Happy New Year

I hope the new year brings wonderful things for all of us. Better health, better financial situations, happy moments and lots of creativity. Thank you for sharing this creative journey with me, and thanks for all your encouragement in its many forms. I love you guys!

Now I'll go lie down, because it's time for another dose of Nyquil, and that stuff makes me stupid. Happy new year, everyone!

*koff*koff*

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A Quick Heads Up... Townley Girl Polishes Are AWESOME!!

This is a very quick post because I am exhausted after a busy day, and we've got a busy day tomorrow as well. However, I found something amazing I need to share with you...

If you have a WalMart within driving distance, you need to go look at their sale stuff. Tonight while browsing I found a kit by Townley Girl that included 5 magnetic polishes and 4 magnets for $4.88. Since all holiday items are now 50% off, that means I got that kit for $2.44!

I debated whether I should get it because it's a child's kit, technically a toy. It says it's for 8 and up, but I figured it's $2.44 and I'm over 8, so if it's junk it's no big deal, right? And OMG, THEY ROCK!!! I don't have time or energy for a full review, so check back in a few days, but in the meantime? GO BUY THIS IF YOU CAN!!!

Seriously, they rock. I can't even say this enough... If you like magnetic polishes, you will want these. It also looks as if you may be able to buy the kit for full price online here, so check it out if you're interested.

Love and hugs,

I LOVE SALES!!!!!

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Whatever holiday you celebrate, I hope it's been filled with love and laughter, with joy and comfort and all the things you could hope for. My holiday has been amazing, and I feel like the greatest gift I received this year is something that isn't for sale, something that can't be bought. I'm finally regaining some of my physical strength and stamina, and it feels so, so wonderful.

I'm eagerly looking forward to the coming year. Something tells me it's going to be a good one!

Ho ho ho. :D

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Tis the Season for Apocalyptic Dreams...

Some of you may be aware of this, while others aren't. I have REALLY messed up sleeping patterns. For example, I went to sleep around 10am yesterday, Christmas Eve, and woke up today, Christmas, at 6:30pm. I had the STRANGEST dreams that kept getting more and more apocalyptical as I slept.

Started out with me dreaming I was going to go to fairy school. Because of course, I'm a fabulous fairy. However, awesome fairy school turned into dreams of the apocalypse, complete with a beautiful-but-evil guy who was trying (and somewhat succeeding) in breeding earth life forms with... demon stuff? And I was so stupid that I was in love with him before I figured out how evil he was...

Then I was trying to run away, but he kept following me and getting me back. He had this huge underground lair, and there was technicolor in the dream, and smells... HORRIBLE smells. My brain clearly hates me, and doesn't let me dream happy things. I can't even dream I'm naked for my 10th grade English test, either.. I have  to dream about the destruction of life as we know it.

Stupid brain. I hope your Christmas is going better. Merry Christmas everyone, and happy holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas. Whatever you celebrate, I hope it's fantastic.

Blah blah was provided by the brand for consideration.

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Last Sketchbook Update of 2013!

The year is winding down, and I'm sharing a last few sketches of the year. There's not much here, mainly because I've been fascinated by intricate patterns lately.

For those of you who don't know, I find drawing to be a wonderful thing. It helps distract me when I'm worried about something or having a bad fibro night. Because of this I tend to carry art supplies with me wherever I go. Nothing too fancy, just a notebook and some pens.

Ok, that's not quite accurate. I generally carry 4 black gel pens in different weights (from extra fine point to extra heavy), a few pencils and erasers, and something like 30 or 40 gel pens. And maybe a ruler or two, and maybe a couple of stencils for drawing circles or other shapes. Oh, and then there are the sharpies...

Let's just say I love color, lots and lots of color. I carry more art supplies than anything, because they're important to me. If you ever see me in public, I'll probably be doodling! But enough of that... on to the sketches!!

I doodled this onto a napkin after Thanksgiving dinner.

Flowers. I absolutely LOVE flowers. When we went to my dad's house for Thanksgiving, I wound up doodling on my napkin after we ate. I get really caught up in my head sometimes, so when I'm having a conversation, doodling something simple helps me focus on the conversation.

