Happy Holidaze the ninth- A-stamping we will go!

Hiya, folks... today's art is a quick one because for some reason I am absolutely wiped out today! Maybe it has something to do with the fact I only slept 1 hour last night... ;)

This is a very simple project, yet beautiful and appropriate for just about anything! A deep blue background is set off by silver stamping. This is further accented by placing a swarovski crystal in the center of the ruffled-looking section. That's it, and it could be changed up easily by choosing any deep jewel-toned polish as a background.

See you tomorrow!!

Christmas Shopping With Layniefingers!

I can't believe how close we are to Christmas. This year has absolutely FLOWN by! Every year my dad asks me for a list of things I want, and so I've been browsing on the web. I've seen some cute things, both big and small. I figured I'd share some of the cute finds with you!

First off, I am absolutely NUTS about penguins!! Since I don't do so well with cold weather, I've been really digging the fleecy pajama pants. Target to the rescue! Look at this adorable set of Nick and Nora penguin pajamas! OMG, I could die happy in those. Or perhaps you're more into the footed pjs, in which case this set from Pajama City has you covered... totally covered! (ha ha, I crack myself up... totally covered!!)

Ok, maybe you aren't a pajamas kind of person. Maybe you like shiny things, in which case Dreams of Glass should be right your style. They make handmade lamp-worked jewelry that is absolutely stunning. I really, really like this pendant- the blues and purples sparkle in such an eye-catching way. It's pretty, but not over-the-top... it's totally me! Plus, it comes on a totally sweet 1.5mm Sterling Silver Box chain, so you don't have to worry about what to put it on.

Finally, there's the top of the list, the thing I want most but wouldn't really expect anyone to buy for me. Well, except maybe Bill Gates or some other uber-rich celebrity who wants to donate to the poor. *grin* I have had my heart set on a new Nikon DSLR for ages. Don't get me wrong, I would be totally happy with a D5000, which is still pretty expensive but OMG it shoots HD MOVIES!! But if I'm dreaming, why not dream big? Look at the D3X- it is a photographer's wet dream, $8000 worth of it. But omg, it would be so sweet...

So Bill, if you're watching, I've been a very good girl this year! If you wanna play Santa, you know where I am!

Happy Holidaze the eighth- Dollar Tree striping tape?

It's been a crazy time full of alternative sources for nail embellishments here at Layniefingers! I've been absolutely bombarded with ideas lately, and I find myself pulling my notebook out at the strangest times when I have an idea. If I didn't carry my sketchbook with me everywhere, I swear I would get nothing done!

Take today's nail art. I've been interested in experimenting with striping tape for quite some time now, but I'm too frugal to invest in any. Imagine my surprise when I was wandering through my local Dollar Tree and I happened to look over at their Christmas decorations and see the packet of silver holographic tinsel! Gee, self, I thought to myself, that looks surprisingly like striping tape!

Remember, you can click this picture for a larger version!

I picked up a packet and now have enough striping tape to last me the rest of my life! Seriously, this stuff goes a long way! It was very simple to use, too! I did two layers of blue polish (can't remember which blue, unfortunately, but feel free to use whatever color you like), then let those dry. Next I added the sections of tinsel on top of a layer of topcoat, trimming them just past the nail's edge. Once that layer dried, I topped with another layer of topcoat to seal in the tinsel. I also added some rhinestones from the Kiss rhinestones packet I have, using a larger one in the center, then two smaller ones on each side to accent it. Once everything was dried, I used an emery board to file the edges of tinsel off.

EDIT: I made an animated gif to show the process of making this nail, and will describe it step by step as I have for other looks. Remember, all you have to do is ask if I haven't made one!

To create this look:

1. Use a good base coat. That's always step 1!
2. Use two coats of your background color. I used Sally Hansen Ultra HD Laser. Let those dry.
3. Brush on a thin layer of clear polish or topcoat, then add the strips of tinsel as shown in the gif.
4. Add the rhinestones. Add more clear polish if it dries out too quickly.
5. Top with a coat of Seche Vite or the topcoat of your choice.

