Nail Crazies Unite - Blue, Silver & White Winter

Press  Sample

Hey there!  This week's Nail Crazies Unite theme is way too appropriate for me.  We're doing Blue, White and Silver Winter and trust me, we're in a deep freeze of winter right now!  It's -30 C in Edmonton.  Everyone is complaining about the cold, me in particular.  The pipes froze and burst in my apartment so I'm typing this up without heat.  Luckily it's so hot in here regularly that there's residual heat so I'm not freezing to death.  For my mani for this week, I used some snowflake stencils from Whats Up Nails.  I think they turned out perfectly winter-y.

The Digit-al Dozen does Birthdays - December 2017

Hey there!  This month is a big Digit-al Dozen birthday month.  Three ladies celebrated birthdays in December: Kristi from Begin Nails, Kerry from Painted Fingertips and Cathy of More Nail Polish.  The ladies picked an adorable image for our inspiration this month...but one I couldn't even try to do with stamping so I had to freehand...gasp!  It's a bit messy but hopefully they know my heart was in the right place!

New Years Nails with Whats Up Nail Stencils

Press  Sample

Hey there!  I hope everyone had a great Christmas (or Monday, for anyone who doesn't celebrate). Mine was quiet but wonderful.  My family had dinner Christmas Eve so I had no plans for Christmas evening so my bestie and I went and saw Star Wars.  For my first day back on the blog this week I thought it'd be a good time to share a couple of New Year's-themed manis I've done with some Whats Up Nails stencils.  I used the Confetti, City and Confetti stencils for these.  I don't think they're necessarily limited to being worn on New Years (at least I hope not since I did these earlier) but they'd definitely be party appropriate!

26 Great Nail Art Ideas - Christmas Childhood Memories

Press  Sample

Hey there!  For what is likely going to be my last post before Christmas, I have my contribution to the 26 Great Nail Art Challenges for this week.  The theme is "Christmas (or other holiday) Childhood Memories".  My family doesn't have any really unique traditions or anything, just the standard cookies left out for Santa, turkey dinner and, of course, the Christmas tree.  I loved helping decorate it when I was little.  We had lots of different ornaments that my parents had bought/received over the years.  Now our tree is a bit more uniform but it's still certainly the centrepiece of our Christmas.

More Christmas Nail Art

Press  Sample/Nothing to Disclose

Hey there!  Since the holidays are still upon us and I have a few manis I've worn recently and haven't posted, I thought I'd share them as another instalment of the Nail Challenge Collaborative Winter/Christmas month.  Two of these are stamping (obviously...as if I could ever have those freehand skills) and one is a dry marble that I did originally did for last week's Digit-al Dozen My Home week but decided not to use.  It ended up reminding me of peppermints and, since I'm currently eating a candy cane, I thought I could mix it in with my Christmas manis.

Esmaltes Da Kelly Stamping Polish (Animals and Nebulas) Swatches

Press  Sample

Hey there!  I have a really exciting post today.  I'm someone who is always on the look out for new stamping polish, especially 3-free ones I can use as regular polish, so I ordered some of the Esmaltes da Kelly stamping polish from Beautometry.  Since this is a Brazilian brand, Beautometry is the only place I know to get these in North America.  Maybe you've seen me use some of these already in other nail art and stamping lately.  I hadn't seen many stamping swatches of these so I offered to swatch the ones I bought and the lovely owner asked if I'd swatch extras as well (and I happily agreed).  She sent me the ones they had in stock from the Animals (cremes) collection and Nebulas (holographic) collection.  I hope my photos demonstrate the stamping ability of these polishes and help you decide between similar colors.  There are a few more than I could fit in my collage so keep reading to see them all.

The Digit-al Dozen does My Home - Dancing Santa

Hey there!  Since a few of the nail art groups I'm in are having holiday themes this week, I thought I'd do a Christmas-themed mani for my final Digit-al Dozen "My Home" post.  It also happens to be the Nail Crazies United December Holiday day AND the Winter/Christmas month for Nail Challenge Collaborative so it's the perfect day for some holiday-themed stamping.  These were inspired by some dancing Santa's my aunt gave me and my sisters last year.  I don't know how she found three of them (all different) but they're delightfully tacky.  They play music and dance (or skateboard) and are just generally awesome.  I wish I had a video to share but I forgot to take one.

The Digit-al Dozen does My Home - Inspired by a shower curtain

Hey there!  I just realized that today's Digit-al Dozen mani is the second one inspired by curtains.  But this one is a shower curtain.  From the looks of it, you would think I have children but you'd be wrong.  I just like cute things.  They keep me young!

