Quick NOTW: April Showers

Hello friends! It looks like spring's come early this year (at least to where I am). The ground's usually still got some slush and snow on the ground this time of year, but this year's totally different. We've already several days where had the temperature above 20 degrees celsius and everything is already so beautiful and green. They say that April shower bring May flowers and is it every true! Some flowers are already booming but I can see all kinds of flower already spouting and forming bulbs. I even passed by a couple of gorgeous cherry blossom trees the other day. The house I used to live in had a cherry blossom tree in front of every house and it was just so amazingly beautiful come springtime when all the trees on the street would bloom!

This manicure was inspired not by the blooming flowers, however, but by the frequent rainy days we've been getting. An umbrella print is something that I've been wanting to do for a while, but this really did not turn out how I wanted it to. The umbrellas were okay, but there was too much negative space left in between and the nails just looked empty. I used rain drops to fill in the leftover space but it just turned out looking quite odd. I think the individual umbrellas really needed to be much closer together, with maybe just one or two rain drops in between. I definitely want to re-try doing an umbrella print design some day in the future and I hope it turns out way better!

Paper Airplane Nails(Quick NOTW)

Hello Friends! I'm back again with another nail design! I've had a lot more time to do my nails recently, so I'll be posting more often. Anyway, these are my paper plane print nails! This has been a design that I've wanted to do for years; ever since I first started doing nail art, and I'd glad I finally got to do it. The thing that prompted me to do this design was a game that I downloaded a couple days ago. The game is called "Paper Planes" and it's pretty adorable. You fold planes, stamp them with your location and send the airplane off. You can catch planes that other players have sent, stamp them with your location and send those off too. I think that the concept  is super cool, and it's fun to see the places that the paper places have "flown" to; this game definitely has a lot of potential. 

Blue and White Pottery Inspired Nails

Hello friends, how are you all this week?  It feels almost like spring where I am right now, and not at all like a typical February here in the GTA. My boyfriend visited me last week and the weather was just gorgeous, it was so warm and sunny! I really hope that this weather lasts until summer, though that'll be unlikely. This week, I actually really wanted to do a spring inspired design because of how spring-like it feels outside. However, not wanting to jinx this beautiful weather, I decided against it. 

The idea for the design came to me because my mother showed me a post from her chinese website about dresses inspired by traditional blue and white pottery designs. I've always found traditional chinese pottery to be extremely beautiful. I've spent many hours as a child staring and admiring the the beautifully glazed ceramics.

With this design, I decided to that it would look best if done purely with nail polish. Normally, I would prefer using acrylic paints for such intricate designs, but I did not have any paints in this colour (I definitely need to add some more colors to my collection). Plus, acrylic designs tend to look a bit more flat compared to polish based designs and  I wanted to achieve that glazed ceramic feel without having to add thick layers of topcoat. That being said, I had not worked with nail polish as a medium in a while and I was definitely not used to how fast the polish dried up! It was certainly quite a fun process, and I think that I'd enjoy trying this with some acrylic paint in the future.

Anyway, without further ado, here are my tips and tricks on how to create these nails (and some more pictures)!

Winter Birch Forest (with Pictorial)

Hello friends! Winter is here once more! Last week, we were suddenly hit with a couple of inches of snow here in Ottawa. The first snowfall is always so exciting. I love the feeling of waking up, looking out the window and finding everything under a blanket of fresh snow. The here ground is covered with a layer of fluffy white snow, and the sidewalks are icy again. I will definitely have to get used to the cold and walking very carefully so that I won't slip on the ice. 

This week, my nails are inspired by winter. I remember going camping during my days as a girl scout years ago, and hiking through some beautiful winter trails. We also learned to make bird feeders (the ones made from acorns) and got to watch cute birds from our cabin. One of the birds that caught my eye was a brilliant red color that contrasted beautifully against the white snow. I've loved cardinals ever since, they're just such wonderfully majestic looking birds. I now consider it good luck when I see one (or a pair) when I go out. Sadly, cardinals are not that common in the city, all I see are pigeons nowadays.

Continue reading for some tips and a pictorial on how to create this look....

"Bee Happy!" (with Pictorial)

Hello friends! I have this extremely cute and punny design to share with you all today. In grade two, I remember receiving a tiny notebook that said "BEE HAPPY" on it and the saying has stuck with me ever since. I no longer remember what the notebook looked like, but the phrase popped back into my mind the other day and I was inspired by it. 

