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

 

 

 

Hot for Holo

Hey all,

It's officially spring, and the sun is shining.

I even saw the hint of blossoms on the trees!

As my Dad says "It smells like baseball season!"

I always get really excited. The kid in me still looking forward to summer break.

Despite the fact that it's been 10 years since I've experienced such a thing.

 

So I decided to flex my jeebjeeb art muscles since they've been atrophying lately.

Holo polish and two of my favourite techniques. A recipe for salivation.

 

 

For the gradient I used two I Love Nail Polish shades.

 Music Box, an enchanting sea foam green & PT 78, an awesome gunmetal grey.  

That was pretty spectacular, but I needed more holo goodness!

So I splattered with Color Club - Miss Bliss

The hot pink is the perfect contrast! Complete and utter eye candy.

Manicure complete! I am sufficiently satisfied. *.*

 

 

I'm going to spend the rest of this beautiful afternoon crafting a world class chilli. ^.^

Slow cook it to perfection. And then settle in with a 5pm hockey game.

What are you up to today?

Whatever it is, have a good one!

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

Guest Post at Nail Wish

Hey all,

Just wanted to let you know I have a guest post at Nail Wish today! :D

My first guest post ever! So for more pictures of this fabulous splatter, swing on over and give my guest post some love!

Have a great day and an always awesome manicure!

jeebjeeb

Show & Shine

Hey all,

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

I've been neglecting my blog again -_- I'm a week behind! dammit.

I'm most happiest when my posts are current. Once it starts to pile up it feels like work.

But then again, posting as often as I change my manicure also feels like a chore.

I'll have to decide on some happy medium.

Last weekend Dagadelic and I ventured out to a fabulous Show & Shine vintage car show.

So many amazing cars and such great art inspiration!

This show has a special place in my heart because it marks the one year anniversary of my decent into nail art madness.

Last year I came back from a week of vacation determined to start mixing up my plain vanilla manicures.

The first thing I did was try my hand at a gradient. And the rest is history...

I wanted to celebrate that manicure, with a little something extra on top. :)

As soon as I started the splatter I fell in love. It all came together so perfectly.

It is amped up colour fantastic. Over the top summer.

The whole time I was creating this, all I could think was

"this looks like my childhood!"

Does anyone else born in and around 1986 agree?

I love all the really fine splatter I was able to create. 

I didn't want to overpower the gradient.

I used Nubar - Resort Yellow & Essie - Off the Shoulder to create the gradient

And splattered with Nubar - Pyramid Purple & Into the Wild

On the Turntable...

Since the B-52's concert I've been listening to a lot of... B-52's. (They were that good.)

And it turns out I do have one of their albums on vinyl.

Bouncing off the Satellites

 I've listened to it twice. :S Truth is, it's my least favourite album. 

The others are great. I urge you to check out Wild Planet or Whammy, both lesser known goldmines.

Turns out, shortly after finishing this album Ricky Wilson (guitarist and brother to Cindy) died of health complications due to AIDS.

Pretty tragic stuff for such a happy band.

This is Cindy's solo song Girl from Ipanema Goes to Greenland

Makes me sad seeing only 4 of them bopping around in the music video.

Enjoy.

Took my brother out to see Grown Ups 2 today. 

It was a lot of fun. We laughed like crazy, I definitely recommend it.  

Then we walked all the way home, it was such a gorgeous day. 

Tomorrow I hope to lay low. Stay home and work on art and secret birthday plans. Muahaha!

What are you up to?

Have a great weekend and an awesome manicure!

jeebjeeb

7 Deadly Sins Challenge - Pride

Hey all,

This is the last 7 Deadly Sins manicure :( 

It was a lot of fun. I'm really glad I took part. 

All that great art by all those awesome ladies. 

I'll miss it.

The final theme was Pride

"This is YOUR time. Brag about how good you are at..."

Well Dagadelic always raves about how well I splatter.

So I have to end this on a messy note :)

I absolutely love splatter manicures.

