Year of the Snake

Happy Year of the Snake! Did you know that snakes make great business people, but aren't very trustworthy? Interesting fact, but I'm not going to take much stock in it because I read it on some random website. Either way: may you have a joyous and prosperous Year of the Snake!

I just wanted to do a quick post of Sunday's nails as well as Monday's because I have a few more ideas to churn out. I don't know what to do for Valentine's Day nails, but I'm sure I will think of something.

Firecracker looking nails done Feb. 10 for the Lunar New Year

I used Joe Fresh Apple red polish with China Glaze Electrifying for the tips and the feature nail

Monday's nails marked the demise of the penny.  Pennies are finally out of circulation in Canada due to rising copper prices.  It cost more to make them than the value of the coin! For this mani I used Revlon Copper Penny and OPI Warm and Fozzie on the tips and the feature nail.

Penny's Pawdicure! I trimmed her claws while she nibbled my hands... one day I will gather the courage and trim her toe-hawks. They make her slide around like her brakes don't work. She was posing a little with her paw slightly raised.

Other People's Polish and a Nail Fail

On this blog I will try to post my failures.  My Bollywood nail art idea was so cool and I wanted to try the Sharpie Marker Technique.  My first mistake was probably putting it on over topcoat. My second mistake was rushing and smearing the art with more topcoat.  I'm still learning and I hope I get better at it.  I will probably try this theme again sometime in the near future.

I did this for my Goddaughter's 10th birthday which had a Bollywood theme.  It was super fun and there was lots of dancing and an elephant pinata.  I was blown away by the decor and the cake! My Goddaughter is awesome and her awesome mommy is one of my BFFs.

Sally Hansen Wined Up with a feature nail of OPI's Rally Pretty Pink.  Gold Sharpie Design FAIL :(

I also had a slumber party with my Goddaughter Sofia, her awesome mommy Julia, my friend Wendy and her daughter Ellie.  It was super fun: we ate junk (donuts from a place called Glory Hole, probably the best name for a donut shop lol), watched girly movies, played Just Dance and Mario Party, and we had makeovers.  The little girls put on this awful staining blue eyeshadow (haven't we all made that mistake?) and we did face masks.  Cucumber face mask was probably the most fun because it peels off.  I couldn't do one because I had just finished an AHA peel and my skin was being really sensitive.

The best part was the nail art that I gave everyone! I had fun doing their nails, but I could not do it as a profession.  Also I hate the smell of acrylic! It makes me kinda woozy and nauseated.  I just decided to do something fun to suit everyone's personality.

Julia's Girly but tough manicure... with a bit of sparkle

Wendy's sparkly glam caviar mani

Ellie's sweet and girly caviar mani... she couldn't wait to play and lost some of her caviar lol

Sofia's rock star nails with Selena Gomez glitter and a Konad zebra stamp.  She was so happy and speechless at this mani.  Also it was the only way to get her to stay still!

My friends are really getting into nail art.  I like showing off other people's polish (OPP) and I think it may become a "thing".  Except when I stop someone on the subway and they don't know what they are wearing... that is just annoying lol. Most of the time I can tell what it is because I am a polish addict : )

-A.C.

Nuit Blanche 2012

Well this past weekend was Nuit Blanche (all night art exhibits around downtown Toronto) as well as one of my sisters' birthdays.  I made her a yummy cake but forgot her present so my sister of the year card did not get punched lol.  I really need to practice making frosting more because I know how I want my buttercream to taste but it is not quite there yet. If you have any tips please add them to the comments.  I am basically trying to make it less sweet and more creamy.

So after hanging out with my sister and her friends and having yummy dinner, the texts began to flood my phone (Can Adria come out to play?).  I ended up missing the bus (really I don't know how he didn't see me) and waited an hour for the next one.  I want to rant but I will save the TTC rant for another time. I finally met up with my friends and my Hubs and we went to find some art.  We didn't see many of the exhibits and were a bit disappointed with the lack of displays this year, but we had fun anyway! We drank Mulled Cider tea and I spiked mine with a bit of Whiskey.  Something about 40 Creek Whiskey and Cider... it just screams fall! Don't worry I don't drink to get drunk so I really enjoyed it :)  So after wandering around the financial district in search of art (the most concentrated area of exhibits).  We ended up on King St. at around 3:30 in the morning and I was starving! There was no way I was going to make it with that long lineup at Tim Hortons... I just wanted a bagel!

Stop motion film of different vegetables growing.  Very informative and relaxing :)

Can you guess what this is made from?

Frosting!

Humber Bay Exhibit... It was on the Humber Bay Bridge since this summer.

It looked like a weird sea creature.

It had colour changing LED's that you can control with an App.

Messages on floating blocks with Throwies inside.  Throwies are LEDs with a watch battery electrical taped to it.  I barely went to the bathroom all night because I was scared of lineups.

This one just looks cooler than it sounded.  It was a suspended electric guitar that was being raised and lowered with amplified feedback.  Worst mass ever... I didn't even receive communion!

Drunken Streetlamps near the Cloud Gardens.

This one was really cool: It was a drive through fun house with projections and a guide.  The line was crazy though!

There were guys with microphones attached to their sweater cuffs as they speed solved a Rubix Cube.

Space invaders! Apparently you could play along.

Thumb: Sally Hansen Whirlwind White, Color Club Smash Hit and Wet 'n Wild Silver Frost Index: Nina Ultra Pro Black, Revlon Silver Dollar, and Essie Set in Stones Middle: Whirlwind White, Love and Beauty "Cannonball", LA Girl Glitter Addict  Uninhibited, Sally Hansen Glass Slipper  Ring (sorry about the chips!): Color Club Worth the Risque, Claire's Holo Topcoat Pinkie: Nina Ultra Pro Black, Ardene Paris Nights (I'm holding a Kozik Smorkin' Labbit vinyl art toy in my left hand)

Thumb: Nina Ultra Pro Black with Claire's Silver Crackle  Index: Whirlwind White, Love and Beauty "Cannonball", Essie Set in Stones  Middle: Nina Black, Revlon Silver Dollar and OPI Servin' Up Sparkle  Ring (gradient): Sally Hansen Pewter, Ardene Hollywood Star and Sally Hansen Glitz Gal  Pinkie:Whirlwind White LA Girl Uninhibited and OPI Servin' up Sparkle (right hand)

I did some art inspired nails.  I chose to do black and white because that is the colour of all the Nuit Blanche billboards.  I wanted to capture the vibe so I also did some abstract stamping, but it looked so bad I should have just done a plastic wrap mani.  I could have called the whole thing a failure because it turned out so different from the original idea, but art is art and it was salvaged by GLITTER! I did each nail different because it is something I have never done before and it had a greater effect in the end. I wish I could have taken close up shots but my nails were jacked up! I promise I will do this again because it was so fun doing such an obnoxious mani :)

-A.C.