This design has been bringing me smiles whenever I see it throughout the day. Read on to see step by step instructions (with pictures) on how to create these adorable nails!

Stripes and Simple Florals

Hello friends! I have a fun and bold nail design for this week. Pairing simple vertical stripes with some summery florals makes these nails stand out! This eye-catching design may look intricate, but is actually very easy to do.

This design is also extremely versatile, and I can see it working well with a variety of Different colour combinations.  A pastel pink in lace of the blue would give the nails a much more chic and make it look much softer; whilst a bold red would make this design look very fierce. Another thing I really love about this design is the mix & match look that it has. Mix & match designs have always been a favourite of mine because of how fun and eye-catching they are. Each nail has its own unique look, yet they all fit together very well; plus, every nail is an accent nail.

Continue reading to see my tips and tricks on creating this manicure...

Quick Post: Beach Inspired Nails (with Pictorial)

Hello friends, I hope you're all enjoying your summer! It's been so hot here in the past few weeks with barely any rain, so it just feels dry all the time. I really wish I could spend a day sitting by a beach. A day off from work would be so nice, but that's not happening anytime soon, so my nails will have to do. These beach nails I'm wearing right now are for the beach prompt for SNCjuly2016. 

For these nails, I finally used the fan brush that has just been sitting around in my storage bin been the past year. I avoided using the fan brush because I just didn't know how, and none of my designs really required the techniques that could be executed with the brush. I really like how it turned out though, the ripples in the water looks more realistic. From this experience with my fan brush, I know that I definitely want to try doing more designs with it!

Continue reading to see how I created my beach nails...

(Quick Post) Seashells for Wnac 2016

Hello friends! This week's design follows WNAC2016's Second prompt for June, which is "sea shells". I had quite a difficult time with this design, and it didn't come out how I wanted it to, so I will not be posting a pictorial for the progress. I did however take a video, but I'm very unsure about posting it because I have no idea of how to edit such as thing as I've never done such a thing before. I may update this post with a video if I end up making it.

The only nail that turned out how I wanted it to was my thumb nail, it turned out the clearest. My index finger ended up being the worst because that's the one I was filming and had trouble drawing with my camera in the way. 

Waves for WNAC2016 (with Pictorial)

Hello friends and welcome to my second post of he week! These days, I've been working around 6 days a week at this small family diner type place and it's been very difficult to keep my nails long or square. It's very tricky for me to keep my nails in a square shape since the corners always manage to chip off no matter how careful I am. I really enjoy the look of square nails on my hands though, they make my short stubby fingers look more elegant; but I guess I'll have to have short little nubs for the time being since they're the most practical.

While scrolling through instagram yesterday, I made the decision to join in the Weekly Nail Art Challenge once more. I quite enjoy how WNACs are planned out and how the prompt dates always correspond with my schedule.  The monthly theme for June 2016 is the beach (how fitting!) and the first prompt is water inspired nails. This prompt gave me that little push I needed to do a nail design that I've had saved in the back of my mind for a while, but was too lazy to do. 

These nails are inspired by a woodblock print by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai named The Great Wave Off Kanagawa. Hokusai makes wonderful woodprints and I especially love pieces of his work that involved water because they have so much movement and power in them. Obviously, my version of them take on a more simplified and line-art like approach. I tried very hard to create more movement in the waves using the black lines. I also added little tiny birds to fill up the negative above the waves and to make it look like an ocean scene.

Read on to see my tips and tricks fo creating these nails (and a step by step pictorial)

Snowflake Nails

Hello and welcome to December! I simply cannot believe that almost another year has already passed! Time just goes by so fast nowadays. When I was younger the an entire day seemed to last forever, but now, a day goes by in the blink of an eye. I guess it's also really tough to believe that it's already December seeing as that there is absolutely no snow on the ground! It's been so warm recently, I brought out my winter jacket to wear last week but I'm regretting that decision because it is way too warm to wear it. With the temperature remaining above zero, it feels all too much like spring and all the holiday decor looks out of place.

