Weird Wednesdays ~ Magnetic DIY Decals!

Hello Dahlings!

 

Yep! You read correctly...Magnetic DIY Decals! I haven't seen this done on any of the plentitude of nail art blogs I regularly hop thru', so this may be an original  idea...or not. Creative originality aside, I think it's a sound concept.

 

First, go to Gnarly Gnails to learn how to make DIY Nail Art Decals,

if you haven't done them before.

 

 Da line up: Revlon Pop Star from their Star Attraction magnetic line plus an assortment  of nail art magnets from China Glaze, Sinful Colors & an unknown I got in one of JennaFroggy's Mystery Grab Bag blog sales.

 

 I started with one coat of Pop Star & wrapped da tips.

(Yes, like many magnetic polishes, this one coater stamps too!)

 

 I then made decals on my home made template using Pop Star. I placed a magnet over each decal right after I painted it & held da magnet in place for a count of 20. I used a ruler to draw measured boxes on da piece of card board inside da zip bag so I could make my decals large enuf to fit my nails with out wasting polish.

 

Not great, but not a complete fail either. 

Notes to self for next time:

 

1) Make a decal base using clear polish (I like Milani Glosse' for DIY decals) then paint da magnetic polish over da clear base. I had a bit of a challenge peeling these off the plastic without stretching or tearing them. (see thumb)

 

2) Hold da magnet to da underside of da template for a count of 30 or one minute by da clock. I had issues with da polish rising & sticking to da magnets as well as da image fading before da polish dried enuf to hold da design. I think coming in from underneath may also give a crisper image cuz da magnet can be touching da bag without messing up da polish. Plus, one can apply da decals base side up to show da image better.

 

I will be trying this again cuz I think it has great possibilities!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

Monday Quickie ~ Christmas in July!

Hello Dahlings!

 

We had a BIG stamp camp last Saturday! We set a new body count record of 22 guests who came to stamp & 5 who joined us in Spirit!!! Lots of fun, but very tiring to teach that many peeps. I wanted to have nails that matched da theme of da day, so this is what I wore to camp...

 

 Da line up: Born Pretty Holo Polish 4, Color Club Harp On It

& Born Pretty Holo Polish 12

 

 I started with 2 coats of Harp On it then used a dotting tool to make da holly leaves & berries on my ring fingers. I did matching dots in a funky French border on the rest & topped it all with a coat of Seche Vite. I got the whole set of 12 Holo Polishes on sale for $77, but right now you can get the same set for less than I paid for it or pick colors you want on sale for 57% off da regular price! Normally these 6ml mini bottles sell for $12.88 each. That's WAY TOO MUCH for a bottle this size, but on sale they are totally worth it & you never pay shipping at Born Pretty Store.

 

I had to give you a sun pic!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

Does It Stamp! ~ Shany Polish, Set #1

Hello Dahlings!

 

When I saw this set of 24 polishes from Shany on Amazon for $30ish (no s/h!) I thought ' That's $1.25 per bottle. What the heck, why not?' I did have a bit of a spillage issue when my boxed set arrived that had to have happened before it left the manufacturer's cuz that puppy was wrapped up well. You can see below that between da molded plastic trays that hold da bottles so they don't bump, da shrink wrap, da plastic box over da shrink wrapped bottles, da paper box with logo & pics, (not pictured) da brown cardboard shipping box this set comes in...breakage wasn't da issue. (all this plus Amazon put da brown box inside another, larger box with brown packing paper) No, da leakage was from a bottle top not properly secured before they wrapped this set up for shipping. You can see da dark yellow polish on da 3rd bottle from da left & da leak went all da way to da last row. That's 4 bottles with polish on da outside. Plus 2 other bottles has small leaks that covered da threads under da lids, but didn't make it to da outside of da bottle. Plus another polish was almost dried out to da point that even with lots of thinner added, it's still too thick & goopy to use for a base color. Amazon promptly gave me my money back cuz they don't do returns/exchanges on polish they ship from their warehouse. I spent about an hour cleaning up all da leaked, semi-dry polish & other than da lid of da dark yellow polish getting melted a bit by da polish, all 24 bottles are usable.

