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

Wish On A Starfish

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  Today isn't anything terribly special for me, other than the fact that I took today off from work.  I am going away this weekend for a mini yoga retreat.  It is part of the yoga teacher training thing I am doing right now.

I wanted to do something specific to the holiday this week, but had a hard time figuring something out.  I had just recently picked up some of the most recent China Glaze collection, so I decided to go with the pink one.  I used three thin coats of Wish On A Starfish. The color is a bright pink with gold flecks.  I tried stamping on some heart images using the white special polish, but it didn't show up well at all.  It might have worked with black, but I really wanted to use white.  After that, I gave up on trying to do anything else.

I hope you all have a great holiday today, whatever you make of it!

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

4000 Page Views

My blog has hit 4000 page views.  Thank you all so much for coming to visit my blog so much.  I truly appreciate the fact that you find my work worth your time to view for a couple minutes.

Thank you to everyone who loves my work!

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

Pink Flakies

This week went by pretty fast.  I was finally able to Skype with my sister last night, so even though she is in another state, we were able to connect some.  That made the end of the week so much better.

Also, I had my usual belly dance class this morning, and it feels like I am finally beginning to get somewhere with dance.  I have been dancing at Bravo Belly Dance for about two years, but it has taken that long to learn enough vocabulary that I feel like I'm able to really create a flow while dancing.

This week I did another modified french manicure.  I found the ORLY MatteFX Pink Flakie Topcoat at Sally Beauty and knew I had to do something with it.  So I started with three coats of it, despite that it is called a topcoat.  This first picture shows the flakies a bit, and the matte effect.  The picture really doesn't do it justice, but the flakies are extremely hard to capture in photos for me.

Later, I used ORLY Pointe Blanche for the tips.  When that dried, I topped it off with my Diamond Dry to give it more shine.

Overall, the matte effect was ok, but I liked it better with a shine to it.  What do you think?

Until later,

Chess

Mesmerize

My sister is now on her way to her destination with her husband.  It seems weird knowing that we will have to use all the technology at our hands to keep in contact now.  I truly hope things go smoothly for her out there.

This week I was inspired by this pin, though my manicure didn't quite turn out.

I started with two coats of OPI Vant To Bite My Neck?  Then I sponged on a gradient using the same color and Sinful Colors Mesmerize.  The distinction between the two colors wasn't quite enough.  You can only barely see the difference in the pictures.

After that I put on a coat of OPI Which is Witch? while trying to keep the glitter thin.  The coat was uneven, so I topped it all off with Diamond Dry.

I really would have liked the colors to be a little more definable, but overall, I love the look.

Until later,

Chess