Whew! I Almost Didn't Make It!

Yep, that's right, I still had my Thanksgiving colors on!

4 days from Christmas! 

WoW but Wow !!

My personal best longest lasting mani!

I did use my sister's chicken feathers again this year like last. I just love them and think they coordinate so well with the Fall season. They are molted naturally of course.

I really need to try my Tilly and the Keets feathers in the Spring. They are Spring colors.

OK let's get down to brass tacks ~

The rich chocolate brown is Nirvana (949) by Sinful Colors.

For my accent nail I used Sand Tropez (668) by Esssie.

While still wet I placed the feather and

 lightly tapped it down in place.
I roughly snipped the extra feather off at the end of my nail, 

then trimmed closer and more evenly.

Once dry I topped with a clear coat which was kind of tricky.

The feather was going the opposite direction you would normally brush. I didn't want to go against it and "ruffle" feathers.

I ended up brushing the top coat on backwards

 just enough to cover the feathers.

Once that coat was dry I put on another top coat brushing the normal direction followed by Seche Vite.

Finally a few days ago I found some time to 
change out the Season!

That beautiful blue is Sturdy Sapphire (720) by Sally Hansen, topped with Strapless by Pure Ice which is a glitter nail polish.

One Snowflake is on my accent nail in white accented with silver glitter both by L.A. Colors Art Deco.

OK Christmas can go forth :)

Paint 'em Pretty - Update Catch up!

Whew, it's been a while since I've posted any me time mani's!

I've squeezed them in here and there.

Has life gotten busier for you too or what? 

Maybe it the time change?

Seems I wake up hit the floor running and 

don't stop until I fall back into bed at night! 

I've taken the photo's just not posted them....bad me :(

So here we go - several at once!

Top photo is "Savage" (950) by Sinful Colors.

Accent nail is "Snow Me White" (101) by Sinful Colors, 

then stamped with "Savage".  

This was fun, Mini Me and I did it together :)

"Tempest" (1184) by Sinful Colors - 1 coat for her, 2 for me,

then stamped with "Snow Me White" (101) by Sinful Colors.

My accent nail reversed - "Snow Me White" (101) by Sinful Colors, then stamped with "Tempest".

"Been There, Scene It" (806362) by Finger Paints Endless Wear.

Cherry Blossom Petals are "What Have You Done" (806373) by Finger Paints Endless Wear, centers are "Snow Me White" (101) by Sinful Colors, stems are "Nirvana" (94) by Sinful Colors.

Last but not least, "Home Run" (1200) by Pure Ice.

Pink foil floral sticker by "Nail Art" on accent nail.

All with last coat of Seche Vite.

Whew! All caught up!

Till next time, remember to make some me time!

Paint 'em Pretty ~ Christmas Time?

Still running crazy mad here per usual ~ non-stop Dr./Specialists appointments, procedures, hydroscans, xrays, ultrasounds, a whole gamut of medical testing being done, (not to mention M's infusions) ~ for 3 weeks straight straight every day it's been sitting in medical offices.

Thank goodness we had a sunshine visit from Izzy.

Not sure what it is about sitting in those lobbies that drain you so much. We can always count on her to bring our spirits back up and smiles in our hearts when we've been dragged through the mud er Drs. How can we not re-energize with that sweet face?

Can't wait until her baby brother gets big enough to stay at Camp Grammy too!

But I digress....

I squeezed in a few minutes over a few days, yes I said a few days! Couldn't get my nails done all in one sitting this time! Did I mention how crazy it's been around here? LOL

I dug up a color I haven't used in years and believe it or not it was still good! Nice and creamy thick. It went on so smoothly I couldn't believe it!

2 coats of Bronzeberry (479A) by Wet 'n' Wild

Then with a toothpick I made The Star of Bethlehem on my accent nail. Yes, it is snowing there also ;) I used Snow Me White by Sinful Colors, topping off with Seche Vite.  

Two more days of Drs. appointments then we're done. 

But then it's Christmas Eve and Christmas ~ 

Good grief ~ yay?

Paint 'em Pretty ~ Quickie Christmas Mani

Not much time these days, 

I think we are all hustling and bustling.

I still had my Thanksgiving mani going on! 

Thought I better get with it and

 do a quickie Christmas mani at least!

A couple coats of Current by LA Colors Color Craze 

then Snow Me White by Sinful Colors 

on my accent nails along with pretty Christmas Tree decals.

 Topped them all off with a coat of Seche Vite 

and Viola! 

Done for now.

Hoping to get some extra time in the near future to do a proper mani, but with Dr. appointments every day up until Christmas Eve, not sure if that will happen or not.

AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Paint'em Pretty ~ Happy Thanksgiving

I'm so excited an how good these came out!

I've been wanting to try using feathers as 

embellishments for a while now.

With Thanksgiving coming up I also wanted to change up my colors to reflect the Season, so I thought lets try!

I have chicken feathers from my 

Sister's chickens that were molted naturally.

 I went through to find two similar patterned 

ones approximately the same size.

I love the rich chocolate brown 

Nirvana (949) by Sinful Colors that I used. 

One coat did the trick followed by a coat of Seche Vite.

For my accent nail I used Sand Tropez (668) by Esssie.

While still wet I placed the feather and

 lightly tapped it down in place.

Luckily they both cooperated, 

I was worried they would stick in a weird shape.

I roughly snipped the extra feather off at the end of my nail, 

then trimmed closer and more evenly.

Once dry I topped with a clear coat which was kind of tricky.

The feather was going the opposite direction you would normally brush. I didn't want to go against it and "ruffle" feathers.

I ended up brushing the top coat on backwards

 just enough to cover the feathers.

