Inktober - Thunder

When you think of "thunder" (our prompt for day 27), your mind probably goes to lightning immediately. Mine does too. BUT...I wanted to do something that wasn't just about lightning, so here are my thunder clouds rolling in on my nails for Inktober day 27.

This was a two-color design, both from essie: Bikini So Teeny and Licorice. The thunder clouds are better from far off, but they're not so horrible up close. I just smudged the lines with acetone to give them a more "distant" feeling, and added one lightning bolt for effect.

Inktober - Stretch

Apologies for being behind on Inktober. I had a great Halloween weekend celebrating with friends (check out my Instagram to see my creepy Jigsaw costume) and I've been doing my homework to drop off my ballot, so I took some days off of the prompts.

Today I'm coming back to you with "stretch" for day 26. I thought that maybe I'd do a yoga pose, or a cat's silhouette, but then I got rubber bands in my head and couldn't shake them. So here's some little rubber bands for day 26!

The base is Act Your Beige (OPI), and I used 4 essie colors for the bands: Roarrrrange, Strut Your Stuff, Snap Happy, and Ruffles & Feathers. To get the depth on the bands, I either mixed black or white with each shade to make it darker or lighter.

Inktober - Prickly

I grew up in the desert, so I needed to do a cactus for Inktober day 25 ("prickly"). There's a little joke in there too, if you pay attention to the finger it's on, and the shape of the cacti.

That gorgeous neon green is Electro Kush (Hail Nails), and the cactus background is My Vampire is Buff (OPI). I topped my middle finger cactus with Dixie (Zoya) and planted it in the dusty color Don't Pretzel My Buttons (OPI).

As I'm winding down into the last days of Inktober, let me know if you've had a favorite so far! I'm curious to know if many people even read this. Thank you to those who do! <3

Inktober - Chop

One of the most fun and satisfying birthday activities I've ever been a part of was when my friend took me to an axe throwing event. In a small warehouse with a bunch of plywood mounted to the walls with targets painted on, we were allowed to hurl axes of varying sizes at the wall. The first time I threw one, I didn't throw hard enough. The instructor actually asked me to put more weight behind it, and when that axe lands on the target (or anywhere near it), it brings an insane amount of satisfaction. If you live near something like that, TRY IT! I'll take chopping wooden walls over chopping onions any day. So I used that as my inspiration for Inktober day 24.

What axe-man wouldn't wear plaid? I thought it applied nicely to my theme, and added a little axe logo for good measure. The bright red base is Carmen (Zoya), and the logo's background is You're So Vain-illa (OPI). I watered down the black plaid lines by adding top coat to Black Onyx (OPI) and stirring it up until it looked runny. Then I filled in the black checks with solid black. Easy.

Inktober - Muddy

If I dragged my nails through the mud, I would hope they would look as good as my nails do for Inktober day 23, "muddy." I somehow don't think they'd be this pretty, and they would certainly be harder to clean!

The splashes of mud were really simple to create. First, I did two coats of Don't Burst My Bubble (OPI) to hide imperfections on my natural nail. Then, with Gina (Zoya), I dragged a small dotting tool around my nail. Sometimes it dragged through the base coat, but that gave it a nice authentic look of mud drying.

Try this with red polish for creepy bloody Halloween nails!

Inktober - Expensive

What is it they say? All that glitter is gold? And isn't gold one of the most valued elements? I paired this "expensive" element with tedious, hand placed glitter on a rich, luxurious blue from lakur called Beau of the City. Inktober day 22 certainly looks "expensive" doesn't it?

Inktober - Drain

Today's prompt, "drain," wasn't exactly the most inspiring one, but I actually do like what I conjured up.

When I was browsing my collection of colors to find something else for a different post, I came across the really interesting shade from Color Club, Soft Baked. The color has matte black glitter in a milky white base. It reminded me of a shower floor or a sidewalk. So I used that, then layered Marshmallow (essie) on top to dull the contrast a bit more. Then I used my OPI matte top coat to cover those layers.

The drain was painted next, using This Silver's Mine (OPI) for the chrome finish. The water droplets I drew freehand, then dabbed a regular, shiny topcoat in the center to give them shine against the matte finish of the shower floor.

Pretty interesting process for a not-so-inspiring prompt.

Tomorrow's is "expensive"...this could get glittery!

