26 Great Nail Art Ideas - Sunshine

This week's prompt was sunshine. I searched through all my plates and really couldn't find anything suitable sunshiny and then it occurred to me that maybe a mandala type pattern, stamped yellow on orange or orange on yellow might do the trick.
I had just used Apipila Super Plate B for another mani and spotted an image that I thought would be perfect. So I painted my nails neon orange with 'Ard As Nails Too Shy and then stamped with Esmaltes da Kelly Bee.
I took a selection of pictures including an impromptu shot with some self set poppies in the back garden. To be honest, since I don't like yellow or orange very much I didn't really expect to like these much but I did (not sure the photos really do them justice either, not the right colour combo for my camera or my skin) - but one of the nice things about nail art, you just have to give things a try, they might surprise you! I think it helped that the sun was shining!!

Apipila Super Plate B

 

 

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Nail Crazies Unite - Anti-Valentines

Well, this was a tricky one - I wasn't entirely sure what Anti -Valentines was all about but I decided I'd go with a standard Valentines mani and switch the colours. Traditionally red and white would be the most typical colours so I went for opposites, with green and black.
I started with a base of 'Ard As Nails Missy, a gorgeous khaki green creme. As usual with these polishes it applied beautifully, and if you spot any blemishes it's where I still haven't mastered the art of applying a gel base properly!
I went for quite a simple design, having decided to do black on darkish green. Anything more complex would have been lost. As it is, the end result is quite subtle but that's OK, I really wasn't in the mood for bright and colourful - understated is fine!
I used A England King Cophetua, a delicate black holo, described on the website as a blackened green and I think it went beautifully with the khaki base.
Although I do have some newer plates, I chose a plate I have had for a while but really not used enough, Apipila Super Plate B as I thought this pretty heart image was solid enough to stamp in holo black over green.
I was really pleased with how these turned out.

'Ard As Nails Missy

A England King Cophetua and Apipila Super Plate B

 

 

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February Challenges - Mystical Nails

I know I have frequently mentioned a love of Art Deco and rarely miss an opportunity to do Art Deco nails but another style that I love is anything Celtic.
The prompt Mystical for #ggfnachallenge instantly made me think Celtic and more specifically the Messy Mansion Symetrika plates.
I started with a blue and green holo base using Esmaltes da Kelly Helix and Haltere, just painted each nail half and half. Coverage was great with only did one coat!
Then I stamped a spiral pattern using Apipila Super Plate B and Colour Alike Kind of Black.
Finally I added Messy Mansion Symetrika 06 with A England Virgin Queen.
I was really pleased with how this turned out.

Esmaltes da Kelly Helix and Haltere

Apipila Super Plate B and Colour Alike Kind of Black

 

Messy Mansion Symetrika 06 with A England Virgin Queen

 

 

40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Aqua or Turquoise and Sponging (and then some stamping too)

This weeks colour prompt for 40 Great Nail Art Ideas was Aqua or Turquoise with a pattern prompt of sponging.
I started with a base of Nails Inc St James Square and when I showed my husband he said, ooh turquoise, so I got that bit right.
I chose to sponge with  Leighton Denny Jailbird, Kleancolor Metallic Aqua and HJ Manicure Blue Lagoon thinking they would go well with the base but unfortunately although I could see the differences the camera said, oh all blue then! You can see it if you look closely but perhaps I should have used less similar shades. The end result was pretty, if a little subtler than I intended.
Now, I often have 2 Friday challenges and I usually save one for Saturday. However, the prompts for #wnac2016 were a bit late being announced and as the first one was also sponging I decided I'd combine it with the 40GNAI. The theme for this months #wnac2016 is Love/Hate so I went with Love and added hearts with A England Rose Bower and Apipila Superplate B.

Nails Inc St James Square

 

Turquoise with sponging

 

Apipila Super Plate B and A England Rose Bower

 

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January Challenges - Quilted

Quilted for #wnac2016 :
Glam Polish Fall'n for You! is a gorgeous glitter in stunning Fall (autumn) shades. I used 2 coats here as I was going to stamp over it but really I probably should have used a base or added a 3rd coat as I can still see the nail line.
Then I stamped a quilted type pattern from Apipila Super Plate B with Esmaltes da Kelly Naomi.
The glitter looks so pretty with the stamping but I just can't seem to capture it on camera.
I added a matte top coat which softened the whole look and I was quite pleased with that.
But I decided they really did need something else so I added some pretty flowers using HJ Manicure Candy Pink and Apipila Super Plate D. This looks a bit too subtle in the pics but in reality I think it was a lovely addition

Glam Polish Fall'n for You!

Apipila Super Plate B with Esmaltes da Kelly Naomi

 

 

HJ Manicure Candy Pink and Apipila Super Plate D

October Challenges - Denim and Leaves

I've combined two challenges for #30daysofcolourchallenge.
The first one was Denim and as I had just received the most gorgeous denimmy holo polish in the September Paint the Rainbow Box, I though it would be perfect. Grace-full Second Star is a beautiful mid blue holo, and a real denim blue shade. Although I have lots of blues I don't have many blue holos which is probably why the September box tempted me so much!
I have not used a Grace-full polish before but first impressions are good - it was easy to apply, dried well, and good coverage in two coats. This blue is perfect, very wearable and I love it!
Although rain had been forecast all day, there was a window of sunshine which for once coincided with me finishing my nails, so I actually got a reasonable photo.
Apologies to long nail fans! they were making me nervous so they've had a trim, but they grow so quickly, I am sure they will be long again soon.
The second challenge was Leaves. As I had just done an Autumn leaves mani with fairly solid stamping I looked for more of an outline this time.
I started with a skeleton leaf image from Apipila Super Plate B and Virtuous Polish Glory, a vibrant golden yellow and then added another layer of leaves from Lealac LLC-A with Virtuous Polish Diligence, a very bright neon orange.
The golden yellow against the blue does look more of a brown shade, but it's a perfect leafy brown so I am happy with that and because the stamping is much more open, the blue holo is still very apparent. I think these are a lot more subtle than the last Autumnal mani and I decided to leave well alone and stop at two layers of stamping.

