Walking in a Winter Wonderland!

Winter Wonderland

I love holiday themed nails! :)

All you need for these nails are:

- Base coat & Top coat
- Blue polish (Finger Paints Midnight Sleigh Ride)
- White polish (Finger Paints Paper Mache)
- Red polish (Sally Hansen Honeymoon Red)
- White Acrylic paint
- Scotch tape
- Toothpick

First paint all but your ring finger blue, then paint your ring finger white (I used 2 coats).

Next, using your acrylic paint, paint the icicles. I used the left over acrylic paint to made the snow flakes with my toothpick.

Lastly use your tape to create your tree. If you fold the tape in half and cut out half a tree then open the tape and place this on your nail it will create a perfectly symmetric Christmas tree! Paint this with your favourite red polish.

What are some of your favourite Christmas things? Trees? Lights? Santa perhaps? Keep emailing me your requests/comments (nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com). Don't forget to check out my Facebook page!

Peace, Love & Don't forget your Top Coat!

-Valentine

Santa's Helpers "HO HO HO"

Merry Christmas!

Update: I bought a new computer!!! My old iMac died so when I was posting (over the last 10 months) it was from my tablet which was extremely time consuming and annoying! Now that my new iMac has come you can expect to see me post more frequently! Yay!

Todays design came from a video I saw on YouTube. Its a cute festive design to get you in the holiday spirit!

All you need for this design is:

- Base Coat & Top Coat
- Red/ Light Green/ Dark Green/ White/ and Brown nail polish.
- Acrylic paint in white, red, green, yellow and black
- Toothpick or a dotting tool for the buttons

Check out the video I've linked from this very talented nail artist!
IHaveACupcake Christmas Nail Art

Hope you have a happy and joy filled holiday season!


Peace, Love & Don't forget your top coat!

-Valentine

To Infinity & Beyond

Galaxy Nails

So it's been a while since I last posted. Here's a fun nail idea that always looks pretty!

For this design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat

-"Orly" nail polish in Liquid Vinyl, Charged Up, Spark, Dazzle, Shine on Crazy Diamond, Orly Platinum

-"Sally Hansen Instadry" in Pink Blink

-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

you will also need some toothpicks and a clean makeup sponge.

First protect your nails with a good base coat, then paint them with your black polish (2 coats).

Next rip your makeup sponge into small pieces. dip these small pieces into you different polish colors, one at a time dab them onto your nails, repeat this for all of your nails. I started with my white color then purple, blue, yellow, pink. (If you find it hard to hold the sponge use a pair of tweezers to hold them, easy to use and it won't smudge your wet polish).

Let this dry then use your toothpick to dot on some stars. Cover your design in sparkles and finish off with a protecting top coat! 

I really hope you liked this design. Now that summer is over I will be posting more to this site. Keep sending your Fall requests my way.

Don't forget to like my facebook page!

Enjoy!

-Valentine

Wa Wa Wa Watermelon!

Watermelon Nails

I don't know about you but watermelon is one of my favorite summer treats! It's a cold sweet treat after a long day in the sun. Thus, it has inspired todays nail art!

For this design I used the following:
- 'Beauty Secrets' Base Coat
- 'China Glaze' polish in Rich & Famous
- 'LA Color' polish in Green, Light Green and White
- 'Orly' polish in Liquid Vinyl
- 'Beauty Secrets' Top Coat

I've seen lots of different watermelon designs but I like this one best because of the deep smile line that the green part of the melon creates! Hope you like this design, let me know what you think and what other summer design ideas you've got!

Check out my facebook page and don't forget to 'LIKE' :)

Enjoy

-Valentine

Surfs Up!

With the nice weather that’s in abundance this time of year I thought it would be nice to do a beach theme. I know black polish doesn’t exactly scream beach but I though it gave the waves a nice contrast.

For this design I used the following:

-Beauty Secrets Base Coat

-China Glaze nail polish in Smoke and Ashes (Hunger Games Collection- District 12)

-Acrylic paint in Ivory, blue and teal

-Beauty Secrets Top Coat

I love the Smoke and Ashes polish because it’s not a pure black cream, when the sun hits it, its actually got some specks of green glitter in it. I thought it was a really nice compliment to the blue and teal that were incorporated into my waves.

