NAILS | BCD NAIL ART Challenge Week 4 - Mosaic Stained Glass Flowers #BCDNails

I am a little late with posting these as my nails needed a bit of polish break and I had house things to do which trumped gettin' ma nails did! Last week's challenge was "mosaic" and when I saw Cristine of Simply Nailogical's Youtube video on Stained Glass Nails, I knew this was what I wanted to attempt. Her nails turned out far better, but overall I really loved how this all came together and thought stained glass flowers were also a great way to welcome Spring!

31 Day Nail Art Challenge | Day 1–Red with Lycopene Molecular Puzzle Nails

I have done this challenge in 2012, 2013 and now 2014! As usual, I will be going at my own pace and not doing a new set of nails every day, but I am aiming for a new design every 3-4 days. The theme for Day 1 is red so I chose to go back to my “roots” and do some molecular-themed nail art all about LYCOPENE! Lycopene is a bright red, antioxidant, carotene pigment that is found in tomatoes, watermelons and a few other red fruits and vegetables and among other health benefits, has been shown to be preventative against cardiovascular disease by protecting the blood vessels around the heart (How Stuff Works, Sept. 2014).

I started with two coats of Julep-Martha, a creme baby pink, and actually created the VERY LONG lycopene molecule by making a sandwich baggie decal, peeling it off, then cutting at the appropriate carbons and applying the molecule to each nail. The tomatoes and hearts were all drawn with acrylic paint and sealed in with top coat. The red dots represent CH3 groups.

#BusyGirlNails | Week 2: Pink

It’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada so I didn’t have too much time to work on nails as there is a bird to be made! This week’s theme is pink which made me think of Barbie! I also have been wanting to do some puzzle lips nails so I decided to work it in to this super girly manicure. I don’t normally hold objects for my claw, but the thumb and ring finger don’t often want to go together!

#BusyGirlNails | Week 1: Antique Gold

Nothing like a challenge to get the blood pumping, right? Traci from drinkcitra invited me to join in the #BusyGirlNails challenge which is MUCH LESS intense than the traditional challenges we are used to seeing! This week’s theme is "Antique Gold” so I kept things simple and painted my nails two coats of OPI – Shim-Merry Chic, which is from the 2010 OPI Christmas collection. It’s a very interesting polish as there is both iridescent glitter and orange flakies all sitting in a shimmery brown base. It was probably quite fashion forward at the time this polish came out!