They're completely improvised.

All you can do is cross your fingers, hope for the best and blow as hard as you can.

Of course being a huge Jackson Pollock freak also helps :)

I used Zoya - Jacqueline as my base

It's my new favourite neutral. 

I love how the colours pop against it. 

It lends such a retro feel to everything it touches.

For the splatter I used Salley Hansen - Blackout

Nubar - Into the Wild & Pyramid Purple

I love me some Nubar cremes Mhhhmmmm...

You may have noticed the background for my polish shots has changed recently.

(not that that's what you look at, but I'm into details)

Well that's because my old backdrop was a crochet project.

And now it's all done and finished, hanging in my closet with joy.

Since this post is about pride I thought it was a good time to show off something else I'm good at.

(and my love of bizarre photography)

I'm really pleased with this top.

It's so casual, I've worn it quite a few times already, including to work.

It's yarn was made from recycled blue jeans!

I love not having to worry about being gentle.

And I have a feeling, like worn jeans, this will occupy the same space in my heart.

I hope everyone's having a good week.

Be sure to check out all the other awesome art!

Have a great night and an awesome manicure!

jeeb jeeb

Jawbreaker and the Liebster.

Hey all,

How's your weekend going? It was a crazy beautiful day today. I got out and played frisbee for the first time this year. And then did my nails on the balcony. I love warm weather. It just makes you feel good.

I've had this idea for a manicure rattling around in my brain for a while.

A black and white gradient with multi coloured splatter.

I call it Jawbreaker.

I used Zoya Raven & Purity for the gradient

Quo by Orly - Red Hot, Sally Hansen - Mint Sprint & Nubar - Resort Yellow as splatter

The Liebster 

Lisa from The Polish Playground was nice enough to nominate me for a Liebster Award. If you don't know what that is, well, it's not really an award. It's more of a share the love kind of thing. Bloggers recognizing and supporting fellow bloggers. 

This is how it works ...

When you get nominated:

1. Write up 11 random facts about yourself.

2. Answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you.
3. Create 11 new questions for your nominees. 
4. Nominate 11 other bloggers who have under 200 followers.

I think it's a really interesting idea. But I wont be following every rule to this chain letter. We'll come to that later. 
First up, 11 random facts about me.

1. When I was born my parents lived in Chinatown, which greatly influenced my life. I feel the most at ease when I'm surrounded by Asians. Like at Dim Sum on Sunday mornings :)

2. I didn't learned how to use chopsticks till I was 17. My boyfriend forced me to learn using noodles and  a lot of patience. Praise him! Certain food just taste better with sticks.

3. I'm absolutely terrible at recalling quotes. I even screw up my long time favourites. But I can remember obscure lyrics and sing songs word for word that I haven't heard for years. 

4. I am 100% naturally blonde. 

5. Both my parents hated their middle names so they didn't give me one.

6. I cannot drive a car. And I don't bike. I walk.

7. In real life I swear ALOT. Swears give flavour to your sentiments. I can't help it. I like it. But I have tried to keep it off the blog. Reading it off the page is a lot different than seeing & hearing it come out of my mouth. It's all in the delivery.
8. I have four piercings, all in my ears, and no tattoos. I could never be content with the same image on my skin for the rest of my life. I'm too changeable. Freckles are good enough for me.
9. Before I was born my father had two dreams that I would be born a cat. I have had a dream that I gave birth to a cat. :| What would Freud say?
10. I fantasize about doing drag performances. Lipsynching songs while dressed as a man.
11. My best girlfriend is also my sister (in-law) and fellow blogger D from Dagadelic. Despite our 5 year age difference we see eye to eye on most everything. (Love you girl!)

Here are the questions from Lisa:
1. What are some of the first blogs you started following?

- Scrangie, Nailasaurus, Chalkboard Nails

2. What made you start a blog?

- I had been posting nail photos on facebook but it just didn't feel like the proper venue to showcase my art. I wanted to create some form of art journal, since I hadn't been photographing every manicure. I was inspired by Dagadelic and decided to try my hand at a blogs. A public journal of sorts. My year on my nails. 