 

 

One of da reasons I got this set was da hope that some of them might be good for stamping...

 

 #'s 20, 7 & 23

 

 #'s 03, 08 & 02 (03 was da leaker & 02 was da uber goopy one)

 

 #'s 22 & 01

 

 #'s 19, 24 & 06

 

 #'s 21 & 18

 

 #'s 05, 04 & 17

 

#'s 10, 16 & 09

 

I tested 19 of da a 24 bottles (5 are glitter toppers that don't work for stamping) & all 19 worked! #'s 07, 03, & 22 didn't show as well over black cuz they're more jelly than crème, but they showed up well enuf over white to be usable for stamping. I haven't showed a lot of crème polishes in this series cuz da one's I have generally didn't work for stamping when tested. They were either too sheer or too thin. Da L.A. Colors surprised me by working, but these Shany polished made me happy cuz they mostly stamped a strong image over black...even da light pink! 

 

Even with da leakage issues, I can recommend this polish set to anyone wanting inexpensive polishes for nail art stamping. If you have da same leakage problem, just contact Amazon & they'll take care of you. Shany also offers a 2nd set of 24 polishes that are different from da colors/finishes in da set I have. Alas, they have been out of stock for a while now, but I'll keep checking cuz if they are as good as da one's I have, I'll be happy to make room for them in my collection.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

One Last Neon Gradient

Hello Dahlings!

 

This is the last of my pre-SU convention test nails...really! I promise!!! I won't tell you its da last neon gradient you'll ever see on my blog, but no more pink/purple/blue ones for at least a few weeks. Ironically, I didn't use any of the polishes I tested for my SUcon  mani/pedi.

 

 Da line up: Orly Day Glow, Savvy Party Pink, Sinful Colors Dream On,

China Glaze Splish Splash & Color Club Diamond Drops.

 

 2 coats of Day Glow. It was getting kinda thick (perfect for stamping!) so I added a few drops of thinner & ended up with bubbles. Blerg. I no like bubbles in my undies!

 

I added da gradient using a bit of sponge. Party Pink & Splish Splash are on da sheer side, so I did a 2nd sponged layer using just those 2 polishes. Dream On kinda got lost in da mix.

 

I topped da gradient with one coat of Diamond Drops. This polish drives me nuts! (short trip!) Da silver holo shards tend to sink to da bottom of da bottle between uses plus I have to fish them out & dab them on to get any kind of decent coverage. If I didn't love how it looks on my nails, I'd be tempted to franken with it or chuck it in da bin. Still, I like da shards of rainbow flitting about my nails, so I guess it can stay.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

Weirder Than Usual Wednesday ~ SUcon mani, pedi & hair!

Hello Dahlings!

 

At the time this was supposed to up on da blog last week, I was sweatin' my flip flops off in Salt Lake City, UT at da 25th Anniversary Stampin' Up! Convention & Mr. Inky was home dealing with 4 cats wondering where mom went.

 

Wanna see what all I did to decorate my inky self for da trip? This post has lots of pics & by lots I mean 14. One of those pics shows my pedicure, da rest are my mani & hair. You've been warned...

 

 Da line up: Shany 18, Finger Paints Pop Art Purple, Color Club All That Razz,

China Glaze Fairy Dust & Nubar Black Polka Dots.

 

 I started with 2 coats of Shany 18 over a UV gel base coat. This blue is unique to my stash & was part of the 24 polish set I got from Amazon. It tended to be patchy if I went over it, so da best application method is to use as few strokes as possible on da 1st coat & smooth it over with da 2nd coat. It dried really fast to a high gloss!

 

 I added a gradient with a bit of sponge using S18, Pop Art Purple & All That Razz. Da neons are a wee bit sheer, so PAP got 2 sponged coats & ATR got 3 to make them closer to da color in da bottles.

 

 I then added a coat of Fairy Dust for some sparklies.

 

 Followed with a coat of Black Polka Dot. This polish is a fine black matte glitter with small round matte black bits in a milky base that dries clear. I had to fish a bit to get at least one dot on each nail.

