Summer Challenge Mermaid!!

Hi Readers!!! Yay finally to the Mermaid Challenge!  And not too soon either Readers because I'll be starting a month long challenge in September with a few of my friends.  I did it last year before blogging and it was KILLER.  I was going to pass on it this year but I hung in until the end last year so I couldn't leave my girls hanging in the breeze lol!  

I got an AHmazing gift in the mail today.  My 3 sweet Ninja friends sent me some of the new polishes from their collection.  I got Alexandrite, Zultanite and Color Changing Garnet

They are STUNNING READERS!!!!  I knew I could use a couple of them for sure for my mermaid challenge!

These are duochrome glitter polishes, and they are really, really, really, really, REALLY COOL!

Check out Alexandrite and Zultanite in the shade

I layered Alexandrite over OPI Ski Teal We Drop and Zultanite over Zoya Edyta.  GLORIOUS!

Here it is with light

Man oh man oh man oh man oh man oh man oh man oh man oh man!!!!

I decided for a mermaid and merman look

I really love how this turned out!  I think you all know how much I love mermaid manis!!

Here it is in the shade

I really think I love the green best!  It's almost dragonish!!

I love these polishes Readers!!!

Rhonni is working hard to keep these beauties in stock.  If you don't have them yet don't despair!  You can find them here http://ninjapolish.com/home.php

For my mermaid look I used OPI Ski Teal We Drop topped with Ninja Polish Alexandrite and stamped with OPI Harmony and added some glitter at the tips.  My merman look is Zoya Edyta topped with Ninja Polish Zultanite and then I stamped using a GORGEOUS dark green from Nails Inc called Elm Park Gardens.  My mermaid image is from BM209 and my merman image is 
Mash-39.

Let's see what everyone else has come up for their mermaid challenge!

Summer Challenge--Flip Flops!

Hi Readers!  Sometimes challenges aren't good Readers.  Sometimes you get home at 8:30pm and your bedtime is 9:30pm yet here you are at 10:44pm writing your blog post for the next day and looking at your mani and just shaking your head.  It was my mom's birthday Monday and at first we didn't think she would want to celebrate it.  Your life is different, your family is different when you lose a child and then a husband.  As much as you want to yell hey I'm still here, they don't always feel that way.  Completely understood.  Heck I haven't felt like celebrating my birthday's since my sister died 3 years ago BUT I have another beautiful sister so we do celebrate it.  And my mom celebrated her's yesterday too.  We had steaks on the grill and shared some fun family stories BUT then I didn't get home until 8:30pm.  So instead of doing this great summer gradient I hauled out my neons, did a neon skittle and came up with a really lame mani just to make the challenge. Honestly I should have just left my MSMD mani on and called it a night!

BLEH!  but one thing I can say and hopefully Briana won't see me say it, but neons are starting to grow on me!  I think I should snag this years China Glazes after all!

I used a bunch of images for this--the flip flops are from Bundle Monster 3rd set and the bikini, palm tree and kite are from Shany.  If I wasn't so tired and didn't have a sleeping Roscoe on me I'd look up the numbers for you! Sorry!!!

PLEASE check out everyone else's cuz I'm sure they are better than mine!  On the plus side I have a great idea for something for tomorrow so stay tuned lol!

Cheater Cheater BBQ eater!

Hi Readers!  Happy Saturday!!!  Guess what???!!!! In addition to it being the weekend we are getting a new baby kitten today!   I'm pretty over the moon about it as is the camera man!  We've had a lot of sadness in our lives this month and we've talked about getting another cat ever since we lost our sweet Sammie 2 years ago.  I'm hoping Baxter will be happy with the new addition so cross your fingers for us!

Now onto the nail portion of our program!  Today the Summer Challenge theme is BBQ.  BBQ???? What the french is my Crumpet Leader, Debbie thinking?  Do they EVEN have BBQ over in the UK?????  I've lived in Texas so I know what good BBQ is LOL!  Another thing I know is I'm not a cool "cute" person like Jackie from Adventures In Acetone.  There is no way I can draw a cute cow on my nail and then a steak or a brisket on my nail and have it be a good BBQ look.  So today I did what I often do best--I cheated!!!!

