Floral manicure - Leadlighting Technique

I tried my hand at leadlighting for the first time, and let me tell you: it is AWESOME. I like it even more than making my own stamping decals! I did this pretty floral manicure in such a short amount of time using the leadlighting technique. I've been asked to give some tutorials on here, so I'm going to try to get better about taking pictures throughout my nail painting process. Of course, I failed to do that for this one, but there are already tons of tutorials out there for leadlighting, so for now, I will direct you to this one. :)

I started off by painting all my nails white using Pure Ice SuperStar!, then I stamped over it with Konad Special Black using MoYou London Explorer plate 03. After I had my stamped image done on each nail, I worked on filling in the design using a whole bunch of Sally Hansen polishes that I mixed with a clear top coat.

I used 8 different polishes to color in the image in this manicure: Sally Hansen Blue Me Away!, Kiwi Bikini, Perfect Pear-ing, Mellow Yellow, Peach Beach, Razz-Berry, Lacey Lilac, and Purple Craze. This was super fun to do, and I absolutely love the result! I encourage all of you to try this method - it's fast and turns out so nice!

I did this mani as part of a weekly challenge for my stamping group on facebook. Please make sure that you check out what they did for their leadlighting manicures this week!

An InLinkz Link-up

52 Week Pick n Mix Challenge - Purple + Hearts

Hi everyone. I finished this mani a couple of days ago, and had hoped to have it posted for Valentine's Day, but lately I just don't feel like taking pictures, or going through the photos, or adding my watermark, or any of that nonsense really. I just want o paint my nails and have them magically show up online here. *sigh* Anyway, I played with a pretty purple from Butter London, and one of my new stamping plates from Bundle Monster for this one!

The base is Butter London Stroppy. I stamped over it using Konad Special White and Bundle Monster plate BM-411, and then I carefully painted over the white using Pure Ice Busted. It is a super sheer purple shimmer. Here is what it looked like before I added Busted over top.

I like it both ways, but you can never have too much purple! ;) Here is what Butter London Stroppy looks like by itself. It is a super rich, shimmery, purple. I really like it!

Thank you so much for looking! Make sure you check out what everyone else did for this challenge!

An InLinkz Link-up

Valentine's Day Nailart

Good morning! The prompt in my stamping group is Valentine's Day this week. I love any excuse to be lovey dovey with my husband, so even though it may be a fake holiday, I say bring on the hugs and kisses and flowers and chocolates. My husband is my absolute best friend, so of course I had to do some cutesy sweet nails for the occasion. :)

I started off with some simple stamping with Bundle Monster plate BM-411, and almost left it because sometimes you have to keep it simple. But then the overachiever in me said "Ah Jess, just add more!". I would have been a perfect candidate for a job at Chochkie's. "More flair!!!" haha. The base color is Julep Shawn and I stamped over it with Konad Special White polish.

Anyway, after I did my initial stamping, I decided to make some little rose decals. I did these using Konad plate m76. The outline is Konad Special Black, and the sparkly pink is Julep Audrey. These decals didn't turn out bad at all! I smeared my thumb a little when I added topcoat, and the one on my ring finger took an accidental bath in acetone. I was too lazy to make another, and it still looked like a rose, so whatevs. :)

I hope you all have a happy Valentine's Day. Spend it with someone you love! Make sure you check out everyone else's Valentine's Day manis!

An InLinkz Link-up

52 Week Pick n Mix Challenge - Flowers + Pale Blue

I don't have many pale blue polishes that I haven't already shown off on here, but just as I was about to decide to skip this one, I found a pale blue glitter! Yay! So, I decided to go glittery and add some one-stroke white and blue flowers to my nails.

I have to get to bed asap, so I'm going to be abrupt. You are probably noticing a trend lately. I need to work on my time management! The base for this manicure is China Glaze Liquid Crystal. I added some one-stroke flowers using Pure Ice Super Star! and Julep Margaret. I'm am getting a little better at these one-stroke designs, but could use some improvement. I think my issue is that I refuse to use acrylic paints! :)

Here is what China Glaze Liquid Crystal looks like by itself! So much pretty, shiny, sparkle happening here!

Have a great day everyone, I will be back in a few days with a Valentine's mani. Make sure you look at everyone else's floral manicures!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Nail Polish Blogger Connection Linkup

Good morning! The members of the facebook group I am in, The Nail Polish Blogger Connection, are participating in a linkup to share information about themselves and their blog and to learn about each other as well. I thought it sounded fun, so I'm throwing myself in the mix. Each blogger will be adding themself to the linkup at the end of this post, so keep checking back to meet more of them!

Kawaii Kitty Nails

I decided to answer some general questions from the facebook group to introduce myself to anyone here who has never visited my blog:

What is the focus of your blog? (Nail art, stamping, swatching, blended, etc.)

Mostly nail art, but I do occasional swatching and reviews as well. I really love doing freehand nail art, but find little time these days. I do a lot of stamping, too with another group I joined on facebook.

Floral Nail Art

What made you start blogging?
I started by posting pictures of my nails on instagram and pinterest, but pinterest seemed pointless without being able to provide a link, or something to provide more information about my mani. I found loads of nail art from the now vanished Chloe's Nails, and thought I could jump in and make a blog too. I never expected anyone to actually read it besides my mom and maybe a few other family members and friends, but other people from all over the internet made the occasional comment, so I decided I had to step it up and really jump into the whole blogging thing. Now here I am!

