Holiday Sugar Cookies!!!

This is my first holiday inspired mani of the season!!  I really enjoyed doing this because it was all cookie and no calorie!!!

Colors: Orly Girly, Essie Sand Tropez, Wet n Wild Party of Five Glitters, Confetti Tiara

I applied two coats of Girly for the outside cookie ring, then only one coat of Sand Tropez for the frosting.  Two coats of Party of Five Glitters makes up the sprinkles, and then one coat of Tiara to help give it a sugary sparkle and texture.  Unfortunately, Girly doesn't show up extremely well in the photos, but looks pretty in the light.  Since it's a nice shimmery pink ... I'm doing this for Pink Wednesday!!!!  Hooray!!!!!

Can you even dye my eyes to match my gown?

Well, we've reached the close of the Wizard of Oz series!!!  So here she is ... Dorothy!!!

Colors: OPI Sweet Peacock, China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Sally Hansen White On

I decided to go a little differently than my original idea.  Ruby red tips ... I've done it.  Plus, I'm in love with Ruby Pumps and I really wanted it to shine!!  Sweet Peacock is a really nice foil blue with a lot of shine to it. I used my stamping plate for the gingham design on my ring finger, then taped off for the Ruby Slippers.  I really enjoyed doing this series.  I love the Wizard of Oz, almost as much as I love the Cheshire Cat!!!!  I may sneak some more in from time to time, so check back!!!  Happy Painting!  See you tomorrow for Pink Wednesday!!!!!!

You cursed brat!!!!

After a few days off, I'm almost ready to close out my Wizard of Oz series!!!

Colors: Spehora by OPI Leaf Him at the Altar, Sally Hansen Black Out, Ulta Bam-blue-zled

Leaf Him at the Altar is a fantastic green!  It has hints of gold that really shimmer in the sunlight!!!  I decided to water marble my ring finger because, well ... she's melting!!!!  After I marbled, I dotted a little of the green here and there.  (I didn't use the green in the marbling because shimmer colors don't cooperate when marbling.)  Then I dotted the black diagonally on the remaining tips. I'm excited to finish the series with, of course, Dorothy!!!  YAY!

I see my fated stars in your eyes ...

One more just for fun mani before I finish the Wizard of Oz series!  My husband loves stars, so I wanted to do something pretty for him!!!

Colors: OPI Road House Blues, Wet n Wild Diamond in the Rough, Sally Hansen Celeb City

If you don't have Road House Blues in your arsenal, I strongly suggest adding it!!  It is such a beautiful deep blue and is a great shade for the coming winter!!  After two coats of this, I taped off for the tips.  Diamond in the Rough is another can't miss color!  I used my stamping plate with Celeb City for the moon & stars.  A mani like this is quick to do, and eye catching without being over the top for anywhere you might be going.  I really loved it, and so did my husband!!!!

Diamonds are a girl's best friend!

Hello ladies!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!  The lovely Kristina suggested a Marilyn Monroe themed mani, so I thought I'd take a quick break from my Wizard of Oz Series for this little gem!  Marilyn loved diamonds, and so do I!!!

Colors: Essie Dive Bar & Steel-ing the Scene, OPI Crown Me Already

I applied two coats of my base colors, and then cut A LOT of very thin strips of my scotch tape.  Once I applied them, I applied two coats of Crown Me Already, remove the tape carefully, and sealed with my top coat!  I loved how my fingers sparkled with this mani!!  Happy painting!

I've never heard of a beautiful witch before!

Happy Pink Wednesday!!!  Today's Wizard of Oz mani features Glinda the Witch of the North!

Colors: OPI Lincoln Park After Dark, Wet n Wild Hannah Pinktana, Orly Girly, Wet n Wild Celeb City

I applied one coat of Lincoln Park After Dark, then two coats of Hannah Pinktana, since Hannah Pinktana is very sheer.  The I taped off my tips for the Girly frosty pink tips.  I used Salon Experts stamping plate #053 for the north star design with Celeb City.

And just for fun ... Here's my mini-dachshund, Dixie, dressed up as Glinda!!!

Have a pink-tasitc day and happy painting!!!!!

If I only had the nerve ...

Today's mani is inspired by The Cowardly Lion!!  I thought about how my little boys might draw a lion ... with a zigzag mane.  So that's what I did!!!  And The Corwardly Lion would not be complete without his medal for courage!!

Colors: Butter London All Hail the Queen, Revlon Hot for Chocolate, Ulta Plum Street, and Sally Hansen Celeb City

I used my zigzag scissors with my scotch tape for the lion's mane, and then used my tiny detail brush to create the medal!  

If I only had a brain ...

Continuing with my Wizard of Oz Series is The Scarecrow!!

