Firecracker Lacquer - Parrot Procession

Hey all,

Hope your last weekend of summer was great!

I was a bit of a lazy bum but I tried something new!

Lucas and I made Macaroni n' Cheese from scratch for the first time and oh... my... god...

There will be many, many more. It was amazing!

Even the cat wanted some, but I don't think she liked the Sriracha sauce we mixed into the cheese ;P

I tried to tell her, it's not spicy, it's just flavour! But she wouldn't listen.
Kids. -_-

So, I don't mean to be boring but... I've got another stamped accent mani today (>.<)
Broken record or what? But this one is really awesome so shut up!

Featuring...
Firecracker Lacquer - Parrot Procession

Parrot Procession is a beautiful red holo. So classic! So sparkly!

The formula was divine! Easy to work with and no staining. This is two coats.

All photos are taken in artificial light. I did take some in the sun but for the first time ever, my camera totally freaked.

So I'll attribute that to the undeniable awesomeness of this polish, it couldna handle it Cap'n!!

I painted two coats of Zoya - Purity on my accent and stamped with MoYou London Tropical Plate 04

using Konad - Black and Sally Hansen - Lightening and Mint Sprint

I love how this multicoloured stamping worked out! 

Exactly how I had pictured it. ^_^  Beyond pleased!

I wish I could get a '57 Bel Air painted with this.
Then I'd go on a Selma & Louise road trip minus the crashing to your death thing.
But, you know, blow up a few semis for sure. 

It's all the rage this season, trust me.

jeebjeeb

Strawberry Swirl

Hey all,

The other day I was looking through my stash and found a polish I totally forgot I had!

Isn't that terrible? It utterly escaped my memory!

Like, crap! How long have I had it for? When did that happen? o.O

Does that ever happen to you?

I really try to be an attentive mother. (._.)

Since I was feeling like a bum about it, I had to use it right away to cement the fact that, yes, I do own this!

Poor little A-England - Perceval. How could I forget about you?

That's right, an A-England! Like what the hell?? *facepalm*

But Momma's here now and it'll never be ignored again.

 Perceval is a fantastic ruby red metallic. This is like the Taj Mahal of reds, no lie.

And to prove it, I'm only wearing ONE coat!! :O A-England how do I love thee?

I was feeling the red so I paired Perceval with Model City Polish - Strawberry Jam.

I stamped with A-England - Her Rose Adagio using Bundle Monster plate BM414

The fingerprints came out so well! Again, A-England how do you do it?

Such twinkly holographic perfection!

And Strawberry Jam, wow! This is two coats that were a dream to apply.

I must do a full manicure soon. It's so squishy, so vibrant, and SO sparkly! 

Ommm nomm nomm doesn't even begin to describe it.

I'm going to start another bracelet tonight, for my Mum. :)

She gave me "Russian Drab" as my inspiration, which makes it both difficult and easy.

Hopefully the colours and pattern I picked work with the theme. 

*Fingers crossed* We'll see how it turns out... 

Hope you're having a great week! Take it easy!

jeebjeeb

Fire Marble (with handy tips & tricks)

Hey all,
Today I have a super summer fantastic water marble for you!
But before I get into that a few of my blogger girlfriends have asked me for my tips & tricks.
By no means do I believe I have mastered this technique.
However, I try to learn a little something each time I try it out.

Ok, if you don't know the basic water marble procedure, or want to know how to make certain designs, go to youtube.
There are tons (TONS) of fantastic tutorials that will tell you everything you need to know.
My water marble musts are just little steps to make the process less stressful and more satisfying.

jeebjeeb's tips & tricks

Little cups work better!
The less your polish spreads the more intense the colour will be and the slower it will dry.
I heard about using shot glasses but I found them to be too small,
and often banged my nails against the side and ruined the design :(
Think Dixie cup size. What I use is about 2.5 inches in diameter and I find it perfect.

Use room temperature, not so fresh, water.
I've heard bottled is best... Filtered is best... Bah! Doesn't matter.
What's I find works best is water that has been sitting out for a day.
It's at the temperature you want and it's had time to let some of the crap in it evaporate.
If I don't think ahead and leave out a cup for myself, well... I use my cat's water! All good!

If it's summer, turn off your fans!
The more air blowing around, the faster you'll have to work.
I learned this one the hard way when I tried marbling underneath my overhead fan.
It just sucks. And you don't want to think that you're the one sucking when really it's your fan.

