April Showers Bring May Flowers Challenge-#3-Glitter Sammie

OK, much discussion over this item on the challenge list.  I was glad to hear I was not the only one who did not know what a jelly polish was.  Sadly, I was probably the ONLY one who didn't know what a glitter sammy was.  And, for the record, I do not own any jelly polishes.  Although, I am getting better at identifying them so I will be on the lookout.  I went with the best that I could find.

I used Wishful Pinking by Loreal and Lavender by Milani.  Love purple in any shade or texture.  I think that will always be my favorite.

So, this was all a great lesson for me. The only thing I have left to understand is......what does "it looks squishy" mean?????????

Anyway, please feel free to stop over and check out the contributions of the other ladies, amazing designs they have created.......

Jess from Nearly Natural Nails
Amanda from Mandy's Polish
Heidi from DIY Polish & More!
Katee from A Girl and Her Polish
Charlotte from Charlotte's Nails
Tess from Football and Fingernails
Karine at Karinea0a
Victoria from Manicurator
Ashley from One Nail To Another
Dani from Rustic Comfort
Amanda from Counting Down to Bliss
Kayono from Neues vom Kellerkind
Sarah from All This Polish
April from Munia's Nails
And of course, the creator of the challenge, Hannah from Polished Prisms.

April Showers bring May Flowers Challenge #2-Ladybugs

As many of you know, I am signed up to do two challenges simultaneously.  The second doesn't begin until April 14th with Purple Glitters.  The one in the picture above was created by Hannah at Polished Prisms.  She, along with the following nail artists are participating......

 Amanda from Mandy's Polish
Heidi from DIY Polish & More!
Katee from A Girl and Her Polish
Charlotte from Charlotte's Nails
Tess from Football and Fingernails
Karine at Karinea0a
Victoria from Manicurator
Ashley from One Nail To Another
Dani from Rustic Comfort
Amanda from Counting Down to Bliss
Kayono from Neues vom Kellerkind
 Please go and check them out.  They have done some pretty cool designs already. The thing I love about this challenge is that ou can go at your own pace, which works for my schedule.

OK, moving on to #2 on the challenge list....ladybugs.  At first I thought ladybug(s) meaning more than one but I just wasn't sure how to have that translate into a whole bunch.  Should it be on a leaf?  In the grass?  Decisions.....decisions.  I ended up with the spots and added one accent nail.

The red, which was Color Club looked really deep red in the bottle but with the white base coat, it really brightened it up and made it quite tangy.

You can sort of see the difference in this last picture.  Not at all my style.  It is fun to try something different and, amazingly, I liked it so much and was really surprised.  Got quite a few compliments.

April Showers Bring May Flowers Challenge #1-Pastel Gradient

OK, so I have simultaneously signed up to do two different challenges.  And....I have never done any before, so this should be very interesting.  Thanks to Hannah at Polished Prisms, I will be able to join some great nail artists to present a variety of different, very creative ideas.  I am really looking forward to being able to go at my own pace so, when life gets in the way of polish, the challenge can still go on.

Above is the list of designs we will be completing and this is post is #1 for me.  I can fill you in on my other challenge that starts on April 14th started by Mateja at Purple Glitters when I get started.  I am super excited about both and grateful for both ladies for giving me the opportunity to participate.  I am really still learning about all these new polish terms that are foreign to me.  I just learned about jelly polish and what a "Sammy" is and realized that I do not own any so I must get my act together before challnge number 3 on Hannah's list.  Unfortunately, the only nail store I have near me is Sally's, so if anyone knows if Finger Paints or China Glaze makes jelly polish, please let me know ASAP.  I can use all the help I can get.  Anyway, for today.......my first EVER gradient.  Really happy with it.  Came out very cute, and Eastery!!!

I used all Orly Polishes, Lillipop, Green Apple, Snowcone, and Spark and a cosmetic sponge.  All of it was over two coats of Color Club white.  One coat of Seche Vite over the top.

Next up, ladybugs.  Then I have to find a jelly. HELP!!!!

The Masters....Golf

OK, so I am pushing forward after that bad mani I did yesterday.  I committed to trying golf nails, in the spirit of The Masters coming up this weekend.  So here it is.....

It came out cute.  The logo on my thumb was the closest I could get to replicating the real logo...

I didn't have a whole lot of time because I had to work late and I have to still design music and a ride plan for my spin clas tomorrow morning and I should get to bed early since I have to be up at 4:30AM, and.....I still have to bake a cake for a birthday party in my office tomorrow.  Somewhere in between that, I hope to get on a top coat once it completely dries.  

Amyway, the golf balls are a more appropriate prop for this mani than the last one, don't you think?

Naked Decals

OK, compromise is the word of the night.  I can't go to work plain and unpolished but don't have time to let paint dry before I hit the hay.  My friends bought me these decals for my birthday.  Simple and cute.  And.........most importantly....

.....the picture reflects a very important upcoming date.  The first day of my golf league!!!  April 23rd.  I am going to try and play with this length nails but may be cutting them after the first night.  Anyway, my boyfriend has tried to convince me to do something with a golf theme because of The Masters this weekend but I just don't think that many people in my personal life or in the blogging world will have an appreciation for golf nails.  Maybe someday I might try it out. 

Resembling lace with green???

OK, note to self.  If your gut tells you to keep the magnetic polish on.....stick with it.  This sounded good on paper but failed miserably in the execution.  I may be tempted to try it again sometime but I may be going to work tomorrow with clear polish.

I realize I am not a nail tech and have not gone to school for any of this but I am constantly amazed at how clean and well executed some bloggers mani's are.  I just don't yet have the knack for that.  But I am not giving up!!!

Gel and Magnetic...great combo!!

Three significant trends that I have yet to try, magnetic polish, matte finish and crackle. I love the look of the magnetic polish but it is generally pricey and almost seems too conservative  for me.  I am not a fan of crackle and don't own any.  Although, I have to say that I have seen one or two that have really come close to changing my mind. Unfortunately, not enough to pin them on my Pinterest Board because despite having 258 pins on my nail board....ZERO are crackles.  Maybe it will grow on me eventually.  However, Matte finishes are starting to grow on me and I did find quite a few on Pinterest that I could use as an example....

Starting with what Katee did today from A Girl and Her Polish.  Love the eggs and love the look.  Some other examples....
The Polished Perfectionist.... Love the pink, stamping and matte finish..
Nail Stories...dying to recreate this look..

Anyway, I kind of got off the subject.  Back to magnetic.  Gelish came out with a magnetic polish line.  Love Gelish, had to try it.  Anyway, this will give me the chance to take some time off from painting my nails.....that should last a few days.  This is called Magneto Drawn Together.  Bought it on Amazon and the cool thing was that it comes packaged with a regular non-gel polish in the same color in case you don't want the permanancy of gel.

Learned a few things from my first try with magnetic polish, leaving the magnet on less time gave a lighter look and moving the magnet around was BAD!!  One nail ended up almost black and I had to do it over.  I really like the color.  It looks like various shades of brown.  On Amazon some people said that it looked alomost purple but I have not seen any of that yet.  Of course, I have not been out in sunlight yet so I will have to see if the color changes. The shell actually makes a cute backdrop.

Now, I bought photoshop finally.  All of my pictures have been posted as they were taken, blemishes and all.  I am going to give it a try but need to do a little reading first.  Seems complicated right now so it may be a work in progress.  Hope everyone has a great week!!!