorite tools. Yep, the pickaxe - I LOVE digging. I seriously just can't stop.

On my ring finger, we have some of the local fauna. Heehee - little block pig. So cute, and a great source of food. :)

On my pinky is something I simply cannot live without. Because when it gets dark, the monsters come out...and I need to see where I'm going, or die. When I'm in a cavern, I light that thing up like a Christmas tree, because I am terrified of the dark. Thank goodness for torches.

And last, on my thumb, I have recreated one of my favorite scenes - look at all that stuff to dig!!! It's my least favorite nail, but I tried to recreate the entrance to a cavern as best as I could. :)

Overall, I am pretty happy with this one. And it was so much fun to really take some time and really do some decent nail art that I love.

Make sure you check in on what the rest of the girls did! There's bound to be some other gamers out there!

New 31DC - Day 234 - Inspired By A Game

1. Superficially Colorful  2. baroque fool  3. Anna's Polish Addiction  4. Dizzy Little Digits  5. Emma's Little Corner  6. A Polished Addiction  7. Posh Nail Art  8. Fabulous Polish  9. bibian (manifix)  10. Lacquer Or Leave Her!  11. Smashley Sparkles  12. Never Mind Suzi  13. All The Pretty Things  14. Not Too Polished  15. Christy  16. SpecialGirl Nails  17. Mandy @ Chameleon Stampede  18. Laurie (Dressed Up Digits)  19. Life In Color!  20. Don't Spill The Acetone  21. Nails by Ms. Lizard  22. Peace, Love and Polish  23. Enigmatic Rambles  24. joyluscious  25. Crumpet  26. AGirlandHerPolish  27. Teen Polish Junkie  28. Nails From Fairy Tale  29. Mimi Manicures  30. Annie Suzie  31. a girl and her chicken named betty  32. Stella from My Wet Nails  33. MegsManicures  34. Missy's Manis  35. Lanes Lacquers  36. Light of the Moon Nails  37. The Amateur Manicure  38. Tes Did It Nails  39. Lizzy's DaintyNail's  40. Glamfiend  41. pamela sanchez  42. Angie OurPaintedWorld  43. Delight In Nails  44. Sparkle & Shine Nails  45. Nerdy for Nails  46. Linziino  47. Polished Elegance  48. Lazy Lacquerista  49. Nikki NeverWithoutPolish  50. GioNails

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Laid-Back NEW31DC Day 23 - Inspired By Nature

For this challenge, I decided I wanted to go botanical and create an image inspired by fern leaves. It is pretty basic,but I like it. I used NYC Water Street Blue for the base, and painted on my fern leaves using Revlon .... Simple is what needed to happen on this mani because I am so short on time lately. I find myself simultaneously doing homework, exercising, painting my nails, and eating all at once. Literally, it just happened tonight. Impressive right? No, no it isn't because that results in an upset stomach, sloppy manis, poorly executed homework and well, it's just a mess. I'm just a mess. But I carry on for you. ;)

Here is NYC Water Street Blue all by itself. Pretty, huh?

Anyway, hope you like my mani today - not much today since it wasn't complicated to do. Make sure you check out what the others did for today's challenge. Hopefully I will have the time to get some really good nail art in again for this challenge. I really hope so, I miss spending hours on just one manicure.

