Saturday, December 28, 2013

Watercolored Roses and a Textured Accent


I have been struggling a little with inspiration lately, as you may have noticed from my lack of posts! I'll discuss this more at the end of the post if you're interested, but for now let's talk about this nail art. What's an uninspired gal to do? Florals, of course! Nothing super groundbreaking here, but I am happy with the way they came out and I love the textured accent nail. Read on for more details about how I did this manicure.


The base of this manicure is OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons, which is one of my favorite nude shades.

I added some loose rose shapes using a technique that I first saw on Mr. Candiipants' YouTube channel -- it is kind of a mix of the watercolor technique with regular freehand painting. They looked really awesome but then I covered them up with the petal detailing (oops). The polish I used is Nails Inc. St. Martin's Lane, which I don't see on it's own at Sephora but is available in the Autumn/Winter Collection. Next, I mixed it with white for the petal details and painted them over the top.

I also used the same technique to add leaves with China Glaze Exotic Encounters. I gave the leaves some depth by mixing the shade with black and watercoloring that on as well.

The final step was to add the accent nail of Zoya Chita on my thumb.


It's funny that most of my floral designs almost always turn out as full nail patterns -- not sure why that is! The textured accent nail is a nice breather from the intensity of the floral pattern and I think it adds a lot to the completed manicure.


What do you think? Too early for florals or a good break from all the wintery holiday designs?


So as I mentioned in the beginning of the post, I have been struggling with inspiration lately. I'm not sure what it is; maybe it's a combination of some real life things that have happened lately, the holidays, and consistently blogging for three years now... It's hard to go go go and then keep going, you know? Especially since this blog is something that I maintain in my free time (outside of my full time job). I have been trying to let myself take a break, but that's hard too. I love blogging and doing nail art and to be stuck in this weird place is frustrating.

I am working on some ways to shake things up for the new year, and hopefully that will help to get me over this hump. If you guys have any suggestions for things you'd like to see or thoughts you'd like to share, please feel free to comment below or email/tweet/Facebook/Instagram me. All my social links can be found in the bar at the very top of the page.

As always, I am so thankful to have you guys around. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season!
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45 comments

  1. Do you usually do the same nail art on both hands? I love doing nail art but the art on my right hand always seems to blow :(

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  2. Wow, this is amazing! I love roses, and I think the accent nail really balances it out.
    As for the inspiration, maybe you could look at other people's nail art and it might inspire you?

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  3. Thanks! I am constantly inspired by other artists but I do always try to have my own original style. I will just have to keep trying!

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  4. These are beautiful! You're so talented. Wish you well with whatever you've got going on. Xo

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  5. I usually attempt to do the design on my opposite hand (though of course it's not ever as good!), but if it's just too hard I try to do something similar but simplified. Just like anything else, it takes practice!

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  6. I struggle to keep blogging after so long too and personal life definitely plays a big part. Just know how much everyone enjoys your work and that everyone will be here for you whenever you decide to write/create.

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  7. wow!! absolutely amazing. I'm in love!! :D

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  8. Cathy - More Nail PolishDecember 28, 2013 at 5:27 PM

    I completely understand struggle to balance life and blogging. I'm constantly looking at others nail art, on blogs, IG and pinterest and I screen shot anything that takes my fancy, that way I always have inspiration at hand. It's blogs like yours that are a constant inspiration to me so I really appreciate all the work that you do to make it happen.

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  9. I love floral manicures. I was able to do a (to me at least) really wonderful floral manicure 3 or 4 months ago and haven't been able to re-create the look no matter what i've done.. This post really does give me the inspiration to go back and try it again. It's so beautiful. As for the textured polish, I haven't really tried that.. I think I'm so OBSESSED with shiny manicures that having texture is just way to out of my comfort zone. [I barely just forayed into matte top coats. And I'm still not that into them.]

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  10. I am so obsessed with this! the roses are gorgeous! xx http://fromfilmwithlove.blogspot.ca

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  11. I am not a Michigan State fan, but this design is actually perfect for the Rose Bowl this year! Beautiful.

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  12. Marieta García LópezDecember 29, 2013 at 2:09 AM

    It's really amazing! I love roses in the nails... :D

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  13. I love how delicate the pattern looks and the textured accent nail is a lovely touch :-)

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  14. This looks great! Flowers are always a great design to do when you're stuck for inspiration! I'm sure you'll find lots of inspiration soon - I often look at patterns on clothes when I'm stuck! :)

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  15. These are incredible!!!

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  16. Lovely design. Yez you will come over this hump.enjoy your new years eve.

