Kiddie Konadi #1

As promised, I am going to feature a series of kid friendly Konadicures...Kiddie Konadi's. I think we ladies enjoy using Konad products and creating Konadi's for ourselves and friends, but our daughters love them too.

I have a 3 year old and a 6 year old who love having their nails done! I like to make their nails extra special by applying a Konad nail art design to them. Of course you all know how fast and easy it is, so it is no no big deal or waste of time to glam them out.

So, get out your Konad- and spend some good old fashioned girl bonding time with your little one. My girls like to pretend we are in a salon an create an elaborate story for who we are, our names, dolly's names and ages, and the "specials" of the day. They even create names for the specials...very sellable indeed!

Here is what you will need: Base color, plates m57, & m3, Konad special polish in black and white. Glitter polish for tips.

HOW TO CREATE THIS LOOK:

1. Apply base color

2.Stamp first image in white over full nail, then follow with the bows in black. I like to place them diagonally, but you should do them however you find them pleasing.

3. Paint the tips with a sparkle color similar to the base color. But you could create an entirely different look by using a contrasting or even solid tip color.

The Sheer Blush Colors I Use

I Keep getting requests for the name of the sheer blush color I use for the base color with french tip designs. I have used both store bought colors, and ones I have "frankened" myself.
Here is the China Glaze polish I use...though it has a slight peachy color to it. you can see what I mean in this picture above. Recently I have add a few drops of a china glaze color ( red one...don't have the name off hand) to "blush" it up to my liking.

Here is a picture of the one I have made. It seems really pink in the bottle, but goes on sheer and light pink. Just the perfect color to make your nails look fresh.

Make it yourself. You will need a clear bottle of polish, slightly emptied. Add a few drops at a time of any nude/beige color you have. Then add a couple drops of red to the polish....one drop at a time until you get the desired color. I don't have an exact recipe here (much like my cooking) just work it to your liking...it's not a science. Don't forget to swatch it now and again during to process to check the color.

Good luck, now go franken your own!

Super Spiderific!

I have totally fallen I love with the the spider designs. Pretty much most of the halloween designs have incorporated at least one of the spiders.

This lace design is also one of my favorites.  So I have done atleast 4 halloween Mani's with the lace. The lace below is done the Konad Black Gold color where the spiders are black.

Both designs re pretty basic.

1. Paint blush over full nail

2. Paint tips.

3. Stamp tip design over tip or along the time line.

4. Stamp on little spiders

5. Add a crystal to each big spider!

Super spideriffic!

Blood Dipped Tips

I'm Finally getting around to blogging the tutorial for these pretty basic and fast nails. I originally found the base nail design (bloody tips) on another nail blog. SADLY.........I cant remember where I originally saw it, though I have searched. SO if any one recognizes this design...
PLEASE COMMENT BELOW WITH LINK, i want the designer to be properly credited.
Any how, when I saw it, I loved the design immediately. So, when Halloween designs were swirling in my head, I remembered the wonderful bloody tips! Here I simply added the skull, and created an accent nail

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EDIT FROM ORIGINAL POST:

Thank you Trinca for finding this picture and web page. Nihrida created this amazing manicure: the original manicure I used for my inspiration.

Very Beautiful, and the red is SO VIVID, way better than mine.. If I had I remembered where I found it in the first place..I'd have read to see what red she used. Please visit her website to see all her amazing work. I'll never forget her website now....because I'm gonna add it to my Blogroll.

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Here's what you'll need:
Black base color, red polish for accent nail, and tips. White & Black SP polish, and plates from the BOO! Kit. m13, m28
here's how to create the look:

1. Polish all nails with 2X base color

2.Stamp images. I do this first because the painted tips take a while to dry. Rather than wait the drying time before konadding, save time, konad first!

3. Polish tips with red in a sloppy bloody pattern, being careful around the skeleton image.

Of course this idea occurred to me AFTER this konadi....on the next Konadi I did for my M-I-L. But, i think it would look great on these nails!

Dr. Franken-Skull Glow Nails

Just love image plate m7 for the little skull. It's a tad goofy & a tad sweet. So here are some Halloween inspired nails. I used a combo of plates, including one from the new Boo! Kit. The polishes I used are the new OPI mini's. This purple glows in the dark! SPOOOKY!
Here is what you will need:
1. purpleish base color I used OPI mini from the kit below.
2. black color for tips.
3. konad black SP
Plates m1, m7, & m13

Here's how to do it.
1.Paint base coat.
2. Paint tips black. I first attempted to konad the tip (this glow polish has some adhesion issues...so if you plan to konad the tips, I recommend you apply a clear coat first over the glow base to help the konad image transfer) but has some issues. I usually freehand tips because it is always easier & faster for me. It is also more predictable. As much as I love Konad...the french tip plateis useless to me!
3. Apply the little skull to all fingers except the pinki (unless you have a wide nail, it probably will not fit) I skipped my ring finger because it too is too small.
4. Stamp the shoelace design (one i thought i'd never use!) abstractly around the skull, to give it a Frankenstein look. Add small spider from m1 where ever you can or to fill "bald" areas.