Colors: Sephora by OPI 212-Sephora, Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow 360, Finger Paints Warm He-art-ed, Sephora by OPI Leaf Him at the Altar

I used my small shears to cut jagged edges on my scotch tape after two coats of 212-Sephora.  Then I applied two coats of Mellow Yellow, and one coat of Warm He-art-ed for the straw.  I taped off a section on my ring finger for a patch work piece like on The Scarecrow's clothing.  I hope you enjoy!  Happy painting!!!!

If I only had a heart...

Welcome to the second installment of my Wizard of Oz Inspirations Series!!  Have a little heart and give some love to the Tinman!!!!

Colors: Ulta Scene Steel-er, Finger Paints Tiffany Imposter, Ulta Plum Street, Sally Hansen Black Out

I really like the Scene Steel-er polish, it dries so quickly and looks amazing with only one coat!  I used my zig zag edge scissors with scotch tape for the tips.  The black detailing and heart were hand painted with my tiny brush/dotting tool.

More Wizard of Oz Inspirations coming soon!!

Well, my little pretty, I can cause accidents, too!

Welcome to my very first series - The Wizard of Oz Inspirations!!!  If you'e going to start somewhere, you may as well start at the beginning of The Yellow Brick Road!!

Most people tend to overlook the Wicked Witch of the East - but not this east coast girl!

Be sure to check back for the rest of this amazingly fun series!!!

Colors: Sally Hansen Black Out, Sally Hansen White On, Sally Hansen Red Carpet

I never really thought the Wicked Witch of the East's black and white stocking were a great fashion choice to pair with the Ruby Slippers ... until now!!  Anyone wanna try clicking their heels together??

Twas Brillig Indeed!!!

In honor of my very first "On Wednesdays We Wear Pink" post, I got the idea to do something that I knew would be super special to me.  After the nail polish collection comes The Cheshire Cat collection!!!!  It's second to the polish, I promise ... but a VERY close second!  So, I thought I'd feature my Cheshire Cat nails with some of my favorite (and hardest to aquire) Cheshire Cat collectibles!!!!  But look quickly, he's already disappering - all that you might see of him are his eyes and his grin!!!!

Vinylnation Goth Series Cheshire Cat

Walt Disney Collectors Society "'Twas Brillig" statue

These are possibly my favorites.  My first and middle initials are N and L.  The only letter pins ever created by Disney in the Cheshire Cat style ... N and L.

These pins were made specifically for Disney "Cast Members" - certain people who were at the time employed by Disney.  (I have never worked for Disney!)

Collector's Society pin packaged with the "'Twas Brillig" statue

(My husband calls this one "The Claw"!!)

See? It's pretty official!!!

Colors: Essie French Affair, Confetti Belle of the Ball, OPI Lincoln Park After Dark, Sally Hansen White On, Sally Hansen Black Out, Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow 360

I used scotch tape for the stripes, and for the Cheshire Cat's grin.  For the eyes and teeth, I needed something very small and fine, so I used a simple straight pin!!  

I guess you never have to look too far for your most grin-worthy inspirations ... and it helps if you're as mad as a hatter!!!!

Dandelions en Francais

Colors: Orly Nite Owl w/ OPI Black Onyx

I wanted to give neutral a little bit of a boost tonight!!!  (And black tips are my favorite, if you hadn't noticed!)  I used my scotch tape for the tips, as well as the little dandelion design on my ring fingers.  I have no idea why it makes me think of dandelions, but it always makes me smile to think about it this way.

A magnetic personality!

                                       

                                       

Color: Nails Inc. - Houses of Parliament (Magnetic Polish)

Okay - this was fun!  I've been after this polish for a while now, and after the lovely Kristina showed me the gorgeous chrome color, called Trafalgar Square, I knew I had to hunt it down!!!  I snagged mine from Sephora. They only had the purple and the chrome colors -- still on the hunt for the teal, called Whitehall Teal.  I hadn't seen the purple in action yet, so I went straight for that one!  This polish is really interesting!  It goes on really smoothly, and dries VERY quickly.  After your base coat and first color coat, which you don't need to use the magnet on, get ready to move quickly!!  As soon as you apply your second coat to one nail, whip out the magnet!!  If you wait too long, it won't work since it starts to dry after a matter of seconds!  Just hold the magnet on the cap close to your nail, and watch the color do it's thing!!  This polish looks absolutely gorgeous with a high shine top coat, since it does not have much of a natural shine element to it.

I also thought I'd have a bit of fun and see what else I might be able to do with it.  After my second coat was magnetized, I painted another coat on only half of a couple of my nails, then used the magnet again.  It came out looking like a feather pattern, which was fun to look at!!!  Here is how that looks on my middle finger:

                                         

If your curious about this one, I really recommend trying it.  It's extremely eye catching, and great for a fast mani!