I think it's been a couple of years since my last attempt at snowflake nails, which, by the way was a horrifying sight to behold. I'm glad that this time I managed to get the the radial symmetry of the snowflakes correct, especially since my last attempt resulted in some very irregularly long and wonky flakes. Yesterday was a proud day for me, not only did I correctly draw some snowflakes, I managed to fix my broken nail! Whilst I was chopping up some potatoes yesterday I almost chopped the entire tip of my index finger off! I tried the tea-bag fixing magic and it worked! It is amazing how my nail looks as good as new, you can't even tell which nail it is ! (Hint: it's the index finger)

Here are my tips and tricks on creating your own snowflake nails and more close-up pictures:

Blue Paisley Nails (with Pictorial)

Hello my fellow nail people! I have one back to my almond-round shaped nails! I don't know why I can't keep long square nails anymore, but this nails shape has certainly grown on me and I find that I do quite enjoy how it looks. It's been quite warm here in Ontario recently, it snowed a couple of days ago, but it's raining today and the snow's all gone. I can't believe that it's nearly December and there still currently isn't any permanent snow on the ground yet. I'm really hoping for a white Christmas this year though (as I do every year), because the holiday just wouldn't be the same without a white blanket of snow on the ground.

Here is my first ever attempt at some paisley nails for the weekly nail polish challenge of November. I'm quite proud of my work today! These nails didn't take long to do, much to my surprise. It's definitely one of those deigns where it looks really time staking and detailed but is actually really simple.

Continue reading to see how I created these nails:

Nail Fail and New Swatch

Hello once again! My blog entry today will be quite short as I don't really have much to say about my recent WNAC nail-fail attempt, and the fact that I did not take any process pictures of either of these designs.... But anyway, as I was casually strolling through my local drugstore and I just happened upon their nail polish section. Oh, who am I kidding, I always go straight to the nail polish section at any store.  My eye quickly darted to this lovely mint colour from the Nicole collection by OPI called "I Shop Mintage" and it is gorgeous!  I went straight home and immediately swatched it with a really glittery gradient. Gradients are so wonderful and easy to do, I just love them. The polishes I used to create this particular gradient are:

• NYC's Tribean Silver
• OPI Nicole's Imagine If...
• OPI Nicole's I Shop Mintage
• over a coat of OPI's Nicole's Strengthener Plus

Continue reading if you want to see my really failed attempt at shattered glass nails for week 3 of the WNAC

Elegant Watercolor Nails (with Pictorial)

Hello everybody! It's been a gloomy couple of days up here in Ottawa; it was pouring rain for a while yesterday, and it's been lightly misting all day today. The rain just makes me so sleepy all the time, and with the daylight saving days ending, the days here get dark so early it feels like nighttime seventy-five percent of the time. The good thing so far is that we've been blessed with such warm weather this year. Usually by this time, I already have 10 layers of clothes and my warmest jacket on, so I'm really glad for that.

This week's WNAC theme is watercolor, so I decided to do some very pastel water colour nails with a cute purple french tips! This was actually inspired by a design I did several years ago, but I haven't had a chance to practice this technique so the blending didn't turn out exactly how I thought they would.  I also don't think the picture turned out very well, as the pink barely shows but, these pictures give the design a more pastel and gentle look.

Keep reading f you want to know and see how I did these nails:

Simple Nautical Themed Nails

Hello lovely people! I've just spent the last week packing up all of my things and I moved back to school yesterday. I don't keep my manicures for long while I pack because they tend to chip and break so much, so my nails are currently naked. Thus, I thought that it would be the perfect time to share my nautical themed nails (that I did a couple weeks ago) because they're so simple easy do... Plus, it's almost the end of summer so the timing is perfect.

This was actually my first attempt at nautical nails, I see them everywhere and I've always been a fan of them. I honestly do not think that this attempt was very successful, I know i could've made it look much better, but it's a start. I would definitely like to redo this manicure again one day. Free handing the waves and trying to make every peak even and identical was definitely the most difficult part of it.

Keep reading to find out my tips and tricks on how to create this simple manicure:

Simple Cobalt Accented Nails (with Pictorial)

Hello, hello! I cannot believe that it is already the end of August, where does the time go?! It seemed like just yesterday when I moved back home, and now I'm packing up to go to school again. Summer slipped through my fingers and I can definitely feel autumn creeping in slowly. It's been feeling quite chilly around here recently too; I've already begun to spend my days wrapped up in my warmest blanket and curled in a ball. I am not ready for this, and nothing will ever prepare me for the cold Canadian winters. 

Anyway, this design is the very last of the August weekly nail art challenge , and I must say, I am very proud of the fact that I actually followed through and completed the challenge. I've been very interested in various nail art challenges before, but I've never gotten off my lazy butt long enough to actually complete a set, so I'm giving myself a pat on the back for this. In all honesty, it was a lot of fun to do, but I am uncertain if I will be keeping up with the other weekly nail art challenges to come because I am unsure of how busy I will be during the school year.

