Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  Christmas is always my favorite time of year with Christmas Eve my most favorite day of the year!  We had a wonderful Christmas and my little guy was so excited to see that Santa brought him a wagon, a bike, and a toy grill (not to mention a ton of additional toys).  While we enjoy the day after Christmas, and maybe take down our tree, let's take a look at the last of the Christmas nails I did this year.

This was a custom green glitter mix over her natural nails.

I loved the way the Grinch turned out!  We did a green glitter acrylic fade then painted the plaid on the ring fingers using Gelish.  The Grinch was 3D acrylic.

This was the same set I did a few weeks ago with the Christmas sweaters. I kept the red then painted a Rudolph on the ring finger using Gelish.

This set of nails was inspired by a photo my client brought from Pinterest.  The silver is acrylic and the penguin is 3D acrylic.  The snowflakes are stamps from Bundle Monster.

I loved this set of elf nails!  I filled the original nail then added the 3D art in acrylic.  I sculpted out mittens, elf shoes, and elf faces.  So cute!

Here is a Christmas sweater set of nails.  The red and green glitter are acrylic mixes and the pattern is a stamp from Bundle Monster.

This is Gelish over her natural nails.  I used Holiday Party Blues then dusted some iridescent MAC Pigment over the top in a sporadic pattern. Very icy!

I did this set using a red craft glitter acrylic mix and an iridescent MAC Pigment.  I hand painted the snowflakes using a black pen.  

This holiday plaid was done using Gelish over clear acrylic.  They turned out perfect!

Christmas Is In The Air

Christmas will be here soon and I'll be sad to see all these cute Christmas nails go.  Until then, let's check out a few more designs.

This design was inspired by a photo from Pinterest that my client brought in.  The designs are all acrylic except for the snowflake stamp and the white lines which were done using Gelish.  The snowman and ornaments are 3D and done using acrylic.  

I love this simple red/white fade.  I used a red craft glitter mixed with clear acrylic and faded a MAC Pigment over the top.  I sculpted the Santa hat on the ring finger then encapsulated it with clear acrylic.  The Christmas lights are 3D made with colored acrylic from Young Nails.  

This wintery fade reminded me of the movie Frozen.  The iridescent teal color is a pigment from MAC Cosmetics mixed with clear acrylic.  The darker blue color is from EZ Flow while the silver glitter is a custom mix from silver, teal, and some pieces of mylar.  I encapsulated them in clear which really brought out all the different shades of icy blue.  I painted the trees using craft paint and a very fine detailing brush.

This was a custom mixed green using a couple shades from Gelish along with some craft glitter.  She has perfect natural nails so we only applied a foundation gel before adding the polish.  The Rudolph was drawn using colors from Young Nails' ManiQ line while the chrome gel is from Crystal Nails.  I even added a Christmas sweater pattern to her pinkie fingers.

My client LOVES the Grinch so of course she needed some Grinch nails for Christmas.  The darker shade of green is from EZ Flow and I faded it into a neon green mixed then added another chunky iridescent color from EZ Flow to add depth. The plaid on the ring finger was done using Gelish while the 3D Grinch face was made using acrylic.  Too cute!

This was the same client who was in two weeks ago and had Christmas sweaters on her ring fingers.  She decided she liked the red glitter so much that she didn't want to change it and instead just wanted to change out the sweater design.  I thought a cute Rudolph would be PERFECT!  I did the face using Young Nails ManiQ in Brown 102 and the antlers in Brown 101.  The red is Hot Rod Red from Gelish and I dusted red craft glitter into the dispersion layer so Rudolph's nose would shine.  Loved them!

This may be one of my MOST favorite sets I've done this year!  My client found a picture online and wanted something similar.  The chrome is acrylic from Crystal Nails and the white snowflakes are stamps from Bundle Monster.  I panted the candy cane stripes using a white and red from Gelish.  The penguins are 3D sculpted acrylic.  They are too cute!!

Gettin' In The Christmas Spirit

December is here and Christmas is only a few short weeks away!!  My favorite nails of the year are definitely Christmas nails!!  Here are a few I've done so far!

This client of mine has the most perfect natural nails.  This was done using Gelish Sea Foam. I dusted MAC pigment sporadically over the nails then covered with a matte top coat.  I hand painted the snowflakes using Gelish Sleek White.

  

This set is a custom mixed blue green faded into red glitter.  The snowman is painted over an iridescent pigment from MAC.  

My client wanted green mints instead of the traditional red ones.  The green pieces are fimo set into white arylic.  The green is a custom mixed glitter capped in clear with painted swirls.

These are clear acrylic with a Gelish overlay.  I used Hot Rod Red then dusted red craft glitter into the dispersion layer.  The silver ring finger is a silver craft glitter dusted over Gelish Snowflakes & Skyscrapers.  I painted the white lines uisng a striping brush and Sleek White from Gelish.

I love, love, LOVE these Christmas lights!!  This is a custom mixed red glitter acrylic with 3D Christmas lights.  I used regular colored acrylic for the lights and drew the wires with a painting brush.  The Christmas tree was a stamp from the new Bundle Monster holiday collection.

The Not So Ugly Christmas Sweater

Ugly Christmas Sweater nails hit the scene a couple years ago and have been a favorite ever since.  The best part is that the sweater pattern is really cute and definitely NOT ugly!  Here's a new set this year using a stamp I bought online last Christmas. Her nails were clear acrylic and I painted red Gelish in Hot Rod Red.  I dusted red craft glitter into the dispersion layer then painted Gelish With Your Red So Bright over the top.  The white accent nail is Gelish The Big Chill.