This was one of my first manis!

What keeps you blogging?
I guess just the desire to share what I do. The thought that I should stop blogging crosses my mind very frequently...sadly. But every time I take a break (usually for less than 2 weeks), I wind up feeling that need to make something pretty on my nails and before I know it, I'm cropping photos and writing another post! I also feel like I'm a part of the nail polish community and I can't just leave. Countless others have, but I guess feeling like I cannot part ways just means it is not my time yet.

Bees & Flowers mani

What other blogs were/are inspirational to you?

My favorites from the beginning were Nailside, The Nailasaurus, Dressed Up Digits, and Let Them Have Polish. Sadly, only two of those blogs are still up and running (thanks for sticking around, Laurie & Sammy!), and many more have cropped up that I absolutely love. The Crumpet, for example, and Pshiit and Nail Polish Wars, are good ones that I discovered a little later. I wish I could channel a combination of the writing power of The Crumpet and the beautiful nail art and photography of Pshiit - if I could my blog would be Ah-maz-ing! It is a great thing to aspire to, anyway. :)

A mani I did inspired by Nailside

What advice would you give to someone just starting a nail blog?
There is a very big sea of nail blogs these days. It can feel very overwhelming, and hopeless. I am not in it for the fame, and certainly not for the fortune. While it is nice to get a new follower here and there, and fantastic to build up a good rapport with other bloggers, sometimes there is greater satisfaction in admiring your handiwork, and not worrying about what others think about it. I have to remind myself of that a lot, so I think it is an important thing to think about when you start a blog. I have never been in this for any reason other than my own enjoyment. On the flipside, if your aim is the fame and fortune, you will need to do a lot of research to find yourself in the ranks of the greatest nail bloggers. It is a hard place to get to, but I have seen a lot of people do it in a relatively short amount of time. Don't ever give up no matter which direction you choose to go.

Stained glass nails

What is your polish Holy Grail? (deliberately left vague...)
I feel as though in the past I would have picked something else here, but I think my new favorite is definitely OPI Nail Envy. It has really helped me to keep my nails nice and long, and I experience a lot less breaks than I used to. I luurrve it.

Dotting mani

If you were stuck on a deserted island, what one item would you take with you?
Hmmm...well as much as I would like to put something nailpolish related here, I think I would take some form of entertainment. And if this is an ideal world, and it is because I'm making it up, that form of entertainment would be my husband. He is hilarious, and a great storyteller. Plus, cuddles. :P

One of my hubby's favorites

What else would you like to share about your blog?

Hmmm...my poor blog has been so neglected lately, I'm not sure what to share here. I always wanted my blog to have some special THING, but it really never happened for me. I have thought about linking nail art and gaming more exclusively, but sometimes I just want pretty, or artsy, or vampy, or glitter. Haha, but I guess if you are into video games, I have done a lot of video game themed nail art. I would like to do more in the future, but find myself pressed for time. And nail art based on video games tends to be time consuming. ;)

To end, can you share a link or two to a couple of posts that you're especially proud of?

How about some video game nails, plus pretty, artsy, and glitter!

Child of Light Nail Art
Minecraft Nails (above)
Tomb Raider Nails!!!
Xbox Controller Nails
Skyrim Nail Art
Betsey Johnson Floral Nail Art
Oil Painting Nail Art
Stamping + Glitter

Check out the other bloggers in the Nail Polish Blogger Connection here:

An InLinkz Link-up

More MoYou Floral Stamping

I have another new floral design for you from MoYou London Pro Plate 12. I decided to go dark on this one, and I'm liking it. I do feel like it's a bit too stark though, and I'm wishing I would have done some double stamping for this or something. Ah well.

I feel like a lot of my stamping has been sub-par lately and am starting to wonder what my problem is. I saw a post recently from Loki's Lacquer about cleaning and priming your stamper, so I'm going to give that a try. I've had a lot of issues with images transferring properly lately, and I know I can't fault the MoYou plates! I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Thank you so much for looking. Make sure you check out what the others did for this week's stamping group prompt!

An InLinkz Link-up

New Year Polish Giveaway - Round 2

I have to re-post this giveaway due to a problem with my rafflecopter widget. Apparently, it never opened, so no one got to enter. I went in to pick winners and found that I had no entries. Oh I feel like such a jerk. You guys should have told me! Gahhhh! /(`-`)\

Anyway, I am re-opening it and letting it continue for another month. I'll watch it this time to confirm that I am getting entries, and that it actually opens up. See my previous post to get better swatches of the polishes that are up for grabs.

Prizes:

#1 a 4 piece set of Wet n Wild Coloricon polishes

#2 a 4 piece set of Wet n Wild Coloricon polishes

#3 a 4 piece set of Wet n Wild Coloricon polishes

Details/rules:

-There will be 3 winners in this giveaway

-Open in the U.S. only (or to international followers who can provide a US address)

-Must be 18 or older

-Prizes will be distributed by me

-Ends February 28th, 2015

-Winner must respond to email claiming prize within 24 hours

-Enter using the Rafflecopter below

a Rafflecopter giveaway