31DC2013 Day 30: Inspired by a Tutorial

Coming close to the end of this challenge our prompt for today is "inspired by a tutorial". I picked a tutorial from one of the YouTube channels I follow, MadeByAdriana, she has some very pretty designs & makes it all look so easy. The design is a pin marble design, which I discovered I liked creating & it's a wonderful alternative to water marbling which is such a pain.

31DC2013 Day 29: Inspired by the Supernatural

Today we create a design inspired by the supernatural & I'm super excited. I am a HUGE fantasy/syfy/supernatural fan & so picking something actually became something of a task as I just have too many favorites to choose from. But my choice came down to that of a literal translation & picking the show "SUPERNATURAL" as my inspiration. If you have not watched this show here is a synopsis: Sam & Dean Winchester are brothers & they, along with some friends, fight monsters such as demons, werewolves, vampires, wendigo,  leviathan, etc... It's a great series & the fact that the guys are freakin' hot is an added bonus. My BFF is going to completely die over these nails, lol!

These are the Winchester boys...Yowza!

source

These are the symbols they use to protect themselves:

source

This is the Intro Song:

                                       

And here are the nails:

31DC2013 Day 28: Inspired by a Flag

I've been on a streak of British TV shows lately so it's fresh in my mind. I've caught up on "Dr. Who", "Sherlock Holmes", "Merlin" & even watched the old mini series "Brideshead Revisited", that & my enduring love of Harry Potter movies as well as pretty much any British film. I could list a slew of reasons for picking this flag today, one being the utterly enjoyable time I had visiting there whilst on my honeymoon in 2007 (And yes, I am talking out loud in my best British accent while typing this out) Allons-y!

31DC2013 Day 27: Inspired by Artwork

My artwork choice today is one painted by the very talented artist Leonid Afremov called "Late Stroll". I love how he layers paint on top of paint in multi color swipes creating a unique visual effect.  

Source

So, I commence what I think is going to be a very liberating painting experience in which I will be able to throw colors around in reckless abandonment & create something gorgeous! Well, after "swooshing" several layers I realize the paint wasn't really coming out as planned & I had to add quite a few layers to capture the depth I was looking for. It was somewhat frustrating that I couldn't get it just exactly as I wanted, but overall a very enjoyable experience. Having gone through all that makes me appreciate even more the great talent that is Leonid Afremov.

Without further ado, here are my very artsy nails:

31DC2013 Day 26: Inspired by a Pattern

Crosses is my pattern choice of the day, like the challenge prompt from yesterday, I also drew this inspiration from fashion. Crosses are everywhere, it's even on nails these days, so it was one of the first idea's that came to mind & after mulling over a couple of other choices I went ahead & stuck with my initial idea.

Inspiration Source Forever 21

31DC2013 Day 25: Inspired by Fashion

There's a trend that's been around a lot this year & that's feathers. Birds & feathers seem to be on everything these days & I think it's beautiful! My design is inspired by a shirt I found with a pretty feather pattern. I couldn't find the source to the picture so I'll put in the Pinterest link.

Pinterest link

31DC2013 Day 24: Inspired by a Book

Like all good mothers do, when my sisters & I were little, she would read us bedtime stories. My favorite was "The Secret Garden". I loved the idea of having my own secret garden, a place of solace, where I could escape to when life gets too stressful. Truth be told, Dad also read to me about another person who had a secret place of solace, Batman, who I envy for his secret bat cave as well. In conclusion it is safe to say that the idea of having my own secret hideaway is one that I find very intriguing. But since I've already done Batman nails I will stick with the "romantic" choice today, lol!

31DC2013 Day 23: Inspired by at Movie

I have so many favorites, but I chose "Under the Tuscan Sun". I adore this movie, I can watch it over & over & never tire of it. They did such a great job of capturing the spirit of that place. I had the wonderful experience of getting to drive through it on my honeymoon & felt like I was in a dream!

