Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Christmas Mani...kind of...

Hi lovelies! Am I the only one who has an absolute love/hate relationship with public holidays?? I love them! They are seriously awesome but it takes me about a week to get back into the full swing of things. Like it will feel like a Tuesday today but I know it is already Wednesday. This is probably going to go on till Saturday and guess what then? There is a whole lot of public holidays coming up next week but I don't mind them! Who minds Christmas day??
I decided to finally start joining in on some Christmas manis. The mani I have today doesn't look very Christmas-esque but when I saw Ordinary Misfit do THIS gorgeous stamping over a holograpic polish it immediately reminded me of gift wrapping and I just had to give it a go!






 
This is insanely simple! I started by laying down 2 coats of China Glaze DV8. When this was dry I stamped a full nail pattern using Tip Top Nails Cha Cha Cha and BM-319 (Bundle Monster 2012 set).







This mani didn't come out exactly as I envisioned but I liked it none the less! I like how the Tip Top Cha Cha Cha looks very subtle on the holographic base. Hopefully my next Christmas manis will look a bit more like ...well, Christmas!


If you would like me to swatch any of the colors you saw in today’s post, please let me know via email or drop me a comment below. More than willing to oblige! 

Lots of mad love...



Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Christmas Tag

Hi lovelies! It's Wednesday! Wait, it is Wednesday isn't it?? I don't know, I am getting really confused with my days lately but after consulting trusty calender (also known as “Mom!”) I can definitely confirm it is Wednesday!...wow, I just wrote a whole intro regarding Wednesday! They should pay money for writing nonsense! I'd be rich!!!

I wasn't really planning on doing a post today but after seeing this Christmas tag on Art Evolve (by Ash) and being a huge sucker for the holidays already, I just had to do it! The questions marked with a * is questions Ash added to the tag and I decided I wanted to do them also. Like her, I'm not going to tag anyone specific but if you are going to do this tag, leave me a comment down below with a link to the post or answer it in the comment section! Would love to see your answers. Also, I am aware that I have been tagged in a few awards over the past few month and will try and do all of them over the next few weeks!




Do you prefer a real tree or synthetic?
I think if I stayed in the States or in Europe, I would've quite liked to have a real potted tree but being here in South Africa, I'm happy with our fake tree! It's not a very big one but it get's the job done!

You’re in a coffee shop, it is December what do you pick?
Well, it's summer here at the moment so I would probably go for Caramel Fudge Slo-Jo or a granadilla fruit shake. Oh who am I kidding! Even if it was winter I would still probably go for something cool. Not the biggest fan of hot drinks, except hot chocolate and Horlicks but I have to really feel like it at that moment.

What is your favourite colour scheme to decorate the tree?
At the moment, my mom decorates our tree so it is basically a smorgasbord of different colored decorations and lights but I think when I buy my own tree one day, I will probably go for a white tree and vary the color of the decorations every year...or make decorations out of old empty nail polish bottles and decorate my tree with that!

Giving or receiving?
I love giving! Seriously! My fiance always get's peeved off with me because even if we've already bought a gift for someone, I always want to add “something small” to it and add another “something small” to it so he kind of puts a stop to my plans there...that being said, who doesn't love receiving?!

To mince pie or not to?
Not! Mince pies are made of disappointment! It says “mince” in the name people! To me as a South African, this means meat! I don't want fruit in my pies! Noooo!!!...I apologies to my vegetarian friends but I really like meat!

Christmas Day fashion?
It's probably going to be hot as Hades so the lightest clothing possible. And my swimming costume because most of my afternoon will be spent in the pool.

Favourite Christmas song?
A much as I love music, this is a really hard question! I love so many Christmas songs! One of my all time favorites though has to be Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan with “Baby, it's cold outside”. It's not your conventional Christmas song but it just makes me think of warm cuddly Christmas romance and it's jazz people! Hmmm...so many feels!

Favourite Christmas film?
Funnily enough, I don't really have a favorite Christmas movie but lately (and even though it isn't really a Christmas movie) I have been loving “Rise of the Guardians” and it really makes me feel Christmassy. The fact that it is animated has nothing to do with it!...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Presents before or after lunch?

