Summer Challenge Day 45 - Mani Done Using Straws

Hi there!

Today's challenge uses a straw to stamp circles. I've tried different sizes of straws and even tried shaping the straws, but the only thing that worked out well enough is a small coffee stir straw that I picked up at a gas station. It's kind of difficult to get perfect results with this technique - not all the circles will stamp consistently.

I love the combination of colors for this design. The base color is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Uptemp Plum. The circles were done with Sally Hansen HD Spectrum and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Teeny Greeny Bikini. All three polishes I picked up at the Dollar Tree. I love a good bargain!

Summer Challenge Day 44 - Summer Splatter

Hi there!

Today's challenge is Summer Splatter! This is the first time I have done a splatter. It was fun to try and I think it turned out pretty good. I used a small stir stick straw to pick up the polish. I blew through the straw about 3-4 inches away from my nails. It does get messy so be sure to have some newspaper laying on your work space.

My base color is Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Precious Peach. The splattered colors are Wet n' Wild Megalast On a Trip, L.A. Colors Sea Siren and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On.

Thanks for stopping by!

Summer Challenge Day 41 - Olympic Opening Ceremony / Flag

Hi there!

I finally had a little more time for some detailed nail art. I chose the flags according to the nations that have the all-time medal standings. First it's United States, then USSR, Great Britain and Germany. I've seen many manicures with the Union Jack and I finally got to try it as well. I love it!

Summer Challenge Day 40 - A Day at the Zoo

Hi there!

I love going to the zoo, and so does my youngest son. We have a membership and are planning to go this week. Each time we go, the tiger exhibit is a must. It's my son's favorite zoo animal - probably because his favorite color is orange. Haha

So for my son, I wanted to tiger nails for the zoo challenge. The base color is China Glaze Riveting and then I sponged a white polish toward the tips, stamped on some tiger stripes and topped it with a matte coat. And although he loved them, it was a mess. the polish smudged during the stamping and the stamp was not large enough to cover my entire nail bed. Ugh. Maybe someday I'll probably give it another try with a striping brush instead of a stamp.

Summer Challenge Day 39 - Red, Orange and Yellow Mani

Hi there!

Red, orange and yellow. This color combination reminds me of flames, wouldn't you agree? I knew I wanted to try water marbling again, but I thought maybe I could make the marbling look like flames. I kind of like how this turned out (even with a few bubbles here and there).

I used a toothpick to draw squiggly lines in the polish, cleaning the toothpick after each line. Then I would place the toothpick within those lines and branch them out to create the look of flames.

The polish I used for this design was Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Rapid Red.

Summer Challenge Day 37 - Golf - The Open

Hi there!

Hmm...The Open. I considered painting a little golf course on my nails, but I liked the idea of doing an argyle pattern like what you might find on a golfing vest or pants. So I did a Google image search for "golf pants" and came across this picture.

I love this pattern! Maybe not so much for a pair of pants, but definitely for some nail art. I painted my nails with a base color of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Night Flight and grabbed some random colors and started dotting away. It didn't take too long either. When I had a color on my dotting tool, I dotted all of the nails in different lines/columns so that it looked random.

I loved how this manicure turned out - I kept it on for four days!

Thanks for stopping by! Please be sure to check out some of the other ladies participating in the summer challenge.

Debbie @ The Crumpet - http://thecrumpet.blogspot.co.uk/

Neivys - http://maquiclubgirl.blogspot.com/

arlene @ http://euzefelus27-nailart.blogspot.com/

Helena - http://nailwish.blogspot.com.es/

Cuti-CLUE-les - http://cuti-clue-les.blogspot.com/

Katee - http://www.agirlandherpolish.com 

Alyssa at Fancy Phalanges - http://fancyphalanges.blogspot.com/

Misha - www.enigmatic-rambles.blogspot.com

Melissa - http://www.misadventuresofawannabemartha.com/

Laurie http://dressedupdigits.blogspot.com/

Lucie @ Lucy's Stash www.lucysstash.com

Jane- http://absolutevarnish.blogspot.com/

Amber www.nevernakednails.blogspot.com

Vic @ Glowstars http://glowstars.net

Jackie- http://memasmanis-jackie.blogspot.com/

Rychelle @ Colorsplash Nails- http://colorsplashnails.blogspot.com/

Stella - http://mywetnails.blogspot.com

Missy @ http://missysmanis.blogspot.co.uk/

Kim @ http://apolishedaddiction.blogspot.com/

Angie @ http://ourpaintedworld.wordpress.com

Bazzia @  http://polishmymind.blogspot.se/

Missy the Manicured Maniac @ http://melissahenderson95.blogspot.com/

Michelle @ http://lacquerorleaveher.blogspot.com/

Nikki @ http://www.lilgreenheart.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth @ http://nailpolishismycrack.blogspot.com/

