Gradient All Splattered On

Hey all,

How's your week going and how was your weekend?

I had a pretty uneventful weekend. I did make my 11 year old brother insanely happy though. Hooked him up with live NHL hockey on his ipad. Any and every game. I swear his face looked like Christmas Morning <3

Despite my lazy weekend I was feeling very motivated last night. I wanted a fun art project to work on while I watched hockey. So I decided on a bright gradient with neutral splatter.

On The Other Hand...

I love this manicure so much. The yellow to blue gradient is fantastic. So bright and vivid, with just a hint of shimmer in the yellow. I added the splatter to really make it pop. What do you think?

I used China Glaze - Solar Power, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Brisk Blue & Nubar - Velvet Silver

and my trusty makeup sponge and straw

Today I would like to share a live performance by a band I just started listening to, The Sheepdogs. My boyfriend got me into them, oddly enough. We haven't really enjoyed the same music for like 4-5 years now. Hopefully this is ushering in a change of more musical bonding. Check it out, there's a trombone solo! And I love the fact that the singer and I have the exact same hair. XD

I hope everyone has a great week. I will. There's lots planned. Two friends are having birthdays on Friday! Two nights of dinners, drinks and goofy fun! So you can expect my next manicure to be birthday themed somehow. Evil plans currently underway ;)

Have a good night and a great manicure.
jeebjeeb

Space Cadet Spotted

 Hey all!

Today I have another technique I've never tried before! 

Dagadelic is such a sweety. She got me a set of dotting tools! <3

So of course as soon as I got them I had to use them. 

This is my Space Cadet Spotted  Manicure.

The dotters were awesome to use. So easy, though I do need a bit of practice (couple of drag lines).

I'm incredibly pleased with the result. What do you think?

My brain is teeming with ways to use the dotters. 

I think we're going to have a beautiful relationship.

(Thanks D!)

I used Zoya - Raven and Orly - Space Cadet 

Space Cadet is the first douchrome I ever bought! It's so cool. Flashing from pink to copper with a green undertone. It is so mysterious and intriguing.  

The last time I wore Space Cadet was to the Fiona Apple concert in the summer. My manicure was cool, but Fiona was incredible. My friend Shade & I have been fans since we were 16. Finally being able to see her was like going to Mecca or the Vatican. Like a Buddhist seeing the Dalai Lama. A life defining moment. I'm glad Space Cadet could share that with me. So I'll share it with you too!

Here's a video of Fiona live in 2012 performing Not About Love. She knocked me out. So much passion and energy. Every muscle tensed with purpose. This is also pretty much exactly the view I had so you can see her playing the piano, which is a treat.

What do you think?

Let's Spin a Yarn

The shawl I'm working on is coming along. I should be working on the shirt I made too small. But this yarn is so soft and colourful. I can't help myself.

Trust me, you wouldn't want to put it down either.

Is anyone working on any art projects? Winter is a great time for art.

This time next week I have a photo project set up! So excited. I'll be doing portraits. Somewhat professional portraits (my first time) But of course there must be a ton of goofy to balance it out. We'll have a couple drinks, get the self consciousness out and go for  it! I can't wait and I'm frightened all at the same time. <3

Have a good weekend and a great manicure!

jeebjeeb

OPI - Jade Is The New Black

Hey all,

I'm guess it's about time that I tell you the story of my relationship with nail polish. I think it's interesting to know the hows and whys behind everything. Or rather, the emotional  reasons, the thoughts and feelings. I dwell within that inner world. And I like to take people there with me. 

I can't remember the first time I painted my nails. All I know is that by age 10 I was obsessed. I would sit in the living room, using a little table on wheels while I watched tv. I painted my nails all the time for years. Bright green, yellow, even a bright orange matte that smelled like oranges.

Then high school happened.

I learned fairly quickly that everything about me was not cool. What I know now is that being a "loser" actually meant I was interesting and different. But sadly, you have to go through hell and back to figure that out. So I got rid of all the things that made me me, and one of those things was my "weird nail polish" (I guess my colour choices were bad, I don't know man, it's hard being a 13 year old girl)

The years slowly went by. 

But eventually I graduated and took back everything I once loved about myself. But no, not nail polish. I work as a shipper/receiver. All day long I'm packing boxes and jamming my hands between stacks of paper. I use my hands HARD. What would be the point of putting on polish so it could get ruined right away? It just seemed like a waste. 

