Argyle and newsprint!

I'm not feeling too wordy tonight, so without further ado, here are my two most recent designs!

Argyle print! I personally love most prints, except maybe paisley...but I'm especially a fan of houndstooth and argyle. I had seen some argyle nails online but didn't think I could pull it off...seemed too hard. But I saw one called "big argyle" that seemed more doable. I used tape to make the four diamonds with (relatively) straight lines, and then I crisscrossed over those with a white nail art pen. I ended up really liking this - yes, I know my lines aren't perfectly straight or even and it's sloppy in some places but for a first attempt, I'm happy.

Another shot, without flash. By the way, I think part of my shakiness is because I finished this up at about 7 am. I was so thrown off by working midnights that on my nights off I just stayed awake and did nail stuff. Early in the mornings, right before I went to bed, I was somewhat wobbly and I think I'd do better if I were more awake!

And my most recent design - I did this last night!! I LOVE it.

Finally,  my first ever attempt at newsprint nails! I tried it once before, but failed miserably because I tried using nail polish remover and not alcohol. I think I just didn't read the tutorial all the way through, haha. I originally got this idea from my boyfriend's mom and I finally tried it out last night because I needed something that was fun yet professional for a job interview I had today! This was also the first manicure where I tried the acetone/paintbrush cleanup technique for around the cuticles that I saw on The Nailasaurus. It worked great! I've never had such clean lines around the nail. Too bad my cuticles are horrible. Stress will do that to ya. Anyway, above is my left hand and the hand I did first, so the letters aren't as crisp or clear.

By my second hand, I had learned to soak the nail longer and press down the newspaper longer and harder, so they came out much clearer. Well, I don't know if it was my great nails or not, but I got the job!!! Imagine that, I search for jobs for months - NOTHING - until now and I'm getting offers left and right and unfortunately have to narrow it down between jobs that all sound great. The final verdict is I've accepted one part-time job as a Job Coach, and one part-time job as a Crisis Support Specialist at the YWCA, and I think (I hope!) I'm going to love them both. :] Anyway, my newsprint nails died today as I was cleaning out bottles for frankening and the acetone ate them up. I need to pick up another paper and then I'm going to redo them tomorrow! That's all for now, hope everyone's Memorial Day was fun and relaxing!


Kelly