Whats Up Nails Winter & Christmas Nail Stencils

Press  Sample

Hey there!  I realize I'm cutting it a bit close to Christmas to be posting nail art items available for the holiday season but these were too good not to share.  And there's even some general "winter" items in here which could be used for months yet (at least here in Edmonton).  Since I first tried Whats Up Nails stencils, I really haven't looked back.  The amount of "stick" to them is perfect for me and they're cut in such a way that I usually don't have to pick the little pieces out (there are exceptions which I'll discuss but they're rare).  So I was really excited when I got an envelope with a pile of Christmas and winter stencils...and a little concerned that I wouldn't have time to use them all.  I've been having a lot of fun playing with them and I finally get to show you a bunch of the stencil nail art I've been wearing over the last few weeks, right up until last night.  Prepare to be holiday'ed out!  

The Digit-al Dozen does My Home - Inspired by nail polish EVERYWHERE

Hey there!  The title of today's post says it all.  Since this week The Digit-al Dozen are doing "My Home" manis, I couldn't resist doing one inspired by my main hobby (and therefore space-taker).  I don't have a "nail room" like some ladies so I have nail polish everywhere.  It's stored in my living room and in my bedroom.  There's binders of plates on my TV stand.  There's nail art supplies under my bathroom sink.  I've even found nail polish drips on the kitchen floor (I really don't know how those got there).  Needless to say, there's not a corner of where I live that isn't taken up by my one true love.  

The Digit-al Dozen does My Home - Inspired by a poster

Hey there!  For my second Digit-al Dozen mani inspired by my home, I picked another item that I've had for ages.  It's a poster with the "“Dance as though no one is watching you.  Sing as though no one can hear you.  Love as though you have never been hurt before.  Live as though heaven is on earth.” quote, with a different coloured flower for each part.  I've sort of outgrown the poster but I still like the quote so I keep it up.  Plus it fits perfectly on that chunk of wall so it gets to stay...

The Digit-al Dozen does My Home - Inspired by my curtains

Hey there!  It's time for a new Digit-al Dozen month...and this time we have a new member.  Michelle from Lacquer Or Leave Her is an amazing nail artist so I'm excited that she agreed to join our little group, just in time for our "My Home" theme.  This prompt could be interpreted a few ways.  I personally just looked around my living space and picked up some inspiration.  My first mani is based on some curtains my mom made for me when I moved into my first place.  I was afraid everything would end up too neutral coloured and I didn't want to live in beige-land so she made me some bright blue curtains with rainbow stripes.  Turns out I've always like rainbow-y things and stripes!  I still love them to this day.  Keep reading to see the curtains in question.

Beauty Bigbang Powder and Flakes Review

Press  Sample

Hey there!  Some of your might have heard that there's a new nail art kid on the block.  Beauty Bigbang is an overseas company with VERY affordable nail art products.  They approached me awhile back to see if I wanted to try any of them out.  I received a couple Chameleon Flakes, their version of Aurora Unicorn powder and three holographic/multichrome Peacock Powders.  All of them worked easily and I really like the effects they produce.  They were also nice enough to supply a coupon code (CLAWS10) to save 10% on all your orders.  Keep reading to see all the details and for the links to the products.

26 Great Nail Art Ideas - Insects

Hey there!  Today the 26 Great Nail Art Ideas group is having a fun theme - insects/bugs!  It's not a particularly seasonal one for me since we've had snow on the ground for over a month so most of the bugs are long gone.  BUT I just so happened to have done an ant mani for my summer holidays this past summer and I forgot to post it so you're getting to see that today.  I should've done a new one but I've been sort of nail-lazy lately...sorry!

UberChic Beauty Collection 22 and Got Chevron? Stamping Plates

Press  Sample

Hey there!  Today I have a few of the newest plates from UberChic Beauty to show you guys.  Almost two whole weeks ago (I've been slow on this one, I know) they released the latest collection AND a collaboration plate with JayLynn of @gotnail called Got Chevron?.  While I'm always the most pumped for new collections, my sister who pretty much only stamps her nails with chevrons was excited to see a whole plate of them.  I've done a couple manis with each plate and, while I do enjoy the chevron plate, the collections still have my heart.  Which are you more drawn to, the sets or the individual plates?