Overall, this was fairly quick and easy, and yet has a fun elegance to it. This is lots of fun for a holiday party, and it would be fun in any color combination! I think this could be especially nice with a deep black or violet. What do you think of this... do you think you'll try some tinsel as striping tape?

Kiss rhinestone pack was provided by the manufacturer for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Happy Holidaze the eigth- punch out your nail art!

We're taking another break from my marathon session of decorating nail tips today so I can show you something I worked out over the last few days. I apologize- I don't have pretty nails to show you, because due to splitting and chipping I had to file my nails back to nubs. I consider it a fresh start, and I'm hoping that with the new nail strengthener I'm using I'll see some good growth soon.

All that blahblah aside, I have something fun to share, now that I've figured out the various bits. I've had it in the back of my mind for a while now that those tiny scrapbooking punches could make some adorable nail decals, if only I could figure out how. Well, as you can see in the photo to the right, I've figured it out and now I'm sharing it with you!

This is a scrapbooking punch.
Make sure yours is small enough to fit on a nail!

The first thing we need are some scrapbooking punches. These things used to be expensive, but now you can pick them up for next to nothing! The three I've grabbed this week were a dollar each- two were at Big Lots and one was found in a bin of sale punches at Michaels. Can't beat that, especially if you're a frugal person like me! I picked up a heart, a star, and a cute little swirly design, but I also saw a dog, a cat, a dragonfly, a hand, a sun... there really are a lot of designs you can find!

Then I had to figure out how to use a craft punch on liquid nail polish. Kind of a tough idea, yea? I tried painting it onto thin paper and punching that, but it was hard to get it to apply nicely to the nail afterward. Same thing happened with thin plastic. And yet... I remembered that nail polish pulls away from zipper sandwich bags nicely once it's dried thoroughly. So... if I were to paint it in a sheet...

That's just what I did. I painted a strip a bit wider than a nail onto some plastic I cut up for the occasion, then let it dry for a couple of days. I know, I smudged the heck out of it because I am incredibly klutzy. It's a miracle I manage to get my nails dried ever.

I also tried punching directly from the plastic, but that only worked partially, and it resulted in me patiently fiddling with tiny stars and hearts, removing the plastic backing from them so they would work on the nail more effectively. Oh, the things I do for nail art...

Once the strip had dried, I very carefully bent the edge of the plastic down away from the polished edge. I sort of pulled/rolled it down, so that it pulled away from the polish. Once I had enough polish free of the plastic, I was able to gently pull the strip free, and I was left with a sweet strip of pure polish.

I'm once again reminded that I haven't quite got the hang of photoing processes for the blog, because I have no pictures of me actually removing the strip of polish. All I have are photos of the dried strip on the plastic, and then pictures of the strip off the plastic.

This is because I am a minor fail. I am, however, decent with words, so I can at least partially describe the process for you. Hopefully it's enough. I will say that it really is important to let the strip dry for at least 24 hours, preferably 48. Otherwise, it hasn't had time to do its polishy-drying thing, and the chemical reactions involved with drying haven't finished. Once it's thoroughly dried, it's much easier to work with.

Once the polish is dried and peeled, you're left with... a very dodgy strip of nail polish. Well now, this is useful... right?

Actually it is. Even if you don't have punches, you could cut this into strips with your regular scissors, punch holes in it with your office hole punch, or cut shapes with your scissors or an xacto knife to apply to your nails.

We're going to use this strip in our punch. Remember, it's fragile, so be careful with it as you slide it into the punch slot. Practice with a sheet of paper to make your first few punches so you can get the feel of the device. Once you're comfortable with paper, you can move on to the polish strip.

I prefer to work with the punch upside down, so that I can see through the opening that I'm getting a solid shape without having pre-cut areas poke in. If you work with it right-side up, you may have problems getting the strip positioned correctly.

