It's been a bit hot

It's no good trying to garden or do anything productive when it's so warm.
I decided that my very worn gold polish needed an update. After pulling out the Revlon gold again and a sparkly Miki teal colour and of course my current fav, China Glaze Watermelon Rind I was on my way to a fun afternoon.
I quite like fiddling with gradients, it feels a bit like I imagine painting with oil paints must feel like. This one was relatively simple with just the 3 colours. I did however go over the graduation lines a few times to try to soften the boundaries as much as possible.
I painted the gold on first, then I went over with a very light coat of the teal but starting a third of the way up the nail to make sure some of the gold was still exposed. Then I did the same thing with the Watermelon Rind starting two thirds of the way up the nail, trying to contour the boundaries a bit. Then any hard lines I wasn't happy with, I just went over with one of the lighter colours until it all blended well enough.
A top coat of Seche Vite and it's all done.
It's really much less difficult than it looks and works really well to make even short nails look snazzy!
;)

Christmas manicure

I can't quite remember where the inspiration for this came along. It was probably a combination of wanting something more simple than a candy stripe (stripes...! I can never get them all "just right.") and making christmas tags over the years using coloured pens and pencils.

So I started with a lovely simple French manicure.
Paint on your french white. No need for perfect lines this time, the dots will hide any imperfections. :) Put your usual coat on over the french white as normal.
Before the top coat goes on, use a dotting tool (mine is a pin pushed into the top of a pencil) to dot on 3 red dots in a cluster around the line of the white near one edge of your nail. Then use a festive green (I used China Glaze Watermelon Rind) to dot a line of green along the edge of the white and then drag two lines either side near the cluster of red berries to make leaves.

If you are one of those people who like every single nail to look exactly the same, this probably isn't for you.

But the way I see it, I'M the only one who actually looks that closely and it's a bit like scrutinising your own handwriting. It's never exact or perfect no matter how many calligraphy classes you do...

Have fun! ;)

Last night I...

well I was experimenting with a home made dotting tool.
Wish I'd used christmas colours now....
Simple dotting tool...take a pin from your sewing kit. Stick it in the top of a pencil and there you go. One dotting tool. Cheap.
Perfect for those of us who live far from what we like to call "real shops."
I like my tiny simple "canvases..."
Took a photo BEFORE I went gardening..