Bundle Monster The Nutcracker Stamping Plates and Holiday Nail Art Items

Press  Sample

Hey there!  'Tis certainly the season!  I recently received such a nice package of nail art items from Bundle Monster to review and almost all are holiday related so I thought I'd put them in one giant post.  Dearest to my stamping heart was The Nutcracker stamping plate set.  I've seen people directly ask for Nutcracker-related plates so it's awesome that Bundle monster came out with an entire set!  There was also a holiday set of rub-on decals, holographic vinyls and foil nail art stickers (which I believe are actually water decals...at least that's how I used them).  AND, for any of you who suffer from latex allergies but still want mess-free nail art, Bundle Monster has also come out with a latex-free barrier.  This is a big post so let's get to it!

Delush Polish Legion of Thrones Swatches and Review

Press  Sample

Hey there!  It has been a few months since Delush Polish's last collection release but this one is well worth the wait.  This most recent collection, Legion of Thrones, is the third instalment in the tribute to our favourite Game of Thrones characters.  You can tell it's a complex show when Delush has come out with this many beautiful polishes related to it without any overlapping.  Legion of Thrones is a 7 piece set.  They all have Delush's impeccable 5-free formula but the styles are so different.  I varied collections like these.  There should be something that anyone can fall in love with.  Keep reading to hear all my thoughts.

Nail Crazies Unite - Inspired by Pixar

Hey there!  Today's Nail Crazies Unite prompt is a fun one.  This week we're doing nails inspired by Pixar movies.  I really wasn't sure what movies are Disney and what are Pixar so I hit up the Google machine.  Then I had to think of what I could actually accomplish with my own two hands!  I knew I don't have any Pixar stamping plates so I had to freehand something.  At first I tried to do Slinky Dog from Toy Story but what a mess that turned out to be!!  So I went simpler and did some easy Finding Nemo nails which turned out much less nightmare-inducing than that poor Slinky Dog!

The Digit-al Dozen does Birthdays - November 2017

Hey there!  Today's post feels a bit odd since I'm pretty much saying happy birthday to me.  Every month The Digit-al Dozen members have the option of posting a birthday mani for the ladies who had birthdays that month and November happens to be my birthday month, along with Marisa of Polish Those Nails.  I even picked the photo we're using for inspiration this year!  I was itching to do a drip marble so I chose a photo that would work for that but could also work with water marbles or stamping.  At least that was my intention.  Keep reading to see how I did.

Whats Up Nails Water Marble and Counting Nail Stencils

Press  Sample

Hey there!  I haven't been blogging much on Sundays these days but I thought I wanted to post a couple of designs I've done with Whats Up Nails stencils lately before everyone gets fully into the Christmas season.  I've had these water marble stencils for quite awhile but just recently used them with a some colors that look quite autumnal.  I assume not everyone has snow on the ground already like us so maybe there are still people who are enjoying fall colors?  I've also used the Counting Stencils in the paste few weeks.  If you ever need numbers on your nails (New Years Eve, birthdays, etc) these would be awesome!  

26 Great Nail Art Ideas - Reciprocal Gradient

Press  Sample

Hey there!  Hope all the folks in the US are having a great long weekend and picking up some good Black Friday deals.  I might be Canadian but, thanks to online shopping (and the fact that lots of places here do Black Friday now) I've done a fair bit of shopping myself this week.  Now, onto more important things...this week's 26 Great Nail Art Ideas post!  This week our theme is reciprocal gradient, something I almost never do but always like.  For mine, I decided to use the Whats Up Nails Arabesque stencils.  It reminds me of warmer climates which is welcome right now since it feels like we've been in winter mode for ages!

Corn On The Cob Nail Art

Hey there!  Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!  I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday, however you choose to celebrate.  Today's blog post is a fun one.  It's what I actually wore for our Canadian Thanksgiving last month.  My family seems to really love corn so we have it at almost every group meal (we're a meat and potatoes bunch) so I thought I'd do corn nails this year instead of turkey.

Moonflower Polish Stamping MIcroglitters

Press  Sample

Hey there!  As anyone who has ever peeked at my blog knows, I love negative space images.  One of the reasons is because you can't stamp with glitter.  Well you COUDLN'T stamp with glitter.  That's all in the past now thanks to Moonflower Polish.  She is releasing 12 colors of holographic microglitter that can indeed be stamped.  I was lucky enough to get to try 3 of them out and now I want the rest so I'll be waiting around until Thursday so I can hopefully snatch up a few more of them.  Keep reading to find out how we can now finally stamp with glitter!

