Purple Cherry Blossoms

This was kind of a spur-of-the-moment choice that turned out really well! Base is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Lacey Lilac," stamped with Wet n Wild Megalast in "Disturbia." I used a couple of the little cherry blossom flowers on Pueen plate #59.

Silver Grid

I originally had something else in mind, but changed plates at the last minute to use this grid-type design from Pueen #04. Base is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "Pronto Purple," and stamping is "Silver Sweep."

Jamspiration

A few of my friends are now selling Jamberry wraps, but as I've discovered, they just don't work for me. However, the catalog is great inspiration for me in creating my own nail art! Inspired by the style Glam, I decided on a base of Finger Paints "Putty in My Hands," stamped with Pure Ice "Fairy Godmother" and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Mauve It." I had a couple design options, but ended up using the sketchy flowers on Pueen plate #77 - I loved this plate as soon as I saw it, but hadn't used it yet!

Following the Rules

I picked up three of these Sally Hansen "Get the Look" kits at Target this weekend. I didn't necessarily want "the look," they were just a good deal for three full-size Xtreme Wear polishes. However, I decided to try following the instructions from this pack for a "Side Swipe French Mani."

I started with the metallic "Pink Satin" over all my nails. Then I used a piece of tape to create a straight line diagonally across each nail, and painted "Lacey Lilac" over the tips. I finished up with "Confetti Punch" just at the very tips, so it overlapped both the other colors. I guess they turned out ok, but I wasn't super excited about it overall.

Flutter by...

Simple mani tonight... I used Pure Ice "Fairy Godmother," and then stamped just on my ring fingers with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Pronto Purple," using the butterfly/flower design from Pueen plate #39. Pronto Purple is one of my favorite nail colors (and I'm super bummed it doesn't seem to be in stores anymore), but it is kind of a lousy stamping polish :o(

Spring Thistles

I thought I'd try another gradient mani, this time with just two colors. I used Pure Ice in "Fairy Godmother" (purple) and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "Love Train" (pink with lavender undertones). The first nail I did turned out like a beautiful sunset. Then the rest of them looked like a bad faux textured wall :o( But it didn't matter so much, since I was covering the whole thing with this thistle-like design from Pueen plate #51 (in Pure Ice "Black Out"), which I've been waiting to use.

The overall effect is kind of crazy (looks like something from the 80s), so we'll see how long this actually lasts...

"Buffet" of Hearts and Stars

When I saw the new Pueen "Stamping Buffet" collection, I fell in love! But then it sold out and wasn't available to purchase for a couple weeks. The minute it was back in stock, I ordered mine!

For my first try with the "all over" style of plates, I went with the hearts, stars, and spirals on plate #63. I love how every finger is different, but they all go together.

I used Sephora by OPI in "Frankly, I Don't Give A-dam," and stamped with Sally Hansen InstaDri in "Vigorous Violet." The InstaDri polishes are usually really good for stamping, but I always forget that this particular color is a little more sheer, so it came out a little lighter than I'd like.

Free Bird

I had something all planned out, to the point that I actually wrote myself a note of what colors and designs I wanted to use so I wouldn't forget. And the... I totally changed the plan. So instead, we have Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "Uptempo Plum" (one of my favorites!), with a couple bird-related images in "Silver Sweep." On my left hand, I have the bird cage from Bundle Monster BM-407, and on my right I have that feather I liked from BM-419.

Silver Scribbles

I've had my eye on this crazy scribbly design from Pueen plate #47 for a while. Playing off my previous mani, I stamped in Stripe Rite silver (sorry, I don't see an actual color name on the bottle) on top of OPI for Sephora "Just a Little Dangerous," and used OPI for Sephora "It's Bouquet with Me" on my ring fingers.

My husband asked me the other day what's up with doing something different on your ring fingers. I don't know, it's just a thing...

Swirly Silver Flowers

I haven't had time to do any nail art or stamping recently! For the last couple weeks, I've needed to just get my nails done and go. But I'm back. I actually wasn't planning on stamping when I painted my nails a couple nights ago with OPI for Sephora "Just a Little Dangerous," but tonight I picked up Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "Silver Sweep" and decided to jazz things up a little.

Originally I intended to do something more straight-lined, but then I noticed this swirly, flowery design on Pueen plate #13 and decided to use it. I like the way it turned out!

Flowers and Branches

I realized I hadn't used this Pure Ice nail polish in "Fairy Godmother" yet, so I did a test to see how opaque it was. Turns out it covers pretty much completely in just one coat! (But I did two anyway, just to be safe.) Then I did this flowery/branchy design from Pueen plate 33 (I just now decided that they were branches) in Pure Ice "Black Out," with dots of Wet n Wild "Rain Check" in the centers of the flowers.

There was a tiny bit of streaking after I put on a top coat, but also my scraper wasn't quite scraping as well as it used to, so there were a couple noticeable streaks transferred right from the plate.

Lace and Roses

I've been seeing a lot of people on Instagram and such using these rose and lace designs, so even though it's not my usual style, I decided to try this design from Pueen plate #27. In Wet n Wild "Black Creme" on Sally Hansen InstaDri "Vigorous Violet," it comes across as more sassy than sweet :o)

The only bad thing was that the delicate design got pretty streaky when I put on the top coat. Sorry again for my raggedy cuticles - and I had to go with my right hand because it was the less streaky of the two, plus I got a really badass blood blister on my left ring finger :o/

Subtle Spirals

My original plan for tonight was to do one of the lacy patterns in black on a pale pink base. I used Sally Hansen Star Opal in "Rose Gold Opal," one of my all-time favorite nail colors, and then started stamping... I haven't had any problems with black before, but I guess doing it on such a pale background, regular black polish didn't end up looking as opaque as it has on darker colors? I also feel like there was something on the plate that was preventing me from picking up the pattern right (and I always clean them with nail polish remover before using, to remove any residue). Moral of the story is, it looked bad.

After trying and failing with with a different lacy pattern, I decided to go for something completely different, and instead stamped this swirly spiral pattern in Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "Vigorous Violet." It came out a little lighter and more subtle than I had intended, but I liked it in the end.

Coffee Table Rings

This circle pattern on Pueen plate 47 reminded me of the rings left on your table when you don't use a coaster.

The end result was a little more subtle than I'd intended. The Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polishes I've tried have been pretty opaque and good for stamping, but I guess "Vigorous Violet" didn't have quite enough pigment to stand up to Pure Ice in "Kiss Me Here" (which is a weird name for a gray color, btw).

Here is a picture after I added a top coat - it didn't streak too badly:

Peacock!

I've wanted to do this ever since I saw a tutorial for a similar look on YouTube. My Pueen plates arrived today, and plate 09 with this peacock design was the first one I pulled out!

This is a base of an OPI for Sephora color (sorry, don't know the name off the top of my head, it's part of a sampler), with stamping in black, and dots of Sally Hansen InstaDry in Pronto Purple in the centers of the feather looking parts.

I am really happy with these Pueen plates! How happy am I? So happy that I shared a picture of my right hand (I am right-handed) because it turned out just as nice as the left! All the problems I seemed to experience with the Konad plates I tried just aren't happening with these. I have two sets (the 2012 and 2013) and love all the patterns on them, so I will be entertained for a while!