Happy Birthday to Me

Hi there!

Today is my Birthday, and the is the manicure I'm rocking...

My nails painted with Color Club - Beyond and Halo-Graphic.
Holographic water marble manicure.

I painted 1 coat of Halo-Graphic and then I water marbled with both colors. Once I cleaned up around my cuticles, I added a coat of Seche Vite.

I can't help but be happy by this manicure and I can only hope the rest of my day is as awesome as it's been thus far :-)

Cheers to another year!

Until next time...

Spring Swirls Water Marble

Hi there!

Here's a quick look at my current manicure...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Lemon Fizz and Sinful Colors - Verbena.
Spring water marble manicure.

I painted 1 coat of Lemon Fizz before marbling with both Lemon Fizz and Verbena. I topped this manicure with a coat of Seche Vite, and I'm quite pleased how it turned out. The 2 polishes worked very well together in the water!

Until next time...

49ers Super Bowl Manicure

Hi there!

This is the manicure I'm wearing for the Super Bowl today...

My San Francisco 49ers nails. NFL Super Bowl manicure.
China Glaze - Passion and Red Pearl water marble.

I painted 1 coat of Passion as a base before water marbling with Passion and Red Pearl.

It seems 49ers manicures are in demand. This is what I saw when I opened up my blog's search results page this morning...

49ers statistics.

It should be no surprise by now that I'll be cheering for the 49ers when they play later on today. We're hosting a big Super Bowl party with lots of good food and even better friends. I hope that no matter who you're rooting for... or even if American football isn't your cup of tea, you have yourself a great day.

Click here to see my other San Francisco 49ers manicures.

Until next time...

Merry Christmas

Hi there!

This is my Christmas manicure...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Gaga for Green, Starboard, and Holly-Day.
Christmas tree water marble manicure.

I painted a base of Gaga for Green (lightest green) before water marbling with Gaga for Green, Starboard (medium green), and Holly-Day (darkest green). I added a coat of Seche Vite, and then applied pieces of star confetti as the tree toppers. I thought about adding decorations to the trees, but I quickly decided that I like them just the way they are.

Today is going to be great. While I'm a little bit saddened that there is a gigantic lack of snow where I am, vacationing with my extended family (almost) makes up for it. Nothing beats watching the little kiddos open their gifts on Christmas morning. Sometimes I think I should just give them empty boxes filled with tissue paper- that's all they seem to ever want, anyway ;-p 

What are your plans for today? Whether it's like any other day or something more hectic, I hope it's wonderful and filled with joy!

Until next time...

Ugly Manicure Monday - 22

Hi there!

This ugly manicure comes courtesy of Brittany...

Ugly water marble manicure.

Brittany said she wanted to experiment with water marbling, as she had never really done it before. She knew right away that this was a manicure she'd submit for Ugly Manicure Monday, so she didn't bother cleaning up her skin and cuticles. Brittany thinks her 3 middle fingers look the way they do as a result of bad aim in the water as well as not removing the excess polish from the surface of the water quickly enough. Brittany said her thumb could have been good, had it not been for the awful color combination. She also said that she was happy with the way her pinky turned out, so she went on to make a full manicure with those colors.

Thanks, Brittany!

I do love water marbling! And I'm glad to see a fail... it isn't always a piece of cake, that's for sure. Choosing polishes that mesh well together in the water can surely be a task!

If you have an ugly manicure, I'd love to feature it. Email me with what polish you used and what you intended your manicure to look like :-)

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 4

Hi there!

I simply couldn't go through a week of ideas without a water marble...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Hey Sailor, Sky High-Top,
and NYC - French White Tip. Water marble.
Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

I painted 1 coat of French White Tip and then water marbled with all 3 colors. This manicure was tough to achieve- the weather isn't the best, and it was rather cold in my house... so the polish didn't want to spread in the water. The design pictured is really the best I could do!

If you end up trying a red, white, and blue water marble, I'd love to know which polish you chose and if they worked well together. Better yet, I'd love to see a picture :-)

To see my other Patriotic manicure ideas, click here.

Until next time...

Pink and Purple Water Marble

Hi there!

Another water marble post so soon? Yes!

My nails water marble with Julep - Renee and Eva. 

I painted a base of Renee and then marbled with Renee and Eva. These 2 polishes worked quite well together.

This design reminds me of comic book captions like SPLAT, KAPLOW, and BAM! What do you think?

Until next time...

Take Wing Water Marble

Hi there!

This is a water marble I did for Kristin at The Manicured Monkey...

My nails water marbled with Color Club - Sparkle and Soar,
Wing Fling, and Sky High.

I painted a base of Sparkle and Soar, and then marbled with all 3 polishes. While I like the way this manicure turned out, I don't recommend the Take Wing collection for water marbling. The foil finish makes for a difficult time creating designs in the water.

Until next time...

Happy Green Day

Hi there!

I've been out of town meeting/visiting my new baby nephew. He's the cutest little thing I ever did meet! Anyhow, this is a water marble I did before I left town...

My nails water marbled with Julep - Leah and Emilie.

I painted my nails with 2 coats of Leah, then marbled with Leah and Emilie. I had some difficulty with this design because just as I was about to do my thumb nail, the heater in my house turned on and changed the room temperature quite a bit. It looks a bit blobby mid-nail, but I really don't mind it. Just keep in mind, room and water temperature matter when water marbling. I've found it works best with a room temperature of about 67-68°F and room temperature filtered water.