Ana Cris @ http://www.estacerradaladrogueria.blogspot.com.es/

Shayleen @ http://simplyhandyallyear.blogspot.com/ 

Dina @ http://secretarysnailart.blogspot.no/

Nayade @ Toxic Vanity http://www.toxicvanity.com

Karen @ http://nailsbykaybel.blogspot.com

Kelly (aka Nail Obsessed) @ http://crazynaillady.blogspot.com

Noniq @ Noniq Diary http://noniq.blogspot.com

Marce7ina - http://marce7ina.blogspot.com

Courtney - http://cute-iclechronicles.com

Chrisie @ http://fingersandtoads.blogspot.com

Emily @ http://emily-nailtailes.blogspot.com

Candace @ http://lifeaskandistar.blogspot.ca/

Charis @ http://xarisc.blogspot.com/

Summer Challenge Day 36 - Buttercups

Hi there!

So for the buttercup challenge I probably would have preferred to paint some flowers, but it was such a busy week I had to take a few shortcuts. I decided to stamp with a flower design that resembled buttercups and I kept the cute couple as an accent.

The base color is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow. The stamp used was Cheeky CH14 using Konad White.

Summer Challenge Day 35 - Summer Lovin'

Hi there!

When I think of summer lovin' it reminds me of my first (and only) boyfriend who is now my husband. We met in high school and married five years later. After graduating high school, I spent the summer with my aunt and we carried on a long distance romance through love letters. Yes, this was before email. And it's probably the only time we ever wrote love letters to each other. With today's technology, it's easier and faster to just text someone and include an emoji. Not very personable, but I digress.

The base color on this mani is NYC Downtown. The hearts are stamped with Milani Hot Orchid and the couple and the arrow heart is stamped with Konad White. Plates used are Cheeky CH3 and CH29.

Summer Challenge Day 34 - Bastille Day

Greetings!

I'm afraid I went with something very basic for Bastille Day. I may have mentioned already, that my SIL is visiting on vacation and it's practically a vacation for me as well. We've been running around, shopping, playing, and painting our nails - I love it!

For this manicure, I painted my nails with a white basecoat. On every other nail, I painted on a blue glitter polish from L.A. Colors. And finally, I topped it off with the LA Girl Cracked polish.

Summer Challenge Day 33 - Seashells

Hi there!

So for this challenge, I wanted to try using some of the crushed seashells that I picked up from the Dollar Tree a few months ago since I haven't used them yet. The idea was to recreate the ocean floor with crushed seashells with the ocean in the background.

So for this manicure, I used China Glaze Fast Track as my base color and sea floor. Then I sponged a blue polish by L.A. Colors toward the top of the nail, and then I added white and teal colored crushed sea shells to the tips of the nails.

It's not one of my favorite designs, but I using the crushed sea shells was rather fun.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great day!

Please check out the other ladies participating in the Summer Challenge!

