Even MOAR dots!

Ahhh, raise your hand if you knew I was going to add to the dots. I didn't even wait 10 minutes before hitting post before getting my polishes out. Yea, I have no self-control.

Still, I think it turned out pretty cute. I showed my husband the before and after pics, and he likes the dots-in-dots best. He thinks there's more energy to them. Personally, I think they're just more fun this way!

Adding the smaller dots was really easy. I pulled out the three colors I'd used in the gradient along with the mid-sized dotting tool and my palette. I added a drop of lavender, put a few dots here and there, then repeated with the pink and the blue. Once I'd done all three colors, I went back and filled in any leftover dots with whatever color I thought would work best.

It was pretty random, and went really quickly. I'm enjoying the look a lot... every time I see my nails, I grin. The only thing that would make this even better would be some glitter, but even I think that would be a bit much. At least... for now. ;)

I have to admit, though... now that I've figured out an easy way to do gradients I may be doing LOTS of them! I have so many ideas bouncing around in my mind!

So what do you think? Is this a design you'd wear? Leave me a comment and tell me how you'd style this, or how you'd change it!

Why yes, I think I AM losing my mind... how kind of you to notice!

See my disclosure statement for more information.

I'm seeing spots! I call this one ElectroDots!

After wearing the pastel gradient for a day, I needed something else with a bit of graphic pop. I thought about zebra stripes, or a leopard print. I thought about plain stripes. But I decided to go with plain old polka dots.

Speaking of, have you ever wondered where the term polka dots originated? I'm a bit of a word geek, and decided to track it down the other day. Turns out, the dotted pattern was named for a dance called the polka in the 1850s. The dance was such a craze that there were lots of things named after it! It was that crazy pop music of the time, apparently. Call that your weird fact of the day.

Unfortunately, my dots aren't nearly as neat as I'd hoped they would be. I'm still getting the hang of using my dotting tools again! Still, I'm really happy with these, and they look much better at normal viewing distance. (You know, when the camera isn't making my nails as big as my head!)

I chose Gothic Lolita from the Electropop collection because it went to perfectly with these colors. I promise I'm going to use some other colors eventually, but I love these so much! This was one giveaway prize I was thrilled to win, because these colors have my name all over them!

The process couldn't be more simple. I pulled out my palette (which is actually a packet of nail decals) and put a drop of Gothic Lolita onto it. Then I used my largest dotting tool to make dots on my nails. It's really super easy.

Now, you may find it hard to do a consistent pattern. I've struggled with that as well, so this is how I worked around it. I start with a dot in the center of my nail, then put one above it and below it (in a line). Then I go in between the dots to one side, and then to the other. I also try and put partial dots where they would be if they're going off the nail. That always makes things look nicer to me. I quick clean up with my brush and acetone and I'm ready to go! It ends up looking something like this.

Unfortunately, now that they're on, I'm strongly tempted to put small dots inside the big ones. I can never leave well enough alone, but how cute would little dots in the pastel colors look, with the purple framing them?

Sometimes my brain just won't stop tormenting me with ideas. It gets tiring!

Aah well, check back tomorrow to see what I've done with them. Who knows!

I only wish I got paid for every post I made using the China Glaze Electropop collection...

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Nontraditional Valentine Nails

I'm not all that into Valentine's day. I've never been a fan of pink, and I think people should tell their loved ones how they feel more often than once a year. I'd much rather get a bouquet of flowers to celebrate Thursday, or slow dance in the rain just because we can.

However, I know I'm probably in the minority there, so I figured I'd try some nail designs to celebrate all things hearts and flowers. Then there were these designs, which have the right colors but seem to be missing the hearts. (They're also missing skill, but hopefully you guys can forgive me for that...)

I fully intended to write down all the polishes I used for these, but ended up using WAY too many polishes while I was working. Seriously, my husband came in while I was painting, shook his head at seeing the bed covered in polish bottles and nails on skewers stuck in styrofoam to dry, and walked back out. He might have said something about me making a giant mess, or how stinky the polish was, or maybe how crazy I am.

It's ok, he knows how artists are. He's one too!

I have to admit, I'm really liking the dotted nail. Those colors really make me happy! Maybe pink isn't so bad...

Polishes may have been provided by manufacturers for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Seeing Spots- some nail doodling to tide us over...

Hi y'all! I'm still coughing my fool head off and feeling gross, so I dipped into my photo archives to share something I did not too long ago while I was doodling. Sometimes I enjoy just putting various polishes together to see what I can come up with.

I'd love to tell you what polishes I used for this design, but I can't. Most of those colors I mixed myself from various polishes in my collection, and I honestly don't remember how I achieved them. However, this is a very simple look to achieve.

First, I imagined a V going down the center of my nail. I painted the three base colors, one in each triangle. After that dried, I began adding dots with whatever color I thought would mesh well with the backgrounds. I started with the large silver center dots on the turquoise bit, then added smaller pink dots on top of the silver ones. Finally I filled in the blank spaces with the sparkly blue dots. The side triangles are more simple. Finally I added black stripes to better separate the three sections. A quick coat of topcoat finished things off!

Hopefully I'll be feeling enough better to get a post up soon. If not, I'll dig into the archives again! Til next time!

The robots are coming to take me away!! :D

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Simple Nail Art Using Stuff In My Purse

Have I ever mentioned that I have a short attention span? Not all the time... sometimes I can sit and focus on one thing for hours at a time. But I like to be doodling at the same time, either sketching on paper or sometimes on my jeans or my shoes. Last night it just happened to be my nails I was doodling on.

I'd gotten some nail art pens to play with, and so right before I was ready to walk out the door, I decided to throw on a coat of silver nail polish using my Sally Hansen Color Quick Chrome in Silver. These pens are sort of strange at first, but I quickly got the hang of it. It's important to get enough polish into the brush. Otherwise, you end up with lots of problems with the polish drying in the brush and smearing the polish on your nails. Not pretty, but easily enough avoided. When you first open your pen, be sure to shake the heck out of it while it's closed, then click the top 5-6 times, until the polish is flowing nicely. When things get dry, click again for more polish.

It's a very sweet system, and in less than 10 minutes my nails were polished and dry! I even added some gold polka dots on top using the Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in Gold. So, so easy, and kind of cute. I was very impressed, and ready to go in no time flat.

My family and I had gone to play cards, and I quickly felt like doodling. Before long I'd pulled out my Bic Wite-Out correction pen and started adding more dots to my nails. This was high-tech stuff, kids! It was interesting, but not enough... So then I grabbed my black Pilot G2 to add more dots and circles. This was it, and I absolutely loved the end result! I was scared it would smear, so I photo'd it without benefit of a topcoat. But surprise, surprise, it lasted just fine with the topcoat! Who knew?

This look could also be dressed up with some rhinestones or small flat-backed pearls. You could add one or two randomly to each nail or you could add several stones to one nail as an accent nail. You could even put chunky glitter on over this, although that might be a bit much!

So, today's lesson is that anything you find can be fair game for nail art. Don't be afraid to experiment with what you have on hand. You don't have to use fancy, expensive polishes and nail art tools. Sometimes the simplest things work too!

Nail art & polish pens were provided by PR for evaluation.
See my disclosure statement for more information.