Again with the giving away of things? Already?

I'm in the strangest of moods today, so bear with me while I try and get out the fabbo news I have. This post is HUGE, so I'm going to put a jump in it,just to spare your brain, and my looking at it on my front page. But please, keep reading- I've made a heck of a discovery on how to make Konad & Essence stamps come out more nicely, more consistently, and darker than before! All that's after the jump, though.

First off, the uber-wonderful KellieGonzo of Also Known As is having a giveaway! Whee!! She's giving away a sweet little collection of goodies that I think anyone would love to receive. Just look!

Seriously, just look how cute this stuff is! Honestly, I can't imagine people not wanting to get this stuff. It's not like you have to go out to the mall, find a parking place out by the road and then schlep all the way inside the mall where now it's too cold, what with the air conditioning, then have to walk all the way down to the Sephora store just to pick up the items you see here, that is if they're even still in stock!

No, Kellie has saved you the effort of all of this. Instead, all you have to do is fill out her cute pink little form. (And yes, it really is pink, with really cute little paler pink flowers all over the background.) She asks three little questions, and then gives you extra chances to win!!

Now really, could it be any easier than that? I mean, sure, she could just decide out of the blue to send things to your house, hire a private investigator to get your address and then send it to you, so that you answer the door one morning to find your mail delivery person standing there with a package for you!

But that's not going to happen. This giveaway is, though, so go on, go enter! I can wait til you get back to share my news.

*waits patiently for you to return, organizing her polish box. Man, it's messy, I needed this!!*
*ponders organizing by color or by brand. Then again, my collection is so small, I can just organize by polish. "This is a polish. This is not a polish. Ohhh, this goes with the polishes... those don't, those go with the paints..."*

Oh, you're back! That was FAST! I told you! Ok, are you sitting down? This could be exciting for you.

Eclipse Giveaway at Tiana's Place!

Oooh, this looks fun! Are you totally into the Twilight madness? Well, Tiana of Tiana's Place is giving away a sweet collection of goodies- five polishes, four lip glosses, and an eyeliner pencil all branded with the lovely Eclipse logo. I can't lie, the colors look absolutely delicious!

This giveaway is open until July 31, 11:59pm. You've got a bit of time, but I wouldn't waste too much time waiting to join. She's also said that she's adding to the prize package as the time progresses, so this is a giveaway I'm looking forward to! Someone has to win, why couldn't it be you? I'll save you a spot! ;)

Wanna See My Uber-High-Tech Setup?

First off, let me say hello to all the new people following and visiting the blog. It makes me so happy to see new followers! I feel like I'm not talking to myself here, which is always a good thing!

So, I was talking to KellieGonzo about my setup for painting nail tips over Twitter. (I'm not all that interesting, but yes, you too can follow me- I'm MsLaynie on there.) I realized earlier tonight that my setup may be slightly different than most people. She wanted pictures, and that started me thinking it might be good to share with you folks.

More Essence Stampy Plates!!

Ok, you'll find this out sooner or later. I have more free time on my hands than I'd like. I have fibromyalgia, so I don't work. Sucks, but it gives me time to surf the web, I guess. When I'm interested in something, I tend to research and research and research, til I've exhausted the resources on the subject.

So, nail stamping. Sure, it started with Konad, then the BundleMonster plates, and finally there was the Essence Stampy Kit. But everyone was wondering... was there only one Essence plate? Would there be more? So of course, I've been digging around, looking to see if there are more, or would be more.

I hit pay dirt today. Don't ask me how, I've even forgotten the trail that let me here. I actually found an Italian(? maybe German?) shopping site that looked like it had more Essence plates. That triggered quite the google search, but I found them.



There are at least four more plates in production, and they're cute as can be. I really like the little skull image, and the cherries are pretty cute too. I found them at the Essence webpage, somehow. Again, I think it was the German version? You can follow the link on the image, and it'll get you there.



So for those of you who want to try more, all you have to do is figure out how to get someone in Germany to get you the set! They're inexpensive, from what I can tell. You know, not counting shipping. :D

Busy busy busy!

Oh my goodness, I am a crazy busy little bee! I've been finishing up sets of acrylic tips, simply because I adore them!! I can't do my own nails and be happy with it, no. That's not enough to satisfy my OCDness. No, I have to work on three sets at once...