Debbie @ The Crumpet - http://thecrumpet.blogspot.co.uk/
Neivys - http://maquiclubgirl.blogspot.com/
Jo @ Northern Nails - http://therockchicksrambles.blogspot.co.uk/
arlene @ http://euzefelus27-nailart.blogspot.com/
Helena - http://nailwish.blogspot.com.es/
Cuti-CLUE-les - http://cuti-clue-les.blogspot.com/
Katee - http://www.agirlandherpolish.com 
Alyssa at Fancy Phalanges - http://fancyphalanges.blogspot.com/
Sarah - http://www.ynails.blogspot.co.uk/
bec - http://lacquerdreams.blogspot.com.au/
Misha - www.enigmatic-rambles.blogspot.com
Sharon - http://whatcolorismycoat.blogspot.com/
Melissa - http://www.misadventuresofawannabemartha.com/
Laurie http://dressedupdigits.blogspot.com/
Lucie @ Lucy's Stash www.lucysstash.com
Emma @  http://manicurity.blogspot.com/
Caitlin - www.caitlinscreativecorner.blogspot.com
Jane- http://absolutevarnish.blogspot.com/
Amber www.nevernakednails.blogspot.com
Vic @ Glowstars http://glowstars.net
Jackie- http://memasmanis-jackie.blogspot.com/
Rychelle @ Colorsplash Nails- http://colorsplashnails.blogspot.com/
Stella - http://mywetnails.blogspot.com
Missy @ http://missysmanis.blogspot.co.uk/
Kim @ http://apolishedaddiction.blogspot.com/
Christine @ http://lost-in-my-reverie.blogspot.com
Angie @ http://ourpaintedworld.wordpress.com
Bazzia @  http://polishmymind.blogspot.se/
Missy the Manicured Maniac @ http://melissahenderson95.blogspot.com/
Michelle @ http://lacquerorleaveher.blogspot.com/
Nikki @ http://www.lilgreenheart.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth @ http://nailpolishismycrack.blogspot.com/
Ana Cris @ http://www.estacerradaladrogueria.blogspot.com.es/
Shayleen @ http://simplyhandyallyear.blogspot.com/ 
Dina @ http://secretarysnailart.blogspot.no/
Nayade @ Toxic Vanity http://www.toxicvanity.com
Karen @ http://nailsbykaybel.blogspot.com
Kelly (aka Nail Obsessed) @ http://crazynaillady.blogspot.com
Noniq @ Noniq Diary http://noniq.blogspot.com
Marce7ina - http://marce7ina.blogspot.com

Summer Challenge Day 32 - Pink and Purple Mani

Hi there!

For today's pink and purple challenge, I considered practicing water marbling, but I decided to practice my stamping instead because I figured it would be faster. I seem to be short on time lately, working last weekend and I'm enjoying some family time with my SIL visiting for two weeks. In a house full of boys, I so need some girly time!

For this design, my base color is NYC Downtown, then I sponged a gradient with Wet n' Wild Megalast On A Trip, and finally stamped with Cheeky plate H using Pure Ice New Lilac.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great day!

Please check out the other ladies participating in the Summer Challenge!

Debbie @ The Crumpet - http://thecrumpet.blogspot.co.uk/
Neivys - http://maquiclubgirl.blogspot.com/
Jo @ Northern Nails - http://therockchicksrambles.blogspot.co.uk/
arlene @ http://euzefelus27-nailart.blogspot.com/
Helena - http://nailwish.blogspot.com.es/
Cuti-CLUE-les - http://cuti-clue-les.blogspot.com/
Katee - http://www.agirlandherpolish.com 
Alyssa at Fancy Phalanges - http://fancyphalanges.blogspot.com/
Sarah - http://www.ynails.blogspot.co.uk/
bec - http://lacquerdreams.blogspot.com.au/
Misha - www.enigmatic-rambles.blogspot.com
Sharon - http://whatcolorismycoat.blogspot.com/
Melissa - http://www.misadventuresofawannabemartha.com/
Laurie http://dressedupdigits.blogspot.com/
Lucie @ Lucy's Stash www.lucysstash.com
Emma @  http://manicurity.blogspot.com/
Caitlin - www.caitlinscreativecorner.blogspot.com
Jane- http://absolutevarnish.blogspot.com/
Amber www.nevernakednails.blogspot.com
Vic @ Glowstars http://glowstars.net
Jackie- http://memasmanis-jackie.blogspot.com/
Rychelle @ Colorsplash Nails- http://colorsplashnails.blogspot.com/
Stella - http://mywetnails.blogspot.com
Missy @ http://missysmanis.blogspot.co.uk/
Kim @ http://apolishedaddiction.blogspot.com/
Christine @ http://lost-in-my-reverie.blogspot.com
Angie @ http://ourpaintedworld.wordpress.com
Bazzia @  http://polishmymind.blogspot.se/
Missy the Manicured Maniac @ http://melissahenderson95.blogspot.com/
Michelle @ http://lacquerorleaveher.blogspot.com/
Nikki @ http://www.lilgreenheart.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth @ http://nailpolishismycrack.blogspot.com/
Ana Cris @ http://www.estacerradaladrogueria.blogspot.com.es/
Shayleen @ http://simplyhandyallyear.blogspot.com/ 
Dina @ http://secretarysnailart.blogspot.no/
Nayade @ Toxic Vanity http://www.toxicvanity.com
Karen @ http://nailsbykaybel.blogspot.com
Kelly (aka Nail Obsessed) @ http://crazynaillady.blogspot.com
Noniq @ Noniq Diary http://noniq.blogspot.com
Marce7ina - http://marce7ina.blogspot.com

Summer Challenge Day 31 - Beach Towels

Hi there!