With a small brush paint your waves, once dry use your blue and teal paint to add little accents.

Remember to seal in your design with a good top coat, this also add lots of shine to your otherwise matte acrylic paint. You’re finished!

Let me know what you think about this design and keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com.

Check out my facebook page and remember to ‘Like’

Enjoy

-Valentine

Feisty Feline

Feisty Feline Nail Art

Today's nails were inspired by a manicure shown on Pretty Little Liars. I mixed it up a bit by doing a red half moon on each nail!

For this design I used the following:

- Beauty Secrets Base Coat

- Joe Fresh nail polish in Caramel

- China Glaze nail polish in Dress me Up and Foie Gras

- Finger Paints nail polish in Curator's Crimson

- Beauty Secrets Top Coat

Once your base coat is dry paint on a coat od red polish (depending on the brand and formula you may need more than one coat). When the red polish is completely dry place page reinforcements on each nail to create the shape of the half moon mani. Paint on two coats of your tan polish and remove the page reinforcements. Lastly use the back of a makeup brush or a dotting tool to create the leopard print, complete it by outlining in the darker brown polish. 

Don't forget to protect your design with a top coat.

Hope you like this cute design. Check out my facebook page, keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com!

-Valentine

Rainbow Tree of Life

Welcome back!! Today’s nails we’re inspired by the wonderful Robin Moses, I saw one of her designs when I was searching for a good tree design. This is my first attempt at this design but I’m sure I will try again…

For this design I used:

-Beauty Secrets Base Coat

-Orly nail polish in Platinum and Shine on Crazy Diamond

-Acrylic paint in white, black, gold, blue, teal, lime green, yellow, orange, red, pink and purple

-Beauty Secrets Top Coat

Tip 1: Use a very thin brush for the limbs on the tree, I used a thinker brush and my trees didn’t come out exactly how I wanted them to.

Tip 2: For the leaves dab your brush over and over on to your nails in a stippling motion this is the easiest way I know of to create tiny leaves.

Hope you enjoyed this design.  Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com; remember to check out my Facebook page.

Enjoy

-Valentine

Feelin' Hippy!

With spring in full swing and summer just around the corner I decided to do some Hippy-ish Spring flowers on my nails. All you need for this design is a few of your favorite nail polishes and a dotting tool or makeup brush.

For this design I used:

-Beauty Secrets Base Coat

-Orly nail polish in Spark

-China Glaze nail polish in Rich & Famous, Spontaneous, Tuned up Turquoise, and Sun Worshiper

- Beauty Secrets Top Coat

I used the same kind of technique for the flowers here that I used in my ‘Lovely Layers’ blog. The most important thing to remember about layering polishes is that you want to make sure the previous coat is dry before proceeding otherwise you could end up with a BIG mess across your nails.

Hope you enjoyed this design.  Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com; remember to check out my Facebook page.

Enjoy

-Valentine

Ahoy!

Nautical Nails

OMG!! It’s been a while since my last post, almost 3 whole weeks!! So for today’s nails I decided to post one of my favorite designs. These were inspired by a YouTube video I saw and of course a snazzy sailors outfit!

For these nails I used the following:

- Beauty Secrets Base Coat

- China Glaze nail polish in ‘White on White’

- Nichole by OPI in ‘A new kind of blue”

- Kiss nail art paint in ‘Red’

- Beauty Secrets Top Coat

I chose to accent these sassy nails with some extra embellishments. Use nail studs or rhinestones for the gold/yellow buttons. Or if you don’t have this at home try using a yellow or gold polish and applying it with a toothpick or a small dotting tool.

Hope you enjoyed these nails. Keep sending me your requests (nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com) Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page!

P.S. I have a bunch more posts lined up for the next month so hopefully there won’t be much of a wait in between pictures. Sorry for the delay.

-Valentine

Lovely Layers

Layered Nails

For today's nail design I wanted to try out a few of my newer polishes and see what they'd look like layered together!

