January Nail Art Challenge: Forest Creatures

Hello!

I'm taking part in clairestelle8's January Nail Art Challenge, and the theme for the 17th was Forest Creatures! Luckily for Christmas I received MoYou's Enchanted 01 stamping plate, which features a whole host of forest creatures in gorgeous leafy designs.

I chose Facets of Fuchsia by Revlon as my base polish for a deep, mysterious twinkle. I decided my forest creatures would be a curious bear and majestic owl, so I painted Konad White and Models Own Chrome Green onto the stamping plate for a contrast between the animal and the surrounding leafy design. I stamped more Chrome Green leaves onto my index and pinky nails as a border for my animals!

The next theme in the challenge is Clocks. It's maddening because I have a specific stamping image I want to use, but I can't find the plate and I think it's stuck down the side of some furniture somewhere. Oh noooooo.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

January Nail Art Challenge: Fave Animal and Gold

Hello!

I'm still very happily participating in the low-stress January Nail Art challenge by clairestelle8 on Instagram! This post shows you my entries for both the 10th and 13th of January, and you can see all my Instagram posts here ^_^

The theme for the 10th was "Fave Animal", and it's no contest... I love cats, especially our family cat Vienna, and also the cartoon kitty Pusheen! I happen to have her on a stamping plate I own, Suki 03 by MoYou, so she was the star of my mani. I started with a base colour of Lunar Grey by Models Own, stamped on a subtle background ice cream pattern in holo pink and topped it off with my Pusheen stamping...

The theme for today, the 13th, was Gold. I couldn't miss the opportunity to use my most ostentatious polish, The Man With The Golden Gun by OPI. It contains flakes of 18ct gold! I applied it over the bright Bermuda Blue by Models Own, and added a swirling pattern accent nail in gold as well...

See you soon with more manis!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

January Nail Art Challenge: Winter Berries

Hello!

This is my second post taking part in clairestelle8's January Nail Art Challenge! Here was my first post...

Snow and Ice

Today's theme is Winter Berries. My first thought was of holly, but then I came up with something a little different and more personal. Here in the UK we have a blackcurrant cordial drink called Ribena which is the staple of many a happy childhood. In the Winter months, when it's cold, I love to drink it hot! Delicious and comforting blackcurranty goodness.

I checked and blackcurrants are indeed berries, so for the challenge I recreated my favourite Winter drink using Vestido de Gala by Jade which is a rich, sparkling berry jelly glitter. To portray the swirling blackcurrant cordial I used a pattern from MoYou's Cookbook 04 stamping plate and Chrome Mauve by Models Own.

I quite like this mix of purples!

The next challenge theme is Favourite Animal, so hopefully I will be back with some purrfect nails...

Hugs,

Lisa xx

January Nail Art Challenge: Snow and Ice

Hello and Happy New Year!

I took a blogging break during the Christmas season and now I'm back! Sorry for the absence - I wasn't feeling up to writing full blog posts, but I still put some manicures on my Instagram which you can see ^_^

I'm trying to ease myself back into blogging with clairestelle8's January Nail Art Challenge! It's a low-pressure challenge with some lovely nail art themes as inspiration. I also have some lovely Born Pretty goodies to review for you.

The first challenge theme is Snow and Ice, which is perfect as I wanted to try something clean and fresh for the beginning of the year. My idea was snowy nail tips, which I realised by starting with a French base of Essie Mademoiselle and sponging on the indie glitter Snowfall by Sonnetarium, using page reinforcer stickers as a tip guide.

I get the feeling that my manicures will be simpler than others in the challenge, but I actually don't mind that! The next theme is Winter Berries and I have a simple yet hopefully unexpected idea for it ^_^

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Geordie Nails does the MoYou Pin-Up Contest!

Hello!

This week MoYou are holding a nail art contest! The name of the game is to come up with a manicure inspired by their pin-up girls and then post it on Instagram. This contest has really captured my imagination; I've finished four manicures so far and have yet another one planned. I'm not doing them with the expectation of winning - I lack that extra artistic talent that other entrants possess - it's for the sheer joy of painting my nails ^_^

So here is a collection of all the manicures I've done so far! All of them use MoYou stamping plates for the nail art elements.

Kitty Manicure:

Frenchy Manicure:

Bridal Manicure:

Scholar Manicure:

Hugs,

Lisa xx

MoYou Bookworm Contest!

Hello!

This week MoYou have been running a nail art contest to win some of their upcoming stamping plates. The theme is literature and they listed 9 book titles to serve as inspiration for entrants' manicures. Now, I'm never going to win a nail art contest because I lack the incredible talent that other polishers have in skilled techniques like freehand art - but I certainly wanted to have a go!