You may have noticed that I went from Day 29 to Day 31. Yes, I have skipped the pedicure challenge (for now). Maybe sometime in the future I'll get back to it, but I'm just not ready for that yet.

For today's challenge, I was inspired by my favorite beach towel. It's probably my favorite because I love BLUE and I'm always attracted to things that are blue.

The blues that I used are L.A. Colors Static Electricity, NYC Cashmere and NYC Skin Tight Denim. Between each of the blues, I added some stripes with a white striping polish.

I used my favorite beach towel as my inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day =)

Summer Challenge Day 29 - Cricket

Hi there!

Wow, this was yet another sports challenge that I struggled with. Cricket. I know absolutely nothing about the sport, except maybe that it seems similar to American baseball. I searched through Google images on the sport and came across the ball used in cricket. The color looked a lot like a recent buy from the Dollar Tree...Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Elegant Cognac. After painting this as the base, I used white acrylic paint for the stitching and brown acrylic paint for the center seam.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day =)

Summer Challenge Day 28 - Summer Chevrons

Hi there!

Well today's challenge was supposed to be "summer" chevrons which, maybe if I used different colors, would have looked more summery. Either way, I still love how these turned out.

The base purple color is Milani 3D Holographic Hi-Res (LOVE!). Then with just the brush from the nail polish, I painted the tips with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Night Flight. Once those were dry, I placed the square edge of a piece of tape over the Hi-Res, and placed to strips of tape covering the Night Flight. With a silver foil polish from L.A. Colors, I painted between the tape and removed the tape quickly to create these beautiful chevrons. I love this combination of colors!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great day!

Please check out the other ladies participating in the Summer Challenge!

Debbie @ The Crumpet - http://thecrumpet.blogspot.co.uk/
Neivys - http://maquiclubgirl.blogspot.com/
Jo @ Northern Nails - http://therockchicksrambles.blogspot.co.uk/
arlene @ http://euzefelus27-nailart.blogspot.com/
Helena - http://nailwish.blogspot.com.es/
Cuti-CLUE-les - http://cuti-clue-les.blogspot.com/
Katee - http://www.agirlandherpolish.com 
Alyssa at Fancy Phalanges - http://fancyphalanges.blogspot.com/
Sarah - http://www.ynails.blogspot.co.uk/
bec - http://lacquerdreams.blogspot.com.au/
Misha - www.enigmatic-rambles.blogspot.com
Sharon - http://whatcolorismycoat.blogspot.com/
Melissa - http://www.misadventuresofawannabemartha.com/
Laurie http://dressedupdigits.blogspot.com/
Lucie @ Lucy's Stash www.lucysstash.com
Emma @  http://manicurity.blogspot.com/
Caitlin - www.caitlinscreativecorner.blogspot.com
Jane- http://absolutevarnish.blogspot.com/
Amber www.nevernakednails.blogspot.com
Vic @ Glowstars http://glowstars.net
Jackie- http://memasmanis-jackie.blogspot.com/
Rychelle @ Colorsplash Nails- http://colorsplashnails.blogspot.com/
Stella - http://mywetnails.blogspot.com
Missy @ http://missysmanis.blogspot.co.uk/
Kim @ http://apolishedaddiction.blogspot.com/
Christine @ http://lost-in-my-reverie.blogspot.com
Angie @ http://ourpaintedworld.wordpress.com
Bazzia @  http://polishmymind.blogspot.se/
Missy the Manicured Maniac @ http://melissahenderson95.blogspot.com/
Michelle @ http://lacquerorleaveher.blogspot.com/
Nikki @ http://www.lilgreenheart.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth @ http://nailpolishismycrack.blogspot.com/
Ana Cris @ http://www.estacerradaladrogueria.blogspot.com.es/
Shayleen @ http://simplyhandyallyear.blogspot.com/ 
Dina @ http://secretarysnailart.blogspot.no/
Nayade @ Toxic Vanity http://www.toxicvanity.com
Karen @ http://nailsbykaybel.blogspot.com
Kelly (aka Nail Obsessed) @ http://crazynaillady.blogspot.com
Noniq @ Noniq Diary http://noniq.blogspot.com
Marce7ina - http://marce7ina.blogspot.com

Summer Challenge Day 27 - Independence Day

Hi there!

