Cut on the Dotted Line

With the economy the way it is these days, I'm sure that I'm not the only one that cuts coupons to help save money, right? We check sales, clip coupons, and buy generics vs. name brand products...at least I do. (except Kraft Mac & Cheese, you can't go generic with that, the store brands suck...we all have to have our simple pleasures) Today's manicure was inspired by our current necessity, COUPONS! I used the dotted line with scissors image that is often around those money-saving jewels in the Sunday newspaper as a different twist on a french manicure. :)

I used Essie Bone Chilling White as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the dotted line and scissors. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Snip Snip!

Give 'em the Ol' One-Tulle!

Today I was in the fabric store and saw this super pretty aqua-metallic looking tulle, and I knew that I had to get it and try something one my nails with it. The result is a lot more 'girly' than most of my nail art, but I still kinda dig it. I doubt the crystals will last the rest of the night before I pick them off though. I wish I could have the sparkle of crystals/gems without the sticking off the nails part. :-P

I used MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious, which I just rediscovered recently in my Helmer as a base, with Orly Gumdrop for the dots and behind the crystals. I applied the tulle over a few dabs of Seche Vite top coat instead of using it on the whole nail because it made the tulle blend into the nail too much and took away its color. :)

Feelin' Blue

Last night, after 2 1/2 years living in Vegas, I finally got to see Blue Man Group perform. Holy crap was it ever worth the wait- it was amazing!! I love how three dudes that don't even talk can make me laugh for nearly 2 hours straight! Plus, when I wasn't laughing, I was in awe of what they were doing! My favorite part of the show was near the very end, but I won't spoil it for those who've never seen it. It was sooooo awesome. I hope I can go again at some point, it was a great night!! :) I loved it so much, in fact, that I was inspired to do a Blue Man Group manicure! I did the three blue guys on my index, middle and ring fingers, then I did the black of their shirts with neon paint splattered on them! :)

Thought I'd show a blacklight picture, since they use blacklight in their performance!

I used ALDO Sea You In Ibiza for a base for the blue men, with American Apparel Hassid for the pinky and thumb nails. To shade the faces, I used a mix of American Apparel Hassid and ALDO Sea You In Ibiza, then to highlight, I used a mix of ALDO Sea You In Ibiza and Orly Snowcone, then topped with Color Club Chelsea Girl. For the eyes, I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud, American Apparel Hassid for the pupils, MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious for one set of irises, a mix of MAC Blue India and L.A. Girl Army Green for the middle guy's irises, and a mixture of MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious and Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the left set of irises. For the paint splatter, I used China Glaze Sun Worshipper, China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, and Color Club Pucci-licious. Topped the middle three nails off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat, but didn't add it on the pinky and thumb because I wanted the splatter texture to stay visible.

Some pix:

They've definitely mastered the creepy stare. :-P

The band and I- they looked SO rad when performing, only the color on their costume and faces showed in the blacklight!

Today's News

So, something exciting happened to me today!! I was interviewed for the Today Show website! SO exciting, I never would have imagined that anything of that magnitude would EVER happen to me!! In honor of the article, I decided to do the Today Show logo on my nails!

I used OPI Alpine Snow Matte as a base, with Nubar Sexy Red for the red, CND Electric Orange for the darker orange, Zoya Jancyn for the lighter orange, and CND Bicycle Yellow for the yellow. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Woo!!! I'm soooo stoked! Thanks to all of YOU for being such great readers, and WELCOME to the new readers!!! :) You kick ass!! (and not the kind from yesterday's manicure)

Are You Looking At My Ass?!

