NPL Daisies - Ruby Wing: Eternal - stamping over color changing polish

Hello everyone!

I had fun with color changing polish again. This time it was Ruby Wing: Eternal, which is made with SolarActive® Technology. It looks turquoise in the shade/ inside and outside/ in the sun it looks dark green- grey. What surprised me, is that the white stamped flowers also changed from white to light pink. I bought Eternal and Crowd Surf in May 2013. They are both from the 2013 Summer Collection, and are still available and cruelty- free (source (look for Forsythe Cosmetic Group)).


I made this in June 2014 when the theme was "Daisies" in the G+ group Nail Polish Lovers. It was too difficult to paint them, and this image was the closest I could find. Two plates from MoYou London's Pro collection have this image: 08 (regular size) and 10 (XL). I don't remember, but I think I used the biggest here. To fix some flowers, I added a little white. And I think that's why the color of the flowers looks uneven in the sun. But now that I've learned that, I'll make sure that the stamping is good next time.


I'm very far behind with my blogging, so I still haven't even showd you all the nail art from 2014, and the polish I was wearing in 2013... not to mention the haul posts the last two years...


Inside:

Sun:

Back inside:

What do you think about this? Have you tried color changing polish?


Lani

Music Nails with Dancers - stamping nail art - Music Nails Part II

Hello everyone!

This manicure kind of evolved, so now you see the finished result of my "Music Nails for World Music Day (Jun 21)". I just added black and white dancers to the manicure you saw in the last blog post. Some of you would probably have stopped as it was, and some of you prefer it with the dancers. I'll include a list and photos of the products I used below.

The thumb:

I love watching ballets, so I had wanted to make a ballet manicure for some time. But because my nails are small, I had to wait until they were long enough for the Konad dancers. The dancers on the MoYou London plate are smaller. (Most of you probably have room for more on your nails.)

The middle finger:

This is my favorite ballet image, and below you can see the plates I used.

Products used:

Gina Tricot Beauty Nails: #130 Shimmer mint

Stamped with:
China Glaze: Adore (from the China Glaze Romantique Collection)
Konad: SN Psyche Pink, Black, White
XL stamper with a new stamper head

Stamping plates:
Bundle Monster: BM-411 (from the 2013 "Create Your Own" Collection Set)
Pueen: 47 (from the 2013 "Love Elements" Collection Set)
Konad: S8
MoYou London: Princess collection- 02

& base coat (Duri Rejuvacote) & top coat (Seche Vite)

What do you think? Do you like it with the dancers? Or was it better without them?

(To see Part I, click here.)

Lani

Penguin nails - freehand nailart - inspired by Stefan Christmann photos

Hello everyone!

Matte version

This was supposed to be shared on Penguin Day (April 25th), but I really struggled making penguin nail art, until I finally made something worth sharing. This is the second design attempt, and it took forever to paint.

I started with a white creme nail polish; IsaDora #603 Tip White. To paint the penguins I used acrylic craft paint and a detail brush. Although the grown up Emperor Penguins have a little yellow on them, I chose black and white only to make them easier to paint. 4 photos are with Seche Vite top coat, and 3 photos are with Gosh Matte top coat.

Matte version

I was inspired by amazing penguin photos taken by Stefan Christmann while he lived in Antarctica. You can see his work on his site: NATURE IN FOCUS or on facebook: Stefan Christmann Photography.

Like last time, I made two types of penguins, Emperor Penguins & Adélie Penguins. Every year around this time, penguins start their northward migration to escape the cold. Only the Emperors stay on the south pole during the coldest "summer" months.

Did you se what I made for Penguin Day in 2012? Click here to see it.

I applied matte top coat before I started painting, as Cutenails tells us in one of her YouTube videos.

Matte version

The detail brush was bought from Fab Ur Nails Shop, and I liked that it has a little resistance to it, if you understand what I mean.

My problem when using acrylic paint on my nails is that I can't wipe it off with water. What do I do wrong? Should I dilute the paint more? If you have any advice, I'll be very happy.


Lani

Love is Love - Pastel Rainbow Hearts- Valentines Day nails #8, NPC's Valentine's Day Nail Art Challenge, and #31Nails2014 Day 19 Rainbow

Hello everyone!

I was invited to Nail Polish Canada's Valentine's Day nail art challenge! :-) You can vote for me here by choosing my blog url; nailphotosbylani. I've already seen some very beautiful entries, so I don't think I can win, but I do have many hearts on my tiny nails. Lol! How many hearts do you see?