Inktober - Breakable

Looking for an easy Halloween design? My "breakable" nails for Inktober day 20 are perfect and really easy. You do need a little bit of a steady hand for the lines, but honestly, if they're uneven, it adds to the shattered effect.

The light grey base I used was Pelican Gray (China Glaze), but I wish I'd done it on a silver chrome, or even an iridescent powder. I'd like to make a tutorial for this if there's interest, so let me know if you'd wear or try this nail art out!

Inktober - Scorched

When I was little, I thoroughly enjoyed using a magnifying glass in the backyard on pieces of paper to burn little holes with the sun. The smell of the burning paper and the way I could create holes with nothing but nature still lingers in my head. So when I saw that "scorched" was the prompt for day 19, I knew I wanted to create that same look of burned holes on paper.

I like the look of it a lot, and it was fun to create. I used My Vampire is Buff as the off-white, and then scorched the edges of my nails with Inside the Isabelletway and Get in the Expresso Lane (all from OPI).

If you want to know how I got this look, let me know!

Inktober - Bottle

"Bottle" is the prompt for Inktober day 18, and my mind immediately went to poppin' bottles of champagne. I guess I'm excited for New Year's Eve. But I've done champagne nails before (HERE), and this challenge was to challenge my creativity. So I thought about other bottles that weren't alcohol. I wound up choosing something that could be considered as big a vice as alcohol for some. Here are my pill bottle nails.

The beautiful orange base (Paz from Zoya) was pretty sheer, so I decided to make each nail its own bottle and added a white french tip on each nail (with Alpine Snow from OPI). The red on the pills is also from OPI...Got the Mean Reds. To add a little definition, I used Skull & Glossbones and Black Onyx (both from OPI).

I'm over halfway done with Inktober! So far so good!

Inktober - Swollen

The Inktober challenge is just way too much fun! It's pulling me outside of my comfort zone and forcing me to try new things every single day. I'm completely inspired, and tonight is something I've been wanting to do for Halloween for a while. I'm glad day 17 was "swollen." Not that the brain is swollen, but the folds in it always seem so...bulbous.

I love the way my brains turned out! It involved layering a few OPI shades to get some depth to the folds in the brain, including A Great Opera-tunity, My Vampire is Buff, Can't Read Without My Lipstick, Put It In Neutral, and Love Is In My Cards.

Inktober - Angular

I had really grand ideas when I started working on my first few fingers. There was lots of intricate, delicate, angular lines to make the theme for day 16. Then, as I did each nail differently, I flubbed up and got frustrated with one, and filled in the design, which led to what I ended up with! Happy accidents people, happy accidents!

The way the white lines up on my not-so-long nails gave them an extended look without the extension! No long hours at the salon trying to soak off these talons, they'll come off as easily as any maroon polish. My maroon polish is Floss Gloss Smoke On the Nail, and Alpine Snow from OPI makes the middle white talons.

This is an impossibly easy look, and I'd love to see someone recreate it!

Inktober - Weak

I wish I had the solution to weak nails. It seems that solutions fix for a while, and then it all goes to hell. But at least even my thin nails never look like THIS in real life. This is "weak" for Inktober day 15.

I used a few reds from OPI (Amore at the Grand Canal and Can't Read Without My Lipstick) as well as some Zoya nudes (Chantal and Cathy). My nails are barely holding together after the icy and early snowstorm Boulder got this weekend, but again, at least they don't look like this!

Inktober - Clock

It's sort of fate that on the night I need to post twice, the theme is "clock" and I feel like it's late enough at night that this day 14 Inktober nail art is exact.

This digital clock art just used 3 colors. The base is essie Licorice, the white is essie Marshmellow, and the green tint is Kiwi Cool-Ada from China Glaze.

That's it! We're finally caught up! Hopefully I can continue this tomorrow with day 15, "weak".

Inktober - Guarded

The prompt for Inktober day 13 is "guarded." My mind went to "chains" or "jail" or something similarly literal. Then I thought about another definition of "guard," and how fierce some animals can be to guard their herds or families, or in the case of my inspiration, their hive.

Bees will literally die to guard their queen...no hesitation! They are born with their roles, and they fiercely follow that to their deaths. So here's my tribute to the bees. May we all find someone as strong as them one day!

The pretty yellow base is Never a Dulles Moment (OPI), and the honeycomb pattern is done with Silly Daffodils (Misa). I pulled gold hexagonal glitter from my bottle of Rich in Opportunities (Sation) as well.

