Candy Cane Stripes

I was inspired to do this design by Nails in Nippon that I saw here.

To do this mani I used two coats of China Glaze Glittering Garland on my thumbs and ring fingers. On my index, middle and pinky I used one coat of China Glaze Poinsettia and one coat of China Glaze Ring in the Red. Then I used my Two Way Nail Art Striper and Pen in White, using the brush side to draw on white lines. Sorry about the smudge on my ring finger...

Christmas Tree Dots Mani

I was inspired to do this mani with dots when I saw a similar design on The PolishAholic. She did it with different colors and did the Christmas tree with dots only.

To do this mani I started with two coats of Ulta High Roller (below).

I used a dotting tool with China Glaze Poinsettia and China Glaze Glittering Garland on all my fingers except the ring finger. To do the Christmas tree I used scotch tape and laid it on my nail, leaving a triangle free. I painted it with China Glaze Glittering Garland and then removed the tape. I used a smaller dotting tool and put dots of China Glaze Poinsettia for the Christmas bulbs, and then put a golden yellow rhinestone on top. I sealed everything in with Seche Vite.



Christmas Red and Green Water Marble

I didn't like how this design turned out when I was wearing it, I can't seem to get the hang of water marbling! However, looking back at pictures I guess it wasn't that bad. I just always make such a mess when I use this technique. If you have never heard of water marbling, the easiest way to learn how to do it is by searching for it on Youtube. There are TONS of tutorials that you can view, like this one that cutepolish did.

To do this I started with a coat of Color Club Worth the Risque to help the rest of the colors stand out a bit more. Then the water marbling is a combination of China Glaze Glittering Garland, China Glaze Poinsettia, China Glaze Ring in the Red, and Sinful Colors Last Chance.

Christmas Bundle Monster Mani

I have been a little behind in my blogging, but luckily I have still had time to do some Christmas designs - just no chance to post them! So, even though we've passed Christmas I have several designs that I want to share. I don't think this one was really successful, I did too much and I think with less stamping this mani could have been much cuter! The only nail I am that happy with is my ring finger with the mistletoe.

To do this mani:

Thumb - Two coats of Ulta High Roller. To stamp the Christmas bulbs I used Bundle Monster plate BM-225 stamping with China Glaze City Siren and Sinful Colors Last Chance.

Index - Two coats of China Glaze Glittering Garland. The stamp is Bundle Monster plate BM-223 with Ulta High Roller.

Middle - One coat of China Glaze Poinsettia, followed by one coat of China Glaze Ring in the Red. I stamped the Christmas tree with Sinful Colors Last Chance and Bundle Monster plate BM-205.

Ring - Two coats of Milani Good Morning Sunshine. The stamp is Bundle Monster BM14 with Sinful Colors Last Chance. I added some red rhinestones over the berries on the stamp.

Pinky - One coat of China Glaze Glittering Garland, one coat of China Glaze Ring in the Red, and one coat of China Glaze Medallion.

Each finger has a coat of Seche Vite on top.

Snow Man Design

Only a week away from Christmas, and we finally got some snow! I wanted to do this snowman design ever since I saw it on Cosmetic Cupcake, and I figured now would be the time to do it! I added my own twist to it, but the snowman is pretty much a copy from the one that she did.

To do this mani I started with two coats of Jesse's Girl Glee, below.

I followed it with a coat of China Glaze Snow Globe. Love this color! I have seen people layer this over white, and the colors that show up in this glitter are really gorgeous. I thought it looked a little snowy added on top of Glee.

Then, to do my snowman I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White and painted the snow man. For the eyes and buttons I used a small dotting tool and Sally Hansen Black Out, for the snowman's nose and arms I used a Stripe Rite Nail Art Striper in Red. To do the snowflake I used my Two Way Nail Art Pen and Brush, I used the brush side to draw the snowflake, and the pen side to add the dots on my thumb and ring finger. I am really happy with how this little guy turned out! Thanks for looking!

Can you see some snow out there? :-D

Gingerbread Stamp

I wanted to do another Christmas design, and when I got my Bundle Monster stamps, this little gingerbread design was too cute to pass up! Sorry for the awkward hand pose... for some reason I didn't do a great job stamping on my left hand this time, so I photographed my right hand - I obviously need practice!

To do this mani I started with two coats of Color Club Nomadic in Nude, below.

I followed it with a coat of OPI Hollywood Blonde to give it a bit of shimmer. I love the way the light dances off of this color, it's gorgeous! The pictures don't really do it justice, it just looks like a silver shimmer in this picture. In real life there are subtle glimmers of different colors like really pale green and pink.

Then, I used Bundle Monster plate BM-222 and stamped it with China Glaze Street Chic. I topped everything with a coat of Seche Vite.



Peacock Themed Design

I got some new Bundle Monster plates and wanted to try them out. I like how this design turned out, and even though it's not a traditional Christmas design - I think it's a little Christmas-y enough to count as one!

To do this mani I started with two coats of Color Club Perfect Mol-Ten. I forgot to take a picture of it before I stamped though, woops! I stamped it with the Bundle Monster plate BM-212, with Sinful Colors Midnight Blue. Then, on my ring finger I added some blue and green rhinestones and sealed everything in with Seche Vite.

Glittery Gradient, Black and Silver



I actually was inspired to do this mani by a bunch of ideas that I saw for for a contest that Marta at Chit Chat Nails was having for her followers, based on a dress that she was going to wear. The pictures don't really do the justice for how sparkly this is.