This design is also featured on Julep's blog if you'd like to check it out.

Whether you celebrate or not, I hope you have a happy St. Patrick's Day! Stay safe!

Until next time...

Valentine's Week - Day 5 and Ugly Manicure Monday - 05

Hi there!

I want to like this- really, I do. I love the idea... just not the execution...

My nails water marbled with Julep - Carrie, Cameron, and Salma.

I painted 1 coat of Carrie before I marbled with Carrie, Cameron, and Salma. These 3 worked alright together, but not well enough to allow for a design other than 1 or 2 lines drawn through. I was aiming to marble a heart design on each finger, but the polish dried too quickly. That wasn't my only dilemma with this design... if you look closely, you can see how terribly the top coat smeared everything!

Aye, aye, aye.

Anyway, here's a look at how I tape my fingers before water marbling...

How to tape your finger for water marbling.

Until next time...

Grey Sky Water Marble

Hi there!

I really love water marbles, so I did one inspired by Seattle's rain, snow, and ice...

Blue and grey water marble with Julep - Dendrie and Michelle.

I'm quite happy about how this turned out! I painted 2 coats of Dendrie (grey) and then I marbled with Dendrie and Michelle. I topped it with a coat of Julep's topcoat. These polishes work very well together when marbling... I didn't have to redo any of the designs!

Click here to see this manicure with a water marble "how to" on Julep's blog. I was their guest blogger yesterday :-)

Here is a picture of the bottles...

Julep - Michelle and Dendrie.

Will you be trying this anytime soon?

Until next time...

(Michelle was kindly provided by Julep for me to play with)

San Francisco 49ers Water Marble

Hi there!

Welp, football season is baaaaack! While I don't particularly care for the sport, I love the parties that come with it :-) My hunny poo likes that I support his love of the game with my nail art...

Red, gold, and black San Francisco 49ers water marble.
China Glaze - Red Pearl, China Glaze - Passion,
and Sinful Colors - Black on Black.

I painted 1 coat of Passion for the base. Then I marbled with Red Pearl, Passion, and Black on Black. I topped it all with a coat of Seche Vite.

Are you sporting a football inspired manicure?

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 6

Hi there!

I couldn't resist the urge to use these colors this week...

Red, white, and blue patriotic water marble. Sally Hansen - Whirlwind
White, China Glaze - Ruby Pumps, and China Glaze Dorothy Who?
Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

I don't think it turned out that great. The design is pretty, but the glitter just doesn't work. I tried a water marble design with Ruby Pumps as a base, as well as a design with Dorothy Who? as a base to see how that might change the look. They both turned out terribly.

If you're looking to try a water marble design and really want to use one of the colors I tried, I suggest choosing just one and using it as a base- then use solid creme colors to marble with... unless, of course, you want it to turn out like mine did :-)

Check out my other patriotic manicure ideas:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 7

Until next time...

Pinky-Punky Water Marble Revamp

Hi there!

I decided that my manicure needed some pizzazz...

Pink, black, and silver water marble. Nicole by OPI - Positive Energy, Sinful
Colors - Black on Black, Sinful Colors - Cream Pink, Revlon - Silver Dollar.
Stamped with Konad image plate M3 using Konad's special black polish and Positive Energy.


I'm very satisfied with this new look!

What's your favorite way to revamp a manicure?

Until next time...

Pinky-Punky Water Marble

Hi there!

I wasn't planning on redoing my nails today, but I dumped all of my polishes out of their temporary storage so I could better admire them. That led to testing colors... which led to removing polish... which led to this...

Pink, black, and silver water marble. Nicole by OPI - Positive Energy, Sinful
Colors - Black on Black, Sinful Colors - Cream Pink, Revlon - Silver Dollar.

This was a rather difficult look to achieve. The polishes I used did not work well with eachother... they dried very quickly and they didn't spread well. I used...

Nicole by OPI - Positive Energy, Sinful Colors - Black on Black,
Sinful Colors - Cream Pink, Revlon - Silver Dollar, Seche Vite.

I painted one coat of Positive Energy to use as my base. I really recommend this silver. It's a nice metallic silver without any glitter. I believe it was Silver Dollar that didn't behave well. The flecks of shimmer throughout it seem to make it difficult- though it spreads over the water nicely and it's beautiful.

Until next time...

Pastel Water Marble

Hi there!

Here's my very first attempt at water marbling!

Pastel water marble. China Glaze - Something Sweet, China Glaze -
Peachy Keen, China Glaze - Lemon Fizz, China Glaze - Re-Fresh Mint,
China Glaze - Sea Spray, China Glaze - Light As Air. 

It's very spring-y and I think it worked perfectly for Easter. They'll also be my Birthday nails... TOMORROW :-D

I used...

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Whirlwind White, China Glaze - Something Sweet,
China Glaze - Peachy Keen, China Glaze - Lemon Fizz, China Glaze - Re-Fresh Mint,
China Glaze - Sea Spray, China Glaze - Light As Air, Seche Vite.

I started with 2 coats of white polish so the marble had something to pop against. I had been putting off trying a water marble for the longest time because I thought it would be too time consuming and frustrating. I'm glad I was wrong. Most of the colors I used are from the Up & Away collection... they're great pastels and they were very easy to marble with. They worked well with the water and they didn't bleed.

Until next time...