Scrabble Nails

When it gets cold out, all I want to do is stay inside and play Scrabble... oh, and do my nails! These are a little of both. I made and cut wood-grain decals by hand on a plastic bag and then drew on the letters with marker. 

COLORS

OPI Glints of Glinda

OPI Samoan Sand

OPI A-Piers to be Tan

(and a fine-tip Sharpie!)

Gadiola Lace Dot Nails

These nails were inspired by my Mom's pink gladiolas. They were so lacy and girly!

COLORS

Forever 21 Love and Beauty Salmon

Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Leftover franken-polish for the tan

OPI Matte Top Coat

French Dot Gradient

A dot gradient from last year. This design is great for dotting tool practice.

Happy Birthday, America!

I told myself I wouldn't bother to do Fourth of July nails, even though I kept on seeing gorgeous designs everywhere. Then my new striping tape came in, and I just couldn't help myself.
For my first attempt using striping tape, I'm pretty proud! I followed some steps that other lacqueristas have recommended: quick-drying topcoat between layers, do one nail at a time, and get the tape off ASAP.  
I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White, Maybelline Color Show Paint the Town, and OPI OPI... Eurso Euro.

And the tree was happy.

Alright, well this is the design that has inspired me to start posting regularly. I got so much positive feedback for such an easy-to replicate design! Colors are Julep Mackenzie and OPI Cajun Shrimp. I used a fine-tip Sharpie for the line work.

Mackenzie is the first Julep I've ever used. I was afraid that since it's 4-free, it would present problems when I used it with my normal base and topcoat. Turns out, no worries there!

The Giving Tree has always had a special place in my heart. My Macbook has a decal of this illustration on the front of it. And if I were to get a tattoo, there's a good chance it would be related to this book.

Cameo Silhouettes

These were impromptu, but I felt very ladylike wearing them. I pretty much just added silhouettes to these nails after I decided the gradient wasn't enough. I'd really like to do something more with this concept in the future, as these were still a little too simple.

The base is a sponge gradient from Essie Eternal Optimist to Urban Outfitters Hangover to Essie Tart Deco. The white (Sinful Colors Snow Me White) is handmade decals I made on a sandwich bag. 

Here goes!

I do my nails a lot more than what is probably healthy. Since I put so much time into it, I've decided to try my hand at collecting all of my designs in one place. I'll date posts of past manicures with the day the photos were taken. Enjoy!