For this design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"China Glaze" nail polish in Dress Me Up
-"China Glaze" nail polish in Foie Gras
-"Finger Paints" nail polish in Paper Mache
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

First I painted my nails with 2 coats of Dress Me Up, once this was dry I used a dotting tool and white polish to do a flower design in the lower corner of my nail. Once this was dry I used my dotting tool and my Foie Gras polish to do the same flower shape over the white polish (just leaving a small bit of it showing. And once that was dry I did another layer with the white polish. Finally once that was dry I used a toothpick to make a few decorative dots and toped it off with a good top coat to seal in my design.

This was really easy to do and has a long wear time. I'll definately be trying out other layered designs with some of my other summery nail colors!

Try this technique on your own nails and don't forget to send me a picture (nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com)

Check out my facebook page and tell me what you think!

Hope you enjoy!

-Valentine

An Apple A Day...

Apple Nails

I was looking for something different to paint on my nails today I realized I've done strawberries, watermellons, and even tutti frutti nails but not Apples!!

So you guessed it, todays nails are apple inspired!

For this design I used the following:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Finget Paints" nail polish in Curators Crimson & Paper Mache
-"Nicole by OPI" nail polish in Daffy Dill
-"Orly" nail polish in Liquid Vinyl
-"China Glaze" nail polish in Re-Fresh Mint
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

To create your apple design use your polish brush to paint two ovals that meet in the middle. The stem was done with a toothpick and liquid vinyl nail polish. The white center of the apple on my ring finger was made with the back of a make-up brush dipped in white polish. Lastly the tiny leaves were created by bending the tip of the toothpick so that about 3mm could be dipped in the green polish.

Hope you enjoy this fruity nail design! Send me a picture if you try these on your own nails! Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentien@gmail.com

-Valentine

Turquoise Tussle

I went polish shopping this week and picked up a few new colors! One of the colors I picked was China Glaze's- For Audrey. It's such a beautiful color. When I arrived home I realized I already had a color almost identical (Orly's- Gumdrop)! Boy did I feel dumb! So you guessed it... Today's blog is all about compairing the two! :)

ROUND 1
Color: As far as the color goes they are almost identical. I thought that China Glaze had a little more blue while the Orly color had more white in the Formula. Color choice ultimately comes down to your own personal preference.

Winner: China Glaze For Audrey

ROUND 2
Formula: China Glaze's formula was a bit thick which made the drying time longer. Orly's formula was awesome, perfect  consistancy and it dried extreamly quickly!

Winner: Orly-Gumdrop

 ROUND 3
Cost: I picked up both of these colors from my local Sally Beauty store. China Glaze was $5.99 for 14ml (42.7 cents/ml), Orly was $6.49 for 18ml (36.1 cents/ml). Not much of a difference but the winner is obvious for this one.

Winner: Orly-Gumdrop

ROUND 4
Overall Wear: I was a little worried that the For Audrey would be the first to chip since it went on a little thicker than Gumdrop but both colors wore really well and actually chipped right around the same time.

Winner: Tie

So I guess it's obvious, Orly was my pick. Even though I liked China Glaze's color better there wasn't enough of a difference to over come the thick consistancy, slow drying time and more expensive price tag.

I hope you find this review helpful. Let me know what your winner is and why!

 Look for more nail design's using these colors, I think they are my new favorites!


-Valentine

Holy Cow!

Cow Nails

Happy MOOnday, er... I mean Happy Monday! Today's manicure monday is cow themed! This was a very easy manicure and all you need is 3 colors and a dotting tool (or something similar in size to use).

For the following design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Orly" nail polish in Platnum
-"Orly" nail polish in Liquid Vinyl
-"China Glaze" nail polish in Rich & Famous
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

I used 2 coats of Orly Platnum (which dires really quickly!) then used the pink polish to make the cow's nose (use the brush from the nail polish bottle, no special brush required). once dry, use your dotting tool to make the eyes, nostrils, and dots. Finish it off with a top coat and voila, your done!

Hope you enjoy this nail design. If you try it on your own nails please send a picture to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com!

-Valentine

Easy Easter Eggs

Easter Egg

Today's Nails are a quick and easy design that anyone can do with a make-up brush, tooth pick and a few of your favorite colors!