Tape your damn fingers!
Self explanatory. You will thank yourself for taking the extra time.

Organize your area.
Layout your work station before you start and make sure everything is within reach but not crowded.
Last thing you want is to knock things over while you're creating your marble.
Unscrew the caps of all your bottles, put your toothpicks in a good spot. Again, you will thank yourself.

Don't rush yourself.
You know what happens when you rush. You make mistakes and messes.
When you're playing around with the polish you have a lot more time to play than you think.
In some of the youtube videos I've watched they're manipulating their bulls eye for a good two minutes!
Think of it like yoga, be in the moment, breathe and concentrate.
Remember, you master the marble, the marble doesn't master you!

One finger at a time.
I've seen a youtuber do all four fingers at once.
And as amazing as that is, I've never been able to make that work for me.
All I got was a big mess and lots of frustration.
But I do believe in you dear reader, so if you figure out a great way to do it, TELL ME!!

Use newer/ less used polish
Unlike stamping, marbles don't work with thick polish.
Brand new polish has the perfect consistency, but who wants to buy new polish every time they marble?
I don't! So my rule of thumb is, pick polishes you haven't used very often.
Like the orange I used below. I've had it for over a year, but only used it once.
It's still fresh as the day I got it, and works great!
That being said, not every polish will work for marbling, no matter how new.
Be prepared to improvise a bit.

Blow baby blow! 
(maybe my most important tip)
I used to be plagued by little bubbles of air that would get trapped between the marble and my base colour.
And if you touch the bubbles they pop and expose the colour underneath. >:(
Not what I want after putting in all that effort.
The solution - blow them away!
Once your nail comes out of the cup - blow on it like you're 2 and it's a birthday candle.
For at least 30 seconds, huff, puff, blow that house down!
I promise you will never have a problem with those pesky bubbles again!

And that's pretty much it (for now) I'm probably forgetting something.
I hope this is somewhat helpful next time you try the technique.

Alrighty, on to the water marble! Or fire marble in this case...

left hand

As usual I laid down a base of white (Zoya - Purity) 

then marbled with Nicka K - Ripe Apple, Essie - Orange, It's Obvious & Sally Hansen - Lightening

right hand

After cleanup I covered it all in a generous layer of Model City Polish - Seize the Rainbow.

Because every mani needs some of this Rainbow love!

Marble practice is definitely making perfect. 

I think this may be my favorite so far, but I say that every time ;P

I love how flamin beautiful this is! Lava lamp meets psychedelic 60's concert background.

Wow. I feel like I've been typing up a storm! And now I need a nap!

But all for the purposes of education! 

I really hope this has been helpful. And if not, well dammit, some of you asked for this, so it's your fault!!

And if it is, and it makes you marble, SHOW ME!! Because I love me some water marbles :)

Have a great Friday night!!

jeebjeeb

Scofflaw Steps

Hey all,

Of course as soon as the weekend approaches, so do the rain clouds.

Was it me? Did I do it?

Should I not have said "let's go to a lake this weekend"?

Is it because I just received polish I want to swatch in the sun? 

How did I anger the weather gods and what can I do to set things right?

If there's a rain dance, there must also be a sun dance.

And if there is I hope it involves lots of headbanging.

During a recent sale I decided to try out some NailVinyls.

I LOVE tape manis. They're the first kind of nail art I tried and excelled at.

But I hate cutting out pieces of tape. It's so finicky and time consuming.

If you're with me on this you'll love NailVinyls!

They have quite an awesome assortment of vinyls for all your tape mani needs.

Lightening bolts, chevrons, classic french tips... something for everyone.

 For my first try I decided on a simple getting to know you manicure.

I used a base of A England - Encore Margot then laid down Chevron vinyls
and covered it in Scofflaw - Love Letter From Scofflaw

Love Letter from Scofflaw is a super interesting black polish loaded with silver flecks & red and pink sparkles.
I really love the warmth it has, like the glow of dyeing embers.
 

 

And the nail vinyls worked perfectly! Such a breeze to use.

I highly recommend for all tape mani aficionados.

Next time I'm trying out the lightening bolts! So excited.

 

Alright people, I'm off to the dentist now.

Yep, on a Saturday morning because I'm a masochist.

