Halloween Skittles

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Thumb: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White with bat images from BM-213 and BM13 stamped using Gosh Nero. Dots are Sinful Colors Sugar Sugar.

Pointer: China Glaze Concrete Catwalk, stamped with BM-223 and SH Whirlwind White, dotted eyes with SC Sugar Sugar, and outlined with a black striper so that only a thin line of CG Concrete Catwalk is visible around the ghostie.

Middle: CG Concrete Catwalk stamped using BM-225 and SH Whirlwind White. Holo sparkles in the eyes taken from a mini bottle of Kleancolor 188 Black Out.

Ring: Essie Vermillionaire, stamped using BM-222 and Gosh Nero. Dotted Eyed With SH Insta-Dri Lightening.

Pinkie: CG Concrete Catwalk, stamped using BM13 and SH Whirlwind White. One large silver hex glitter for the abdomen.

Top Coat: Seche Vite!


Guys. My camera is falling apart. I am sorry for this grainy quality. A new camera is on my Christmas wishlist.


My son and I went nuts yesterday making cooOOOooooOOOkies. He's particularly pumped about the punkins.


I have been gone for so long! Things have seriously been CRAYZAY BIZZAY.
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Cheers!

♥

JQ

Suit Up!

Hello Jellos!

Sooo I had to file my nails down to super nubbies. I am--in a haphazard way-- learning how to play guitar! But the really nice thing is that most of my full nail images will fit my nail now to that's a plus. And the guitar is coming along nicely! I hope to be able to play and sing my first song (Wheat Kings by The Tragically Hip) before the end of the month!

Lately I've been really expanding from just my nails to a bit of make-up and a fancy suit. I got all dressed up the other day and painted my nails to match my new outfit! It's a super cute brown casual skirt and jacket. There is a slight woven look to the fabric that I thought I could mimic with a stamped plaid.


And you get a good idea of how the plaid matches the texture of the fabric here:


Also my accent finger is painted to go with my shirt!

BM03 and Konad M60 were used to create this manicure. For all fingers except the ring finger I used 2 coats of Essie Little Brown Dress, and for the plaid, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Wet Clay. For the ring finger 2 coats of a frankened ivory creme, sponged on a bit of Nina Ultra Pro Like Butta, and Sinful Colors Vacation Time in opposing corners of the nail. Then stamped the flowers using Essie Little Brown Dress over Vacation Time, and OPI Off With Her Red atop Like Butta. Did a few criss-crossed with Wet Clay, and filled in some areas with tiny dots of Off With Her Red and Little Brown Dress to tie the nail in with my shirt.

And...okay this is a picture of my feet. 2 coats Sinful Colors Vacation Time and a coat of KleanColor V.I.P. (ooooh sparklies) and my Shooooes lalala...


I wouldn't really consider myself a fashion blogger, but I do enjoy making manicures to match my outfits, and have been dabbling in *gasp* makeup. :P What does everyone think if I do a post here and there to show the complete look?

Thanks for stopping by everyone!
Hearts off the charts!
JQ

Fish Nets, Pink Skullies and a Guest Mani!

FISH NETS:


2 coast Essie Lacquered Up and stamped using Gosh Nero and Sally Hansen Chrome Sizzlin' Gold with image plates bm-209 and bm04. One red rhinestone for the fish's eye and a coat of Seche Vite.


If I remember correctly the fish caught in the fishnets was at the behest of my friend Naomi. :) She's got a whimsical side.


PINK SKULLIES:


2 coats of Revlon Orchid and--forgive me--I don't remember for sure, but I think it was Sally Hansen HD Digital to achieve the pink on pink skully action (bm-211). Then I went over the skull on my ring finger using OPI My Private Jet. One coat Seche Vite.



GUEST MANI:



My friend Naomi came all the way down from the Yukon last month just to visit Moi! I felt so special! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ...sooo we painted her nails in skittles with polishes that matched the colours in her camouflage pants. Then we tied them all together using pink retro flowers made with dotting tools and a toothpick.


Again, forgive me, but I don't remember FOR SURE. I'm pretty sure the thumb=Essie Little Brown Dress, pointer=Joe Moss, middle=Essie Sew Psyched, ring=franken pale green, pinkie=franken ivory. I think the flowers were Revlon Orchid and a franken lighter pink. I then meticulously placed five or six bullion beads in the center of each flower and sealed everything with a coat of Seche Vite. It was fun spoiling her with a really time consuming manicure. The results were awesome.

