On behalf of a grateful Nation

My thoughts are always somber on Memorial Day.  Men and women who I did not know and who did not know me gave up their lives so that I might continue to live in a free country.  We say we celebrate this day but do you really celebrate a day dedicated to the men and women who died in active duty during war?  Should you celebrate a day such as this? I am honored and humbled and grateful.  Today I show my appreciation in a way I know I can expressing it through my nail art

My red is not true in this picture as I always have trouble capturing red with my camera. My non accent nails are painted with Louboutin Rouge. My accent nails are done with sharpies and black Mundo for the stamping

I used mostly MM38 for the stamping but also pulled pieces of tips off of trees on BP-L011 as well as MM38.  It was a labor of love LOL

I found a picture online and that's what inspired me to do this mani.  I love the unconventional look to this very patriotic mani.  

To those of you who lost a loved one while serving for the United States of America my heart is with you today.  I am sorry for your loss, I am grateful for the sacrifice and I will never forget.

The Digit-al Dozen Does Whimsy--Faery Field

Hi Everyone!  I'm behind on my Digit-al Dozen week because my mom took a bad fall on Thursday so we had to do the whole ER thing and "watch closely for the next 48 hours" thing.  She fell in the garage while she was trying to put on her golf shoes.  Instead of sitting down and leaning over to put them on and tie them she tried to put her foot up on a chair and do it.  While she couldn't easily pick her foot back up and she lost her balance.  She has a severely bruised tail bone and she also hit her head.  Lucky for us nothing at all was broken.  But it was quite scary.  Now we all have to try to stop giggling when she tells us her coxis is bruised.

I spent some time this Saturday doing nothing but lazing around and reading and creating this mani.  Like most in our group I googled "whimsy" because again what the hell is whimy and this picture actually came up and I really thought it was cool.  I knew I had the perfect base for it so I attempted it and hoped for the best!

For my base I used a group custom polish from Darling Diva called Fricken Swallow which is a lovely blurple type jellie full of flakies.  I layered it over OPI Road House Blues

I stamped using the VL019 plate from friend Arlene snagged for me so this is the 2nd time I've used this plate for Whimsy week but still haven't used it for the sole reason I wanted it LOLOL

Lots and lots of teeny dotting too which I was not a huge fan of

You can see the flakies nicely here don't you think?

And now the big reveal!  This is a picture of the picture I found when googling "Whimsy" it's titled mystical magical flowers.  

I think this totally looks like a faery field at night.

What do you think?  How did I do?  I'm sorry I was late but man oh man I think it was sort of worth it!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen Does Whimsy--Owls!

Hi Everyone!  Oh thank goodness we are halfway through this Whimsy week!  It's really a struggle for me I tell ya.  I had a couple of good friends looking out for me when the Vivid Lacquer plate I need for 1 mani was available for sale in a FB group and even though I was far from home my sweet friends Arlene and Tara were all over that post so I wouldn't miss it.  Arlene snagged it for me and had them ship it to me.  I wanted it for an entirely different reason but the more I looked at it the more  this idea came to me.  Instead of some cherry blossoms on tree branches I thought about how it would look to put a bunch of cute owls in the tree and this is what I came up with

I used the cooky tree branches from VL019 and then I did a whole lotta owl decals from BP54 

I think it's pretty cute, hopefully it's also Whimsical

My base is my fave blue ever Paint Box Polish's Won't The Muggles See Us? and I stamped with a lot of various Mundo colors

What do you think???? 

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen Does Whimsy--Cupcakes Part Deux

Hi Everyone!  I'm trying to get in some double duty today by recreating a super super super old mani I did during Bundle Monster's very first contest as well as Whimsy for Digit-al  Dozen week.  Whimsy is hard for me.  I not whimsical, I'm not cutesy but alas no one wants to do a spike week in the DD.  So I did some cute cupcakes today hoping they could also be whimsical.  Only you can be judge of that, trust me

I don't know if this screams Whimsy but it does say cute

My base is Sonoma Nail Art Tallulah and I stamped with Bundle Monster BM-014

I guess no matter how old you are cupcakes will always be cute

Way back when I entered the first Bundle Monster contest with a mani I called Cassie's Cupcakes.  I was one of the lucky winners and got their 2nd set of plates free.  That was a zillion years ago and here I am still stamping to this day!  This is the mani from that contest

Look at how short and stubby my nails were! Oh My Lanta!