Once I got to be 25 I realized it was now or never. Why deny yourself? If it chips, so be it. C'est la vie. It was Feb 2012 and for some reason I just felt an urge. It was an Essie polish that did it. At the drug store I spotted A Cut Above, a pink glitter, and something in me shifted. I bought it. Things just snowballed after that.

Last summer I discovered Nail Polish Canada. I cannot go on enough about their amazing online store. I swear, I will talk endlessly to people that don't even wear polish. Their selection opened up a whole new world to me. I researched endlessly. Swatch after swatch. It became more like hunting than shopping. I'm already a tea snob, and now, thanks to NPC, I'm a polish snob too. And unlike anywhere else they offer rewards points for every dollar you spend! Just recently used some points to get my first free polish. <3

And here it is! OPI - Jade Is The New Black

Jade is a beautiful medium/dark green creme polish with just the tiniest hint of blue. It is such an elegant, intriguing colour. I thought it was so nice I didn't want to distract from it. Well, not too much.

I also picked up a pack of Cats & Hearts nail decals by Cala with my free polish and was eager to try them out. The decals have both brown and white cats,with balls in random colours. So I chose brown and red to perfectly contrast. I really like these decals. Look at how cute that cat is!

You can also see how unhappy my skin is about winter. Paper cuts and dry skin, yay! 

These decals remind me of the Archie Comic manicures I did as a kid. I would cut out speech bubbles, heads, etc. and then stick them to my nails with multiple layers of topcoat. It looked very cool. But these decals are so much easier to get off.

What do you think? Digging the cats? 

And how did you start painting your nails, or get into any of your other hobbies? I'd love to know.

Have a goodnight and a great manicure!
jeebjeeb

Saran Wrap Manicure

Hey all.
Hope you had a great weekend. I had fun. Took my little brother for his first haircut from one of my oldest and dearest friends. It was very sweet. Not that long ago we were teenagers wrestling around at my brother's first birthday. What do you mean he's a tween now and we're adults? What do you mean one is cutting hair and the other is doing perfect impressions of me?! Growing up is very cool.
I also got to hang out with my two other favorite people and watch a really crappy hockey game. : (  Losing 7-3 is not the best way to start a season. We had a good time though, so let's get over it. On to the manicure!

I wanted to try something new and I remembered the Saran Wrap technique. I'm using the method as explained by TheCraftyNinja.

It was super quick and easy and I think the results are awesome. What do you think?

When I looked outside this morning it was a very grey, foggy day, which inspired my colour palette. I was feeling muted, mellow earth tones. My base colour is OPI - Uh Oh Roll Down The Window (I hate the name, but it's a great shade of army green) & Zoya - Dove 

I love how it looks like smoke or mist billowing through the air. Mysterious and mesmerizing!

I will definitely be trying this technique again soon. It's so simple and versatile. So many colour and texture combinations to play with. I'm fantasizing about shimmers, matte polishes, lots of depth. : ) 

What kind of art day dreams are you having?

here's the pre-saran mugshot :)

Anyone drinking amazing tea? I'm still on my Earl Grey kick. I have at least 5 types of Earl Grey. JUST Earl Grey. It's magical, what can I say. 

Thinking about this manicure, and it's smokey look, has got Smoke in the Water by Deep Purple stuck in my head. Do you know it? It's a fun song. And this live performance from 1974 is even funner. Check it out! Great guitar riff, high pitched screeches, organ solo, you name it.

Another manic Monday tomorrow. Rest up and let's start this week off right.
Have a good night and a great manicure!
jeebjeeb

Serpentine

Hey all.

Happy Friday! Hope you're having a great one.

I'm super excited about this weekend. NHL hockey is back! :) Finally. 3 months spent in darkness. No body checks. No goals. No tension you could cut with a knife. (Hockey is the ultimate soap opera.)

 I'm a big Vancouver Canucks fan. And tomorrow is their first game! So I plan to have a tiny celebration. Nothing is more Canadian than hockey and alcohol! I can't wait. 

Hockey aside, on to the manicure!

I was feeling metallic so I decided to bust our Zoya's Richelle. I've had this polish for a while, but I've only ever stamped with it. So I decided to use it as a base and stamp over top of it this time.

I feel so dumb. Because I never knew this polish had tiny holographic particles. I was shocked. And so happy.

