Hidden Gems

This week, after the time change, I feel a little more like myself.  I'm not sure if it was the extra hour of sleep, that my husband was away for a few days, or things slowing down a little at work.  I managed to get more done this week and feel more accomplished, if not more rested.

For the full moon this week, I decided to do a more celestial manicure.  I started with two coats of  L'Oreal Hidden Gems.  In the bottle it looks like a beautiful blue that shifts to purple, with small silver glitter.  Like most duochrome polishes, it doesn't shift as well on the nail as it does in the bottle.  I was surprised to find that it is actually a sand textured polish as well.

Then I stamped on the moon image using plate Mash-32 and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep.  I loved the look so much that I didn't bother putting on a top coat to smooth it all out.

Until later,

Chess

Nice Caboose!

I'm glad this week is over.  It has been a long week.  It definitely felt like I was burning the candle at both ends.  Too many projects and events, and what felt like no time to do them.  Tonight I am relaxing at home, cuddling with my dogs, and watching some TV.

This week I wanted to do something for Halloween.  I started with two coats of China Glaze Nice Caboose!  It is a great berry red color.  Perfect for fall or winter.  On top of that, I stamped the different images using Konad special polish in black and plates BM13 and Mash-38.  However, the spider image from Mash-38 isn't in the image here, as it is on my thumb.

I love this one.  The color is fabulous and the image is rather subtle.  You don't notice it until you are really close.

I already have an idea for this next mani.  Check back later to see what I come up with.

Until later,

Chess

Wild Wisteria

This week has had some ups and downs.  However, I'm confident that my new project is headed in the right direction.  I'm really excited about it, and it feels like it is changing my life.  Maybe all I've needed was a good project.

I did this manicure a while back, and it is one of my favorites.  I used a couple coats of ORLY Wild Wisteria.  This is a fabulous purple polish!

 I used plate BM-419 to stamp the feather image.
At first I tried the Kleancolor polishes Metallic Aqua  and Metallic Green first for the image, but it didn't show up well.  So I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep, then the two Kleancolor polishes on top. Of course, I used the Diamond Dry top coat on top. I think this may be my favorite look so far.

Until later,

Chess

Friends Forever, Right?

This past weekend I went to see The Giver with my husband.  I had picked up some China Glaze polish the day before from The Giver collection.  I bought a white with a pink tint and a blue.  I decided to wear one of those this week.  Since it is still summer, I decided to go with the lighter one.

I used three coats of China Glaze Friends Forever, Right?  It is a white with pink tint to it.  It was very difficult to work with.  It really did not want to behave.  For my last coat I ended up adding a little nail polish thinner to make it easier to use.  Even still, it wanted to streak some.

Once it dried, I stamped on the image using plate RA-119 and Konad special polish in black.  Then I topped it of with the Diamond Dry.

Overall, I would not recommend this color.  There isn't anything special about it and the formula is irritating.

Until later,

Chess

Artistic Expression

This week I am writing you from St. Louis.  I am at a fabulous belly dance event.  I pre-planned all of this so that I could just publish it on the road.

I started off with two coats of NYC Tudor City Teal.  It is a dusty green crelly, a little more opaque than a jelly.  After that, I sponged on the gradient using Tudor City Teal and OPI Eurso Euro.  Eurso Euro is bright blue cream.  The two colors together are absolutely perfect and give my nails an artistry touch.

Finally, I stamped on the white hearts using Vivid Lacquer plate VL001.  I think this is my favorite plate so far.  I topped it all off with the usual Diamond Dri.
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I hope you like this one as much as I do.

Until later,

Chess

Purple Butterfly Wings

This weekend I was busy vending at an event, trying to sell some things that I no longer need.  I spent a fair amount of time getting everything together, and most of the day yesterday sitting at the table.  It didn't really net me much.  Consequently, I am just now getting this post up.

I started off with two coats of China Glaze Spontaneous.  Then I placed one coat of ORLY Purple Poodle on top.  Purple Poodle was too thin to use alone.  It is a great fushia-purple with blue glitter.

