New 31 Day Challenge day 14 - stamping

Hi guys, Happy Valentines!

We're up to day 14 of the New 31 day challenge from Crumpets Nail Tarts, and the theme today was stamping. I love me a bit o' stamping, but I was uninspired when this day of the challenge rolled around. I did come up with something I liked in the end though! I used a black with holo glitter from a cheapy Christmas set as the base, really lovely colour, awful formula. It was like brushing my nails with tar. Sparkly tar nonetheless, but really gloopy. Once that was dry, approximately 11tybillion years later, I stamped with a barbed wire image in silver. The details didn't come out as much as I would have liked, but you could tell it was barbed wire, so I was happy!

The base on it's own. Pretty, but not worth the hassle!

Hx

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New 31 day challenge - day 13, a cheer-yourself-up mani

Blue. Glitter. Leopard print. That is all.

Hx

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New 31 day challenge day 12, tape mani

Hello again!

Just warning you from the start: I fail at tape manis. I think I have only ever had one truly successful one, and that was a fluke. Whether I use striping tape, sellotape (scotch tape), masking tape, french tip guides, hole reinforcers, stickers - I always foul it up somehow. Anyway, I've seen a lot of gold and teal coloured manis done with striping tape and thought I'd give it a go...first mistake. Second mistake was the gold I chose, a cheap drugstore brand that wasn't opaque enough and needed too many thick coats. I thought I'd just do an accent nail, and that made all the mistakes more blindingly obvious. But never mind, you live and learn! You can kinda see what I was trying to do, right?

Also, it was the darkest, dullest day ever when I took the pictures, so it looks doubly awful. Anyway, I was in love with the mani I did for tomorrow's challenge so I hope I will redeem myself!

Hx

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New 31 day challenge, day 11 - spaltter

Morning all

Day 11 in the challenge was to create a splatter mani. I have tried the splatter straw technique a couple of times and all I end up with is a mess and a headache. So this time I cheated and used a stamp - clever Helly!

I started with a navy blue base and stamped a sort of splatter with Color Club Blue Heaven, and reversed it on my ring finger as an accent. My topcoat shrank the blue at the cuticle, so it looks messy, but was kinda cute.

Day 12 coming up later!

Hx

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New 31 day challenge day 10 - Geometric

I'm so excited to share this mani with you today! I adored it, and the polishes I used were pretty special too!

Now, if you're sitting comfortable, I've got a story to tell! If you're a regular reader you might know that financially things haven't been great for my little family over the last 6 months or so. It has been a long time since I've had a polish 'haul' as such, and I've only been able to buy one or two bottles every now and then as a treat. New clothes have been a thing of the past too. Anyway, I got some money over Christmas (only about £70, not a massive amount) but I was going to spend it on ME. If you're a mum you understand that doesn't happen very often! Alas it was not to be, as the day before we were due to hit the sales Mr NN drove the car through a big puddle and flooded the engine. Cost of the repairs...you guessed it, £70. Bye bye new boots...

Anyway, I was pretty annoyed, so I had a little rant in my birthday group, they patted me on the back and commiserated and then it was forgotten. Until a little while later a USPS box arrived at my door. I had no clue who it was from or what was in it, and when that happens it's usually down to one of my birthday girls. I opened it up and out fell a full collection of the Color Club Halo Hues! They had all clubbed together and got them for me, because I had had to spend my Christmas money on the car, the sweethearts. I was literally stunned, and I'm afraid to say I had a little cry (happy tears!). I couldn't wish for a lovelier group of nail-friends, so this post serves as a very special thank you to them all. I love you ladies!

Anyway, onto the nails. I used 5 of the Halo Hues in this, and an older Color Club Holo - Revvvolution. I  used a striper brush to do a line down the middle of the nail with Revvvolution once the bases were dry. Then I drew the coloured in side of the heart and filled it in, then made the other side of the heart a tiny bit bigger and filled in the outside space. Does that make sense? I'm not good at tutorials!

I hope you liked them as much as I did!

Hx

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New 31 day challenge day 9 - saran wrap/cling film

Helloooo

Today's theme was to create a cling-film (saran wrap to stateside readers!) mani. There are a couple of ways of doing this apparently - you can paint your base, let it dry, paint another colour on top and then lift some of the top colour off with scrunched up cling film to make a marbled effect, or you can paint your base and let it dry, then "sponge" another colour on top using scrunched up cling film. I did neither of these though, starting with a white base, then adding blobs of neon pink, blue and yellow on top and then squishing them down with the cling film so they merged a bit. I really liked the effect, and used it as a base for a later challenge, so you'll be seeing it again!

Hx

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New 31 dc day 8 - duochrome, flakie or holo

Morning!

For day 8 of the new 31 day challenge we had a choice between duochrome, flakie or holo, and I chose duochrome because I have a couple in my untrieds. I used a coat of Miss Sporty 040 Fiery Blaze, one of three duochromes they released last summer, over an oxblood creme to get the most from the duo effect. Then I stamped a bit of swirly stuff from the 3rd Bundle Monster set on top in silver and it came out all prettyful like.

The duochrome isn't the most groundbreaking, but these polishes are cheap as chips (£1.99 each, often on offer too) and pretty enough! I definitely don't have enough duochromes in my stash... *opens ebay*

Hx

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