Challenge 18 - Water Marble.

HI!

I promised I'd be back sooner, but bleurgh.

Still, I think I'm getting back to my old self.

This challenge is Water Marble. Not going to lie, I HATE WATER MARBLE!!! When I first got into nail art, it was this technique that made me fall in love. I spent so long trying to perfect it,  I was so proud the first time I managed it.

I then completely overdid it. Again, & again, & again. Doing anything too many times will turn love into hate. I last did Marble back on Valentines Day, so it has been a while, & it took me more time than I'm proud to admit to.

They're not as good as I would have wanted, but I did get fed up with them. The light was also TERRIBLE!

However, guys, those are my REAL nails! Oh, yes! I've had extensions & fakes for so long, as my nails have always been weak, & nothing worked to strengthen or harden them. Then in Sainburys they had a nail hardener on sale, so thought, why the hell not, it was only a couple of quid, & I had that in change.

I've only been using it for a couple of weeks, & it's AMAZING! I keep thinking I have false nails on as they're so hard & long! I haven't tried filing them into shape yet, hence why they're no so pretty. I've never been able to file my nails as they'd just split, so I'm going to wait a couple more weeks before attempting that!

The next challenge is Rainbow! I have a friend who has done a mani for the challenge. It's pretty!

Last, but not least:

JOHN HAS NEW KITTENS!

Happy Valentines Day!

It's here!!! One of my most favourite days of the year. Now, I must confess, we don't actually celebrate Valentines Day as such. I get all excited, but the Mr, not so much. However this year, he's cooking me dinner! I know it doesn't sound like much, but due to his disability, he can't stand for long periods of time, & he can easily fall if his hip locks, but he's said this year he's attempting it. For most people it will be the norm, but when you have a disabled partner, these small things actually mean the most. That isn't to say I wont have my phone at the ready to call for an ambulance if he manages to set the place alight!

Onto my nails! We got all our things back from Alans sister, & I had FIFTY nail polishes, all of which seem to be in a good condition. Happy Kay! I broke a couple of nails sorting things out, but because I worked so hard, I decided to treat myself & sort out my extensions. Took me bloody ages. Where it's not something you need to do very often, it's hard to practice. Still pretty nails again, although I've gone shorter than usual.

I've been undecided about what mani to have for the big 14/02. In the end, I decided to Water Marble again. It's fun, & the results are pretty. Plus the more you do it, the better you become.

Super bad clean up job, but I considering how time consuming this technique is, & how late it is, there was no way I was taking a chance of ruining the design & starting again. Luckily, you can't tell in real life, it's only in the extra large imaging it show.

I'm still having trouble with the air bubbles on a couple of nails. Any girls have any advice? The water I used was freezing, considering it's been snowing outside & we have no heating, that was only to be expected. It hasn't gone too bad.

I used the Sally Hansen Lavender as my base colour, then used all three SHs in the water marbling. I then went over with the Miss Sporty Pink glitter, finishing with the Top Coat. Easy Peasy!

I hope all you girls have an amazing Valentines Day. & because it is the day of love, let me be mushy & add a pic of me & the Mr.

Getting my Water Marble on.

Hi guys.

So today I went back to one of my favourite styles of Nail Art. The water marble. A lot of people seem to dread this one, but I adore it.
I can never seem to avoid air bubbles, but as they say, practise makes perfect.

I'm sure there are tidier ways of doing this, but although I try, I still seem to make a mess.

For this design, I used three Sally Hansons: Fairy Teal, Yellow Kitty, & Lavender Cloud. It's the first time I've used this brand in Water Marbling, I usually use Barry M, but these spread like a dream.

Not the prettiest in-bowl design I've done, but it's so much fun. I will say, if you haven't tried this, don't use a bowl that you love. I use one of our breakfast bowls, as I didn't realise it would be useless to use for anything other than playing.

A lot of people say it works at room temperature. I don't really follow this rule. I put 3/4 warm water from the tap, & top up with cold water. I then put a white base coat on, & tape up my fingers. By the time that is done & my base is dry, I go right ahead & it always seems to work.

The clean up after isn't much fun, & I don't know about anyone else, but whilst I have been converted to Sally Hansen, I find it stains my cuticles & surrounding skin, despite using acetone & warm soapy water. My fingers have started looking bruised from when I painted them two days ago. If anyone has any advice on how to make my skin lovely & pink again, I'd appreciate it.

I have another idea I want to play with that I saw on another blog, So there shall be a post on that eventually.

So until then...

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