Z is for ...

And so ends the ABC Challenge. I am terribly sad to see this challenge over. I almost want to start all over again because there are so many letters that I had multiple nail art ideas for. Take Z for example. There's zebras, zombies, and zigzags and the one I went with: 

Z is for ... Zippers

I did this design completely backwards. I was working on swatching Shimmer Polish (swatches coming next week) when I was hit with the idea of zippers opening up to reveal Mary in all it's glittery glory.

I think it turned out pretty great considering I had to draw everything around that small V of Mary you see. To learn how to do a traditional zipper nail and not my backwards version you should definitely check out this picture tutorial found on Beautylish.

Will any of you be joining me for the Inspired by Time Periods Challenge??

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Happy Hanukkah

Two posts in one day?? Yes!! There has been an influx of Hanukkah nail art, but I still come up with very little in search engines. I'm not Jewish, but I don't think there can ever be enough nail art for holidays, any holiday. So I felt it was my nail artist duty to contribute. :)

This is based around a really beautiful menorah I saw in one of my Hanukkah searches. There were, of course, four candle holders on each side and rising up from the middle was a Star of David candle holder. There were no candles in the holders in the picture but I could just imagine how stunning it would look all lit up.  I just had to use that Star of David and put a candle on top.

As for the other nails, I thought this all deserved a beautiful and simple background to draw attention to the accent nail. After two disasters with tape, I finally just free-handed the stripes using China Glaze Blue Bells Ring over Pure Ice Silver Mercedes.

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If there is ever a holiday coming up that you want to see nail art for let me know. I barely follow US holidays let alone those internationally, but I would love the chance to attempt nail art for your favorite holiday. Leave me a comment or Contact Me so I can mark them on my calendar. :)

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Quidditch is Dirty Work

Today's post is my very first Harry Potter mani. I have dozens of Harry Potter designs sketched in my nail art book, but I've never felt confident enough to complete any. So, when I was completely stumped on what to do with my nails last week I figured it was past time to do something Harry Potter.

I went through all my sketches and realized I didn't want to do any of them. I thought briefly about doing something for each book but there are seven books ... too many for one hand and too few for both. I could have also done something for my favorite parts of the books but ... well, I have too many. :)

I finally settled on Quidditch as my inspiration. When I think of a Quidditch uniform all I can think of is stripes. I'm not sure why, but I think it has something to do with the Hogwarts striped ties. I tend to imagine the house colors as stripes now. And as all the muddy Quidditch training in the books tells us Quidditch is a dirty job! With this in mind I sponged on some deep brown over the uniforms to create a muddy, dirtied look.

Last but not least ... what Quidditch game is complete without the Golden Snitch??


Polish Used
Hufflepuff: Pure Ice Excuse Me & Beauty Concepts unnamed shimmery black
Slytherin: Sally Hansen Emerald City & Sally Hansen Celeb City
Gryffindor: Maybelline Bold Gold & Wet n Wild I Red a Good Book
Ravenclaw: Bon Bon Blue & Petites Bronze Baby
Snitch: Revlon Blue Lagoon, LA Colors White, Maybelline Bold Gold, Wet n Wild Goldmine, Funky Fingers Platinum Record, and a mix of black and white to create the gray used for outlining the wings.


Before beginning this mani I used 2 coats of white polish on all my nails so I could get the brightest colors possible.

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Kickin' Converse

I am so sick of my broken nail. It has been years since I've had a nail this short, but I've decided to make the most of it by doing designs that can be worn on nails that are long as well as short. I'm hoping to let those with short nails, by choice or not, know that you don't need long or squared nails to still have pretty nails! With this in mind I bring you pictures of Saturday's Converse mani worn to a niece's birthday party � my short nail is uncovered in these pics so look away if this bothers you.

I decided to start with a partial Skittles mani, my thumb is done in red, done with the help of tape. Two coats of each color before I added two coats of white to the tips.

After that it was fairly simple to use my dotting tool to add small dots of silver for the lace holes and my smallest nail art brush to add the black half circle and laces.

