26 Great Nail Art Ideas Presents ~ Christmas or Childhood Memory

Happy Holodays, Dahlings!

My mani this go around is a Christmas memory,

but not from my childhood...

 My mom & I started doing Christmas stockings for each other 

(& whoever else was in our lives at the time) back in the late '80's.

I was all grown up at that point, but we thought it was fun

& have continued to celebrate Christmas

by opening our stockings on Christmas Day ever since.

We also have the fun of shopping for stocking stuffers all year round,

starting on December 26th

when we do our Boxing Day after X-mas sale shopping. 

 Serum No5 Guiding Light

Hit the Bottle Spun Gold

China Glaze Red Pearl

Sinful Colors San Francisco*

Not shown ~

Bundle Monster BM - S219

 *San Francisco is a bit of a stainer!

Those lil yellow spots are where SF was

& I only wore this mani  for 2 days.

Both SF & Red Pearl wanted to smear during clean up

after applying the decals I had made.

 At least this part went as planned.

>^. .^<

As visions of catnip & mousies dance in Ciri's head...

May you & yours have the happiest of holidays,

no matter what you celebrate!

~ Inky

An InLinkz Link-up

26 Great Nail Art Ideas Presents ~ Bugs!

Happy Howdy-days, Dahlings!

Our manis this time feature bugs.

Not wanting to do the obvious,

I asked Mr Inky for his input & did this...

 He suggested beetles using a multichrome.

Yes, I'm holding a Louboutin bottle.

Hit the Bottle Chromeo

Christian Louboutin Lady Page

Christian Louboutin Scarabee II

(no longer available, but you can see my mani using it HERE)

Hit the Bottle To Have & To Gold

Not shown:

Creative Shop plate 50

Dixie Plates Marbled 01

Clear Jelly Big Bling Stamper

Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

 One of these nails is not like the others! LOL

My Inky decided he wanted one nail painted for 24 hours

with my early stocking stuffer, Louboutin Lady Page.

(He also got me Rouge Louboutin Metalissime.

What can I say...He's a keeper!)

>^. .^<

Alas, Ziggy is no longer with us.

He poor old body finally gave out.

Current Cathouse membership (from left to right) ~

Diva, Ciri, Luna & Jazz

Thanks for stopping by

& please visit the others

to see what Great Nail Art Ideas

they have for you!

~ Inky

An InLinkz Link-up

26 Great Nail Art Ideas Presents ~ Reciprocal Gradients

Happy Back Friday, Dahlings!

This go-around, we're showing you ideas for doing reciprocal gradients.

This technique is an up-scaled version of a basic gradient.

It does take longer to do, but the results are worth the time!

 The trick is to let all polish layers dry thoroughly,

then adding a quick dry top coat,

then letting that dry thoroughly as well,

before applying the vinyl stencils.

I did not follow my own advice.

I ended up taking way too long to do this mani,

swearing a blue streak pretty much the whole time

& being very grateful for Mildred's Magik

cuz it hides a multitude of sins under holo rainbows.

If I can't be a good example, I'll settle for being a horrible warning.

NK Nails Really White

(I got this at an independent beauty supply store.)

Serum No5 Ultra Violet

Serum No5 Lavendaringly Bright

Serum No5 Indi-glo

Serum No5 50 Shades of Earl Grey

Anonymous Lacquer Magik

Not shown, but very important ~

Bundle Monster 13pc Nail Vinyl Bundle - Super Sized Collector's Set

I chose these colors to match my newly dyed hair.

As usual, my nails look better with the lights off. LOL

>^. .^<

Ciri & Diva are getting along better,

but we know who's in charge.

Speak to my tiny paw! LOL

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky

An InLinkz Link-up

26 Great Nail Art Ideas Presents ~ Animal Print inthe Wrong Colours

Howdy Dahlings!

Today I have for you a mani featuring
an animal print in the wrong colors!

 I went with neon tiger.

I didn't get a line up photo, but I do know what I used

& where you can get it for yourself.

The Sorting Polish ~ Intelligence from The Lady Varnishes

This is a lovely, soft gray linear holo that is both
a solar color changing polish AND it glows in the dark.
I did need 3 coats for opacity, but it was worth it.

Hit the Bottle High Voltage Violet & I Pink, Therefore I Am! 

These new neon stamping polishes are wonderfully opaque

over both dark & light polishes.

They do, however, dry faster than the other HTB stamping polishes.

Using 2 colors meant I wasn't moving fast enough
to get complete images,

but since tiger stripes aren't always continuous, I think it works.

I will need to practice moving faster when using these,
but they're worth it!

