What a hoot! Bundle Monster 309

Hello all! Before I get started, I would like to give you all a fair warning...this post is going to be a hoot! I'm one of those people who just adore owls, so when I saw that the new Bundle Monster plate set had a couple of owl stamps, I squealed. I still can't get over how cute the owls are!

I used both the owl pattern and the itty bitty owl for this manicure. I think they came out so cute, I just wish I had a better brown polish to stamp with. Coming up with a good color combo was the hardest part about the owls. I didn't want to have white owls since they make me think of Harry Potter's owl Hedwig. I also think of snow and winter, so I was determined to have brown owls. 

I found that this manicure was very hard to photograph. Most of the pictures I took came out far to shiny! The picture below is using the lighting that I usually use, my desk lamp.

This picture was taken is the kitchen. See how shiny my nails are?

 This picture is outside. I was so mad because when I went to take pictures it was overcast. The weather was wonderful but I wanted sunshine. I used a laying combo for this manicure and one of the polishes I used is a Del Sol. Del Sol nail polish is awesome! It chances color when you go in the sunlight. I really want to get more of them. 

I know it's hard to tell but the polish changed to a brighter pink! Cool right? 

What I used:

• Base color was a laying combo: 1 layer of Del Sol First Kiss, 1 layer of Maybelline Sparkling Champagne, and another layer of Del Sol First Kiss
• Stamping polish: essence Date with the Night

What colors do you use for stamping? Do you just buy the special Konad stamping polishes or cheaper brands? I love black as a stamping color and white as well. I am always experimenting with my polishes to see which ones work well with stamping. I love the special stamping polishes but they can be pricey, which is why I am always on the lookout for cheaper brands that will work. If I find any great ones, I will be sure to share it with you!  

I hope you enjoyed my post, have a relaxing Sunday!

Until next time,
Erin

Long belated Valentine's post

Hello there! So I have been without internet for an entire month. HOW DREADFUL! Something is terribly wrong with my computer and it just won't connect to the internet...except today (just for the heck of it I turned it on) and to my utmost delight, there it was, the little symbol of glory...the orb of the earth, indicating a connection. Just a glorious sight. So hopefully I will be able to stay connected, if not I won't be M.I.A for that long again. I will just have to use my boyfriends computer despite my hatred of it.

I have some happy news. I was out to lunch today and the waitress complimented my nails and asked me if they were press ons! I was so giddy, since to me this compliment meant that my nails must have looked good enough to be mistaken for professional work, go me! Haha just the little ego boost I needed for the day.

Last time I posted it was the day before Valentine's Day and unfortunately I was unable to post my adorable Valentine manicures, so this post will include those designs since they are just to cute not to. I plan to play catch-up for you guys.

Love Birds
The first manicure I want to share with you is the one I actually wore on Vday. Love has many meanings and can be seen in many ways. And one of my favorite ways to see love is when two people are madly in love with each other. I like to think of these people as love birds, so with that said, here is my manicure inspired by love birds.

What I used:
Base coat: Essie ridge filling base coat
Base colors: 1 coat of Lucky luck lavender by OPI, 1 coat  Julep Carrie, sponged on a layer of Sinful colors 24/7 and a sponged layer of white polish
Hearts and Stamp: Orly Belle of the Ball
Birds: China Glaze For Audrey, white and black polishes, dot of NYC 111 for the cheeks
Bow: Sally Hansen Sun kissed
Dotting tools and nail brushes used.
The stamp I used was BM 09.

I really loved how this came out, I'm definitely going to redo this one next year.

Owl You Need is Love
I had colored a few Valentines cards and among them was one that read "Owl you need is love." I thought that was the cutest pun and decided to make a design for it.

I first saw an Owl mani on letthemhavepolish and she had originally seen the tutorial from chalkboardnails and if you follow the last link, you can find the original source of the tutorial. I used the little hole puncher reinforcements as a way to do my "horns" of the owls. I also read some where...cannot for the life of me remember where, that you can also use these reinforcers to make the half moon design. If you don't know what a half moon design is or what it looks like click here.

What I used:
For all nails---
Base coat: Essie Ridge filling base coat
Top coat: Seche Vite
Dotting tools
For Owls---
Base color: Ulta Plum Perfect
Eyes: Black and white strippers
Beak: Sally Hansen Sun Kissed
Feathers: essence a lovely secret
For Other nails---
Base color: essence a lovely secret
Polka hearts: Ulta Plum Perfect

This time when I did the polka hearts I used the method described in the post here. It was so much easier and I think (for the most part) the hearts came out a lot better than in my previous polka heart post. Have you tried this polka heart technique yet? Do you want to?

I was very happy with how both of these designs came out, I'm just so sad that it took a whole month to share them with you. I hope you all enjoyed them. I have new posts in the works, so more are on the way!

Until next time!
☮Erin