Memorial Day Round-up

Memorial Day is tomorrow. It seems like time just flies by anymore. I blink and a week has passed. I planned to do this post early but life got busy. Half the time I figure if I get a chance to do it at all I'm ahead! Do you have your nail art ready for the holiday? If not take a look at some of these past designs (and the one I did especially for this post) that could be perfect for your nails. :)

The first is my Patriotic Drip nails. These are still, to this day, one of my favorite nail art designs. And honestly, they are so easy to do! I even have a tutorial to walk you through it!! (The original post for the Patriotic Drips)

Easy, right? It's okay if you're not up to using a nail art brush though because I have one even simpler for you! All it takes is red, white, and blue polish and some saran wrap!

This mani is not only easy, but it's fast too! I started with just one coat of China Glaze First Mate. Let this dry completely before moving on, and it is really the only part you have to wait for. Next put a drop or two of white polish on a piece of paper and dip a bit of crumpled saran wrap into it. Dab the saran wrap around the paper until you start to see a design that is more than just blobs of nail polish and then dab the saran wrap around your nails. Repeat with the red polish. I went back and forth between red, white, and blue until I got a design I liked. There is really no way to do this wrong so have fun! I topped the design with Seche Vite and then did a quick clean up with a q-tip dipped in nail polish remover.

My helpful tip of the day: Using top coat before you clean is perfect for those of you who have a tendency to over clean and ruin your hard work as it will protect the design - you'll need to clean through a layer of top coat before you erase any of the design. :)

Still not what you're looking for? Try one of my older designs. I think I am nearing the end of new and different when it comes to patriotic nail art because I've done so much of it already!

The original post for the Stars and Stripes nails.

The original post for the Patriotic Splatter nails.

The original post for the Memorial Day 2012 nails.

And while this may be a design I did for the Olympics of 2012 this red, white, and blue gradient would be perfect alone or used as an accent. (The original post for the Olympic nails.)

Whether you choose one of these designs or already have an idea in mind ... what will be on your nails for Memorial Day?

Aloha Baby - Sally Hansen #iHeartNailArt Contest

Hello lovelies! I have nail art to share!! It's been awhile, I know, but I'm really trying to do my nails more often. I call this one Aloha Baby and it is entered in Sally Hansen's #iHeartNailArt contest. This month's theme is Color Destinations, and I really think this saran wrap mani with birds, a palm tree, and Aloha on the thumb really fits the theme. If you like this design, think it fits the theme, and have a few minutes I would really appreciate a vote on the Sally Hansen website. Just follow this link and click the vote button at the top of the picture.

To do this mani I started with a base of 2 coats white. Once that was completely dry I used crumpled saran wrap to dab Sally Hansen Blue-Away across all my nails. While it was still wet I used another piece of crumpled saran wrap to dab my nails with Sally Hansen Snappy Sorbet; this made sure that the colors blended in places. It's not necessary but I went back over my nails again with both colors to get the coverage I wanted. I added a top coat and allowed them to dry completely before using the black Sally Hansen nail art pen to draw the birds, palm tree, and to write Aloha across my thumb. I had a little trouble on the palm tree; the polish came out of the pen a little too quickly so the tree ended up thicker than I would have liked (but is at least still shaped like a palm tree) but was perfect for the other designs. This was seriously the easiest time I've ever had writing on my nails!! Just remember to keep the pressure light and if you start to see things getting too thick swipe the tip of the pen across a piece of paper to get the excess polish off and continue drawing.

Until next time,
♥ Ashley

May Charity Polish

Hello all! Another month and another charity polish is making its debut in my Etsy and Storenvy shops.

This is Today for Tomorrow, done in the colors fun and playful colors of The Tomorrow Fund. It has a creamy white base filled with hexes of red, green, yellow, and blue as well as yellow dots and what children's polish would be complete without some adorable Mickey shaped glitter??

I have developed an insane love of taking bottle shots like this with the cap off and laying in the photo.

The Tomorrow Fund is the only non-profit organization that provides daily financial and emotional support to children with cancer and their families who are treated at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.

As always $2 of every bottle sold (both full size and mini) will be donated to the charity the first of the next month. In this case, a donation will be made to The Tomorrow Fund June 1st. Keep an eye on my Facebook Page for a screenshot of the donation to see how much money we raised!!

For those waiting on the screenshot for April's charity a donation will be made later today and a screenshot posted immediately after. :)