Once you've pressed the button and punched out a shape, this is what things look like. You've got a sweet pure-polish decal and a strip of polish with a heart cut out of it. It didn't occur to me until I was writing this that you could place your punch in the center of the strip then cut the strip of polish so that you've got a contrasting stripe in the punch color with the heart shape punched out.

You could then apply this strip onto a different nail as an accent nail, letting the heart stand out in your base polish. It's an idea I'll have to play with once I've got some more time. It would also work really well with nail tips.

And that's all there is to it! To use these, I painted my nails, topped them with a coat of Seche Vite, then let that dry for 5-10 minutes. It was dry to the touch then, so I positioned the heard where I wanted it, then pressed it down with my thumb and forefinger of my opposite hand. The polish in the decal stuck to the polish on my finger! Then I added another coat of Seche Vite to keep things in place, and there ya go- sweet nail art with super-crisp edges that's all polish! Removing this will be super-easy because there are no plastic bits to resist the polish remover!

I got five decals from this sheet, and I wasn't being terribly careful.
Imagine the possibilities!

I don't know if you can tell, but I'm super-excited about this. Imagine the possibilities- using a tiny hole punch to make polka dots! Making your own holographic nail accents! Paint marbled swirls for accents, or even strips with stripes and dots! I'm seriously giddy here.

So what do you think of these? Is this something you'd be interested in doing yourself? Would you be interested in buying decals like these, especially if you could choose the polish color yourself?

Hard Candy Beetle was provided by the manufacturer for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Happy Holidaze the seventh- Sweet nothings!

Ahhh, the holiday season, when people hang all sorts of candies from a tree, so that you can casually nab a snack as you wander by! Oddly enough, I've never been a fan of mint but I think the patterns on mint candies can be adorable. Candy canes, starlight mints... the crisp white really sets off the red & green stripes. That's the inspiration behind today's nail art.

I just want to lick these!!

This is the simplest nail art ever. Two coats of white polish, then use a striping polish in red and/or green. I used the lush red glitter striper from Kiss's limited edition holiday set, along with a green Art Deco striper from the Dollar Tree. While a deeper green would seem more Christmassy, I think the lighter green really does give this a candy feel.

As always, a coat of Seche Vite tops everything off to make this smooth and glossy. Other top coats aren't bad, really, but Seche Vite is thick, dries exceptionally quickly, and self-levels so that any lumps and bumps get covered up. It's SWEET!

Kiss Nail Art Nail Paint was provided by the manufacturer for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Wanna try Zoya spoons for FREE? Now you can!

Holy CRAP, y'all... I just got the most exciting email I've gotten in ages! The first thing I did was squeal like a 12 year old girl who just spotted Justin Bieber in her local Hot Topic. (That made my husband ask if I was ok. I said sure, for certain values of "ok!") Then I im'd my friends who aren't quite as obsessed with polish as I am to let them know about this. (They were excited, once I explained what a color spoon was. Like I said, they aren't as obsessed as I am!)

And now, dear bloggy friends, I share with you. Have you been wanting to try Zpya spoons, but just couldn't get organized enough, or find the time, or whatever reason you have for not ordering them? Well, Zoya has removed almost every reason you could have for not ordering some- not only are they sending you the spoons for free postage, they're sending the spoons for free!! And giving you the 50 cent credit for each one!!

OH MY GOD, people... I just might explode!!

I'm sorry. I got a bit carried away there. I do that sometimes. Let me turn it over to Zoya, so y'all can read it in their own words.

Announcing

FREE* ZOYA COLOR
SPOON FRIDAY!!!

ONE DAY ONLY - DEC, 10, 2010

6 FREE ZOYA COLOR SPOONS

Simply pick any 6 Zoya Colors you would like to try on and add the matching spoon to your zoya.com cart.

We will ship them to you for FREE! Plus you will automatically earn a $3 Zoya Color Spoon credit code for use on a future zoya.com purchase.

Zoya Color Spoons allow you try on nail color before you make a color commitment. Now you can see exactly how a color will look on you before you buy it.

SEE IT . TRY IT . BUY IT

See the Zoya Color Spoon Video here!

