Week 26: Neon

My polish budget right now is sadly non-existent, so I had to make do with what I already have in my stash. I used the brightest color I have, Professional 10 Orange You Glad I Said Yes. This is 2 coats stamped with Sally Hansen Lightning. Actually I've been wanting to use this image for a while, just never had the right idea.

I only stamped the tips on most of my nails, and did the whole nail for my pinky. Yup, back down to nubbins....guess I need to take vitamins again to try and beef my nails up again.

Done with paid sewing for a little while...maybe I can get some more of this wardrobe put together!

Until next time!
-Lynnette

Week 24 & 25: flag and pride

This may technically be cheating, but it did my flag and pride mani's together. It actually looked great together.
For the flag nails I used China Glaze Blue Years Eve, Sally Hansen Unbreakable Heart, stamped with Wet n'Wild white and a white striper for the stripes on the ring finger.

 For my rainbow thumbs I used:
 Red: Sally Hansen Unbreakable Heart
Orange: Professional 10 Orange You Glad I Said Yes
Yellow: Sally Hansen Lightning
Green: Julep Leah
Blue: China Glaze Blue Year's Eve
Purple: Sally Hansen Purple Pizzazz

When making the rainbow, I used the yellow as the base color, then did orange and green (because they build on yellow well), then red and blue, then purple.
All fingers got a coat of Sally Hansen Ice Queen to sparkle everything up!

Ok, now i'm officially caught up with my challenge manis. Still working on paid sewing work, but getting to the end of those projects too.

Until later!
-Lynnette

Week 23: Ombre mani

When I looked at the list before I started this mani, I noticed that ombre and gradient mani's were fairly close together. I looked what each one was, and came up with pretty much the same pictures for both......So I used the sponging method to do what I'm calling an ombre.

This mani used L.A. Colors in Splash, then sponged with China Glaze Blue Years Eve and Essie Dive Bar. Didn't turn out too bad honestly.

Before this look, I did do something different. I used 5 different blues and painted each finger a different color. It actually almost matched my new striped shirt! However that mani chipped off before I was able to get pictures of it.

Well I'm a bit behind now. I haven't even fathomed a flag mani and the Pride one is quickly approaching! Maybe I can combine the 2 somehow....
Until then!
-Lynnette

The First of Many......

Ok, so I have the first two tops of my new wardrobe completed. They may not be perfect in every way, but I’m pretty pleased with them.

The first top I used as a wearable muslin for a pattern I originally wanted to cut out of silk (if you refer to the Original Wardrobe post, the silk piece is the white, blue and brown stripe at the top of the overall shot). I’m so glad that I decided NOT to cut the silk first. While I did a great sewing job (well, the best that I can do), I’m not happy with how it fits. I cut the right size, but it ended up feeling like a tent. So in the end, I did a bit of unorthodox fiddling to make it more….Lynnette.

Next, I cut a pattern I originally used in maternity sewing. Again, there was a lot of tweaking to the garment once it was done. It’s hard to tell on this fabric, but there are front pleats that the ties get sewn into. These had to be lengthened considerably to not only accommodate my boobs, but avoid being “maternity”. Then I took in almost 2” from the center back, and straightened up the side seams (which when I use this pattern again, I will do this before I cut). Not perfect alterations, but decent. I feel longer and leaner in this top than I usually do and that’s the ultimate goal. The only other change I might make is shortening the hem. I love a long top, but this is a bit too long (and I think it might have the maternity “dip” in the front).

What am I going to make next? I think I will tackle a pair of shorts in the bright blue solid to go with these. Or possibly a skirt of some sort. Well, after I finish the tops I have cut out for the hubby :).

Until later!

-Lynnette

Week 22: Splatter mani

I’m not sure how to feel about this one. I like the colors used; I wanted something a bit edgy, but not over the top. My splatter mani is pretty subtle compared to a lot of ones out there. I’m not sure about the technique mainly.

First I didn’t have a little straw, so I took a regular straw squished it in half and taped it that way. It worked ok. I found that to get a good color pay off I had to dip the straw in the polish, and then hold my finger over the other end (like what you do with soda sometimes). If that still didn’t work, I then had to thin the polish a bit.

The base is Sally Hansen Black Diamonds, splattered with Wet n’Wild Metallica, Stay Outta My Bismuth (from their Chrome collection) and Chameleon Dreamer. I love the Chrome collection that Wet n’Wild has out now, and Stay Outta My Bismuth is great by itself (no pics, sorry!). However it only comes in a mini bottle! Chameleon Dreamer works so well in this combo because in some lights it looks silvery white, but in others it takes on a pinky hue.

Overall the mani looks nice and I love the colors I used. But I feel that it’s a lot of work for just a little bit of color pay off. Clean up wasn’t that bad….if you tape your nails first!

Well, hopefully this can get posted before the next challenge is due! Spooty internet on the fritz messes up my mojo!

-Lynnette