My Ripponburn ladies, 1:14 - start of year two

newbie, she just came to the community two days before

The year has begun at Ripponburn, my local retirement community!!! Today I went on a movie Thursday, which, when initially planned, was not the idea. But the movie nights got pushed out a week so there went my planning. Makes for a hectic day on my side as I have to get ready for the screening but also close early to get to Ripponburn by three. And I didn't want to feel stressed or hectic when I go there as I really enjoy it and look forward to seeing the ladies.

newbie two

I had two newbies in the group. One lady had just arrived two days before and was still shy and finding her place. She only wanted something plain but after seeing how the other manis turned out, I convinced her to try some glitter. She is a smoker so any colour will take away from the yellowness of her nails. And she has gorgeous nails! Seemed a shame to waste! My other newbie also just wanted a soft shade. I went with the gorgeous salmon for both.

dorothy

gladys

Dorothy started the day and she always likes brown shades. I make sure I have something there for her. She has the most beautiful sapphires, and brown goes well with that. In fact, many of the ladies have the most beautiful rings. I always try to comment as the rings are special to them, evoke memories and all that. Gladys was in a red mood, though she got a load of glitter on her accent nails in the end!

ivy

jenny

Ivy chose three different colours so I went with a skittlette. It was a bit of an ordeal finding out which of the three was her least favourite – that one only went on one nail! Jenny wanted what Dorothy had, but with glitter. She is so impatient. I told her to sit and relax while the polish dried but before you knew it, she was knitting!!! Oh well, she is happy but I don't think her manis last very long.

joan

joyce

margaret two

Joan and Margaret (the 2nd, another Margaret) only wanted something very pale. And Joyce had her husband visiting and she stayed around to get her nails done. She is also one who gets up and down and leaves and come back. A nomad! Looking at all these pics you would think I only brought five bottles of polish with me! But I have my mini tool box full and swatch sticks galore!

lilian

nellie

So, hurrah for Lilian and Nellie! Lilian knew exactly what she wanted and was able to tell me by name (she reads her swatch sticks carefully). And has "a wonderful memory" - she's great!!!! In case you were wondering how I approach this: I have a ring of swatchicles of all the colours I have and they get passed around from lady to lady so she can decide what colour(s) she wants. The night before I go through all of my polishes at home and put together a new ring of fun. Some polishes are the same but I try to bring in new ones depending on the weather and time of year. Nellie was a trooper and even though the pic is a bit out of focus (she kept swinging her hands!), the green and glitter looked really good!

If you have been following me these past months you will be missing my wee Norma. She is quite frail and quite old. She was not feeling up to it and was in bed. Now I fear for the worse. But Frankie, my liaison there, reminds me that they are old and time takes it toll. You make them happy - if even for a split second as their memories are not the best - and that is all that matters.

Have done some rescheduling and am back on a Friday after Waitangi Day, then in two week intervals.

Mani breakdowns:
newbie one: two coats Nicole by OPI Selena, one coat China Glaze Make a Spectacle
newbie two: two coats Nicole by OPI Selena
Dorothy: two coats Thai In the Army
Gladys: two coats China Glaze Red Pearl
Ivy: two coats each of AA: China Glaze Hey Sailor, BB: China Glaze Red Pearl, C: China Glaze Sexy Silhouette
Jenny: two coats Thai In the Army, one coat China Glaze Make a Spectacle
Joan & Margaret two: two coats OPI In the Pink
Joyce: one coat OPI In the Pink, one coat OPI You Glitter be Good To Me
Lilian: two coats OPI No Room for the Blues, one coat China Glaze Make a Spectacle
Nellie: two coats OPI Mermaid's Tears, one coat China Glaze Make a Spectacle

GOT: stripes – hand drawn fronds over stripes of copper and blue

I am enjoying the GOT challenge. Makes you take a long look at your stash, see what's old and try to find away around the prompt. Sorry I am a bit late in posting this - well, in my part of the world it is Friday. But things mounted up yesterday and I couldn't get it done. There was film night last – great, great Norwegian film (Headhunters) – and I had to get ready for that. Then before that, I had Ripponburn day with the little ladies. It just all piled up, felt behind all day.

So this is my take on stripes. The base is (yicks, another mini bottle) Orly Chocolate Martini. This is as old the OPI from the last GOT mani. I must have thought that mini bottles was the way to go four or five years ago. I was not that glam back then and probably thought this will be fine for those days when I felt like painted nails. My, how times have changed! I applied two coats and top coat before continuing. I waited a while.