Once that coat was dry I put on another top coat brushing the normal direction followed by Seche Vite.

 

Love it!

Wishing everyone a

Happy Thanksgiving!

Paint'em Pretty ~ Playing

Busy, busy, busy

Not enough hours in the day to accomplish what needs to be done.

Gardening, Christmas shopping, baby shopping ~ yes my new little grandson has arrived! Trying to get everything under control, skipping the Thanksgiving decorations and going right into Christmas!

I know, I know, but if I start now they
 just maybe up by Christmas! LOL

But I did try to play with polishing my nails ~ just trying something different.

It unfortunately was a rush job.

But I felt accomplished at least afterwards.

Base coat was Lion Around by Essie.

 I gave my accent nail some abstract black striping 

with L.A. Colors Art Deco Thin Tip Brush.

I topped all off with Hallucinate by Wet n Wild 

from their Wild Shine line.

I love Hallucinate, it has the tiniest bits of glitter

and adds just a subtle eye catching sparkle.

So even when time is tight,

try to squeeze playing time in!

Paint 'em Pretty ~ Happy Halloween!

BOO!

I wanted to have fun with my nails for Halloween but was running low on time sooooo I just went with an orange I had picked up at a garage sale, yep a garage sale!

Sorry, no labels on so can't tell you what brand or color.

My pinky has a different color orange, why? My daughter was cleaning her desk and found a sample she had received, gave it to me and I wanted to see the difference between hers and mine. Since I was already done with my orange I just did my pinky ;)

It's a little lighter and pearly.

Again no label ~ sorry.

Now for my accent ghoulies ~

One coat of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear, 629 -   "Black Out". Absolutely LOVE this! One coat does the trick, covers well, not too thick, not too thin. 

PERFECTION!

 Sinful Colors,101 - Snow Me White made the body. 

Again only one coat was needed.

Used a dotting tool to make the eyes and mouth.

A coat of Seche Vite and c'est fini!

Paint'em Pretty ~ #PutTheNailinIt

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence thrives when we are silent; but if we take a stand and work together, we can end domestic violence. Throughout the month of October, help Safe Horizon to raise awareness about domestic violence and join in our efforts to end violence.

Safe Horizon envisions a society free of family and community violence. We will lead the way by empowering victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault and human trafficking to move from crisis to confidence.

Safe Horizon is a proud partner of

 Join Safe Horizon and donate to help end domestic violence through #PutTheNailInIt, a campaign that gets people to paint, donate, and share their stories.

Celebrities  are showing their commitment also.
Here's just a few.

Tamron Hall is the latest to join in their newest PSA. In 2004, Tamron Hall's sister, Renate, was found beaten to death in the backyard of her Houston, Texas, home.

Step 1: Donate
Step 2: Paint your ring fingernail any shade of purple
Step 3: Share it on your social networks.

Now that you’ve donated, paint your left ring fingernail any shade of purple and share it on your social networks.

Here's mine :)

My purple is Tempest by Sinful Colors.
My other polish I picked up at a garage sale (For Shame!) LOL
and all the labels were off. It's a maroon-ish color. Time to start transitioning to Fall colors :(

OK Your turn
Purple On!!


  

Paint'em Pretty ~ Make Them Look Like Lace Tutorial

I really wanted a lace look to at least one of my nails.

 I tried using different pieces of lace to use as a stencil and lightly pounced with my polish brush almost dry ~ fail. Each one came out a mess, you couldn't see the solid lines in the lace. 

I thought I could use the same process as you would in crafts, 

but it didn't work for me :( 

So I played around with dots, what else?

seems they are my go to and about all I can master decently.

After playing for a bit on paper and getting no where but frustrated, I hit upon almost an eyelet shape ~ 

hey, close enough to lace for me!

I wanted to do a tutorial but in the midst of actually painting my nails I was too nervous to screw up. So I decided to do one after my nails were dry -  like a week later dry! 

Sorry, crazy busy here, in fact so busy... 

I have had this same polish on since 8/29 - 

yes you heard me right! 

I did this for our trek to Monterey on 8/31!

 ONE month ago!!!!

I can't believe how they have held up! 

I've pruned my backyard, fixed my pond, pulled weeds, fixed the front sprinklers, had my Grammy days with my granddaughter, bathed our dogs - twice, all along with my regular chores.

I'll show a photo of what they look like at the end ~ personal best!lol

For my base coat I used 2 coats of 

Wonder Mint by Sinful Colors

My thumb and ring fingers are accented with

Snow Me White by Sinful Colors

and topped off with Seche Vite

To get the lace/eyelet design,

 I used the end of a large paint brush dipped

 in Snow Me White and 

placed 3 dots next to each other touching making

 a scallop type edge.

(Pretend you don't see the blue dots)

Fill in the rest of the nail to the tip with 

the Snow Me White

Use the end of a smaller paint brush that has been 

dipped in Wonder Mint and place 3 dots inside the

3 white scallops. 

I added 3 white dots down my thumb nail

Then added the smaller blue inside the white

I'm not very accurate as you can see, 

so I ended up with half moons!

I'll have to remember this for Halloween LOL

Finished!

Tip: When dotting, I take some polish out of the bottle with the brush and make a puddle on a piece of paper. That way you can control the amount of polish you have on the end of your brush. Too much, dot some off on the paper. Too little add a bit more.

It's a good way to test out whatever you're going to use as your dotting tool too.  

Mani today - 9/29 - one month old

Yep, need mani BAD - 

grown out, a big corner chip but,

 still getting compliments!

Just need some down time.....

I'm no gypsy, but see none in my near future...

according to my calendar....