Dotty Dots...

Today I would like to show you a manicure inspired once again by the polish name. I seem to do that a lot. And Ok and I'll confess, the pattern was also inspired by a pair of umm... panties that I have. That's right, in my 30s and I still occasionally sport polka dot panties. LOL! Sorry! I know, TMI! I'm probably going to regret writing this later so let's get back to the mani...

Sweet Daisy...

Hi Everyone! Today is the first post out of the archives and I hope you will enjoy it. I created this while reviewing the Nicole by OPI Carrie Underwood collection. The manicure was inspired by the name of the peachy shade used to create this look...

Tips & Tricks: Dotting Tool Alternatives

While trying to put together a tutorial for my recent dotted manicure, I started to think about other things around the house that can be used as dotting tools if one was not available. Here is what I found so far...

• Push pins - these can create very fine dots, just be careful not to pin yourself in the process
• Toothpick or wooden barbecue skewer
• Plastic dental pick
• Mechanical pencil (0.5mm) - I actually use this a lot even when I have a dotting nearby
• Mechanical pencil (0.7mm)
• Paper clip
• Old pen - might not work afterwards, so don't try with a pen you love...
• Small flat head pin - stuck into the eraser end of a pencil to prevent painful pricks...
• Round head pin - also stuck into an eraser...
• Brush handle tip

What other things have you tried making dots with?

Hopefully this is useful for some of you!

Let me know if you are interested in seeing other random tips & tricks for nail art...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Sunday Stamping: Dots or Circles

It has been a while since I've done anything bright or neon-y, so for today's Sunday Stamping challenge in the group Adventures in Stamping I brought out my Color Club ElectroCandy collection. Since I can only handle neon in small doses, the challenge of dots or circles was the perfect fit.

Black and White Challenge Day 10 - Manicure of Choice

Time really has flown by fast and today is the last day of the Black and White Challenge. I have had a lot of fun with this challenge and wanted to do something special for the last day, which happens to be a manicure of choice with black and white. The design is not my original design, I stumbled across it in an old Nail Max magazine. I have been wanting to try it for a while and since it contains black and white, I thought it was perfect for the last day of the challenge.

Black and White Challenge Day 9 - Water Marble

Day nine of the Black and White Challenge proved to be the most difficult yet. Difficult isn't even the right word, it really kicked my butt. Water marble is always a huge challenge for me and even though the results can be amazing the process of getting there sometimes doesn't seem worth it. I know you think I'm talking about the mess and the clean up, but no I'm talking about getting the colors to spread correctly and not bunch up when I try to marble. I just keep telling myself that practice makes perfect (and maybe someday I'll believe it). For now I'm just glad I didn't give up since I love how this manicure turned out.

Black and White Challenge Day 4 - White Base with Color

It is time of another Black & White Challenge. For day 4, the challenge is to create a manicure with a white base and some color accent. Inspiration for this was in the form a bracelet given to me a while ago by a friend. I really like the symbols and flowers on it as well as how beautiful the blue looks against the white. I started out with Wet 'n Wild French White Creme and stamped the round symbols using Sinful Colors Midnight Blue and Bundle Monster plate BM-224. When stamped the blue is lighter than I would have liked, but not too bad. I then added the flowers using Midnight Blue, white acrylic paint, and a dotting tool...

I would love to know what you think of this manicure and where do you get your inspiration?

NOTE: This is a scheduled post. I appreciate all your comments and will respond as soon as I return from my trip! Thank you in advance for commenting :D

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Black and White Challenge Day 1 - Black on White

The first challenge in the Black and White Challenge is to create a black on white manicure. I started out with three coats of Wet 'n Wild French White Creme for the white. It is the only white polish that I own (and use all the time). It makes me think of when I first started this blog almost a year ago, since French White Creme was the first polish I ever blogged about.

For the black, I used black acrylic paint and added dots using different sized dotting tool. I started with a small flower at the base of the nail and added dots in two semicircles around it and continued from there. I really like how this manicured turned out. I'm starting to appreciate the dotting tool more and more...

I thought I would throw in swatches of Wet 'n Wild French White Creme just for fun, since it has been almost a year since the last swatch. French White Creme is a pure white. The formula is good, two coats for opacity, although I always add a third coat to even out the coverage. Does anyone else remember the days when a solid white manicure like this was popular or is it just me? :)

Swatch Details
	Brand: Wet 'n Wild Collection: Main Line Color Name/Number: French White Creme, 449C Number of coats: 3 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)

I hope you like my black on white manicure! I would love to know what you think about it. :)

If this looks fun and you would like to join the challenge, take a look on Mateja's blog Purple Glitters for more information.

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Day 22 - Inspired by a Song

I often get lines from this particular song stuck in my head, so it was shoe in for today's challenge. The challenge was to be inspired by a song and I chose the "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" for my inspiration. An adorable song about a shy girl that is afraid to be seen in her new bikini.

I started with two coats of Color Club Almost Famous and added black dots using acrylic paint. The pattern created by alternating different size dots using a dotting tool. The result may be my loudest manicure to date, but I think this would make for a fun bikini. Definitely one that will get you noticed, so no use hiding. :D

What do you think? Would you wear this bikini (or manicure) out in public? :D

Thanks for looking,
Anutka :)

Practicing my dots...

This manicure was inspired by a set of stickers I bought with my last ebay haul. The stickers didn't work out at all (read below for details), but they gave me a fun idea and here is what I ended up with...

UPDATE: Tutorial for this manicure available here!

Outside, overcast...

For this manicure, I started out with two coats of Zoya Grace and added a white tip with Wet n Wild French White Cream. The petal dots were made using Wet n Wild Black Cream and the center dot using Sally Hansen Celeb City...

And here are the stickers that started it all... When looking at the auction item before purchasing, I thought the stickers were just the black flowers and the white was a placing suggestion. Turns out it isn't, the white is part of the sticker as well, which is where my problems began... 1st, the largest sticker isn't wide enough for my thumb... 2nd, the stickers that were wide enough for my other nails were also too deep (about 1.5x my amount of free edge) and I don't want my nails any longer than they are now... 3rd, with the size selection available I would need 2 sets to do a full mani... so needless to say, these really didn't work for me...

They did give me an idea though as I looked at them closely. The flowers were made up of black dots with a silver dot center. Something I could definitely do with a dotting tool. Plus, I could place flowers wherever I wanted, not just on the tip, so I did... and I liked the result more than the stickers :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)