I did these nails at the end of May...

I did these nails at the end of May and they ended up being my "going on a trip" nails. I wouldn't have done that self care without my buddy Ryan helping me choose between nails or potting up some plants. I would've probably chosen plants because I put myself last every time, but he put the choices on a wheel and let it choose. I might have to start doing that, because these have been sparking joy that I desperately needed.

Veri Peri by Varnail;
Silver Magnetic Gel;
Method:  Glass Bead;
Powder:  Fancy by Vettsy

I did these nails on Tuesday...

I did these nails on Tuesday, and then I put the ghosts on the night before Halloween.  I don't do holidays, so my nails are the closest I get to acknowledging that they exist. 😆

I really feel like these turned out great.  I used a dark blue gel and then an aurora chrome powder over it.  The chrome is still looking great, with no tip-wear, which is almost a miracle because I type a lot.

I don't have much time for nail art these days with the Web Dev bootcamp.  I don't have much time for anything.  But Monday starts week 8 of 12, so we're getting closer to the end.  For now, I'm keeping things simple.  I just threw on these vinyl ghost decals that I made in September and called it done.

Research powder;
Vinyl decals;

Nails this week...

Nails this week. I got shorties because they are recovering from a bunch of stuff, but shorties can be pretty, too!

I'm listing the Spiderweb Nails on Etsy tonight. I almost chickened out, but Shaun is encouraging me. I needed it.

Research polish;
Gel and chrome powder;
Messy Mansion plate MM21;

Stamping technique

These are the first 2 sets I wanted to sell, but...

These are the first 2 sets I wanted to sell, but the mood nails are a mess. That pigment would be better suited to nail art rather than a whole set. It peels and flakes easily, and I can't sell that to anyone. They do look amazing, though. There will definitely be new sets featuring it encapsulated in gel so it won't budge. 😉

I found out that my shipping cards and sizing kits should arrive Monday, so I'm super excited about that. I've got a few friends who want a sizing kit, so I should be able to mail those out on Tuesday. I'm getting ready to send shape and length choices over to those who have previously inquired. I might need to add some measurements to the charts, though, so expect that later tonight. I'm trying my best to make sure this is an easy process.

I'm super thankful to everyone who has encouraged me along the way. If y'all scroll back about 12 years, the difference between where I started and where I am now is night and day. ❤️❤️❤️

I'm not-so-patiently waiting...

I'm not-so-patiently waiting for my mailing cards to come in so I can start listing nails.

I did these tonight. It's been forever since I've done nail art, and I miss it.

Pardon my own grown-out mess. I'll get to them. 😂

Research polish;
Research plate

I've been so busy trying to get ready for the show next weekend...

I've been so busy trying to get ready for the show next weekend. We got a Silhouette cutter so I could make vinyls and decals. This ghost was my first print and I think he's cute! If y'all have suggestions for me, I'm open. I want nail art to be easy, accessible, and fun!

Vinyls are super easy to apply, as are waterslide decals. I also plan to make vinyls that you paint over and remove, leaving an image behind. I'm finally making the shop into everything I always wanted it to be. Slowly, but surely!

Pardon my grown-out concert nails. My next set will be Labubu for the show. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some press-ons created over the next few days!

Road trip snacks...

Road trip snacks (spicy for to stay awake), featuring concert nails. So shiny! 😍

I just finished removing and redoing...

I just finished removing and redoing the hard gel overlay that had on when I was fired almost a month ago.

It was super grown out and starting to lift. I have plants to repot on Monday when my dirt arrives.

I might be slipping, y'all.

Maybe I'll get Shaun's nails taken care of tomorrow.

Birthday post.

Shaun got a lamp for me to do my nails. I'm usually on the dark side of the room, so it's nice to have a light. I just finished filling in/rebalancing my structure gel while using it, and it's really nice to be able to see. He also got me some plant hangers for the greenhouse. The kids got me tasty snacks.

I haven't done nail art in a very long time...

I haven't done nail art in a very long time, and I wouldn't really count this as art, either. I just put on my structure gel for strength as usual, then plopped down the water slide decals I made.

I made these for the work event I attended. I didn't really know what to expect, but I had a great time. I met so many of my coworkers and it was so crazy to finally see everyone in 3D. I interact with so many people on Slack, many of who I felt super connected to, and meeting in person just took that to the next level. I definitely came away from the event feeling energized about work and more secure in my work relationships. I also met a ton of cool people that I didn't know already.

I can't go without saying that it was amazing seeing my friends from GCU. It was hard being in Cincinnati for those 5 months away from my family, but we had a wonderful cohort and mentorship and we learned so much and grew together. It was such a great feeling seeing those familiar faces.

Anyway, I didn't want to let the week end without shouting out my wonderful work place for planning, executing, and treating us to this get-together. I love working remotely, being here with the family and the pets, but I do think I needed this. I'm looking forward to the next one already! 💙

    Custom Decals by Me!

I've had a really low-energy weekend.

I've had a really low-energy weekend.  The only thing I did was nails.  Shaun took off his old gel and I gave him a fresh coat.  I also re-did my gel overlay, but haven't thrown down anything pretty.  I don't know if I can/will.  I have a growing list of things to do that I am falling behind on and I don't like it.

It's been a while since I've posted a nail pic, but...

It's been a while since I've posted a nail pic, but here are my first spring nails.

