Another Pink Wednesday Water Marble

Hey everyone!  Ms. Bad Blogger is back.  This time with excuses!  My SD card isn't mounting now.  WTH?  I really should show you a picture of my room to help explain why I can't find a new one.... but someone might send the National Guard.  Or the Animal Rescue League for my dog :/ Of course I kid.... kinda.  So here I am looking for pictures I haven't used yet so I can post something.  What I really want to be doing is showing you the China Glaze neons and how awesome they are (in just about every way), the new Cherimoya magnetics, Soulstice Cape Cod.... so many things depended on that card.  *sigh*

Anyway, I found a Pink Wednesday post that I meant to put up ages ago!  Unfortunately, that means I can't remember exactly what I used.  I know that China Glaze Pool Party and Color Club Yum Gum are in it... but don't ask me the rest of the colors.  Without saying any more... Here's my neon pink water marble!

I kept all the pictures because I think it's neat that the color came out differently in all of them.  I also wanted to share a little technique.  In the first several pictures you can see how the pinks kind of blended into different shades, and how the purple washed out to a pink color (btw, I would like to recreate the three pink look).  In the last three, the colors are accurate.  I couldn't do anything to get the colors accurate!  I used flash, light tent, natural light, fluorescent light... everything.  So I scoured the internet and found this tip: Photograph neons under water!  I must say, it worked perfectly for this mani!  I had to play around with my camera settings still, but it worked SO much better than when my hands were dry.  Next time you have to photograph neons, you might want to try it out!

In conclusion (haha), I'm sorry and I suck but I still love you!  So tell me, what are some of your photography tips?  Anything you found by accident?  Thanks for reading!

Guest Post #2: MARY!

Today my post is from my good friend, Mary.  She doesn't have a blog, but she's an amazing person and she has great nails!  Thanks, Mary! 

Hello everyone! I'm Mary and although I don't blog I'm in a nail polish group on Facebook with Katie and she kind of 'volunteered' me to do a few guest posts for her. I was completely surprised and honored that she liked my style so I accepted.

Let's get to the post shall we?

Ever since I heard about the technique last summer I've been wanting to try water marbling, so this post will be about my first ever attempt at doing it.

I started by choosing the colors I wanted to use. After a little experimenting I chose Zoya Carey, Zoya Anja and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Bubblegum pink.

Next I prepared my work area. I used a paper towel to protect my kitchen table and a shot glass to marble in. I filled the shotglass with lukewarm tap water and placed a drop of each color polish into the water to make sure it floated on the water rather than sinking or disappearing. I also made sure I had acetone and cleanup tools at the ready for when I was finished with my design.

I started with a base of a no name white shimmer polish from Claire's. When it was dry I taped the skin around my nails to 'mask off' the areas I didn't want to marble.  Then I placed a drop of each color I chose to marble with into the shotglass, being careful to use them in the same order each time. I then took a toothpick and pulled the polish from the putside to the inside of the 'polish ring' until I had a somewhat recognizable 'flower' design.

Now I was finally ready to dip my nail. This step took a little practice. I found I couldn't just dip my nail into the shotglass and bring it right back out. My design ended up looking like mud when I did. The technique that seemed to work best for me was to dip my nail in an 'arc' - starting with my nail parallel to the surface of the water, picking up the design and dunking my nail completely under the surface of the water while turning my finger upright at the same time. It's important to always keep your finger moving forward and when you bring your finger out of the water to do so quickly. The whole motion should be fluid to pick up the design properly.

I think next time I'll try some lighter colors but I had fun! Take a look!

Before cleanup

After cleanup

I think my favorite is my index finger. It looks like a flower, complete with stem!

Which is your favorite? Have you tried water marbling yet? If you haven't, you should. It's lots of fun!

Thanks for reading! I have a few more posts in mind so keep an eye out!

Pink Wednesday Water Marble!

Hello, hello everyone!  Today I am bringing back Pink Wednesday with a Valentine water marble!  This is my first EVER attempt, and I'm very pleased! 

Here's my set up:

I used white, Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Fuchsia Flare, no name Goldie "dark" pink, and Cult Nails "Bad" Devious Nature.  

 I kept Cinderella on as a base.  I love that it changes one of the pinks to an almost purple, and you can see the shimmer through it.  Although I'm not sure how well it was picked up in photos!

I never photograph both hands, but I felt it was necessary this time!  Don't they look great?  I was SHOCKED at how good they turned out!  I guess if I would have to give any tips that I haven't seen yet, it would be to minimally marble.  I'm sure that's where some people go wrong.  It's easy to over-do it!  

I have some exciting news as well!  I got a job!  I was starting to worry that I was going to miss out on a lot of the collections coming up.  I know I'll have to budget, but there are some I can't miss (Hunger Games, anyone?)!  However, I'm not getting as many hours as I had hoped, so I'll have to put an end to swaps for now.  I LOVE doing them, but they take so much money.  I've been gathering for one since October, and I'm just now getting it sent out.  I'm so sorry!  I'm hoping I'll be able to get it started back up soon, since there are collections I want from everywhere (Mainly Mari Moon and the Essence collex!).  PLUS the US flat rate shipping prices have went up.  Not good all around.  

Anyway, what do you guys think of my first marble?  Which nail is your favorite??  Let me know!  Thanks for reading!