Distressed Dots & Hearts

Hullo everyone!

Today I have a cute manicure featuring glittery red dots and hearts on a distressed pink and white background :D

(click to enlarge for a crisper image!)

"But A-maaan-daaaaaa," I hear you whine, "Valentine's Day is over, you said no more cutesy romantic stuff!" Well, you're correct. However, I was recently contacted by PR for River Island to see if I might like to enter their latest competition--the We Heart Nail Art: Blogger Challenge! The theme is Valentine's Day, and the winner will receive a £150/180€ River Island gift code to be redeemed at www.riverisland.com... plus a feature on the River Island blog with a tutorial of the design!

I could have entered any of my previous manis, but I wanted to create something new. I decided to go for a design that's cute and fun, yet easy to recreate--so if my tutorial is chosen, people will be able to get the same look without too much frustration. With that in mind, I painted all nails white (Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On), let it dry, and then used a bit of wadded-up cling-wrap to dab on some bubblegum-pink (Revlon #280 Bubbly.. such a cute pink creme!) creating the distressed, splattered look. To complete the background and add some sparkle, I brushed on a coat of Sally Hansen Diamond Shine #150 Glass Slipper--a gorgeous white-glassfleck topper. This not only makes it glittery, but helps blend the background together just a tiny bit, so the pink doesn't stand out as harshly against the white.

Then for the fun part! With a small dotting tool and China Glaze Ruby Pumps (the stunning red-jelly-glitter you see above), I created a pattern of dots on all nails except for the middle one. There, I used a larger dotting tool to draw the heart shape--just dab once for the top of the heart, pull down to the middle, and repeat on the other side--and cleaned up the edges with a small brush to make it look neat.

Lastly, a generous coat of Seche Vite topcoat to protect the design and give it a glassy, glossy finish!

The design takes a bit of time, mostly because you need to wait for each layer to at least mostly dry before going on to the next one, but no steps are particularly difficult. And I think it's so cute! I like it at least as much as any of my other Valentine designs I did at the beginning of the month.. maybe even more :)

Ruby Pumps is so beautiful in the sunlight! I played with the brightness and contrast filters in this shot, just for fun :)

And one more--the background shows up well in this pic.

I saved the best news for last... the contest is still going on! It ends on the 24th (I heard about it a bit late myself), so if you want to enter, there's still time! Entry details are on this page, and the competition is open to bloggers in the UK, US, France, and Australia. So if you are interested, jump in! :)

Thanks for reading today! Have a lovely weekend, and I'll see you next time xoxo

Valentine White Wedding Mani (bit late, eek!)

Hi everyone! Sorry for the late post! Last night I was just getting ready to organise everything when the electricity went out... didn't come back til the wee hours of the morning, so I'm only just getting this post up. But it's still Valentines Day in some places, so it totally counts :D

For my final love-inspired mani, I wanted something soft and wedding-appropriate. (No, I did not get married nor attend a wedding today--just went for the look!) I also tried to make it sort of symbolic. I'll explain how!

For the base, I chose OPI Happy Anniversary!, the shimmery white pearly polish shown in these photos. I suppose the reason is obvious. Love, and especially marriage, should be long-lasting and with many happy anniversaries :) To feel "in love" is one thing and should be the case most of the time, but to commit to loving a person even when things are tough is entirely another.

But romance is also about desire, and fulfilling certain needs only with your chosen partner, forsaking all others, To represent this, I used the saran wrap/cling film method (great tutorial from the creator of this technique here!) to dab on some of Deborah Lippman's Private Dancer. Keep their eyes on you!

A photo indoors with flash.

Next, the decorations! I chose these sweet rose decals from Cina Pro. Roses are, of course, the classic flower of romance. But I also wanted to represent the ongoing nature of love. A relationship is not something you acquire, tick off your list, and move on from. Just like a flower, it needs attention and nutrients to grow. How often do you hear that a couple just 'fell out of love', or 'grew apart'? "Nothing really went wrong", they say, "it just wasn't working anymore." I believe this often happens because the partners stop trying to impress and woo each other, stop going the extra mile like they did at the start, and the garden of love slowly wilted. Water your "flowers" every day!

And last, the accent nail. A big blingy diamond heart rhinestone! (I believe this was in a random pack from a craft store.) The meaning behind the heart shape is obvious. I know there is a lot of controversy about what a diamond means and whether it should be used and etc... but traditionally, to me, it has represented the purity and rarity of real love. Also, as the hardest known mineral, it shows that it is nearly impossible to break or shatter, and a couple should strive to not let the little stresses of life tear them apart.

Outdoors in shade.

(The dots don't really represent anything. They were just also on the decal sheet, and I thought they were pretty. Hehe.)

Topcoated with INM Out the Door.

And one more sun pic, because, shiny. Look at that rhinestone sparkle!

So that's it for today's post. I hope you liked the manicure as well as the thought behind it. I also hope you had a nice day--whether you're single or 'taken', whether you had a special date or it was just another Friday night. Because the best part about love is that you don't need just a romantic partner to feel it--make sure to tell your family and friends what they mean to you!

Which reminds me to thank you for reading my blog, and I hope you enjoy it here :) I am thankful for you, and if I can make you smile with my art, that's one thing in life that I love.

Have a great weekend, and I'll see you next time! xoxo