Wedding Flowers

This weekend was my sister's wedding.  She was a gorgeous bride and both the wedding and reception were wonderful.  I'm so glad she found a wonderful man to spend the rest of their lives together.

This week, my mani is based on one from Let Them Have Polish.  My sister wanted us to do bright colored accents for the wedding, and my color was bright blue.  I saved this mani on Pinterest a long time ago, and thought it would be perfect for the wedding.

I started with a couple coats of China Glaze Hanging in the Balance.  After that dried, I stamped on the flower image with Sally Hansen Inst-Dri Whirlwind White and BM12.

Then I used toothpicks to put on the green, pink and blue for the flowers using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Just in Lime!, China Glaze Beach Cruise-r, amd  Hanging in the Balance.  That part took the longest.

After all that, I used a coat of my favorite China Glaze Fairy Dust and topped it all off with my Diamond Dry.

While this is a recreation of a previous look, I really am happy with how it turned out.  The colors were perfectly vibrant.

Until later,

Chess

Two-toned

I know it has been a couple of weeks since you all have seen a post from me.  We got our audits at work, both at the same time.  That means that two of us have to process a little over 700 charts in 45 days, on top of what we normally do.  We are allowed some over time, but not much, so I have been taking my boss up on that offer so I can work on my debt.  Bad decisions and whatnot, so now I've learned my lesson and am paying the price plus interest, but I feel like I'm getting somewhere.

Also, I was preparing for my sister's bridal shower and the bachelorette party.  The shower was small, low key, but a lot of fun.  The bachelorette party was great.  We ended up going to a restaurant and then a club.  I've never really been one to do the club thing, so it was a different experience for me.

My sister's Fiance just graduated from the Air Force Academy, so a fair amount of time was spent with his party, commissioning ceremony and graduation.

Finally the wedding is this Sunday. Lots of finishing little projects and making sure the little details are complete.  Rehearsal for the wedding was today.  Set up at the reception hall is tomorrow.  It just really hit me today that my sister will be married, moving on some with her life and her new family, and will be moving away soon when her Fiance goes to Pilot school.

All in all, it has been an exhausting and emotional couple of weeks.  However, during this time, I have kept up my manis and taken pictures.  So to get back into the swing of things, I am providing you with two manis I did.


The first one I did I started off with an ad from a magazine for L'oreal polish.  I really liked the two colors they used, and wanted to try them out.

Like with anything, the colors weren't quite true.  I felt the orange one (Orange You Jealous?) was pretty close but the purple one (Members Only) was more pink in real life.  I really would have preferred the more purple tone.

 The second mani I did was based on another ad from a magazine for Sally Hansen Sugar Coat polish.

When I went shopping, I noticed the polish, but the blue was nothing like the blue in the ad.  So I decided instead of trying all four, I would just try two of the colors.  I tried a gradient with the mint green (Sour Apple) and the ocean blue (Razzleberry).

I love the colors together and the look.  However, I really did not like the texture.  It is much more coarse than the Zoya Pixie Dust collection, and seemed to feel like it was catching on clothing.  After one night, I couldn't handle it and removed it.

I hope you don't mind my time away from the blog.  I'm hoping after everything this weekend, I can get back to the normal routine.  I already have a mani planned for the wedding, so my next post will probably be about that.  I may also provide a picture of the color I used after removing the Sugar Coat.

Until later,

Chess

Nyx

This has been a rather slow week at work.  We have been all caught up for a while, but I know it is the calm before the storm.  We are supposed to get another audit shortly.

I went to a yoga workshop this last weekend that put me out of commission for two days.  I guess I need to work on my squats a bit more.  Even now I'm just getting back into things.  My stationary bike is difficult after four days off.  I tend to do that on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with belly dance the other days.

Last night I was just so tired, I ended up crashing on the couch for at least a half an hour, and then I went to bed at the usual time and slept through the night.  I guess I needed that.

This week I went with a simple mani.  I decided to try one of the Zoya PixieDust collection with a clear top coat over the top.  It's nothing special, but I love the silver sparkle this provides in the color. 

I used about three coats of Zoya Nyx to get the color I wanted.  After that dried, I used my Diamond Dry in a thick top coat. 

I feel like it worked pretty well to smooth out the sandpaper feeling of the polish.  It's still not as smooth as cream or gel nail polish, but it isn't as rough either.  I think a second coat, thick or not, would make it nice and smooth, but I just didn't bother.  I'm not looking forward to removing this one, as the last one I used was painful to get off.

I'm also thinking of doing a little giveaway in celebration of reaching 2000 page views.  Any suggestions?  Polish, plates, something else? Please let me know of your ideas.

Until later,

Chess

French Sparkle

Things have been a lot smoother at work this week.  I've been able to relax a bit and get caught up on some things that were set to the side with the audit.  Our next audit won't come in until about mid to late May, so hopefully we will be ready this time.

This week I went with another fairly simple mani, but I am absolutely loving it!  No stamping this time, but three different layers.  I started by painting white tips using ORLY Sheer Beauty.  Then I put on a couple layers of Essence Color & Go Sweet as Candy.  After all that dried, I put on a layer of OPI Which is Witch, from the Oz collection that came out this Spring.

I couldn't help it, I just wanted to play with it.  This glitter is unlike any others.  There are three or four different types of glitter.  I found I wasn't trying to place certain bits of glitter to make it look more even or symmetrical.  With the different shapes and sizes, I just put on a coat and made sure there weren't any bald spots.

 I loved this look so much I removed the color I put on my toes and did this on them as well, so I completely match.  I hope you love this one too!!!

