12 Days of Christmas: Christmas Tree

So I joined another challenge.  I know what you are thinking, that I am crazy with the 31 one day challenge going on as well.  I couldn't help it, seeing as it is a Christmas challenge plus I have over 2/3rds of the 31 day challenge written and 4 more manicures done and waiting to be blogged and scheduled.  I think I can make it work.  I will still have to double up on weekends, but I really want to try.  So, the Christmas challenge posts will be more real time.

Something horrible happened yesterday and I ripped my thumb nail.  It wasn't a just a break.  It was painful and bled.  It still throbs today.  So last night, before I did this manicure, I filed down all my other nails, not as short as thumb, so goodbye long pretty nails.  They are still long, just definitely not as long.  I also have a band-aid on my thumb, so you will see that in the background.  I didn't even bother painting my left thumb, so the pic later on is my right.

So the theme today was Christmas trees.  I Have A Cupcake did an awesome design and tutorial a couple of days ago.  In fact this design was the reason I decided to do this challenge, because it gave me an excuse to do it.

I did my own take on it and used loose glitter stars from Artclub to top the trees.  I also just used green glitter for the actual trees, because I wanted them to sparkle.  Sad thing is I couldn't capture the gorgeous sparkle due to the icky weather we are having.

The polishes were China Glaze Red Satin, Winter Holly, and City Siren which was the background dots.

Don't forget to take a look at all the other participants.  There are a lot of gorgeous manicures!

Tootles!
Fitz

Everyone has to start somewhere

So. . . I have been doing nail art since December of last year.  I did little Santa hats.  I had seen videos and other pictures online and never thought I could do it.  Well, I had the colors and it looked pretty simple and from there the addiction grew.  I have been teaching myself through watching videos and reading tutorials.  I have been inspired by other designers.  I have been posting my pictures on my facebook page and have had friends request me to do their nails.  I am still a beginner and still learning, but I love it and thought maybe it was time to take the next step.  So here I am and posting one of my latest creations.  I just did my nails today, but have yet to take a picture.  After I do that tomorrow I will post those.

My left hand.  The stars came in two sizes and so I played with the large size on my pinkie nail.  I don't like it there.

For now I will show you a night sky with a tree line.  My sister actually came up with the idea and did a design herself.  She then asked me to show her my take on it.  I didn't want to hand draw the stars or stamp them, so I scoured my hometown for small star shaped glitter.  I bought a few of them, but settled on a gold holographic by Artclub.  This was my first experience with placing individual glitter not in a polish.  I used China Glaze Midtown Magic for the night sky.  I didn't want to use a typical black and I didn't have a blue I liked.  I saw this gorgeous purple with gold flecks and thought it was different and cool.  Unfortunatly it photographed more brown, but trust me it is purple.  I then tore a make-up sponge and applied China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint.   I knew I needed a lighter color to make the medium green stand out against the dark purple.  The pale green seemed like a better option than white as it would blend better.  I then sponged China Glaze Gaga For Green over that with a light sponging of China Glaze Holly-Day to give it some texture and depth.  I am really quite proud of this because although the idea was my sister's the execution came from my own brain and looked completely different than hers.

A closer shot of my right hand.  It is not easy photographing your own dominant hand. . . Just sayin'.

My sister's original version.  My addiction hobby is contagious.

Now, how should I close this. . . perhaps. . .

Fitz out!

I don't know if I like that. . . We shall see.