Find your perfect color today at www.zoya.com

* Valid Friday, December 10, 2010 only. Offer expires on 12/10/10 (11:59 EST). Valid only on Zoya.com. Continental US only. Consumer orders only. Limit six free Zoya Color Spoons. Limit one per customer. Standard S/H applies for all additional non-spoon items. This offer and Zoya Color Spoon Credit Code not valid in conjunction with other discounts, promotions or offers.

So what are you waiting for? Go get some spoons!! And once you're done, go "like" Zoya on Facebook... you could get 3 free bottles of polish! One more time, in their own words:

Press our Like button!

20,000 Likes equals 3 Free Bottles of Zoya Nail Polish*! 

Zoya Nail Polish wants 20,000 Facebook fans!

We like our fans, well actually, we LOVE our fans.

We are a small, independent cosmetics company that understands and values the importance of each and every one of our customers. Zoya views our fans as ambassadors of our products. Your dedication and feedback via our social media outlets has helped shape us into the successful company we are today. We continue to grow with your input and support. During this holiday season we would like to show you our appreciation with an incredible offer to start off the new year.

Please, allow us to share our wonderful nail polish and treatment products with your like-minded friends!  We are hoping for 20,000 "Likes" on facebook by January 3, 2011, and if we get them, we will provide a code for 3 free bottles* of Zoya Nail Polish to all fans and followers in the Continental US. Yes, we love our international followers too but due to international regulations and restrictions we can only offer this promotion domestically at this time.

“Like” us on facebook and make 2011 a year of nail polished perfection.

Here's what you need to do...

Not already following us on facebook?

Do you love nail polish? Then you should follow Zoya for daily updates, promotions and fun on facebook!  Simply go to www.facebook.com/zoyanailpolish and press "Like"! With over 300 colors and treatments to choose from, there is always something for you and your fellow nail polish lovers to talk about. While you are at it, make sure to spread the word about Zoya to all of your friends.

Already following us on facebook?

You "Like" us - we LOVE you! You already know about the great giveaways and promotions we do! Don't keep Zoya to yourself! Spread the word! To help reach the 20,000 tell 4 friends (or more!) to like Zoya!

On January 3, 2011

...or sooner, when we hit the magic number of 20,000, Zoya will release the 3 FREE BOTTLES of Zoya Nail Polish code on facebook.

*Restrictions apply. See facebook page for complete details. Online promotion only. Offer valid in continental US only. Consumer orders only. Offer not valid in conjunction with other promotions, discounts or offers. Code is dependent on 20,000 likes. To get the code,  www.facebook.com/zoyanailpolish MUST have 20,000 likes by 11:59 PM EST on January 3, 2011 (or before that date if 20,000 is reached). Code valid January 4 - 7 2011 only. The offer is void if 20,000 "Likes" is not reached by January 3, 2011 at 11:59PM. Offer good for 3 free bottles of nail polish per order. S/H charges apply.

Shown: Zoya Nail Polish in Jo.

Happy Holidaze the sixth- Laynie loses her mind with glitter!

I'm taking a break from the batch of nail tips I decorated, but don't worry. You're still getting the holiday nail art, but today it's more of a cautionary tale, although I'm not quite sure what I'm cautioning you against. I think it's a simple Don't do this, because it isn't pretty!

But first, let me show you yesterday's adventures! I finally sold the monster nails, so I treated myself to a sample pack of glitter! Unfortunately, it came packaged in cute little baggies, which doesn't work for me. I debated for quite a while in Michaels, trying to figure how I was going to store this stuff so that I could use it!

Then it hit me. I saw a set of paint pots for $2.75 hanging in the section with palettes and containers and things for painting. Have I mentioned I'm frugal? Yea, I don't want to spend $10 on something to store my $4 glitter, so this was just right for me! The only issue would be transferring the glitter from the packets to the pots, but I could be careful, right?

Right. The thing I forgot to take into consideration was that this is microglitter. It's so incredibly fine that it can waft into the air like a dust cloud, gently drifting and lazily gliding on air currents in the room. How do I know this, you ask yourself? Lemme tell you...

