Challenge 3 - Polka Dots!

Hi Guys.
I know I promised a blog post at the weekend, so I'm a little late (oops!) Real life got in the way. I was planning on doing this earlier, but I had to go watch my baby (he's 19!) Brother play football. It tried snowing, & I got excited. Whilst his team lost, it was funny listening to the other teams goal keeper getting shitty because he let another goal in!

However, to make up for it, I did three, yes THREE different attempts. I really need to get a job. I have way too much time on my hands!

Attempt One:

I don't know what you guys thought of the Xmas sales, but in my area, they were terrible. The best I found was, surprisingly Sainsburys, about a week after. All their Christmassy things were 70% off. This included nail-y goodness! I've never heard of LB brand before. I got a manicure set for £1.50 & a foil kit for £2.25. Turns out they are actually a really good brand. The varnishes I've tested dry very quickly, & after coats you've got a beautiful nail.

I'll admit now, I've never been a huge fan of foils. It almost seems like cheating, but I actually quite liked them. They're very easy to put on, however for something simple like this, I think I'd rather do it by hand.

I roped the lovely Megan into letting me play with her nails, & this was the end result:

They really are quite eye-catching. I did them after eating a huge kebab, so was feeling all bloated & sick, so was probably a lot easier to do than my attempt. One downside though, the bits you cut off, I just put them on the desk. Turns out, it's near impossible to get back off once it's stuck to glass. Bad times.

Like I said, I think I'd only use foils that had a very intricate design, not something like this.

Attempt Two:

I'm going to use this section to gush about my lovely boyfriend. We've been together nearly five years I think. (Please tell me I'm not the only one who doesn't have an anniversary date? It happened over time, there was no one defining moment when we decided we were together) He has early onset Osteoarthritis & is currently waiting for a hip replacement. He's in pain constantly, but never takes it out on me, which is quite common in these situations. He really takes an interest in my new hobbies. We have a silent agreement, I pay attention when he talks about his shooty PS3 games, & he pays attention when I go "ooh pretties"

I told him about this weeks challenge, & he wanted me to try this out. Everyone loves Ladybirds (Ladybugs if you're weird :-P ) This really didn't take long at all, as you can probably see, plus the design was attempted on my right hand, which never ends up pretty. 

I was an idiot & forgot to put the pupils in, poor, blind Ladybirds. I used LBs brand, which I mentioned above, for the red. The Black & white I used Rios nail art pens. I'm a big fan of Rio. They're affordable & they give you so much flexibility with your designs. My only fault with them, is they take too long to dry, & after a couple of hours they're usually ruined if you were in a rush. I think if you leave it half hour before putting a top coat on, then it is fine, but I didn't have the time with these. I love the idea behind it, so will definitely come back to this design when I have a bit more time, & hopefully improve it a lot. 

Still, I promised I'd post photos of attempts I'm not so proud of, so here you go.

Attempt 3:

Riiight, this one. This is the one I spoke about in the previous blog. I found a picture a few months ago of a Polka dot design. I remember it was stunning. I remember it looked impossible to do. I don't remember where I found it.

This is purely from memory. I don't think it's anything like the gorgeous art I found, but unless I had it in front of me, I don't think I would have been able to achieve it anyway.

Tada:

So yes, nothing like I wanted, but it still has Polka dots! At the moment I'm having to use my HTC Desire HD for a camera (which is rubbish FYI) So I don't know why some parts look dirty. It isn't in natural light.

I hit a bit of a stumbling block in way of my dotting tool. I only have one, but it's very small, & I wanted bigger dots. I used  my brains though, & used the ends of two nail art brushes though. I think the dots are slightly too big, but better than being too small.

If I ever find that bloody picture again, I will attempt it properly, as it was just beautiful.

You will be getting another blog post this week hopefully, as I have an idea of something I want to try, although I have no idea if I'll manage it. We shall see.

So, Until next time...

x