Birthday Celebration Nail Art!!
Two very sweet gals organized a surprise Birthday collaboration for Debbie - known as Knitty Nails; and they invited me to join in!! How cool is that!
Debbie is a very good knitter and most of her nail design photos include her creations. She is also known as the queen of the multi-stamp design. She combines patterns and colors with mastery. Oh, and she's also a really swell person who is very nice and supportive. And...she blogs!!! Simply put, she's amazing!
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| Happy Birthday, Debbie!! Triple stamping with sheer blue wash in your honor. <3 |
I'm still in awe of the process and outcome used to create this design "Debbie style" and hopefully I've got all the right pictures and words to convey that. Plus, there is a design of hers featured (my inspiration) in this post. Hope you enjoy...
OK, so some background info. This collaboration was done in secret culminating with the reveal of this group collage posted on Instagram and on the internet today.
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| Look at all of this Birthday nail love!! Debbie deserves it! |
Natasha (@natasha_dauncey) and Angela (@glacewing) were the masters of the operation. They chose the theme of blue stamped nails, preferably double or triple stamped. It was open ended, we could chose the design we wanted as long as it fit those parameters. These gals did a great job and were very considerate to all of us around the globe dealing with different time zones, etc. Thank you ladies!
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| My nails shown with a hand-knitted scarf (thanks, Mom!) |
As if it's not enough that Debbie creates masterpiece nail designs, she also shares with us pictures of each step she took in making them. I know I am always impressed with how she even thinks to do what she does, never mind her execution. She also makes these great photo collages of her design transformations; a trademark of hers, you could say.
Step-by-Step
I took eight steps in creating these nails. Here is my collage "Debbie Style".
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| From plain base polish to the final result, phew! (Starting with top left, moving down and then to the right, final result in large square) |
- Plaint blue base polish
- Stamp tiny floral pattern in white
- Apply a "wash" of sheer blue
- Stamp larger floral pattern in white
- Apply another "wash" of sheer blue
- Stamp inverse image of the larger floral pattern in white
- Apply another "wash" of sheer blue
- Matte finish topcoat
Below is the collage post of Debbie's that was the inspiration for my design. It is just one of many, many awesome and intricate looks. I hope you'll check her blog out (and maybe subscribe), she's been blogging since 2012!
Here is link to her blog post that contains this design: knittynails.blogspot.com Feb-March Challenge Catch-Up Post.
Also, here is a link to a view of Debbie's Instagram account for those who don't have Instagram - I hope you'll check it out. Knitty-Nails on IG
As much as I've admired Debbie's nails for some time now, I really didn't appreciate the intriquing nature of blending stamp images together in this way until now. It was and will be a memorable experience! One to repeat, for sure.
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| The sheer jelly applied a watercolor wash effect, varying intensities of color over the white areas - it was so fun to do!! |
As in the case with designs that involve "building" layers...it is often hard to know when to stop. And, let me tell you, it was hard not to stop after double stamping. (Heck, I even liked it with just the one plain stamp in white!) So, I took a few extra photos at this stage, just in case.
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| Double stamping - please ignore the smudges on the index & pinky (they weren't quite dry enough when I wrapped my hand in the scarf for the step-by-step photos - oops!) |
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| These silk flowers looked similar to the second stamp image. No outdoor photos this time - like many I'm affected by the war with pollen & allergies... :( |
Even now as I look over these photos, I'm very glad I did venture forth adding the third stamping and washing layer. Especially because it covered up the sins of the first and second layers. Smirk.
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| Basket weaving is like knitting - yes? Outdoor shade (brief outing only 3 feet from my back door) |
Products Used
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| The key items used |
- Stamp plate (for all 3 images) - FUN15, Stamper Gold XL, and clean-up brush - all from Fab Ur Nails
- Blue matte polish (my plain base) - Temperance by Virtuous Lacquer
- White stamping polish - Konad
- Blue sheer jelly polish - Point of Blue by Essie from their Silk Watercolor Kits
- Not shown: Base coat - All Your Base by Pretty Serious, Top coats - Rapid Dry and Matte by OPI
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| One last look.... |
I was deliriously happy with these - but in truth it is also because I was pressed for time and didn't go through any testing nor much preparations for these, and they still came out passable. I've had a particularly bad and long lasting pain bout this month and was lucky to have a few blips of fairly tolerable moments to do these and process the photos, etc. Doing nail art & blogging is such a big part of my coping methods with chronic pain; I really look forward to it. Thanks for being here with me!
[Clears throat...hmmm, hmmm....] Moving on....
These actually looked really cool at arm's length...but alas there was no model available. LOL
What are your thoughts? I'll be blue if you don't tell me.... (pun intended).
EDIT: Added on May 7, 2016: This slideshow gives another look at the steps involved in this design. It was created for Instagram, but I added it to my YouTube channel also.
In closing, I am completely tickled to have been invited and able to participate in this fun surprise collaboration for Debbie!! Thank you Natasha and Angela for thinking of me and putting all of this together. Amazing and fun nail art done by everyone who participated!! A great experience!!
Till Next Time,
Kimett