UberChic Beauty Holiday Jingle and Collection 21 Stamping Plate Review

Press  Sample

Hey there!  We've officially come to the season of holiday stamping plates.  UberChic Beauty recently released their third holiday plate, Holiday Jingle plate, filled with all sorts of lovely holiday and winter images and I was lucky enough to get to play with it.  It's really put me in the holiday mood.

Along with the new Holiday plate, came Collection 21, the latest 3 plate set.  Brittany's collections are what made me fall in love with UberChic at the beginning and I haven't stopped loving them.  I've done a couple manis with each of the plate.  I hope you like them even half as much as I enjoyed using them!  

KBShimmer Nail Care and Fall 2017 Blogger Collaboration Swatches & Review

Press  Sample

Hey there!  I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.  I'm back on this Monday evening to tell you all about the KBShimmer Fall 2017 Blogger Collaboration collection, which I have received from Color4Nails to review.  Christy, the creator of KBShimmer, has brought us an awesome group of polishes with the help of some of my favourite bloggers.  It's a pretty big collection, coming in at a whopping 14 polishes, and there is SO much variety here.  They've truly pulled from all of the beloved KBShimmer finishes from crelly and jelly glitters to Mega Flame to Holo Glow and more.    Since there are so many polishes, this might be a long post but I hope you stick around to the end because I also have a review of some of the KBShimmer Nail Care products...and a photo of one of the worst things I've ever done to my nail and how KBShimmer has helped me hide it.  So read on!

Smokey Mountain Lacquers Winter/Holiday 2017 Swatches & Review

Press  Sample

Hey there!  I'm so pleased to bring to you a review for a new-to-me brand.  Smokey Mountain Lacquers is a 5-free indie brand based out of Nashville, USA.  Tomorrow evening (November 19th 2017)  is the launch of their Holiday/Winter 2017 collection.  This 4 polish collection was an absolute joy to swatch so this brand has a new fan in me!  There's a variety of colors and finishes that are perfect for the winter season.  Keep reading to hear all about it.

The Digit-al Dozen does Futuristic/Nail Crazies Unite do Stamping Over Flakie Polish

Hey there!  Today's post is some stamping I did to combine the Digit-al Dozen Futuristic theme with the Nail Crazies Unite prompt of "stamping over a flakie polish base".  I knew when we set this DD theme that I had to do some a computer-y design because computers have been driving the future for ages and are likely going to continue to do so.  So at first I used this stamping image over some foils but when the Nail Crazies Unite came out with their theme, I wanted to redo these with some flakie polish.  These are way cooler so I'm glad I did!

The Digit-al Dozen does Futuristic: Marvel's Nebula

Hey there!  Today's Digit-al Dozen post was inspired when I was watching Guardians of the Galaxy 2 not so long ago (I'm not a big movie buff so I rarely see anything when it's super new).  When I was watching it, I kept thinking that Nebula's markings were really cool and could make great nail art.  I wrote it down as an idea for this month's Futuristic theme since, like I've been saying all week, apparently when I think futuristic, I think of space.  I'm not sure this actually turned out anything like Nebula but it still looks sort of futuristic-like, right?

The Digit-al Dozen does Futuristic: Space Nails

Press  Sample

Hey there!  Since this week the Digit-al Dozen is doing a Futuristic theme, I thought it'd be a good time to share the Whats Up Nails B011 Intergalactic Encounters stamping plate.  My brain seems to really trends towards outer space when I think of the future so I did a stamped galaxy mani and some adorable little aliens and spaceships with this awesome plate.  I really enjoy all of Whats Up Nails plates but this one is particularly cool to me, possibly because I love the mystery of space so much.  Plus, I can never deny any stamping plate that has DNA on it (even if I didn't use it for today's manis).

The Digit-al Dozen does Futuristic - Chrome Nails

Hey there!  Today's post is a super simple look that I did for this month's Digit-al Dozen Futuristic theme.  When I was trying to come up with ideas for this prompt, quite literally the only thing I could think of was metallic nails.  I almost just did 5 days of the old Essie metallic polishes.  So how could I resist doing some chrome nails.  I know some folks are long tired of chrome but I still love it.

The Digit-al Dozen does Futuristic: Star Trek Nails

Hey there!  Welcome to this month's Digit-al Dozen theme.  This month we're doing "Futuristic".  It's a pretty fun theme.  There was a fair bit of chit chat in our group about how the ladies were interpreting it.  I'm really looking forward to see what looks they've come up with.  Personally, I'm starting with some classic sci fi - Star Trek.  Luckily Fab Ur Nails has a plate with the insignia so this was easy peasy.