A little zebra for this Libra!

Colors: Essie Lilacism w/ Sally Hansen Hi-Definition DVD

Tonight I felt a little animalistic, so I went a little scotch tape ballistic!!!  Go about doing this in the same way you would do your other scotch tape mani's!  This was my first time using the DVD shade, and it actually turned out to be much more sheer than you would expect, but I really like the way that it compliments the Lilacism without overpowering it.  I love this one and I hope you do too!  I may actually keep this one on for longer than 24 hours ... but we'll see!  The power the polish has over me can get out of control!!!!  Happy painting!

Glitter can be so per-suede-sive!!

Colors: OPI Here Today ... Aragon Tomorrow w/ Sinful Colors Call You Later

I wanted to do a contrast tonight!  So I grabbed some greens!!  The OPI is a suede finish, which actually looks really cute with glitters.  (And suedes and glitters dry super fast!!!)  The only drag about a suede finish is that you can't use a top coat!!!  I don't know about you, but I feel naked and panic stricken without a full top coat!  Eek!!  But, I guess it's okay since I change polish before I have a chance to chip any nails!!  And you can't get any kinds of lotions on your nails either.  And it doesn't last nearly as long as regular enamel polish.  Okay, maybe there's more than just one drag about it.  But it's cute damnit!!!

I'll have a Starburst with scotch, please!

Colors: Milani Cyberspace w/ OPI Black Onyx

This one might take ya a little while, but it's actually relatively easy.  Once your base color is completely dry, take a small pair of shears and cut very thin strip of scotch tape for each nail.  Get them securely in place, and add two coats of your top color.  Once the second coat is on, take the tape off immediately, and top coat.  Make your strips as thick or as thin as you like!  I used a little bit of a variety of widths for fun!!!

Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!!

Colors: OPI Mermaid's Tears  w/ Wet n Wild Silver Sparkle

After main color dries, use a clear coat with glitter to do this.  Just think about doing your own french tips with no guide!  Use a drop of the glitter coat on the tip of your nail, then wipe off the excess from the brush and smooth the glitter upward.  You want the majority of your glitter to be at the tip and to fade away near the upper middle of the nail!  Top coat and you're done!

Just a little matte at you!

Colors: OPI Black Onyx w/ Essie Matte About You

I did this one a little differently than you might think.  After two coats of the main color, I put on a top coat of Essie Matte About You to achieve the matte finish.  Once that had dried completely, I scotch taped for the tips, and used a top coat only for the shiny tips.  This way, all of my nail color is protected by a top coat!

All ya need is scotch!!

Colors: OPI Espresso Your Style! w/ OPI Black Onyx

No, not advice, literal tips!  Scotch tape is quite possibly the easiest thing in the world you can use to tip your own nails!  Yes, I realize that there are those little "guide" stick-ons out there.  But, there is one very simple problem with those: They're too thick!!!  The thickness causes a thick edge of your polish when you're painting your tips, so as soon as you remove the strip, you're left with a messy, tacky line instead of something seamless.  If you really wanna go above and beyond for a perfectly curved line, then get the strips!!!  But don't put them on your nails!!!! Place a guide on a strip of your scotch tape, and use some small shears to trim around the edge, then take the guide sticker off of the tape!!!!!  I know, it sounds like a pain, and it kind of is.  So I'd stick to the scotch tape.  As always when scotching your nails, be sure to let your base color dry completely before applying your tape!!

Scotch Tape Deco

Colors: OPI DS Classic w/ OPI Espresso Your Style!

This is super easy to do. Simply start your nails as you normally would - base coat, and two coats of your color. Then be sure to let it dry completely!!!!  Grab some fancy scissors, which can be found at most super stores and all craft stores.  Take your strip of tape and use the scissors to cut it down the middle.  Next, carefully place the tape where you want it along your nail.  Make sure the decorative line is smooth along your nail, no bubble spots, etc.  Do two coats of your accent color along the tape line for each finger.  As soon as your second coat is on, take the tape off carefully in a quick smooth motion, then apply your top coat!!

And so it begins ...

At first, it was just kinda my thing.  Then it got a little out of hand.  Next, it became a photo game with some friends.  And now, it is seriously an out of control obsession.

Do you ever find yourself planning shopping trips, and the only thing you plan to look for is nail polish?  Do you ever find yourself practically sprinting to the cosmetic section of any store you might go into?  Yeah.  Me too.  I should be hunting down new colors right now.  But instead, I'm talking to you.  Feel the love yet?

Sooooo, over time, I will be updating with my tips and tutorials for awesome nails that you can very easily do at home!  I don't trust anyone with my nails, and you shouldn't either.  Happy painting!!

*** A very special thanks to Melissa and Kristina for fueling the fire on this! ***