Then I used one coat of Zoya Wednesday for the accent stripe. This was one of the first polishes I bought back in Oct 2012 when I re-started being glam. I still love it and have many similars (CG For Audrey, NOPI Alex by the Books). I lightly top coated the stripe area before continuing.

harvey getting in on the action!

I drew black outlines for frond like leaf-flowers. Carefully I filled them in with OPI Greenwich Village (bought at the Viet shop Nov 2012 in the States) and Zoya Sooki (got at my local NW in a buy-a-box-of-Kellogg's-and-get-a-free-bottle-of-polish-special also in Nov 2012). I use Sooki A LOT! It is a fantastic shade of tomato red. The red and green complement the copper and teal really well. Who'd of thought? And, I have gotten a lot of compliments on this mani - people really noticed it. In fact, I have started a similar based pendant (oh! sold two pendants this morning at the café!!!!).

right hand

Today is very windy in Central. And now a coldness is blowing through. Not that nice when the Antarctic winds swept the plains. Especially in summer. Even though I am late to the GOT party today, I am going to take time and check out all the other lassies and their creations!

I did end up making a pendant after all! more here: etsy shop.

Zoya Vespa with handdrawn yellow daisies

This beautiful green I just bought off a PANZ destash! Yeah - my first pixie dust! Zoya has a couple of pixies out there that I have my eye on, but alas.... not yet snatched! Vespa is a light olive green with the sparkles of silver running through it. Tender and easy going. Beautiful! My original plan was just to paint my nails but then I thought how yellow would look rather fab with it!

The base is two coats of Vespa. I top coated before drawing as – as expected – the surface is not kind to fine brushes! The polish dries matte with structure. But not as structured as OPI's liquid sand finishes. In the end the finished mani has two coats of top coat. Can't feel much but a third would be perfect.

I drew the daisy and stem outlines in black then filled them in. Since the surface was a bit rough, I had to go over the black lines again after the yellow. They got kind of smudged or something. I just drew daisies in different directions. I like the freehand look to them.

For the yellow I used piCture pOlish Mellow Yellow followed by Butter London Cheeky Chops. Mellow Yellow is exactly that, very mellow. A faint light yellow (it would look totally fab matte, like candy!). The inner parts of the petals has a dot of Cheeky Chops to add dimension. Like I mentioned, I top coated after this. Used Poshé the second time as it is a bit thicker.

Now.... could not resist starting a pendant necklace in these colours. It is not finished yet but tomorrow is my day off and will finish things then. But I wanted to give you an idea!! When done, I will add a finished pick below.
As “promised", here the finished pendant and charm (here the link to my shop with more pics):

GOT: pink – Field of Love flowers gradient skittlette

Blatant creative plug! I had this idea for nails and a pendant, and earrings and nails (not to wear together, but designing off each other). Then I saw the pink GOT (golden oldie Thursday) prompt, and knowing Valentine's Day is on the horizon thought this would be a good time to do this. I am very happy with how everything turned out. And that is why I am up on a cloud and wanting to share!

The mani is an ABBCC skittlette, though the CCs are hard to decypher from the A. A (pinkie) is one of my oldest polishes: a mini bottle of OPI Strawberry Margarita. Been around my basket since the ark. Eeck, mini bottle! I had visions of the polish being a big gloopy mess. But no. Not super "new" but definitely applicable. The polish is very similar to China Glaze Wicked Style, a tad warmer. For the CCs I used a base of Margarita and then marbled tip layers of the heart neon to bring the heart colour back into the mani. Not a total success story, but it worked.

The BBs are my pride and joy. The gradient was a four part deal and uses all piCture pOlish holos that I have had for over a year (still complying by the got-rules!). From cuticle to tip: hope, cosmos, jealousy, kryptonite, though the main components are cosmos and jealousy. Take it back, I just got jealousy. Oh well, most have been in the stash for a year. I top coated this before continuing. Then I drew the tulip hearts (ring) and balloon (middle) with thin black strokes and filled them in with China Glaze Neon & On & On. Careful top coat over that.

right hand

I did my nails and the pendant-necklace simultaneously, but backwards! What a trip! And I was so cautious (i.e. scared) to mess up my drawings that I tread quite lightly in the beginning. So below a couple of more shots of my earrings and pendant and nails - and Harvey being nice sociable to me and watching me photograph. Here is the link to the pendant in my etsy shop (shop). Oh, my hands and arms are pretty scratched up from tiny George - rude little bugger!

Check out all the other girls below!!! And, apologies if my design doesn't fit the rules. But the pink is old, as is most of the rest and the mani is 3/5ths pink!!