Digit-al Dozen Does Nature; Day 5

Here we are at Day 5 already for Digit-al Dozen nature week!  I always enjoy the challenges; they ARE a challenge, but I find it makes me be more creative in my manis or forces me to do techniques I don't do terribly often!  Like the leadlight technique; haven't done it in forevvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrr but decided to use it for this Day 5 mani!

Started with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls; two coats, top coated with KBShimmer Clearly on top (no pix as have shown before).  Stamped using Funky Fingers Dark Knight using image from LS-120.

LS-120

Top coated with KBShimmer Clearly on Top.  If you top coat at this stage, I find there's less streaks and drag when you are lead lighting directly onto the nail, plus you can use a brush and remover if you make a mistake and it won't effect the base if you use a light enough hand.  I also made sure to take pix at this point in case I really messed up the hand painting; this would have been the end result of my mani!

Filled in the voids using assortment of 10.1 Polish Frosted Sheers.

Continued to fill in using the 10.1 Polish Frosted Sheers.  I see in these pix that even though I used the finest brush I own as some of these spots are crazy small to fill in, I still went outside of the lines.  I guess I'm going to have to start using magnifying glasses to check my nails; these out of the line colouring isn't noticeable to my eye but very obvious in macro!  There was a couple I could see that I cleaned up but I see even more now!  

Top coated to finish using KBShimmer Clearly on Top.

Here's what the other ladies came up with for Day 5 of the nature challenge!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for looking!

Digit-al Dozen Does Nature; Day 4

I've always wanted to do an underwater scene and the Digit-al Dozen nature theme was as good excuse as any to finally attempt one!  Here's what I came up with!

Started out with a base of Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Grey Matters; this is one coat, no top coat.  Not the best coverage, but I knew I'd be layering it.

 

For some interest and depth, added a coat of Delush Night at the Asylum; topped with KBShimmer Clearly on Top.

Stamped using Infinity 11 (thumb, middle and index) and MoYou Sailor Collection-08 (pinky and ring) using Mundo de Unas 52 on all fingers except thumb.  Thumb was mix of Mundo 20 and 21.

Added a few more images from same plates using Mundo 13, 21 and 57 

Top coated.  I really liked the look for this just as it was.  In fact, I thought about leaving it as is in case more stamping wrecked it!

Added Zoya Godiva for sand.

Stamped sea creatures.  Plates used were MJ JR-24 (turtle on thumb), MoYou Sailor Colletion-01 (starfish on thumb), Infinity 71 (octopus and starfish on ring and fish on index), MoYou Sailor Collection-10 (pinky) and MJ Jr-30 (jellyfish on middle).  Stamping polishes were Mundo de Unas 11, 13, 21, 39.  Starfish on thumb was custom mix of Mundo 51 and white.  Added dots on octopus eye and yellow on fish.  

MoYou Sailor Collection-01

Infinity 71

MoYou Sailor Collection-10

MoYou Sailor Collection-08

Topped with KBShimmer Clearly on top to finish.

I thought the glitter interest and stamping generally would look better is not so much shine, so added coat of OPI matte.  Not sure if I like it as much as it mutes the bold colours.  What do you think?

Here's the other ladies Day 4 mani's!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for looking!

Digit-al Dozen Does Nature, Day 3

Here we are at Day 3 of the Digit-al Dozen weekly challenge!  This month's theme is nature. I don't do too many mani's along these lines, so it's nice that there is a challenge that forces me to do something out of the norm! Here's what I came up with for Day 3!

Started with a base of Aly's Dream Polish #61 In Bleached; this is two coats, no top coat.  I know I've worn this before, but can't remember if I've shown it swatched; so here it is again!  

Decided to go with an earthy gradient; picked other Aly's Dream Polishes to use; I find they work well for gradients!  Unfortunately, they don't sponge on that well so did layering using a brush, but because of this, they don't fade into one another gradient wise.  This is Aly's Dream Polish #16, Deep Lime.