We also did a Harry Potter manicure for her the last day she was here, because she was on her way to Vancouver to watch HP and the Deathly Hollows part 2 with some friends...but alas I forgot to get a photo. It was inspired by this manicure by Emerald Sparkled. She makes AWESOME manicures ALL the time. Check her stuff out!

Thanks for stopping by! Sorry it's been so long since my last post!
♥
JQ

Purple and red Water Lily Manicure

Hello Jellos!

This is the manicure I sported after 7 days of naked nails at my family reunion. I apologize for the state of my cuticles. between my tapestry work, the house cleaning for company and the landscaping...well. EXCUSES EH?

At any rate, the cuticles didn't show up so drastically in reality but the photos pick it up.

Sunlight:


2 coats Sinful Colors Big Daddy, stamped background pattern using BM-207 and Sally Hansen Chrome Sizzlin' Gold. I shadowed the chrome stamp with my red Kiss striper polish to give it a bit more depth.


I took a small amount of Revlon No Shrinking Violet onto one corner of my triangular make-up sponge and daubed on a round spot the estimated size of my flower stamp. I did this randomly on each nail. The thumbs had two spots. I also took a bit of black polish (I think it was Claire's Black Hole) and daubed in the center of each spot, again for depth.

Shade:


I used Sally Hansen Chrome Rose Diamond and image plate BM06 for the Dahlia stamp. Then I went in with a smaller dotting tool and some unnamed Claire's pink and dotted the center of each Dahlia and placed some sprays of pink dots randomly on each nail.


My top coat was Seche Vite.


I was really happy with the way this one turned out! It reminds me of water lilies but like in cartoons when evil is afoot and everything gets covered in red. I'm really digging the purple and red combination lately! I can't remember where it was that I first saw the idea of dabbing colour where the flowers will be stamped. Perhaps it was on Maespiritu's blog Art of Nail, or Thriszha's blog Fab Ur Nails, but wherever I did see it I am sending my thank you's because I'm hooked! :)

Also, just want to send out one more big thank you to Valerie over at Lavender Parfait for the lovely goodies I won recently in her giveaway! Yay sparklies! I can't wait to try them out! Yes that is OPI Absolutely Alice on the left side! Eeeee!


I hope everyone has a stellar weekend! I am receiving more company! An old friend from High school is making the trip down from way up north to visit me for 5 days. We're having a girl's night tomorrow night! I can't wait!

♥
JQ

How I Stash My Polish

Awhile back I was tagged by Gottwinkies (thanks much!) to do a little post on how I store my stash! I apologize for the delay, but I had company for a week and then headed out of town for another five days at my family reunion. Anyways, here are some images!


I have a cabinet in my living room with one pull out drawer and a couple shelves. I got some of that rubber drawer liner so that the polishes wouldn't slip around.

Here is the left side: Art Deco and other striper polishes along the front row, Sally Hansens, Wet n' Wilds, China Glaze, OPI, Nicole by OPI, Color ClubEssie, Joe and and my one and only Orly so far. I also keep my thinner, base coats, top coats and nail care products here as well as some frankens and older polishes at the back. There really isn't a rhyme or reason to how I placed them.


And the right side: More Sally Hansens including Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure and Chromes for stamping, GOSH, Sinful Colors, Claire's, Cover Girl, L'Oreal, Revlon, my one and only Nina Ultra Pro, and a few more frankens/stamping polishes etc at the back. I place a little triangle of masking tape with an 'S' on the caps of those polishes I have successfully used for stamping.


And here is the rest of my nail art stuff, which I keep on one of the shelves below my drawer along with the removers.


Yes that is a cream puff container. :p

I nabbed it from my mum while I was home last Christmas to place all my polishes in for traveling back on the plane, and it kinda stuck around. :P Now I keep all my cotton balls, sponges, and remover pads as well as the lid of a margarine container, and some folded wax paper and paper towels which have been used over and over again for stamping, dotting etc (saved my dining room table).



And this is a neat gift basket I saved. It's a wicker basket with a light cotton canvas liner. In this I keep my rhinestones, sparkles, bullion beads, scotch tape, toothpicks, dotting tools/brushes, stickers, fimo, clippers, files, Lush Lemony Flutter (YUM) and other salves and lotions.




I keep all my image plates inside a round Lush solid shampoo tin. It works pretty well, but since I got the second bundle monster set the lid doesn't snap shut and I have to wrap a thick elastic around it. I am going to try the binder method with clear sleeves.



I kept two little yogurt cups and cut one halfway down. I use the short one for acetone when I am stamping, and the tall one for water marbling.

Phew!
I hope everyone is having a good week!
♥
JQ

I Lava Good Manicure

Greetings!

