I hope you'll read on; there is wisdom and some giggles to be gleaned from this post. Oh, and if you missed the background as to what my Theme of the Month posts are all about, you can read January's here.
When I did these nail designs I wasn't too happy with them. In their making, I tried out some new things which meant learning along the way (a nice way of saying, screwing up and trying to fix it). I too tend to suffer from needing to be completely happy with my work before showing it to the world. But, following Sam's great & wise advice, I decided I didn't have to re-do these before sharing them with you. I wore them over a week ago, and now looking at them (without the specific outcome in mind that I had at the time), they don't seem quite so horrid as I thought they were. In fact, I sorta like 'em.
In keeping with my previous two design styles the birth-month flower is represented on my middle and ring nails, and are framed by the birth-month stone on my thumb, index & pinky nails. March's gem is the aquamarine. And, I don't (yet) have the perfect polish to represent this beautiful gem. Hence, I attempted to use two jelly polishes (a warm teal and a neutral grey: sponged, saran-ed, and dry-brushed together) on top of a bright white polish in hopes to get close. While the resulting effect was kinda cool - I didn't get the exact coloring I was looking for.
My coloring was more aqua and less marine; but still pretty (and sorta resembles the inspiration photos at the end of this post). I had some issue with thickness and bubbles because I kept adding layers, but it wasn't as noticeable as in these macro pictures. I did get the "glow" feeling I think though - you can see it on my index nail (photo above) and my pinky nail (photo below) when they captured the light just right.
March's birthflower is the daffodil. Instead of stamping, I decided to free-hand these little fragile bundles of yellow happiness. (Well, truth be told - since January, I've been hunting for a stamp plate with daffodils, no luck. I also looked for water tattoos or decals - even tried to custom order some, no luck.) So I put on my big-girl pants and with a cut-down nail art brush, I used polish to paint them - a pretty shimmery yellow with an orange creme polish for the center ring. And they looked PERFECT (if I say so myself) - until - I topcoated them. I know that top coat does "smooth out" paint strokes, but these went beyond that and right into becoming blobs. I think the combo of the base color (a while pearl) and the shimmery yellow just visually blended into each other. Sometimes when looking at these at arm's length - they looked like fried eggs. LOL.
In hindsight, a different base color might have been better. At the time, I was going for the look of snow - since most of the ground is still covered in this part of the country. Daffodils aren't blooming until mid to late April in our neck of the woods. And, it might have helped if I added green stems and leaves, but I was afraid the colors would clash with the aquamarine nails. So I left them without foliage. What's your opinion? Are these too abstract?
To top off the challenge of being a perfectionist, my fair skin and white/yellow polish colors together are very tough to photograph. So - outside I went to try indirect sunlight. And, as you can see, even though some bulbs are starting to poke through the snow (my daffodils are still covered in a foot or more), it is definitely still winter here - and I froze my butt off taking most of these pictures on a cold & windy March day!! Such dedication. :)
Knowing my #1 Fan was celebrating her birthday this month and of her love of aquamarines and daffodils, I had put some extra pressure on myself with these nails. Looking back, I am glad I pushed myself out of my comfort zone - even though these nails were not quite "there" to me. It's the fun of making them and then recording them that matters most. And, painting the daffodils was loads of fun! I can see why there are so many floral nail pictures out there!!! I can't wait to do more.
Polish Palette:
Polishes Used (L to R): Zoya Jancyn, Finger Paints Art Nouv-Yellow, Zoya Frida, OPI My Pointe Exactly, Finger Paints Well-Cultured Pearl
Inspiration Source(s):
March Birthstone: Aquamarine
March Birth-Flower: Daffodil
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Is it your birthday this month? Do you know someone who's celebrating in March? Let me know in the comments.
Till next time,
Kimett