There are so many options when it comes to nail art for Independence Day. When I first got my stamping plates, my son and I were excited to see the stars and stripes and we had so many ideas. But when it was time to do the challenge, I was drawing a blank not knowing which one I wanted to do. In the end I decided to go with the look of the American flag.

The stripes didn't cover my whole nail so I decided to add some fireworks to cover up the missing stripes. I'm sure the fireworks could have been better, but I had a little trouble keeping my hand steady with my 4yo son playing next to me.

The blue base under the stars is an L.A. Colors polish. The red base under the stripes is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Rapid Red.  I stamped the stars and stripes using Sally Hansen Extreme Wear White On and used Cheeky plate CH4.

Have a blessed day! =)

Summer Challenge Day 26 - Euro 2012 Football

Hi there!

Okay, we have another sports challenge which I am no good at since I am not much of a sports person. So I went with something simple and just painted a soccer ball.

The base color is China Glaze Agro. I used a white striper to create the stripes on the ring finger and used white and black acrylic paint for the soccer ball.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day =)

Stamping Sunday - Circles

Hey there!

For today's stamping challenge, I decided to stamp over my "Underneath the Stars" mani from the Summer Challenge. I learned all about recycling manis from The Crumpet. It saves so much time (and polish) to recycle!

I stamped using Cheeky plate CH16 with Pure Ice Silver Mercedes.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a blessed day!

Summer Challenge Day 25 - Summer Water Marble

Hi there!

I'm sure everyone has struggled with water marbling (and wasted polish in the process). I had planned to some pretty combinations, like blues to replicate the ocean waves, but everything I tried failed. Although I did have a successful water marble the day before (below) so I don't know what I did wrong. This was originally going to be my mani for the blue, green and aqua challenge but I decided to save it for today.

.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great day!

Please check out the other ladies participating in the Summer Challenge!

Debbie @ The Crumpet - http://thecrumpet.blogspot.co.uk/
Neivys - http://maquiclubgirl.blogspot.com/
Jo @ Northern Nails - http://therockchicksrambles.blogspot.co.uk/
arlene @ http://euzefelus27-nailart.blogspot.com/
Helena - http://nailwish.blogspot.com.es/
Cuti-CLUE-les - http://cuti-clue-les.blogspot.com/
Katee - http://www.agirlandherpolish.com 
Alyssa at Fancy Phalanges - http://fancyphalanges.blogspot.com/
Sarah - http://www.ynails.blogspot.co.uk/
bec - http://lacquerdreams.blogspot.com.au/
Misha - www.enigmatic-rambles.blogspot.com
Sharon - http://whatcolorismycoat.blogspot.com/
Melissa - http://www.misadventuresofawannabemartha.com/
Laurie http://dressedupdigits.blogspot.com/
Lucie @ Lucy's Stash www.lucysstash.com
Emma @  http://manicurity.blogspot.com/
Caitlin - www.caitlinscreativecorner.blogspot.com
Jane- http://absolutevarnish.blogspot.com/
Amber www.nevernakednails.blogspot.com
Vic @ Glowstars http://glowstars.net
Jackie- http://memasmanis-jackie.blogspot.com/
Rychelle @ Colorsplash Nails- http://colorsplashnails.blogspot.com/
Stella - http://mywetnails.blogspot.com
Missy @ http://missysmanis.blogspot.co.uk/
Kim @ http://apolishedaddiction.blogspot.com/
Christine @ http://lost-in-my-reverie.blogspot.com
Angie @ http://ourpaintedworld.wordpress.com
Bazzia @  http://polishmymind.blogspot.se/
Missy the Manicured Maniac @ http://melissahenderson95.blogspot.com/
Michelle @ http://lacquerorleaveher.blogspot.com/
Nikki @ http://www.lilgreenheart.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth @ http://nailpolishismycrack.blogspot.com/
Ana Cris @ http://www.estacerradaladrogueria.blogspot.com.es/
Shayleen @ http://simplyhandyallyear.blogspot.com/ 
Dina @ http://secretarysnailart.blogspot.no/
Nayade @ Toxic Vanity http://www.toxicvanity.com
Karen @ http://nailsbykaybel.blogspot.com
Kelly (aka Nail Obsessed) @ http://crazynaillady.blogspot.com
Noniq @ Noniq Diary http://noniq.blogspot.com
Marce7ina - http://marce7ina.blogspot.com