For this design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"China Glaze" nail polish in Secret Peri-Wink-Le
-"Finger Paints" nail polish in Art Nouv-Yellow
-"Sinful Colors" nail polish in Fusion Neon
-"L.A. Colors Art Deco" in white
-"Orly" nail polish in Liquid Vinyl
-"Joe Fresh" nail polish in Crush
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

For this design I just painted 4 of my nails with  my periwinkle polish, then once dry I used the back of a make-up brush to make yellow pok-a-dots, finally with a toothpick I used my hot pink color to make smaller dots inside of the yellow ones.

For the baby chick I painted my nail with a yellow polish (I had a bright yellow but I think this would look even nicer with a pastel yellow). Once the yellow was dried, use your thin art-deco brush in white to paint on the egg shell. Use the back of your make-up brush again to dot the 2 black eyes, then use your white polish and your toothpick to dot the pupals. Use your orange polish to paint on your tiny beak. Finally finish everything off with a top coat and you're done!!

Hope you enjoy this nail art! If you try it on your own nails please send me a picture!

Happy Easter!

-Valentine

New Look!

I was getting a little bored with my pink background and figured it was time for a change! Hope you all like the new orange one, I think it really brightens up the page. Tell me what you think :) nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com

-Valentine

Here comes Peter Cottontail...

Easter Nails

It's been so long since my last post. It's been very difficult trying to post with my tablet. I've been working hard today and have a few posts ready to go this week so stay tuned, there will be at least another 3-4 nail art designs posted this week.

Since it's Easter I figured I'd do some themed nail art!

For this design I used the following:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"OPI" nail polish in Care to Danse (NYC Ballet Collection)
-"Finger Paints" nail polish in Art Neau-Yellow and Paper Mache
-"Orly" nail polish in Liquid Vinyl and Gumdrop
-"China Glaze" nail polish in Spontaneous
-"Joe Fresh" nail polish in Mocha
-"L.A. Color Art Deco" nail art colors in assorted colors
- Acrylic Paints in Ivory, Yellow and Orange
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

I know I used a lot of colors for this design. If you don't have quite as many colors as I do you can always mix and match the colors you have!

For the easter basket I just used the end of a makeup brush to dot small circles to create the basket, it's really easy to do, once the polish dries use your ivory acrylic paint to create small details.

Hope you enjoy this design! If you try it on your own nails send me a picture! Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com. Don't forget to check out my Facebook page!

Happy Easter!

-Valentine

Turquoise Stone

Turquoise Stone Nails

I tried something a little different for today's nails. This nail art was inspired by turquoise stone. I saw a similar design in a magazine and online and thought I'd give it a try!

For this design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Finger Paints" nail polish in Figure of Art
-"Orly" nail polish in Gumdrop
-"Beauty Secret's" Top Coat

Step 1: Apply your base coat then 2 coats of your bronze/gold color polish, wait for this to completely dry.

Step 2: Now apply 2 coats of turquoise polish (make sure all of the step 1 polish is covered).

Step 3: Once dry, use an acetone based polish remover (this will work with non-acetone removers but will take much much longer to do) and dip a cotton swab (q-tip) into it until its moist not wet. Gently rub this over spots of  your nails where you want the bronze/gold color exposed. Continue to do this in different shapes over all 10 fingers.

Step 4: Apply a top coat! Voila! You're done

This is a fun and easy technique that anyone can master even if your not a pro at nail art. It's something funky and fun, try switching up the colors and do a rainbow design! If you try this on your own nails send me a picture! Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com.

Hope you enjoyed today's nail art!

Check back later this week for a fun and funky design that I have planned!!

-Valentine

Beautiful Turquoise Stone

The Hunger Games

Hunger Games Nails

Today's nail idea came from a YouTube video I saw posted by vlogger "ihaveacupcake". I love this design, it really captures the books cover art!