I recently spoiled myself and picked up 3 Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoats This is Ink Splatter over 1 coat each of Sally Hansen X-Treme Wear Sun Kissed and Claire's Crush (a sheer orange with iridescent sparkle). I know crackles have been circulating a lot lately and maybe folks are getting a bit bored with them but I just got my hands on some colours so I just have to try them all out! :)


It reminds me of the Balrog from LoTR! YOU SHALL NOT PASS!


And we have been covered in clouds forever here, but I'll say that the sparkle is WOW in the sun!

Hey look! There's lots of neat lava manicures recently! Check them out if you like the lava look!

Do Not Refreeze:Lava Inspired Nails
Never Unpolished: Easy Peasy Lava Nails
Nails and Nonsense: Lava Gradient
Rikki Nails: Crackle Shatter over Color Club Wild and Willing

I will be having company this week and she's another nail polish fiend, so we'll probably do a few guest manis to share!

Thanks for stopping by!
♥
JQ

Orange Crush

Greetings Earthlings!



For this manicure I used 2 coats of a frankened cream colour, except on my ring fingers--2 coats of Sally Hansen X-Treme Wear Sun Kissed.


For the stamps on the cream nails I used BM02 kiss image and Essie Vermillionaire. For the Accent fingers I used BM-209 fishnet image and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White. I used a dotting tool and Color Club Si Vous Please! on a few of the fishnet holes for a scale effect, as well as in between the kissy lips for a bit of pow.

Thanks for stopping by! I was recently tagged to show some images of my stash and how I store it all! I took the pics today and hope to post it soon!
♥
JQ

Anyone Else want to win Deborah Lippman Happy Birthday?

Hello everyone!

Just a heads up that maRyya over at Konad Addict is celebrating her 1 year Blogiversary and is giving away Deborah Lippman Happy Birthday

Congratulations maRyya!

Click on the link or the image to go and enter her giveaway! Good luck!
Cheers,
JQ

Essie Limited Addiction

Hey all!

Just a quick post of my NOTD from about a week ago (I am so so behind and busy with crafting stuff) but I found Essie Limited Addiction and Orly Naughty or Nice on super duper sale at a local drug mart. I barely got home and peeled the orange sticker off of the Essie before I had to apply it. I just feel sooo sexy when the nails are red red red. :P


In the photos the cuticles look pretty red but in RL there wasn't a hint of it. I was quite pleased with how cleanly I applied it, not getting any onto my cuticles as I SO often do with red polish.


Of course the sun has been behind clouds for ever here. So this is the brightest pic I got. It looks like a cherry red jelly in the bright light but when you get indoors or into shade it becomes this deep rich vampy red. Great deal. I'm in love.

I promise to be back soon with some more nail art pics!
Thanks for stopping by!
♥
JQ

Silver Glitz!

Hello0000ooo000ooo!


2 coats China Glaze Cheers to You and 1 coat of Wet n' Wild Party of Five Glitters, Seche Vite and voila! Space dinosaur disco nails! Silver gilded, jewel encrusted bling nails! Eye popping fun.


Thanks for stopping by!
♥
JQ

Canada Day Manicure

Greetings fellow earthlings!

It's Canada Day today and to celebrate I painted my nails red and white:


2 coats of OPI Off With Her Red (my favorite red) and 2 coats of Sally Hansen 07 White Tip on the ring fingers. Stamped using Off With Her Red and image plate BM04.


Then I used one coat of my Cover Girl Sparkle Topcoat City Lights (SADNESS! I am almost out) on the red nails, and a couple sweeps with my Art Deco Silver Glitter to bling up the leafy nails. Seche Vite top coat and voila!


I did this on the fly last night and only managed to snap a few shots in the van on the way to the park this morning. Thankfully the sun came out from behind those nasty clouds and set the sparkle ablaze!

Hope everyone has a happy weekend! :D
♥
JQ

And the WINNER IS...

Greetings Earthlings!

Guess what time it is!



Thanks to the random number generator at random.org the lucky winner of my 200 Follower Giveaway is:

Megan Harmeyer !!!

CONGRATULATIONS!



Remember I said I'd be adding at least one more mystery polish? Well turns out I couldn't help myself. I got 2!! But it's going to stay a surprise! :P

Megan and I have already touched base and I am simply waiting for the mail strike to wrap up (awesome timing mail people) so I can mail her box o' loot. :P

I want to say thank you again to all of you for visiting my blog and leaving such nice notes. I really appreciate all your support and positive energy! I am very thrilled to be a part of this community. You guys are all super fantastic.