New 31DC - Day 23 - Inspired By Nature

1. bibian (manifix)  2. Superficially Colorful  3. Baroque fool  4. Anna's Polish Addiction  5. Dizzy Little Digits  6. Emma's Little Corner  7. A Polished Addiction  8. Posh Nail Art  9. Lacquer Or Leave Her!  10. Smashley Sparkles  11. Christy  12. Never Mind Suzi  13. Mandy @ Chameleon Stampede  14. Not Too Polished  15. Peace, Love and Polish  16. Laurie (Dressed Up Digits)  17. Mimi Manicures  18. SpecialGirl Nails  19. Don't Spill The Acetone  20. Enigmatic Rambles  21. Crumpet  22. Annie Suzie  23. AGirlandHerPolish  24. Fabulous Polish  25. Polish. Glitter. Rock & Roll!  26. Nails From Fairy Tale  27. The Amateur Manicure  28. Stella from My Wet Nails  29. Life in Color!  30. MegsManicures  31. Missy's Manis  32. All The Pretty Things  33. joyluscious  34. Teen Polish Junkie  35. a girl and her chicken named betty  36. Light of the Moon Nails  37. Lanes Lacquers  38. Lydia's Nails  39. Tes Did It Nails  40. Lizzy's DaintyNail's  41. Glamfiend  42. Beautiful Living  43. pamela sanchez  44. Mandy @ Chameleon Stampede  45. Lazy Lacquerista  46. Angie OurPaintedWorld  47. ManisbyMoore  48. Linziino  49. Susy In Color  50. Geordie Nails  51. Sparkle & Shine Nails  52. Polished Elegance  53. Nikki NeverWithoutPolish  54. Nerdy for Nails  55. Put some Polish on It  56. Kick Acetone  57. Delight In Nails  58. Incognito Nails  59. Norma'sNails  60. GioNails

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Laid-Back NEW31DC Day 22 - Inspired By Fabric

I was inspired today by a sweater I came across while I was doing the wash. I thought it would be neat to try to do a cable knit pattern on my nails. I thought for sure I would go for something patterned, but when I picked up this sweater, I knew I had to give it a try instead.

For this mani, I started off with a solid base of NYC Midtown. I love love love this pink! It's perfect. Then, I used essie sure shot and Confetti Wedding White to create the cabled pattern and shading. After I finished my cables, I used Zoya Pippa to add the infamous horse and rider, or as my husband and his friend call it, the "kitty". Do not ask me why they call it that - it's something that only cool people know about, and I am not cool - hehe. Anyways, it's not my favorite mani ever, but hey, I tried. I do like how my "kitty" turned out though, just wish I could have made it a bit smaller.

Here is a picture of the sweater I was inspired by.

And here, is NYC Midtown all by itself. Yay!

Well, be sure to check out what everyone else did, and I will see you again for day 23 - inspired by nature! Day 22

New 31DC - Day 22 - Inspired By A Fabric

1. Baroque fool  2. Anna's Polish Addiction  3. Dizzy Little Digits  4. Emma's Little Corner  5. Posh Nail Art  6. bibian (manifix)  7. Lacquer Or Leave Her!  8. Christy  9. Smashley Sparkles  10. Peace, Love and Polish  11. Never Mind Suzi  12. Don't Spill The Acetone  13. Roxana Andronie  14. Glitter Me This  15. Laurie (Dressed Up Digits)  16. joyluscious  17. SpecialGirl Nails  18. Ms. Lizard  19. Crumpet  20. Enigmatic Rambles  21. Teen Polish Junkie  22. Mimi Manicures  23. Superficially Colorful  24. Polish. Glitter. Rock & Roll!  25. Life In Color!  26. Not Too Polished  27. Nails From Fairy Tale  28. AGirlandHerPolish  29. The Manicure Hut  30. The Amateur Manicure  31. Mandy @ Chameleon Stampede  32. A Polished Addiction  33. Light of the Moon Nails  34. Stella from My Wet Nails  35. MegsManicures  36. Missy's Manis  37. Fabulous Polish  38. Patty and Goldie's Day Off  39. All The Pretty Things  40. a girl and her chicken named betty  41. Beautiful Living  42. Lanes Lacquers  43. Patty ans Goldie's Day Off  44. Tes Did It Nails  45. Glamfiend  46. pamela sanchez  47. Put some Polish on It  48. Polished Elegance  49. ManisbyMoore  50. Susy In Color  51. Geordie Nails  52. Linziino  53. Kick Acetone  54. Mandy @ Chameleon Stampede  55. Nerdy for Nails  56. Delight In Nails  57. Lazy Lacquerista  58. Incognito Nails  59. Norma'sNails  60. GioNails

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