 

 STAMP

 

 IN UP!

 

 I did my toes to co-ordinate & put a 2 & a 5 on da big toes. Da skittled lil toes have Fairy Dust & Black Polka Dot over da base color.

 

I could have done da letters & #s with single rhinestones placed one at a time, but I used this sheet of self adhesive rhinestone letters from Hobby Lobby instead. (I'm silly, not toopid lol) I cut up a couple of slightly flawed letters to make da 2 & 5. I was going to finish my mani with Seche Vite UV gel top coat, but my hands reacted so badly to da UV when I did da base coat (they tend to go painfully numb from circulation issues & carpal tunnel in my fingers as it is) that I decided to skip that step & do a double layer of regular SV instead with my toes getting a single coat of regular SV. Me thinks I may have to either try an LED lamp for my once or twice a year gel manis or give up on doing them for when I travel. It's really, really hard to paint one's nails when one can't feel one's hands & they hurt with uber pins & needles. #8(

 

Now for da hair:

 

 Mr Inky & I did 3 beaching sessions over 2 days to get da rest of da hair with old drug store permanent dye all white so I wouldn't end up with green, burgundy or brown streaks when we dyed it. It took us almost 3 hours to apply da dye in random sections plus another 1 1/2 of wait time so da colors could absorb well. I normally need 3 oz of dye to do my hair with this type of semi-permanent dye that lasts 3-6 weeks on average & comes in 2oz tubes, 4oz jars & 4oz bottles. So I ended up with lots of left overs over da last year that we used for this color bomb. We used Color Jam Party Pink, Manic Panic Ultra Violet (my fav color of da bunch) as well as Ion Brights Violet, Fuchsia & Aqua. I buy all of my bleaching & dying supplies from Sally's Beauty Supply.

 

Uni, uni, uni-corn! My bangs getting their aqua tipping.

 

Mr Inky's t-shirt when we were done. I told him to either go topless or wear a shirt he didn't care about...he opted for da shirt & took great childish pleasure in wiping his gloved hands on his shirt when they got too goopy.

Yeah, a few of those paw prints are mine. LOL

 

 My head is tipped back so you can see da top of my head.

My hair only goes to da middle of my back, not my waist.

 

 A closer look at da front...da purple streak is da Ultra Violet. Yummy! Da light in da bathroom kinda washed out da color in da mirror pic, but this one really shows da true colors of my hair. I don't follow da Ion sealer directions to apply sealer & wash out after 15 minutes. I leave it in over night & tend to get 8+ weeks of color over da average of 3-6 weeks. It will fade a lil every time I wash it (it looks like I slaughtered a cartoon character in da shower for da 1st week or 2 after I do a dye job lol) but I love how this turned out & will enjoy it while it lasts.

 

So there you have it, my sucon 2013 nails & hair. Me likey!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

 

 

More Neon Gradient Fun!

Hello Dahlings!

 

Is it Monday already? 

On to today's mani show & tell...

 

 Da line up: Orly La Vida Loca, Sinful Colors Dream On & Shock And Awe

plus Hard Candy Black Tie Optional.

 

 2 coats of La Vida Loca

 

 I added a gradient with a bit of sponge with da colors reversed on ring

& thumb for accent nails.

 

Finally one coat of Black Tie Optional followed with a coat of Seche Vite.

BTO is kinda gloopy & hard to spread around...thinner time.

This mani was another contender for SUcon.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

Does It Stamp? ~ More L.A. Colors!

Hello Dahlings!

I apologize for my lack of posts! I though I'd scheduled them to go up while I was gone, but they obviously didn't. #8(
 

I'll be home soon & unconscious in bed not long after that. I is a seriously pooped Inky!

 

Here are some more L.A. Colors polishes that can be used for stamping:

 

Illusion 521 & Blue Paradise 332

 

Perfect Plum 471, Nuclear Energy 563 & Fun In The Sun 588

 

 Sparkling Fuchsia 459, Phenomena 423 & Fiji Purple 651

 

 Paradise Pink 579 & Electrified 575

 

Lightening 586 & Fuel 568

 

 Black Velvet 384 & Black Pearl 472

 

Live 570 & Energy Source 656

 

Energy Source really surprised me with how opaque it was over black.

