Halloween 2017: Holographic Glitter Ghosts + Tutorial!

Happy Tuesday stamp champs,

Purchased by Me

Its Halloween in case you missed my posts on my favorite plates for the holiday.  Let me say it again its mutha-f-ing Halloween!  Ok pause.  It is not Halloween at least not yet, but my nails don't know the difference and I wouldn't care if they did.  Let me pause again to say thank you to those of you who reached out to me after coming back.  Honestly at times I feel like my readers don't care or don't notice and move on.  In some ways it makes it harder to come back, but when I see the comments it makes me grateful and humble that maybe across the world across the nation I have bonds with women that I have never met over something as trivial as nails.  It's a joy and I thank you all for it. Ok so enough sap let's talk about these holographic ghosts!

Simple Clovers St. Patrick's Day Nail Art

Hey lacqueristas,

Purchased By Me

Press Sample

It's been a little hectic over here.  I realized St. Paddy's Day is right around the corner.  I'm not a big celebrator of the holiday.  For me it always equates to a bunch of drunken patients doing things better left undone.  Oh well.  Still I live by the motto of any excuse to paint my nails!  A few years ago I even did a quick 3 look series for the holiday.  This is always such a hectic time of the year for me though because of where it lies in my school schedule so it's rare to get in some classics.  I made this mani last week though with the holiday in mind.  I'd hope to do at least one more but hey at least this one is pretty!

Valentine's Day 2016: Leadlight Roses and Romance + Tutorial

Happy Valentine's Day lacqueristas,

I have no idea what you plans were.  I have homework out the wahzoo plus a date with Starbucks and business as usual.  However if you are scrambling around for some last minute nail art or just want to rock some pretty nails this next and almost last of my V-day series nail art is definitely for you!  Its all pretty and holographic and nude and soft and girly all swirled into one and with or without the love accent I think this look could work well year round!

“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

Elevation Polish Annual Charity Auction 2015: Yeti Is A Scaredy Cat

Yo laqueristas,

Press Sample

Woah double post today!  And let me tell it is not because I am celebrating the pretend day that to many historians and anthropologists alike (raises hand) recognize as the beginning of the decimation of an entire continent of indigenous peoples and their culture.  Ha! Instead it's because I want to draw your attention to an extremely charitable and awesome annual cause fronted by the wonderful and thoughtful Lulu of Elevation Polish.  Yup it's the 4th Annual Charity Auction run by EvP! The charity is called Chrestomathy, Inc.  Its a Minnesota local day training and habilitation service geared toward adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Since I spend a large portion of my life living for cura personalis, and of course nail polish cause hey let's be honest, this kind of event gives me some serious happy! That said today I'm going to be sharing one of the gorgeous polishes you can attain through this auction + some nail art cause it's Lacquer Lockdown and that's kinda my bag baby;)

Hot Off The Stamping Press: New Bunny Nails Nail Art Stamping Plates!

Hey stamp champs,

I know I'm sure far behind in the plate release announcements so lots of catching up to do.  Today a quickie post to share some new plates that released a few weeks ago from Bunny Nails.  These plates are from her BuNa series and not the HD.  One thing I know about Bunny Nails is that when she first started releasing plates she pretty much cornered the Halloween and other holiday image department. I really loved what she did with those images, but I always want to see what she will do outside of non holiday themes and that's really what the BUNa series is about.  So let's take a look!

Hot Off The Stamping Press: New Bunny Nails HD Nail Art Stamping Plates!

Hiya stamp champs,

I wanted to get this post up yesterday, but the day moved like lightening and I didn't make the post in time.  The reason I wanted to get this up as soon as possible is because Bunny Nails has released new stamping plates and two are themed around the Halloween holiday so for those of my followers that are US located you can still order and receive your plates in time to get in some Halloween nail art. Dulce often releases plates right around this time of year and the holidays so I feel there is always a mad dash to attain her plates, but they are utterly worth it.  Let's take a look....

St. Paddy's Day Nail Art #1: Sally Hansen InstaDri Chevrons & Shamrocks

Top o' the morning to you lacqueristas,

Somehow the upcoming St. Paddy's Day nail art snuck up on me.  Honestly, I haven't been thinking tons about it as a major holiday for nail art.  Lol I will be at work and people will be drunk and like New Years Eve in my line of work it will make for the stuff of disaster.   I will also say while I enjoy good microbrew here and there nothing is more disturbing than green colored beer and Shamrocks shakes lol.  Anyhoo, I was able to pick up a few of the new Sally Hansen InstaDri polishes and while I normally use these for stamping I was too pleased with the colorways to not use them as the main basis for my nail art.

