Whimsical Winter Scene!

Almost three weeks ago Marta of Chit Chat Nails announced a nail art contest that she is hosting with a stamping plate maker Pueen. I was instantly intrigued because it features two of my favorite things, stamping and holiday nail art. I rarely enter contests, partly for lack of time, but largely because I disagree with the 'judging' process. Marta's contest, however, has actual judges which makes the process about talent rather than popularity. For me that makes the contest a challenge and I love challenges...

I've been thinking about what I want to create for the contest for the past couple of weeks and have been coming up blank. I knew I wouldn't be entering the contest unless it was something I was really proud of, so that I wouldn't kick myself later and think "I could have done better". That way loosing would mean someone created nail art that is better or more creative than mine, not because I didn't give it my best shot. Also, win or loose, I had a blast creating this manicure and at the end of the day that is what really matters to me...

My Favorite Ornament

December seems to be flying by at rocket speed and I'm realizing that I don't have much time to execute a lot of the ideas that have been floating in my head. This is one such idea that I'm happy to have found the time to create. It was in one way or another inspired by a number of talented ladies, so I thank Beaching Nails for the idea of using nail studs for ornaments, Drama Queen Nails for the idea that studs can be painted with polish and Eeek! Nail Polish! for the idea of stamping onto rhinestones. Sheesh! Feels like I'm making some sort of acceptance speech here, but truly I learn so much from seeing everyone's manicures that even though my manicure doesn't resemble theirs, I did get the idea from their beautiful art. And now without further adieu, my ornament manicure...

Day 15 - Delicate Print - Zoya Casey Stamped with Petites Fairy Pink

For me, delicate print equals subtle print and I just love subtle stamping. I've done it quite a few times before and have always been happy with the result. It is fun to see people do a double take to get a closer look at the detail on the manicure. The challenge of delicate print was therefore a fun one for me. I started out with two coats of Zoya Casey, a gorgeous deep plum color. In my excitement to stamp, I forgot to take pre-stamping photos, so I will have to re-swatch it another day. For the stamping I used Petites Color Fever in Fairy Pink. It is a pink base with micro shimmer in pink, gold, copper, green, and just about everything else. A very pretty and unique color in my collection. The stamping was done using Bundle Monster plate  BM-214.

I like the color combo, just wish my stamping was not slanted. On the plus side though, it is equally slanted on all the nails ;)

A few closer looks... (you can also click on the photos to zoom in)...

What do you think of subtle stamping?

Thanks for looking,
Anutka :)