OPI - The Impossible

Hey all,

Hope you've been doing well. I, on the other hand, have been sick the last few days. I hate these late winter colds. You watch them go round, praying that you'll be skipped. But eventually that tell tale sore throat takes hold. And try as you may to deny, the sneezing does not lie. 

I'm trying to spend as much time snuggled in a blanket as I can. So this post is going to be short and sweet.

Since I wasn't feeling well I only had energy for a lazy manicure. What a perfect time to try out another OPI Liquid Sand polish. I absolutely loved Stay the Night. So a few weeks ago I broke down and bought The Impossible. 

It looks peachy in the photos, but in real life it's a much bolder coral red. 

Packed with tiny glitter, hexs and stars, there's a lot of visual interest. 

The bottle had a ton of stars in it, but I was only able to get one on each pinky.

I love the matte sand finish. It looks so cool and feels so interesting. It never snags on anything.

Although I must note, I work with paper all day, and since there's no top coat I did leave a few streaks of colour.

Here's a picture with flash, which shows a truer colour

 and really makes the texture and star pop.

It's like lava stone or something.

I'm totally digging it. 

What do you think? 

I hope everyone's having a good week and is in good health. I'm going to get this sickness over with tonight. Tomorrow, by the time I go for a nice evening tea, I'm promising myself it will be gone. (begone evil demon! christ compels you!) Next post I will probably have some more textured polishes for you :D I'm so excited!

Until then, have a great week and an awesome manicure.

jeebjeeb

Electric Orange

Hey all,
Like I mentioned last post, I'm super excited about this manicure. :)
On Friday I received my order from Born Pretty Store! I had totally forgotten about it, honestly. It took almost a month, coming from Hong Kong. But it was well worth the wait. I ordered a roll of striping tape & a set of 3D filmo fruit! I am completely in love with the fruit. They're so detailed and colorful. I had to use them right away.

So I was sitting, staring at my stash for a good twenty minutes, numb with possibilities. Which fruit of the 12? With which colours? What the hell!? Thankfully my boyfriend, Lucas, pointed me in the right direction. He always helps me out of my indecision. We enjoy the same taste in aesthetic, so I know his ideas will work. He told me to use the new tape and start with the oranges. The rest just fell into place.

I absolutely adore this manicure. It's so much fun. 

The tape was super easy to use and better quality than other kinds I've tried. 

And the little oranges are so perfect!

What do you think?

I used Essie - Orange, it's Obvious! (hate the name) as my base

& Zoya - Raven to do the tape job

Once it was dry I glued the orange down with Seche Vite and covered it in a layer to keep it set

I can't wait to use the watermelons in the summer, and apples in the fall. They're just so amazingly cute!

This manicure received a 100% satisfaction rating from Kit-Kat.

Can't argue with results :)

Muse-ic

The other day I realized I haven't had Nina Hagen on my ipod for over two years. Shocking! Nina Hagen has always been in my life. My father played the hell out of her albums, I think he has a crush on her. Hell, I know I do! Nina is the ideal woman. Strong, unique, very loud AND backed by a killer band.

If you don't know who Nina is, you're in for a treat. You don't need to speak German to understand how much she rocks! Enjoy!

Hope everyone's having a great Sunday. I've got the little brother over for an afternoon hockey game and breakfast for lunch! Mmmmm... bacon and hockey.... drooling...

But I must run, the game's about to begin!

Have a great day and an awesome manicure!

jeebjeeb

Fondueing it up

Hey all,
As I briefly mentioned last post, Dagadelic & I had a special event planned. A fondue high tea! To celebrate our first ever afternoon tea almost exactly 3 years ago! <3
Dag decided that we couldn't just go for tea, that it had to be a challenge too. So we looked to their menu for artistic inspiration. After quiet some pondering I kept coming back to a pot of chocolate fondue. The image of cream being whisked into chocolate. This is what I came up with.

A brown & cream watermarble!

Great minds do think alike, because Dag did a watermarble too! :) But I like hers way more. All the little bubbles on mine really piss me off. It was one of those manicures where a million little things went wrong and I felt a bit disheartened by the end. That's how I am with watermarbles too. If I don't think it'll turn out well, it looks amazing. And if I'm really excited, it's lackluster. Oh well. Every manicure is different and everyone will feel differently about it. What do you think of my fondue watermarble?

I used Zoya Nina & Jacqueline 

Thankfully I'm very excited about my current manicure! (the universe always balances itself) I can't wait to share it with you but I will be too busy today. It's shaping up to be a lovely day. I hope everyone has something fun or relaxing planned. And if not, grab a friend and go out for some tea!
Have a great day and an awesome manicure.
jeebjeeb

Grey Day/Game Day Gradient

Hey all,
How's your weekend going? It's been pretty mellow for me. Visited my mum for tea yesterday. Watched a horror movie that wasn't scary :P Today I got up bright and early, hiked to the grocery and got everything for the beef stew I'm making soon. I love stew. It's so easy and satisfying.
As a reward for my efforts I started on a new manicure as soon as I got home. I kept thinking 'gradient' since I love them so much and it's been awhile since I've sponged. And since it's a game day, Vancouver Canucks colours, blue and green, were calling to me.