There you have it! Your very own freaky, franken-skull nails. the bonus is that they glow in the dark!

Blue Petal Tips

I did these a while back...early this summer. Just now getting around to posting it. I wanted to try out a Konadicure with china glaze. Sassy is always using it to come up wit new designs.

I have to say that while I like this manicure, and the style of the "water mark" konad looks good on this mani.... I am not impressed with he strength of the imprint. The design isn't strong enough to qualify this as a "truly konad compatible" color. So, do experiment with China Glaze, but don't expect it to reveal a dark design.

And don't forget the toes! Actually I used a different plate for the toes, but using the same colors can make the two look cohesive. Because of my skin tone...I don't prefer the blue on my toes, not very flattering. But, perhaps it would look better on a lighter peachier complexion?

What you need: Plate M24, base color, I used China Glaze for Audry here. A nail art polish w/skinny brush, stamping color (china glaze) and a sheer blush (my franken)

The Steps:

1. Paint tips free hand from left to right in a horizontal motion

2. Stamp on image onto tips. Here you can choose a tip design, OR any design with a dense pattern.

3. Clean the smile line to remove extra polish & overlapping design.

4. paint sheer blush on the bottom 1/2 of nail.

5. cover smile line with a purple nail art polish, making a thin line

Little Leopard Rockstar Nails

This picture was taken a couple days after SHE CHIPPED THE TIPS ;(Last week was the first week of 1st grade!!!! HOORAY for Alex. After selecting her outfit, she wanted me to design some matching nails. She actually selected the gray color as the base. She wanted them to match her skirt. She also selected the fleur de lies to match the one on her shirt.
Here's her outfit. And a close up of her thumb nail with the matching fleur de lies.
I realized I never took a photo of the supplies, so I didn't design a page for that. I can try to to so later and edit this post.
This is a basic design.
1. Paint base coat
2. Apply stamp leopard print
3. Paint Tips. I used a nail art pen, they work THE BEST for little fingers french tips!
4. Stamp thumbs with Fleur
5. Add crystal to thumb, cenetr of fleur.

Your little diva has rock star nails!!!!

Chinese Take-Out

My mother in law , Loiscame for her weekly mani. I have been wanting to do a sponge art nail for a while...but my fingers were full of other konadicures I had already drempt up! Any how, Lois was very generous in letting me wing it. Now when she comes over for a paint job, she knows to just throw her hands over, and let me do my thing. Very trusting of her indeed. So here is what I'm Calling Chinese Take Out. Maybe I should had dubbed it China Town Because take out really would be a white nail with red Konad on it? Anyway...

Here is what you will need. Sally Hansen intsa dry in Lightening, Petites in Mango, Konad red, any black that works with konad. For a VERY complete list, see sasse's stamping stampede.

You will also need the Konad sponge art set. But really, you can use any dense foam like material-not a regular sponge! I think the gray art brushes from the craft store would work (it appears to be the same material). Then you would need a plate/flat surface to put polish on, maybe a magazine page...so you can just toss it later?

1. Paint base coat

2. Sponge nail tips and graduate color to tips.

The picture below shows how you apply a "blob" to the plate, then pick up a small amount of color on the sponge.

3. Stamp image from plate24 in red, then again in black.

4. Finish with dragon flies on thumb, or any other finger there is extra room.

OMG...Totally not the nails I would normally wear, but after doing them on Lois (mo-in-law)...I decided I LOVE them & I have to do them! Believe it of not... this SPARKLY pink polish is from Claire's Boutique.

Here I used the sparkle pink, a sheer pink, Konad SP in white & black, and ONLY ONE PLATE...m39. I think it is very versatile and really has what is now, my favorite butterfly. It is even small enough to fit on my 6 year old's nail.

So here's the steps to create this...our your own style tips.
1. Paint tips & accent nail (2 coats) with sparkle polish. Hooray you don't even have to clean the line, because the stamp on smile is wide enough to cover a sloppy smile (ha ha) Notice how the middle finger isn't perfect?
2. Paint bottom 1/2 of nail with the sheer pink.

3. Apply the arched stamp across the smile line so that the stamp "straddles" both the pink sparkle & the sheer pink. Notice above I highlighted the thumb. You may need to stamp your thumb twice. The design is so forgiving, any small overlap or gap shouldn't be too noticable.

4. Stamp one white butterfly on the tipped nails, and two white on the accent nail. I like to stagger them and stamp at a slight angle. Perfect for those of you who have a hard time lining the stamp up!

Finally, add one black butterfly to each nail, again I like to position them @ an angle. Finish with a top coat, careful mot to smear! If you like bling...the stamp on the smile line is PERFECT for adding a little crystal on it.

Now it's your turn, go try it & send me your pic's (to my email please) I'd love to see & share them!

