Bundle Monster Holiday Plates

2013 Bundle Monster Plate Collection

My Polish Rack

So... round about last fall the realization hit me that I had far outgrown my then current nail polish unit.  That little shelving system was a repurposed wooden cd rack that I made shelves for out of marble tiles.  Although I loved it, it's maximum capacity was only about 80 and soon it was necessary to start mixing the polish just to fit it in and then I began taking up the whole cabinet where that rack was putting new additions to my collection in front of the rack itself.
I started searching for another storage system.  After watching countless youtube videos and surveying all the nail polish blogs I could find with people showing their storage system I made the reluctant decision to find and purchase the type of nail polish racks you see at the salon.  That decision was reluctant because I wasn't altogether happy with that choice, but couldn't see another way that met the requirements I had in mind.  I wanted to be able to see my individual polishes easily, recognize the new ones I wanted to use, not store them on their sides and I really didn't want to decorate my walls with two of these large units that would have left me with no room for my Eiffel Tower portrait or print of "Birth of Venus".
I looked at several of these racks on Amazon and held off from making the purchase because I just wasn't happy with the idea.
Suddenly, one day at the Salvation Army I was struck with a creative solution.  I like to check out the Salvation Army and the like once in a while just to see what I can find.  In the past, I have found some pretty nice antique furniture and once found a set of paintings of my beloved Alaska.  So there I was when I see this little media rack.  It was a rough little thing, in terrible condition so there was no way I was going to buy that one, but I knew I could get a brand new one at Walmart for under $30 compared to the near $200 I was begrudgingly preparing to spend on Amazon.
The next weekend, I went to Walmart and picked up one of those little media racks for $27.  Accompanying that media shelving unit on it's trip home was a can of metallic silver spray paint.  An hour to build it, an evening spray painting it and the next morning I transferred all my polish friends to their new home.  It sits in my bedroom, in a corner not far from my pillow.  I can see all my colors and create new designs when I wake up, before bed, whenever I want.  At night, when I turn my lamp off, my little bottle of glow in the dark polish lights up and I get to see it.  I love this unit!
I have had to cover it with a bit of plastic table cover from Walmart.  This keeps the horrific Arizona dust mostly off my bottles and eliminates the constant need to dust them.  (It also helps to keep the cats from playing with my top coats.)
Anyway, here it is...

 

162 bottles right there.  I keep my Gel polishes in the box on top along with my UV lamp.  My top coats and bases, glow in the dark and nail treatments are all on the bottom shelf.  The little green basket is some of my glitter polishes, at least the ones I don't use often.

I have had this for about 6 months or so now.  There are a few scratches on the bottom from the cats and a black band on the green shelf because brilliant me spray painted it with the shelves in, then moved them.  But that gives it character and I still think this is a great idea.

...til next time

 

St Patrick's Day Nails

A waterfall effect design on mint with shamrock sequins. 

Fire & Ice Cream

I did my Phoenix Rising design last week.  See above with the Quadruple Scoop I did on Beth.  Here's more photos.  I did mess up one of the bird tails.  That's what happens when it's 8 million degrees out and you melt if the AC and fans aren't running which in turn dries out the polish way too quick when you're stamping so it takes 8 tries to stamp per nail.  *phew*

And here's this weeks:

 zippers & paw prints for Beth.  There's a reason, I just can't get into it.

And my Island Sunrise design. 
Only two more off my July idea post left.  Need something easy next week.
...til next time

Taken for Granite

How so very fitting.
Until this very moment, I hadn't realized that I followed what was the most crap-tacular work week with my "Taken for Granite" nails.  Irony.
I used Wet n Wild French Creme as a base, dobbed on Essie Master Plan with blotted out saran wrap and then did an alcohol spray effect water marble of Revlon Top Speed Varnished.  
This is one of several I posted about a month ago.  I only have a couple left but wanted to play around so I came up with a few more manicures that will be coming up.  They are:

Drippy
My daughter wanted this one.  We haven't done it yet.

Steampunk
WnW Black Creme base with gears and chains (not pictured) from plates BM03 and BM12 in Orly Luxe

Peacock
I had wanted to use the peacock one for a while but didn't know how to approach it so I would be happy with it.  I finally saw a tutorial that used washed out blue as a base and really liked it so here is my interpretation of that.
Brash Electric Sky Base.  Orly Luxe stamp BM212.  Dots in Orly Snowcone and Revlon Midnight Affair.

Tortoise Shell
This is another plate I had been wanting to use.  I knew that it would have to really appeal to me for me to be happy with it and I finally came up with this combination.
Base is Sally Hansen Xtreme in Golden-I.  Stamp is BM215 in Revlon Colorstay Rainforest.  I think I would do an accent nail using my Salon Effects stamp of a turtle.

Indian Blanket
And yet another plate that I had really been wanting to use.  I used Sinful Colors Skylark as a base which is a lot more peachy than it shows here.  I did the stamp (BM204) in a gradient effect with Revlon Sorbet and Orly Blue Collar.  I added a mock french tip in a red but I think when I do this one I will use all three colors to stamp with instead.

This last one is an idea taken from some cloth that we have at work.  I really like this dotty material and had been eyeing it as a possible Halloweeny manicure since I first saw it.  I don't have the dot placement out very well but you get the idea....

Halloween Fabric
I used Sally Hansen Sunkissed as the base.  Dots are done in Wet n Wild Black Creme, Orly Dazzle and then topped with a single piece of purple glitter.  I might do a four tier dot when I do it and give the glitter a white frame which will set it out more.

and to finish... here is a photo of a roadrunner in my yard.  I don't think I posted this before but I found it when going through my SD card.

...til next time.

What 12¢ gets you at Walmart

No not Tazzy.  He is worth much more than 12¢.

I got all this after work on Monday for a whopping 12 cents.
11 bath puffs.  87¢ each - $1 coupons = $1.43 overage
2 packs vegetables for $1.29(ish.  I can't remember) each - $1 coupons = $.58
bottle of fruit water $.33
buns $.98
minus my discount = 12 cents.