Black and White Chevron

So my plans to do a second Halloween design went out the window because on Oct. 30 I became an aunt!! Baby Bailey had us all wrapped around her finger from the moment she was born.  You can guarantee that her auntie will be doing her nails when she is old enough ;)

For my nails this week, I was kind of inspired by the Ikat Chevron nails I did a while ago.  Within the last few days, they have been re-pinned several times on Pinterest and it reminded me of how much I liked them.

For this design, I used "Blanc" by Essie, "Black Satin" by Rimmel,  and "Black" by Kiss.  I started with a base of "Black Satin" with "Blanc" on my accent nail (ring finger).  

I then used the fine brush from my Kiss polish to make the design.  I found that I made my stripes too far apart so I filled in the space with white dots.  Here is the final product!

It would be a fun design to try with different colours.  The original Ikat Chevron I did is still my favourite. :)

Happy Painting!

Love, Kate xo

Thanksgiving Plaid

Since it is Thanksgiving this weekend in Canada, I figured I should do a Thanksgiving themed design.  I'm kind of in love with the plaid trend in fashion right now and have been wanting to do plaid nails for a while.  So instead of doing a traditional turkey on my nails, I went with a plaid design in Fall colours.

For this design I used "Black Orchid" by Sally Hansen, "Blanc" by Essie, "Orange" by Pupa, and "Goldeneye" by O.P.I.  

I started with a base of "Black Orchid".

I got my inspiration from a tutorial created by The Beauty Department.  I painted Scotch Tape and cut it into different sized strips.

I then placed the strips on my ring finger in a plaid design.  On my other nails I added metal stud stickers by Kiss.

Here is the final product!

I hope all my Canadian friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Happy Painting!

Love, Kate xo

Purplicious Triangles

Lately I feel like I've been doing a lot of designs that require a white base.  I've also be doing a lot of blue.  My goal this week was to do neither of those things.  I decided to go with a purple theme.  I used "Am I Making Myself Claire?" by Nicole By OPI, "Play Date" by Essie, "Red Purple" by Pupa, and "Silver Glitter" by Kiss.

I started with a base of "Play Date" by Essie. This is one of my favourite colours (I have a lot of favourites).

I cut small triangles of painters taped and taped off each nail.  I painted "Am I Making Myself Claire?" at the base of my nail and "Red Purple" at the tip of my nail.

I really like this look but the spots where the paint bled through the tape drives me nuts.  I wanted to use white dots to cover the lines but I really need a new white.  I decided to use silver to make dots, but the polish was a little too runny so it ended up making lines instead of dots.  It's not quite what I was going for but I don't mind the look. 

I still wasn't completely happy with the way it looked so I tried adding a matte top coat (by Essie).  I definitely think that the matte finish is better than the glossy finish but I kinda wish I had just touched up the spots that bled and left it alone.  It's all about trial and error! 

Which way do you guys like best?

Happy Painting!

Love, Kate xo

Canada Day Nails

I always enjoy doing theme/holiday nails.  It always presents the added challenge of trying to stay within a theme by using specific colours and/or symbols.  For my Canada Day nails, I did a simple search of "Canada Day" in Google to look for some inspiration.  I saw a lot of flags and fireworks and when I saw pictures of a moose and a beaver I knew I had to put them onto my nails.  I used the following two images for inspiration.

For this design, I used "The Spy Who Loved Me" (red) by O.P.I., "Yellow Ochre" and "Coffee Bean" acrylic paint by Folk Art, "White On" by Sally Hansen, and "Black" and "White" by Kiss.

 

I started with a red base on all my nails.  I realized after the fact that none of the pictures I took of my base colour were clear so I had to take a picture of my right hand.

 

Here is the final product! I knew I would struggled to create a perfect maple leaf so I substituted a heart so symbolize my love for my country.  However, I wish I had done my flag nail horizontally instead of vertically so you could see more red.  Oh well! It's all about trial and error :)  I used a small paint brush to paint the characters and tape to tape off the white area of my flag.

  

I'd have to say my favourite part of this design is the moose.  He might just have to make another appearance at Christmas time.  Perhaps with a red nose to turn him into a reindeer a.k.a Rudolph.

As much as I like this design, I can't wait to take it off and try some of my new polishes.  I have 4 new summery colours that I'm super excited about. I can guarantee that you will see them in my next post.  Until then...

Happy Painting!

Love, Kate xo