For this design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Orly" Nail Polish in Liquid Vinyl
- Acrylic Paint in Black, Ivory, Yellow and Gold
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

I used a thin paint brush to paint the targets and the mockingjay logo, you can also use a dotting tool/toothpicks to do many of the lines and small details. Also, when using an acrylic paint over a dark colored nail polish it's a good idea to add white to make it more opaque (in this case I added a little ivory to the yellow to make it stand out then painted gold over this color to define  the symbol).

If you haven't already read the Hunger Games, check it out, it's a great read! I just saw the movie yesterday and loved it! Hope you all enjoy this fun nail design. E-Mail your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com.

Happy Hunger Games!

May the odds be ever in your favor...

-Valentine

Walking Dead

Walking Dead Nails

It’s been a while since my last post. I had a little run in with a nail file that left the thumbnail on my left hand out of commission… I guess I’ll have to remember to have my morning coffee before doing my nails. The good news that came from this painful accident was that I had a lot of time to think of new ideas for my nail designs.

Today’s idea came from two individuals that I work with. I had been asked a while ago to do a nail design for the television series and graphic novel “The Walking Dead”; this is what I came up with. I drew inspiration from the graphic novels more then the TV series just because real life characters can be very difficult to re-create on the canvas that is my nail.

For this design I used:

-“Beauty Secrets” Base Coat
-“Finger Paints” Nail Polish in Curator’s Crimson
- Acrylic Paints in Ivory and Black
-“Beauty Secrets” Top Coat

Below I’ve posted a few of the pictures that I looked at to get the general idea for this design. Hope you enjoy these, please let me know what you think! Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com! Don’t forget to check out my facebook page and click “LIKE”! ☺

Enjoy!

-Valentine

Spring has Sprung!

Spring Nails

Today's nails are again spring inspired and were done for a nail art competition on Facebook that The Balm is holding, please check it out and like my post on their wall :)

This design was super easy to do! For this design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Essence" nail polish in Sweet as Candy
-"L.A. Colors Art Deco" nail polish in Mint Green and Bright Green
- Acrylic Paint in ivory, baby pink, saphire blue and yellow
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

First I painted my nails with a base coat and then with two coats of sweet as candy polish. Wait for this to completely dry then with the small art deco brushes paint thin lines at the tips of your nails (don't try to get these the same length, the more uneven they are the better since you're trying to achieve a grassy look). Then once the grass has dried paint on small white petals for your daisies with your ivory acrylic paint. Last but not least use a toothpick to dot the yellow centers and the small blue dots above the daisies. Finish this design off with a top coat!

I hope you enjoy this design and try it on your own nails for a cute spring inspired look!

Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com!

-Valentine

Rain Showers Bring Spring Flowers

Spring Flowers!

Today's nail art is inspired by the wonderful weather we've been enjoying over the last week! This is a fun and quick nail design that is guaranteed to grab others attention.

For this design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Orly" nail polish in Liquid Vinyl
- Acrylic Pain in black, ivory, yellow, orange, teal, and baby pink
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

For the flowers I used a small tipped brush for the details and toothpicks to make the small yellow dots. Overall this is a fairy easy design to do, the flowers are just formed but making tiny hearts over and over again on each nail. For a beginner strarting out, try using a nail art pen or even something like "L.A. Color- Art Deco" nail art stripers to have a little more control over your brush.

Please keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com. If you try these on your own nails please send me a picture.

Remember to check out my Facebook page!

Enjoy!

-Valentine

Konad Nail Stamper *Review's by Valentine*

Konad Star Stamper

This is my first review blog!!! I know the Konad stamper kits have been around for a little while but I finally just saw them at a store in my city!

Discription: Konad Started Kit. It came with 2 stamper plates(m2 and m3), scraper, 3 small special polishes (red, white and blue) and the stamper.

Cost: $26.99

Store: I got this one at my local Lawtons, but they are also available online at www.nailpolishcanada.com, www.konadnailart.com, and ebay

Usability: This product was so easy to use. I was able to take it right out of the package and use it without reading any instructions (although there is a tutorial video on youtube that provides some great tips and tricks). It is a little messy so make sure you put paper towel or newspaper under the plate while in use. The polish itself dries very quickly so thats a great feature!