Here's a side by side of then and now I prefer my nails long but I know they are not everyone's cup of tea

I could have added some teeny rhinestones to the current mani except after the move I'm not sure where they are LOL

Lots of cute stuff so far this week.  My fave to date has been Cathy aka More Nail Polish's cute little fluffy guys they were adorable!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen Does Whimsy--If Your Friends Jumped Off A Bridge AKA Mermaid!

Hi Everyone!! Happy Monday!  I am dying tonight because I've had the chance to see what so  many of my fellow Digit-al Dozeners have done today.  I was going to post my mermaid mani on Friday but then when I saw so many of us do mermaid today I HAD to change my line up LOL.  I mean come on Whimsy--what the freaking french is whimsy for cry loud?  It was definitely not my choice.  I'm not very whimsical nor am I a cutesy cutesy kind of gal but I knew for certain mermaids were whimsical so it was the first mani I'd done in preparation for this week LOL

Mine isn't really as spectacular as everyone else's mainly because I just wanted my polish to shine through I guess okay and the fact I can't find where I put my shells or pearls after the move ahaha.

So to answer the age old question "if your friends jumped off of a bridge would you too?" and I guess my answer is yes because here's my mermaid mani

My base is the standard Zoya Charla and I topped with with a little Sally Girl I found ages ago for some extra sparkle

Honest to god I could wear a mermaid mani every single day

I used BP-L003 for stamping and really love this type of mermaid scale look

My nails are SOOOOO long right now but I'd be crazy to file them down during a DD week!

I know this week is going to be very challenging for me but I came up with a cute idea during a fail I had so let's hope we see this cute idea as a success later on in the week!

An InLinkz Link-up

Alter Ego Royal Prisoner Of Love has captured my heart!

Hi Everyone!  Have you ever known about the best kept secret?  That's how I feel about Alter Ego Nail Lacquer and body care products.  They are really awesome as is the customer service but for some reason people just don't hear much about them.  Awhile ago I was asked if I would review some nail polishes and body care items and I said "HELL YES!"  I've purchased several things in the past and have love everything I've gotten so I was very excited to review for them.  I received 3 nail polishes and some face and body cream.  The polish I'm reviewing for you today is called Royal Prisoner Of Love and it is SO DANG PRETTY!  Seriously!  It is a gorgeous polish.  It's the most unusual shade sort of purple periwinkle thing.  It also seems to have almost a holographic frost like finish if there is such a thing in the shade.  It's just so amazing!

I love the bottles the shape is very unique

Isn't this color just awesome?!  Can you see what I mean about the frost look?

Right at my tips is a frost look you get in the shade I think it's really cool

Like this flash of pearlescent.  I just adore it!

Cynthia, the owner, changed her formula to which I'm most grateful.  Sometimes indie polishes are a little too thick for me and I find myself having to thin them often.  But her new formula is fantastic and I had zero issues with application.  I am wearing two coats with Seche Vite top coat and the holo has not trouble coming out to play in the sunlight

I stamped over this beauty after I wore it for 3 days and as you can see there is also zero tip wear for me (but I am usually quite lucky with that)

Sadly I had to use my indoor lighting for this as It was night time and I still think my bulbs are too bright but this is still such a pretty color

My stamping is a bit lacklustre--my roses sort of blending in rather than standing out but overall this was  a lovely mani I wore for an entire week!

What do you think?  Isn't this just a gorgeous color?

If you haven't ever heard of Alter Ego you need to check out her stuff!  Seriously she is the best kept secret in the nail community in my humble opinion.  Cynthia is a wonderful person with a heart of a gold and I'm happy to support such a great person turning out such great products.  Here's the link to her STORE  Don't let the Wisconsoap name fool you, you'll find Alter Ego Nail Lacquer there along with her great soaps, perfumes and body care items.  And she's got stuff for the guys and gals!