Seeing Stars

Where I'll be for the next weekish, I'll be able to see the night sky pretty clearly! In the meantime, enjoy this starry manicure.

Tada! Made with my new image plates from Mash! I used plate numbers 29 (yellow stars) and 49 (purple stars). The purple polish is Sexy Divide by Essie and the yellow polish is Darcy by Zoya. Have I mentioned how much I love this purple?

Below is my other hand.

I usually don't show my right hand, because it's usually not as nicely done as my left (solution: become ambidextrous). This time, I think the stamping showed up more opaque on my right hand than my left. I also did a better job with the clear coat, so there's less streaking. 

This last picture is a work in progress shot.

I really like stars! I've been itching to try out a star mani for a long time, and I'm really happy with how this one turned out. Thanks for reading! I'll be without my computer for a while, but you can expect a new post by Sunday. See you next time!

Bus Adventure #2 ...and other things

I'm taking a break from nails and nail polish and nail art...so if you aren't interested in anything but those, this post is not for you. However, if you want to hear about some of the random things that have been going on in my life, read on!

Bus Adventure #2
Over the summer I regularly use the bus for transportation because I am crazy lazy and don't want to get my license don't have a car. My previous bus adventure was about crazy people arguing...this one is more about crazy coincidences.

I left home around 1pm, settled in on the bus for my hour long bus ride. Looking around, I noticed three people, a mom and her two daughters (probably) sitting together. I mostly noticed them because one of the girls had the same shoes I use for Pep Band (black Vans) and the other had a hair tie the same color as mine. I didn't notice when they got off, but they were gone by the time I got off at my stop.

On my way back, a few hours later, I noticed these familiar people got on the bus a few stops after I got on...and after staring at them a while, I realized they were the same people from earlier! They of course got off with me at the same stop we all originally got on the bus around 1pm, but I was so surprised to see them walking in the same direction as me! Turns out they live in the same apartment complex.

What are the chances? That we both leave and return at the same time? And after all this time of riding the same route, I can't say I've ever recognized anybody riding the bus regularly.

Food Adventure #1
Sososososoooo the other day I did NOT start the morning off right...woke up to the sound of hammering upstairs at 6:45am, which is waaaaay too early for me in the summer. And I decided (after managing to drag myself out of bed because more sleep was not happening any time soon) that this called for something good to eat.

Normally I'm really lazy in the morning. Which means I eat poptarts. The smores kind, if possible. But recently I've come across a bunch of microwave-mug concoctions that sound soooo scrumptious! This was the day...to try banana bread in a mug!

See the original recipe here!

I won't bore you with too many details, and I'm no kitchen expert, but this recipe was super easy and super fast! Less than three minutes in the microwave and mashing banana with a fork is actually kinda fun and stress relieving...here's a picture of mine:

It's the cup I bought for Father's Day a few years ago. 

Thanks for reading! Next time: nail art. I promise. :D And maybe an adventure story or two.

Stripes and a Turtle

Happy Wednesday!

Today I have some tape manicure pictures! Much to my surprise, I loved this manicure (even though there's no blue or glitter). The design on my ring finger is a turtle stamped using a makeup sponge. Much like how you might apply polish to the makeup sponge to make a gradient, I applied green on the sponge in the shape of a turtle. It didn't come out quite as bright as I would've liked, but I loved the design. 

The polishes I used were Sinful Colors: Rich in Heart (brown), Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear: Golden-I, and Zoya: Holly (such a pretty green, great for the holidays). I used the brown as a base. Leaving one tape per nail, I painted over with gold. On the third coat, I placed three tapes, two for the gold stripes, and one more to protect the brown stripe. 

Below is a work in progress picture. 

Turtlesssss....I wish the new image plates I got recently had turtles. And a bigger dolphin image. Anyway, thanks for reading! See you next time!

Geometric French Tips

Hello, everyone! A nice, simple design today.

I believe I've said before that I'm not too fond of french manicures, so here's thinking outside the box a little. This manicure uses Sinful Colors: Love Nails (blue) and Zoya: Penny (orange). I was originally hoping to use Sinful Colors: Rich in Heart (brown) instead of Penny, but it was a bit too dark. I was trying to achieve a third color in the overlapped area, and though I didn't quite get the look I envisioned, I was satisfied with how this manicure turned out.