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  17. Trying to balance life and hobbies is hard! I'm not sure what you're feelings on the topic, but some guest posts might take some of the stress of blogging off you. Something else that might be fun would be a feature post of manicures you inspired. Or ask people to recreate a specific one of your manis and either post links or photos. I tried to think of things that wouldn't involve you sitting down and creating a new nail design and write up for every post. Although both options would still take effort, it's a different type of work. Both of those posts are ones I would read. (I'm new reader, so apologies if I've mistakenly suggested things you already do or have previously expressed an opinion on.)

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  18. You're awesome. Simply because you keep going despite setbacks.

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  19. Kenya Charone JohnsonDecember 29, 2013 at 3:15 PM

    I think that the textured polish on the thumb gives the floral design new life, as it's a bit unexpected. Also the color of the green leaves and Zoya - Chita go perfectly together :)

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  20. As someone who's been following you (OK - stalking, then following, LOL) for half the time you've been blogging, I can honestly say that no matter what you post - we will Love it! I can only imagine what it must be like to have been doing this for 3 years...and I hope that you find you always do what YOU want to do and let us soak up your enthusiasm for it. I'd say - don't worry about what we want, per se. I also gave this a bit of thought - and well, Ed below - beat me to a few ideas for you that could supplement some 100% post time, I especially liked showcasing others re-creating your designs, as I know you have many, many "I can do that too" posters out there. And, I know I enjoy seeing recreations of past ideas/designs - whether they are just a comparison Then/Now and what you've learned in between or working with ideas you liked and re-working them. Hope this helps! Happy New Year! Give yourself a polish-hug from all of your fans!

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  21. Thank you very much for the encouragement and the thoughtful ideas! I really appreciate you taking the time out to help me out. :) Thank you also for continuing to read my blog, I'm glad you enjoy it so much. It really means a lot to me.

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  22. I was worried they wouldn't match but I agree, they are almost dead on!

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  23. Wow those are some fantastic suggestions! Thank you so much for taking the time to share! I will definitely have to start putting together some roundups like that.

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  24. I actually much prefer texture over matte topcoat! It might be worth trying out an OPI Liquid Sand (my fav textured polish) like Alcatraz...Rocks or Honey Ryder.

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  25. Thank you Cathy! I am always very inspired by your posts as well -- you have some of the most original content out there!

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  26. Thanks Kellie. I always enjoy seeing posts from you!

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  27. Thanks I'll definitely keep my eye out for them, and who knows? Maybe I'll really like it.

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  28. this is sooooo pretty, really beautiful. i love that you added a textured accent nail, it all goes together beautifully!

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  29. Your nails always look amazing! I'd love to see a tutorial/post on how you shape them, take care of your cuticles etc.

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  30. Thank you Laura! You can find info on my hand care routine here, though I haven't done a shaping post yet: http://www.chalkboardnails.com/2013/05/my-hand-and-nail-care-routine.html

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  31. Hi Sarah, I ADORE this amazing layered quality that the roses have due to the watercolor technique but I don't totally understand it since -- as you say -- it got obscured by the opaque petal details. I'm familiar with the watercolor technique, but to make this work you mix the polish with the acetone or thinner before painting onto the nail, right? I usually dot polish on the nail then take the fluffy acetone brush to spread it around the nail, which won't work to make specific shapes like this.

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  32. Yes, I put a bit of polish on the brush and then dip it in the acetone. I use quite a bit so that when I paint on the nail it does the watercolor effect on its own. If you follow my link to Candice's video tutorial it should give you a better idea.

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  33. I've been feeling the same way for a bit, and decided to take a step back in the amount of posts I "forced" myself to publish. It gave me some space to clear my mind and relax a bit more about the whole blogging thing, and it made me also fall in love with it all over again! So give yourself that space if you need it, to recover the whole experience that blogging is!

    Also. This manicure ROCKS!

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  34. I would never have known you were struggling with inspiration lately based on your posts -- they're all absolutely perfect! The textured nail is a lovely touch, it makes the floral a little more funky and vintage-y :)

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  35. That would be fun! I'm a newer reader as well, but I like that idea... you pick an older post that you have done and have your followers submit recreations in different color schemes or something. Plus guest posters are always fun to read, especially from newbie bloggers or people that don't normally blog and use other outlets instead. :) Good luck deciding!!

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  36. Well whatever u chose to do this year I am w u on it.And I love this mani

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  37. I really like nail art that takes inspiration from random things--a sign, a fast food bag, fabric, jewelry, flooring, etc.

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