I-rush Luck is a true kelly green jelly finish polish.  It self-levels and was opaque in about 2 coats.  I used this for the base of the accent nail and gradients using Jade Jump.  Jade Jump is a creme mint green polish.  The formula on this one wasn't nearly as nice as IL being on the thick end of things.  I think if I were to use this one again for a base I would have to thin out the polish quite a bit.  Using these polishes for the bases made me realize something...I hate the brushes in these bottles immensely!  I have hated them for years.  The wide brush only works for me when I'm stamping because it covers the image nicely.  Otherwise when painting your nails it floods the cuticles and sides of your nails.  I don't have this problem with any other Sally Hansen polishes.  Please someone in the heavens hear me and fix this issue! Ok rant over...

I used Nail Vinyls to create the chevrons over the gradient with Confetti Wedding White and finally the gold 4 leaf clover was stamped using Essie No Place Like Chrome and Bunny Nails HD-B plate.  This nail art is extremely simple and I love it because of that.  Even the stamping is subtle.  What do you think?  It's not a very in your face design and I kinda like that.  Thanks for reading and I'll see you next post!

Hot Off The Stamping Press: New Bunny Nails Plates

Stampaholics unite!

More hot and happening plates are coming off the presses from one of my favorite ladies in the nail art game - Bunny Nails!  Yup you might recall that she recently released HD-C and HD-D Halloween themed plates not that long ago and now she's back with a few more plates just in time for the upcoming holidays.  Oh be still my heart!  So let's see what she's got in store for us today shall we?

First up I'll show the holiday themed HD-E and HD-F plates.  As usual she knocks it out of the park with these creating something that every holiday lover will want to stamp with.  I know because I have her small HD set with holiday themes and they are so cute.  They feature reindeer, slices of pie, icicles, snowmen, you name it and they are absolute adorable!

Photo Credit

How cute right!?!  Lots of useful image here for the upcoming holidays.  The only thing that bothers me is her plates tend to release right before holidays like Thanksgiving so you are in a rush to get them so that you can use them before the season passes.  Clearly this will not be the case for Christmas and New Years.  I do see a few repeats from her smaller plate series the snowman, ski boots, Santa and a few others but I'd say only about 8 or so and only of the smaller images. 

Photo Credit

Ok now let's talk about the new BuNa plates.  I feel as though there were a few plates with this title when she originally released the small HD plates they were bonuses to the purchase.  This time she has come out with larger full nail images for everyday use i.e. no holiday themes like the historical releases of her plates. 

 

 Photo Credit

I am in love with BuNa-A the floral scene at the bottom is gorgeous!  Reminds me of some beautiful prints I saw a while ago in Papershelf.  Also love the antiquated border in the lower left hand corner.   However in terms of originality and highest factor of desirability I'm looking right at BuNa-B.  This plate has images unlike many I've seen.  It's getting harder to create original designs for stampers. I think this is in part because we have seen a huge boom in indie plate makers over the last 2 years and because buyers are increasing their selectivity.  We want new and innovative approaches to nail art and designs that fit within the desire.  I think BuNa-B is a prime example.  I'd also like a moment to point out this is the first time I've seen a plate put a proper cardiac normal sinus rhythm on a plate before.  The little hearts and stuff are cute but I am bothered tremendously when I don't see the waveforms marching out in a manner that I'm accustomed to.

 Photo Credit

So thoughts? Are there any you absolutely have to have or do you think you'll hold out for a bit?  If I could I would snatch up all 4 right now!  I want those holiday plates pretty badly lolol.  In any case you can find the new plates here on Bunny Nails.  They retail for $17.99 and have free shipping worldwide shipping.  I will be throwing myself upon the mercies of the upcoming holidays to ahem increase my stash.  Lol my wishlist is once again swelling.  Randomly more than anything at the moment I'm wanting a carbonated water maker.  I keep forgetting the name of it but every time I go into Target or Bed, Bath, & Beyond I keep staring wondering when the price will go down.  Gah!  In any case thanks for reading and I'll see you next post!

