NOTW

Nail Of The Week

This is my New Year's manicure.  It is the limited edition color and gel polish combo from Sensationail.  It contains two polishes, Midnight Rendevous ( black polish) and Gold Glitter.  I have never worn black polish before but I thought I would try something new for the new year.  I really love this.  It is so sparkly in real life, like my nails are dusted with gold fairy dust!  I think I will be wearing more dark colors in the future.  

What new things are you going to try in 2013?

Nail Stamping!

I am still having creative block on the holiday card front.  I know, I know, not many days until Christmas to get those cards out.  I think I have come up with a concept.  It involves dies and making Christmas trees out of triangles.  If I can pull it off, they should be easy to mass produce and pull together by Thursday to be mailed out in time for Christmas. 

I finally did something creative on Sunday.  Nail Stamping!  You know we stampers love to find any new medium to stamp on, so why not our nails? 

I received my Salon Express (AS SEEN ON TV) nail stamping kit this weekend. They sell them at CVS for $9.99.   I picked up some chrome nail polish that I thought might work well when I was at CVS.  I decided to try Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polish in Shoot The Moon.    The stamping process was fairly easy.  I really like it and can't wait to experiment with it.

After I did my regular gel manicure including top coat I just did the following:

1) Apply Shoot the Moon to the stamping plate image.  ( I chose a zebra print pattern.)

2) Scrape excess polish from the plate using the scraper tool.

3) Press the stamping tool onto the image to pick up the polish design

4) Roll the design onto the nail

5) Let dry ( Shoot the Moon dried instantly.)

6) Apply Gel Top Coat and Cure

7) Clean the scraper and plate with alcohol or nail polish remover with a cotton pad or Qtips

8) Repeat steps for each additional nail

My experience is that you get better results with having the polish stick to the stamper when you file the stamper gently with a nail file.  I think it is the same concept as rubbing a new rubber stamp with an eraser to get the ink to stick better.

Fellow papercrafter Kristina (as in kwernerdesign)  has a great video here on how to do it.  Some of her manis or truly fab!

Pictured-  Sephora by OPI Gelshine Leotard Optional, Red Carpet Manicure Brilliance Top Coat, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Shoot The Moon

It's been a while...

It's been a while since I have posted.  So sorry for being gone for so long.  Hurricane Sandy really took its toll out here on the east coast.  It made things very difficult for a while for me getting to work and servicing my customer base who couldn't return to their offices in lower manhattan.  I am happy to say that everything is back to normal for me.  The "Zombie Apocolypse" effect that occurred the first two weeks after all of the devastation is over.   There have been so many effected and my heart goes out to everyone who lost their homes, possessions, jobs and even loved ones.  I am hoping to be able to go to Jon Bon Jovi's benefit concert 12-12-12 where all of the proceeds are being donated to Sandy victims.

I made this card while the power was out for a week.  I am hoping now that things are back to normal, I will be able to get back to my crafting.  

(Stamp: The Greeting Farm's Sweet Treats Anya, Paper Stickers and Washi Tape: Teresa Collins Tell Your Story, Copics)

In the meantime I have been having a ball with one of my newest hobbies... DIY Soak Off Gel Manicures.  I got the Sensationail Starter Kit that includes the LED lamp from drugstore.com (on sale till Monday $34.99).  

I am in love with Soak Off Gel.  It cures under the LED light in under a minute and then it is dry! No more painting your nails and then waiting hours for them to dry.  Plus the manicure lasts 1-2 weeks with out chipping and flaking off.  

I have been changing my polish every week because I like playing with the colors and trying to do different effects.  The soak off process takes some getting used to but I think I have gotten the hang of it.  With Hands Down nail wraps (they look like bandaids) and a little heat.  You soak for 10-20 minutes and then just push the softened gel right off your nail.  

When I did my first soak off gel manicure my nails were short and bitten down to the quick.  Below is have much they have grown in just 8 weeks.  I have been mixing and matching colors from other brands: Gelish, Red Carpet Manicure, Mally Beauty, and IBD too. It all works with the Sensationail LED lamp.  

(Top: Sensationail French Manicure Sheer Pink Kit + Red Carpet Manicure White Hot,  Bottom:  Sensationail Mauve Maven)

My Christmas shopping is done and now I need to start wrapping everything.  Now I need to get the Christmas cards done!