Sponge Gradient - Too Yacht to Handle

Happy Wednesday everyone! I know my last post was a hard act to follow...those Emerald and Ash polishes are GORGEOUS! Check them out here!

It's been a long time since I've done a sponge gradient. Since I love the two colors I chose, I thought I'd show you the first time I used these two colors together in a "gradient". 

(Remember, I said it was the FIRST TIME)

Go easy on me. That was about a year ago!

Let's take a look at my nails, today...

There's a few things to be said about the last year. I've been using a nail strengthener as a base coat, every time I polish. I've also been moisturizing much more than I used to. I've also stopped nipping at my cuticles so much.  My cleanup has gotten better too, don't you think? 

My colors in this mani are Venique's "Kitten Heel Honey" and China Glaze's "Too Yacht to Handle". If you want to try a sponge gradient too, check out my mini tutorial here!

I used a matte topcoat this time, to cut down on glare. I like the way it looks over the gradient too.

Practice makes perfect! Thanks for looking at my progress!

DIY nail decals!

In this post I'm gonna show you how to make these super cute nail decals, with just a few simple things you probably already have at home!

I started the idea for this post with a lovely forest green that I purchased at Big Lots for a buck! I was thinking it would be great for another beautiful bargain! I decided then, that it would look beautiful matted! 

Great. Right?

I was inspired to try a multi-day mani challenge by a fellow Reddit lacquer lover and I started trying to come up with ways to change up the plain polish I had on! Pinterest is great for getting inspiration too, and I found a little tutorial on how to make these with a plastic bag, some nail polish and a paper punch! 

Just paint your colors, and let them dry. Let them dry for a long time, or your polish will tear (like the gold did on my bag). For my decals, I used a mini heart punch and a pinking shear!

Paint some topcoat on your nail and stick them on! I used a wax pencil to make picking up and placing them very easy. After you stick them on, throw on some more topcoat and you're good to go! 

(This could be a good UND fan mani!)

I love these DIY nail stickers, and I can't wait to make more!!

Sponge gradient mini tutorial

Alright, here it is. My personal favorite technique, the sponge "gradient" or sponge "ombre" manicure. I have put together a little collage with all the steps in order. I will detail these steps after the picture collage.

1. Start with a base coat. 75% of the time I choose white. Let it completely dry.

2. Select your colors. I chose the three primary colors so that I could show how they will 

blend into a sort of "rainbow" effect.

3. Mask off your skin with tape. (or chapstick, or vaseline, or elmers glue) It makes cleanup WAY easier.

4. Paint your colors directly onto the sponge. 

5. Sponge the colors onto the nail. 

6.It won't look quite right just yet, don't worry, it 

will after a few more coats.

7. 4th and final sponging

8. Remove the tape and use a brush dipped in acetone to do your cleanup,

9. Add topcoat and bask in the glory of your sponged ombre nails!

What do you think? Will you be trying some sponged gradient nails on yourself?

Snow leopard tutorial!

I was reminded yesterday that I was kinda slackin on the blog posts...so here we are! I'd been wanting to do a sponge gradient for awhile and I thought I would mix it up with some leopard spots too! Both of these techniques are super easy, you just have to have the right tools! 

First, you'll need to choose a color scheme. Second, paint a base that corresponds with the colors you want to use. Use a large dotting tool to make spots of various sizes. At first glance,

 they kinda look like cow spots, don't you think? 

After you have dotted your spots, use a small brush or dotting tool to make "C" shapes on either side of your spot. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect! To fill space, I added some dots too.

After I finished my spots, I did my sponged gradient. 

Ta daaaaa! Here's the finished product! This gradient is giving me some inspiration for some Halloween type nail art! Look for a gradient tutorial in my next post :-)

Mini how to: Water Marble!

Here's a mini water marbling tutorial for ya. I'd like to make a video, and I will. I just need to find some time! I've been able to do a successful water marble like, 3 times out of 50 attempts. There is a lot more to it than you'd think! It seems to me that there is one major factor that decides the fate of your water marble...it's the polish. Duh. Some polishes work, some don't, and there's no way to know whether one will work or not until you try it! In my experience, the brands I have the most success with are Essie, OPI (if it's newer and not goopy), Sally Hansen Xtreme wear and some of the Sally Hansen Complete salon manicure.

First, start with a white base. It can be a creme or a shimmer. Also, prep the skin around the nail. Some like to use tape to mask the cuticles and skin, I used chapstik. It's easy to apply and makes cleanup super snappy. It's good for your cuticles too! Bonus!

Next, get your stuff together! Room temp, bottled water will do the trick. I've tried tap water, and for some reason it doesn't work like bottled water does. Have your polishes open and ready for dropping onto the water's surface. I use a dotting tool for my marbling, but you can use a needle or a safety pin or something of the like.

 

As you drop your polish it should spread out evenly like in this picture. You should be able to tell right away if a polish is going to work or not. If it doesn't rapidly and evenly spread out, I'd advise you to move on to the next color to try. I am telling you, I have tried almost ALL of my polishes to see if they work and there is a very small amount that do. I feel like the aforementioned brands are the best in my limited experience. The more polish you drop onto the surface the higher concentration of color you will have. You can see in this picture I dropped more pink and less teal. 

 

Next, take your dotting tool and drag into the center from the outside. You don't have to do it in a "flower" pattern like this, it's just my habit to do it this way. I've seen some where you drag across to make sort of a Zebra stripe effect.

Then, just dunk! Nail first submerge your nail into the marbled polish, parallel to the water. Before you take your finger out of the water, scoop the polish off the surface with a q-tip. Shake off any water droplets and wait for the polish to dry a bit before you put on a top coat!

Seems simple...really, it just takes a LOT of practice. 

 Stay tuned for a video tutorial!