31 Day Challenge Day 31 - Recreate A Manicure You Love

FINALLY!!! The last day of the challenge is upon us! I am very proud that I completed this challenge without missing a day. I am even more proud to say that I feel this has improved my nail art skills.

Today's prompt leaves so many choices, there are so many manis that I love and would love to be able to recreate. And maybe I will someday. But when I saw this particular mani in the challenge I knew which one I was going to use for today. 

I absolutely loved this mani. I have mentioned in the past that I love purses. While I don't own any Hermés, I hope to someday. And even without that, I love the color combo and style of this mani.  First up, a photo of the original mani from Sheila at Pointless Cafe.

Original Hermés Manicure from Pointless Cafe

Link to original post

My Hermés Manicure

My Hermés Manicure

My Hermés Manicure

How do you think I did? It's not as good as the original but I am pretty happy with it. I can't stop staring at my nails!

Don't forget to check out the other awesome bloggers participating in the challenge below! If you'd like to join the 30/31 Day Challenge, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below! 

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31 Day Challenge Day 30 - Inspired By A Tutorial

Happy Saturday!

I had several different tutorials in mind for the challenge today but life has been busy lately and I wound up with only an hour, right before time to post,  to do this mani. LOL So, I chose one that LOOKED fairly easy and didn't require tape (because tape manis take forever for me to do). 

I decided on this cloud tutorial from Nailside. This design ended up being more difficult than I anticipated. I think if I were to attempt this again I would use a large dotting tool for the design, I think it would make it easier (for me). 

I do love how these colors look together. I used La Femme Unica as my base, Zoya Monica as the middle color and Zoya Brie as the tip color.

Cloud Manicure

Cloud Manicure

Cloud Manicure

Don't forget to check out the other awesome bloggers participating in the challenge below! If you'd like to join the 30/31 Day Challenge, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below! 

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31 Day Challenge Day 29 - Inspired by the Supernatural

Happy Friday everyone! I didn't have much time to do today's challenge mani so I decided to go with something I thought would be fairly simple, ghosts! 

I didn't wait long enough to apply my top coat and they smeared, which I attempted to fix. I think I made them worse instead of better. LOL But I think they're pretty cute anyway.

Ghost Mani

Ghost Mani

Ghost Mani

Ghost Mani

Don't forget to check out the other awesome bloggers participating in the challenge below! If you'd like to join the 30/31 Day Challenge, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below! 

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31 Day Challenge Day 28 - Inspired by a Flag

Inspired by a flag was an easy one for me to choose. Anyone that knows me knows that I am a bit of an Anglophile (although I really love all of the UK and hope to visit there someday) so I wanted to attempt a Union Jack. 

I remember a few months back when we were celebrating the Queen's Jubilee I wanted so badly to do a Union Jack on my nails but didn't think I would be able to pull it off. I decided to stop whining and put on my big girl panties and try. And guess what, I totally surprised myself! I am really happy with how this turned out.

I used Zoya Song as my base and the red and white were Sinful Colors Nail Art Stripers in Be My Valentine and Bad Chick.

Union Jack Manicure

Union Jack Manicure

Don't forget to check out the other awesome bloggers participating in the challenge below! If you'd like to join the 30/31 Day Challenge, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below! 

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31 Day Challenge Day 27 - Inspired By Art

We are nearing the end of the challenge and I must say that I am enjoying it much more than I thought I would. While I still don't think I am "good" at nail art, I definitely think I am improving. 

This day of the challenge is definitely my favorite so far. It is my favorite because it's been kind of special for me. If you have been following me for any length of time at all you have probably seen me mention my good friend Sheila from Pointless Cafe. In fact, you more than likely follow her too. (And if you don't, you really should.) But something most people don't know about Sheila is that in addition to her amazing nails, swatches, writing and numerous other talents, she also happens to be a FABULOUS painter. So, when "Inspired by Art" came along I asked Sheila if I could use one of her paintings as inspiration and was so thrilled when she said yes. 

It was a hard to decide which of her paintings I wanted to use as my inspiration because I love them all. I tried to choose one that I felt, with my limited skills, I could replicate somewhat well. My mani did not turn out as well as her painting but I am fairly happy with it. It actually looks better in person, macro is not my friend. LOL

You can check out the rest of Sheila's amazing artwork here.

Ethereal Purple Painting by Sheila of Pointless Cafe

Inspired by Ethereal Purple Painting Manicure

Inspired by Ethereal Purple Painting Manicure

Inspired by Ethereal Purple Painting Manicure

Inspired by Ethereal Purple Painting Manicure

Inspired by Ethereal Purple Painting Manicure

Ethereal Purple Painting and my "Inspired by Ethereal Purple Painting" Manicure

What do you think of my attempt to recreate this gorgeous piece of art? I wish it had turned out better but with my skill level, I am pretty happy with it.

I want to thank Sheila again for letting me use one of her amazing paintings! ♥

Don't forget to check out the other awesome bloggers participating in the challenge below! If you'd like to join the 30/31 Day Challenge, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below! 