Verdict: Overall I would rate the Konad stamper kit a 7/10. It's great to have in my collection and I will use it from time to time for a quick "Konad-icure". It's a little pricy for what you get but a cleaver idea. Great for the girl on the go that doesn't have hours to spend on a proper manicure but it will not be replacing my daily nail art routine any time soon.

I'm a Barbie Girl...

Barbie Girl Nails

Of all the nail art that I've done over the last few months I think I've been most excited to do these! They were really easy to do and were really fun to wear!

For this design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Orly" Nail Polish in Liquid Vinyl
-"Sally Hansen" Nail Polish in Pink Blink
- Acrylic paint in black and ivory
-"Nichole by OPI" Nail Polish in Top of my World
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

Tip: Use hole punch protectors to create a perfect half moon manicure. Paint your nails with black polish and wait for it to completely dry. Once dry, put the protector stickers near the base of the nail and paint over with pink polish (this may take a few coats). Remove the stickers and voila, perfect half moons! I chose to decorare mine with tiny ruffles just to add an extra girly touch.

Lastly the glitter coat I used looks a little orange in the picture. On my nails it looks totally different, more like tiny diamonds. It may just be the light at the time that I took this picture :)

Try this on your own nails and send me a picture. Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com!

Hope you enjoy these and remember to check out my facebook page!

-Valentine

What color is your zebra?

Rainbow Zebra Nails

Today's nails were painted a while back but I got so many coments on them I figured I would let everyone know how I did them :-)

For this design you will need
- Sponge make-up pads
- "Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
- Assorted brightly colored nail polish (I think I used 6 colors)
- Acrylic paint in black
- "Finger Paints" Nail Polish in Paper Mache
- "Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

step1- First you will need to file and paint your nails with base coat followed by a white coat (paper mache).

step2- Tear off a piece of the make-up sponge and dip it into one of your brightly colored polishes. With this sponge dab small sections of your nails until all colors are on.

step3- Water down your acrylic paint and use a thin liner brush to paint on a zebra print.

step4- Once the acrylic paint has dried, paint on a top coat to seal in the colors.

This design is fairly messy (as you can see from the pucture above) use nail polish remover and an angled tip q-tip to remove and excess paint or polish that gets on your fingers.

Hope you enjoy this design. Please comment and check out my facebook page!

If you try these on your own nails send me a picture. Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com

-Valentine

Bubble Gum Nails

Bubble Gum Nails

Wow... it's been almost a week since my last post! My computer decided to die on me this week so I'm having to post this from my tablet.

Today's nails were inspird by the wonderful Robin Moses! She's always posting amazing pictures that blow my mind! Hope you enjoy my design.

For this design I used the following:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"L.A. Color" Nail Polish in Mega Watt
- Acrylic Paints in red, blue, baby pink, ivory, black, silver, orange, yellow and purple
-"Orly" Nail Polish in Shine on Crazy Diamond
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

I really hope you enjoyed this design, please share it with your friends! Continue to email your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com. If you try these on your own nails send me a picture!

Remeber to check out my Facebook page!

-Valentine

Mexican Sugar Skulls

Today's nail idea came from a girl at work and were inspired by the Latin American holiday the day of the dead.

Sugar art was introduced to Mexico during the 17th century. Since Mexico was lacking money to buy fancy church decorations many locals started making decorations out of sugar, which there was an abundance of. The skulls were usually decorated with colorful icing, sparkly tin and glittery adornments. These sugar skulls represented a departed soul and ware usually placed on the grave stone of that individual to welcome and honor their return on the day of the dead.

For this design I used the following:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Orly" Nail Polish in Liquid Vinyl
- Acrylic Paints in ivory, yellow, blue, red, baby pink, teal, orange and black
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

Tip: For the teeth on the sugar skulls I used a tooth pick, they are cheap and disposable and I find they work best for any tiny details.

I really hope you like this design! Post your comments and keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com.

Check out my facebook page!

-Valentine

A rose is a rose is a rose...

Vintage Rose Nails

Today's nails were inspired by outdated stationary that I found while cleaning out some old boxes in my closet. It's an easy design to do and looks great on all nail sizes.