3. Who inspires you in life?

- Insanely passionate artists like Marina Abramovic and Yayoi  Kusama. But everyone in my life inspires me in some way. Without those people, I wouldn't be able to create art. 

4. Do you own any pets?

- A beautiful brown tabby cat named Kit-Kat. 

5. Fondest childhood memory?

- I can't remember anything specific, but any time I was at a lake or camping I was happy as a clam. I'd spend all day hanging out in the water, riding my bike, going for little hikes and climbing rocks. Being in nature made me happy.

6. Sun, rain or snow?

-Sun for sure. Although sometimes I like a nice rainy inside day. 

7. How much nail polish do you own in your collection?

- I just made my little brother count :P and he said 93! Woah. That sounds like a ton but I swear I often think that I don't have enough.

8. What's your biggest nail polish lemming right now?

- Half of the Zoya Summer PixieDust collection and INM Northern Lights.

9. What's your top 5 favourite nail polish colours?

Orly - Space Cadet
Enchanted Polish - Magical Mystery Tour
Color Club - Beyond
Zoya - Frida
Pretty & Polished - Tomboyish

10. Does anyone else you know in real life have a nail polish addiction like you?

- Yes, my close friend D at Dagadelic. She's been an addict long before I. Thankfully she's been able to guide me in my polish adventures. I had known her for 4 years before I started doing my nails. So it's very cool that we have now have this shared passion. It's like speaking a secret language or being in a club.

11. What one item will you always recommend everyone to try?

Common courtesy. Every day it seems people are getting ruder and ruder.

So here comes the part where you have to nominate 11 bloggers with under 200 followers who haven't already been nominated. I've also heard of versions where you pick 5 bloggers with under 3000 followers. Sounds like a game of Telephone to me. And considering the award isn't real... I'm going to break the rules. I gave all my eligible nomination candidates to Dagadelic. Instead I propose that if you are interested, answer my questions in the comments. Or if you have a blog, post them. I nominate anyone reading this. Make your own rules. Answer any questions you want. Go for it.

1. Do you remember your dreams? And if so, are they usually positive or negative?

2. If you could time travel, what era would you like to visit most?

3. Are there any hobbies or crafts you are interested in taking up?

4. Name one thing you hated as a child that you now enjoy.

5. What was the first album you ever bought?

6. What's your favourite ride at an amusement park?

7. Who is your favourite artist?
8. Name a movie you've watched a million times and never get sick of.
9. When you were in kindergarten, what did you want to be when you grew up?
10. Name a celebrity that irritates you.
11. What's your favourite kind of candy?


Next post I'll be answering Dagadelic's questions because I thought she had some really good ones.
Tonight I'm going to attempt to make some non-nail related art. Wish me luck!
Have a great night and an awesome manicure!
jeebjeeb

Pretty and Polished - Tomboyish

Hey all,

How's your week going? I went on a bizarre field trip for work yesterday. A co-worker and I drove 45 minutes out of the city to a warehouse. Our mission was to open 300 assembled boxes, add a few items to the kits, and close them back up again. Sweet. And these weren't little boxes (there was a laundry hamper in there). Thankfully my co-worker and I were a good team and totally rocked it. It was an amazing work out. He laughed when I said we would feel it tomorrow, but first thing this morning he told me how sore he was. :P I was going to post last night but I was so drained I couldn't really do anything.

I recently acquired my first Pretty and Polished ...polish. (No better way to say that, sorry) I've had my eye on them for a while but after seeing some very compelling swatches on Lunar Lacquer I took the plunge. (check her out!) 

Pretty and Polished has colour changing polish! Effected by temperature! Just like a toothbrush I had as a child. Once it went from pink to purple you knew you had brushed your teeth long enough. My lord I loved that damn toothbrush. I was hoping I would love this polish even half as much. And I must say, I do! 