Hmm lets a take a look shall we

Thank you OPI for the glorious color that is Mrs O'Leary's BBQ!!!!

Now THIS looks much better than a cow or a pork chop painted on my nail!

I did a lovely gradient using Mrs O'Leary's BBQ and We'll Always Have Paris Suede because I just love these colors together!!!! I stamp with Milani White On using Mash-43

I don't know about you Readers but can it really be cheating when it turns out this good????

Before we check out what all my other Summer Challenge friends have come up with for the this mani let's take a look at Roscoe!

He's currently a farm kittie at my friend Ashlee's farm.  I sure hope he'll pick us today when we are out there looking at the kittens!!

I just love orange boy kitties!!!!

I'll fill you all in tomorrow before the Sunday Challenge which is pink and purple.  FINALLY a chance for me to get out my franken Pulsating Pink Porn lol!!!

Here's what my Crumpet friends came up with for BBQ!

Summer Challenge--Green and Orange!

Hi Readers!  Summer Challenge Green and Orange???!!! What the????? Those colors DO NOT even go together!  But here's a disclaimer Readers, don't lament this to your fab work buddy Ashlee because when you say "omg green and orange those are awful colors to put together", she'll say "those are the colors I had at my wedding!" 

I was really lamenting this challenge.  I wanted to do it as I haven't done a few for a while so I thought okay get back on the horse.  But the green and orange horse????

It was easy to do when you had the right arsenal at your disposable!!! Cult Nails Toxic Seaweed and Gosh Rainbow!!!

Who said green and orange don't go together??? Not me!!!

I stamped over it using Zoya Meg

I thought these colors would beat me, but they didn't!

Here's my matching Toxic Seaweed ring I made ages ago!

Lizz's is really getting a work out as my camera man at work LOL!

I really loved this mani.  I couldn't decided if it was dragonish or snakeish but either way I loved it!  The image I used for snake and/or dragon design was Mash-39.

Thanks for stopping by!!! Make sure you check out what everyone else came up with for orange and green day!

My I hate splatter mani!

Hi Readers!  Today's theme for the summer challenge is splatter!  And I hate it!  Splatter, that is.  I tried and tried and tried and tried and tried to do a splatter mani--I had fabulous intentions of doing a great one--neons over foils Whoo Hoo!  Um no.  My splatter really just looked liked drops blobs.  When you have to get up everyday at 5am to get to work there is no way you can spend a zillion hours trying to perfect this talent either TRUST ME!  So today I'm rebelling against splatter--the asshat! For a simple "fake" mani!

Yep foils!  They are fun, they are easy and this looks a zillion times better than the craptastic splatter mani that ensued earlier!

This one is called Fiber Optics, it's a gorgeous purple with holographic stripes running through out!

For the base beneath it I used my Kleancolor metalllic purple and holy cow Readers I've only used metallic purple to stamp with and I never knew how gorgeous that baby was on it's own!  I'm definitely going to be using him for a basecolor in an upcoming mani I'm sure!

If I'd had the time and if wasn't 2am after 17 bazillion failed hours of attempting splatter I might have stamped over this--but the truth be told I was exhausted lol!  That, and the the fact, foils are instant nail art--nothing needed to them to make them look better.  They are super gorgeous on their own!
Here it is with flash

Holo-ee goodness!


I just know my fellow challengers came up with some fantastic splatters so be sure to check them out!!


Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you all have a fantastic day!

Summer Challenge--A Day at the Zoo!

Hi Readers!  I wanted to do something different and funky for a day at the zoo theme so I hauled out my suedes again and went for some matte stamping as well.  I'm sure if I like this one but it is what it is!  I started with a gradient of OPI We'll Always Have Paris suede and Lincoln Park After Dark suede.  It's really lovely

I love the dark tips!