It sounds silly, but there are even studies to show that doodling can help people focus in meetings! Having a simple, mindless task certainly helps me turn off the internal chatter that seems to run through my head. That way I can actually pay attention to what's happening around me!

 
These three are related, although it's hard to tell. The left image is a copy of a drawing by Lorri-Marie Jenkins I'd found while browsing Stuffed magazine. I copied it, then colored it and added the white patterns. A few days later, I tried to draw some sketches in a similar style, but I don't feel like I captured it. Maybe it's my own style, but I don't really know. Then I did the strangest one... it started out being a woman, and then ... I don't know. It turned into some sort of woman/Dalek/duck combination. Don't ask, I don't have any answers.

But hey... this is how creativity works. Sometimes you get the Sistine Chapel, other times you get a woman with duck legs, a plunger, and... umm... whatever that silver thing is. They can't all be winners, right?

It's 6:40am, and I haven't been to sleep yet. Let's just show the rest of the sketches without much commentary, shall we?

This is the sort of intricate pattern I've been experimenting with. These take a long time to complete, but they're so much fun to do. I really, really love doing these!!

 

I hope your holidays are going wonderfully, and that you're having a joyous time. I'll see you soon!

Drawing supplies are cheaper than therapy. :D

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NailPolishCanada.com is giving away 3 BaByliss Miracurl’s ($600 value)

Have you seen the new BaByliss Miracurl? Apparently it's one of the hottest new hair tools, and it looks almost foolproof. How would you like to get your hands on one for free?

Enter NailPolishCanada.com! They're giving away not one but THREE Miracurls to the people who need them most! Is your hair flat and sad? Do people poke fun at you for your limp, lifeless hair? Does your partner yell about the time you spend trying to make your hair do something curly and pretty? Then you need to enter this giveaway!

Just look at how well this works... it's pretty flipping amazing if you ask me!



Let me share their description of things...

It’s a Christmas Miracurl! - NailPolishCanada.com is giving away 3 Babyliss Miracurls ($600 value)

Every holiday season millions experience a sense of sadness at the flatness in their life. In an effort to cope some find themselves straining important relationships.

I know my husband loves me, but another day where I’m running late trying to curl my hair in a mad dash is just a fight waiting to happen”  - Katie B

Could people go without curled hair? They could, but experts agree such a lack of regard and care is sure to result in a coal filled stocking.

“After the economic downturn Santa has had limited resources and he too has to make cuts, it’s not only naughty or nice anymore, but how you present yourself.” noted Mrs. Claus.

Today Nail Polish Canada has announced their plans to take a stand and solve this important issue with the Babyliss Miracurl. In just seconds the Miracurl literally sucks your hair right in, curls it, then beeps letting you know it's done.

In order to raise awareness Nail Polish Canada is giving away 3 Babyliss Miracurls, to whoever can convince us they are the most “in need” of one.

“This will impact people’s lives. Together we can make a Christmas Miracurl”  
- Nikki Smith, VP Glitter *This is our favorite pun ever and we’ve been using it around the office for weeks

Simply describe why you or a loved one is in need of a Christmas Miracurl at: http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/products/miracurl-by-babyliss.html

In the spirit of a true Christmas Miracurl the winners will be announced Christmas Day!

Notes about nominations: Feel free to stretch the truth a bit and most importantly have fun.

So scoot on over to NailPolishCanada.com and enter... I won't be far behind you!

Information and video were provided by the PR firm.
"Christmas Miracurl" photo illustration by Layniefingers.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Awesome Fan Submission!

I got the sweetest email last night. Earlier in October I got an email from a reader named Sara. She was having problems with the gradient/ombre tutorial I have up, and her sponge seemed to be melting into her polish, leaving little chunks of sponge in the polish on her nails. She wanted to know if I had any suggestions on how to remedy the situation.

I suggested she experiment with various sponges around the house. I also explained that if you test your sponges on paper, you don't have as much of a problem having to clean your nails over and over again til you find a sponge that works.

