Quick and Dirty: Fresh Baked Doticure

Another oldie but a goodie from the cell phone vault!

I called this fresh baked because as soon as it was done I realized I had the old Wonder Bread packaging on my nails!

I started out with a China Glaze White on White base and then dotted on Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue me Away, a red I no longer have, and the yellow is NYC Lexington Yellow. I used a very small dotting tool for the small dots and the back end  of my paint brush for the largest ones. 

I still love this manicure, even though it looks like my clean up was nonexistent back then! This reminds me of the breakfast of my childhood! Silly and it dates me...but true! I hope my computer is back tomorrow, because that is the last post I had prepared that isn't trapped in it! Yikes!

Inspired by...a birthday card, with Sinful Colors Hazard

I wasn't even positive I was going to post these. In my mind they were beautiful. But I found the silver on the coral didn't show up as well as I hoped. Theses two stamps were from plates BM-H10 and BM-H16 from the new Bundle Monster Holiday Collection.

I used Sinful Colors Hazard as the base colour and stamped with Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Silver Sweep. When it was dry I dotted in with China Glaze White on White wanting to pop the design a bit more.

The swatch photo is Hazard in direct Sunlight, the other in my light box. In this case the light box is more accurate in my opinion. I blew these up too x-large so you could better make out the pattern. Do you guys like pictures bigger, or would you rather do it yourselves generally?

The colour combo was inspired by a birthday card from my father in law with a flower pattern very similar to my first two fingers.

That's all for you ladies today. What do you think, fail or not a fail?

Nail Challenge 2013 and my computer is gone!

So Chalkboard Nails just released the plan for the 2013 Nail Challenge, and I'm crazy enough to try it!

Here's the plan for the art this year day by day.

I'm excited but nervous if I can keep up! I only want to use new work not anything from my vault. To make things more difficult, my husband took the computer for service last night! So all my blog work is held hostage! Yikes. Luckily, I had a few posts already prepped for you and can launch them from my tablet...hopefully! Well that's all for now, just wanted to help get the challenge list out there for anyone interested in participating this year.

Quick and Dirty: Hibiscus with Sinful Colors Hazard‏

Another quick and dirty post from my old saved pre-blog manis. Too pretty to leave in the amateur vault!

This is Sinful Colors Hazard which is a lovely coral leaning orange cream. When I bought this, I wore it consecutively for a while. It's summertime fabulous and has a great formula!

I stamped the lovely little hibiscus with two images from Bundle Monster plates BM-221 and BM-318 in an unknown wine colored metallic polish my dad put in my stocking at Christmas. 

Two adhesive rhinestones, top coat and a summertime favorite manicure was born. I will definitely recreate this one someday.

Girls Night Out Nails with Pink Voltage

This is just a quick post, cause I'm pretty sure I've seen almost the exact same manicure out there. 

I've had these polish strips in my cupboard for about a year and thought why not use them. I'm going to see Mortal Instruments with a friend tonight so it's a good enough reason.(hmmm maybe I'll do Mortal Instruments nails this week! )

Anyway, ‎this is 3 coats of China Glaze Pink Voltage plus topcoat. I felt this one needed three as there was some balding and streaking. The accent finger is Sally Hansen Salon Effects polish Strips in Love Letter. I've heard mixed reviews on the strips, but I had no trouble with application or lifting.I did put a topcoat on it after the photos just to be sure.

Anyone notice the odd freak out my camera did with the Pink Voltage? Never did that before!

Well that's it. Simply sweet girls night manicure!

Inspired by my...Dress!

I love the idea of pulling artistic inspiration from your own world, so I plan to post manicures based on the world around me. 

So! These were inspired by a dress...my favorite dress this summer. It is a pink, white, turquoise gradient with gradient leopard spots over top in black and turquoise. That's a mouthful...or keyboard full!

So first I was going to do it as it is in the fabric, but I couldn't get the leopard stamp stamping to satisfaction for some reason. Then I chose this stamp from Bundle Monster plate BM-221, and had trouble lining it up! At this point I didn't want to start over. So, voila! Off centered but still cute!

The polishes used are Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On for my base. Then I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away, Sinful Colors Cream Pink and more of White On for the gradient.

As a side note, this gradient totally reminds me of a rocket pop!