I must admit that I was inspired by the discrimination against homosexuals and lesbians, that happen many places, but that we've heard so much about now before the Olympics. I think people should be treated with respect no matter who they happen to fall in love with. Love is Love.

Rainbow nails was one of the challenges in the 31 day challenge I tried to do in January. So now that I've finally done day 19, I only have 5 manicures to do for NAILS Magazine's #31Nails2014 Challenge! Sadly, I have only showed a few here on the blog. But if you are on facebook, you can see my #31Nails2014 photo album. I will also share them on Instagram soon. Please follow me on Instagram! Btw, have you seen that NAILS Magazine now have a new 31 day nail art challenge for February?

This manicure was also made for the Sunday challenge in the facebook group Adventures In Stamping. I've never made a manicure for 3 challenges before. :-)

And also I have my own Valentine's Day nails series. This is number 8. I've included links to the ones I've made so far at the end of this post.

PRODUCTS USED:

Duri Rejuvacote (as base coat)

Pastels:
Nailstation: Guimauve (pink)
Nailstation: Agrume (orange)
Nailstation: Lightening Lemon (yellow)
Mi-Ny: #56 Klimt (green)
Nailstation: Gomme (blue) -used here in NPC Holiday Challenge
Gina Tricot: #47 Lilac me (indigo/ blue purple)
Linda Johansen: Violetta (violet/ red purple)

Sponge & dotting tool (for the gradient)
Messy Mansion: MM31 (stamping plate & palette)
Konad: SN White
Purple rectangular stamper
XL stamper (for the thumb)
Seche Vite


Nailstation, Mi-Ny and Linda Johansen are cruelty- free. I thought Gina Tricot was cruelty- free too, but now I couldn't get it confirmed...


I bought Nailstation, Linda Johansen, and the XL stamper from Norway Nails - The purple rectangular stamper, and MM31 from Messy Mansion.

WHAT I DID:

I used all the pastels horizontally on my thumb. On the other fingers I tried to make a diagonal pastel rainbow gradient; Index: pink, orange. Middle finger: orange, yellow, green. Ring finger: green, blue, indigo. Pinkie: indigo, violet. And then I stamped white over it with my new absolutely gorgeous Valentines stamping plate MM31 from Messy Mansion.

Click to enlarge

MM31:

I really love this stamping plate. The designs are awesome, and as you see, the images are so detailed that I can use them even though I have tiny nails that are very short, and the full nail image size is big (2,2 x 1,7 cm). So thank you Messy Mansion for making a stamping plate for all nail sizes!

STAMPERS:

It's also the first time I use a rectangular stamper. It was soft, but not as soft as the XL stamper, but easier to position, and the purple surface made it easier to see the white stamping polish. I also tried my new purple replacement head for the XL stamper, but it was harder than I had expected, and I couldn't make it work. So I guess I have to prime it. And it's the first time I use Duri Rejuvacote. After reading about it on the Messy Mansion web site, I really hope to get healthier and stronger nails. That, and using gloves when doing the dishes and housework, will hopefully prevent them from breaking so that I can get long nails again...

MY VALENTINE'S DAY NAILS:

Valentine's Day nails 1: Heart of a Vampire
Valentine's Day nails 2: Purple holo with red hearts
Valentine's Day nails 3: Black holo+ holo glitter+ black hearts
Valentine's Day nails 4: Black/ white rhinestone hearts+ 3 Halo Hues
Valentine's Day nails 5: Hearts with Sweet Dreams
Valentine's Day nails 6: Hearts with Gold and Raindrops
Valentine's Day nails 7: Black Hearts & Sparkling Venus


Lani

Yellow Zebra Nails- Stamp over a Saran wrap method base

Hello everyone!

Ever since I saw a picture of a yellow zebra called Zoe, I've wanted to make yellow zebra nails. The challenge in Adventures In Stamping, about a month ago, was "Stamping over a Saran wrap method base". So the base is the pastel yellow and gold saran wrap mani I showed you in the latest blog post. And I stamped with Konad White and these four stamping plates:

Stamping plates used:

a) Cheeky Jumbo Plate 9 "Wild at Heart"- zebra face with left eye
b) A Chinese plate (Sorry, but I don't know how to write the letters) The seller calls it "QA Series 2012 Anniversary Edition" -zebra face with right eye
c) Pueen 10 from the Sumptuous Gallery set- thick stripes
d) Konad m 57- bending stripes

And here are the nail polish bottles:

Nail polish used:

H&M: Want a lemon - yellow
H&M: Run Baby Run - gold
Konad: White - white stamping polish

The photo I saw of Zoe shows a zebra with blue eyes, and yellow stripes instead of black stripes. But the color looks more orange than the color on my nails. Now I've seen other photos of her where the color of the stripes look more like a golden retriever's. Zoe is not an albino, but has a disorder called amelanosis. Because zebras with this coloring look different from their herd, they are in danger when they live in the wild. Zoe is kept in an animal sanctuary in Hawaii.

