Monsters and Spooks!

Here are two different Halloween themed Manicures I tried this year.
First, I present the Spooks.

This obviously just includes eyes and a few mouths. As I've mentioned, Some of my patterns were a little overly cute, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. I didn't spend too much time on these, giving 2 coats of each base color, and then free-handing dots for eyes, and scratching out a couple mouths/fangs with a toothpick.

If I would have taken more time, I think these would have turned out really well. They were still a fun addition to my Halloween designs.

The second design used classic monsters:

I painted this pattern on my roommate, since I knew I couldn't add these to my own hands (particularly my left one!). Frankenstein, Jack O'Lantern, Dracula, and Mummy (the thumb has a cyclops).

• Frankentstein has 2 coats of green(I used Pure Ice's "Free Spirit"), followed by black in an angular hair design. His eyes are black dots with white on top (instead of the usual reverse). He has silver 'nails' drawn at the nail tip, and a straight black line for a mouth.  

• Jack O'Lantern has 2 coats of a light orange (Wet N Wild "Sunny Side Up"). A bobby pin, bent into a straight line and dipped it into the dark orange polish (Pure Ice "Hot Tamale") can be used to press on stripes. These were easier to move across the nail than it would be to try a free-hand line. There is a green dot at the top of his 'head,' and the jack o'lantern face is simply drawn in with black polish. 

• Dracula begins with a few coats of white polish as a base (I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "White On" but it's about the texture of liquid paper white out. I can never find a good, white polish). Black is drawn in, following the nail's curve, and creating a widow's peak in the middle. His eyes have black dots, smaller white dots, and teeny, tiny dots of red (I used LA Colors Art Deco in "Red" for this... it has a little brush). I used a toothpick again for his smile, and added little drips of blood with my thin-brushed red.

• The Mummy has various shades of greens and browns, smudged together with part of a make up sponge. Once it reaches a 'gross' color, his eyes can be added. They are black dots with smaller red dots on top. The make up sponge is cut (or torn for better texture!) into strips, and used to apply the bandages. I mixed White On and a clear color on a strip of wax paper (only a little of each). The thin strip of sponge can be dipped into this color, and then just pressed across the nail to create the stripes of bandage. Using the sponge gives it a really nice textured look, rather than simply painting on stripes.

All of the monsters are finished with a clear top coat to protect the designs. :)

Halloween

This nail design used the entire fingernail as a tombstone. It was a great pattern for Halloween (which I LOVE). I began with a gray/silver base for each of my fingers. Texture was added by smudging different shades of browns and greens with a make up sponge. I tried to use these for a mossy/stonework look. the RIP letters were just written in with a toothpick and black polish (which is great, because for once the letters were supposed to look rough and uneven!). The ring finger has a 'bloody handprint' drawn in. This was also done with a toothpick. I followed through by adding little spots and streaks of red to the other nails, and covering them all with topcoat. Overall, I was pretty proud of this design.

For Halloween, it worked out to be festive without being too 'cutesy' as some of my other Halloween patterns ended up looking.

Tips:

• Don't try to make this one look perfect. The shaky writing and smudged colors add to the effect.
• I almost stopped too early when I was adding the greens and browns. These colors should be subtle enough that they aren't distracting, but they should still be noticeable! 

Autumn Leaves

There aren't many very good pictures from this set (and it was certainly a brief nail design), but I loved this look for the full day and a half that I had it. I started with various shades of orange, brown, and yellow. I smudged these for a sort of gradient look (it was random, but blurred).Next, I cut colorful pieces of dried leaves to fit across my nails. I used Nail Glue to secure them, and finished with several coats of topcoat.

As I mentioned, it didn't last very long... but looked lovely while the leaves stayed.

Tips:

• The leaves should be pressed down to resemble the nail's curve-otherwise they will peel up around the edges, and eventually peel off.
• Be careful about what you do while using these types of accessories. Excessively hot water from a shower, or from washing hands will turn the leaves brown and cause them to smell. It isn't very pleasant.