Have a good one!

jeebjeeb

Guacamole, Sour Cream & Salsa

Hey all,

Hope you enjoyed the solstice yesterday.

I experiences a miracle!

I actually tanned a bit without burning!

No forgotten strips on my shoulders. None of my "what do you mean I didn't put sunscreen on my kneecaps?"

 I'm finally getting better at this.

 

 To celebrate the new season I've got a manicure that I think is super summery.

I call it Guacamole, Sour Cream & Salsa

 

 

 I used a base of KBShimmer - Honeydew List

Splattered with Zoya - Purity and Nubar - On The Radar

And topped it with the ever amazing Model City Polish - Seize The Rainbow

 

 

Maybe it's just me, but this mani seriously makes me crave nachos or a burrito.

And a margarita on a patio...

 

I love the spots on my index finger of this hand.

I think it's a little vampirey. ;[

 

Ahh, just look at that magical twinkle.

 

Have a good one.

jeebjeeb

 

 

 

Double your Dose

Hey all!

Happy Sunday!

As soon as I'm done this post I'm going to cook myself up a hot dog and enjoy a noon hockey game.

Sounds pretty luxurious to me ;)

And I'm very happy to say I'm almost done my crochet project! 

I've been really lazy with it this last week because I know our time together will be over soon.

Another baby to set free into the universe. Damn post-partum.

  

Today I've got two manicures featuring polish I scored at  AuttyW's blog sale.

:D (thanks girl!)

First up I have a gradient with Zoya - Neve, a beautiful sapphire metallic.

I can't believe I didn't pick this up when it was first released, this colour is right up my alley!

 I paired it with Zoya - Richelle, a bronze leaning gold with holographic particles.

And that was that! Give me a simple metallic gradient and I'm satisfied.

Keep it simple has always been one of my mottos ;)

All you really need is bold simplicity.

_ _ _

When the China Glaze textures first came out I thought they were the worst.

But It's been a year and my opinion of them has mellowed. Now I'm intrigued.

Autty's sale was the perfect chance to try one out. So I grabbed Bump & Grind, a bright dark pink.

This is three coats, it's a bit on the sheer side. But the texture spreads like a dream.

I love how matte and stucco-y it is. It's a nice contrast to my usual Pixie Dusts.

With Color Club - Kismet & Cosmic Fate using MoYou Fairytale Plate 04 

I stamped some very cute little stars. I would have loved this mani as a little girl. <3

I'm glad I decided to give China Glaze textures a try.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Any polishes you initially hated, but then grew to love?

Uh oh, got to go, game's on!

Have a good one!

jeebjeeb

Painted Sabotage - Hate Tank

Hey all,

It's been trying to snow all day.

So I stayed in my pajamas and curled up on the couch with a blanket.

Cause screw that noise.

 

Today I bring you Painted Sabotage - Hate Tank

 

 

A red jelly full of burgundy and red holo glitter, black shards and black hearts. Two coats shown.

 

This polish was incredibly easy to work with. 

The formula flowed nicely and the hearts came out of their own accord.

The hearts were also quite flexible, so no issues with lifting. I'm impressed.

 

The holo glitters and black shards contrast so nicely.

I really like the mix in this polish. Very intriguing.

 

I'll be getting up bright and early to watch the men's hockey gold Olympic game.

Or at least half of it. 4am is just too early for me.

Should be quite the game.

Go Canada go!

jeebjeeb



T.N.T. I'm Dynamite

Hey all,

Hope you had an awesome Christmas.

Mine has been both delicious and exhausting. 

I feel like I haven't stopped moving for two weeks.

At least I have managed to be minimally creative. 

I'm working on a little something-something you'll find out all about in January. 

So get excited.

Until then,  Here's my Christmas Day Manicure.

A Simply Smitten Splatter

For months I knew I had to use Smitten Polish - Enchanted Forest & Zelda's Fall-y 

Holographic holiday perfection, like tinsel and ornaments twinkling by the fire.

I hadn't settled on the splatter until the night I painted. 

My heart said I had to, especially since I've never used this technique with holos before.

Zoya - Jacqueline made the perfect eggnog background.

In fact this polish is the perfect background for anything, I love it so!

--

I Love Nail Polish Gradient

Absolute Zero (deep indigo) & Pt78 (silver)

Looks much more subtle in the photos. Beautiful polishes and so amazing to work with.