The book I chose as my inspiration is Romeo and Juliet, and I decided to use all MoYou stamping plates over various coloured clingfilm (Saran wrap) manicures.

For my pinky and ring fingernails I stamped silhouettes of Romeo and Juliet over a shifting pink base with red and white roses. On my middle nail I stamped the script over a parchment effect. And on my index fingernail I stamped a dagger cross over mottled black and blood red, symbolising the story's fateful end!

The contest is a really good idea and I enjoyed pushing myself with my entry, even if it doesn't win! Good luck to all entering ^_^

Hugs,

Lisa xx

AiS Sunday Challenge ~ Your Guilty Pleasure

Hello!

I'm taking part in the Adventures in Stamping Sunday Challenge again this week, and the theme is "Your Guilty Pleasure". Fellow members were talking about things like handcuff designs, but I am very proud to present you with the lamest, tamest guilty pleasure ever: cups of tea.

I'm currently losing weight and have a daily calorie allowance to stick to. This means I usually have fruit or herbal teas to be healthy ~ but when I've been good, my one biggest comfort is a nice, hot, sugary, British cup of tea. So for this manicure I did a mix of stamping and nail art using French tip guides to produce a dedication to my favourite guilty pleasure!

Photo taken in my back yard because I'm a true working-class tea lover, plus it was hard to find some good light ;-)

Here's a list of what I used for what:

Accent nails ~ Base colour is Sweet Kisses by Boots 17. Tea party text is Cheeky Home Sweet Home stamped in W7 Black, and teapots are MoYou Tourist 05 in Barry M Gold Foil.

Teacups ~ Sinful Colors Snow Me White with Barry M Gold Foil for the tea. China pattern stamping done with MoYou Mother Nature 05 and Models Own Cornflower Gleam. Hearts are Nailz Craze NC01 in Gold Foil.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

AiS Sunday Challenge ~ Valentine's Day

Hello!

This week's Adventures in Stamping Sunday Challenge is Valentine's Day! I got a little idea in my head for polka dots and lace, so here it is :-)

The polishes I used are all Models Own. I started with a base of White Light then stamped on polka dots using Cerise Shine and plate QA02 from KKCenterHk. The lace pattern is from Bundle Monster plate BM323. I then took a dotting tool and topped the lace and random polka dots with Northern Lights glitter.

I may not celebrate Valentine's Day but I love sweet and romantic manis, so I can't wait to see what everyone else has come up with!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

AiS Sunday Challenge ~ Three Purples!

Hello!

This is a little late, but here we are! This week's Adventures in Stamping Sunday challenge was to create a manicure using three purples.

For my base I did a three-purple sponged gradient using Sally Hansen's Lavender Cloud, Nails Inc's Bluebell and Models Own's Pukka Purple. I'm still learning how to do gradients so it isn't perfect, but I feel like I'm improving!

For the stamping I once again broke out my MoYou Mother Nature plates 01 and 05. In black I stamped birds and butterflies, then in white and purple to contrast the gradient I added a rose pattern. Here it is...

Hugs,

Lisa xx

The AiS Challenge that wasn't ~ Inspired by Jewellery!

Hello!

Every Sunday, the Adventures in Stamping Facebook group holds a challenge where the theme is voted on by members. This week's challenge is to do a manicure using 3 purples, but another option up for vote was "inspired by your favourite jewellery". I've done a purple mani for tomorrow but had some inspiration and just had to do a jewellery look too! This manicure is based on my silver filigree heart pendant:

Base Colour: Kim-pletely In Love, Nicole by OPI
Stamping Polish: Blue Rhapsody, Essie
Stamping Plates: BM21 & BM316, Bundle Monster

I'll be posting again tomorrow with my purple manicure and can't wait to see everyone else's ideas!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

AiS Sunday Challenge ~ Inspired by Fabric

Hello!

Today I'm taking part in the Adventures in Stamping Sunday nail art challenge. This week the theme is "inspired by fabric". Well, I looked down and there was my fresh quilt cover with lovely grey swirls and accents of black and fuchsia! I practically live in my bed so it probably deserves a tribute at this point ;-)

My base colour is Sally Hansen's Lavender Cloud, and for the stamping I used the swirl pattern on Bundle Monster plate BM-314 and Essie's Blue Rhapsody. I dotted on black and hot fuschia to finish the mani.

...and here is the quilt cover in question:

I can't wait to see everyone else's ideas!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Recreate Someone Else's Mani

Hello!

