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℅ Chalkboard Nails
#31DC2014
31 Sunday Aug 2014
Posted in Nail Art
Category Archives: Nail Art
The Crumpet’s SIMPLES Challenge – Week 10: Watercolor Base
29 Friday Aug 2014
Posted in Nail Art
Tags
Anise, Formula X Sephora, freehand, Konad, Milani, moyou, MoYou London, Pop Beauty, SIMPLES, stamping, watercolor
I am so behind on all the challenges due to my unstable symptoms. I better whip myself into shape because the 31-Day Challenge starts on MONDAY! I did every single prompt on the right day last year. Let us hope I continue the streak this year!
Below is my watercolor base for the SIMPLES challenge this week. It also serves as my blue base for the MoYou London contest on Instagram. I know there are a range of opinions on the company right now but I like contests and I really like their plates. I just won’t “push the company forward” in my blog posts! Less work for me, right?
I included the picture I uploaded to Instagram. I used Milani Black Swift to stamp on my left hand and Konad Special Polish Black on my right. Reasons below!
I used 2 coats of Sephora Formula X Thrilling as my base. I was not feeling stark white because of my swollen fingers. White makes my nails look shorter and exacerbates swelling in photographs. Maybe that is just me?
I “water-colored” with Milani Power Periwinkle, Pop Beauty Pacific Hoot, and Anise Neons Make Waves.
I stamped with MoYou London plate 09 (Suki Collection) and Milani Black Swift. I switched to my Konad polish for the left hand because there was a lot of clean up on the stamper and Milani dried too quickly. I loved stamping with my Milani polish but I was not working quickly enough to get a crisp image.
I topped everything with Seche Vite.
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
Tri-Polish Tuesday Challenge – August #4: Blue, Yellow, Red
26 Tuesday Aug 2014
Posted in Nail Art
Check out the sidebar for more information.
This month passed at a snail-pace. I’ve always had a problem with August but time really slowed down. I am thrilled there is only one week left.
Here is my manicure for this week’s TPC. I had to re-do all my nails except for the accent because they became cluttered. I started with a dotticure and added clouds. It was too much and looked horrendous. I could not even look at the pictures. I went back and just did clouds and it came out way better.
I used 2 coats of Color Club Almost Famous as my base.
I stamped with Milani Black Swift and MoYou London plate 06 (from the Mother Nature collection). On the stamper, I layered Wet n Wild I Red a Good Book, Anise Make Waves and a generous coat of Seche Vite to seal the design. After it dried, I applied it to the nail and added clouds with Julie G White Orchid.
I seal everything with Seche Vite.
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
Don’t forget to check out the other TPC manicures this week!
Exciting New Launch: Random Nail Art
25 Monday Aug 2014
I have been itching to write this post for a while now. A little over a month ago, the amazingly sweet Alessandra from The Sparkle Queen contacted me about a project she was working on: http://www.randomnailart.com. It’s main purpose is to bring new and veteran nail artists together with a nail art-specific, StumbleUpon-style site. If you do not already know Alessandra she has fantastic blog where she hosts “weekly link-up parties” for nail artists.
Alessandra worked tirelessly to add thousands of links into circulation and the work she put in was absolutely amazing and yielded a wonderful new addiction. I am totally serious, this is an addicting website. There are so many different nail art designs to discover so I am thrilled to click and click again!
What I particularly like about this website is it takes you directly to the blog post. Unlike StumbleUpon or Pinterest you are not re-directed away from the page first so you can comment and like as you please.
It is a wonderful set up and it is weirdly rewarding to click the button! The best part of all, you can add your nail art into the mix by clicking on the link at the bottom of the homepage.
I cannot even imagine how much time and energy Alessandra has put into this project but, and I know I am repeating myself, she has created something really awesome! And she hasn’t stopped yet. She is always adding new links and blogs to the lineup.
Click the button below to check it out!
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
Depression Awareness – #fightforlightandlive
20 Wednesday Aug 2014
Posted in Nail Art
Tags
American Apparel, Deborah Lippmann, depression, depression awareness, MoYou London, Nail Art, Serum No 5, stamping, Zoya
My submission for the hashtag #fightforlightandlive. The idea behind my manicure – fly free: free from depression, free from the weight it brings, free to be who you are without fear.
Here is my question for the world: Depression sometimes goes hand in hand with autoimmunes. Is it because it is hard to cope with a life-altering diagnosis? Is it because autoimmunes are inflammatory diseases, affecting all organs including the brain?
I suffered from depression, on and off, long before I ever felt my first arthritic pains, but I wonder now if it has gotten worse because I still cannot wrap my head around my new disability or because inflammation runs rampant in my body.
Five minutes after I applied top coat I had to wrestle the Saachi for something and everything smudged. My left hand came out with the least damage so I photographed that hand.
I used 2 coats of Zoya Giovanna as my base. I used 1 coat of Deborah Lippman One Short Day (from the Wicked collection) on my thumb and ring finger. I used 1 coat of Serum No. 5 Forest Lights and 1 coat of Zoya Opal on my index, middle and pinky finger.
I stamped with American Apparel Parakeet and MoYou London plate 02 (from the Mother Nature collection).
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
Don’t forget to check out everyone who went green for Depression Awareness. Use #fightforlightandlive across all social media!
Tri-Polish Tuesday Challenge – August #3: Blue, Yellow, Red
20 Wednesday Aug 2014
Posted in Nail Art
I used 2 coats of Sinful Colors Chick, Chick and 1 coat of Seche Vite as my base.
I sugar-spun with Zoya Cheryl and Payton.
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
GOT Challenge: White Base
14 Thursday Aug 2014
Posted in Nail Art
Tags
butter London, Golden Oldie Thursdays, INM, Milani, Nail Art, Nails Inc, Sally Hansen, Seche Vite, stamping, Zoya
Check out the sidebar for the link to the Facebook group.
I am not going to lie…I love how this came out. It is super cute and fun. I cannot stop looking at my hands! The stamping could be better but this afternoon I could not even fill out a simple UPS DHL slip without my fingers getting stuck and painful. My hands went past shaky right to pulsating so I expected the worst when I lift the stamper. It smeared the base but I was totally okay with that today! (The top coat masked the flaw! Yay!)
I hope you like my GOT manicure this week. Since my Nails Inc. glitter has blue and pink glitter I went with a gender symbol design. When I flipped through my stamping plates I knew it was perfect with the other colors!
I used 3 coats of Nails Inc. Sprinkles Sweets Way (thumb, index, pinky) and 2 coats of Milani Peacock (ring) and Zoya Reece (middle) as my bases. To bring the blue creme and pink shimmer together I added a generous coat of Sally Hansen Color Frenzy Candy Drops and 1 coat of INM Holographic Top Coat – Silver.
I stamped with butter London Cotton Buds and Bundle Monster plate BM 310. The butter London polish became so thick after a few uses I could no longer stand it as a base. I reserved the remainder for stamping and it worked really well!
I sealed everything with 2 coats of Seche Vite because the glitter ate the first coat!
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
Check out the other white base manicures below!
the Rite of Aging...early 