Would you rock a yellow manicure like this?

Inktober - Whale

I've been having a whale of a time with life lately! Plenty of good concerts, good football, good friends. Unfortunately, it's put me a day behind on Inktober, but I hope you can grant me grace there. Trust me though, all days will be accounted for, albeit a few days late.

Speaking of whales...that's the prompt for day 12..."whale." For some reason, Spongebob Squarepants has come up a lot lately? Random references from random pieces of my life that I can't really understand, but was perfect for this odd day 12 prompt. I used the Bikini Bottom floral designs as part of my whale nail art, and of course, the most striking "whale", an Orca (although they're not technically whales).

Pairing the whale with all these bright colors takes the killer out of its name. The base blue is Sunday Funday (China Glaze), and the flowers are some other China Glaze shades including That's Shore Bright, Highlight of my Summer, I Brake for Colour, "Sun's Up, Top Down", and an essie orange called Roarrrrange.

I have an idea for day 13, which is "guarded," so come back tomorrow to see if it pans out!

Inktober - Cruel

Thanks for your patience yesterday when I had to skip a day. I won't be "cruel" and keep day 11 from you any longer though, so check out my Inktober Day 11, "cruel".

This was a tough prompt for me, because I didn't really want something sad or upsetting to anyone. When I drove out to visit a friend earlier today, there was roadkill on the side of the road, and I got to thinking about how upsetting it is how animals are often treated; caged and bound. As I thought of caging, I thought of the perfect idea for "cruel"...barbed wire! And although the stuff itself isn't pleasant to be around, snaking it around my free edge as a funky French is more than pleasant!

Today's prompt for day 12 is "whale", and after having a whale of a good time tonight, I'll work on the design, but I probably won't get it up until tomorrow, which is technically day 13. Hang tight again...I'm having too much fun!

Inktober - Flowing

Inktober Day 10! I'm doing so well with this, and it's really igniting some inspiration I needed to restart the blog...thanks Jake Parker!

The theme for day 10 is "flowing" and I was really tempted to do some sort of blood art (remember, it's October), but decided on a water theme instead. So with the help of China Glaze, I put together some blues and painted some water droplets in a gradient of blue!

The colors I used, again, were all China Glaze, including Man Hunt, I Sea the Point, Boho Blues, and Dashboard Dreamer. Don't they go together so nicely?!

Tomorrow is day 11, and I won't get a post up for that day, but get ready for day 12, where I'll be posting both "cruel" and "whale".

I hope you're enjoying these short and sweet posts!

Inktober - Precious

I'm so sorry I didn't get a post up yesterday! I was literally at work from 8:30am to 10:00pm, so I didn't get day 9, "precious", up until today. You'll be treated to 2 lovely posts today though, as I'll post day 10, "flowing", later tonight! Set your timer to get both!

I knew I wanted to do some sort of crystal or gemstone for day 9, and I wanted some sparkle and depth. So I raided the polish drawers and found a few OPI glitters that were pure inspiration for this crystal nail art. Simple, but effective!

I used 4 OPI colors: Two Wrongs Don't Make a Meteorite, My Favorite Ornament, Shine for Me, and Black Onyx as the base. This look only took me about 15 minutes, but I love the contrast of the glitter against the black.

Day 10 is coming later tonight, so stay tuned for "flowing"!

Inktober - Star

My design for Inktober day 8 is not the most unique, and it's literally literal, but I adore it and it got tons of compliments!

This was a fun design to create too, and I can redo it with any colors. It needed to be a little Halloween-y though, so I used a really pretty orange from Misa called Shoot the Chute. 

I reached for my fullest and closest black and white, which are essie Licorice and Zoya Snow White, respectively. 

Now with this posted, I can start planning for tomorrow..."precious". Wish me luck!

Inktober - Exhausted

I wonder if Jake Parker (the creator of Inktober) planned to have the prompt for today line up on a Sunday? Because yes, "exhausted" is the exact word I would use for this Sunday. It's been a chilly, overcast day. I had a great time downtown last night until late, and exercise has left me wanting nap after nap. Luckily, my eyes don't look like the nail art I created for day 7, "exhausted."