Lastly, added Aly's Dream Polish #9 Steel Blue.

Top coated with KBShimmer Clearly on Top.  

I did something that I had never completed successfully before here....if you look closely, you will see the heron faces both ways!  Have you ever had an image that you want to use on a particular finger (or thumb) but it doesn't face the right way; either because you want some variety in the same stamped image like I did here, or because an image looks better placed on your nails facing a particular way, but the transposed image doesn't exist? Even my last mani with the birds, in my mind when I was planning it, I wanted one image to face left, the next to face right; then alternate on the rest of the fingers but because not all the images fit on my nails size wise, had to just use whatever fit and too bad whatever way the birds were facing!  

Well, I thought there has to be a better way! So decided to double stamp the heron so it would be transposed so one image would face one way and the other, the opposite!  It took some trial and error with stampers and polishes and you have to be super fast but I did it!  So happy that I know now I can do this; will give more stamping options in the future!  This isn't a new technique; it's actually been around for a while, just I haven't had any success with it before!

Stamped using images from MoYou Suki Collection-09 and LS-21 using Mundo de Unas #2.

LS-21

Mo-You Suki Collection-09

Topped with KBShimmer Clearly on Top to finish.

 There have been so many awesome mani's already this week by the ladies in the group; please be sure to check the links below to see what they came up with for Day 3 too! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for looking!

Digit-al Dozen Does Nature; Day 2

Today's Digit-al Dozen mani is for the birds!  Here's what I came up with!

Started with a base of bright skittles; polishes used starting at the thumb and going clockwise are Sally Hansen Insta-dri Blue By! (one coat...one!), Sally Hansen Insta-dri Lightning (two coats), China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada (3...and a pain in the butt polish all around if I do say so myself!), Sally Hansen Insta-dri Impulse Orange (two coats) and China Glaze Shocking Pink (Neon), two).  Topped with KBShimmer Clearly on Top.

Very simple stamping using Funky Fingers Dark Knight; all images are from MoYou Tropical Collection-06.

Topped with KBShimmer Clearly on Top to finish.

Here's the other ladies awesome Day 2 mani's!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for looking!

Digit-al Dozen Does Nature; Day 1

 It's Digit-al Dozen week again!  This weeks theme is nature!  Here's what I came up with for Day 1!

Started with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, two coats (no pix as have shown before).  Stamped the mountain landscape using Funky Fingers Dark Knight using Infinity 58.

Infinity 58

Added a moose on the thumb using Infinity 75; stamping polish used is Mundo de Unas 22.

Using assortment of acrylic paints and a brush, added sky and water on all the nails, then filled in mountain range using a dark green paint.

Using paint brush, added in two more greens to the landscape on the mountains; stamped in a tree on the thumb using MJ VII using Mundo de Unas 7 and 9(I had to keep on touching up the moose on the thumb with brown stamping polish as my brush work was sloppy and I kept on painting over top the antlers, etc.!)

Added bears to the ring ringer using Infinity 75 using Mundo de Unas 22 as well as some grasses to the thumb using same acrylic paints used for the grass on the mountains.  Also stamped on random evergreens on index and pinky with an image from Infinity 75 using Mundo de Unas 7.

Added the sun using Mundo 11 with an image from Infinity 61.  The sun didn't stamp perfectly, but I think it fit in fine with the rustic look of the mani!

Added Canada geese using Funky Fingers Dark Knight from Infinity 61.

Infinity 61

I wasn't too sure how top coat would be on top of the acrylic paints, so made sure I had enough pix of the mani in case it wrecked it!  Turned out, there was no ill effect at all using KBShimmer Clearly on Top.

Decided that matte would be better to see the detail of the nails; added a coat of OPI Matte.

I was so happy how this turned out; I especially love the moose on the thumb...even if my touch ups make him a little different than the first stamping!

Here's the other ladies Day 1 Nature mani's!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for looking!