Until later,

Chess

Mint Mojito

This past week has been extremely long.  More overtime at work, but the audit is done.  A friend of the family came in from France and is staying with my parents for almost two months so she can work on her English.  I've been spending more time at my parent's house, and have stayed up far too late almost every night this week.  Last night after spending time with a friend and working on our bellydancing, I crashed.  I'm thankful it is finally Friday, and I plan to go to bed early tonight as well.  Tomorrow will be a long day, but I'm hoping to be ready for it.

This week was a more simple mani once again.  I started with Covergirl Mint Mojito, which is a great mint green.  After it dried, I stamped on the hearts image using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White and BM-317.

I tend to jump around with favorite colors, and right now, mint green is one of my favorites.  I love the look with the white hearts on top.  I hope you all like it!

Until later,

Chess

Cloudy Skies

It has been snowing a bit more here, so I guess this mani is pretty fitting.  All day it has been cloudy and cold.  This time I decided to test out one of the new China Glaze Holos.  It is not as intense as some of the other holos I have received before.  The color is still gorgeous and it is still different from many of the other colors I have with addition of the holo.

I started off with China Glaze Don't Be A Luna-tic.  Then I stamped on the cloud image with China Glaze Liquid Leather and plate BM-312.

Even though this one didn't require a lot of work to put it together, I found the whole mani quite appealing.  While I was a little disappointed in the strength of the holo polish, it is still different from most of my other polish.

I hope you like it.  If you like what you see on this post or others, please follow my blog or follow me on facebook or twitter.

Until later,

Chess

Feathers and Tutus

This week has been busy as well. A lot more overtime, with two of my audits finally done! Now I have one that is due in the beginning of May, so I can work a bit of overtime without being overly stressed.

 Also, a couple evenings I went to my parent's house to see how my bridesmaid dress is coming along. My mother is making it, so it's going together in pieces. The last time I was there, it needed some nips and tucks and for the straps to be set after it falls right. Then finally it can be hemmed up.

 Finally, there was a bit of drama in our guild we are in (World of Warcraft). My husband and I are deciding what we want to do, stay or go, and that has been some stress on top of everything. I know what you may be thinking, it is just a game. For me however, it's social time and an outlet for me from work. So when there is drama like this, it makes playing the game more difficult for me. It produces more anxiety, which is not what the game is for. So we have spent a bit of time talking everything over and trying to decide if we will stay or go.

 Ok, enough about my life, my drama, my anxiety. You all came here to check out what my nails look like this week, am I right?

 I love the feather image so much, that I used it once again. This one is really quite simple, once again. I started with a coat of Ulta Diva.  Then I stamped the feather image on with my Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White and plate BM15.  After that dried, I put on another coat of Diva.


The reason I called this post Feathers and Tutus is because the pink color makes me think of a tutu.

Even though it is relatively simple, I hope you all like this one!   Let me know what you think in the comments or on my facebook page!

Making people dizzy

Ok, this week has been crazy.  I worked six hours of overtime because we have a ton of audits that are just slamming us.  Two nights this week my mom and sister came over and we worked on invitations for hours!  My sister is a slave driver *wink wink*  Then one night this week we had our steampunk meeting.  All in all, I kept rather busy and am now finally able to sit down and relax a little.

I couldn't really come up with a name for this mani, but I thought about something a customer said when he saw my nails.  He said it made him dizzy.  I'm not sure if it was a complement or what, but I guess it could have that effect with the metallic color and the swirls.


It's fairly simple, really.  I used about three coats of China Glaze Rare & Radiant.  This is the last of the Bohemian Collection I bought last year.  After it dried, I stamped the black swirls using China Glaze Liquid Leather and the Mash-40 plate.



My coworker liked how my nails changed from a gold to a green color, and the swirls on top were a great effect.  I have to say, this is by far one of my favorites.








I'm going to throw in this pic of me in another steampunk outfit.  I wore this to the convention just recently, but I didn't get a picture of it.



 I hope you like what you see today.

Until later,

Chess

A Modified Snakeskin

After all the fun this past weekend, I had to return to work.  Unfortunately, it has been a huge trial of my sanity.  We have so many audits that I can barely keep my head on straight, and one of the reviewers is driving me batty.  I'm just very glad that tomorrow is Friday and I will have a couple days to do anything else besides work.

This mani was created simply because I saw these two colors sitting on my desk and I thought they would look great together.  Then I went through my plates to see what image I liked best at the time.

I started off with Wet n Wild Through the Grapevine.  Then I stamped the snakeskin image using China Glaze Jungle Queen with plate BM-215.

What do you think?  Great combination?

Until later,

Chess

AnomalyCon 2013

Here are some pictures from the convention we went to this weekend.  This was the reason I did the Steampunk mani.

This is a picture of the couple that we roomed with.

I somehow managed to get this lovely shot.  I love her face in this one as she's so startled.

My husband looking ready to go fly his airship.

















Me, wondering what is going on behind me.














This is another friend of ours from our city.  She is wearing a more Victorian dress than a Steampunk one.  It's absolutely gorgeous!

















This is her father in a great top hat!

















Here is a picture of most of our group from our city.



















Most of these are just picture of random people.

This is Echoes of Orpheus.  They are a new band here in Colorado.  I really like their music.

Of course, Pandora Celtica was there again.  I love their music and humor.

There was another band there called The Silent Still.  Their music was good, and they were very creative.  They have a being that they called Steve with them for their performance.  You can see a couple pictures of Steve below.