Thursday 15 January 2015

Frozen Jewel

Hello lovely fellow nail stamping fans!

Thank you so much for your patience.  This post is long overdue, and I truly apologize for my absence.  As the title indicates, I have been "frozen" -  not literally, but I have really been finding it difficult to function as a normal human being these last few weeks.  Pah, enough grumbling...it's a brand new year!

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My Warmest Wishes 

 for 2015

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This manicure is part of a nail art collaboration organised by Mary who created an amazing collage to start the new year off with a bang.  #NewYearManiCollage.   I have added her incredible collage as the finale of this post, so keep scrolling down to see it...

For my manicure, I decided to go for a cool wintery look to mark the start of a bright and fresh new year.  I included all the best things to complete this look:  a uk indie duochrome, double stamping DRK, MDU, and rhinestones!!!!!

I am also so happy to be back posting with A2Z nails and this week is the letter J for Jewel.


Huge finger
Before I get into further details for this mani,  I would like to give an extra special mention to my amazing friends:  Mariana, San, Sumeet and Elaine. Thank you all so much for being here for me. You have all helped me through winter and I really appreciate your friendship.

Mariana @StampingQueenBlog
https://www.facebook.com/stampingqueenblog

San @santie_nails
https://www.youtube.com/user/Sannejoey/videos

Sumeet @tales_of_coffee_lacquer_beauty (more information below)
http://talesofcoffeelacquerandbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/

Elaine @LollyBlackHeart (more information below)
#FrightfullySpectacular

Bottle shot
I also need to give thanks to my amazing friend Marty, I am the proud owner of this Messy Mansion super soft stamper head.   This is part of a set of two stamper heads that come in a little tin.(http://www.messymansion.com.au/products/soft-stamper-set-with-tin.html).  For easy use, I placed the head in the lid of a nail polish remover bottle which acts perfectly as a holder.

Tools of the Trade
One final stamper note before moving on:  When I first saw the set of stamper heads they looked so shiny I didn't expect them to pick up any nail polish at all.  I was prepared for some serious priming, however, to my surprise, when I tested them out, they both picked up the image first time like a dream.  And in fact, they seem to perform better and stamp more reliably than any of my other stampers on all of the images I've tried them with.

Base colour:  Frightfully Spectacular, Happy New Year [By Abba] (Aqua with gold shimmer)
Base stamp colour:  Essie Mirror Metallics, 944 Blue Rhapsody
Base stamping plate:  DRK Themes:  Enlaced (left below)

Stamp colour for flourish:  Mundo de Uñas Stamping Polish, 06. Pastel Blue
Stamping plate for flourish:  Born Pretty,  BP - L 008 (right below)
Rhinestones:  http://www.moyou.co.uk/nail-art-decoration-set-design-glitters-rhinestones/rhinestones-nail-art/1200-rhinestones.html
The Stamping Plates
I could not believe my luck when this gorgeous lacy DRK plate arrived for me over Christmas...I had drooled over the plate, but I hadn't ordered it!  Then I discovered it was a present to me from the wonderful Sumeet.  I simply could not wait to try it out, and this pretty intricate pattern was ideal to add a beautiful detailed background for my flourishes.

I am a gigantic fan of  Tales of Coffee,Lacquer and Beauty, Sumeet's fantastic blog.  The link is to her honest, informative reviews of stamping plates, but I would highly recommend her other posts and pages to anyone interested in nail art or indie nail polishes.  And if you are trying to figure out how to stamp your own nails, then look no further: Nail Stamping 101 has all your questions answered.


Frightfully Spectacular, Happy New Year
Here is the base colour for my manicure...I am wearing "Happy New Year" from Frightfully Spectacular. This is now, one of my all time favorite polishes.  Just look how the gold dances around the blue in the light.  My fingers and toes are so happy right now!

Frightfully Spectacular is a brand new UK indie polish line coming soon to you by @LollyBlackHeart.  I can honestly tell you that this girl turns colour into magic.  She chooses combinations that I've never seen before, and they work wonderfully.

Check out  #FrightfullySpectacular for more news.

As an extra special bonus, Here is a compilation of my all time favorite manicures.  I had so much fun creating these, I really hope you like them too.
My favourite manicures of 2014
More details and many more photos for each of these manicures in the links below.

1.    Neon Disco
2.    Snowflakes Skittle
3.    The Bird is the Word
4.    Crunchy Autumn Leaves
5.    Flower Power
6.    A = Angles
7.    Diwali Gradient with Mariana
8.    E = Elegant
9.    Diwali Decals with San
10.  Back to School
11.  Pink Roses
12.  Orange for Elisa
13.  C = Copycat
14.  Candy Cane Chevrons
15.  Holographic Stars
16.  Elements
17.  Pretty Paisleys


And last, but by no means least:


Thank you so much Mary


12 comments:

  1. Gorgeous mani and happy new year! 😊
    Thanks for sharing another new UK indie too. It's one of my resolutions to try more and this looks lovely x

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    1. Thanks so much Morven and so sorry for the late reply, I am a huge fan of your nails and blog, so I feel incredibly humbled, I can't wait to see your next manicure. ✽ ❤ Thank you!!! ❤ ✽

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  2. These are lovely! The double stamping looks awesome!

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    1. ★♡ Ooooh, I am so happy you like it Monica, it's really fun to do too. Thanks so much. ☆❤

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  3. wow I've never seen anything like this before!

    This is so creative and I think you've done a wonderful job creating this nail art :)
    I love this manicures, your nails look soo great <3

    Creativenails4fun

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    1. ♡♢♤♧ Thanks for such a wonderful compliment. Julia, you so kind. ♤♧♢♡

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  4. This is such a gorgeous design. Love love love!

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    1. ♚ ♕ Yay!!! I am so happy you like it! Ps, I've only just discovered your blog, but now I'm hooked!!!! It's fab. xxXXxx ♛ ♔

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  5. Replies
    1. ✽ ❤ Thank you so much lovely!!! I am really pleased you like it too. ❤ ✽

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  6. I love the double stamping and the addition of nail studs is just inspired! I'm so glad the plate made it safe and sound! I'm looking forward to seeing all your lovely creations :) And most of all thank you so much for all the kind words Roberta! It means more than I can put in words <3

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    1. Thanks so much gorgeous. xxXXxxxx All my hugest hugs to you and your family for your last few weeks in India. xxXXXXxxx

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