Broken Glass

Christmas Nails are ALWAYS a favorite for me!  I especially love the broken glass look that I achieve using crushed Christmas ornaments.  For this set I used an iridescent pigment from MAC then placed the broken pieces on top.  I capped in clear the topped with a clear gel.

The First Christmas Nails of 2015

I have officially started doing Christmas Nails!!  One of my wonderful clients found a photo on Pinterest and wanted me to copy the design.  They were done by Amy Blair and were a cute set of holiday nails with 3D penguins.  I was TOTALLY up for the challenge of recreating such a cute piece of art!!

I can't remember where I got the blue chunky glitter but it was perfect for the background!  I stamped the snowflakes and sculpted the penguins out of acrylic.  They were ADORABLE!!

Feel the Fall

We've already had a HUGE snow storm so I'm starting to think Fall may officially be over.  I still have a couple fall nails to show off before the Christmas Nails start happening.

This is an icy fall set of stiletto nails.  They are clear acrylic with Gelish over the top.  The frosty white is The Big Chill, glittery grey is Snowflakes & Skyscrapers, white is Sleek White, and grey is Clean Slate.  The black roses were hand painted using Black Shadow.

This set of nails was done using pigment from MAC. The iridescent brown is a color called Blue Brown and the reflector pieces are an acrylic from EZ Flow called Cocktail Time.

These nails remind me of Ferrero Rocher candies.  The copper color is from Magnetic and the gold is gold leafing.  They were AMAZING in person!

Snow Day

It's a beautiful snow day here in Utah and I thought it would be fun to repost some of my fun, snowy nail designs.

Candy Canes may not be what comes to mind when I say "Snow Day," but they sure are festive this time of year.

Here's an acrylic set of nails done with a custom blue and silver glitter mix.  The big chunks of blue are seashells.  

This client has gorgeous natural nails that grow long and healthy all on their own.  I put a Gelish polish over the top of her nails and hand painted the snowflakes with acrylic paint.

This set of nails was done using various shades of MAC Pigment.  The polka dots are super festive and the snowflakes give it a wintery feel.

This is a white to blue glitter fade with silver discs for added effect.

Love this red, green, and silver set of nails.  The swirls added so much dimension!

Who doesn't love snowmen, penguins, and gingerbread men?  These nails are just perfect for Winter!

Here's a green glitter acrylic with hand painted snowflakes and acrylic 3D snowmen.

Silver glitter acrylic fade with hand painted snowflakes.

This set of nails is PERFECT for a snow day!!  Red to wilver glitter fade with stamped snowflakes and 3D acrylic snowmen.  A season favorite!

Cute red acrylic nails with snowflakes and flying snow.

This was another cool set of winter nails called icicle nails.  The clear is imperfect and looks like ice.  I stamped snowflakes for even more awesomeness.

An icy blue acrylic fade with stamped snowflakes.

Dark blue Gelish over clear acrylic with snowflakes.

Green and silver swirled acrylic with silver disc and snowflakes.

Red glitter mix with snowflakes and candy cane stripes.

Fall Leaves

I remember last year seeing a very talented nail tech from Pinked Out Salon in Utah put real leaves and grass in her camo nails.  They were seriously INCREDIBLE!!  This year I thought I'd put a few leaves and grasses in some nails thinking they'd be perfect for fall.  I was right, they are definitely perfect for fall!

These were a custom mixed green and yellow glitter acrylic with freshly picked leaves and grass.

Shattered Glass

I have noticed several posts on the "new" shattered glass nails.  I went back through some of my old photos and found a few Christmas nails I did using shattered glass.

This was a set of nails from 2012.  They were a silver glitter acrylic with pieces of broken Christmas ornaments in the shape of holly berries.

Here is another set from 2012.  These were a silver to iridescent glitter fade with broken Christmas ornaments encapsulated.

This set was from last year, 2014.  The middle finger and index fingers are both silver glitter with chunks of broken Christmas ornaments.

Another set from 2014.  Icy blue to silver glitter fade with shards of broken glass encapsulated.

Breast Cancer Awareness Nails

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and over the last few years I've noticed more and more nail techs creating nails for the cause.  In my short nail career I've done a few Breast Cancer Awareness sets myself.  Here are a few.

From 2014.  This was a clear acrylic set of nails with Gelish overlay in Pink Smoothie.  I dusted pink glitter on the middle finger and hand painted the ribbons.  The iridescent hexagons on the ring fingers were from a craft store and placed in the dispersion layer of the gel.  Topped in clear.

From 2014.  Clear acrylic nails with Gelish overlay in Shake It Till You Samba.  I dusted a mix of pink glitters in a fade patter and painted the dots and ribbon.  Topped with clear.

From 2015.  A few years ago I saw a set of nails with "bobbies" and thought they were the funniest things I'd ever seen.  I knew I needed to do a set of my own one day.  Luckily I had a great client/friend willing to wear a set of 3D boobies!  These were done in full acrylic with hand painted lines and dots.  The boobs were sculpted with pink and topped with a hot pink acrylic to form a dress.  So cute!

Here's another view of the "boobie" nails. The thumbs were done in white acrylic with hand painted roses in gel.  

From 2015.  This was a short set of clear acrylic nails with a Gelish overlay.  I dusted glitter into the dispersion layer of the three fingers and hand painted the cheetah stripes and ribbon on the others.  Loved them!

From 2015.  This set was copied from a photo my client brought in.  She saw them on Pinterest and wanted me to copy them.  I changed them up a little and they turned out adorable!!  All acrylic nails with hand painted mummies, spiders, and ghost.