Overlook my nail shape; I'm in the midst of making sure my sidewalls are even, so I haven't been shaping them as pointy as usual.

The base is a blue speckled gel polish by Born Pretty. I used the bunny/spring plate made by Pretty Fingers by Robin.

I'm not thrilled with my detail on the bunny. He looks chocolate rather than real, but it's fine. It goes with the season either way. 😂😂😂

Research items

So this is what I'm doing to my nails for strength at the moment.

So this is what I'm doing to my nails for strength at the moment. It's not beautiful or interesting, but I do think it's a pretty neutral and looks nice with my skin tone. I could do nail art over it with gel or regular polish. I just haven't had time.

So this is just structure gel, which could possibly be considered an overlay. But it's not as thick as polygel and (in my opinion) much easier to apply. It takes a fraction of the time to create an apex in the correct position and get a nice glossy finish. With polygel I was using pop-its to get my apex and smooth finish, but there was always an issue of shaping/filing the free edge and creating a smooth transition at the cuticle. By the time I was done with that process I was no longer interested in doing any sort of nail art, which is the whole reason I ever want to do my nails.

This gel also removes faster and easier than polygel. You can buff the surface and soak off with acetone. To make it faster you can use an e-file to take down the bulk of the product. This is similar to removing polygel with an e-file, but takes a lot less time. My polygel overlays were always on the thick side.

Here's hoping this is a good solution for growing out the damage I did to my natural nails. It would also be nice if it worked as a reinforcement for them once they grow out. I don't like to grow my nails super long, but I really hate it when they break. Who doesn't, I guess. 😂

So far they feel nice. Not thick or heavy, but somehow strong. They aren't bending at all. Hopefully, my application was good and I won't get any lifting for a couple of weeks. We shall see!

Structure Cover Pink by Gelish

I have decided to stop...

I have decided to stop doing polygel / acrygel overlays on my nails for the time being. I used to have so much fun doing nail art, but I use up my energy and free time trying to get the overlays to look perfect and then by the time I'm done I don't even want to bother dressing them up. It's dumb.

Not only that, but I use an electronic file to remove the overlays and I've gotten SO MUCH BETTER at that than when I started, but there definitely is some damage from my early days of using it that I need to grow out.

For now I'm just going to use Gelish Structure Gel to reinforce my nails and help grow out the damage. It seems to take far less skill to use and I can decorate on top of it with gel or regular polish. Regular polish will last on top of gel for about as long as the gel lasts, so that's nice.

Anyway. Just my current nail musings / plans. Now that I'm far more organized than I was I really can't wait to start using all of my goodies again. I'm excited! 😁

I did these over this past weekend...

I did these over this past weekend and they aren't very decorated, but I like how the color-flips came out. UNFORTUNATELY, I didn't write down which chrome powders I used to get these colors so I have no idea how to get exactly these results again. I'm especially fond of the green and pink ones, so that sucks.

Maybe after I finish swatching my polish I can make a "cheat sheet" with my gels, the silver magnetic polish, and various chrome powders to get an idea of how they'll look all together. That sounds... difficult. And like I'd waste up a lot of gel. 😬 Maybe I'd better start writing my good combos down as I go.

Shaun's nails I did yesterday.

Shaun's nails I did yesterday. He won't let me use cuticle oil (he doesn't like the feel of lotions or oils), so ignore the dry cuticles. 🙄 But his favorite colors are red and black. I found out yesterday that I could use gel stamping polish and then use chrome powder over it to make it pop. He really likes these. The patterns are all different because we were just trying stuff out.

Research polishes

These are the nails I tested on Shaun...

These are the nails I tested on Shaun - chrome powders over magnetics.  They look really neat!

Write recipes here

I tested out using gel polish to make stones for jewelry.

I tested out using gel polish to make stones for jewelry.  I'd say it worked.  :D  The stone on the left is just the holographic chrome powder Lust by JReine over black.  I definitely need to make sure my sticky coat goes down smooth.  You can see some brush strokes in that one.  It was the first one I made so the second one came out smoother.  The stone on the right was made using the same method as my dandelion nails, except thatw I didn't put the dandelions on it because it was just an experiment.  It turned out so well that I kind of wish I had, but I'll know better next time.  Now that I know this works I'll probably make some jewelry using these methods.  I'm excited to once again have more to paint than just my nails.  I am slowly but surely working towards re-opening my Etsy and I'm really excited about that.  I definitely need a creative outlet in my life.

Video

These are the nails I did...

These are the nails I did after seeing a new layering technique on the 'Gram. The bottom layer is a sheer purple, then over that is a silver cat-eye magnetic, then it's topped with a chrome powder, and finally sealed with topcoat. The product of that layering reminded me of a summer sunset, so I added the dandelions blowing in the wind for good measure.

I played with this technique on Shaun's nails over the weekend and found some really pretty combinations. I'll bother him for a photo (or video!) at some point soon.

Encore Solid Gel Polish and Magnetic Super Cat Eye Gel by Vettsy;

Mermaid Nail Powder Dawn-04 by Vettsy;

Harunouta plate L034

Stamping technique;

Magnetized

Video

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Encore Solid Gel Polish and Magnetic Super Cat Eye Gel by Vettsy;

Mermaid Nail Powder Dawn-04;

Harunouta plate L034