--

Darling Diva - T.N.T.

I was unable to properly capture this one :(  

Deep brown jelly with gold/green/orange shifting shimmer. 

Kind of meh in the bottle, but a whole other story on the nail!（＾ｖ＾）

And how could you not love a polish inspired by AC/DC?
Check out the video if you want to see some amazing pants and... no shirts allowed.

Have a great weekend! I'm getting my lounge on.
jeebjeeb

the weather outside is frightful

We have reached the darkest of days. And I yearn to hibernate.

Once it gets close to nine in the evening I'm much too out of it to do anything. 

Crochet puts me to sleep. German? Forget about it.

Feels like lost time.

But I always try to look on the bright side.

In a week it will all be in reversal. 

This moment is fleeting.

I finally tried out my first half moon manicure after being inspired by the mercurial magpie.

 One word of caution though, don't use the plastic binder reinforcements, pain in the ass!

That's what I get for pinching work supplies (；一_一) 

It all worked out so wonderfully in the end though.

Essie - Gold as Gold & OPI - Incognito in Sausalito 

----

This mani I actually named - Snowfall at Twilight

Nail Pattern Boldness - Texas Tea is AMAZING!! 

This is only TWO coats of a glitter sensation. There is zero pigment in the base. Mind blown.

The colours remind me of Christmas lights, and the iridescent blue flakies lend the perfect glow.

Completely and utterly in love. 

I stamped with Bundle Monster & A-England Excalibur.

I think snowflakes have to be my favourite Christmasy theme. 

I'm not a big Christmas person. Every year that goes by it feels less and less special.

What I wouldn't do just to be able to sleep until the new year.

Ipsy December Glam Bag

I recently signed up with Ipsy , a monthly make up subscription box. 

For $15 ($10 in the US) you get 5 items picked out for you in a cute little bag. 

I didn't exactly know what to expect, but I'm impressed.

Now I'm not a beauty blogger, nor do I aspire to be, so I just have a couple photos and that's it.

In my bag...

Nicka K New York - Ripe Apple

Pop Bauty - Brighten Up Your Life (ha!) Eye Shadow Trio in Naturally Bare

Be A Bombshell - The One Stick in Girl Crush

Nxy - Extra Creamy Round Lipstick in B52

Demeter - Perfume Oil Roll On in Snow

Well I love the eye shadow that will brighten up my life. 

Still waiting for that, but the copper tones look great with my green eyes. Score!

The One Stick I will NEVER use on my lips, since it's frosted bright pink. 

However it's a very natural blush on my fair face. Score!

The lipstick is nice and subtle, creamy understated sophistication. Hat trick!

The roll on oil in Snow wasn't my thing at first. But after wearing it for a few hours it really grew on me.

The oil is such a wonderful, mellow scent experience, I like it a lot. 

In fact... I've already ordered another one of their scents. Major score!

And the Nicka K Nail Polish? (Have you ever heard of them before??)

Well here's a swatch for you. 

Perfect shade for the holidays!

I did another snowy-ish stamp job with it and some Northern Lights Topcoat.

I must have tempted fate because a day after painting this it snowed.

And it doesn't do that all the time here. I'm loving it, it's so beautiful.

But soon enough it will all be slushy disgusting. Yay. (._.)

Puddle jumping my way to my Saturday overtime.

What fun.

jeebjeeb

Zelda goes Gothic

Hey all,

Today I'm counting down the hours until noon.

I have to do 5 hours of overtime on a ridiculous project with a ridiculous due date.

I just pray the machine will co-operate. I'm not in the mood to dance with it.

Other than that, I'm doing quite well.

In fact I have something I'm really excited to tell you about...

I started learning German! ヽ(^。^)ノ

That may not be exciting to you, but for a Sagittarius, nothing is more thrilling than expanding your mind,

I downloaded an app from Duolingo, which can teach 6 different languages.

And you know what? It's actually fun and engaging! Not like language classes. 

I took Spanish for 3 years in highschool and all I can say is it was not conducive to learning.

I have learned more in one week on Duolingo than I would in a month of Spanish class.

I know the verbs to be, eat, read, drink and have. All in a little over a week!

And I actually race home eager to practice every day.

I highly, HIGHLY, recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning a new language or brushing up their skills.

www.Duolingo.com The app is fantastic, but the website offers a more in depth study.

