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

Pink Polka

Hey all,

How's your weekend going? I think I'll be having a snuggley day in with the cat. She's desperate for love. I'm typing with one hand at the moment, as she's refusing to leave my other hand alone. What a fluffy little ball of affection and agitation. 

This week I happened upon a brilliant source of inspiration. 

Yayoi Kusama

Her works are so simple yet incredibly complex. It is so much more than polka dots. Consciousness, space, shape, the unity of all things. The worlds she creates excite me. And, my god, she looks like Miss Swan on acid! (anybody watch old MadTV episodes?) She's been using polka dots in her work since she was 10, and at 83 years old, she's still creating. What a force.

I dedicate this manicure to Yayoi. The first of many :)

I need to practice with my dotters, I'm not as precise as I'd like to be. But I'm happy enough with the outcome.

What do you think? Would Yayoi like it? 

There's something about this that makes me think of suckers on an Octopus.

The palette is a bit more subdued that Yayoi's works. 

I told myself I wasn't allowed to use blue or green, they dominate my thinking.

I decided on two favorites I've been ignoring as of late

 Zoya - Sari and Essie - Off The Shoulder

I love these pinks. They're both perfect for completely diametric reasons.

Sari is the most delicate nude pink and Off The Shoulder is brilliantly vivid without being garish.

If you're doing any major drinking to celebrate St. Patrick's, I salute you and wish you good luck.

Although I'm feeling 100% better than I was last post, I will not be partaking :P

I'll be good to my body instead. Have two drinks max. Do a bit of yoga.

And give this sweety a good brushing. What an awesomely boring adult plan.

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

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

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