Because I'm so frugal, I wanted to get every last speck of the glitter out of the packages. I spent good money on that stuff, and I don't want to waste it! I cut the edge of the first bag off (emerald green, ine you were wondering, and haven't seen me since the incident!), gently tap-tap-tapped it into the pot, being careful not to spill any. Then, I lifted the bag up with the cut end pointing up, intending to tap it on my finger to pull down the glitter stuck to the edges of the bag. It worked perfectly while the bag was closed!

Unfortunately, I didn't think this through carefully enough. When I tapped the bag on my finger, instead of this causing gravity and inertia to pull the glitter on the edges of the bag down to the bottom it turned the bag into a very small bellows, sending a tiny mushroom cloud of green glitter directly into my face.  It felt like it was in slow motion, this tiny cloud expanding toward my face, enveloping my head in its sparkly green goodness. Except it wasn't quite goodness that enveloped my head. It was glitter, and glitter never goes away.

I won't waste your time with the tales of how I finally got all the bits of glitter picked up and shaken out of my hair. Let's just say it included lots of masking tape, lots of cursing, and lots of my family pointing and laughing at me. I deserved it, clearly, but really... how was I supposed to know this was going to happen?

I finally got the glitter packed away and most of the random glitter fallout picked up. What am I saying... I know I'm going to be finding glitter in random places for the next 15 years. Glitter is like herpes- once you get it on you, it never goes away.

And on to the nail art, since I've shared my secret shame. Unfortunately, this isn't much less embarrassing. I had visions of a cute, sassy Konad look that would be fun to wear. What I ended up with was more like the 80s threw up all over my nails. It's not horrible, granted, and it's better than I could do when I first got the Konad stuff. But still?

This isn't good. Not by a long shot. And the more I did to it, the worse it got.

It all started with the package I won from Scandalously Polished over twitter. I had no idea what to expect, so I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY when I saw it was 10 polishes and 4 nail foils! CRAZY! She is super awesome, and if you haven't seen her blog, then scoot over right after you read this and say hi!

In that package was a polish from H&M called Bella's Choice. I'm going to assume this has something to do with that vampire thing going around... Dusk or Nightfall or Twilight or something, yea? Whatever... it's an absolutely gorgeous turquoise creme that I couldn't wait to put on. I was hoping it would look wonderful on me!

In truth, not so much. It made me look somewhat ill. My husband looked at it and called it "that puke polish you're wearing." I wore it grocery shopping and the cashier caught sight of my nails, did a double take, then quickly looked away with a strange look on her face. I think she didn't want to ask if I was feeling ok, but you could tell she didn't think it looked good. I like the color, though, so I figured maybe if I stamped over it, I'd be able to wear it.

Enter the second color she sent- H&M Goddess on Stage. This polish is magnificent, y'all. I really don't even have the words to describe how amazing this is. Creamy, gorgeous, just luscious. I thought it would play nicely with Bella's Choice and make something wearable for me. But it actually stamped sort of sheerly, and in my stamping ineptitude I ended up missing spots and stuff.

No big deal, I thought to myself, I can just fix those spots with a brush. Sure, except that I couldn't copy the consistent thinness of the stamped image, leaving me with heavy purple spots on the edges of the print. Oh yea, that looks GREAT.

Maybe I can add some color to the spots, to draw the eye away from the dark edges, I continued thinking to myself. I pulled out my pink and white creme polishes and added some to the dots, but that wasn't enough, in my opinion. My husband did think it made everything look better, even better than the stamp alone. "It covers the puke nicely!"

Thanks hon. I feel much better now.

As a finishing touch, I added lime green and yellow creme dots to the remaining spots and covered it all in Seche Vite. And you know what?

It wasn't horrible, but I don't think I'll be wearing this one again. There are just too many things here that just didn't work well together, and I'm just... no. No. Never again!

Do you have any horrible stories about manicures that just didn't work as well as you hoped? I'd love to hear them to make me feel better about this one!