Grace-full Second Star

 

 

Apipila Super Plate B and Virtuous Polish Glory

Lealac LLC-A and Virtuous Polish Diligence

 

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

September Challenges - Stained Glass using Jewel Tones

For some crazy reason I decided to join another challenge this month, because I liked the look of the challenges!
Realistically though, I think I will need to scale down the length of my blog posts for nail art manis as I am struggling to keep up! I feel an obligation to my regular readers and I would say if you are a regular reader and you want more information on any mani feel free to contact me.
I have done a little summary post of my decision here.
Anyway, back to this mani.
The brief was Stained Glass using Jewel Tones for #wnac2015. I decided to do some reverse stamping using China Glaze Liquid Leather and Apipila Super Plate B. I coloured the images in using Jacava Midnight's Secret, Nails Inc Emerald Street and Kleancolor Metallic Yellow over the base of Colors by Llarowe Love Actually.
Some nails looked great, some not so - the end result looked rather wobbly but I'll share anyway. I think maybe the CG was not a strong enough black for this mani. Anyway, I then stamped over it using Kleancolor Madly Black and Apipila Super Plate B.
I liked this much better, it had more definition although it does look rather dark!

reverse stamping

Apipila Super Plate B with Kleancolor Madly Black
over Jewel Tones

July Challenges - Texture

Today's challenge is Texture for #clairestelle8july - I thought some sparkly textured butterflies would be nice so I stamped using Apipila Super Plate A over my previous neon pink and blue mani with the lovely lilac Virtuous Polish Queen Ester and then added a coat of Dance Legend Top Sahara.
They looked pretty good but why stop there? I added more butterflies from Apipila Super Plate B and Hit The Bottle Snowed Under and did not add any top coat so it retained the textured finish.

Apipila Super Plate A with
Virtuous Polish Queen Ester

Apipila Super Plate A with
Virtuous Polish Queen Ester
and Dance Legend Top Sahara

  

Apipila Super Plate B with
 Hit the Bottle Snowed Under

Neon stamping!

There were no challenges for today so I took the opportunity to try one of the trio of Polished by KPT thermals I got from Rainbow Connection last week.
I don't wear a lot of pink so I thought I'd try Penelope first. This is a really bright neon pink, which turns purple when cold. I read that you should wear a white base to make it really vibrant, so I started with a coat of Barry M Cotton and then added 2 coat of Penelope - wow that's pink!
This is an amazing polish, pink with a blue shimmer but reading further I discovered it is a cold sensitive thermal so it only changes when really cold, and you can't just run your hand under the tap to get the purple effect, so this will go back on the shelf until the winter!!
My family could not believe I was wearing such pink nails, and nor could the camera - the colour was amazing but the camera just could not pick it up in the miserable rain we had today, so I gave up.
A concerted effort with an ice cube yielded one quick macro shot of the thermal transition, and then I stamped over it.
I have used Kleancolor Neon Sapphire a lot, because it stamps so well. It doesn't seem to be neon, the name amuses me every time but I do like the contrast of deep blue with bright pink and I think it has worked very well here with Apipila Super Plate B.

Kleancolor Neon Sapphire and Apipila Super Plate B

 

hint of thermal gradient - Polished by KPT Penelope

July Challenges - Yellow / Blobbicure and Black and White

Every now and then you get a challenge not entirely in your comfort zone and this time I have had to use yellow!
The #30daysofcolourchallenge was Yellow / Blobbicure. I had done a small blobbicure trial in June so I felt slightly more comfortable about that, but yellow ?? Anyway, I decided to use A England Holy Grail and SV by Sparkly Vernis Gilded Lemon Drops as I thought they'd go quite well together.
The result wasn't too bad - I have seen better blobbicures but I was reasonably happy with the mani and I do think the colours worked pretty well.
Of course I had to stamp on it and I thought it would make a nice background for one of the UberChic sketchy flowers so I stamped UberChic Beauty UC 1-03 with China Glaze Liquid Leather.
Finally I decided to use this as my Black and White mani for #30daysofcolourchallenge too so I added some white stamping, using UberChic Beauty UC 3-01 and Hit the Bottle Snowed Under.
I really like black and white stamping combined and I am pretty pleased with this.

As you can probably tell, I did this mani over a few days so I did add a final layer, some more black stamping with Kleancolor Madly Black and Apipila Super plate B - so, its still black and white but also means another entry for #hawaiianshirtmanifriday!

Blobbicure with A England Holy Grail and
SV by Sparkly Vernis Gilded Lemon Drops

UberChic Beauty UC 1-03

UberChic Beauty UC 3-01

 

Apipila Super Plate B and Kleancolor Madly Black

 

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up