Halloween 2013: Haunted Graveyard feat Bunny Nails HD-C & HD-D Plates

Hey lacquer ladies,

I have been sick with a vicious cold for the last 1.5 weeks. Lesson of the month:  I probably shouldn't have decided to get a flu shot at the same time I was coming down with what was likely a viral illness the result has been nothing short of horrible.  I'm a bit peeved at myself I basically got sick and then ramped my immune system into overdrive with that shot.  Sweet baby J.  Nevertheless we carry onward and upward.  So I know I was super excited to discuss those Bunny Nails plates with you guys when they first released and you must be thinking are you gonna use them?  The answer is hell yes Imma use them!  I failed at this many so many times before I could get it to look even close to what I wanted which was sorta an algamation of Halloween themes much like the plates i.e. bats, spiders, and creepy old ladies flying at the moon.  It's not perfect but I'm pleased with it.

Mani-lounge

Basecoat/Topcoat - CND Stickey & Poshse Fast Drying Topcoat

Gradient: Orly Satin Hues Majestic Satin & Liquid Vinyl

Accent Nail:  Zoya Trixie sponged with Liquid Vinyl and Majestic Satin

Stamping Polishes:  Essie Blue Rhapsody and No Place Like Chrome, China Glaze Passion, Konad Special Polish in Black Gold

Plates: Bunny Nails HD-C & HD-D

The gradient is the only part that came effortlessly everything else was so tough especially the accent nail because I couldn't get the spiders to creep over the way I wanted them too.  Lol disastrous! In any case I wanted to see how this looked matte as well.

Add caption

So thoughts? Do you like it better matte or shiny? I think it might be matte for me since I hardly use my matte topcoat that much but when I do it's always love btw I'm using Essie's Matte About You Topcoat here.  It's the only one I've ever used and it works well.  I'd like to try Manglaze's as well though when I pick up some of their polishes.  Anyhoo, I've got a few more to show you before Halloween slips away as all things must.  Thanks for reading and I'll see you next post!

Hot Off The Stamping Press: Bunny Nails HD-C & HD-D Halloween Plates!

Hey polished prisoners,

There are so many HOT plates coming out right now it's really ridiculous!  Bundle Monster just realeased their new Make Your Own Set, Red Angel has a 2013 set, and waaay too many more to count.  I need to do a weekend round-up post just to keep up.  However today I've got some AMAZING ones! Let me tell you I have been a fan of Bunny Nails since waay back in the day essentially when I discovered her Angry Birds plate which was the first of its kind.  She has been slowly putting out holiday plates over the last 2 years.  This ridiculously cool HD small plates that were all Halloween themed and largely stole my heart.  Then she started with her larger HD Holiday plate series which encompassed most if not all of the major holidays including the 4th of July, Easter, New Years, Christmas and so on.  Well she's done it again releasing two more large HD plates entirely devoted to Halloween and Dios de Muertos!

Photo credit: Bunny Nails

The plates measure roughly 14.5 x 9.5cm while the full size images themselves measure approximately 2 x 2.5cm.

  Photo Credit: Bunny Nails

The images made me drool!  What are your favorites?  I'm in love with baby bat and dracula and the dancing skeleton.   Because of the time sensitivity of these I wanted to get the post out ASAP!  You can pre-order them now and the will ship out between 3-7 days depending when they land on her doorstep from the manufacturer.  The plates retail for $16.99 USD a plate with free world wide shipping.  Get them here at the ecrater store.  I've never been disappointed by her creations yet and I'm looking forward to these lovelies!  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post...

Snowstorm Ahead...On Sundays I Stamp!

Happy Sunday fellow prisoners,

Is it just me or are the days going by faster? Not a bad thing but it means things can sneak up on you. But this is a season for that though...carols, shopping, upping your OCD meds, you know the usual... ;); Lol well today I have another entry for my Adventures in Stamping challenge. This weeks' theme is Winter Themed. I wanted to do a play on this challenge but I lost the sun and wifi. Honestly I've been holding back on doing something blue and sparkly for a while now but today I got an odd feeling of wanting to capture something different.

Ugh smudge town :( 

Mani-louge

Base color: Zoya Paloma jellied with Elevation Polish Froze To Death

Accent: China Glaze Fairy Dust and Confetti Ice Ice Baby

Stamping polishes: Konad Light Blue & White, Color Club Luminescent and Blue Heaven

Stamping plates: Bunny Nails HD05

I'm actually not very happy with how this mani turned out.    I wasn't at home and missing some tools so it didn't turn out quite how I'd envisioned it but its pretty in its own way. So thoughts? Berry was a odd color to do a snow storm over, but I love the unconventional effect it created. I think I'll have to give this another go later in the month :) Thanks for reading and see you next post! Toodles...

