NAILLINKUP - Boxing Day

Hi, guys! I've gotten a little behind on challenges because my husband and I were out of town for most of last week on vacation. We went to Costa Rica! It was really awesome! I'll post a couple of vacation pictures at the end if you're interested.  :)

Today I have the third theme for this month's Nail Art Ideas Linkup (N.A.I.L.) - Boxing Day! I wasn't really sure what to do for this one, but when I read that the idea behind this theme was "the practice of regifting and 'what must I do with this unwanted gift'" I immediately thought of the White Elephant Gift Exchange! We did one of these at our office holiday party this year - they can be a lot of fun and they're definitely entertaining!

The base color I used here is Pretty & Polished She's A Brick House. Guys, this red - it's so perfectly dusty and gorgeous! For my "white elephant" I made a decal using a super cute elephant stencil from TwinkledT.

To make the decal, I first stuck the stencil on my stamping mat. I have the clear stamping mat from DRK Nails - this was my first time using the mat for anything and I love it! Next I painted in the stencil using a white polish and then carefully pulled up the vinyl. Once the polish dried, I stamped over it with a black polish using a paisley image from Vivid Lacquer plate VL 041. I used a clear stamper (also for the first time) and I was able to see exactly where the stamp was going to go on the decal. Another "trick" that I used was to take the stencil that I peeled off the mat and place it over different stamping images to get an idea of what the end result might look like.

On my first attempt, I simply peeled the decal off the mat and stuck it to my nail with some top coat. Then I top coated my nail and the decal melted all over the place! It was awful, lol! I quickly made another one and reapplied polish to my nail. This time I top coated the decal after I stamped it. Then I applied it to my nail and top coated again and voila!

And here are some pictures from our Costa Rica trip! We had such a great time - I already can't wait to go back!

Thanks so much for reading! Be sure to check out the other Boxing Day manis, too!

An InLinkz Link-up

NAILLINKUP - Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Hi, guys! Tonight I have my mani for the second theme of this month's Nail Art Ideas Linkup (N.A.I.L.) - Yellow Polka Dot Bikini! The idea for this theme was to think SUMMER - summer time fun, songs, sun and swimwear!

On my pointer and pinky I applied ILNP Summer Crush - how awesome is this pink?! The happy yellow on my middle and ring fingers is Vapid Lacquer Lemon Drop. Unfortunately, when I applied my dots Summer Crush gave me the middle finger and decided to look kinda orange. Ah well, I forgive you Summer Crush because this mani is still fun and dotty and summery.

Thanks a lot for reading and please check out all of the other cute Yellow Polka Dot Bikini manis, too!

An InLinkz Link-up

Bliss Polish Stripes

Hi, guys! Tonight I have a pretty simple stripes mani to share with you.

On my pointer and pinky I applied Bliss Polish Bad To The Gnome. On my middle and ring finger I started with Bliss Polish She's A Winner - this gold holo is soooo pretty! Using some uneven line stencils from Vinyl Boutique, I added some stripes to the gold nails with Bad To The Gnome.

I really enjoyed this look! Thanks so much for reading!

NAILLINKUP - Anything New

Hi, guys and Happy New Year! Tonight I have a mani for the first of January's Nail Art Ideas Linkup (N.A.I.L.) themes - Anything New.

The idea behind this theme is polish(es) you may have gotten for Christmas or acquired during the holidays. I used two brand new polishes for this mani! I started with Love, Angeline 01/16 on all of my nails except for on my middle finger - there I used Vapid Lacquer Unicorn Egg. Both of these polishes are stunning! I will definitely have to feature Unicorn Egg in a mani of its own sometime.

On my accent nail I used a mum flower stencil from You Polish, which I also received over the holidays. I thought I had centered it pretty well on the nail, but not so much, lol. I guess these take a bit of practice, too.  :)

Thanks so much for looking! I hope your new year is off to a great start and please be sure to check out the other Anything New manis, too!

An InLinkz Link-up