I liked the yellow zebra nails very much, and they matched one of my T- shirts. But the gold doesn't show well, so next time I stamp over a saran wrap base, I think I'll choose colors that are more different.


Lani

Shadow Stamping - Red with white flowers & black shadow

Hello everyone!

Shadow Stamping

"Shadow stamping" was the challenge in the group Adventures In Stamping (A.I.S.) on Sunday two weeks ago. I had not even heard about it, but thankfully we were given a link to a very helpful YouTube tuorial. I'm very bad at lining up the images, so I didn't get the shadows where I wanted them to be. So I must admit that this was very difficult. I don't know why I always believe that everything is so easy before i start... The photo above is the one I shared in A.I.S. two weeks ago. It was taken in the middle of the process; after redoing the index finger nail, but before redoing the middle finger nail, and before I cheated and painted some shadows on the pinkie and the middle finger nail...

Shadow Stamping

Shadow Stamping

Shadow Stamping

I was very proud of the shadow stamping on the thumb, but of course I managed to smear the flower when I applied the top coat.

Shadow Stamping

Used:

IsaDora: #600 Clear Base/ Top coat (used as fast drying base coat)
Pretty Serious: Hell on Wheels (red)
Stamping plates: Bundle Monster BM-318 and BM- 313
Stamping polish: Konad SP Black and Konad SP White
Seche Vite (fast drying top coat)
H&M: Black (striper from a set, to paint extra shadows)

Used for shadow stamping

I love the design on the Pretty Serious box, so here are two more photos of it:

Shadow Stamping

Shadow Stamping

I feel very lucky, because I won both the red polish and the stamping plates. In the Chit Chat Nails Bundle Monster Giveaway last fall, I won a 30$ gift code, and chose 5 nail art wheels and the 2012 stamping plate collection from the Bundle Monster web site. And as I told you in the last blog post, I won the gorgeous red Pretty Serious nail polish in the Norway Nails 1000 Facebook Likes Giveaway this summer. And the stamper and scraper I used was a gift from KKCenterHk! :-)

Shadow Stamping

I like the effect, so I think I will try this technique again. I just have to learn how to line up the image. Next time I'll try to make a dot on the stamper. That's supposed to make it easier to stamp straight.

Lani

The Tri- Polish Challenge, Day 15/ June #3: Dog Finger Painting- inspired by Jenna Marbles

Hello everyone!

Dog Finger Painting

My Dog Finger Painting nails are inspired by Jenna Marbles' Dog Finger Painting YouTube video. If you haven't already seen it, here it is:




When I saw her video, I immediately knew that I wanted to make something like this on my nails.

Dog Finger Painting

As you see, the dogs walked very carefully on my nails. But after I took the photos, I noticed that they had left some dog hairs... So, don't look too closely! And I accidentally hit the wall with my ring finger nail before the top coat dried. I wish I had taken photos before that.

Dog Finger Painting

I used all the Tri- Polish Challenge colors for June (pink, red and purple), and all the other colors we can use; white (regular and stamping polish), black stamping polish, and regular gold and silver nail polish. And my two dogs Cheeky Jumbo 9 Wild at Heart (long name :-) ) and Bundle Monster -323. Cheeky is the one with the small paws. Bundle Monster is bigger, and looks nearly like a little bear. I painted the accent nail pink, and used a sponge to make a purple- pink- red gradient. The red polish stained my skin, so I don't think I will use the red for gradients again.

Dog Finger Painting

For those of you who haven't seen it already, here is a photo and a list of my Tri- Polish Challenge polishes for June:

GOSH #598 Bubble Gum -pink
GOSH #571 Wild Lilac -purple
H&M Cherry- red

My  Tri- Polish Challenge nail polishes for June

As usual you will find thumbnails to the other Tri- Polish Challenge participants' nail art for Day 15/ June #3  below! (Yes, I was supposed to post this last week, but better late than never...)


Lani

No animals were harmed during the making of this nail art.