To give it that "zoo" theme I stamped over it with a zebra print

I messed up a bit on the pinkie but since I don't wear a mani for more than a day usually I let it slide lol!  That and taking off just the top layer on a suede is hard!

This is definitely a "wild" look!

What are you thoughts about this matte gradient and matte stamping?? Like it, love it, or loathe it??


Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you all have a fantastic day!

Summer Challenge--Buttercups!

Hi Readers!  I did this mani a week ago!  I had to wait to post it though BECAUSE I inadvertently nailed the Buttercup theme for the Summer Challenge!  I wanted to wear something bright and summery to my niece's graduation from high school so I decided a lovely gradient of Zoya Pippa and Zoya Tracie and then I really wanted to haul out my lovely, lovely, LOVELY Mustard Fields by Sonoma Nail Art.  The results were stunning!


Here's the gradient before the Mustard Fields topper

Look at how seamless that gradient is!

 I loved this lemon lime look!

But here's the real beauty!  The gradient topped with Mustard Field's!!

GLURG!!!!!

See the little flowers in Mustard Fields?????! Instant buttercups!

I could not stop staring at this mani! AND I got tons of compliments on it at the picnic party!

And hello!!! Remember this ring I made when I received the first bottle ever made in the entire universe of it???!!!!!!

Luh-Uh-Uh-shus!!!


Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you all have a fantastic day!

She sells sea shells by the sea shore!

Hi Readers!!! Today's Summer Challenge theme is sea shells.  I was really stumped at first because honestly sea shells are kind of ugly!  The are just brown, white or grey and not much to look at.  The insides of some sure are pretty though.  My first thought was to do black and then stamp with some pretty pastel metallics using the sea shell image from the first Bundle Monster set BUT then something else came to me.  I thought about how gorgeous an abalone shell is and wanted to see if I could recreate it.  My first thought was doing a glitter or glass fleck sponging and then water marbling with black and clear to get the squiggly lines that run through an abalone shell.  I knew the clear or light pink I use to water marble like that sometimes could dull my mani so I had to come up with something else.  Here's what I came up with instead

Too bad I didn't get out in the full sun for these pics! Maybe I'll try tomorrow morning and add them to the post later lol!

I love how sparkly this is!

But the true beauty in this baby is how great it looks in shade!!

Simply stunning!

Here's what I drew my inspiration from

How'd I do?

What did I use to create this masterpiece?? I started with a base color of Milani Black Swift.  Then in random swirls I used WetnWild Coloricon Born Into Privilege, Bow In My Presence, and Speak When Spoken To.  The WetnWild's are all dupes for the China Glaze Prismatics.  Next I stamped using Kleancolor Black and the squiggly line design from Cheeky 16.  I really love how this turned out!  I'm pretty sure I'm going to be working on a ring and bracelet set to match this mani!

Please be sure to check out what the other gals did for their sea shell theme! Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you all have a fantastic day!

Summer Challenge Pink and Purple!

Hi Readers!  Today's Summer Challenge is actually near and dear to me because I decided to honor my two beautiful sisters with the pink and purple theme.  Many of you know I lost a sister to breast cancer almost 3 years ago and my little sister suffers from bi-polar disorder.  We all know pink symbolizes breast cancer but you might not know the Iris is the symbol for mental illness/mental health.  So when I saw pink and purple I knew immediately I needed to do something to honor my beautiful sisters who have and who had to struggle through so much.  This mani today is just my way of recognizing all they've gone through.  My gradient is Zoya Shelby and Mira and Cult Nails Vicious.  I stamped Milani White On using BM321.  My accent finger is a base of MY Zoya namesake, Laurie, using the gradient colors and BM317

To be perfectly honest this was not a gradient I did that I loved until I stamped over it!  I kid you not.  I looked at it and was like meh I am not loving this.  Once I got the hearts over it I fell in love with it LOL!

And let me tell you something Readers, my Zoya namesake Laurie is SO unlike me lol!  Pale pink is the farthest thing from what I am!!