Last night I got another email from Sara, and this time she was successful! She was so sweet, and since she included a photo of her nails I wanted to share it with all of you. You guys are the reason I do what I d, after all!

Remember- if you use a technique or a design that's inspired by me, then snap a few photos or a video and share it with me. I'd love to see what you're doing!

Later!

If you use techniques or designs from my blog or videos, send me photos or a video. I love seeing what people do!

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Strange Dreams...

A few nights ago I had the strangest dream. Well, not strange for me, but strange in general. You see, for some reason I dream in technicolor, linear plotlines that often make some sort of sense even after I've awakened. This was no different.

For this one, I dreamed that I still lived with my parents, and that my parents were still married. I had a sister that was barely over a year old (which is odd, because I'm an only child), and I absolutely doted on her. The beginning of the dream was a succession of fun moments with the baby, as well as me going on a date with the guy I had a crush on from 6th grade through graduation.

Unfortunately, when I came home from that date, I found that my house was a bit of a disaster. My father had sold my baby sister to an unsavory type for about $4 and a bag of cocaine. (This is funny because my dad doesn't even like taking Tylenol, so the idea of him doing street drugs is about as likely as finding out that the Pope has a huge heroin problem.) The house was filled with strangers, and I was locked out.

Apparently all of the action movies I've been watching lately have seeped into my brain, because at that moment I went into action hero mode. The house in my dream had a huge wall of windows that reached floor to ceiling, and I went to work digging out the supports on either side of one window. I checked to make sure I had my guns, then made a running start at the window. I then jumped as high as I could, kicked the window down with both feet, and somehow landed with my gun out, aimed at a "bad guy."

Said bad guy looked at me and I shot. However, apparently I'm as much of a pacifist in my sleep as I am in life, because instead of having a gun that shot bullets, my gun shot tranquilizer darts. I shot three people at first, and two of them dropped like stones. However, the third just laughed at me and said, "Your gun only holds three shots."

Apparently he'd been taking the tranquilizer to build up an immunity to it, and he knew that one dose wouldn't take him down. His taunting infuriated me. My reaction?

I dropped my gun, reached behind me with both hands and pulled out two more tranquilizer guns, one in each hand, and shot him once with each one. He went down in a puddle, looking utterly confused as I continued taking down bad guys until I found my sister.

I woke up shortly after this, and just shook my head. My dreams are so weird.

If I could record my dreams as movies, I'd have lots of blockbusters.

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House of Harlow sunglasses - gorgeous, pink, and could be yours!

One of my best friends asked if I would do her a favor and post about an auction she has on eBay. Since she's awesome and one of my closest friends, I figured I would oblige. She'd do the same for me too if I needed her to.

SO, if you're in the mood for some luscious new sunglasses, you have definitely come to the right place. She's selling a gorgeous set of House of Harlow sunglasses in Grapefruit, which just happens to be almost the perfect shade of pink in my opinion. They even come with their own hard case!

So, if you're at all interested in a pair of designer sunglasses for a great price, hop on over to my friend's auction. You'll be glad you did!

I'll do just about anything for my friends. :D

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Experimenting with creating nail art using non-nail art items!

Do you ever get the urge to just play with your nail art supplies? I certainly do, and lots of times I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to end up with or if it's even going to work. The nails in this post show you some of my latest experiments.

This set of nails started when I found a certain pack of art supplies on sale. Serious sale, as in less than a dollar each. Of course I snapped up several of each, because I felt pretty sure they'd be snapped up in no time, which they were.

After playing with that purchase for a bit, I decided to try out another art supply to see if I could come up with something fun with them. Here are the results... can you guess how I did these?

I'll give you a hint- the top four are with one type of art medium, and the bottom three are a different one. So what do you think- do you have any idea how I did these? Leave me a comment giving me your best guess. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Some polishes may have been provided by the brand for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Drawing is wonderful for pain management!

You know, I'm dreading winter. If I'm flaring like this when the weather starts changing, I'm in for it. But hey, maybe this will be the winter that doesn't hurt me as much, right?