This is Tomboyish (with a healthy dose of splatter)

Tomboyish changes from a greyed green when cold to a greyed blue when warm.

With very fine blue iridescent sparkles throughout to give it depth.

As soon as I started painting this on, the colour changed. It was bizarre! And a bit distracting :P

I can't say enough how much I love this polish. It is SO COOL!

As soon as my topcoat dried I ran to the washroom

"Lucas! Wanna play with me in the sink??" He declined.

But they're so awesome in water! It changes so fast! 

And flicking water on it is super cool, you get spots!

I'm prone to chilly fingers but I still found the colour to be constantly changing.

Sometimes I had an amazing gradient going on. Sometimes random splotches, or a solid colour.

I found myself constantly checking to see what my nails were doing next.

Like a mood ring! I love mood rings so much. 

I recommend Pretty and Polished's colour changing polish for little and big girls alike.

It will enchant and entertain, leaving you enamoured.

I used Sally Hansen - Black Out and a juice box straw for the splatter.

My right hand has taken quite a beating this spring.

I really love just the black splatter. What do you think?

What do you think about colour changing polish?

So today at about 9:30 in the morning I was yelled at by my co-worker. She parked her bike in the loading bay, which can barely fit skids through it as it is. So I wheeled it over to her area. This is say, one of a handful of times I have had to do this. But this time she barrels over to me and yells (because this level was not at all what I'd call conversational volume) "Why do you have to put it in the worst possible spot?"
...wow. Ok.
So I calmly tell her she can't leave her bike in the loading bay since we have multiple deliveries each day and it's in the way.
She yells "Why can't you put in outside?"
You have got to be kidding me. So I match her volume and told her "YOU put it outside!"
She stormed away bike in tow.
I was so unbelievably angry. Your bike is not my responsibility.
You put up signs in the lunch room that tell people to put their dishes in the dishwasher because no one else will. But you want me to put YOUR bike outside. Outside where the bike rack is.
And not only that, but you raise your voice with me?!
I have a reputation for being incredibly easy to deal with. Easy going and mellow. Oh yes, and respectful!
There is no reason to ever raise your voice with me. I am not a child. Are you?

This edition of Muse-ic is dedicated to my co-worker

It came on my ipod while walking home and it REALLY hit home

I hope you enjoy!

I wonder what tomorrow will bring. Regardless, I'm ready for a fight.
Have a great night and an awesome manicure!
jeebjeeb

Rock Solid Splatter

Hey all,

I would like to start this post off by saying, this is the first manicure I've done while hungover. Not just hungover, but completely destroyed. And not just because of alcohol. I destroyed myself by headbanging. Yes, headbanging. If you don't know what I'm talking about, goggle it. I went out Saturday night and saw Electric Six for the 3rd time. I enjoyed it immensely...maybe too immensely. I really rocked it. As a result my neck and shoulders have been so stiff and sore, you would think I'd been in an accident. I feel like Joan Cusack in Sixteen Candles.

And I did it all to myself and enjoyed every minute of it. My god I'm bizarre.

My manicure is a reflection of how I feel inside. A bloody mess. 

But man did it turn out nice. I love splatter. Simple yet effective.

I really like the colour combo, for some reason it reminds me of Cookie Monster 

Does that make any sense? :S

I used Sally Hansen - Brisk Blue, Orly - Rock Solid & Zoya - Dove

Rock Solid is so awesome. You can't tell from my nails,

 but it has amazing holographic particles. Just look at that bottle shot! Drooling.

What do you think? Hot mess or just a mess?

Muse-ic
I think it's only right that I share the song that did me in. It was damn Dance Commander. I'm pretty sure it was the last song, my final hurrah. And like the song says, you must obey the dance commander. And so I did. :) I tried to find a live version but they were all over 6 minutes, even I couldn't finish them. So this time you get a music video. Enjoy!

I'm going to take it easy and hopefully in a few days I'll be back to normal. I regret nothing :)
Have an awesome week and a great manicure!
jeebjeeb

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

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