This, by far, has to my favorite out of all the August WNAC themes. I have to admit that I found it quite difficult to picture these two colours coming together in the way that they did, but I am super happy with the results. This design also gave me a chance to use a polish I have not used since last summer- 'Bubble Trouble' (by L'oreal). It is just the most gorgeous polish ever, I love it so much, and I have no idea why I've neglected it for so long.

Now, without further ranting, here are my tips and tricks on how to create your own version of these nails:

Navy and Magenta Floral Nails (with Pictorial)

Hello to you all! Here is official debut for my new nail shape! I have not have almond shaped nails in a really long time; mostly due to the fact that I have injured myself several times while my nails were sharp. I once jabbed myself near the nostril whilst washing my face once and it would not stop bleeding. But I've had these nails for a couple of days and nothing bad has happened thus far, so I've got my fingers crossed (carefully of course). 

I actually had a whole load of other nail art prepped and ready to share, but I wanted to get in on the Weekly Nail Art Challenge 2015 hosted under the hashtag #WNAC2015 on instagram. The theme for this week was magenta and purple so here is my entry. These florals were actually inspired by a print pattern I saw on the internet, but unfortunately I didn't save the picture. It was actually a lot of fun to stray away from my usual rose-floral nails (not that I have any ideas of what flowers these are). This is a relatively easy design to create, but the finished product looks way more intricate than it is.

Keep reading to find some tips and tricks on how to create you very own version of this nail design:

Blueberry Print Nails (With Pictorial)

Bonjour mes amis! Can you believe that it's already August?! Where does the time go? School will be starting in a month and I am just not ready for another sleep deprived year. I just want more time to do my nails!

The one good thing about the month of august is that it's blueberry picking season. I just love blueberries, I am obsessed with them, they're my favourite fruit. Hopefully I'll pick enough to bring to school with me... I just have to stop myself from eating everything. I'm so excited to go berry picking!

Anyway, Like I mentioned in my previous post, this will be my last fruit inspired manicure (for a while at least) and I will be moving on to other designs. Doing a collection of fruity nails has been so much fun and I got to try out and master so many different techniques. It was quite a worth while experience. I also have a lot of other nail-art stored up and ready to post; I've actually done quite a few different non-fruit related manicures during the past two months, so I'll be sure to post those soon too.

With this last design, I took on more of a challenge. I wanted to make it seem as real as possible so there is definitely a lot more shading and a wider range of colours. One thing that makes this manicure much different than the others I've done thus far is that it's done entirely in nail polish! Quite honestly, I'm not very accustomed to painting in nail polish, but I definitely want to do it more as it gives the nail art such a nice finished look. This is something I definitely want to do experiment with more in the future.

I've rambled on enough today, so here are some of my tips and tricks on how to create your very own blueberry print nails:

Minion Banana Inspired Nails

Hello all! I apologize for not posting anything last week, my boyfriend came to visit and I haven't seen him in like two months, so I wanted to spend as much time as I could with him. On his last night here, we watched the new minions movie and it was just adorable!

When I got back I knew I had to make minions the next theme for my nails. It also goes with well with the current fruit theme that I have going on. I've actually had the idea to do some banana nails for weeks but couldn't figure out how to make them look nice, but the little minions pulled it all together. I really want my own little minion henchmen.. they look like so much fun to be around! I just love them so much! I actually did some minion inspired nails two years ago (see below). Looking back, I can see that my technique has improved; my hands are definitely more steady and my lines are more crisp.

Now onto my tips and tricks for creating your own banana minion nails:

Frozen's Olaf insp' Nails

WOW. I've been meaning to do this for a while...and I've FINALLY ACCOMPLISHED IT. IT'S DONE. YAY!!!! I've been obsessing over Frozen for the past few weeks, if you haven't yet, I suggest that you do it ASAP because it is SUCH a great movie, (alright, I confess... I've seen the movie twice, and I've been listening to the soundtracks non-stop), and my nails have finally caught on! For those of you who don't know, Olaf is a cute snowman who is brought to life by Queen Elsa's magic, and he is the most goofy and lovable snowman ever! One thing that really inspired me to do this manicure was Olaf's  song 'In Summer', where he pines to experience summer (not knowing what happens to snow under the sun); and since North America seems to be frozen over this winter, I cannot wait for summer to come again!

Without further ado (and before I spoil more of the movie), here are my tips for creating your very own Olaf inspired nails: