The Digit-al Dozen Does Red, Gold, and Green: Gradient!

Day 4 of The Digit-al Dozen Does Red, Gold, and Green, and I am busting out a gradient! Look at me, just getting back into the groove of things doing tape manis, waterfalls, and now a gradient! Boo-yah! :) Hahaha!

I really do love a good gradient, they are just gorgeous! For this gradient I used China Glaze Starboard and Zoya Sooki. I then applied on the three fingers Orly Shining Star but it wasn't enough so I added Orly Prisma Gloss Gold. Yep, there's the gold sparkle I was looking for!

For my accent nail I stamped using Barry M Gold Foil Effects and Bundle Monster BM-302. I fished out some glitter from Ho Ho Ho by Glimmer by Erica to accent the holly berries! I topped it off with my good ol' trusty top coat HK Girl.

Don't forget to check out the other ladies and their manis!

The Digit-al Dozen Does Red, Gold, and Green: Glitter!

Hey Owlets, guess what! I'm back! I'm hoping to get back to my regular schedule of posting soon. But this week is The Digit-al Dozen Week and I couldn't miss another one. :) And this week's theme is Red, Gold, and Green!

I decided to start the week with a simple mani. I was looking over my pinterest and saw this mani by Storm and Stars. I knew it would work with this theme!

I used Barry M Gold Foil Effects as a base for three nails and Sally Hansen Emerald City as the accent. I love the shimmer of Emerald City! I then sponged on Ho Ho Ho by Glimmer by Erica, all topped off with HK Girl Top Coat.

Simple, yet sparkly and fun!

Don't forget to check out the other ladies and their manis!

33DC Day 7: Art featuring Oldest Untried

Well shoot. I read this prompt a bit wrong! I thought it was oldest untried, not art with oldest untried. Well, an indie glitter is art right? I think so! :) The gorgeous Wet n Wild polish is called Rustic and it's from their Craze line. It is just lovely! I've had it for almost 5 years now, bought it for a Halloween costume and never used it. This is two coats.

Macro shot! Just check out this amazing glitter from Glimmer by Erica. It's called Season's Change. It is from last fall, and I love it! This is two coats. Her formulas are always spot on!

Just because I had to show the glitter again! :) 

One last full image. I love this combo, very fall, which I am so excited for! I also used HK Girl Top Coat.

Don't forget to check out the others doing the challenge! Would you like to join? Then come visit: Crumpet's Nail Tarts on Facebook!

Indie Month Day 20 and TGIF: Glimmer by Erica Cherry Blossom

Welcome to another TGIF: Thank Goodness, Indy Indie Friday! Fridays make it so easy to continue my Indie month! :) Today I had a request from Emma over at Manicurity to swatch Glimmer by Erica: Cherry Blossom. So here it is!

Here is a layer skittle of Cherry Blossom. (l-r) Four coats, three coats, two coats, and one coat. Super easy to work with glitter that isn't too sparse but not quite enough for full coverage with four coats. Definitely a top coater. Which is I still absolutely love!

This is inspired by what else but cherry blossom trees in spring! It is a clear base with multiple sizes and shapes of different pinks and some small green hexes. And yes there is square glitter!

Here is a mani that I absolutely fell in love with! I used two coats of China Glaze Pelican Gray on all nails. Dude, Pelican has a gorgeous shimmer! I then used one coat of China Glaze Glistening Snow on my accent nail. I topped it all with one coat of Glimmer by Erica Cherry Blossom. You can see there was a bit of a glitter spreading problem on my index but that is more my fault than the polish. I had too much on the brush. Oops! >_<

A quick shot of the the shimmer in China Glaze Pelican Gray. So pretty!

I love Glimmer by Erica's Cherry Blossom. I do believe it is unique to my collection! It's such a perfect Spring top coat! And yes, it is still available at her shop!

You can purchase Cherry Blossom and many other fabulous polishes at Glimmer by Erica etsy shop.
Don't forget to check out Glimmer by Erica Facebook page to be kept up-to-date!

Don't forget to check out Emma over at Manicurity (my partner in crime) and her TGIF post!

January and February's Haul and a ton of Catrice!

First off, these have my old watermark. I edited these awhile back, sorry! :)

Today's post is my January Haul! And I am so excited for these pretties here! Catrice! Yes! I so wish these were available here in the US. You have already seen some of these being used in my posts. But I thought I would show you the whole haul! :)

 I got these from Jewli over at Fanning the Fumes. Thank you Jewli! So, at the top we have a polish that isn't Catrice but Essence Aquarius. Then we have Catrice No Snow Petrol, Big City Life San Francisco. On the bottom we have: Catrice Greys Kelly, Put Lavender on Agenda, Purpleized, Steel My Heart, How I Matt Your Mother, and Steel My Soul.

Oops! This little guy was forgotten and came later in the mail. See! Not all of them were purple and teal! :) This is Catrice ACid/DC

Up next is the rest of my haul!

Here we have China Glaze Angel Wings and Glistening Snow. Thank you Sally's clearance sale! Woot!

The minis of the OPI So So Skullicious. Hi Pumpkin, A-Rose from the Dead, Mourning Glory, and Candlelight. Nothing too special about these I just liked some of the colors and the packaging is fun! Got this from Ulta.

Here we have OPI Thanks a Windmillon. This was not on sale but I had a coupon and saw so many swatches lately of it that I knew I needed it! Then we have OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls. Debbie over at The Crumpet swears by this polish, so I got it for clearance at Ulta! :) Next we have a cute little Orly Velvet Rope. He was clearance at Sallys and just too cute to pass up!

This is China Glaze Def Defying and Recycle. I got these from my beauty supply store I go to! Cheaper prices rock! :)

Also from my beauty supply store some Sation polishes! Feliz Navi-Doll a grey shimmer! Shyest Shade, similar to China Glaze Snowglobe. And 3 Freedom, a light taupe.

Some amazing Indies! Pretty & Polished Steampunk. Needed it for the name and the colors! Gorgeous! Next to it is Hit Polish Like, Gag Me With Glitter. I won this little gorgeous guy because I won the naming contest! Yep I named this one! To me it looked like all the colors of the '80s so valley speak was a must! Like, gag me with glitter! :)

 

I finally got the new Cheeky set that came out last year!

And finally a part of my Christmas present from my sister! Nailz Craze NC03 plate! It took awhile to get here with some paypal issues but Natalie (the owner and creator) was very awesome and understanding! Fabulous customer service! I love this plate and can't wait to use it! :)

So that was just January. Up next is February!

These are all from Ulta Clearance! L'Oreal Tweet Me, look at those flakies and shimmer! Next we have OPI Get In The Expresso Lane and Essie Little Brown Dress. I am told these are great for stamping! Finally we have OPI Don't Touch My Tutu. 

Sally Hansen Lickety-Split Lime, Sally Hansen Gone Grey, and Revlon Iconic. More stamping polishes! And then a beautiful Essence Oh My Glitter!

Some Indies? Yes please! I came across this lovely polish Beyond the Goblin City by The Lady Varnishes. I had to get it because it's based on The Labyrinth! Next to is Glimmer by Erica Cherry Blossom and Elixir Lacquer Double D-Struction.

Back shot off:  Beyond the Goblin City by The Lady Varnishes, Glimmer by Erica Cherry Blossom, and Elixir Lacquer Double D-Struction.

Here is Slick Lacquer A Wink and a Nod. Gorgeous!

Dandy Nails! Here we have Chilled Down, Bound to Fall, and Like Disco Lemonade. Like Disco Lemonade I got in a swap from Elizabeth from NailPolish Is My Crack.

Side shots of  Dandy Nails: Chilled Down, Bound to Fall, and Like Disco Lemonade.

