Saturday, July 31, 2010

Water bird and crystal sands

Hello ladies,

I absolutely adore water birds. They are so majestic, often evoking feelings of tranquility. There was a blue heron that lived on the the pond behind my parent's house. I remember hanging laundry and the blue heron coming up on the back lawn, watching me. I once dated a man in New York City. On each trip, I walked through Central Park to visit the resident egret.

This stamping image from fauxnad plate H30 could represent several varieties of water birds. Which do you see? Perhaps with the egret on my mind, I chose Konad special polish in white. I mixed blue and purple crushed shell at the tip for a funky french. I love this look for summer.















Magens Bay Blue is one of the three shades Diamond Cosmetics released for summer. This is probably my favorite of the grouping, though Pelican Peak Purple is noteworthy. If you like blue, I recommend adding this polish to your wish list. I believe this shade has the potential to be as popular as Oh Tiff! I needed two coats for opacity. The application was simple and quite pleasing.

Adding crushed shell to a manicure was so much easier than I expected. I applied fresh top coat to the tip of my nail and dipped it into the tiny pot containing the purple shell. I took a pair of fine point tweezers and tapped the shell up the nail to distribute it evenly.

I then dabbed topcoat in some of the negative space at the tip. I used the tweezers to sprinkle the blue shell into the remaining open area. The tweezers helped me to tap the blue shell into position. I added a thick coat of topcoat to the entire nail. The crushed shell is adhering well. It feels textural, but not at all sharp. I will definitely be using this again. It looks so much like a mosaic.

Magens Bay Blue was sent to me for review. US residents can purchase this color at diamondcosmetics.com. Please see this post for international shipping options. For the opportunity to win 12 polishes from Diamond Cosmetics plus a treatment product, stop by the Ladies' Choice of Diamonds Giveaway. The contest closes at the end of the day August 1st. Hurry on over to enter if you haven't had the chance yet.

Image plate H30 was provided for my consideration. The full line of stamping nail art plates is available at chez-delaney.com. Would you like a chance to win your choice of eight design plates? Stop by the Pick Your Plates Giveaway to enter.

The Art Club crushed shell is part of the new additions to the Sprinkles line. These will be available for a fall release date. They were sent to me for review.

Happy painting, ladies!

Filigree band

Hello ladies,

Today I am wearing a jewel red jelly polish called Private School Girl. This shade is from the upcoming Fall Collection from Diamond Cosmetics. I love the pairing of red and black together. Preferring a simple design, I decided to create a decorative band on each nail. The pattern reminds me of lace trim and also filigree work on wedding bands.

I stamped the filigree design from image plate H28 with Konad black gold princess polish. I adore the added sheen from the metallic stamping polish. I placed a crystal at the edge of each tip. It's an elegant and classic look.










The bees and I share the flowers.



A bumble bee hovered, facing the camera. What a little diva!

The rest of the unicorn is just off frame.

Private School Girl is a jelly red with high shine. I am wearing three coats. Two coats will be slightly sheer, but still offers even coverage. The formula dries quickly. If you prefer opacity, the third coat requires little additional effort.

I have to admit that even though I like Private School Girl a great deal, I would have rather seen a deep blue or a royal purple jelly polish to round out the Fall Collection a bit. Diamond Cosmetics makes a good jelly. I would like a whole glossy rainbow of jelly shades added to their core line.

Private School Girl was sent to me for review. This color is part of the upcoming Fall Collection. I will announce release dates when they become available. US residents can purchase Diamond Cosmetics polishes from diamondcosmetics.com. International residents can see this post for available e-tailers. Stop by the Ladies Choice of Diamonds Anniversary Giveaway for a chance to win 12 polishes and a treatment product. The giveaway ends on Sunday night so head on over if you haven't yet had the chance.

Design plate H28 was provided for my consideration. For the full line of stamping nail art products, please visit chez-delaney.com. Check out the Pick Your Plates Giveaway for a chance to win your choice of eight stamping nail art plates.

Happy painting, ladies!


Friday, July 30, 2010

Blog Feature and a garden friend

Hello ladies,

I was invited to play 20 questions with the 24/7 Mom. Heather posted my responses in a little feature about painted Lady fingers. Check out her blog too when you make the visit. She hosts some great giveaways, writes about family life, and reviews products geared towards adults and children alike.

What I found so incredibly sweet is that her six-year-old daughter Katiana loves my nails and sits in front of the computer and looks through all the blog pictures. I hope she is charmed by this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly and that you are as well!
I was taking pictures of flowers and look who came in for a landing!

It was interesting to me how the shape of a butterfly with partially opened wings mimics the shape of the stems leading to their favorite flowers.
I love how the center body of the butterfly matches the wings.


I don't know if many of you realize how close I am to garden fauna when I take my pictures. This butterfly did not seem to mind my attention. When I posed my hand close to her, she backed around and ruffled the edges of her tail against my fingertips.

She didn't fly away. She stayed and enjoyed the flowers long after I was lured by the bright colors of other blooms in the distance.

I will be back tonight with a manicure post.

Happy painting, ladies!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Squirrel Moon

Hello ladies,

Thinking about the course of my life, I can name certain constants. One of which would be squirrels. Throughout much of my childhood, my room faced a tall oak tree. I could see the feisty acrobatics of squirrels through my bedroom window. They would leap from light branches with the surety of circus performers on a tightrope.

Squirrels were omnipresent on my college campus, so much so that a familiar joke was the squirrels would start an uprising as we slept. I used to live a close walk from Independence Park in Philadelphia. This is the Historic District often pictured in books and postcards. I would sit on an Indian tapestry near Carpenter's Hall with a novel.

There was a friendly squirrel who liked to share carrot walnut muffins with me. He would take pieces of food directly from my hand. Eventually I would give him the paper muffin cup. He would run off and sit at a safe distance, enjoy the last tiny bites until the paper was shredded. It was understood that I would clean up after him.

I promise to capture some squirrel antics for you in the future. For today I offer this manicure. I began with one of the new shades from the Diamond Cosmetics Fall Collection: Sunset in Sedona. Using Konad black gold Princess polish, I stamped squirrels from fauxnad plate H21. I added a golden crescent Moon to each nail. In every place I have ever lived, there has always been a squirrel on a branch looking at the Moon. There is your bit of whimsy for the day.




My owl ring is masquerading as a pineapple next to the golden flower.





I am loving this shade. Sunset in Sedona is a red brown creme. The polish was easily opaque in two coats. The creme formula from Diamond Cosmetics seems to be improving. The cremes from the Fall Collection go on a little smoother than those from past releases. Sunset in Sedona had near perfect application.

Sunset in Sedona was sent to me for review. This color is part of the upcoming Diamond Cosmetics Fall Collection. I will post release date information when it becomes available. US residents can purchase Diamond Cosmetics polishes from diamondcosmetics.com. If you are an international reader, I have purchasing options listed in this post. For a chance to win 12 polishes from Diamond Cosmetics plus your choice of a treatment product, check out the Ladies' Choice of Diamonds Anniversary Giveaway.

Image design plate H21 was sent for my consideration. For a full selection of stamping nail art image plates, check out chez-delaney.com. Please visit the Pick Your Plates at Chez-Delaney giveaway for an opportunity to win eight design plates of your choice. Best of luck!

Happy painting, ladies!