NOTD: China Glaze Mistletoe Kisses + m63

This is the manicure I'm wearing in the Konad Part 1 tutorial - I started out with China Glaze Mistletoe Kisses, from their holiday collection, on it's own for a day:

 

 

Then I added stamping with Black special polish & Konad image plate m63 - I loved this manicure, but unfortunately it was the day I was home sick!  So no one else got to see it LOL - at least I can share with you guys:

 

 

Still recovering, slow but steady.  Made it to work today although it would have been SO easy to roll over & go back to bed this morning.  But that's my excuse for not checking more off of my to-do list; I'm resting in the evenings. *nod*  Not procrastinating at all ;-)

 

Thanks for reading.

 

~Colette

FAQ: Konad Part 1 - What is Konad

I don't know that very many of my blog readers need this FAQ - I know a lot of you are fellow polish bloggers, and we are a well-educated lot =)  But I get just a TON of questions about Konad on YouTube, so I put together a quick video.  And of course since I'm sick I feel like I forgot to mention some stuff LOL.

Here's the tutorial:

Now, on to what I forgot to mention:

First thing, on non-Konad polishes that work for stamping.  On my Polish OCD Spreadsheet, there's a column called "opacity" - if there is a "K" in that column, that means I have successfully stamped with that polish.  Another reason I need to get an updated version finished & uploaded...

On cleaning the plates - be sure to use a polish remover with no additives - I use 100% acetone.  If you use a remover that has moisturizers, etc, it can leave a residue on the stamper and/or the plate, making it more difficult to pick up the design or to get a clean image.

Of course, if you want to check out any of my stamped manicures, I tag the hell out of everything - you can search with the labels drop-down in the right sidebar by categories like "stamping," "Konad," "Bundle Monster," or even by each individual plate like "m63."

If you want to purchase your own image plates, here are just a few of the places that sell them:

Wow So Cool
Bundle Monster
Born Pretty
Chez Delaney

Side note on Born Pretty - my readers can use the code "COLE10K31" for 10% off through 3/31 =)

I'll probably think of more as soon as I click publish LOL.  I'll try not to let it be too long before I do the additional parts =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

TOTD: Claire's Glam

I've had this on for maybe a week but just got around to taking pics.  I thought it would be a fun bit of brightness - I also thought that it would wear great, as glitters usually do, but I see in this pics I've already got a piece peeled off =(  Maybe I'll just fill it in rather than change the whole thing... anyway, here is Claire's Glam:

 

Stayed home sick today, feeling both better & worse ... my head is clearing up which is good but unfortunately it's moved to my chest.  I'm not coughing out of control, but when I do cough it's pretty gross.  Planning to be back to work tomorrow though.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

~Colette

December Hauls

... because it's hard not to stop for polish when you're out Christmas shopping =)  At Ulta I picked up the polishes from Heavenly Metals Revlon collection:

 

Left to right:  Copper Penny, Silver Dollar, Gold Coin.

 

And at Sallys some Finger Paints & China Glaze:

 

 

The box has Finger Paints Mistletoe Mischief & a bottle of clear, it was on clearance the same price as just the green.  The sparkly thing is their holiday topcoat with the generic name Sparkle Top Coat.  Bottom is China Glaze Pom Pom, Silver Lining & Dorothy Who?

 

That's all I can check off my to-do list today.  I still feel like crap, my boss actually said to stay home tomorrow if I'm not better ... I always feel like if I can haul my ass out of bed, get dressed & drive I should be on the job.  But we'll see if I can breathe through my nose in the morning LOL.  I'm actually glad these uploaded OK because I'm like 1% from my Picasa storage limit & haven't gotten around to purchasing more yet.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

~Colette

Quick Update

I had an awesome time at Kiki's New Year's party - unfortunately since then I'm fighting off a cold.  So between those 2 things I am still finishing several things I thought I'd already have done by now ... but I wanted to take a minute & let you guys know what's coming up on the blog:

• 2 hauls from a week or so ago, Ulta & Sallys.
• Final 2010 Books.  I didn't meet my goal (100) but I'm OK with it.  Maybe this year ... although I've yet to open a book in 2011 LOL.
• Claire's Glam TOTD - really pretty turquoise glitter.
• New Year's Resolutions (once I figure them out LOL).
• Updating the polish spreadsheet ... especially whether you can find pics of the polish on the blog.  Then keeping it updated this time!
• Whatever I change my nails to from the fireworks - I'm thinking a marble but not sure yet =)
• Top 20 manis from the past year - looking forward to reviewing the year, but I haven't even started yet!

Will all of this get done today?  I don't know.  Probably not ... since I just got up & it's already almost 4 XD.  But we'll see.  One resolution I do know I'm making is to be more organized, so I've been working on that, I got a new jewelry box for Christmas so I'm finding a place to put that & filling it up ... my room is so crammed it's like every square inch of space is already filled, but I'm finding ways to work with it.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

~Colette