And did I mention it's completely free? Seriously. Try this. You have nothing to lose.

So now I'm learning German, crocheting a shawl, just started a new book, and have my nails to paint.

And those are just the hobbies on the hot plate at the moment.（´ー｀）

One day I'll be the happiest hermit.

On to the nails!

I recently found out my great great Grandmother on my Mother's side was named Zelda.

So of course I had to put on Smitten Polish - Zelda's Fall-y

What a stunning holographic red. This was a limited edition polish, only available for one day.

You know me and hard to catch prey. I waited patiently and pounced.

It had to be mine!

I decided to dress Zelda up with MoYou Artist Collection - 11

The more I use MoYou's plates, the more I love them, the more I use them.

Lucas says to me "another stamping mani?" Hell yeah!（＾ｖ＾）

Just look at that beautiful detail!!

And the sparkle! Om nom nom nom!!!! I'm smitten with Smitten. Always amazing.

If you don't have them in your life, you need them in your life.

Smitten Polish Go there right now. Run!

You know who my favourite Zelda is? 

(I never played the video game, so not that one)

But...

Zelda Rubenstein!

HUGE Poltergeist fan right here. Oh.. My.. God..

And I always thought she was the best part of Sixteen Candles. 

(That movie pissed me off. Pretty in Pink however...)

Zelda, you amazing little woman, this one's for you!

Have a great day and an awesome mannicure!

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

Model City Polish - MCP Thanks You!

Hey all,

The clouds have moved in. More rain. Less energy.

I feel so drained. I guess I really worked it today.

But despite this, there's a polish I just have to show you.

Something very special.

Model City Polish - MCP Thanks You!

A bright red jelly with red and silver holographic glitter and large holographic silver circles.

This is 3 coats.

This polish was made in celebration's of Model City Polish's 1 year anniversary.

And the cool thing is, only 29 bottles were made and each are numbered! #20 boo yeah!

I LOVE the glitter in this. They are so adorable together. The fine holographic particles sparkle like magic. 

The hexes make me think of watermelon seeds, or strawberry jam. And the big circles? Holy crap! Space age fantastic! 

And you know my love of jelly finishes. So this polish is frickin amazing and I can't get over it.

I had to do a little something with it without taking anything away from it, so I decided on a sexy little black french.

There's something kinda jazzy about this. (just me?) I think it totally works.

It makes me think of ladybugs. And look at that holographic glitter shine! My heart leaps up...

There are still a few bottles left on Model City Polish's Etsy site.

Hurry while you can and snap it up! This beauty is too sweet to miss out on.

You know, now that I've gabbed about a beautiful polish, 

and drank half a cup of Coke a cola, 

I'm not feeling so tired any more!:D

I'm sure that will change in about 20 minutes :P

Have a great night and an awesome manicure!

jeebjeeb

Who is John Galt?

 Hey all,
I've been thinking lately about why I blog. And I'm not quite sure. Perhaps it's the push of the second self. Turning inward once again. I'm filled with doubt. But not about myself. Just with the world. Society is so completely baffling. I urge you, if you haven't read Atlas Shrugged, do it now! Because everyday, more and more, Ayn Rand was right. It's already happened. And all I really want to do is gather my favourite people and move to the mountains of Colorado to start over again.
So if that's the way I feel, why the hell do I have a blog? I don't know! Because I like to torture myself.
I do want to connect with people. And I think that's why I do it. To weed out the goodness in a world I find so... there are too many words to describe. And if I need the filter of a computer to do that, then so be it. I am a weird antisocial girl. I need a machine to feel human. That's the honest truth.

No art today. Just something I wore back on Valentine's Day. 

piCture pOlish - Monroe

Marilyn would definitely approve.

I remember taking this bottle shot in February. I already admitted I'm weird so I'll tell you.

The bottle seemed to be giving off so much personality. In every pose it was expressing something, a scene in my head.

Give me passion! Seduce me! And it would.

Ever since then every bottle shot I do is like the still of a movie... to me. 

Do I really have to say anything about this polish?

No.

It's that fantastic.

Hope everyone's having a good week.

I have a very exciting future crochet project to work on. 

But I can't say anything about it right now :)

Anyone read, watched or created anything awesome?

Let me know.

Have a great night and read Atlas Shrugged!

jeebjeeb