It's quite spectacular. 

My boyfriend suggested I stamp with the snakeskin pattern in teal, so I went with it. I used a combo of Topshop - Jewel in the Crown & Essie - Trophy Wife.

I'm happy with the results. And so is Kit-Kat.

She was being a sport, and posing for me. See that smile? She's a pro.

I'm going to cut this one short and get on with the rest of my Friday. Have a great weekend y'all! I can't wait to see my friends and spend time on my passions, and all those other good things weekends bring.

Have a goodnight and a great manicure!
jeebjeeb

Polish, Yarn & Rock n' Roll

Hey all.


I was having a hard time deciding what kind of manicure to do last night. And I was feeling lazy. So glitter with accent nail it is! My manicure equivalent to a tv dinner.

But I used some under utilized polishes in my collection. Hare Polish - Supernova Springs and Aphrodite Lacquers - Galaxy Glitter 

Both polishes are very small hex glitters and tiny glitter particles floating in a black jelly base. 

Supernova Springs really shines in the light. Unfortunately Galaxy Glitter is more outstanding in the bottle than on the nail. It just doesn't pop, and seems to eat light, which is just a pity, since all the polishes in this line were fabulously glittery. I picked the dud :P

 Dagadelic has a different polish from the same collection, Supernova, black jelly with purple glitter. Hopefully one day she'll bust it out (hint ;) hint) and my faith with be restored.

So, obviously, I'm not using the same camera as I was before :) I finally got a new digital camera. It is long overdue, I tell you what. My last camera is 6 years old, and I stopped using it 3 years ago :S I've been using my good old Pentax since then. It's wonderful for art. But it gets pricey when I just want to screw around with shots. Not to mention how heavy it is. 

So I'm back in the digital age! And now you and I can enjoy shots like this!

Best $100 camera EVER! :D I'm so happy! I hope you enjoy too. And just for fun I'm posting my favorite finger from my last manicure. You can really see the linear holo now. 

Let's Spin a Yarn...

So I went down to the craft store to find yarn for my hermanito's birthday scarf. With the word Manly on my mind. I swear, it's harder than you would think. Usually manly equals ugly. So I went for something half ugly and brown.

It's bulky yarn. So it's really thick and wide. Perfect for a cold and crappy day. But no, not my favorite piece. I wish men were into lace. Because that's what 80% of crochet is! Or at least 80% of what I want to make. 

I want to share one last part of myself before I finish up tonight. Some music. I listened to the Rolling Stones while I painted my nails. It's been a long time since I've felt like putting on one of their albums. So I put on 4! And it was a lot of fun. It reminded me of being  a little girl. My dad was a Stone's fan (only their good stuff, everything after Some Girls can go to hell) Dad had a video with a live performance on it. I used to watch it over and over again. He said I had a crush on Mick Jagger. But I don't think that was it at all. I think I wanted to be Mick Jagger. I think about that statement and I think about how I dance. His confident cock strut made sense to me. If you're going to move your body to music, give it your all. I was the shyest little girl in the world. But when I danced you would have never known, my tiny personality filled the room.  

Last night, the song Bitch instantly made my boyfriend and I look at each other, nodding our heads "oh yeah baby" How could I have deprived myself of this song for so long? I hope you enjoy it. And in the spirit of Mick Jagger & JeebJeeb, pout your lips, swing your hips and show us how it's done!



Have a good night and a great manicure y'all!
jeebjeeb

Holographic/Nude Gradient Manicure with stamp

Buenos noches! 

Hope everyone had a great Saturday. I went to the dentist. Yay :| So I'm making it up to myself with tea and art! Mmmmm... soul food. In keeping with trying to be more creative I decided to do a gradient with a stamp overtop. I love gradients. Simple to do, visually stunning and the sky's the limit when combining colours. Here's just the gradient on it's own. 

I decided to pair a holographic (Colour Club - Cloud 9), just a smidgen of a jelly (Zoya - Paloma) and a nude (Zoya - Sari)

I think it's pretty stunning. And also one of the most girly manicures I've done in a while. I used the nude, Sari, as my base. I love Sari. Not only is it an amazing light pink nude, it's also my mum's name. I plan on giving her a namesake manicure soon, but I'm keeping it a secret until then.

Here's the holographic shining in the winter sun. It was a wonderfully beautiful day today.

