52wkCrumpet27: Not worn enough

This is week 27 of Crumpet's 52 week challenge! The "rules" are very flexible and you have all week to accomplish the mani. As always, must be done on your own nails, using the colours suggested (or parts thereof).
This week's prompt: Music and Not worn enough (either each alone or combined). I chose Not worn enough as I had spied this old green a couple of weeks ago and thought "I need to use this again sometime". Today is the day!

This is a one coat base of China Glaze Agro (Hunger Games collection). I love this green!! The hue is an antique metallic shimmer, going into olive green. Fab fall-autumn colour. Very rich and a bit medieval (go Game of Thrones!). I wore it heaps a couple of years ago then stopped. Too many polishes, not enough days.

When this was dry I used acrylic paint and drew flower-fronds in grey shades all over. I like the grey-green combo. Out the Door sealed the deal. This is one of those manis I really like on myself and others. For some reason, painted flowers always look elegant and in some way artistic. I try other things, but always come back to something like this.

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52wkCrumpet26: Mosaic-Stained Glass

Yay!!! Halfway!
This is week 26 of Crumpet's 52 week challenge! The "rules" are very flexible and you have all week to accomplish the mani. As always, must be done on your own nails, using the colours suggested (or parts thereof).
This week's prompt: Mosaic-Stained Glass, and pink and orange (either each alone or combined). I chose mosaic. It is getting very cold and autumnal here so not much in the mood for pinks.

I started with a kind of skittlette of alternating CND Blue Rapture and CND Dark Lava. I haven't worn CND Vinylux for a while so thought I would bring it out again. From the start I had decided to do mosaic-stained glass on only my left hand. We had a holiday yesterday so another short week and I have too much to do to devote heaps of time to doing my nails. Oh well.

I wanted to do a bit of a churchyard scene so first drew the outline of the church and yard in black acrylic paint.  Then I added the colours for the stained glass windows, crossed the crosses and added sky. When all was done I added some Dark Lava to the church to tie the colouring together. Two coats of top coat on the painting as the acrylic paint was bumpy, otherwise one.

As almost always, from a distance the stained glass looks much better than in close up scrutiny! And I love the regal purple shimmer, works well with the smoky blue. I probably should have done mosaics on all nails but honestly didn't feel like it and wanted to do a landscape this week. Hope all is well, girls! Thx for reading!

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52wkCrumpet25: lilac and green

This is week 25 of Crumpet's 52 week challenge! The "rules" are very flexible and you have all week to accomplish the mani. As always, must be done on your own nails, using the colours suggested (or parts thereof).
This week's prompt: Mermaid, and lilac and green (either each alone or combined). I chose lilac and green and this time I have done an entirely gel polish mani.

The base was the nude and the green marbling off last week's mani. The flowers were drawn in a Japanese nail art gradation method using lilac, green and white. I purposely left negative space under the flowers so they seem like they are floating.

If all my pics look different it is because I am trying to use my new Foldio lightbox. It is really hard to do your own nails in the lightbox, holding the iPhone. Also trying to take better "both hand pics" as well.

I really like this mani and am getting lots of comments. It is very soft very the colour palette but also different. My fav finger is the index finger on my right hand – so drawn with my left non-dominant hand. I think that hibiscus turned out very well.

One thumb is in the marbling with a side flower. On the other thumb I did a tie-dye marbling effect with and three shades of gel. Below a couple more both hand pics. One is totally out of focus!!! True learning curve this!

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My Ripponburn ladies 4:15

Nellie

Nellie is back!!! But I am very afraid to say that it may not be for long. She seems to be really sick. That is a bit sad. Her hands and nails are as gorgeous as ever, though they have trimmed the nails down. I was happy to see her, though, and hope very much to see her again in two weeks.

Gladys

Lilian

I was batting a thousand as I remembered everything!! The cuticle oil and the ridge filler top coat for Ina. I took out the oil to refill a couple of times ago then left it somewhere and forgot to repack. So everyone got oil today. Not a lot of takers on my green palette for St Paddy's Day. Just Gladys and Lilian, though Lilian's is more that teal-blue-somewhere-inbetween colour.

