Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

The last Gaelic phrase for you translates to, "St. Patrick's Day blessings to you!"

I present to you my final St. Patrick's Day manicure.  This is a relatively simple one.  Colors of the Irish flag in a plaid design with a tough of gold for good measure.  There is a reason I wanted to do this design.  It is actually a repeat of one of the first nail art designs I had ever done.

I know, you can't see much.  My nail art and my photography skills have improved. 

The patterns are similar and I used the exact same colors; Finger Paints Orange You in Love?, China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint, Gaga For Green, and Midnight Kiss.  This was all done with a stripper brush.

A look at it in the shade.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my various seasonal manicures.  I love this Holiday, although I am not sure why.  I don't really celebrate it and I certainly am not a party girl.  There is just something about it that makes me smile every year.  I hope you had a great day and celebrated in your own way.

Tootles!
Fitz

Pastel Galaxy Nails

I decide to begin another challenge.  I kind of missed being given a direction for my nail art.  Don't worry though, this challenge is much less intense.  Erica's Nails and More is the host and she has provided nine themes for the month of February.

The first challenge is galaxy nails.  I wanted to do something different again and I remembered seeing a someone do a pastel galaxy manicure.  This was a while back and I tried so hard to find my inspiration, but to no avail.  It just reminded me that if I like it I really should pin it. . .  (Edit:  I finally found it!  Natalie from Nail Craze!)

My base color is Orly Decades of Dysfunction.  I then sponged OPI Sparrow Me The Drama, China Glaze No Plain Jane, Re-Fresh Mint, Lemon Fizz, Kinetic Candy, and Medallion.  Lastly I used Nina Ultra Pro French White for the "stars."

I am really proud of how this came out.  Next time I need to remember to use a nail art brush rather than a fine dotting tool for the stars. I think I would get a finer "star" that way.

I couldn't forget the thumb!

Check out the other artists too! 


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.