Pshhh, evening of the 24th! Yeah, you heard me! It used to be a minute past midnight on the morning of the 25th but since my sister Ann, has had two kiddies, we've made it a bit earlier! (Yeah! WINNING!)

What are your favourite holiday treats?*
Christmas cookies! Someone in our family always ends up baking cookies (well, all the ladies except me. I'm there for moral support!) so there is a crap load of different ones. Shortbread, ginger, buttermilk, Christmas Rocky Road (oh my soul, I want to bath in that stuff!)...it's epic people!

Favourite holiday crafts?*
Don't really have any but this year I want to try the whole nail polish balls going around! They are gorgeous!

When do you celebrate Christmas?*
Prezzies are opened on the 24th but we celebrate it on the 25th with a HUGE Christmas lunch.

What do you usually eat for Christmas dinner?*
Like I said, we do lunch but it usually consists of meat balls, cold chicken, stuffed turkey, gammon, lamb roast and a whole different bunch of salads. It's something of pure beauty!

What are some of your favourite Christmas memories?
 
  • We didn't really celebrate Christmas with gifts and a tree for a long time in my life so when I was in Grade 9, we finally got a tree again! I probably sat most of that holiday in front of that tree, staring at all the little decorations and the presents underneath the tree. I think it was also a bit of a comfort because our family were going through a really sad time in our life's and that tree kind of symbolized hope. Will always remember that first Christmas.
  • My first Christmas with Dean (my fiance). I love treating people but it felt so nice to share it with someone who I loved on a different level than I love my family! And I was so excited about the gift that I got him so when he opened it and he absolutely loved it, it just made my day!
  • I love how my nieces spaz out the evening before in excitement! It's kind of contagious because a few minutes later me and one of my sisters are jumping around all over the house, spazzing out ourselves in excitement! We're big ass kids okay! We're allowed!
  • Having my butt kicked in Rummy or Sergeant Major. But its okay...I know I rule in 30 Seconds! So I come back with a glorious bang!

So that is me for the Christmas Tag. Please do it also and let me know! Sharing is caring and I would love to read about all your Christmas traditions and family fun times!

Lots of mad love...


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Hey...hey...HEY! Late Movember post!

Hi Lovelies! Hell, it's been a heck of a time the past week and a half! While I was busy with my Movember saga (yes, that's the last time I posted. I'm sorry!) I decided to go apply for my Learners Licence because I need to be more mobile. Made my appointment on the 28th of November for the 3rd December not realizing the 3rd is actually the next week and I was going away over the weekend! That gave me two days to study! *facepalm* So all nail art plans went out the window and I crammed like I last did when I was writing my matric exams! But I passed! Whoooo! Now just got to actually start learning how to drive but that will happen in January when my driving school has openings again. The rest of last week though I just took things a bit slowly and did a crap load of swatching and a few art pieces. It was actually quite nice! But now I'm back and I am ready for December!

The nail art I have on today is actually one of the pieces that I had ready for the Movember Saga and yes, I know November is finished but I still wanted to post this mani. Played around with a bit of color and came up with this retro-ish Movember mani.






I started by laying down 2 coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White on all my nails. I then went in with a striping brush and added vertical lines across my middle and ring finger using Tip Top Nail Chic Solar Flare (orange), Tip Top Nail Chic Jazzberry Blue (blue), Tip Top Nail Chic Sexy Bikini (pink), Tip Top Nail Chic We Have An Agreen Mint (green) and China Glaze Are you Jelly? (purple). On my pinky, index finger and thumb I made a line of dots using the same colors as mentioned above, verticaly up the nail.




To finish up the mani I added a classic moustache to my middle fnger and a handle bars moustache (also known as a 70's mo) to my ring finger.




I liked how the mani came out! For some reason I really REALLY struggled with the moustaches and had to do so many touch ups in between with the different colors but eventually I was happy with it! I just added a thick layer of Seche Vite over it and it smoothed out any bumps beautifully!

If you would like me to swatch any of the colors you saw in today’s post, please let me know via email or drop me a comment below. More than willing to oblige! 

Lots of mad love...