I had originally used Zoya Carly and Rory to stamp the ribbons with on my right hand but I didn't feel it matched the gradient enough.  BUT man do the Zoya Surf collections stamp great!

Here's a picture of the polishes I used and how my sponge looked--it's a bit blurry but I took it at 11:30pm WAY past my bedtime LOL!

Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you all have a fantastic day!

We're trying a Inlinkz code today!

Summer Challenge--Beach Towels!!

Hi Readers!  Today's Summer Challenge theme is beach towels and I'm not going to lie I drew a blank!  This is Wisconsin Readers and even though I live on Lake Michigan have a ton of lakes Up North I'm not really a beach person lol!  I had to google beach towel images to get some ideas!  Here's what I came up with!

I love my thumb but the rest of them are just so so to me lol!

Thumbie really takes the cake I think!

Too bad I was SO tired when I snapped pics of this and didn't really moisturize before my pics.  Acetone works great for removing your polish but it sure dries out your skin!



This was a fun mani to do but no way would I have been able to wear these all day!  Here are the pics of some of the towels I found to get some inspiration from

This one was the one where I said, "dang it now I wish I had gotten that plate with the cute turtles on it"

Check out my other friends doing the Summer Challenge and see what they came up with for beach towels

Debbie @ The Crumpet - http://thecrumpet.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Neivys - http://maquiclubgirl.blogspot.com/ 

Jo @ Northern Nails - http://therockchicksrambles.blogspot.co.uk/ 

arlene @ http://euzefelus27-nailart.blogspot.com/ 

Helena - http://nailwish.blogspot.com.es/ 

Cuti-CLUE-les - http://cuti-clue-les.blogspot.com/ 

Katee - http://www.agirlandherpolish.com  

Alyssa at Fancy Phalanges - http://fancyphalanges.blogspot.com/ 

Sarah - http://www.ynails.blogspot.co.uk/ 

bec - http://lacquerdreams.blogspot.com.au/ 

Misha - www.enigmatic-rambles.blogspot.com 

Sharon - http://whatcolorismycoat.blogspot.com/ 

Melissa - http://www.misadventuresofawannabemartha.com/ 

Laurie http://dressedupdigits.blogspot.com/ 

Lucie @ Lucy's Stash www.lucysstash.com 

Emma @  http://manicurity.blogspot.com/ 

Caitlin - www.caitlinscreativecorner.blogspot.com 

Jane- http://absolutevarnish.blogspot.com/ 

Amber www.nevernakednails.blogspot.com 

Vic @ Glowstars http://glowstars.net 

Jackie- http://memasmanis-jackie.blogspot.com/ 

Rychelle @ Colorsplash Nails- http://colorsplashnails.blogspot.com/ 

Stella - http://mywetnails.blogspot.com 

Missy @ http://missysmanis.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Kim @ http://apolishedaddiction.blogspot.com/ 

Christine @ http://lost-in-my-reverie.blogspot.com 

Angie @ http://ourpaintedworld.wordpress.com 

Bazzia @  http://polishmymind.blogspot.se/ 

Missy the Manicured Maniac @ http://melissahenderson95.blogspot.com/ 

Michelle @ http://lacquerorleaveher.blogspot.com/ 

Nikki @ http://www.lilgreenheart.blogspot.com/ 

Elizabeth @ http://nailpolishismycrack.blogspot.com/ 

Ana Cris @ http://www.estacerradaladrogueria.blogspot.com.es/ 

Shayleen @ http://simplyhandyallyear.blogspot.com/  

Dina @ http://secretarysnailart.blogspot.no/ 

Nayade @ Toxic Vanity http://www.toxicvanity.com 

Karen @ http://nailsbykaybel.blogspot.com 

Kelly (aka Nail Obsessed) @ http://crazynaillady.blogspot.com 

Noniq @ Noniq Diary http://noniq.blogspot.com 

Marce7ina - http://marce7ina.blogspot.com 

Courtney - http://cute-iclechronicles.com 

Chrisie @ http://fingersandtoads.blogspot.com 

Emily @ http://emily-nailtailes.blogspot.com