In the meantime, I've been doing lots of drawing and doodling. The above image is a background I painted, but the text was done in Photoshop. I have some more images too... enjoy!

Be aware, this is graphics-intensive. The images are optimized to load quickly, but there's still a ton of them.

I Return With the Fox!

My husband sent me this video this afternoon, and I absolutely laughed myself silly. Have you heard of Ylvis? If you haven't yet, you will. They're adorable, Norwegian, and hilariously funny. Seriously, watch this and laugh with me!



They have other ones, but they're questionably family-friendly, so I'll let you decide whether to track those down. It's not hard, just search for Ylvis on YouTube.

Foxes are awesome!

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Laynie Takes Your Requests!

It's that time again... I have a bazillion ideas, and I'm having absolute fits trying to narrow them down into something productive to work on. It's one of those things I struggle with from time to time, and it's really frustrating sometimes!

How can you help? Easy- leave me a comment telling me what sorts of videos you'd like to see from me. Do you want to see how I do galaxy nails, or perhaps a walkthrough of my local Dollar Tree while I point out goodies you might not realize you can use for nail art? How about just simple, sexy looks with a red color scheme? More rainbow stuff?

If I like your idea and feel like I can do it, I'll add it to my list of videos to make. (You know, the list I've been planning to make for years and am just now getting around to writing. I suck, I know. Sorry!)

So quick- leave me a comment and give me ideas! Thanks!

Watching old boy band videos is fun with friends!

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Jessica Fall Collection- a quick preview!

Enlarge this photo, it's worth it!

Wow!! I checked my mail a couple of days ago and was excited to find an unexpected box from Jessica Cosmetics. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but I absolutely ADORE Jessica polishes. The range of colors is fabulous and the quality is unbeatable. I couldn't wait to tear into this box and see what was there!

I wasn't disappointed. In the box was a set of 12 polishes that included the Fall 2013 collection and the Jessica Effects- Glitzy collection. That's right, it was a collection of glitter polishes that made my eyes almost pop out!

Oh yea, that's a LOT of testing!!

I was so excited that I had to experiment immediately. I pulled out my favorite notebook and began swatching on paper, and I was absolutely in LOVE!! (This page also includes the swatches from the latest Zoya collections. Expect a post on that soon as well!)

Seeing all of these colors together just made my afternoon, and I fell in love with two of the polishes. Usually when I get a collection, I let it sit for a while to come up with ideas that work with the colors. But not this time...

No, this time I couldn't wait to tear into this set and start wearing them. I started with two coats of Jessica Overture, a rich coppery, sparkling orange. I topped that off with a coat of Jessica Sizzle, an absolutely amazingly beautiful red glitter. The glitter in Sizzle comes in three sizes- a moderately large hex, a smaller hex, and then tiny pieces that are still larger than the microglitter in a lot of polishes.

These colors go so well together! I wasn't sure if red glitter over orange/copper polish would work, but ZOMG it SO DOES!! This is one of those manicures that just keeps me looking at my nails, loving how the light plays across them.

Of course, all this sparkle and shimmer made these nails almost impossible to photograph. I'll try to get some better ones tomorrow, but I'm not promising anything.

I've got the nails painted, so hopefully I can get the review of all the polishes up soon. I was just so happy that I had to share this! Hope you like it too.

Til next time!

Polishes were provided by the brand for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Shark Week - a Layniefingers animated tutorial

Hi everyone! Since it was Shark Week, I felt the urge to do something whimsical and maybe a bit on the gory side. Enjoy this quick animated tutorial I put together for you!

Sharks scare me. I'd rather swim in a pool...

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Neil Patrick Harris Dreams In Puppets!

Have you guys seen Neil's Puppet Dreams? If not, you're missing out. Seriously.

It's 5am and I've been up all night again with fibro funk, and then I found NEIL! These videos are hysterical... My laughter accidentally woke my husband TWICE during this video alone! He was not amused, but I sure was!!



This stuff is unreal!! Go watch, and subscribe, and fall in love just like I did!!

Neil Patrick Harris, can I be your best friend?

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