But for everyone who didn't win this one--Please Don't fret! I am starting to save up now for my 500 Follower giveaway, and I hope you will all come back for another try!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
JQ

Black and Gold Chevron French Tips!

Guess what everybody!!

Today is the last day to enter my 200 follower giveaway! Quick! Get entered! :D


Here's the manicure I just finished up. Sorry it's a bit overcast today! But I still managed to catch the glimmer of my Cover Girl Pink Twinkle.


The tips are done with NYC Flat Iron Green (very very dark) and then the whole nail is gone over using Cover Girl Pink Twinkle. Then I used China Glaze Midnight Kiss (gold) and a fine paintbrush to accent the chevron tip, and then the same polish with my largest dotting tool for a dot at the tip of each chevron.


Then a smaller dot of Claire's Black Hole to give the chevron the look of jewelry or a curling ribbon, and my black Art Deco to delineate the chevron. One coat of Seche Vite and voila! Dressy nails. :P Now, where shall I go?

Thanks everyone and good luck in the giveaway! I hope to contact the lucky winner by Monday morning!

♥
JQ

Piano keys and Filigree

Greetings Jelly Beans!

I was itching to use the piano keys image out of the new bundle monster set, but now I'm sad because I don't have any images of sheet music, or musical notes to go with them! I had some trouble getting the stamp lined up on my nail. I think next time, prior to stamping, I'll take my Art Deco black and draw a line where I want to follow with the image.


Also, my nails are kind of warping a bit as they grow out. I am not used to this length at all, and the images were harder to get contacted all across my nail, resulting in a skewed stamp. I had to go in with my Art Deco black and try to straighten a few keys a bit!


For this manicure I used 2 coats of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails White Tip, and then stamped the piano keys image from BM 207, using GOSH Nero. I LOVE GOSH, especially Nero. It's nice and crisp, and cleans up WAY easier than the Konad black.

Then I used the filigree image (BM21) from the old set and Wet n' Wild Blackmail (a kind of transparent black with a hint of sparkle in it) to get the grey effect. Also a bit of the sparkle transferred which was terribly subtle but it made me happy!

Lastly, before applying my Seche Vite top coat, I went over the line between the filigree and the piano keys with my Art Deco black, and touched up a few of the keys.


These totally remind me of my spats n' spangles manis! And now I want to do one of those again. :) I really like splitting my nail in half or 1/3 to 2/3 --almost like a reverse french but with a straight line, especially if the nails are filed square. :)

Have you entered my 200 follower giveaway yet? It includes a bottle of Wet n' Wild Blackmail and a Black Art Deco!

Thanks for stopping by!
♥
JQ

I scrub and scrub but they'll never come clean!

HIDEOUS! AND AWESOME!

My germs and bacterium manicure:


I don't even know where to start on explaining these bad boys. Suffice to say my friend Alikat came over for a girl's night and well...things got a bit silly!


I had been browsing my new bundle monster set and noticing all the cool little stamps that look like germs or bacteria. Lo there was also a french tip that looked like it would combine nicely. I painted my nails with 2 coats of Sally Hansen Insta Dri Whirlwind White, and when that was dry I went to town. I grabbed a whole schwack of sheer/iridescent polishes from my stash including: Sinful Colors Fiji, Love Nails and Bali Mist, Sally Hansen HD Resolution and Hi-Def (both green) and Digital (bright pink sheer), Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Lime Lights, And Nicole By OPI Respect the World.


I planned to french tip all nails except my ring finger on each hand, using the tip image, so before I stamped I wanted to ensure some sparkling colours would come through the stamp. I blotched on daubs of random sheer polishes across the tips of each nail. I then used more sheers and the stone stamp from BM211 to add subtle colour to the remaining white nail.


I used GOSH Nero and the bacteria tip from BM217 to stamp over the tips once everything was dry. On my ring fingers I blotched sheers all over the nail instead of just the tips. Then I used Nero and the germie images off BM211 and 212.


Then I switched to red. I used OPI Off With Her Red to stamp those same images from my ring finger onto the whites of the remaining nails. I was totally random about it. It was a lot of fun!


Time to dig out the dotting tools!
I used brighter more pigmented colours and dotted all over the place. I used a bright yellow and more Off With Her Red inside some of the bacteria. I used GOSH Nero here as well.


And I just spammed you with sooo many pictures! But this was totally fun. Not really an attractive manicure, and it has a LOT going on, but from a distance it has a kind of abstract art/graffiti effect that I really enjoy. :)

Thanks for visiting me and having a nail painting session Alikat!

Has everyone had a chance to take a peek at my 200 Follower Giveaway?

Cheers!
♥
JQ