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

I'm Having Mixed Feelings

Hello everyone!! Today's post is a very simple Valentine's Day mani since I've been hard at work on the really awesome nail art coming tomorrow and Thursday.

I started with a saran wrap mani using Sally Hansen Pink Blink and New York Color Sidewalkers. I admit deciding to change my original idea of stripes to a saran wrap mani wasn't the best choice; I'm not perfect! Still, topping it all with Mixed Feelings was the right choice. And I guess with a name like Mixed Feelings the pink and grey kind of fits.

Mixed Feelings is an unreleased Valentine's Day polish of mine. If there's enough interest I may decide to release it later on though so definitely let me know if you want it. It's perfect for Valentine's Day, but would make a good every day polish. Also, don't forget to check out my Etsy shop next week for new polishes!!

Blogs to Love Friday #1

Welcome to the first post of the Blogs to Love Friday linkup. I was so excited when I first heard of this linkup and I'm even more excited now that it's time to share my favorite posts I read this week. But first ... if you want to join this linkup being hosted by My Beautiful, Crazy Life and Mrs. Monologues read this post and add this button to your posts.


 
<br /> <a href="http://mybeautifulcrazylifex33.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-linkup-blogs-to-love-friday.html"> <img src="http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x401/mrsmonologues/blogstolovebutton_zps827e2b62.jpg" /> </a> <br />
Now onto some of my favorite posts of this week. They may not have been posted this week, but I did find them and read them this week.

• These Mattified Splatter Nails by modnails may not have been posted this week, but I did find it this week. Be sure to check out her other nails because they are all amazingly awesome!!
• I use this Coconut Banana Bliss Smoothie recipe almost daily so that has to count, right? It doesn't really come from a blog. I found it on Pinterest though, which is kind of like a blog, lol. I made two very simple changes to the recipe: substituting the coconut oil with coconut water and the Sustain packet for 1 tbsp of yogurt.
• I look forward to every new post by Sensible Stylista and her newest outfit post has me wanting to rush out and buy some printed skinny jeans. Seriously? Her every post has me wanting to rush out and buy something! I know some of these things won't look good on me, but she makes them look so great that I want them anyway!
• There are many things to love about The Freckled Fox: her wonderful fashion sense, her adorable crafts, her yummy looking food, or even her amazing photos plus much, much more. However, I adore The Freckled Fox for her hair tutorials! The one I think most deserves sharing is the Posh Faux Hawk. OMG, I am so in love with this look. What odd and slightly weird girl has never dreamed of having a Mohawk at one time in their lives? I certainly have. Almost went for it too, but the reality of having to wear it day in and day out hit hard. This is one hawk you can love and leave and love again!! Still, if faux hawks aren't your thing, I'm sure she'll have a tutorial that is more your style. 
• This Double Saran Wrap Tutorial video by DullLikeGlitter is another very old post, but one I was super lucky to find on Preen.me this week! She also has a picture tutorial post on her blog. I tried this with light pink, white, and baby blue but can't wait for summer to try her bright red, yellow, and blue look!

I keep trying to expand my V-Day mani ideas to incorporate colors other than white, pink, and red. I decided to substitute the often used red for blue in this one, and I think it still has all the makings of a good V-Day mani.

Saran Wrap Valentine's Day Nail Art Tutorial

Hello again everyone! I missed my post yesterday, but I have a really great excuse! It was mentioned in an answer to one of the 1st Blogiversary Giveaway entries that one of you wanted to see a Saran Wrap tutorial. There were more than a few of you who wanted to see video tutorials. So, I was spending all day yesterday editing my first real nail art video. I have a whole new level of respect for video bloggers!

Here are the nails I'll be showing you how to create in the video. This is a very easy mani to do, and with pink and white polish it is perfect for Valentine's Day!

I don't really have the set up or the best software/know-how for this, but I gave it my best shot. Enjoy!

K is for ...

Another day, another ABC Challenge post. With K words like ketchup and kazoo to choose from what was I going to do?? It actually took me a few days and much dictionary browsing to find something worthy of a mani. I bring you:

K is for ... Koi.

I confess that when I started these nails I still had no idea how I was going to accomplish them. I knew I wanted to do koi and use Wet n Wild Club Havana and white to make a splotchy pattern but that was about it. After using two coats of Club Havana I decided to use saran wrap to dab on the white. This gave the koi a very unique swirling watery pattern. I also used the saran wrap to dab on some Pure Ice Poker Face, a sheer shimmery golden orange polish, in an attempt to create the glittery metallic looking scales of a koi.

I'm sure you know by now how much I love my accent nails. So, no matter how unique these nails looked alone, I just had to add an open-mouthed, barbel-whiskered koi like fish face.

I will not be posting tomorrow as I will be spending the day with family. To those who celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving. To those who don't, have a great day anyway. Spend time with family and be thankful for all you have. :)