To do this mani I started with two coats of Sinful Colors Secret Admirer, then I used a makeup sponge using the same technique as here. I applied them in this order: China Glaze White Cap, Sinful Colors Out Of This World, China Glaze OMG, OPI Your Royal Shine-ness, OPI Servin' Up Sparkle, and China Glaze Snow Globe. Then I put on a coat of Seche Vite, stuck on a silver rhinestone at the bottom of my nail, then put on another coat of Seche Vite to seal it in.

Radiology Themed Design

I am super excited about how this turned out! I haven't had time to do a lot of fun designs lately, however my friend Julie is graduating from her degree in Radiology, and asked me if I would do her nails for her graduation this weekend. I couldn't resist! She showed me this adorable idea on Pinterest, and I modified it a little bit so that I could do it. Love, love, love!

To do this mani I used two coats of Sinful Colors Secret Admirer, followed by a coat of Seche Vite to help it dry. To do the skulls I used Bundle Monster plate BM-211 with Konad Special Polish in White. To do the bottom half of the body and the bones I used my Two Way Nail Art Pen and Brush in white, using the pen side to draw the lines and dots. Then I sealed it in with a coat of Seche Vite. It was so much fun, and I love how it turned out!



After I did this mani, my boyfriend told me that it looked very "Arabian Night-ish", I think I agree with him! I am imagining stacks of silk pillows... :) Also, I apologize for the minor tip wear, I was wearing this for a few days before I snapped these pictures.

To do this mani I started with two coats of Ulta High Roller, followed by a coat of Seche Vite to help the polish dry faster.

After the polish was dry, I used hole punch reinforce stickers, like I did here, and then painted Zoya Crystal on the upper part of my nail. Then I put a coat of Seche Vite on and stuck a light blue square rhinestone that I ordered on ebay in the middle of the two colors. Then I sealed it in with another coat of Seche Vite.

Studio M Reindeering & OPI Take The Stage

For this mani:

Index, middle & pinky: Two coats of Studio M Reindeering from Studio M's Holiday Collection for 2011. Then I painted the corner with OPI Take the Stage. Seche Vite on top.

Thumb and Ring Finger: Two coats of OPI Take the Stage, Studio M Reindeering painted in the corners. Seche Vite on top.

Orly Ma Cherie

Indoor - flash

This is two coats of Orly Ma Cherie, from Orly's Holiday Collection for 2011.  I really love this polish. It's a bright red jelly and the application was really nice. The picture with the flash is the closest to how it is in person, and it reminds me of Christmas! It's so pretty.

Indoor - no flash

Indoor - no flash

Twilight Saga Themed Mani

I did this mani for the Breaking Dawn premier! I am a big fan of the Twilight books and movies, so I thought it would be fun chance to do my nails for the movie! These are each of the book covers, and my ring finger is supposed to look like Bella's ring from the movies. Here is how I did this mani:

Thumb: This is inspired by the cover of Twilight. Two coats of Sally Hansen Black Out. I free handed the apple using Butter London Knees Up. I used a thin nail art striper and dipped it into Ulta Taupe on a Rope for the stem. I did the shine spot using the pen side of my Two Way nail art pen and brush in white. I did a full mani of similar apples here.

Index: This is inspired by the cover of New Moon. Two coats of Sally Hansen Black Out. I used a nail art brush and tried to draw the flower on the book, first using Sally Hansen White Out, then Butter London Knees Up.

Middle: This is inspired by the cover of Eclipse. Two coats of Sally Hansen Black Out. I used the brush on Butter London Knees Up and drew on the swirl.

Ring. This is inspired by Bella's engagement ring in the movies. Two coats of Sally Hansen Black Out. Then using Seche Vite I attached a lot of Silver rhinestones in an oval shape.

Pinky: This is inspired by the cover of Breaking Dawn. Two coats of Sally Hansen Black Out. To draw the pawn I used the pen side of my Two Way nail art pen and brush in white.

Btw, I did my friend Rachel's nails to match! Yay twins! Haha. We are both big Twilight nerds :-D

Rachel's nails!

Orly Coffee Break Beach-y Nails :)

I am not sure how these nails ended up as a beach theme! I started by wanting to use my new Orly Coffee Break, and then decided maybe I would use a stamp on it... and then I found my cutie lobster stamp... and it spiraled from there! Maybe not season appropriate, but still cute!

To do this mani I started with two coats of Orly Coffee Break (below), with a coat of Seche Vite on top. I think this color is really pretty, and I suppose it does look a bit like a coffee loaded with some creamer! This polish was a little on the thin side, so it had a tendency to puddle in my cuticles if I wasn't careful. It still had good coverage though. 

Then I wanted to make it look a little bit like sand, so I used a make up sponge, using the same technique I described here, and lightly sponged on some Ulta Taupe on a Rope. In hindsight I wish I had also sponged a lighter color on it to make it look even more like sand.



Then after this dried, I used a Konad knock off plate that I ordered in a bundle on ebay, Plate B88, and stamped my little lobster on my ring finger using Essie One of a Kind. I used the same plate and stamped two sets of the feet on my thumb using Sinful Colors Rich in Heart. I am a little bummed because I thought I would give my Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat some love, and when I started to paint it on my thumb, it smeared my feet! Ugh. So I promptly put down the bottle and finished with Seche Vite. This is just another reason I love Seche Vite, besides a ton of reasons I don't need to ramble about now, it is GREAT for nail art. I have never had it smear a design for me. EVER. I love my Seche Vite....love love love.

Look at that cutie lobster!! I love him!!