50th Post! Elegant Snowflakes for Day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge

Hello everyone!  Wow, I can't believe I'm already at 50 posts.  How did that happen?  Oh yeah, I obsessively do my nails almost every day. ;)

For today's challenge the prompt was Snowflakes.  Since I did blue/white/silver snowflakes last month I wanted to do something a little different with sort of non-traditional colors.  So I started with a base of 2 coats of OPI DS Mystery which is a pretty black cherry with super fine gold glitter.  I stamped over that with Zoya Ziv and plate BM-323.  Over that I put a very, very light coat of Orly Shining Star.

I really like the way this turned out.

31 Day Challenge, Day 15 - Delicate Print

Hello everyone!  Today is Delicate Print day and it's one of those days where I feel almost anything goes because it seems such an unfocused prompt.  So today's nails are a simple 2 coats of Julep Ivy (which came in my December Maven box) stamped with Sally Hansen Silver Streak and BM-314.  I also applied some rhinestones in random places but I think they're too big.

31 Day Challenge, Day 10 - Gradient with Fall Colors

I'm such a dork - I totally forgot to post this last week.  This is my gradient for Day 10 of the challenge.  It's kind of a cop-out since I did something similar back in October.

Ugh, my poor nail - I hate looking at it.  Must hide it in pictures from now on.

China Glaze - Riveting
Color Club - Berry & Bright
Nina Ultra Pro - Maple Syrup
China Glaze - Fairy Dust
Ulta - Inline for the Crown

31 Day Challenge, Day 7 - Black & White Indecision

I don't have an actual completed manicure today.  I just couldn't decide what I wanted to do so I thought I would show you what my nails look like when I'm trying out ideas.  Please keep in mind that none of these are meant to be 'finished', some are a little sloppier than I'd like.  What I would normally do after this stage is pick one, take everything off and start over to do a mani for realsies.  Obviously that didn't happen here. :)

I think if I were forced to pick one and go with it I'd pick either my pinky or my middle finger.

Snow in the Valley of the Sun

I grew up in the Northeast US with trees, grass, seasons and snow but now I live in the middle of the desert with very little variation in weather.  I like to say we have 2 seasons here:  summer and not summer.  Anyway, sometimes I really miss the snow so I now have it on my nails.  This was made possible by the awesome haul from Sally and Ulta today, largely courtesy of the best boyfriend in the whole world.  A picutre of that follow as well.

On my nails is a base of 2 coats of Fingerpaints Midnight Sleigh Ride.  This is such an amazing blue.  It's super pigmented (I could have done just a single coat and been fine) and has a tone of lovely micro glitter.  So sparkly! I then stamped with OPI Alpine Snow using Mash plate 47.  Over that I put a light, light coat of Orly Shining Star and topped it all off with Seche Vite.

Here is the Midnight Sleigh Ride on its own.  The first picture is with the flash, second is without.

Here's the mani after stamping but before adding the Shining Star.  You can tell I haven't stamped in a while.

And here's the final product after adding the subtle sparkle from Shining Star:

Aaaand here's the haul:

Did I mention he's amazing?

Sponge Gradient

This is my first attempt at a sponge gradient.  I wanted to keep the fall theme so I used the Nina Ultra Pro Maple Syrup again as well as Sinful Colors Courtney Orange and Fingerpaints Signed in Wine.  And...of course I had to stamp a little over it - just some small leaves in gold.

Essie Stylenomics

I really love this green in the bottle but I don't think it transfers well - on me with only 2 coats it looks nearly black. I was hoping it would be much more if a dark green. Oh well. So I stamped over it with a gold from Ulta.

Essie Wicked = pure awesome

The rich almost black red color of this polish is sadly lost with the lame iPhone camera. I'm in love with the color though and I love how Ulta's In Line for the Crown looks stamped over it.

For Audrey - love this blue

I'm normally not a fan of blue nails but I love, love this color.

<3 purple

I really like this one, might even keep it for more than a day. I used Zoya Monica for the base color then stamped with China Glaze No Plain Jane using BundleMonster plate BM-209.

I have issues with cleanup

Ugh, I can never get all the mess off. But...I love, love this color. It's Essie Skirting The Issues and I've stamped it with Sinful Colors Zincing Of You using Mash-48.

Manicures of the past month.  These all looked way, way  better in person - I really, really suck at taking pictures.