Once all that dried, I used plate BM-424 and konad special polish in black to stamp the butterfly wing image. I then placed the white dots using a white polish toward the tips with an improvised dotting tool (a straight pin shoved into the eraser on a pencil).

I absolutely love the color and the way that this one turned out!  I hope you like it too!!

Until later,

Chess

Wait N' Sea

This week has been extremely taxing for me.  I got sick and took Monday off.  I worked hard to make up some of that time the rest of the week.  I had a meeting with a friend's husband who works with small businesses a lot.  We brainstormed for a couple of hours on ways to get my business name out there, so I can bring in more clients.  I'm exhausted and overwhelmed by this process.  I'm just hoping that something starts rolling soon.

This week I found a little of my creativity again.  I started with two coats of China Glaze Wait N' Sea.  It's a fabulous teal-blue.  Once again, the picture does not do the color justice.  Once that dried, I stamped on the leopard print image using Konad plate m57 and Konad special polish in black.

I decided to not use top coat this time and see how the special polish lasted without it. I'm quite surprised with the durability of this special polish.  It only started to wear away a little, much like any other color I suspect.

I like the way the special polish has a somewhat matte finish to it.  The contrast is awesome.  I hope you love it as much as I do.

Until later,

Chess

For Audrey

This has been a crazy week.  I got sick this last weekend and ended up calling off work Tuesday to go to the doctor.  She didn't really have an idea of what the problem is, and gave me a prescription for antibiotics and an antihistamine.  I'm feeling only marginally better.

Then we had our steampunk meeting and had great discussions, food, and I sold a piece of jewelry.  I am a tiny bit closer to paying for my General Skills training in August.

Friday night I taught my first yoga class!  It was fabulous!  I really appreciate my students who allowed me to test out my first class on them.

This week I ironically did a mani that celebrated Audrey Hepburn's 85th birthday.  I started with two coats of China Glaze For Audrey.  It is a perfect Tiffany's blue.  Then I stamped on the dots using plate Mash-25 and Mash special polish in white.  Then I stamped on the bow image with plate BM-317 and Mash special polish in white.

I'm very happy with how this one turned out.

Until later,

Chess

Sweet Hook

This week I have been trying to work on my Yoga business and raise money so I can go to General Skills for belly dance in August.  I am trying to sell extra things that I no longer want or need.  That includes some Cookie Lee Jewelry that I tried to sell about five years ago.  I have a whole case full of jewelry, and it would be nice to not have it in the house anymore.

This week I decided to do a spring mani.  I started off with two coats of China Glaze Sweet Hook.  Then I stamped on the image using plate BM-224 and konad special polish in purple.  Then I used China Glaze Tail Me Something for the center of the flowers.

I love the light purple and the flowers. I hope you do too!

Until later,

Chess

Luminous Lilac

This past week I have been sick and miserable.  I haven't done a whole lot more than is required of me, and sleeping extra.  This was also another week where my mani was fighting me.

It has been getting lighter out longer and warming up quite a bit, though we will still probably have more snow sometime before the month is over.  I have been ready to use more spring and summer colors, so this week I decided to go with a pastel pink.  I love the pink, but when I showed it to my sister on Skype, she asked if it is a color that I used before.  I thought about it and realized that I have an Essie polish that is the exact same color.  Once I am done with this post, I can put this color in the donation/sell box.

I started by applying three coats of Pixi Luminous Lilac.  Even still, it was a bit uneven, which is why I am opting to keep the Essie color and get rid of this one.  When it dried, I used the Konad special polish in a shimmery navy and plate m60 for the image.  The image didn't come out as clear as I would have liked on some of the nails, which is what I meant about it fighting me.  Finally, I topped it off with my Diamond Dri.

Overall, it's not my best work, but I'm not really sure why it was being so finicky.

Until later,
Chess

Smokin' Hot

Last week I mentioned having a rough time with my mani.  I felt little creativity and was having a hard time with the stamping.  Sometimes things work, and sometimes they just don't.  This week was better.  I still didn't have much of a creative idea when I set out to do my mani this week, but it came together better.