With this design, I think the short rounded nail somehow works better. It gives a more realistic 'shoe' look. So if you have short nails don't be afraid to give this mani a try!!


Also, if you're as easily amused as I am ... I got a kick out of 'kicking' people while wearing these nails or doing the finger walk. It looked so weird with little shoes on my fingers!

Polish Used
Red: Borghese 'Che Bella Red C'
Orange: Wet n Wild 'Club Havana'
Pink: Wet n Wild 'Tropicalia'
Blue/Green: Wet n Wild 'I Need a Refresh-Mint'
Purple: Wet n Wild 'Bite the Bullet'
Black & White: LA Colors
Silver: Sally Hansen 'Celeb City'

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Spring Fling

Another day, another post. I know I mentioned it somewhere before, whether here in a post or on my Facebook page, but I was asked to do a set of nails for my niece for her Spring Fling dance. I'm happy to say I got them completed and didn't mess them up while helping her glue them on. They looked amazing with her dress!

She was my personal hand model for the day and was nice enough not to complain when I twisted and repositioned her fingers into what was surely uncomfortable positions. :)

The nails also looked adorable with her enormous ring and oversized earrings!

Alright, gals, say hello to my niece. She was finally all decked out for Spring Fling and ready for pictures.

Can you imagine dancing in those shoes???

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Feeling Studly

Hello, girlies! I was going to post this mani Friday but with my nails breaking I held off. I managed to fix two of the nails with the teabag method. I really wish I had taken pictures to share but I was so focused and panicked at the time to think of it. I definitely recommend trying this method next time your nail tears. I've never had any of the fixes I've attempted before last this long. Do a search for the instructions and keep the supplies handy! You'll be happy you did.


Onto my Friday mani.

These are 2mm silver nail studs I bought from Born Pretty. I also picked up some black and gold studs that you'll definitely see used later. The Customer Service department was wonderful when I received two gold and a black. They immediately shipped out a package of silver for me and told me to keep the extra gold pack! Use the code EMILYW21 for a 10% discount if you place an order with Born Pretty.


I think I'm becoming obsessed with these things! They look even better in person. 

I was so very, very sad to take these off so I could fix my nails. I didn't even get any really great pictures. I was waiting until Saturday when the weather was supposed to be less cloudy. I'll have to do these again and get better pictures. :)

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Glamorous in Celeb City

After nearly a week of having *gasp* naked nails, I am back with a polish that has quickly wormed its way into my heart. I could totally wear this polish for weeks at a time. It can be dressed up or dressed down; it's just plain amazing!!


What is this polish you ask? Well, it's Sally Hansen's Celeb City. The name speaks for itself, because I feel like a total Celeb in this color.


Celeb City is a gorgeous metallic silver, but even that doesn't describe its awesomeness. The only thing I can think to compare it to is sheet-metal or aluminum foil and even that's doesn't do it justice. I can only hope that the pictures I managed to get speak for themselves.


Ignore the short oddness of my index nail. Sadly, I managed to break it just before painting my nails and haven't had the chance to even it out yet.

Artificial Light w/Flash

Natural Light (Cloudy Sky)

Natural Light (Full Sunlight)

Here is something new I'm trying. I picked up a reading light yesterday. You know those ones that clip onto books, or in this case attaches to my ereader. It has a very white/blue light. I found that I adore what it does to these nails!

Close Up with Reader Light

There are only two cons I can see with Celeb City.


The first is the smell. If you have a sensitive sniffer this polish will likely drive you to a migraine. It has a very strong scent while using and to a lesser extent one that sticks with your nail for a while. However, it didn't really bother me. I actually kind of like the scent. Maybe it's like the smell of gasoline; some people love it while others hate it. I'll leave you to be the judge.


The other con is that you have to be so careful not to put any nicks or marks into the wet polish, because they will stand out like a blaring neon sign. I managed to put a nick in the polish of my middle finger and it was visible from a mile away. Still, it was very easy to fix. I just put another coat of polish on my nails and paid special attention to filling in the nick. Problem solved.


In all, I say this is definitely a must have for the glam addicted or the polish collectors.

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