You all have me blushing and smiling with your entries and responses to my Blogiversary Giveaway....I think this feeling of warm fuzzies is going to stay with me a while.
Thank You. Thank You!!
(Haven't entered yet? Please do! Here's a direct link. But, don't forget to come back and finish reading this post...OK?)
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| Light grey & silver colors for #maniswapcircle |
There's been a lot of pink and red on Kimett Kolor lately...until today. I hope you'll read on and let me know what you think of my re-creation for the latest Mani Swap Circle.
I love grey and silver polishes. Most of the grey polishes I own are of the darker toned variety. However, I wanted to really challenge myself and stay in these lighter shades despite my fair skin tone. If I were to do these again, I would have changed out one of my polish choices, but overall I was happy with the look of these. Photographing them, was however, the biggest challenge.
Oh - before I go on - is anyone else worried about whether I'm spelling the word grey wrong? What's the difference between grey and gray?? Yes, I looked it up. That's how I roll. LOL. It turns out they're both an accurate spelling of the color (although they refer to two different tones) and the spelling is a regional difference of the same language. Grey is usually used by folks speaking UK English and gray is rooted in US English. So I am choosing to use the UK spelling, since that is how the hosts of the Mani Swap Circle spell it. Why not! After all, I use many versions of the word color in my blog, even my own made-up one! OK - enough babble...
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| Lots and lots of grey tones!! |
Angela (@glacewing), the creator of this massive collage, and Natasha (@natasha_dauncey) once again rallied a LOT of folks together for this Instagram based collaboration. Wait till the next one is out - it's going to be a special edition with a meaningful message in addition to the color challenge.
My designated swap buddy for this go round was Nirikshya (@np_na). She has lots of pretty designs both stamped and free-hand. I picked this reverse stamping design she did thinking it would translate well with the theme colors.
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| Nirikshya's original design |
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| My re-creation in light grey/silver |
As soon as I learned of the color theme for this one, I knew which polish I wanted to feature. It is Calliope from Supernatural Lacquer. Please allow me a bit of chatter to explain the reasons why:
- It's a beautiful & unique polish!! A lovely gray jelly with amazing flakies, shimmers and holographic micro glitters.
- It is a custom Facebook group polish made just for us "Polish Idjits" - a reference to the TV Show "Supernatural" - by the maker of this fabulous Indie brand based on Stephanie's love for all things supernatural (the TV show being just one of them).
- Group members were asked to suggest names for this polish (when provided a photo), I suggested the name and it was voted as the winner! (Yay, me!!)
- I picked the name "Calliope" because this misbehaving Goddess wore a dress that was very similar to the colors of this polish (from the special 200th episode of the TV show - Fan Fiction).
And to make this even more special - I painted these nails on "Supernatural Day" which was celebrated last week on September 13, 2016 (the show first aired 11 years ago on that date). I had been ill and was recovering, so it felt extra good to be able to paint my nails in general - never mind all of these extra reason why. ;)
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| Seen with the namesake Goddess Calliope (from the scene just before she is killed). |
Design Details
So...after I had picked this polish...I began looking through Nirikshya's Instagram feed searching for the design that spoke to me and this color theme - that I could use this polish with. I have been enjoying the technique of reverse stamping and was happy to continue practicing it with these nails.The first thing I did was to create the stamped images. I didn't have a plate with an image like my inspiration's. However, I settled on this floral image by Uber Chic. The plate has a great single image in the middle row at the bottom - but I felt it was too small and not quite the same idea as Nirikshya's with the outer edging. So I used the full image (bottom row, second one from the left). After picking up the image on the stamper, I removed the bits around the focal design with scotch tape.
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| (Image source from Uber Chic website) |
I made a total of three stamped & then colored designs on clear stampers.
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| Work-in-progress photo (before painting in the designs and with the messy bits off to the right, cropped out ;) |
While I was painting in the design, I thought one of my polish choices was too sheer and replaced it with a more opaque polish (see details below) -- as it turns out I preferred my original choice (the one that is on my thumb). The sheerer polish allowed the flower image to stand out better.
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| Struck by Murphy's Law: I didn't end up with any good pictures of my thumb even though it was my favorite. |
I did warn you, I mean, mention to you, that I was photographically challenged on this day....I blame it on being sick. Yeah...that's my story...and I'm going to stick with it. LOL
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| A quick cell-phone picture taken late afternoon - came out OK |
Polish Palette
First I applied the base color (3 thin coats of Calliope) to all of my nails. I followed that up with top coat. When that was almost dry (just barely tacky), I applied my dried colored stamped images right from the stampers onto the nails (as if they were just regular stamp). Lastly, I put on a final seal with another layer of top coat.- Base color/polish: Calliope by Supernatural Lacquer
(At the time of this post, her online shop is closed temporarily as she traveled to PolishCon in Chicago - she'll be re-opening soon) - Stamp Plate Image from Uber Chic Plate 4-02
- Clear stampers:
- The Big Bling (by Clear Jelly Stamper),
- XL Clear stamper (by Fab Ur Nails),
- XL Clear Stamper in ring holder (by Uber Chic)
- Stamping polish: Moonshine by Hit the Bottle (purchased through Beautometry)
- Polishes used to color in stamp:
- Silver Glitter Art Club by Color Club for the flower centers,
- Megan by Zoya for the flower petals,
- Harley by Zoya (thumb) and Miss Wu by CND (middle & ring) for the background,
- Magnetize by Revlon for the foil edging.
- Nail art brush: Pure Color #10
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| Another photo showing off Calliope in the afternoon sun |
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| And, a few more outdoor shots -- it was a pretty late Summer/early Fall day |
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| So many pretty elements in one design! |
Despite my inability to get photos that were closer to how pretty these looked in person, I still very much enjoy looking at these again. (Something else is on my nails right now...) They were elegant and the stamped images reminded me of metallic stickers made for gift wrapped packages or fancy stationary envelopes. What do you think of them?
Thanks so much for visiting!!
Till Next Time,
Kimett
PS - if you would like to see what others have done with re-creations of my designs, there is now a page on my website to showcase them: Featured by Kimett Kolor