I really didn't expect it to work that well.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

Monday Quickie ~ Neon Funky Frenchies!

Hello Dahlings!

 

Eeek! 2 days from now I'll be on a plane headed for SLC. I still have lots to do & hope sleep is in there somewhere. LOL

 

I recently went on a polish spree with orders to Amazon, Llarowe, Born Pretty Store & Cassie Cosmetics, on top of some local buys (I'm hoping my BPS holos arrive up before I leave!) & I scored some yummy new neons! I couldn't decide what I wanted to wear 1st, so I decided to start with 4 of them...

 

 Da line up: Color Club Harp On It, Shany 10, Finger Paints Pop Art Purple, Nina Ultra Pro Violet It Ride, Color Club All That Razz & Finger Paints Warhol Wannabe. (Can you tell I went to  Sally's Beauty Supply? LOL All That Razz is from Llarowe & da black is part of a set of 24 polishes made by Shany that I got from Amazon.)

 

I started with 2 coats of Harp On It. All of da Halo Hues are totally worth da money! All 12 are strong linear holos that go on fairly smooth & look fantabulous! I did funky French tips using da neons: pinky & thumb ~ Warhol Wannabe, ring ~ All That Razz, middle ~ Violet It Ride, index ~ Pop Art Purple. I added a skinny stipe of Shany 10 using my Essence skinny striper & sealed it all with a coat of Seche Vite.

 

I wore this for 4 days & couldn't stop staring at my nails or decide which neon I liked best! LOL Mr Inky & I went for sushi & 1 of da gals working there dove for my hand to see my mani. We chatted about nails for a few mo's while Mr Inky rolled his eyes & pulled plates off da belt. He got a really good laugh when da gal sitting around da corner from us told me she liked my hair. Good thing he's amused by peeps reaction to my nails & hair! LOL

 

I'm hoping to write up 2-3 posts & schedule them for while I'm gone, but between what I have to do for my trip & my totally techtardness, this may or may not work. If it doesn't, I'll be back Sunday & will post if I have da energy or Monday after I've gotten some rest.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky 

Does It Stamp? ~ L.A. Colors!

Hello Dahlings!

 

Time is flying fast as I get ready for my trip! My hair is done. Tonight I'll do my uv mani & tomorrow I'll get my face & feet done at Posh Nail Spa, so I can do my pedi tomorrow night. Even with all this to do, I didn't forget about my blog, not completely, tho' I did space last Monday's post & nobody noticed! Teach me to think my blog means anything.  Life has a way of keeping me humble. *laughing uproariously*

 

So you may have noticed that other than Electrified & Live (both have a metallic foil finish that tends to work well for stamping), I haven't really included L.A. Colors polishes in this series. Mostly due to then seeming rather sheer & needing 2-3 coats for opacity, thus not likely to work well. As I got to the bottom of da pile of polishes I thought might work I decided to test this line even tho' I didn't have high hopes for them. Boy was I wrong! While some didn't work, many did & here's the 1st post showing which one's I have that did past my stamp over black test:

 

 Animated 540, Magnetic Force 562 & Dessert Dune 463

 

Golden Treasure 454 & Force 410

 

Wave Length 570 & Shock 567

 

Current 657, Sea Siren 580 & Static Electricity 569

 

Radiation 572 & Wired 566

 

The colors show up better in person & would look even better with top coat. Are they da best polishes to stamp with? Not so much, but they do show up over black & that's my bottom line when testing a polish for stamping. These are mostly crèmes & a few almost metallic looking shimmers. Crèmes that stamp are hard to find, so I'm all yippy skippy that these worked as well as they did for $1-$2 polishes. Most of my L.A. Colors I picked up at Dollar Tree, the rest at Fred Meyer for $2, tho I did find a 6 pack at Ross for $7 once.

 

If your budget is tight, these are worth a try!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky