Dipping my Toe into Water Marble

Hey all,

I'm going to be having a bit of a busy week next week, so I thought I'd get another post out today :)

And I have a feeling that if I read or crochet I'll fall asleep, like Lucas on the couch.

So here I am again! 

You may notice I don't water marble often. It's been a love hate technique for me.

What started out easily more often became a frustrating mess.

But! All that may change.

I was reading ErinZi's Nails water marble tutorial and learned an ingenious and simple tip! 

Do your water marble in a shot glass!

Why have I never thought of this?? Absolutely brilliant!!

I had to test it out right away.

the two fingers on the left are my favourites :)

And I have to say, it worked perfectly! Although, working in such a small space requires patience.

 You will notice I dinged a few of my tips on the glass. Even so, I'm very pleased.

The polish nicely filled the circumference of the glass, and didn't dry out quickly, allowing for easy manipulation. 

This hand reminds me of sedimentary rock.

If you have trouble with marbles I 100% recommend trying out a shot glass.

 It makes me feel like an amazing water marble is once again achievable! :D

You can bet on seeing many more in the future. This was just a test.

I painted a base of Zoya - Purity, then marbled with China Glaze - Solar Power

Sally Hansen - Lickety-Split Lime & Grape Going!

Lucas actually picked out the colours for me, and I think he did a great job.

But right now he's sleeping on the couch.

And the cat is snoring on the chair.

And I'm wide awake.

6:17pm on a Saturday. -_-

Party time. Excellent.

Well for those of you who are awake, here's a clip for you.
From one of my favourite movies, The Big Lebowski.
A co-worker and I watched this a few days ago and laughed our asses off.
John Goodman is so amazing.

"This isn't Nam, this is bowling. There are rules."
Have a great night and an awesome weekend!
jeebjeeb

Pretty & Polished - When Hearts Kaleidoscope

Hey all,

It's an ugly grey morning.

 All I can hear is the distant slush of cars rushing through rain. 

The white noise of the pacific northwest. 

It's distracting. Almost hypnotic.

Just like my manicure.

Today I've got a beauty from Pretty & Polished's Fall in Love Collection.

When Hearts Kaleidoscope

First off, can I just say ommmm nnnommmm nom nom mmmmmmmmm... Sorry, had to get that out of my system.

When Hearts Kaleidoscope is a beautiful magenta base full of gold hex and pink circle glitter.

I LOVE the glitter. It's such a simple yet striking mix. I think my faves are the big gold hexes.

It's really jam packed, so no fishing required.

The formula is fantastic. Perfect opacity in two coats. 

And the "crelly" base gives it a wonderful squishy look. I love squish.

What are you up to today?

I'm getting a visit from my little brother and my dad.

Going to fill them up on the beef stew I made last night.

It was the perfect breakfast too. Mmmm...

So today's a stay inside beef stew and tea kind of a day.

Stay cosy!

jeebjeeb

Smitten Polish - Enchanted Forest

Hey all,

I have something fantastic for you today.

Smitten Polish - Enchanted Forest

You know how I love me a good green! And I have a soft spot for holos.

So this is basically the most awesome polish ever, in my eyes.

And yes... I used my Viva Mexico plate AGAIN. I can't help it. It beckons to me in my dreams.

It whispers "use me... you'll love it..." And I do!

Those eagles, or whatever the hell they are, are awesome!

But back to the polish! This holo is beyond fantastic! I could drown in pools of it, it's so beautiful.

I feel like I have the Emerald City on my nails! The green is so vivid.

Yet again, I have fallen in love with a Smitten.  Check them out on Etsy for more jewels like this.

I've got to run. A pre-season hockey game is on, and this one's not to be missed!

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date.

No time to say hello, goodbye.

I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.

jeebjeeb

Can't Stop the Stamping

Hey all!

I just got back from a trip to my local deli. :)

Walking home with a bag full of meat, I feel so satisfied even though I have yet to eat any.

I love my deli. It's my own personal candy store. Sausages, pies, kabobs, tenerloins, stewing beef!

Nothing beats a good cut of meat. I love meat culture. It's in my blood. 

While I was growing up my father worked in a beef plant. He was always bringing home something delicious.

And so he passed on his immense love and mastery of red meat on to me.

Burgers, meatloaf, steaks, stew, roasts. Bring it on! 

Am I making you hungry? I'm fricken hungry!

 Anyway, enough of my meat mutterings...

On to the mani!

I just had to use my Viva Mexico stamping plate again.

I used Sally Hansen - Soy Latte as my base. It's such a fantastic neutral. I'm surprised by how much I love it. 

But then again, it looks like tea, so of course it makes me feel warm and happy.

I would be very interested to see a comparison of Soy Latte and Zoya - Flynn since they look quite similar.

From what I can tell, Soy Latte seems more creamy, whereas Flynn looks nuttier. Now I'm thirsty...

I stamped using Konad Special Polish in White, always a dream to work with.

But it needed a little extra something, so I added dots/ random splotches of Nubar - on the Radar.

I really love this manicure. The little bit of red totally made it. 

It makes me think of rustic pottery and adobe houses. 

What do you think?

I hope you're having a good week and enjoying the slight chill in the air.

I cannot believe September is almost over. But that's all right with me.

Only one more week till the hockey season begins!

Always got to have something to look forward to :)

Have a great night and an awesome manicure!

jeebjeeb

Zoya - Giovanna

Hey all,

Happy first day of fall!

Now I can finally wear fall collections! :D 

I wanted to wait until autumn actually started, cause I'm a weirdo like that.

Of course the first polish I had to try...

Zoya - Giovanna

You might be wondering why I put I strike through the vanna.

Well my name is Gio. 

Just Gio.

Not short for anything. No I'm not Italian. And why? Ask my parents.

As a child I was peeved at never finding my name on personalized pencils, keychains or other random crap.

So as soon as I got this polish I crossed out the vanna.

The universe owes me that much.

Without further ado I introduce Zoya - Giovanna

She's a beautiful emerald green metallic with teal leanings.

Did the Zoya fairies read my mind? Because this is one of my favourite colours!

direct sunlight

The formula was fantastic. Metallics err on the side of streaky, but this one looked perfect in two coats.

And the vibrancy, wow, jewel toned heaven! Rich and velvety. I will have to mattify this next time.

indirect sunlight

I chose a stamp from my Cheeky "Viva Mexico" plate and used Konad special polish in Black.

It totally gave it a scarab look, I really like it. 

What do you think of Gio? What fall colours are you excited about?

I must warn, true to form, Gio stains. After removing this polish my finger tips were teal.

But what else would you expect? She leaves her mark wherever she goes ;)

She's worth it.

Here's a snuggly Kit Kat to get you in the fall mood.

Hopefully I can get her to snuggle with me later.

I've been picking her up like a baby and blowing on her tummy lately. 

She HATES it. :) But she has to earn her room and board somehow.

I hope you have a fuzzy friend to cuddle up with!

Have a great day and an awesome manicure!

jeebjeeb

Candy Stripes and Questions

Hey all,

Happy last day of summer!

I've had a couple busy days with my brother, and I tell you, I'm pooped.

Went downtown last night to get GTA V, which he's been playing non-stop since last night.

Then today we re-organized his bedroom, made it more tween appropriate.

He's super happy with how it turned out, and so am I. 

And it didn't take long, but holy crap.

I need a nap.

Here's a little something I meant to share weeks ago.

First I made a gradient with Enchanted Polish - Kids & Zoya - Sari

Then I made some stripes with Essie - Off the Shoulder & Sally Hansen - Lickety-Split Lime

I think it turned out quite nicely. Super beachy, candy coated fun.

What do you think?

I was recently nominated for the Liebster award by The Mercurial Magpie. 

Although I have already taken part in the awards I wanted to answer her fun questions.