(Go nucks Go!)

I tried doing a sideways gradient this time since I only ever do top to bottoms. 

It turned out much snazzier that I expected. What do you think?

I used China Gaze - Unpredictable and Essie - Aruba Blue

Unpredictable is an amazing green/gold/blue douchrome which just pops against the royal blue shimmer of Aruba Blue. 

I fell in love with both of these colours the first time I ever set eyes on them. 

I really need to utilize them more often. I feel like I've neglected them. ha!

I really love the manicure. What do you think?

But I'm torn. Should I add to it?

I've looked over my stamping plates and nothing's calling to me. I don't want to ruin it by over doing it. 

What do you think? Any ideas?

I'm going to leave it be unless I hear a good suggestion. :)

Let's Spin a Yarn...

I finally received my shipment from WEBS Yarn! Here's Kit snuggling it.

Painted Desert. 100% wool. My favorite colour shift, green to purple <3

I bought this thinking I was almost done my pullover. But, of course, I realized the pullover had to be re-made. Argh! So I'll be waiting quite a while to get my hands working on this lovely wool. Probably in the summer. So stay tuned!

Muse-ic

No matter what I'm feeling, it always comes back to Fiona.
She has such a knack for saying exactly what I feel.

Here's an awesome live performance of Daredevil.
Check out the percussion she performs towards the very end. Her face is so full of intensity.

I can smell my stew slow cooking :) I'm getting hyped for the game and getting very hungry. Going to spend the next hour speed crocheting! I have a little something planned with Dagadelic later this week, a special outing/ inspiration. 

You can expect to hear all about it Friday!

Until then I hope everyone has a great week and an awesome manicure!

<3 jeebjeeb

Rocket to the Moon

I feel the tug of the second self drawing me inward. My duality of personality has always been a bane to me. Like the tides, I flow in and out of myself, constantly moving. As soon as I believe I've settled I shift again. The bringer of good times and bonding to the hermetic suspicious scorpion in the corner. How do you balance the two? It is becoming harder for me to blog at the moment. The second self doesn't believe in allowing anything to be public. It believes the only way I can hold on to goodness is if I keep it inside. But I will trudge forth difficultly. I have been trying to write this for an hour and a half. Nothing flows. But here she goes...

This week I received a few items I've been lusting after. Half of the Zoya Lovely Collection and Big Ruby nail tattoos! Being my impatient self I had to use EVERYTHING! And man am I glad I did. :)

I used Neely as my base, did a tape job with Jacqueline and dotted on some Blu. 

These shades really are lovely! And all cremes, though Jacqueline has a hint of shimmer. 

To finish the look I added a couple orange rocket ships. 

I bought the Big Ruby Cosmic pack. 86 Tattoos, 10 designs, multiple colours and very very cool. 

They were super easy to use. Just like good old fashioned temporary tattoos. 

Stick it where you want, dab with a damp cloth and BOOM! Nail tatts in 10 seconds.

I really love this manicure. It turned out exactly how I hoped. 

I thought of this design a while ago but wanted to save it for these colours. I think it's perfect!

What do you think? Grooving on the Lovelies? 

At first I was only taken by Neely, I'm such a green freak, 

but the more swatches I saw the more I fell in love with Blu and Jacqueline too. 

Muse-ic

A year ago The Heartless Bastards released Arrow their 4th album. 

I'd like to celebrate by sharing this live performance with you. 

I love all the songs on the album but Low Low Low is one of my top 3. Enjoy!

They are an amazing live bad. I was so happy when they came to Vancouver last Easter. It was aural perfection.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can see them again soon.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. It's trying to be sunny today.
I think the groundhogs were right, an early spring seem imminent. Bring it on! My manicure is prepared!
Have a great day and an awesome manicure!
jeebjeeb

Chinese New Year - Fortune & Firecrackers

Hey all,

Happy Chinese New Year!

Year of the Snake!

It's my little brother's year <3 Yesterday I spent the day with him and planned to take him out to celebrate. I've been dying to go to my tea house so we bused across town. Once we got there, now super hungry, it was closed. :| A whole hour till opening. Ayah! I felt so dumb, since I've already done this once before. Thankfully my brother was a good sport about it.

Once we were done about town it was manicure time! 

What would my inspiration be?

Well I thought about being young and going to the annual New Year Parade. What I remember most, other than the magnificent dragon costumes, were the firecrackers.

What a perfect time to finally try Nailside's Explosion Design tutorial. Check her out, her nails and tutorials are amazing!
And on my accent finger I stamped the Chinese symbol for Fortune.
(At least that's what my half Chinese boyfriend said it meant after checking on the internet :S)

Nothing says New Years like Fortune & Firecrackers!

I  really tried to take my time on this and not get impatient and ruin it like I usually do. Slow and steady won the race I think. I love the explosions! I need a bit more practice but I can't wait to try this with other colours. What do you think? 

