My 4th of July Mani!

Hi Everyone!

I hope all of you who celebrate the holiday had a Happy 4th of July yesterday!

I spent my 4th at work as usual, but I was able to sneak out for a break just in time to catch a bit of the gorgeous fireworks display over Puget Sound. I hadn't intended to do a manicure for the occasion because I really had nothing special planned for the day, but a co-worker shamed me for not rocking some red, white and blue on my nails as I used to. I promised her I'd get my act together at least for 4th! So that's how I ended up with some nail art for the first time in months! Just slightly ironic that on independence day, I gave up my freedom of sleeping in late to get up and do some nail art ;)

Peppermint Twist!

Every year I get drawn to all the beautiful looking candy canes out there and I end up buying a box (or three) and then eating one and sometimes none of those candy canes. No joke, I've thrown out more unopened boxes of then I care to admit, month after they have expired. This year I decided to resist temptation and enjoy the classic color twist on my nails instead...

Hanukkah Sparkles!

Hi Lovelies! Today I have another Hanukkah manicure to share with you. I don't usually get the chance to create multiple manicures for the occasion, but I got an idea that I just had to try out. Waiting until next year was not an option that I could live with, so time had to be made for the time consuming endeavor. I've been wearing this for the past couple of days and I hope it will last me at least through the weekend because I can't stop staring at them. I'm actually having a difficult time writing this post since I keep getting distracted by the nail...

Happy Hanukkah!

Hi Everyone! I want to wish a Happy Hanukkah to all of you lovelies who celebrate the holiday! This year I created two manicures to celebrate, the first of which I would like to show you today.

I'm always slightly jealous of the abundance of Christmas holiday stamping patterns available. Although I do make good use of those said patterns (so I won't complain too much), I wish more companies would create patterns to celebrate other cultures, traditions and beliefs. There is always a part of me that gets super excited when I see a pattern that I can use for a Hanukkah manicure. So queue the excitement and a dizzying game of dreidel...

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...

Cityscape Underneath the Milky Way

Hi Lovelies! Today I would like to show you a simple stamped manicure that I created while playing around with the new Polished by KPT winter shades. The gorgeous Underneath the Milky Way made me feel as though I had the night sky on my nails so I felt compelled to add a cityscape...

Tutorial: Aged Bamboo

Hi Lovelies! It is time for a tutorial again. After I posted my art inspired bamboo manicure last month, I got a few comments from readers who said that this type of manicure is too complicated and not something that they can do for themselves. I wanted to show that if you already know how to stamp, this is actually a really simple manicure that only looks like it takes a lot of work, but is actually rather simple. So let's get started...

Supplies:

• 2-3 neutral shades for the background. I used Zoya Jacqueline, Taylor and Flynn
• Brown polish for stamping. I used Zoya Emilia
• Sea sponge
• Stamping plate (I used Bundle Monster plate BM-424) and stamping supplies

Steps:

Instructions:

1. Apply the lightest color for a base and allow it to dry completely. Shown here is Zoya Jacqueline.
2. Put a few drops of the beige lacquer(s) on your palate and dip the sponge into it. I used a little bit of Zoya Taylor and Flynn. Dab the sponge onto a clean area of the palate to work the polish into the sponge and remove excess. Finally gently dab the sponge onto random sections of the nail, leaving portions of the base still visible.
3. Apply stamping polish onto the stamping plate, scrape and pick up the image as usual
4. Stamp the image onto your nail
5. Seal with a top coat and enjoy!

See? That was easy, right? I even struggled to make a full tutorial out of this because there are so few steps when you really think about it.

Please don't hesitate to ask questions if you have any!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

** Polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. **

** For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Falling Leaves

Hi Everyone! I can no longer deny that Fall is now in full swing so I've been pulling out all of my leafy stamping plates to ogle at and play with. Fall is actually my favorite time of the year for nail art and all the rich colors that it brings. This simple stamped manicure fits the mood perfectly.