Bundle Monster plates BM-S151 & BM-XL08

 We've entered the wet season here, no sun to speak of,

so I used Del Sol's trick of putting my nails
under UV light to see the change.

Intelligence turns blue in the sun...

 ...and blue in the dark!

I'm not a Harry Potter fan,

but I am a HUGE fan of Kirsten's glow-in-the-dark polishes!

>^. .^<

We have a new baby! 

A neighbor found her wandering about last week

& as she's way too young (about 8 weeks old) to be on her own outside,

I took her in with the thought that she's better off indoors,

in a cat friendly environment, until her human shows up.

Good thing I did cuz it snowed that night

& she would have been hard pressed to survive.

It's been a week & nobody has been looking or put up posters.

I'm keeping her.

I've named her Diva cuz she acts like one.

She a snuggler that likes to play & just too cute.

Ciri's still not sure what to think of his new lil sis,

but I saw them touch noses & they've been playing tag.

Luna, Ziggy & Jazz don't mind.

They accepted Ciri & they've accepted Diva.

Thanks for stopping by

& please check out the mani ideas

the others have for you!

~ Inky

An InLinkz Link-up

26 Great Nail Art Ideas Presents ~ Halloween with Negative Space!

Howdy Dahlings!

It's my fav time of year & we're showing you ideas

for Halloween manis using negative space.

I did this...

 I'm not fond of this concept.

Mostly because my nails have gel enhancements

(they don't always look nice enough let them show)

& are stained yellow from constant polish wearing.

So I opted to modify it a bit.

 After applying peel off basecoat,

I applied the pumpkin head gitd with tiny iridescent glitters polish.

Then I added a coat of the Sally Hansen Big Smokey TC.

It has a bit of shimmer, but the formula is crap.

It goes on streaky, dries gritty

& can get more streaky when fast dry top coat is added. 

I used Moyra Black with Dixie plate Halloween 2017

& Clear Jelly Big Bling Stamper to add the zombie action.

I finished with a coat of Seche Vite.

 Putting the Smokey tc over the gitd

did give a spectral effect to the glow,

but alas, unlike most of my gitd polishes,

this one has a hard time charging from ambient light,

so my nails don't glow all night long.