For this design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Sally Hansen" Nail Polish in Lavender Cloud
-"China Glaze" Nail Polish in Mint Sprint
- Acrylic Paints in Baby Pink, Ivory, Red, Blue and Yellow
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

Tip: To create the pink and white lines use a flat brush, dip one side of the brush in the baby pink paint then the other side in the ivory. Go over your nails with single strokes to create a blended effect. Acrylic paint dries very quickly so you may want to practice on a sheet of paper before trying this on your nails.

Let me know what you think of this design and keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com. Don't forget to send me a picture if you try these on your own nails!

Hope you enjoy!

-Valentine


**NEW**  Check out my Facebook page!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nails-by-Valentine/251443941602594

Tutti Frutti

Tutti Frutti Nails

For nails that are absolutely "Frutti-licious" try this nail idea!

I did these for the receptionist at work (you know who you are!) She mentioned that she wanted to see some fruit salad nail art.

For this design I used the following:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Orly" Nail Polish in Shine on Crazy Diamond
-"Finger Paints" Nail Polish in Art Nouv-Yellow
-"ACO" Nail Polish in Neon Pink
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat
- Fimo Fruit Nail Slices

You can buy Fimo polymer clay nail accessories in a variety of designs. These were ordered on ebay.ca; they were pre-sliced but are even cheaper if you slice them yourself (they normally come in long canes which you can cut with a razor).

Boost your vitamin C intake and try these on your own nails! Send me a picture of your design. Please keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com

Hope you enjoyed these!

-Valentine


**COMING SOON**
Look for my mexican sugar skull design later this week!

A Little Birdie Told Me...

Tweet Tweet

Today's nail idea came from a girl at work who asked me to do trees and birds. This is what I came up with... Hope you like it :)

I tried to paint the tree as if it was stretching across the nails, with the song birds tweeting across the forrest.

For this design I used the following:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Joe Fresh" Nail Polish in Caramel
- Acrylic paints in black, white, red and orange
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

If you try this design please send me a picture :) Keep Sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com

Hope you enjoy this design!

-Valentine

Plan "Bee"

Honey Bee Nails

Ok, so there is a story behind the name of today's post. Originally I had planed to post some really cute panda nails but had a little mishap, therefore my "plan bee" nails (pun intended) are these super cute honey bee nails.

For this design I used the following:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Joe Fresh" Nail Polish in Wave
- Acrylic Paints in black, white, yellow and gold
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

I picked up a few "joe fresh" polishes from my local grocery story and have to say they are a pretty good buy for your money. Although I don't find them to be as high of quality as China Glaze, Finger Paints, or Orly (my preferred brands), joe fresh polish is definitely worth what you pay (3 for $10) and comes in a wide array of colors. Try them out and tell me what you think!

If you try this on your own nails send me a picture! Keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com

Hope you enjoyed this design!

-Valentine

Pretty in Pink

Pretty In Pink Nails

Today's nails were inspired but a pink and black Chanel wallet I saw online. They use pink and black to create a simple design and thats what I tried to do with my nails.

For this design I used the following:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Orly" Nail Polish in Liquid Vinyl
- Acrylic Paint in Baby Pink
-" Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

If you can draw an oval you can do this design! If you want to add a little glam to this you can always add nail gems (black and gold would look great) or even use a black or white striper brush to create the look of faux stitching! The possibilities are endless.

If you try these on your own nails send me a picture; keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com.

Hope you enjoy!

-Valentine

My Inspiration

Neon Safari

Neon Safari Nails

Todays nails were inspired by the new China Glaze nail polish lines that are due out this summer; Summer Neons and On Safari. I decided to combine both ideas and came up with some sassy neon leopard print.

For this design I used the following:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Wet & Wild" Nail Polish in White Cream
-"China Glaze" Nail Polish in Celtic Sun (neon)
- Acrylic Paints in Ivory White, Aqua and Black
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

Tip: When using a neon nail polish its a good idea to put a solid white polish coat on first; once this dries put 1-2 coats of neon polish over it. This will make the neon color really stand out and cause less chipping and longer wear.

Send me a picture if you try these on your own nails, keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com.