I included bags under the eyes of these exhausted zombie nails for an added touch. I based the pupils on my own (and let me tell you, it was entertaining getting a decent picture of my eye). It took lots of colors to get them right, including 4 Zoya colors: Desiree, Tracie, Evvie, and Jace. My green base for the rest of the nails is an OPI shade called Stranger Tides, and the exhaustion red is Red Hot Rio (OPI). I wanted the edges to be blurry too, like someone's rubbed their eyes over and over to try to get the exhaustion out!

I've got something a little less morbid tomorrow than the past two days have been, so tune in tomorrow for "star"!

Inktober - Drooling

I'm totally enjoying Inktober, I hope you are too!

In honor of October, I took today's prompt, which is "drooling" to a more Halloween-appropriate level. When I think of drooling, I think of 1) Homer Simpson and 2) mindless zombies. If that's not theme-specific, I don't know what is. So here's my drooling zombie nail art for day 6 of Inktober.

I Googled "drooling zombie" to get some ideas, and found this image to base my design from.

I chose a very undead color, Skull & Glossbones (OPI) for my base, but felt like a little color would pop the drool.

What do you think? Gory and gross, or great?

Inktober - Chicken

Today is one of the reasons I decided to do Inktober. When inspiration isn't struck immediately, sometimes you need a little push. And sometimes, that push is straight off a cliff. Today's prompt does just that. Day 5 of Inktober is "chicken".

WTF do you do with "chicken"? I thought about several things, mostly relating to food. Then I thought about being funny with "which comes first", but couldn't figure out how to translate that. But that got me thinking about eggs, so here's what I came up with!

My ooey-gooey egg nail art is done with all OPI polishes today. The white egg is Alpine Snow, its cracks are Skull & Glossbones, with the yoke made up of The "It" Color with Towel Me About It accents for sheen.

5 days down, 26 more to go! Let me know if you're participating, I'd love to see your ideas!

Inktober - Spell

Today is day 4 of Inktober, and the prompt is "spell".

My inspiration for today's magical nail art is a ouija board. The all powerful, super supernatural game board that summons...things. Ouija boards have letters on them, and after doing some ritual chanting (I assume), you can "speak" to spirits, who respond to you via the board, spelling out words or names as responses.

So I summoned some inspiration from the board, and wrote the word "magic" on my nails in the font style of the board.

That mystical purple is China Glaze Virtual Violet, while the white is Purity (Zoya) and the black is Licorice (essie).

Unfortunately, all the magic in the world wouldn't allow me to bend my thumb to make the picture better.

Enjoy more Inktober with me tomorrow!

Inktober - Roasted

I loved today's prompt, even though it's almost as unspooky to me as "tranquil" was yesterday.

I must have been hungry when inspiration struck for this design, because all I could associate with "roasted" was nuts. So go nuts with me on a little trip to the circus!

Roasted

Of course everything is freehand, and this time I used all Zoya colors. Colors include Snow White, Darcy, Hannah, Spencer, and Louise.

Inktober - Tranquil

I thought that all of Inktober was spooky-themed...I clearly didn't read it all. Today's prompt is "tranquil."

After talking to some clients today about the prompt, I decided to embrace the zen and om and peace of tranquility. I even shared the nail art in action on Instagram Live today, zenning out to my kind of music. Feeling the flow of it all, I did some wavy nail art surrounding the om symbol.

The beautiful off-white base is Murray Me (lakur), the beautiful blue is 1977 (lacc), and I needed to accent something with a great gold, Mega Bite from China Glaze.

Check out the live video (available until October 3rd) if you want to get an idea of how the waves were created, and stay tuned for tomorrow's prompt, "roasted."

Inktober - Poisonous

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw earlier today that I'm following a challenge unique for October, and actually not exactly designed for nail art, but practically meant for it - Inktober.

This challenge gives a prompt each day in October for artists and illustrators, all themed appropriately for the year's spookiest month. Here's a look at the prompts:

As you can see, today's prompt was "poisonous". Here's today's poisonous nails. Feels good to have nail art on my hands after a long, much needed break.

I only used a few polishes for this look. The yellow base for the danger skull is Funky Yellow (Kleancolor), and the green is TLC (Kleancolor). My black fingers are Licorice (essie), and the Uninhibited (LA Girl) is the black matte sparkle for my thumb.

Tomorrow's theme, tranquil, has me thinking, but if you have ideas, send them my way! I'd love to collaborate!