But they are sweet. I don't even have the energy to write much right now, after dealing with the twenty-some odd photos I took of these. I forgot to take photos of the sets all together, so I have even more photos to take. I am a GOOBER, y'all! But just look... I has pictures!! Remember, you can click them and make them bigger!




This is all silver holographic glitter goodness! No polish to name, it's just glitter I had mixed in with clear topcoat. It was a beast to work with, but omg, I love it!


Gradient nails, from blazing red to hot pink. Then, kissed with a holographic topcoat. Does it get better than this?


Mmmm, rainbow nails. I wasn't sure about these, because they looked REALLY bad until I got the topcoat on. But once I added the holographic top coat, they came together and now I absolutely ADORE them!! This is serious rainbow love for your fingertips, and it's total magic!

Wow! Feels good to get that out and over with! Now, tomorrow I photo all the sets out and together, 20 nails per set. Yes, that's 60 nails I've finished up today, which feels AWESOME!! (Of course, I've been working on them for several days, but who's counting?)

*SPLAT* Manicure!

A while back, I was admiring the splat Konad plate (M21). It's extremely cute, and I was sad because I wanted to do something similar on my nails, but I don't have any Konad supplies. Then I saw someone on YouTube (I think?) paint their nails using a brush to get the splattered paint effect. So, I decided to give it a shot on my own.

First off, I started with two coats of Gosh Holographic. I absolutely adore this polish... I love it so much! I need to take some video of it outside, so that you can see the amazing holographic qualities it has. But for now, trust me... It's INSANE!

Unfortunately, using the holographic base for this design wasn't the best use for it. The splats covered up so much of it that the holographic beauty was lost, to a degree. It's a shame, really, because I really, REALLY liked the idea of having that rainbow goodness under the splats. But it's ok, I guess. I've learned that holos aren't necessarily that great under busy manicures. That's a good lesson to learn, so I won't be wasting any more of my precious Gosh Holographic under it!

After that, I started to add splotches with a tiny paintbrush. I used three coordinating shades (two pinks and a red), but I think next time I'll go for more variety in the colors. I used Love My Nails in Delicious (a moderately deep, somewhat dusty pink), Heaven Nail Lacquer in Ruby (an amazing red jelly with intense glitter), and Nail Fantasies in Peppermint Patty (a super hot pink). I basically did one or two splats per nail, alternating the colors somewhat randomly. I also tried to make some somewhat rounded blobs on some of the ends, just for fun.

Overall, I'm really happy with how this came out. I think more variety in the colors would be fun, of course, but overall this was LOTS of fun. I think I'd use a dotter for some of the ends of the splats, to make them rounder. Speaking of, I'll have to make a post about my oh-so-high-end dotting tools. I spent an afternoon with glue, tape, old dried-up pens and various items to make my own! They're even comfortable to use, until I can get some real ones. :D

So, what do you think?

Questions, questions...

I've always been weird. I know this for a fact, I've always looked at things as what they might be, instead of what they are. So while I can love all the new nail polish shades, the nail art goodies, etc, I also look at other things and think, "What if I put this on there instead..."

Do you do this? Do you stick to nail polish only, or do you look around at things on totally different departments and think, "Hey, I could use that for texture!" or "That would look AWESOME on my nails!" Do you look at the various bits and bobs to see what can be cross-purposed as nail bits?

For example, the rhinestones on my nails in the 4th July manicure aren't from a nail art kit. They're pre-glued rhinestones from a cell phone/laptop/planner decoration kit. However, when you compare them to the rhinestones I got in a different nail art kit, the only difference is the color and the glue. Plus, I got them on MAJOR sale... 30 cents at Office Depot. I didn't know what I would use them for, but they were too pretty to pass up!

I also use acrylic paints on my nails often. I've heard of/seen people using fabric paints, various glitters, labels from various candies, etc. I'm always looking at things, wondering if I could use them in a different way than they were intended to be used.

So tell me- what's the strangest thing you've put on your nails? Is there anything you wouldn't use?

Also- go check out the Hungry Asian's giveaway, it is a CRAZY amount of polishes! 17 polishes and a pack of artificial nails! But first, leave me a comment about what you do... I'm hoping I'm not the only one who sees the world as a variety of art materials just waiting to be used!