Ina - ridge filler helping heaps

Ina chose her fav magnetic again and I think the ridge filler has really helped the look of this mani! A couple of nails are still growing out from breakage but the base coat does wonders in creating a smooth finish. I did a double coat of the Layla for depth, meaning the magnetic effect doesn't go on till coat two. Ina was so funny!! She kept looking at her nails during the first coat, then back at me... and I know she thought I was forgetting the whole effect!!! Haha!!

Joan

Thelma

Margaret

The pink and red brigade was out and about again! I did bring some different hues this time – can't have the same colour e-v-e-r-y time! And Hellie is also back!!! Both she and Dorothy went for metallic shimmer duochromes. Dorothy could be moving as she may move to where her family is down south. Nice for her, of course, but I will miss her. Love how the purple duochrome matches her rings!

Hellie

Dorothy

Mani breakdown:
all had Seche Clear as a base, two coats of base polish and Out the Door as a top coat. After pics then an almond oil cuticle wash.

Nellie: China Glaze Hey Sailor
Gladys: OPI Jade is the new Black topped with Orly Monster Mash
Lilian: NOPI Alex by the Books
Ina: Layla Golden Bronze
Joan: Kyo Kyo dusty rose
Thelma: Ulta Strawberry Sundae
Margaret: China Glaze Hey Sailor topped with BYS Cold as Ice
Hellie: Color Club Model Behavior
Dorothy: China Glaze No Plain Jane over black

52wkCrumpet24: non-US brand

This is week 24 of Crumpet's 52 week challenge! The "rules" are very flexible and you have all week to accomplish the mani. As always, must be done on your own nails, using the colours suggested (or parts thereof).
This week's prompt: Kids TV and non-US brand (either each alone or combined). I chose the non-US brand as I couldn't think of anything worth wearing for a longer period of time with the Kids TV prompt. And again, this is a mix of gel and traditional polish.

The base is a gel mani of delicate pink-nude with the accents in white. I added shades of green for the gel marbling on the accents (four fingers). The gel I use, Luxio, is a Canadian company. Score 1! I mixed blue and yellow with white to get the green shades (as I don't own a true green yet).

I decided to do a negative space mani on the remaining six fingers (three each hand). This turned in to sort of a skittlette, though mix-matched. Here I used only non-US brands: Sky Blue from piCture pOlish (Australian), green base on the tips is Layla Mojito (Italy), the white hex glitter on the blue is again piCture pOlish (Storm) and I used some Jealousy (again, pp) to help glue the rhinestones (Swarovski - Austria) into place. I did the negative spacing freehand. I was going to use tape but the tape I first tried didn't stick as it was too old and I was too lazy to go get the new one out of the drawer! So, score 2!

The whole rhinestone idea is growing on me. I really like them and have invested in heaps, and continuing to buy more – also studs, larger gems, etc. Only buying Swarovski or Preciosa crystals as they reflect the light so much better. Works well with the gel nail art. The whole 3D thing. Even clients are starting to embrace the idea!!

I am also playing around with my new Foldio lightbox. It is really difficult to photograph your own hands in this smallish lightbox. And also use props. But I love the Foldio as it collapses, therefore mobile, and uses a 9V battery for power! Also, I am using my iPhone with my macro lens on it (sometimes), trying to figure things out. Bye girls! x

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52wkCrumpet23: Ikat design

This is week 23 of Crumpet's 52 week challenge! The "rules" are very flexible and you have all week to accomplish the mani. As always, must be done on your own nails, using the colours suggested (or parts thereof).
This week's prompt: Ikat design and metallic (either each alone or combined). I chose Ikat and was going to combine with metallics but still have a Luxio base so just drew over everything!! I have done this design heaps before, I think even in this colour combo. Always effective and bright - can't miss it!

The base is China Glaze Happy Go Lucky (my fav yellow) and the red is Zoya Sooki (a great tomato red). Black is just black! This is a super rushed and totally inadequate post about this also rather rushed mani but I am super pressed for time this week and wanted to post now – or forever hold your peace!!!! So apologies to the Gods of Crump for my total lack of indepth reporting and photojournalism – and the smeared black bits as I was also impatient.

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