Thanksgiving KBShimmer Style

Happy Thanksgiving polished prisoners!

Is the stuffing flowing, gravy sensational, and turkey flavorful or are you partaking in the local football game and fun with friends? Lol hopefully you aren't like my good friends on call with only half a shift and bed to look forward to rather than the comforts of good eats! My favorite thing about T day besides the food? Fall weather perfect for frolicking outside oh and of course the nail art ;)

Mani-louge

Base and topcoat: CND Stickey and Poshe Fast Drying Top Coat

Base color: OPI Somoan Sand and Orly Satin Inspiration

Accents: KBShimmer Quantum Leaf

Stamping polishes: Nars King Kong, China Glaze Passion, Color Club Hot Like Lava and Ho Ho Holly, and Konad Special Polish in Red and Yellow

Stamping plates: Bunny Nails HD 06

I had so much fun creating this mani! Mainly for two reasons - my KBShimmer Quantum Leaf polish and Bunny Nails HD plates. Quantum Leaf is like fall in a nail polish in a bottle all golden and red and oranges with yellow deliciousness crammed in for good measure.  If you don't have this polish you should!  No excuses it's just brilliant! Get them here and stalk her upcoming creations on Facebook.  Now onto the other amazing part of this mani -  Bunny Nails, girl you are killing me.  Shall I say it again? Bunny Nails girl you are KILLING ME!!! Her plates are awesome awesome awesome and the recently released HD holiday series are breath taking.  Prepare to see more of her stuff around here plus a review on these plates.  If you want to order from her go to her blog here or her ecrater store. 

Well here we are another fun holiday mani down.  Thoughts, ideas, gushing compliments ;) ? Stay tuned for some upcoming things on this blog including the seven days of Crowstoes Christmas featuring the new holiday collection polishes! I'm excited about this one! Ok I'm off to enjoy some macaroni and cheese and Cajun style turkey (yeah my family is awesome) and after I've glutted myself I will be watching the Redskins tear the Dallas Cowboys apart  - ugh I wish I had tickets to this game!  Thanks so much for reading and happy Thanksgiving to all my readers where ever you may be.  Oh and before I forget today I am most most thankful for the gift of life something that I was so close to losing only a scant 4 months ago!  I have a lot to be appreciative for this year! Thanks again and see you next post :)

Stormy Weather

Hello polished prisoners,

Happy Monday my lovely ladies!  I hope you had a great weekend and are looking forward to the upcoming holidays. I am but I also have quite a bit of work coming up so things are gonna be hectic.  Well it is the holidays so I expect that.  In any event did you know a storm is coming?  Lightening strikes, moonlit sprinkles, and sunshowers ahead so beware and tuck all friable parts out of sight!

Mani-louge

Base: China Glaze Pelican Gray & Sinful Colors Cinderella

Sponging: OPI I Have A Herring Problem, Sinful Colors In the Mist, Darling Diva Polish Space Beetle, China Glaze Haunting, and Wet N' Wild Black Creme; Barielle Slate of Affairs, and Zoya Feifei

Stamping polishes: Konad Special Polish in Yellow, White, and Pastel Blue, China Glaze Millenium

Stamping Plates: Konad UK Charming Nails Plate Q1, Konad M79, Bunny Nails BuNa 01, BM01, and SH08

One of my favorite instagramers Storms and Stars was having a little contest with the theme storms and stars ;)  Initially, I had so many ideas but I loved the concept of starry showers and lightening the most and decided to go with that theme.  This one was actually another mani that was quite a bit of work but for several reasons including base complexity, stamp placement, and overall effect.  I've been told now for the umteenth time that I'm OCD and today I'd finally have to agree.  I will admit I couldn't settle well on this one and it took me a while to figure out what I wanted, but I love the final picture.

What do you ladies think?  One thing that bugged me is that I realized I don't have any plates with an image of the sun except for my BM01 plate and I have a lot of plates!  I would think the sun would be a common kind of image to put on a plate but for some reason it's not prevalent at least not in my collection.  Maybe I should buy more plates ;) ;)  Lol trust me when I say that's not it at all!  I already have too many and more coming.  I need to finish my stamping catalog one of these days and get that page up so you all can check it out.  In any event thank you so much for reading stay tuned for more fun!  Toodles...