Black & White & Red All Over

Avon Color Last Plus "Persian Red" #114

OPI "Black Onyx"

Konad IP m54 & m74

Sorry for the silly title, but when I was trying to think of what to call this konadicure, that kids' joke, "What's black and white and red (read) all over?" popped into my head. (The newspaper is the answer, in case you never heard that one.)

For this Konadicure, I wanted to feature mostly red nails with a bit of black and red. I used an old Avon colour which I found in still perfect condition. The colour was so even and opaque that I only needed one coat of "Persian Red" to get full coverage. Then I free-handed the black tip going on a diagonal, with the thicker part closer to the thumb. When that dried, I stamped the waffle-like grid pattern over the black tips. To do that I used Konad Special Polish in White on part of one of the full nail designs from IP m74.

Next, I added a few flowers from m57. On the white flowers, I added a dot of "Black Onyx". To make the black flower, I used Konad Special Polish in black, and then I added a dot of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in "White On". On the opposite hand I did the single large flower on the ring finger and the two smaller flowers on the thumb.

Thanks for reading!

Silver & Stars

Finger Paints "Easel Come, Easel Go" (2 coats)

star design from Konad IP m15 in Special Black

Can't choose one pic - I love how these shots turned out!

For this konadicure I chose a smooth silvery base colour - "Easel Come, Easel Go" - and I love its name almost as much as the bright shiny metallic effect it creates. The stars are randomly placed with some going off the edge or corner of the nail. I like this scattered look, but the pinky got a bit too crowded.

I try to find something to hold to make the photos for each konadicure something unique. I found these retro looking headphones and thought the silver/black and textured detail would add some interest to the pics.

Hope you enjoy this post. Please tell me your reaction by clicking on one of the boxes below, or leave me a comment!

Green Granite

Splatter design from Konad IP m70 design in Special White

Orly's "Enchanted Forest" (2 coats)

I finally bought "Enchanted Forest" when I saw it on sale at Sally's with a glittery topcoat included in a two-pack. The colour wasn't as green as I'd hoped it would be. It had more of a smoky look than I'd expected. I think the new "Wandering Vine" by Orly might be more what I'm longing for, but it's so difficult to get new collections in Canada, for some annoying reason.

I added the splatter design from m70 in Konad Special White to create a green granite type of effect. Now looking at it, it might have been interesting to go over it again with the same pattern in black.

For the background, I used this blanket I started crocheting after it had been sitting half-finished, bundled in a bag in the back of my closet for about fifteen years or more - no exaggerating. I found the blanket and the yarn but couldn't for the life of me locate the crochet hook. A quick trip to Walmart and I had a spankin' new hook ready to go. The basic stitch came right back to me. Sadly, that's about all I know how to do, but there are so many instructional videos on youtube (who knew people still crocheted!?) that I'm tempted to try to learn some other stitches and patterns. The trouble is, you can't crochet with wet nails, ha ha ha:-)

Hippie Flowers

Barry M "Pink Flamingo"

flowers from Konad IP m74 in Special White

This is a konadicure I was inspired to create after my sister came home from England bearing gifts from Barry M. This is "Pink Flamingo" which is a new polish in this awesome line from the UK. There you can buy their polish, lipsticks and eye shadows in drugstores and department stores and they aren't overly pricey. I love their bright creme coloured polishes. Their dazzle dust and glitter dust eye products are also my faves!

Okay, back to the nails. Even though this is quite a summery colour, I decided to use it in the dead of the Canadian winter. I added flowers from Konad IP m74 in a random pattern to create a slightly different design on each nail. Then I added dots of various colours to the centre of the flowers by using a dotting tool. I love how the dotting tool allows you to make very uniform dots!

Hope this konadicure helps you make it through the long days of winter!

