Well...these nails are a loose "artsy" interpretation of them anyway.
It seems the same design template I used last month had reappeared in my design vision. That of a darker colored jelly polish on the outer nails and stamping over a lighter color polish on the two inside nails. Whether this becomes a standard or not is still to be determined. The other element that is also slightly similar to last month's design is that my stamp is not a true representation of the flower (although at least it is closer to the real thing than that of last time). The stamp image seemed the closest to the African Violet plant from all the plates that I own (so far, heh, heh!).
To create these, I first applied two coats of the pale purple-gray cream polish to all of my nails. I wanted a brighter color as the base under the darker jelly polish so that it brought out the gemstone quality of the amethyst. Then, I used three coats of the violet colored jelly polish on the thumb, index & pinky.
After these were dry, I stamped using a dark violet metallic polish on the middle & ring fingernails. Like the African Violets, I added the yellow centers with a dotting tool. And, because I had a spastic hand tremor while doing the yellow (oops) - I covered that up by coloring in one of the flowers with the purple using a toothpick. And, did that on the other nail too for symmetry. In the pictures, these filled in flowers looked a bit odd - but in real life they looked good, as if done on purpose. :)
While not photographed, I did the same on my right hand, just without the yellow centers (one tremor fix was enough). :) Unlike the last posted nail design, these gave me bright & cheery feelings while wearing them. So very much needed in the middle-ish of winter, right? Right.
I love these syrup like jelly polishes! They are a little intimidating to apply. However, if I had chosen to layer this one over a similar shade, the irregularity in the color wouldn't have been as apparent (I wanted this look for these though).
The yellow centers in the flowers gave the whole look a little bit of pizazz and playfulness. In our dark living room, Mr. Kimett said they reminded him of the 70's. Funny how some images bring vivid memories to us. Speaking of vivid, these stamping plates by Vivid Lacquer are such a delight to work with!! Seriously, if anyone is having trouble stamping or hasn't tried it yet - you have to get at least one of her plates and see how awesome they are.
Later on that day, I went outside and posed the pretties in front of a snowbank in our driveway. It was nearing sunset and cold, but it made me happy to see flowers seemingly coming up out of the snow (soon it will be for real!).
Polish Palette:Editor's note: While I don't specifically show my posts for the purpose of polish swatches, I still work hard to master the appropriate color balancing and show the polishes colors as they appear in various lighting. The photos above all appear more pink than in reality, the polishes are a little cooler with more blue in them. The polish swatches below are the closest to real color.
Polishes Used (L to R): Sally Hansen InstaDri Lightening (yes, spelled this way on bottle), Sally Hansen InstaDri Pronto Purple, Zoya Megan, Zoya Katherine
Stamping: Vivid Lacquer plate VL008
Inspiration Source(s):
February Gemstone: Amethyst
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| image from Design-Seeds.com |
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I hope everyone out there who was born in February has had or will have a nice celebration. There are some bittersweet February birthdays in my family and with friends of the family; however, it is still nice to reflect on the good times.
Is your birthday this month? Do you know someone who's celebrating in February? Let me know in the comments.
Till next time,
Kimett