Happy New Year..... a month later...

 In no particular order, these are some of the creations I did since November..... yes, a rather slow update....

(Above: "Borrowed & Blue" by Essie... LOVE this color and don't think I'll ever get tired of it.  Just a simple mani. Below:  I can't remember the name of this particular polish, but the purple and sparkle polish were both O.P.I.)

Below is a Christmas "draft" with a bunch of ribbons (nail tape) and Santa's belt on the ring finger... It came out too messy for my liking so I took it all off after this. :(

Above:  Essie's "Tart Deco" a simple mani with a great color. 

After the Christmas "draft" above, I decided to do candy cane inspired nails

.  

Sparkle/dot mani with all Essie nail polishes.

 Above:  This one is the first layer of a nail tape mani I wanted to try (see below) with China Glaze's "Flip Flop Fantasy" and "Shocking Pink." Absolutely LOVE these neon colors!

Above: Bottom layer "Borrowed & Blue" with O.P.I. white nail polish with Essie's sparkle polish (sorry, don't have the names of the polishes with me at the moment.  Bottom: Simple "Lilacism" by Essie.

 And finally, my latest creation with the above bottom layer ("Flip Flop Fantasy" and "Shocking Pink") with a top layer of O.P.I.'s "Black Onyx."

For more up-to-date pictures of my nail creations, follow me @missbeadybabe :)

Every Girl Needs a Little Glitter

Wanted a little sparkle in my nails:

For this design, I used O.P.I.'s "Austin-Tatious Turquoise" and "Gone Gonzo" glitter nail polish over Sally Hansen's "Mint Sorbet."

Since, I love to play basketball, yet still am not able to play due to a torn achilles, I still like to shoot around.  And shooting with long nails is just a big no-no because I can't stand the sound of nails scraping against the ball when it is released (plus, don't you find it more difficult to type with longer nails? Maybe it's just me.)  I used scotch tape to make lines straight and a dotting tool for the dotted lines.

The holidays are approaching fast!  I think I have some holiday nail designs that I want to try out pretty soon, so stay tuned! :)

“Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday, and celebrate just living!"

- Amanda Bradley

The Wonders of Nail Tape

Decided to go with "Chinchilly" with "Borrowed and Blue" Essie nail polish:

Love the color combo with these two.  I realized the lines on my pinky, had a hint of green in them because the nail tape that I was using was a shiny green.  Note to self: Use a white colored nail tape or a similar color to the nail polish, that way the color doesn't change when you have the nail tape on.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
- Albert Einstein

Dippin' Dots

Excited that I got my new dotting tools so had to try out some dots :)

My friend said he wanted to eat my fingers because they looked like candy... and what do you say to that... thanks? :P

For updates on all of my nail creations and nail related things, follow Instagram User Name:  ThePolishedLadyJay

"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."

- Marthe Troly-Curtin

Feeling Stripe-y

So, I got a little impatient waiting for my nail tape from Amazon to arrive, which won't be coming for another two weeks.

 

I couldn't wait any longer to try the tape method, so I cut itty bitty pieces of scotch tape and formed my own nail tape. I wanted to make different thicknesses of the tape to create different sized stripes.

 

I used both O.P.I. and Essie nail polish, although I find myself having more difficulty with the Essie nail polish as it seems to be a bit thicker than O.P.I.  The purple sparkle nail polish was my first coat and because of the glitter, the pink nail polish on top was a little bumpy.  If you couldn't tell already, the Essie nail polish is the lighter pink and the darker is O.P.I.  I used the darker O.P.I. to see how it would look, then I wanted to try the Essie.  I decided I kind of liked the different shades of pink so decided to alternate each finger.  You have to wait about 5-10 minutes, until the nail polish dries before you peel off the tape, as it may not be clean lines if you pull it off too early.

Overall, I say my first stripes attempt was pretty successful.. I would like to make it even cleaner, so when my real nail tape comes, I'm hoping it will be easier. :)

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."  
- Scott Adams

Oakland A's Inspired

Congrats to the AL WEST CHAMPIONS!!!!

Such an amazing game to witness, and so worth it to miss work for it :P.

  

My first team that I ever played Little League for was the A's, and my pops would take my brother and I to some of the A's games when we were younger.  That was when Eckersley, Mcgwire, Canseco, Henderson were still playing.  I still remember going to an A's game when I was maybe 10 years old, staying after the game hoping to get an autograph from one of the A's players at the time.  Unfortunately, all of the A's looked really pissed off because they had lost that game to the San Diego Padres and I opted for a Sandy Alomar Jr. autograph instead.  I had no idea who he was, but had his signature on my A's ticket.  My pops just laughed at me.

 BTW: Coco is the MAN!

Man Bracelet - Skulls

I recently created a bracelet for my guy friend.  I asked what would be a good type of bead for men that didn't look too girly?  And if they had a specific shape/character for the bead, what could I look for?  So I looked up wood beads on Etsy.  And to my surprise, I found tons of pretty cool beads that were made out of wood.  I also remembered my brother wearing a Marc Ecko shirt with a skull on it that looked pretty cool, so I thought to myself, skull beads would look pretty cool and not to mention, manly.  I was lucky enough to find these awesome beads and create just the bracelet my friend was looking for:

 

Next Up:

Project Buddha Bracelet

Doesn't his face just make you smile? :)

"Think left and think right and think low and think high.  

Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!" 

- Dr. Seuss

My Obsession...

So, I admit, it's been a while since I've created any new pieces of jewelry.

Unfortunately, I tore me Achilles tendon playing in a basketball tournament and have put a few things off. Even though this next entry is not about jewelry, I like to think this blog is for anything CrEaTiVe.

With my boredom and obsession over nail art, I kept myself busy with these creations:

 Dark Brown/White/Pink

 Pink/White/Light Blue

 Orange/White/Yellow

 Purple/Pink/White/Magenta

 Blue/SilverGrey/Pink/White

 

Plain Jane - White/Pink

Simple White Polka Dots with Pink

I LOVE O.P.I. nail polish!  I feel like it's the best nail polish out there, although I have yet to try Essie.  As you can see, dots are probably the simplest way to start out by doing designs on your nails.  I started out by doing small dots, then gradually learning how to drag the dots to make bigger dots and shaping them into flower petals. I use a small, very tiny brush that you can get from Joann's or Michaels or any craft store.  Once you do the petals, the middle is pretty easy with a single dot to make the flower look complete.  

For the smaller dots, I use a white nail art pen by Sally Hansen.  These pens are great for more detailed designs, but it takes practice to get them neatly on your nail. The good thing about them is that if you make a mistake, it can usually rub away with a little water after it's been on your nail for about a minute.  The bad thing is, since they can rub off pretty easily, you can't just leave it on your nail by itself.  A top coat of clear nail polish will have to be applied after using the art pen in order for the design to stay on and keep from being rubbed off.

 

I'm still learning and am always open to new designs/creations/inspiration!  

The hard thing is... I CAN'T STOP decorating my nails!  There will come a time when I will have to design jewelry again, where the silver, gold, and metal will ruin my nails.... but until then.... I shall continue to create!

"The painter's obsession with his subject is all that he needs to drive him to work."

- Lucian Freud