I started off knowing what color I wanted to use, but wasn't very sure what image or color for the image.  I just kept going through my plates and looking at all the images until I felt comfortable with the idea I formulated

I started off using three coats of Essie Smokin' Hot.  It was uneven in some places, so I used the third coat.  Otherwise, maybe two would have sufficed.  It is a purple tinted grey or grey tinted purple, depending on the light.

After all that dried, I stamped on the different images using Konad plate m51 and the Konad special polish in black.  I find the Konad special polish works better than the Mash special polish.  There are three images on the plate, though I forgot to take a picture of my thumb so you could see the third, largest image.  The flower and the leaves are separate, but I put them together to make a slightly different image on my middle and ring fingers.

I love the way this one turned out.  What do you think?

Until later,

Chess

Can't Find My Czechbook

This week has been rather long a frustrating on many levels.  I think I really need to take a vacation, but I always hate coming back to a huge pile of work.  It doesn't truly feel like a vacation. I found out some rough news at work, that really simply forces me to continue looking for something else, so any well wishes and such would be appreciated.

Now, on to better things.

I have been so exhausted lately that I haven't felt very creative when it comes to my manicures.  It's all I can do to figure out which color I want to wear, and then try to figure out something to do with it.

This week I decided to go with a bright blue, as I am experiencing some pretty strong spring fever.  The color is gorgeous, but I was having a rough time getting the image to transfer.  Maybe it is the special polish I used, or maybe since I'm not really feeling it right now, it was just fighting me.  The reason I tell you this is that maybe someone new might experience the same problems.  Even someone more experienced has problems with the stamping plates.  Keep practicing and it will get easier.

I started off with three coats of OPI Can't Find My Czechbook.  Then, I stamped on the two different images using plate BM-317 and Mash special polish in white.

I am hoping this next one I do will work much better.

What do you think?

Chess

Fancy Pants

I am starting off my weekend right.  I already went to yoga and picked up some fresh, yummy food for the weekend.  It will be another long weekend of belly dance and yoga, with the usual chores in between.  On top of belly dance class, we also have rehearsal for our upcoming performance.  I'm excited to finally be able to perform, and now all my friends and family who keep asking about what I do can see it too.

This week I wanted to use a slightly brighter color.  I'm extremely ready for summer and the warmer weather that comes with the season.

I started off with three coats of China Glaze Fancy Pants.  It is a bright blue with a red shimmer that turns the color more purple in some light.  Then I used plate Mash-49 and the Konad special polish in black to stamp on the image.  Finally, I topped it all of with Diamond Dry.

I really like this color.  It is the perfect blend of color and shimmer.  What do you think?

Until later,

Chess

Charmed, I'm sure

Yoga is going quite well.  I'm doing great with the memorization now, and I'm excited for the upcoming weekend.  We are going on a mini retreat so I will be able to get away from everything for a couple days.

Work has been stressful once again.  Quite frankly it is time to get out of there, but I have had no luck with any applications I have put out there.

This week, my inspiration was actually more from yoga.  The images I used remind me of some things that we have been talking about in classes.

I started off with three coats of China Glaze Charmed, I'm Sure.  After that dried I stamped on the two different images using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep and plates Mash-35, for the lotus flower, and BM-409, for the tree.  The flower had a little more to the image, but I strategically placed the polish on the plate so I could get just the flower part.

After everything dried, I used the Diamond Dry, like usual.  Unfortunately I forgot to not drag the brush across the image heavily, and it smeared the image on my little finger.  Better luck remembering next time, I suppose.

I hope you like this one as much as I do.

Until later,

Chess

Peace & Love & Duochrome

This week I started the yoga teacher training.  It is overwhelming and exciting at the same time.  I am working hard to do the best I can with it, while still trying to keep up with everything else in my life, such as work and belly dance.  This is only the beginning.

Sometimes when I do my manicures, I find that I cycle through certain colors, like pinks, blues, purples and occasionally greens.  So this week I wanted to go with a slightly different color.