After a day I couldn't resist mucking about, so I added China Glaze Fairy Dust and then Sally matte top coat. Should have stopped after the Fairy Dust it was BEAUTIFUL! But still cool in the matte.

 I also took this one after with my cell to show you the fabric. Sorry for the quality!

Hope you guys like these and come back soon!

Orange-licious with China Glaze Orange Knockout

I was trying to decide if these are tiger stripes, or orange zebra. But I'm going to go with straight up orange-licious!

I picked up this China Glaze Orange Knockout at my local beauty supply two weeks ago because it's just the perfect medium neon orange. As neons go, this isn't as blinding as some, but with a white base next time I could definitely ramp it up. 

As for formula, coat one showed some balding but coat two brought this one to full opacity. I then stamped with China Glaze Liquid Leather with Bundle Monster plate BM-223.

I'm a real sucker for happy mani's, and this one makes me smile! 

As a side note, this was the first manicure I used my newly made light box for! The bottom shot was taken in natural light.

Quick and Dirty: Stamping Decal Butterfly

Now I call this a quick and dirty post not because it was extremely quick or my clean up was that bad...but because it's a pre-blog manicure.

I've been keeping a folder in my phone of all my previous nail art. Cell phone photography and clean up aside I have some great old manicures I may drop in from time to time! 

This is China Glaze White on White double stamped with Sally Hansen Silver Sweep and a Sally Holiday Glitter 812017. I then added the sweet little butterfly that I prepared using the stamping decal technique and an image from Salon Express plate SE18. He really is the perfect little butterfly for stamping!

Top coat to seal, and Bob's your uncle! Sweet and easy! I got loads of compliments on these. I would love to know what folks are thinking of the blog so far and get constructive criticism from any fellow nail bloggers. 

Gradient and Waterfall with China Glaze Pink Voltage

These I loved! If I had to pick two bottles of polish for the rest of my life, one would be a pink the other a baby blue or turquoise! So this manicure was a fave! 

The gradient was done with China Glaze Pink Voltage, and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Berry Juicy. The waterfall accent nail was a base of the Sally Hansen Berry Juicy. Then I striped in with Kiss Nail Art Stripers in Pink Glitter, Deep Purple and the China Glaze Pink Voltage with a Striper brush.

The next day I decided to try a Matte topcoat for the first time. It looked fairly AWESOME! I used a coat of Color Club Snow Flakes on all the gradient fingers, then a coat of Sally Girl Matte Topcoat which worked amazing!

All in all this was one of my fave manicures in a long time, and I see a future relationship blooming between me and matte topcoat. Sigh!

Happy Birthday Lady Maid Nails!

Welcome to Lady Maid Nails, my little slice of the nail Universe! 

Last Halloween my son asked me to do monsters on my fingers with polish. I turned on my iPad and fell down the rabbit hole and into the wonderland that is the Nail Art community. 

It's been almost a year, and my pretty little obsession hasn't slowed down. I've dreamed of sharing my nail art with newbies and like minded nail ladies. I decided that my birthday present to myself this year would be this blog. 

So Happy Birthday to me and  Happy Blog birth as well!

Now on to the nails!

I decided my first post had to have a Birthday theme. My kids 'got' me the new Bundle Monster Holiday plates for my birthday, so I was able to use plates #BMH19 and BMH20 for the candles, present, balloons and Happy Birthday images.

I used a base of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On. The two gradients and red and silver accents were all Sally Hansen Instadry Silver Sweep and the other Instadry Rapid Red. The black accents are all China Glaze Liquid Leather. I then used striping tape to make the lines on my pinkie then added the dots with a dotting tool and some to the balloon nail.As a note, Rapid Red stamps amazing but is more difficult to clean. So I'm sorry for having two pink fingers!

Well that's it I think. Thank you for coming and please come back. I have lots of fresh and fun ideas to share. 

Whatever is a nail blogger with a first post promised tomorrow supposed to do with all these goodies today?

I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Just a teaser!

If anyone out there is watching, here is a sample of what to expect coming August 23!

Oh...P.S. Anyone know how to get my banner to stay put up there! Layout tool says it is...and yet still NO!
---Got IT!

It's like I'm too excited to wait...I'm now inventing reasons to post!

Welcome and hello!

If anyone finds me by accident, please try back August 23 2013 when I go live! Still figuring out this whole blog thing, but I have lots of nail art to share with you!

Cheers,
Mandy