31DC2013 Day 27 - Inspired by Artwork

Hi Lovelies! Up next in the 31 Day Nail Challenge is Day 27, Inspired by Artwork. I'm always drawn to Asian inspired art featuring bamboo so after a quick search online (this is literally the 3rd image that comes up in Google when I search for "bamboo art"), I knew what I wanted to do.

Exotic Illusions Peacock

Good Morning! Afternoon? Evening? When do you all usually take the time to read/look at blogs? Well regardless of what time of day it is, I wanted to take a moment to show you a manicure that I created with the two Glam Polish Exotic Illusions shades that I showed you a couple of days ago. The two of them reminded me of peacock feathers so I really couldn't resist and this happened...

Polished by KPT Do You Wanna Fanta?

Yesterday I showed you swatches of the pretty new summer thermal from Polished by KPT named Do You Wanna Fanta?. With a name like that, is it any surprise that I just couldn't resist throwing a few citrus slices into the mix?

Nail Art with Polished by KPT Hot Like Wasabi...

Do pandas like wasabi? I sure hope they do because mine are sitting in a bamboo forest on a floor that is Hot Like Wasabi! Maybe they like a little heat with their bamboo dinner? Hehe!

Polished by KPT Hot Like Wasabi is the last of the many thermal beauties that Katherine, the owner and mastermind of the brand generously sent me for review. As you might have noticed over the past few weeks, I've had a lot of fun with these thermal lovelies and this just might win for me on cuteness...

Busy as a Bee!

Hi! I've been busy and sleep deprived a lot more than usual lately. Although I've been swatching and playing with nail art whenever I can, I've really been slacking when it comes to processing the photos! Just something about starring at the monitor after coming home tired from work is not sounding too appealing these days. Go figure! This is one of the manicures that I created while swatching the Nicole by OPI Carrie Underwood collection and just haven't posted until now. I was inspired by the name of the polish, Sing You Like a Bee. As soon as I read the name, I knew I had to add some cute little bees to it...

Carrie'd Away with Hex Glitter...

Hi Everyone! I really have no explanation for this manicure other than I got carried away and I love it. I was going through my stamping plates one day looking for inspiration and came across this hexagonal pattern on one of the Bundle Monster plates and well one thing led to another and here is the super sparkly result...

Happy Chinese New Year!

I want to wish those of you who celebrate this holiday, a happy and wonderful new year! Although I don't partake in celebrating the Chinese New Year, I'm always fascinated by the beautiful traditions surrounding it and the meaning behind each year's animal sign. I wanted to create a bright and festive manicure to welcome the year of the Horse!

Snow woman...

I wanted to show you some nail art that I created while swatching the Elf-tastic Christmas collection by 365 Days of Color. I thought it would be fun to play off the snowflake glitter embedded in this beautiful gray polish by adding a few stamped snowflakes. Of course once there was snow, a snow woman decided that she would fit right in with her bright red hat, scarf and buttons...

In My Santa Suit...

It doesn't happen often, but I was itching for a new manicure and at the same time I didn't want to part with the previous one, so I compromised... with myself. Yup! I'm pretty sure that's allowed/possible/not crazy at all. In any case, I changed most of the manicure while leaving my favorite ornament as an accent nail. I really like how this turned out and think that having the ornament as an accent nail makes it pop even more...

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...

Sunday Stamping: The Great Thanksgiving Heist...

Is seems like ages since the last time I participated in a Sunday Stamping challenge for the group Adventures in Stamping. With the holidays quickly approaching, this week's theme is Thanksgiving or Winter nails. I chose to go with the Thanksgiving theme and I'm happy to present my manicure to you. I have affectionately been referring to it as "The Great Thanksgiving Heist"...

Giveaway Scavenger Hunt...

Last month I shared with you the exciting news that I had been chosen as a winner in Bundle Monster's Create Your Own Contest. My prize was six full stamping plate sets, one for each design chosen. Obviously I don't need so many! I have shared a few of them with my friends and now I've got a few to share with you...