-Valentine

Be My Valentine

Valentine Nails

Since it's valentines day I decided to post some theme nails! I remember when I was in school and I loved making and addressing valentines to my classmates. Now that I'm older I don't make or give as many valentines but I sure do enjoy painting bunches of them on my nails!

For this design I used the following:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Orly" polish in Shine on Crazy Diamond
-"Sally Hansen Complete Manicure" in Lavender Cloud
- Acrylic paints in black, cream, baby pink and red
- "Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

Tip: I used small brushes for the hearts and thin lines, if your not comfortable using a paint brush you can also use toothpicks  to create a similar look for the tiny hearts and red lines on the envelopes (use a stippling motion).

Hope you enjoy this design, comment and keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com.

Happy Valentines Day!

-Valentine

Tea Time

Willow Blue - English Pottery Inspired Nails

Today's nails are inspired by vintage english pottery. I remember seeing tea sets like this when I was younger and thinking they were beautiful.

For this design I used the following:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Sally Hansen-Complete Salon Manicure" Polish in Lavender Cloud
- Acrylic paint- Blue
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

When this pottery was big many potters used a transfer technique that left some imperfections/ inconsistencies in the blue coloring; to achieve this type of look I really watered down the blue acrylic paint and went over different sections to create darker and lighter sections. Hope you like this design, let me know what you think.

If you try this on your own nails please send me a picture! Please keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com.

Come back tomorrow for my Valentine's Day nails!

-Valentine

My Inspiration

Blood On Your Hands

"Blood on your hands" Nails

I did these nails for the DVD/Blu-Ray release of Breaking Dawn Part 1! It's a little hard to see in this picture but under the red blood I used a grey polish and glitter to incorporate the skin-tone of the Cullen family.

For the following design I used:

-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Joe Fresh" Nail Polish in Cement
-"Orly" Nail Polish in Shine on Crazy Diamond
-"Finger Paints" Nail Polish in Curators Crimson
-"China Glaze" Nail Polish in Ruby Pumps
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

Tip: To create the look of blood running down my nails I used the back of a makeup brush. If you don't get the rounded ends you can always go back over the red parts and make a pok-a-dot at the tip. After I did the running blood in curators crimson I chose to highlight it with ruby pumps glitter polish but you can use other glitter polishes to achieve a similar look (I just chose this one because it has red glitter in it).

Hope you enjoy this look and try it on your own nails. It could also be a fun Halloween design if your not a Twilight fan.

Please keep sending your requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com

-Valentine

Happy Birthday!

Balloon Nails

Today is a very special day for a little man named Kyle! These were done for my cousin's son who's birthday is TODAY!

For this design I used the following:


-"Beauty Secrets" Base Coat
-"Orly" Nail Polish in Liquid Vinyl
-"Orly" Nail Polish in Shine on Crazy Diamond
- Acrylic paints in black, red, yellow, blue, purple, green and white.
-"Beauty Secrets" Top Coat

Hope you like this nail art! Keep sending your requests and/or questions to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com.

Happy Birthday!!!!

-Valentine

The Persistence of Memory

Salvador Dali Inspired Nails

I painted these a few weeks ago and entered them into a nail art competition, I didn't win but I had a lot of fun painting them anyways. I'm posting them today for those who didn't get to see them when I entered this design in the competition.

This design was inspired by Salvador Dali's painting which I think is amazing. I tried my best to incorporate the melting clocks.

For this design I used the following:

-"Finger Paints" Base Coat
-"Wet-n-Wild" Polish in Black Cream
-Acrylic paints in Black, White, Blue, Yellow, Purple and Red
-"Finger Paints" Top Coat

Tip #1: For this design I started with a solid black nail as my background. Use this as your outline. It's much easer to create a smooth outline first instead of having to get perfect outline after you've done all the detail work.

Tip #2: When using acrylic paints mix your pigments with white to make them opaque, once the "pastel" colors dry go over them with the more vibrant colors. This will reduce the number of times you have to go over the same line on your nail and reduce textured/clumpy nail art.

Hope you guys like this design, don't forget to send me a picture if you try it on your own nails!

Please send requests to nailsbyvalentine@gmail.com

-Valentine