Today, the decision to get the hell outta dodge was made, so Chris, the hound and I headed up to Red Rock Canyon and did some walkin' around, some hiking, and some burro-touching. (Doesn't that sound like a extremely perverse sex act?) We went to a few different areas up at Red Rock, we saw a Gray Fox, some chipmunks, a Jackrabbit (I think it was a Jackrabbit- it was a rabbit of some sort- picture is below), and some WILD BURROS!! (which I got to pet!!! <---They LOVE having between their ears scratched!!) The burros were walking across the road, and apparently they're friendly, so people often stop and the burros walk up to you. Two of them let me pet them, but the baby burro just wanted me to give it food, it was NOT about the petting. Fun thing we learned today is that Homer, the hound, is part mountain goat, he was jumping up rocks, etc. that even the two of us HUMANS were having issues with- and mind you, Homer is a 15 pound ham of a dog. (pic later) Today's manicure is in honor of my staycation today. :) The thumb is the rocks that had stripes of different color in the stone, the index finger is the cactus that stuck prickers in my jeans that later attached their barbs in my LEG (oooouuuuucccch!), the middle finger is one of the burros I pet, and the ring and pinky finger are another part of red rock canyon! :)

I used OPI What's With the Cattitude? as a base for all nails. For the red rock themed nails, I used OPI Ginger Bells for the rocks, with American Apparel Palm Springs to highlight, and mixed with Barielle Unraveled Rust to shade. For the cactus, I used Pure Ice Wild Thing as a base for the cactus, and then a mixture of OPI Green-wich Village and OPI Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow in different quantities to make the different shades of green on the cactus, and for the cactus pears, I used Color Club Ms. Socialite, and for the cactus spines, I used OPI Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow. For the burro, I used MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious for the majority of the burro, for the muzzle, ears, and around the eye area, I used American Apparel California Trooper, which I also mixed with MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious to highlight the coat of the burro, and American Apparel Hassid to shade and for the eye and nose. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Some pictures from today...

Burros!!!

Gray Fox

The Jackrabbit (?)

Me and the hound.

Me and the hound again- about a mile into a hike and sweaty. :-D

Red Rock

Stripey rocks at Red Rock

Red Rocks

Yup, that's me, and I'm petting a WILD BURRO!!

(Now THAT'S a nice ass.)

Under Construction

With it being Labor Day weekend here in the States, lots of people are on vacation, and vacation means road trips!! A familiar sight to most travelers this weekend will be those ubiquitous orange signs. 'Left Lane Closed Ahead', 'Workers Present', 'Prepare to Stop', 'Detour'. These signs mean waiting is ahead! :-D In Michigan, the old joke was that the orange traffic cones were the state tree. :-P As an homage to all the travelers out there this weekend, I decided to do a construction sign manicure!

I used OPI Alpine Snow Matte as a base with Color Club Wham! Pow! over it for all nails but the ring finger, where I used OPI Ginger Bells as a base, with CND Electric Orange over it. For the black, I used American Apparel Hassid, and for the stripes on the traffic barrel, I used OPI Alpine Snow Matte with Sinful Colors Smokin' Hot over the white stripes to give them the 'reflective' shimmer, and Color Club Wham! Pow! for the orange stripes, with Sinful Colors Smokin' Hot over it for the reflective shimmer. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Gotta love construction, and it's seemingly EVERYWHERE in Vegas.

On Fire-fly!

As the proverbial last weekend of summer is upon us (yes, I'm aware we technically have a few more weeks of summer), what better for today's manicure than a summery design? When I think of my summers as a kid in Michigan, I remember nights where fireflies filled the night sky, dancing here and there with their glowing butts. Fun (albeit cruel) fact, you can smear the butts on your skin and it remains glowing. (I learned this as a kid) Today's manicure was inspired by the bugs that light up our summers, fireflies!! :) Thank you to Chris for this idea!! :) (I was braindead today)

I used OPI What's With the Cattitude? as a base, with Orly Snowcone to shade, China Glaze Millennium for the mason jar lid, then mixed with American Apparel Hassid to make the rings on the lid. I also used American Apparel Hassid for the firefly bodies, with Hot Topic Glow-in-the-Dark for the butts, and Essie Bone Chilling White for the wings, as well as the jar highlight. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Ok, back to the Little House on the Prairie marathon. I'm officially sucked in, and there's no stopping now. Enjoy your labor day weekend!!! :)