I used China Glaze - Solar Power & Quo by Orly - Red Hot

Anyone have any new year plans? I'm going to eat treats, drink lots of green tea and take it easy! :D

Hope everyone has a wonderful year of the snake full of good health and good fortune!

Have a great weekend and an awesome manicure!

jeebjeeb

Enchanted Polish - Ciao Milano

 Hey all,

How was your week?

Mine was fairly unproductive. I barely crocheted at all. Makes me feel so useless. The week seemed to go by quite quickly.
I suppose that's preferable, I just want it to be nice out again! I yearn for long warm days.
Until then, I'll keep myself busy with beautiful polishes. 

This is gorgeous Enchanted Polish - Ciao Milano layered over Zoya - Raven

I used two thin coats of Raven and one generous layer of Ciao Milano 

I actually applied Essie - Matte About You with my dotting tool, thought you can barely tell.

 Dangit. Oh well, you live you learn. 

Lately I've been learning alot about art through trial and error. Of course it ends up carrying over into my nail art. 

It makes me laugh.

I should have known the polish was too flashy. I think it would have been more visually stunning had I done a tape manicure. 

The dots totally get lost in the sparkle. 

What do you think?

Ciao Milano is an amazing colour shifting fine glitter. 

From green to blue, pink, purple and even a hint of gold, it's never boring. I'm completely in love. 

It makes me want to put ABBA on and dance the night away.

Hope everyone has something fun planned for the weekend or long weekend here in BC. First year of having a long weekend in February! Awesome. I've got one of my days figured out but the other two... guess I'll be catching up on my crochet! :D And a good movie or two. Anyone seen anything good lately?

I'll catch you on the flipside, I've got to get up bright and early tomorrow :P

Have a great night and an awesome manicure.

jeebjeeb

Totally Holo

Hey all,

How was your weekend? 

I had a damn good one. 

Can't beat celebrations, art and a winning hockey game :)

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day. It's been a while since Vancouver's been bright and cheery, so I wanted my manicure to capture that feeling. Even if the sun goes away (it did the next day) I'll still have my uplifting manicure. And if you know me, you know a sun shiny manicure has to be holographic.

And not just any holo, but my favorite. Nubar - Reclaim

It is such an amazing green, like a psychedelic Emerald City. 

What do you think? How do you feel about holographic polish?

You may not notice, but I actually stamped over top with Color Club - Cloud 9

It's really hard to tell when in bright light.

Here it is in the shade.

Vaugely reminds me of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The tiny tiny holo particles

Let's Spin a Yarn...

I finally had the wherewithal to take photos of a couple of my crocheted pieces! Got to remember to build that portfolio, even if just for my own amusement. 

First up is the manly birthday scarf I made my hermanito. He was kind enough to model it for me.

Looks warm and comfy to me. Yay! 

Makes me feel all satisfied inside.

Next is the lace cape made for Dagadlic. It took 5 months to create and is the most stunning piece I have made so far. I've already decided to make one for myself in a few years, it was so much fun. 

Only one photo for now. Though I plan to post a million over the years. <3

It really is quite a piece. So soft and amazing. I wore it once and totally fell in love. Makes me want to do more crocheted beading like I did on the front. It was so much fun and much easier than I imagined.

My current project is far less interesting. It'll be great once it's finished, but it's basically two rectangles of the same stitch, over and over again. Puts me to sleep at times XP

Anyone have any interesting projects on the go?

Muse-ic

I have some new music to share with you today! Last night I got the new Tegan & Sara album, Heartthrob.When I read they were going in a synth pop direction I was incredibly hesitant. I tried to stay open minded and give them the benefit of the doubt. I gave each song 45 seconds and wasn't feeling it. Until I got to Shock to your System. I really like it. And because of that song I gave the album another go. And I listened to that album on repeat all day at work. :O Enjoy!

There's a lot more than meets the eye with these women.
What do you think?

Well I must skadaddle. Hockey game in a few minutes!
Have a great week and an awesome manicure!
jeebjeeb

Black Forest Cake Manicure

Hey all,

Last post I mentioned I would have a birthday themed manicure. I asked one of the Feb 1st babies for inspiration. Told her to give me a colour or a technique, anything! 

She says "Black Forest Cake"

:| Alright, totally not expecting that. I was stumped as of what to do. So I spent about 20 minutes looking at cakes online. I tried to find inspiration but all I was really thinking was how much I wanted black forest cake.

argh.

Eventually I stared at my muse long enough to come up with an idea.

 What do you think? Kind of black forest cakey? :S

The birthday girl liked it, so I'm satisfied :)

I used all Zoyas for this one. Purity, Blaze & Nina.

And I was drinking tea while I painted! It's been awhile. Need to get back on the wagon.

I'm keeping this post brief as I'm super tired from the wonderful birthday dinner. I'm far too full to be coherent at the moment.
Happy Friday! Have a great weekend and an awesome manicure!
jeebjeeb