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.

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 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!

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.

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