Sadness!

~~~

 My Halloween tree is a good cure for my mani blues!

This year I went with white skull lights, little purple lights,

purple & white ornaments & a witch on top.

Both Halloween Jack Skellington

& Christmas Jack are a must for my Halloween tree!

My neighbors are used to my weirdness.

Some like it & tell me so, while others say nothing. LOL

I'm gonna be me!

Thanks for stopping by

& please visit the others!

~ Inky

An InLinkz Link-up

26 Great Nail Art Ideas Presents ~ Friday the 13th

We're Back, Dahlings!

The Crumpet's Nail Tarts are now known as 26 Great Nail Art Ideas!

This means every other week for the next year,

I & the others will share our mani ideas for whatever the prompt is.

Basically...the new challenge is just like the old challenge. LOL

We're starting with the prompt: Friday the 13th

I did this...

 I'm not superstitious

& this was the 1st idea that popped into my head.

If this imagery means nothing to you, go check out this. 

 Unt Ready for Takeoff peel off base coat

Serum No5 Pure Glow Getter & Lights Out

Anonymous Lacquer Magik

Moyra Black & Sally Hansen Red nail art pen.

(These pens are available pretty much anywhere SH polishes are sold.)

Not pictured ~

Sugar Bubbles plate SB 001

For the past few years,

I've used clear liquid latex as a base coat when swatching,

but it doesn't work for manis that I want to last over night,

let alone a week.

I use a franken base that works great for my regular manis,

but this requires acetone to remove & my aging skin no likely.

I recently binge watched all of Simply Nailogical's videos.

I decided to try the Unt peel off base coat after watching this video:

Best Peel Off Base Coat

Cristine has natural nails & has worn manis using this base

for up to a week without premature peeling issues.

How well would it work on my gel enhanced nails?

I did today's mani on Monday night.

I have been washing my hands & lubing as usual

with no evidence of peeling.

Will it come off my nails without messing up my fresh gel overlays?

 Yep! Too bad my free hand drawing skills didn't turn out as well. LOL

I lubed up the edges around the polish & gently lifted with the pointed end

of a fine metal file until the polish started to come up.

I then used a plastic cuticle pusher to lift the polish shell from my nail.

Something that worked as well in real life as it did in the video!

A note on using the SH nail art pens ~

If you get the 'ink' in these pens on your skin,
it may not come off with just acetone alone.

I used rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab
to remove any residual red while doing this mani

& will probable have to do so again
to get the lil bits of left overs off all my nails.

 You didn't think I'd forget to do this, did you? Really?

>^. .^<

Meowmy, don't let dat scary hooman get me, k?

Thank for stopping by

& please visit the other GNAI Ladies!

~ Inky

P.S. You can find us using #26greatnailartideas

or #26gnai in Instagram & Facebook

My instagram @jenna_inkywhiskers 

An InLinkz Link-up

Crumpet's Nail Tarts Presents ~ 26 Nail Art Ideas ~ My Signature Style

Howdy Dahlings!

Alas, this is the last prompt of
The Crumpet's Nail Tarts 2016-17 nail art challenge.

Debbie Crumpet has moved on to other adventures,

so the group is pondering starting a new group
with a new year long challenge.

Stay tuned nail art fans, I'll let you know what's what when I know.

On to the nails!

Looking back over my manis of the last year,

methinks it's safe to assume I like pink, purple & blue polishes,

cats & skulls/skeletons done with nail stamping plus holo blinginess.

For this one I used:

Big T Ranch Unicorn

This is a pink when warm, purple when cool thermal

with small blue & scattered holo bits.

I stamped using:

Moyra Black with Powder Perfect Halloween 1 plate

& Clear Jelly Big Bling Stamper. 

Oh wait! Did I forget to mention my most signature nail move...

 You had to know by now that the odds

of my nails glowing in the dark were pretty high!

Yes, Unicorn is a pretty thermal polish by day

& an awesome glow in the dark polish at night!

My thumb says it all.

>^. .^<

Gimme Unicorn claws, Meowmy!

Thanks for stopping by

& please go say 'Hi' to the other Tarts!

~ Inky

An InLinkz Link-up

CNT Presents ~ 26 Great Nail Art Ideas ~ Dotting Tools, But Not Just Dots

Hello Dahlings!

Can you believe we're down to the last 3 prompts?

Where the hell as the year gone?

Anywho, for this round we're doing dotting tools,

but not just dots.

I did this...

 Where are the dots?

I didn't make any.

I use my dotters most often

to color in stamped DIY decals

or reverse stamping.

I find it easier than using a tiny brush.

 Cotton Granny Panties franken undies

Nabi Rose Pink #23, Fuchsia #06* & Sky Blue #16

Messy Mansion Carbon

Not Shown ~

Dixie Plates DP08 Polynesian

*I had a fading issue with both

the Nabi Fuchsia #06 used in this mani

& the Princessa #540-08 neon purple I used last time.

They applied normally, but within a few days

started fading in a rather tie dyed manner. 

I don't know if this was due to sun exposure

(they didn't do this in the past)

or the pigment breaking down with age.

I've had the Nabi gitds for almost 5 years

& the Princessas for over 4 years.

The other colors used didn't have this issue,

but I thought y'all should be aware that this happened.

 They still glowed mighty fine!

>^. .^<

Meowmy's lil helper!

Thanks for stopping by

& please visit the other Tarts!

~ Inky

An InLinkz Link-up

CNT Presents ~ 26 Great Nail Art Ideas ~ End of Summer

Hello Dahlings!

Life in the Inky household is finally settling down!

At least enough for me to do my nails

without stressing over what isn't getting done,

cuz I'm taking time for myself to paint my nails.

This time the Tarts have mani ideas featuring the End of Summer.

I did this...

 Western Washington spent several very hot weeks

breathing the smokey air from eastern British Columbia, Canada.

I chose to do a stylized version of our sunsets

during this time for this mani.

 Over a million acres burned & breathing crunchy air really sucked,

but all the particulates in the air did fascinating things for our sunsets.

This is an actual photograph of a sunset, not a moon rise!

I'm just so glad that the fires are out or at least under control

& that the winds have shifted & cleaned the air.

Why did I choose the colors I did?

 To match my new hair colors, of course! LOL

 From left to right ~

Cotton Granny Panties franken

Big T Ranch & Soap Little Dipper

Princessa #540-08

Big T Ranch & Soap Shooting Star

Hit the Bottle Blue-tiful

not shown ~

Clear Jelly Big Bling Stamper

Uber Chic Mini Great Outdoors stamping plate

 You had to know by now that this pic was coming! LOL

>^. .^<

Dat crunchy air no tasted good, Meowmy.

Me likes dis catnip toy from da Crazy Cat Lady box much better!

Thanks for stopping by

& please check out the awesome mani ideas

the other Tarts have for you!

~ Inky

An InLinkz Link-up