Well, I Declare!


Happy Fourth of July to my US readers!

I love doing holiday themed nails, so I knew that I was going to do a design for today. I wanted to do something different than the stars and stripes, so I did my interpretation of the Declaration of Independence! Did you know that

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

has been called 'one of the best-known sentences in the English language"?

I've always been a history nerd. Yes, I was that kid (the only one) in the biography section of the library checking out historical biographies, presidential biographies, etc. for fun rather than for homework. Though my favorite president to read about then (and now) was Abraham Lincoln, I still loved burying my nose in an ancient hardcover about Washington, Jefferson, pretty much name it. Fascinating stuff, really.

Anyway, to the nails. I sponged them to look like aged parchment, then painted certain recognizable words on each hand.





I used: American Apparel California Trooper as a base, then sponged China Glaze Classic Camel in spots, then sponged a mixture of China Glaze Classic Camel and American Apparel California Trooper over that, then sponged a little bit of CND Blackjack over that and on the tip edges.

And as a bonus, a picture of my guilty boyfriend. He attempted to make me watch Star Wars by turning it on the TV when I was getting ready, so when I came back out, I was half-watching it while I was putting on my shoes, that is, until I saw R2-D2 and realized what was on, and stopped watching it. To explain this, I am 30 years old and have never watched any of the Star Wars movies, and I intend to keep it that way. :)

Who me?!  Never. I had no idea that there was a Star Wars marathon on TV!

Have a happy and SAFE Fourth of July everyone!!  Keep all your fingers!

27 comments

  1. Love them! And totally with you on the whole Star Wars front ;]

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  2. ooh very nice! so much different than every other 4th mani i've seen before

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  3. Thankss; It's also my birthday today ;)
    Your nails look very pretty! ♥

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  4. Wow, that's awesome! The sponging really looks like parchment! :)

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  5. Well I wouldn't waste a minute on I, II, or III, but I watch the original 3 (IV, V and VI) every year. I lurve them.

    Nice to see something besides stars and stripes although that's all my talents are up to.

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  6. you have truly outdone yourself with these babies! amazeaballs!

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  7. Awwww, but I LOVE the Star Wars movies! They are totally worth the time to watch them (the original trilogy that is), trust me :o)

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  8. hah nice!! Loving the bigger pictures! I've never seen star wars either, unless you count the Family guy star war spoofs!

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  9. Love this one sis, looks fantastic (and unique)!! I think that next historical manicure you should focus on my nerdtastic obsession with history...Southwest USA Anasazi rock art ;-)

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  10. Very nice play on independence day without red-white-blue!

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  11. I love it :D Really cool and original :)

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  12. That has got to be the coolest 4th of July mani I have seen! Star Wars is a right of passage, my 6 year old is already a fan!

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  13. dear melissa!!!!!!!!!my name is Ayesha Sami from Pakistan...........i m a big fan of urs........i wanted 2 tell u that u have forgot 2 write "topped it all off with 2 coats of seche vite top coat" or u might have not applied it........well i just noticed

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  14. This is the most amazing design ever. So clever. Love it.
    Leslie K.

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  15. I love how you did the base color with the gradient.

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  16. whoa, i am FLOORED with your steady hand, that calligraphy is beautiful. also reading through "Team of Rivals" right now so hey, go Lincoln and nice timing all around! :)

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  17. Wonderful post. Nice one. Keep it up.

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  18. Of COURSE you used Seche Vite Top Coat! What else would you use to protect your fantastic miniature artwork?

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  19. It's awesome work and I like the nail painting these are too good.

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Go on, comment... you know you want to. ;-P