Pink Piano

Finger Paints "Art District Delight" (2 coats)

musical design from Konad IP m73 in Special Black

Sally Hansen "Encore" - subtle glitter on top

Another pink post. I just love the detail in this Konad image, so I was really excited to use this design. I decided that black on white was a bit predictable, so I chose a pale pink for the background, to keep the contrast but soften the finished look a bit.

Finger Paints is a brand I just recently started using, and I really like the consistency and opacity of their polishes. I get them at my local Sally's.

It was a bit tricky getting this pattern to be crisp and lined up just so, but it was worth it, I think. When the design has very fine lines or dots like this one does, I sometimes add a few drops of thinner to the Special Polish to make sure every detail gets picked up onto the stamper.

I added a bit of subtle glitter with this Sally Hansen Hard As Nails polish I picked up when there was a $0.99 sale at my local drugstore awhile back. "Encore" has a very sheer peach tone with fine green and gold glitter in it.

I'll admit it; I couldn't wait to go to work and show this konadicure to the music teacher at my school. It tickled her pink - sorry, but I couldn't resist the bad pun. She honestly tried to hum the tune from the musical staff...how cute is that?!

Love Tips

China Glaze's "Tantalize Me" (2 coats)

Color Club's "Power Play" on tips

Heart tips design from Konad IP m73 in Special White

"Tantalize Me" was given to me by a friend. It's not the type of colour I'd normally wear or buy for myself, but as a base for a modified french manicure, I kinda like it. It's a rather sheer colour, but the duochrome bluish shimmer makes it interesting.

"Power Play" is a deep purplish pink that I really love. Together, this makes for a romantic Valentine's Day-appropriate manicure.

Hope this post helps to get you thinking about l'amour. What will be on your nails this Valentine's Day?

Winter Wonderland

Colour Club's "220 Volts" (2 coats)

Snowflake designs from Konad IP m59 in Special white

Nubar's "Martini" - holograhic glitter

Ah...a truly Canadian konadicure for you. Colour Club's "220 Volts" is an awesome blue creme. The only problem is that it tends to chip whenever I use it. I don't know what's up with that because I don't have that problem with other colours from this brand.

I stamped the snowflakes in random positions and then added some of Nubar's holographic glitter in the centre of the flakes, as well as randomly on the nail to give it a frosty winter effect.

Royal Ribbons

Essie's "Wicked" with pattern from Konad IP m69 in Revlon "Punch Chrome".

Here's another shot...

Yep, you guessed it, one more pic...

So here are some shots of Essie's "Wicked" (2 coats) with the ribbon pattern from IP m69. I used a Revlon polish in "Punch Chrome" to do the stamping. I had read on some blogs about these old chrome finish polishes working great for stamping, and then I remembered I had one way back in the 80's, if I had to guess. Lo and behold, I went digging through my dusty stuff stowed way back under the bathroom sink, and what do I find...Revlon "Punch Chrome" still in perfect condition! AMAZING! So, after my heart rate went back to normal, I tried it out and the results were awesome (if I do say so myself). This konadicure may be a weird colour combo, but that's what happens when you "konadicure" - yeah, it's now a verb - late at night!

I also like to come up with different props to go in my pictures. This is a bottle of "Lovely" by the fashionable Sarah Jessica Parker. My hubby bought it for me in the airport on our way to Cuba last year, and surprised me with it when we got there. It's a soft, pretty scent that I've really grown to love, and it reminds me of the fun we had on that trip.

Black Lace & Rhinestones

Design from Konad IP m73 with Special Black Polish

I decided to try this out after seeing a lot of "model hand" and nude polish looks online. Of course, I couldn't stop after painting my nails with a nude taupe colour I "frankenpolished". It looked pretty nice, but I tend to always want to add more. So I added the lace floral pattern. That was probably the time to stop, but then I went for the glitter - thus the name of my blog - glitterM. I added some rhinestones that I bought at the dollar store. One is black, one clear and one pearl. Slapped on a thick coat of Seche Vite and away we go!