Here are some pictures from which I got my inspiration:

source

source

Quote inspiration: "Ladybugs, lots & lots of ladybugs!"

31DC2013 Day 22: Inspired by a Song

The song I picked for today is "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri. Love her voice, the song is kinda sad, but very moving.

Lyrics:

"Jar Of Hearts"

No, I can't take one more step towards you
'Cause all that's waiting is regret
Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore
You lost the love I loved the most

I learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time

And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Who do you think you are?

I hear you're asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found
But I have grown too strong
To ever fall back in your arms

And I've learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time

And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Who do you think you are?

And it took so long just to feel alright
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes
I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed
'Cause you broke all your promises
And now you're back
You don't get to get me back

And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Don't come back at all

And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
Tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
Don't come back for me
Don't come back at all

Who do you think you are?

In the video there's a smokey aspect to it, so I used the saran wrap method to make the background look smokey. Then painted the little scattered hearts. I edited it to look kinda grungy, like the video.

31DC2013 Day 21: Inspired by a COLOR

My favorite color is teal, blue/green, turquoise, whatever you want to call that in-between blue & green color that looks so pretty in all it's various names & shades.

inspiration

31DC2013 Day 20: Water Marble

Ok, deep breath, this is the one I've been dreading. One of the reasons I had never tackled the 31 day challenge before is that I would see "water marble" on the list & panic. Never done one before, not sure if I'll do it again, but this is a challenge after all & I would be remiss if I did not push myself to complete each & every one.

I had to do a lot of research for this, the two main things that I was the most concerned about was cleanup & water bubbles. To take care of the water bubbles it's advised to let the water marble dry completely before putting on a top coat. To help with easier cleanup I have seen several suggestions, the most popular being to tape around the nails.

Here are a couple things I noticed; I really wanted to have some shimmer in the design, but using glitter polishes turned out to be a terrible idea, so I tired some metallic's & had similarly upsetting results. I found that if I dropped the polish in the middle of the cup it was hard to pull the toothpick through to make the design without breaking up the entire circle, so I put the drops in closer to the edge. When I finally found polishes that were working I stuck with them, I had to mix up cream polishes with shimmery so that it would spread right in the water.

Anyhow, I'm fairly happy with my result, even though I smudged it a bit. I don't think I will do this again any time soon as it is just way too time consuming & I think it looks better on ladies with longer nails. But in any case I'm glad I finally tried it out & who knows, I might tackle it again someday when I have a bunch of time to spare & I can experiment a bit more. That being said, this is my very first water marble EVER so, be gentle!

31DC2013 Day 19: Galaxies

I love galaxy nails, I've done them many times, it's such a simple way to make your nails look edgy yet chic & fashionable. No further explanation needed, here are my galaxy nails:

31DC2013 Day 18: Half Moons

I decided to go classic red for today's Mani, like Nailasaurus did on day 1, simply elegant. Considering all the designs I've been having to challenge my creativity about over the last few days & some of the ones that are coming up, the simplicity of this choice was a welcome relief. I left the base coat bare & used Zoya pixie dust Chyna as my red, to add some texture to the design. I really like this look, it might just become a staple classic look for me.

31DC2013 Day 17: Glitter

Yay glitter! One of the funner sides of being a woman is being able to wear glitter & get away with it! I got my inspiration from one of the ladies I follow on Tumblr: Freestyle Nails for the Masses, she did this very pretty design that kinda reminds me of stained glass windows a little, just some abstract lines that form little pockets that can be colored in different shades.

Inspiration

31DC2013 Day 16: Tribal

Also not super happy with this Mani, I'm experiencing a bit of a slump it seems. Oh well, better luck tomorrow!