Once I got back from the dentist I reward myself with a stamp job! Something that wouldn't take away from the gradient, but add more visual interest. So I decided on a strange abstract pattern of random x's in Quo by Orly - Red Hot.

left

Each finger is stamped uniquely. I could say it was for aesthetic purposes but that's only half true. The stamper I use is red, which makes it incredibly hard to place a red design. So I embrace the chaos. Which finger is your favorite?

right

thumbs

You may wonder why I do the mugshot. Well I love tea just as much as I love nail art. And whenever I do my nails you can bet I'm drinking tea. I have four artisan mugs that are my children and are in constant rotation. So I'd like to show them some love. Oftentimes my manicure has perfectly complimented my mug. Totally unconscious I swear.

Now on to spinning a yarn...

What's in the yarn bowl today?

100% sugar cane yarn! :O I love exotic fibres. They fascinate me. I was so excited I bought 3 different colourways! They're just beautiful. The yarn has incredible shine and is so soft! I had planned to make a scarf for my brother in law out of the yarn pictured in the bowl. I bought it online and it appeared darker on screen than in reality. When I received it I asked a few work mates if it was too girly, and they assured me it wasn't. But once I started working it I realized it was too feminine for a 22 year old guy. Sigh. Oh well. I guess that means some one else special will get to have it. :)

Here it is in Ninja Star stitch. Gorgeous <3

My muse and mascot Kit would like to wish you all a great weekend, good night and a gorgeous manicure!

jeebjeeb

Jackson Pollock (Splatter) nails

Hey all.

I feel like creatively I've been a bit lazy lately. I've just wanted to hibernate. But now that the winter solstice has come and gone and the sky is getting just that much brighter each day I'm feeling more energized. Time to do some nail art. Something I've never done before! Splatter nails!

I have no idea why it took me so long to try. Splatter nails remind me of Jackson Pollock's drip style of painting. I have been a big Pollock fan since I was a little girl. What's not to love about abstract expressionism? You don't have to get it. What's to get except paint and movement?

Jackson Pollock's Number 8 - 1949

First I painted my white base coat, then once it was dry I took a straw for each colour, dipped it in the polish and blew as hard as I could. I have average sized straws and even so, I had to really force it. I had to pretend I was sneezing to make it work. Next time I will definitely pick up those super tiny cocktail straws. 

I'm extremely happy with the result, and I think Jackson would be too. It was fairly messy, even after taping my fingers, but well worth it. There are so many colour combos possible, I can't wait to do it again.

To create this manicure I used Zoya - Purity as the base.

 I splattered with China Glaze - Solar Power, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Black Out & Sally Hansen Insta-dri - Mint Sprint

That's it for tonight. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have another post up with a manicure AND some exciting yarn photos. ... exciting yarn? Is that an oxymoron? Judge for yourself :)

Have a good night and a great manicure!
jeebjeeb

OPI Liquid Sand - Stay the Night :D

Hello nail lovers,
I'm very excited about today's post. When I first saw the new liquid sand texture I didn't quite know what to make of it. But the more I saw it the more it intrigued me. If Stay the Night didn't make me fall head of heels in love than I'd just dismiss it as a passing trend.

 Well I'll tell you... I've fallen in love <3

I applied two coats over Seche Clear base coat and it was perfectly opaque. The formula is a little on the watery side so my application was a bit sloppy. I use an eyeliner brush to clean out my cuticles and although it was stubborn to tidy up, like most glitters, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.

It applies watery, but dries fairly quickly to a matte gritty finish. It is so addicting to touch. Not scratchy, just sandy and pleasing. I feel like I could light matches off of these babies! 

Despite this polish being matte the pink glitter still shines through! It's beautiful and mysterious. I read one blogger write "like embers in a fire, if embers were pink" and she was right. (sorry, I read so many blogs, totally forget which one it was)

the mugshot

embers glowing from within

If you think this looks even half interesting, try it out! You may be surprised. I think textured matte glitter may be the most exciting nail trend in along time. And I'm so happy that other brands are jumping on the band wagon. Like Zoya! My go-to brand. I'm impatiently awaiting their Pixie Dust collection. They all look so amazing. I'm already planning gradients <3

What do you think of this trend? Will you try it? Any other brands coming out with interesting versions?

In a few days I'll post and let you know how the tip wear and removal goes.(wish me luck :S)

Have a good night and a great manicure!
jeebjeeb