4 Steps to an Easy Stamped Tip Design.

Here is and easy stamped tip design, because there really isn't a lot of drying time involved. Use the same techniques as the other tip manies. This only takes ONE plate & ONE SP color, but you can still layer.

I used plate m4 for this design. Again, this image was taken for the OCNAIL Art contest, so I didn't take a step by step photo story...but refer to the "french tip" design post dated July 12th for step by step detail.

1.Polish tips. Don't worry about perfection, you'll clean the smile line later.

2. Stamp tip. How cool is this, you don't need a full nail image....just one that is dense enough to show on the tip only.

3. Clean the smile line (with a flat brush dipped in acetone)...because you are not covering this with a stamp or polish pen, take your time to create a nice smile line.
4. Stamp flower on bottom 1/2 of nail. Finish with a clear coat. Easy peasy!

Green Tip...Full Nail Design

Here is one of my favorite french mani's. These nails are my mother-in-laws. I love this mani because it is so different from others I have done in the past. I designed this one as one of the entries for the OCNailart.com contest. I wanted to use several plates & techniques. I had also seen on another website, the "accent nail" idea (that's not really what it was called, but what shall we call it?) so love the ring finger being the whole nail, rather than just tips. This tip design is created the same way as the posting below. The only difference in steps is that instead of sing a glitter pen on the smile, I use a stamp to finish the smile line.
I really like doing this, because it can cover a less than perfect smile. So, as the mani before, the main steps are:
base coat on tips
color tips (and full accent nail)
stamp over color
clean tip smile
apply blush to bottom 1/2 of french
stamp lower nail design
stamp smile line

So here are the plates I used. Of course, you can use the plates you have. If you don't have a full nail design, use one that can be duplicates to cover full nail and tip.
I used plates m25, m36,m57. I really like the m36 curly arch like design, it works great on the smile line. There are a few others I recommend too, ill post them separate.

Because I already took photos of these LONG before the birth of my blog, I don't have a step by step photo story. So, here I numbered the steps on the nail and below are the corresponding plate images.
Hope it's understandable.
1. Paint tips & accent nail. Cover with full nail stamp m57. On tips, use 1/2 of the image. ( if you work FAST you can use 1/2 on tip, then RUSH to the next tip & use the other 1/2). Cover entire "accent nail."
2. Clean smile line and polish bottom 1/2 of nail with a clear blush (see previous post on how to make your own)
3. Stamp flowers from plate m25 on lower 1/2 of nail.
4. Use m36 to stamp over smile line. It is easier if you line up, then roll from one side to the other while peeking to make sure your lined up. It takes practice, so do that a few times before attempting this mani. Sucks to spend all that drying time to muff it up on on stamp!
5. Apply butterfly from plate m25 to the accent nail.
6. Finish nail with a black nail pen, dotting centers of flowers. I like using the same color as the smile design because I think it ties the colors together. Don't forget to finish with a clear coat! (careful not to smear your hard work!)

Try this mani and let me know how it goes. If you have any questions...post them, I'm happy to help....because I'm SUCH a Konaddict!

French Tips...Using a Full Nail Plate Design

So, the gunmetal mani lasted exactly two days before I took the polish remover to them....date night warranted a more "conservative" mani. This pleased my husband-plenty. Here I want to show you how you can use a full nail design for your tips only. You don't have to purchase the fancy tip plates for a tip design. Plus, this way you can use any full design or design that is dense enough to cover the tip. You can try this same technique with any tip color & any stamp color. I'm using my NEW s9 image plate...THANK YOU KATHLEEN from OCnailart.com!

What you'll need:

1. Tip color

2. Sheer pink for bottom 1/2 of nail

3. Silver polish for image designs

4. Glitter pen polish for smile line detail. i used silver here

5. Gems

Prep nails by base coating THE TIPS ONLY. you will have to clean off extra image from smile...so base over entire nail is not needed.

1. Paint tips free hand using a horizontal motion, inside edge to outside edge of nail. It doesn't have to be perfect, as you will wipe this clean on the smile with a flat brush dipped in acetone.

2. Apply stamp to tip of nails. Some of the image will cross the tip, and cover your bottom 1/2. OK you'll clean that next. :0)

3. Clean tip, remove overlapping image from bottom 1/2 of nail....make a nice arch @ smile. Don't work too hard, this too will be covered by the glitter polish later. Follow by painting the bottom 1/2 with a sheer blush pink color. I make mine. to make your own, start with a clear polish, dump some polish out, add a few drops @ a time of burgundy and an opaque peach/light tan. Mix, and add more till desired color is reached.

(below see a review of steps 1-4 on each nail)

5. After the pink sheer has dried, apply flower stamp to bottom 1/2 of nail. I used silver here.

6. Finally, add a little gem to the center of the flower....I did the thumb...but heck do them all, that would look cute too! After all you just spent a few minutes doing your nails...go crazy.

Some of you may be wondering if these mani's take a while....the only thing that makes the process longer is the drying time of base polishes.

So try some tip, & layered designs using the same process.