Some new Sation polishes! Oh My Oceania and Ego-Friendly.

China Glaze Budding Romance, Snap My Dragon, and Joy.

OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons and Unfor-Greta-Bly Blue.

I also got this China Glaze for super duper cheap but I don't know it's name!

Here is a swatch of it. What the heck? It's like textured. Did someone franken it at the supply store? I have no idea? Do any of you?

Nail decals from RLR Creations Nail Art.

A butt-load  of owl decals! I got these from ebay!

Whew! That's it! Now to catalog and put them all away! :)

TGIF: The Digit-al Dozen Does Art: 31 Day Challenge 2013! Day 11: Rainbow Nails

Oh my goodness! I had no idea how I was going to combine all my themes for today! TGIF: Thank Goodness, Indy Indie Friday; The Digit-al Dozen Does Art, and 31 Day Challenge 2013 (relaxed version). So I decided to focus on the Indie polishes themselves since they are a work of art! :) See, see what I did there? Wink wink! ;)

As I was reading a book: How To Be An Explorer of the World: Portable Art Life Museum by Keri Smith, I came across this:

"The Indo-European root of the word 'art' is 'to arrange; or 'fit together' (join). In this light, art can be pared down to its most simplistic form. We begin by collecting, then playing the the materials or objects, organizing them in a variety of ways, making new combinations, trying new things, then observing the arrangements we have made". (Keri Smith, 15)

Bah! Oh my goodness! Does that not describe us all to a "T"? We collect our tens, hundreds, or thousands of bottles of polish. Oh, we definitely play with them and organize them (by color or by brand?) New combos? Why duh! Of course! Trying new things? Yep, daily almost especially with all the nail art challenges. And oh how we "observe the arrangements we have made".....BLOGS! This is why I chose Indies for my art piece today. :)

Oh and there are a lot of photos here...just to warn you! :) Oh and these are each two coats!

First up in the rainbow is red: Elemental Styles Iron Man-ia. This is a gorgeous red jelly with red and gold glitters! Sadly she doesn't carry this polish any more and is just trying to sell her last polishes :( But she still does have some pretties available! Go visit her Elemental Styles Etsy Page

Next color in the rainbow is orange: Glimmer by Erica's Spicy Pumpkin. This is from her fall line and is a clear based glitter with orange, brown, garnet, and red glitters. I love her glitters! So many fun unique combos! Visit her Glimmer by Erica Etsy Page

Next up is yellow: NerdLacquer Gorramit. This is from her Serenity Trio. Wowza are her polishes amazing! Sadly she's been away for a while but has announced plans on returning! Polish crazed ladies rejoice! :)

How about green: Once Upon a Polish The Beanstalk. Sadly another amazing Indie polish maker who has stopped making polishes. I loved her concept and glitters! This is a green glitter in a clear base.

Here's blue: Rainbow Polish Sky Walker. From her Star Set 2 (inspired by Star Wars!) Epic geeky win! This is a "slightly milky blue base containing small blue glitters, blue"lightsaber" glitter bars, white square glitters and small blue dust glitter". Visit her Rainbow Polish Etsy Shop (and this polish is still there!)

On to indigo: A England Tristam is the closest I could get. And it is stunning! Though they are a bit more big-leagued, A England is still and Indie! Visit her shop A England.

And last but not least purple: Dollish Polish Hylian Princess. From her Zelda Duo (another epic geeky win!) This was a huge lemming of mine finally squashed! It is purple, white, and gold glitters in a clear base. Visit her Dollish Polish shop

Big ol' lineup! :)

Backside lineup!

Now, did I cheat a bit for today? Nah, I don't think so! So many talented women create gorgeous works of art for our fingers! We must praise them! And of course give them our money! :)

Don't forget to check out the other ladies in The Digit-al Dozen:
 

And doing the 31 Day Challenge 2013 (relaxed version):