Today is the very last of the laid-back 31 Day Challenge! I've absolutely loved it ~ it's gotten me back into blogging, inspired me to try new ideas and I've had the pleasure of seeing amazing manicures from the other challengers. It feels strange that it's over! :-(

The final day is to recreate someone else's mani from earlier in the challenge. This would have been so hard, as every single day I've been inspired, but I decided to take the mani that popped straight into my memory as being fun, cute and with a personal meaning to me. Missy from Missy's Manis did a ladybird manicure for the "Inspired by Nature" challenge ~ I know she didn't think they turned out right but I found them adorable and personally loved the half-moon idea! Ladybirds also remind me of my grandad, so this was my choice ^_^

I used Barry M's Pomegranate as the base red then added the detail with my black Barry M nail art pen.

I'm so sad this is over but we have a final set of amazing manicures to click on below ~ thank you so much if you've been following my nail art journey!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Your Favourite Nail Art Technique

Hello!

My favourite nail art technique is really a no-brainer... stamping! So for today's challenge I once again got out my new Cheeky stamping plate and chose the coffee bean design for a caffeine-fuelled mani ^_^

My base colour was Sally Hansen's Without A Stitch, a delicate latte shade. I stamped on the coffee beans and added real gold flakes by way of OPI's Man with The Golden Gun for some espresso opulence!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Inspired by a Blogger

Hello!

For today's challenge, I scoured my Nail Inspiration board on Pinterest and found a beautiful mani that I pinned to try a while ago. It's by francophone blogger Didoline's Nails and it is a white paisley print over pale pink. I used the same base colour as she did, OPI's Bubble Bath, and a similar design from my Bundle Monster plates. Here is my homage:

How delicate?!

Merci beaucoup à Didoline's Nails for the inspiration, and I can't wait to look at my fellow challengers' inspired manis below!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Inspired by your Favourite Colour

Hello!

I think my favourite colour is blue, so for this challenge I went for the bluest blue ever then smothered it in the sparkliest blue glitter know to man. It's bluetastic ;-)

My base is the famous crazy-blue Baker Street by Nails Inc, and on top is two coats of their Sapphire Nail Jewellery. The resulting sparkle is hard to capture on camera but it is a veritable bluefest!

Blue Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ A Mani Inspired by You

Hello!

Today's challenge is to do a mani inspired by you, which is a difficult one to decide on! I settled on a design commemorating something that has rather defined me - a Mental Health Awareness ribbon mani. I've already mentioned in this blog that I suffer very badly with depression, so this seemed like a good chance to wear the green ribbons! Here it is:

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Inspired By Your Country

Hello!

For today's challenge I decided to go a little cliché and do an England flag! I used Sally Hansens red and silver glitter, Cha-Ching!, for the cross and Sinful Colors' white polish for the base. I have to say I'm not very impressed with the white because, although it gives good coverage, it has a very long dry time :-(

It was actually St George's Day last week and I'm sad to say that I did not celebrate it at all! It doesn't seem to be as big a deal as the days for the other patron saints of the United Kingdom; perhaps, because England tends to be politically privileged, we don't feel as much need to celebrate.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Inspired By your Childhood!

Hello!

I decided to combine today's childhood challenge with a current nail trend and do a blackboard manicure!

Ciaté have come out with a set to accomplish the look, which is a cool idea but expensive! It's an easy idea to attempt and I used polishes that were already in my collection to do my mani: a base black by W7, Barry M's white nail art pen to do my doodles and Rimmel's matte top coat to give it the blackboard look. Here it is!

I'm still loving my Barry M nail art pens, it makes it so easy to freehand designs. And the blackboard mani is a fab idea!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Inspired by Nature

Hello!

Today's challenge is to do a manicure inspired by nature, and I just had to break out my Nailz Craze plate and try my first butterfly mani! There are so many inspiring manis out there with a myriad of gradient and colour combinations, just like in nature.

For my base colour I chose Layla's Red Taboo, a gorgeous red holo. I stamped the butterfly design on using Konad Black then dotted on white spots to finish. Here it is, in natural light and with flash to show off the holo:

Eeeee, I love butterfly manis! Next time I'm going to try a gradient or duochrome.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Inspired By Fabric

Hello!

I happen to be very much a homebody and am usually found all warm and cosy in my jimjams! So for this challenge, I decided to use my pyjamas as my fabric inspiration. Weird? Not at all.

The stamping is the flower pattern from Nailz Craze's Russian plate, which I adore!

Hugs,

Lisa xx