I used three coats of OPI Peace & Love & OPI.  It was more thin than a lot of the OPI colors, so I used the extra coat.  Once that dried, I used plate BM-407 and the Konad special polish in black to stamp on the image.  I used my Diamond Dry on the nails with images, and left the rest without.

This OPI color has a fabulous duochrome and I had a hard time capturing that.  The second picture is rather dark, but you can see the multiple colors in it some.  I really love this color!

What do you think?  Is this color for you?

Until later,

Chess

Taunting Teal

This week has been so long that when I woke up this morning I had to look at my phone to be sure today was actually Friday.  I'm so glad the weekend has finally arrived.

This week I decided to go with a blue color for my manicure, and to try out one of the new bundle monster plates I received recently.

I started out with two thick coats of Sonia Kashuk Taunting Teal.  Then I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Gone Grey and plate BM-419 to stamp on the feather image.

The blue is a great fall or winter color, and the grey/silver is perfect for stamping.

Let me know what you think!

Until later,

Chess

Flowers and Vines

I am glad the holidays are over and I can get back to my somewhat regular schedule.  I have been spending more time with my family, especially my sister, as she will be leaving with her husband at the end of next week.  They are moving to Mississippi for his pilot training.  It is a rough transition for me, as she and I have spent the last 26 or so years together.  It will be hard not seeing her every week, but I am proud of all that she has accomplished so far, and know she will soar to new heights.

This week I took some inspiration from this pin.  I love the color and the stamp image.

I started with three coats of Icing Lilacquer.  Then I stamped on the image using plate m73 and Konad special polish in black.  After that dried, I painted the black on the tips using China Glaze Liquid Leather.  Finally, I used the Diamond Dry top coat.

Unfortunately, the Diamond Dry causes shrinkage at the tips.  That isn't tip wear in the photos, but the Diamond Dry pulling the color back some as it dries.  Aside from that, and the slight smudging on a couple nails of the image, I thought this mani turned out very well.

Let me know what you think!

Until later,

Chess

High on Hope

This week flew by.  The beginning of the week was a little rough at work, but by midweek, we had extremely cold weather and snow on the ground.  Things slowed down a bit, with more people staying home.

This week I decided to try some more stamping, and I really like what I came up with.  I started with three coats of ORLY High on Hope.  After that dried, I stamped on the image using plate Mash-39 and Konad special polish in black.  Finally, I topped it off with Diamond Dry.

I like the fish scale image, and during the week I thought of a couple other things I could have done.  I could have used a different color than the black special polish for the image, to make it look more natural.  Also, I would like to see what it looked like with a matte top coat.  The pink glitter in this polish might show through better with the matte top coat.

Let me know what you think!  Do you see any other possibilities for this one?

Custom Kicks

This week, I tried very hard to make my mani match a teal green shirt I own.  It is one of my favorites.  I came pretty close, though the pictures just don't do it justice.

I started with a couple layers of China Glaze Custom Kicks.  Then I added a layer of Icing Peak A Blue.  Custom Kicks is a green teal and Peak A Blue is a light blue with micro sparkles.  The color matched the shirt  almost exactly.

After that dried, I stamped on the lotus image using plate BM05 and Mash special polish in white.  I topped it off with the Diamond Dri.

Until later,

Chess

Leopard Print

This week, work went by fairly quickly.  I made a couple monetary decisions about bellydance and yoga that make me feel good about my future.  I'm excited about these opportunities next year.

Last week I saw this pin on pinterest, and knew I had a couple colors that I could use to recreate the look.  So that's what I set out to do.  To top it all off, the base color I used was given to me by a close friend, so it felt good to finally use it.

I started off with two coats of ORLY Rage.  After that dried, I stamped on the leopard print image using Konad plate m57 and Konad special polish in black. Then is used Sonia Kashuk Two Cent to place the darker dots on some of the leopard spots.  Finally, I used two coats of my Diamond Dry to smooth out the mani.

This one turned out beautifully, and everyone who has seen it in person has loved it.  It really did not take that much more time than any of the other manicures I have done before.

Until later,

Chess