(Part 2) Fireworks and flag mani! - 4th of July 2011

Brynn @ A Painted World 2 comments

(Part 2) Fireworks and flag mani! - 4th of July 2011

Well friends, I did a redo. I decided I wasn't happy with the stripes in my first Fourth of July design that I did yesterday. My mind kept going to candy canes instead of the flag so I decided to do it over. Here is my second 4th of July mani (and my last for this year).

I'm much much happier with this one! As you can see, I replaced the red and white stripes with more fireworks. On my middle finger and pinky on both hands I used Zoya Breezi as a base and Zoya Sooki with OPI Alpine Snow to make the fireworks design. I topped them with a bit of Stripe Rite red glitter and Wet & Wild Kaleidoscope just as I did before with the red style. I think it's a nice contrast and a bit of variety with the full fireworks design. Plus I was able to have more blue than I had before. I'm actually really in love with this!

My Aunt Claire never wears nail polish or makeup but is actually enjoying watching me play with different designs and is pretty interested in how I do each one. This one though, is the first one that has made her consider having me doing her nails! Now that's a compliment!

To switch it up a bit I did a different design on my thumbs. For this I used a base of OPI Alpine Snow (still a pain to do full nail coverage) with Zoya Sooki stripes and Zoya Breezi star stamping to create a flag. My hubby calls it a more abstract American flag because of the way I did the stripes.

I used MASH plate m44 for both the stripes and the stars to create this look. Both stamps are actually made for the tips which are why the stripes have the curve but I thought it would give it a bit of a different look for a flag nail designs.

I'll be keeping this look through the rest of the holiday weekend and our trip to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox play the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday the 6th. Even though Independence Day will be over the colors still fit with the Red Sox colors so it works.

What do you wonderful readers think of this design? I would love to see your feedback!

Enjoy your holiday!

Fireworks and stripes mani! - 4th of July 2011 (Part 1)

Brynn @ A Painted World No comment yet

Fireworks and stripes mani! - 4th of July 2011 (Part 1)

I can't believe it's already the first week of July! It's my favorite month of the year but I can't believe the year is going by so fast. My birthday being at the end of the month probably has something to do with it being my favorite but the fireworks, cookouts, warm weather and being out in the sun is pretty awesome too.

Anyway, as part of our celebrations I decided to do an Independence Day manicure like so many other nail addicts bloggers are doing. This is actually my first attempt at a free handed design and I'm happy with how it came out. My left hand looks the best since I'm right handed which means I'll just have to half ignore my right hand since it's not quite as good as I want it to be.

For the design I did white with red strips on 6 of my nails and red with white, blue and glitter fireworks on the other 4. It was so much fun!

For this design I used Zoya Sooki, Zoya Breezi, OPI Alpine Snow, Stripe Rite red glitter, Wet & Wild Kaleidoscope and Seche Vite to set it all in place. Phew! That's the most I've ever used on one manicure. It was all worth it though and definitely the most fun I've had making a design.

For the stripes and fireworks I used a very fine nail art brush I bought at Sally's. It's actually a double tool with a fine brush on one end and a small dotter on the other. I'm really happy with the brush so far. It's firm but still a bit flexible and pretty thin for small details. The best part is the end with the brush is actually curved so you can see what you doing without the handle being in the way. It's a nice little design feature.

The only thing that gave me an issue was actually the OPI Alpine Snow. I don't know if I just have a weird bottle but the formula is kind of thick and a pain to paint the entire nail. Up until now I had only used it for stamping which it has worked great for but using it for full coverage wasn't fun at all. My Zoya's on the other hand went on beautifully as usual so I'll probably just order a bottle of white from Zoya. Maybe Purity or Snow White.

I haven't used it for anything I've shared on this blog yet but I absolutely love Zoya Sooki (yes as in True Blood Sooki)! It's a beautiful red. It reminds me of fresh blood which is kind of a morbid comparison but it fits since the name is shared with the main character of a vampire series on HBO. It's definitely a red I would recommend to anyone shopping for one.

I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday weekend! Hopefully you will have the chance to see a great fireworks show or two and spend some time with family and friends. Stay safe and have fun!

Happy 4th of July!