Here's my tribal for today:

31DC2013 day 15: Delicate

So I'm cutting this really close, been busy working all day & when I finally sat down I had a bit of "writers" block. I actually did a couple designs I wasn't happy with, I'm still unsure of the one I finally settled on. It looked really pretty in person & then I couldn't get a good picture of it. I'm still in the process of getting a really nice camera & lighting set so that hopefully I can start taking better pictures, until then I'm using my iPhone 5 that can be finicky at times.

Anyhow, here is my delicate white butterfly design:

sorry for the bad photo today :(

31DC2013 Day 14: Flowers

So many flowers, so little time, how am I to pick a single design?! (Wow, that rhymed, was so not trying to sound like Dr. Seuss) Anyhow, I went on a Google search for some floral inspiration, I love the flower paintings I found, so many wonderful choices but I settled on one especially pretty one. The artists name is Lena Karpinsky, I followed the search to the source www.artbylena.com she is truly talented, you gotta check her out! Her painting is very vibrant, I went for a subtler version, but I was definitely inspired by her.

Inspiration (Click on photo for link to Artist site)

31DC2013 Day 13: Animal Print

Anybody who knows me can tell you, I am a HUGE animal lover! I currently have 9 pets in my home, dogs & cats, all rescues. I love each & every one of my furry babies. For today's Animal Print themed design, I drew my inspiration from the kitties.

So True!

MEOW!!!

31DC2013 Day 12: Stripes

My inspiration for today came form BOOM nails, in the nail community this lady is a star & doing what we all wish we were doing with our hobby, making a living off of it!

Inspiration

31DC2013 Day 11: Polka Dots

The idea in my head was much cooler, but I'm gonna post this anyways. Colorblind tests are the inspiration for this design, came out a little wonky, but you get the idea.

Inspiration (I do not own this image)

31DC2013 Day 10: Gradient

I've seen & done a lot of pastel gradients & they are all very lovely, but since we've been nearing the closing of summer & inching closer to fall, I've been dying to do some dark colors. This is probably not my best gradient I've ever done, I could have blended it a bit better, but I absolutely love the color choices & hope y'all like it too!

Indoor lighting

Outdoor lighting

31DC2013 Day 9: Rainbow

Fun fun, rainbow multi color criss-cross stripes, got the idea from another pinterest search.

Inspiration (I do not own this picture, found on Pinterest)

31DC2013 Day 8: Metallic

I chose two of my favorite polishes for today's challenge in Metallic, OPI's On her Majesty's Secret Service & Goldeneye. Half on one side, half on the other, with a navy line down the center.

I've found a new photo editor & have been having a bit of fun!

31DC2013 Day 7: Black & White

31DC2013 Day 7: Black & White

Had a few ideas for this one, but decided to try out some "chalk doodles", been wanting to for some time so...why not?!

Used a black base & white acrylic paint for the doodles, topped with a matte coat so it looked more authentic.

31DC2013 Day 6: Violet

31DC2013 Day 6: Violet abstract paint strokes:

Exactly what it sounds like, I used a white base & brushed some paint around at random for a pretty violet explosion!

Inspiration (I do not own this picture, found on Pinterest)

31DC2013 Day 5: Blue

31DC2013 Day 5: Blue pattern

I found this blue pattern on pinterenst so I thought I'd give it a go. It's pretty awesome that the lines are very obviously free-handed as it takes the pressure off being perfect!

Inspiration (I do not own this picture, found on Pinterest)

31DC2013 Day 4: Green

31DC2013 Day 4: Green leaves! What's greener than leaves & also saving the trees is a very "green" state of being, so I had to do leaves! Direct & straight to the point.

Inspiration (i do not own this picture, found on pinterest)

31DC2013 Day 3: Yellow

31DC2013 Day 3: Yellow stripes! I found this simple design on pinterest done by a nail artist that goes by the name Marce7ina. She used nail tape for her stripes, but I decided to freehand it, this kinda made my lines a bit wobbly, but it's ok.

31DC2013 Day 2: Orange

Day 2: Orange Monarch butterfly! I've been dying to do this for some time now & finally have a perfect excuse, yay!