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.

I did these this past Monday, so they're slightly grown out...

I did these this past Monday, so they're slightly grown out because I just photographed them today.

It's nothing fancy, but I haven't dressed my nails up in months, so it feels really nice to have some color on. I keep a hard gel overlay down and that's the most effort I've been putting into them. I'm also doing a new shape. I've never been a huge fan of square nails, but I realized at some point recently that I'd been filing my sidewalls down super short to get my claws and was losing strength in my nails because of it. So I've put a lot of effort over the last few months into growing my sidewalls back out, as well as making sure my c-curve is tight when I cure my gel. I've had a lot fewer issues with breakage because of those things.

I'm really hoping I'll have time to get back into nail art soon. It's a little hard with a toddler dog around. He wants to help with everything and when he starts zooming, he parkours all over the place. 😂 I never know what he's about to do.

Anyway. This is what I'm wearing until next weekend or so.

Carol Anne by 'Ard as Nails;
Maniology plate M401;
Stamping technique

I'm stupid excited because...

I'm stupid excited because I just decided for sure that I'm going to migrate my polish database to the app I'm using to track my stamping plates. I guess I know what my winter project will be!

I'm down to adding my last drawer of nail polish to my database.

I'm down to adding my last drawer of nail polish to my database. That's giving me feelings. Well, first of all my "database" is a spreadsheet at this point. I will have to start actually building the tables and relationships as a next step. And I know how to do that. But it's been such a large project for me for so long that it's kind of scary moving to the next step.

I've been thinking about just uploading it all to the same app that I use to keep track of my stamping plates. That would make sense. I just have a hang up because in the app you can't have a hierarchy of folders. But it might make more sense to use tags to see things that came together in a collection, anyway, because sometimes stamping plates come with polishes or whatever. That would actually tie it all together in a nice way.

I don't know. It's a lot to think about. And I've come to the point where it's like, either build it myself or use the app. And I kind of wanted to build it myself, but also I would adore having more free time to do nail art rather than spend so much time on managing my collection. I mean, I enjoy managing my collection, too, but it's been all-consuming since I got serious about making progress last year. I guess that's the down-side to having a large collection of anything.

I'm working on my nail polish database today.

I'm working on my nail polish database today. I have a goal to get everything added by the end of July so I can be done researching info on polishes and being exposed to more I want to buy...

Anyway, no one is allowed to touch my polish. You want your nails done, I'll do it. But they're not toys and everyone knows not to touch them. Most are in pristine condition, and the ones that have boxes are still boxed. No touchy.

Except for Bear. Bear knows very little, I believe. 😂 So I was in the floor organizing a few polishes earlier and he comes over with his big feet and steps in my drawer and starts rummaging around.

Why am I like "What are you doing with your cheese lips? (I gave him a licky mat with cheese spread on it to distract him. It didn't last long.) Ooh, yes, you have excellent taste! (As he picks one up and drops it back in the drawer.) I like that one, too. (As he takes one away to probably chew on it. [We didn't let him.])"

I love this dog so dang much. He just melts me. I'm definitely the soft parent when it comes to him. When I had my pack I was the only adult in the house so I had to be the tough parent, but there is something about Bear. 😂 I let him walk off with my nail polish, so you know he's got me wrapped around his paw. He's just so sweet. He wants to help with everything I'm doing and it's so hard to not let him feel involved. Thank goodness for Shaun. He gently keeps Bear out of trouble when I have my too-soft moments.

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

I love me a secure man!

I love me a secure man!

Nail polish is for everyone. ❤️

Since I am particular about my nails...

Since I am particular about my nails I try to avoid using them as tools. It helps a lot to prevent damage and breakage if I don't use them that way.

I saw a smaller version of the Tab Buddy recommended on reddit, but it was made more for drink cans, not soup cans or cans of cat food. I bought another device from Amazon for lids with larger tabs, but it's clunky to use so I find that I just don't.

I emailed the team at Tab Buddy asking for a larger version for different types of cans and they actually made them! They emailed me once some were available for purchase, so I snagged 2.

These XL ones have been amazing. I didn't even realize that they were magnetic until Shaun stuck it to the fridge. That's great because it's always right within reach.

I think these are a wonderful idea. Even if I wasn't super picky about my nails there have definitely been times that my hands have been sore and uncooperative when my PSA flares up. I know this might seem like a dull thing to be excited about, but I don't care. I love things that make my life easier and our cats get wet food 2x daily as a treat (not to mention that I'm a fan of soup), so I am using this thing daily.

They have some super cute designs. I'm linking them below because they really earned my business by taking my suggestion seriously. ❤️

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TabBuddies

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