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31 Day Challenge Day 26 - Inspired By A Pattern

It was easy for me to decide which pattern to go with for today, I have been wanting to attempt plaid nails for a long time. They were difficult (for me), just as I had expected, but I am pretty happy with how they turned out. 

My base was Filthy Gorgeous London Judy Baby and my design was done with Revlon Sassy and Sinful Colors Nail Art Stripers in Bad Chick and Time Off.

Plaid Nails

Plaid Nails

Don't forget to check out the other awesome bloggers participating in the challenge below! If you'd like to join the 30/31 Day Challenge, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below! 

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31 Day Challenge Day 25 - Inspired By Fashion

I had several different ideas in mind for today but none that I could successfully accomplish. LOL So I flew by the seat of my pants for this one and took inspiration from one of my favorite purses. Little tidbit about me - I love purses! 

This purse is special because it was my first "nice purse" and was a gift from my mom several years ago for my birthday. I was tempted to just paint my nails a matching red and leave it at that but that seemed like cheating. I love the lining of this purse, it's a very pretty pattern, but I didn't think I could re-create it either. 

So, I took inspiration from the logo and the snake that encircles it and did a "snake" around my accent nail. I am actually quite happy with it. It's simple but sometimes simple is just what you need. As much as I like intricate nail art, I think I am happiest with my nails when there is a simple creme on them. 

I used Zoya Sooki and the gold is Milani Signature Gold.

Inspired By Fashion Manicure

Inspired By Fashion Manicure

Inspired By Fashion Manicure

Don't forget to check out the other awesome bloggers participating in the challenge below! If you'd like to join the 30/31 Day Challenge, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below! 

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31 Day Challenge Day 24 - Inspired By A Book

Hello everyone! I was super excited for today's challenge! I didn't start reading Harry Potter until this year (yes, I am WAY behind) and I absolutely LOVE it! I am so glad I finally read it and caught up with the rest of the world. LOL

Since I wasn't into the HP series back when it was new and books were still being written (and movies still being made), I never did HP nails when other bloggers were celebrating movie releases and such. This seemed like the perfect occasion to attempt some HP nails of my own!

Crest and description of each house at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

The Deathly Hallows symbol - representative of The Elder Wand, The Resurrection Stone and The Invisibility Cloak

I decided to do one nail for each house and to place the Deathly Hallows symbol on my thumb. 

Keep your eyes open and see if you can spot all the different "props" I used!

Harry Potter nails with a snitch

Harry Potter nails with a snitch

Harry Potter nails with Hedwig

Harry Potter nails with Hedwig

Harry Potter nails with a time turner

Harry Potter nails with a wand (of course!)

Harry Potter nails with a wand

Colors used in this mani:

Index finger (Slytherin) - Emerald Street and China Glaze Cheers To You
Middle finger (Ravenclaw) - Zoya Song and Nails Inc. Old Bond St.
Ring finger (Gryffindor) - Nails Inc. Manchester and Milani Signature Gold
Pinky (Hufflepuff) - Milani Yellow Whiz and Milani Black Swift
Thumb (Deathly Hallows symbol) - Milani Black Swift and Sinful Colors Nail Art Striper in Bad Chick

What do you think of my Harry Potter nails? I am pretty darn proud of them!


Don't forget to check out the other awesome bloggers participating in the challenge below! If you'd like to join the 30/31 Day Challenge, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below! 

31 Day Challenge Day 23 - Inspired By A Movie

When I as trying to think of which movie I should use as my inspiration I had several in mind. I love Alfred Hitchcock, I became obsessed with his movies when I was around 12 years old and went crazy watching every single movie he ever made. The very first one I saw was Psycho and it is still one of my favorites. Some of my other Alfred Hitchcock favorites are Charade, Suspicion, Vertigo, Rear Window, The Birds, The Man Who Knew Too Much,  I could go on... LOL

But, back to Psycho. I'm sure you all know what it's about - if you don't, where have you been? LOL Most people remember the shower scene (and accompanying music) which can be heard in the video below. (This is just an image and music, not the actual scene from the movie.)

And now for the mani. I did a black and white background (I sponged black, white and grey over a grey background) and added some "blood drips" at the top using a striping brush. I am very pleased with how this turned out.

Psycho Manicure - Inspired By A Movie

Psycho Manicure - Inspired By A Movie

Psycho Manicure - Inspired By A Movie

Psycho Manicure - Inspired By A Movie

Don't forget to check out the other awesome bloggers participating in the challenge below! If you'd like to join the 30/31 Day Challenge, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below! 

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31 Day Challenge Day 22 - Inspired By A Song

Happy Friday everyone! I was stumped on this part of the challenge for a while. I kept trying to think of a way to turn my favorite songs into some form of nail art. I never could figure out how to do that so I went a different route and chose a song that had a very visual title - Purple Rain. 

I used Nails Inc. Westminster (one of my favorite purple cremes) as my base and Layla Hologram Effect Ultra Violet for the "raindrops." I tried to make the drops smaller at the top and larger at the tip to give the illusion of rainfall - my middle finger is the best executed. LOL

Purple Rain

Purple Rain

Purple Rain

Don't forget to check out the other awesome bloggers participating in the challenge below! If you'd like to join the 30/31 Day Challenge, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below! 

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