52wkCrumpet29: Negative space and pastels

This is week 29 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: Negative space and three pastel colours (either each alone or combined). I chose the combo and this is in Luxio gel polish. I am off to a Luxio Nail and Art Workshop this coming weekend and needed a gel mani.

The base is a nude gel. Next came the handdrawn French tips, with a negative space (line) created within the French.

I drew some simple flowers in alternating colours of the pastels, and in random spots on my nails. All was topped and cured and I am ready to go for this week!!

If you are wondering, I am holding a quince. We have a very old quince tree on our property and the fruit is massive, yellow and smells wonderful.

An InLinkz Link-up

52wkCrumpet22: Orange, yellow and red

This is week 22 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: houndstooth, and orange-yellow-red (either each alone or combined). I chose the colour combo. After some – not much but some – deliberation I have decided to flex the rules just a tad more. I am working a lot with gel and gel nail art through my course and lessons. Depending on how my weeks go, I may sometimes use gel polish for the Crumpie mani, but still follow the prompt. It is that or stop. Don't want to stop.

I just removed the vineyard mani after nine days. Still looked very good, almost perfect still. So, I am late with this as well. I am working off the same base of Luxio nude that I had on (the grapes were normal polish and paint). The three prompt colours were drawn using a quilt blanket technique. The blanket was drawn in the colour, then a mix of the two other colours were painted over the blanket. So, on the yellow blanket there is a wash of both red and orange. Very light but enough to give the nails depth. I added some tone-in-tone glitter as well.

I dabbed stone-like drops on the remaining two fingers in the three colours (and some white). The idea I was going off of was from a fellow colleague but she was able to create much more height as she mixed in acrylic powder. Don't have that. I finished with some of my fab Swarovski rhinestones!

I am using (i.e. goofing around with) my new Foldio lightbox which is totally fab!! Works off a battery and I can take it outside or inside and it folds flat. Love it!! I like the whole summery-ness of this and the depth in the three main nails. Soft, but the colouring is there.

An InLinkz Link-up

Vineyard grapes on Luxio gel base

We were invited to a 25th anniversary vineyard party (the Mr's employer) and I decided to rock a grape vine mani. Also, I was super happy that my new shipment of 100% gel Luxio arrived - such a great product. Am totally happy with it and my clients love it.

The base for the mani is two coats of Luxio Delicate (usually my base for French), and then top coated with the gloss top coat. I like the sheer look to the background. Delicate is nude but with a light pink tinge.

I started with the leaves, fatter than normal as grape vine leaves, in acrylic paints. I mixed green, black and silver to give the leaves a shimmer. I highlighted them with a lighter tone of the same (mixed in white) and then with a tad of white. Then I drew curly vine-y branches in black acrylic.

For the grapes I used a two tone mix of purple polish (OPI A Grape Fit and China Glaze Rendezvous with You). I drew them on with a brush. Then I highlighted them with A Grape Fit, followed by white acrylic paint. I outlined a couple of the grapes in black to give them a hand painted look.

When done, and dry, I top coated with Poshé for a super shine to match the gel gloss top coat. Whew. Then I did my right hand. I really like the look and am quite happy with the result. A couple of people even noticed – but not as many as I had hoped!! Tja, they were all too busy drinking wine!