I used nail striping tape (though for this, any tape would probably work fine) to block off the two colors and sealed with a top coat for a shiny finish. What do you think? Should I try different colors next time? I'm itching to try a manicure using those white hole protectors for papers that you out in binders...feel free to leave suggestions in the comments below or on my Facebook page!

Thanks for reading. See you next time!

Totoro Inspired Nail Art

Have you heard of Totoro? Or Hayao Miyazaki? If you haven't, go look them up, because you're missing out! Just some quick pictures today.

Totoro and the little soot gremlins! The base color for this manicure is Zoya: Rocky. (Such a nice summery blue!) The black and white are both from YH Beja Nail Design. I got a set last Christmas with twelve different colored polishes with fine striping brushes as well as a fine tube that you can use to squeeze polish out of the bottle. It's really cool! I haven't worked with it much yet, but I've been practicing. 

So I finished this manicure at the beginning of summer and then i went to Macy's and saw this bag...

...and couldn't help snapping a picture because the colors were so similar! Too bad it's way out of my price range...

Thanks for reading, and see you next time! 

Iron Man Inspired Water Marble and Art

I'm back with a water marble today! 

Okay, so I admit it, the water marble is the same one from here. But I also improved on execution! Look at my pointer and middle fingers! So pretty :) (If you can't tell, I really liked how this turned out.) The polishes I used for the water marble on my pointer, middle, and pinky fingers are all the same as the ones used in my Hunger Games water marble, so check that out if you haven't already! I'll just go over the Iron Man designs on my ring and thumb.

I made this manicure in early May for the Iron Man 3 Premier. I based the thumb design on the 2nd core that Tony Stark makes (as opposed to the original circle shape) and the ring finger design on the iron man helmet. I don't have brushes (sadface!) but I do have nail striping tape which I used to block off thin lines on the face and the triangle outline. For the triangle, I started with the inner triangle and then added a white border afterwards.

Polishes used for the triangle: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear: White On, NYC: Cashmere Creme, and Zoya: Maisie. Polishes used for Iron Man face: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear: White On and Black Out.

Below I'm holding this adorable Iron Man mini clay figure that my good friend made. Isn't it cute? If you look closely you can also see I have a bit of tip wear on the edges of my nail because this photo was taken several days after the first. The whole manicure held up for a long time. I usually take off my polish before it has a chance to chip (so I can try out a new manicure) but from what I remember, this one stayed near perfect for at least 8 days. 

Thanks for reading! Has anyone else seen any good movies recently? I've seen a whole bunch this summer so far...I'm actually going to a movie tonight, too! Next time:

Mind Your Own Beeswax!

Busy bees...(oh look I came up with a decent title!)

This picture was taken with flash, and I'm sad to say it's the only picture I have of this manicure. But I've been taking better pictures recently! I promise.

This manicure was made using striping tape. I started with a base of NYC: Taxi Yellow Creme, added tape, painted over with Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear: Black Out, then removed the tape. Finished with a top coat of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear: Invisible.

On different screens, the yellow may appear closer to white. On my phone it's a very bright yellow, whereas on my computer it's more pale in comparison. In person, this manicure also appeared as black and white stripes from far away...I have a brighter yellow now, so the next time I try this manicure, it'll hopefully be a little bit more obvious. I also have a cool bee design on my new stamping plates which would also go well with this manicure! Looking forward to trying it sometime in the future.

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Special: Happy 4th of July!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled posting to bring you...4th of July themed nail art! Pop Quiz: does Great Britain have a 4th of July? (Don't forget to click Read More to see more pictures!)

Yay for stars and stripes! This manicure is mostly stripes, though I do have part of a star on my thumbs. Time permitting, I was planning on some little stars on my pinky finger, but I took too long doing everything else.

Hearts...and Dots

 Happy Valentine's Day! (Don't forget to hit the read more button!)

Just kidding. In case you needed ideas for a holiday half a year from now, here's some <3 inspired nail art. (Or if you have a time machine, 'cuz that'd be really cool.)