1) What inspired your blog name?
               Well, one of my nicknames is jeebjeeb. And for a long time I was thinking about getting into graffiti. I wanted to use jeeb as my artist name and tag. But I didn't want to just tag "jeeb" everywhere. I started coming up with lines to insert jeeb into. Whatever Happened to Baby Jeeb? Fight for your right to Jeeb. Jeeb will tear us apart, etc. The best one I came up with, the one that kept popping into my mind, was In Jeeb We Trust. So when I decided to start a blog, it was the only name I wanted. And I never ended up doing any graffiti. Not really interested in creating illegal art late at night. Too much stress. My nails are my personal graffiti ;)

2) What nail polish colour can you not resist buying?
              Oh lord. Green every time. I'm a green freak. And following closely in second, blue.

3) You're rushing out the door and have 10 minutes to do your nails, what polish do you grab?
            Well, honestly, if I have only 10 minutes to paint my nails, it ain't happening! But, if I'm short on time but want something fun I lean towards an interesting indie polish. Like a jelly filled with glitter. Think Model City Polish - Hey Ho Lets Go. Or! A thermo polish! Like Pretty & Polished - April Showers.

4) Your house is burning down/ you're on a deserted island/ you're being abducted by aliens, etc... which 5 polishes would you take with you?
               Oh no, this one's hard. Don't make me pick! Every two seconds I change my mind. And does base & topcoat count? No matter what I pick, five would just not suffice. :P

5) What inspired you to get into nail polish in the first place?
            Hmmm... well I don't really know. One day I walked into a drug store, saw some Essie, bought two bottles and never looked back. I used to do my nails often as a child. But the horrors of teen life made me stop. I was 24 when I started again and I guess I realized it's now or never. If you want to do it, just do it. So here I am.

6) What technique have you struggled with in the past and now mastered?
            Striping tape and normal tape manis. It takes a lot of patience. The first striping tape I had was just garbage, so proper materials really do help. Sometimes I still have problems, like holos melting my normal tape :S (anyone else have that problem?) but other than that, I think I've mastered the tape.

7) What technique do you still struggle with?
             Argh. Watermarble. The first times I tried it it worked out really well. I thought I had it down. But the more I attempt it, the worse I get. I think I'm probably just psyching myself out. I was great at the beginning because I had no expectations Need to get back there..

8) What is your favourite type of manicure to do?
               Well I love gradients because they're so simple and visually stunning. And I also love stamping because, with all the image plates out there, what's not to love? So maybe my absolute fav would be a gradient with stamp on top? Oh! And splatter. LOVE splatter big time. Don't make me pick just one!

9) How do you organize/ keep track of your polish?
              I have two wooden boxes my boyfriend made specifically for polish. And  I organize by brand. I find it easiest that way. All my assorted indies are in the top box. And the mainstream brands are in the bottom.

10) What commercial brand is your favourite?
              Zoya. My life hasn't been the same since their Gloss collection.

11) What indie brand is your favourite?
              Right now I'm super into Smitten Polish. Her holos are to die for! I'm especially looking forward to the fall collection. So amazing!

Oh man. Not even the evening yet and I feel totally brain dead and want to go to sleep.

I can't even get excited about painting my nails...

Woah. I just figured it out! I haven't had any tea today!! :O

I've got to fix that pronto!

Have a great weekend and an awesome maincure!

jeebjeeb

The Obliteration Room

Hey all,

How are you doing on this wonderful hump day?

I must say that I've been feeling really great lately. Despite life's trials and tribulations. 

Just because I'm mentally good, doesn't mean everything's been easy peasy. Life isn't easy. (Should it be?)

But I'm dealing better. I'm feeling secure in myself. And, my god, it feels great!

Even the dwindling sunlight and the creeping chill of autumn isn't getting me down.

But seasons are merely a temporal distraction anyway.

Because it keeps getting warmer and brighter inside my mind.

Today I would like to share a Yayoi Kusama art installation with you.

The Obliteration Room

The interior of a house was constructed in the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, everything painted white.

Children visiting the gallery were then given colourful dot stickers to put where they please.

Over the course of two weeks this is what happened...

I think it's quite a breath taking piece. I love the contrast of the blank sterility and the colourful chaos.

Perfect inspiration for a manicure.

This manicure was a lot of fun. I did it a month or so ago while hanging out with my little brother.

He said I matched the colours well and gave me a thumbs up, so I'm happy. 

What do you think?

I used Zoya - Purity as my base

And dotted with Sally Hansen - Lickety Split  Lime & Brisk Blue

Barry M - Dragonfruit & Satsuma and Nubar - Resort Yellow

Here's the song that's been stuck in my head all day.

Hope you enjoy the last 3 days of summer.

jeebjeeb

Smitten Polish - Out of the Blue

Hey all,

Hope you're having an awesome weekend. I had a great Saturday. 

Shopping, comfort food and Kate Winslet with my best gal pal. woot woot!

And I got some crochet done! What more could you want?

Today I'll be having a stay in day. 

Yesterday's fog is still clouding the sky. Grey and fuzzy like dreams.

If I go out in it, it will wrap my mind in it's cottony haze.

Best to stay inside under a bright light. 

Before the fog rolled in I was able to enjoy Out of the Blue

one of Smitten Polish's newest holographic babies.

I wanted to compare it to a mainstream holographic polish so I used Color Club - Beyond as an accent.

And without a doubt, Smitten's hold their own in comparison. Lucas even likes them more.

Out of the Blue is so vibrant and rich, I can't get over it. 

indirect sunlight

The formula was fantastic. This is two coats and one one of Poshe topcoat.

It dried incredibly fast. I dinged a nail not long after painting, and to my amazement it was perfectly fine!

And just look at that rainbow! Pure eye candy.

This is my new favourite holographic right here!

What do you think?

I highly recommend checking out Smitten's etsy shop. 

The other polishes in A Unicorn Ate My Crayons Collection are amazingly fantastic!

Have a great Sunday and an awesome manicure!

jeebjeeb

Vacation 3-for-1

 Hey all,

I'm back from vacation!
I got some much needed r & r in the country.
Swimming in the lake was the best part. I'm a water baby, but lakes are my favourite.
We made lots of yummy food and watched fun movies. I crochted like crazy.
And I managed to finish the book I started the day we arrived!
So satisfying. The book was a pretty meh Stephen King, but overall a fun read.

I went away with Dagadelic, so you know manicures were afoot.
Deciding which polishes to bring was a bit painstaking, but I managed to narrow it down to 7.
And wouldn't you know it, used them all! So pleased.

First up
Pretty & Polished - Tomboyish & Zoya - Purity

Tomboyish is a colour changing polish. I used it once before in this manicure.

It was so warm out I was unable to capture it in it's cold state. But you can see the difference from the bottle.

I love this polish either way. In the lake, however, I had an awesome gradient going.

Just the thing to space out on while drifting away.

Next up, I brought a few of my most summery shades.

piCture pOlish - Citrus

The Nail Junkie - Watermelon 

 Zoya - Reagan

I used citrus as a base and then sponged with all three

for the ultimate summer gradient...

I was so happy with this one. It's the gradient I've been dreaming of for weeks. Sunsets and popsicles.

Just a hint of Watermelon's shimmer running throughout. I wont soon forget this one.

Last but not least I have 

Enchanted Polish - Congratulations & Nubar - Resort Yellow

I LOVE this yellow. I have found my perfect shade.

Not too golden. Not too neon. Juuust right.

And Congratulations? Well I think "holy crap" is the best way to describe it.

This disco fantastic manicure knocked my socks off.

Resort Yellow took 3 coats, but look at how perfect it is!

I'd have to say this one is my favourite of the three. What about you?

I'm back to work tomorrow. Trying not to think about it.

At least I know I'll have nail mail to look forward to ;)

Have a great night and an awesome manicure

jeebjeeb