Day 296) Fall nail art gnome

I've been wanting to do a nail art with gnomes and some mushrooms/toadstools as their houses.
But as I was starting with a gnome I soon realised that the head already was a full nail cover :(
I could have started over and make a smaller version but I was happy with my gnome and didn't want to bother anymore.

I did think it looked kinda like Santa Clause :-/ To make it more fall I painted some tiny leaves around the head.

After finishing the accent nail I was pretty much done with doing nails.
I skipped the mushrooms and went for a simple mani for the rest of the nails; red with white dots (which is of course still a little reference to the toadstool).

Day 254) Nail art leaves

Today my first fall nail art and I'm loving it!

Let's start with a swatch shall we.

KOH Colours! - Metallic Green! 127

No sun in the Netherlands. Above are indoor pictures. With and without flash.
Isn't it beautiful???
I'm so in love with good holo's!

It took me about 4 coats to get it nice (I don't have the patience to wait between coats, so maybe you could do it with less).
Holo's have a specific way of applying I think; the metallic parts want to bind together and with your second stroke you're taking away some of your first.
My trick is to load the brush with a pretty amount of polish and try to barely touch the nail as I'm applying it.
Another way is to paint your nails in the regular way. Fill up holes by dotting the polish and wait till your covered (not even) nail is dry. Then apply a final layer to make it a smooth surface.
The color is kinda hard to describe: it's a greyish, silver, minty color. But the minty green overrules the rest. The holo is just perfect!

Now, let's have a look at my first fall nail art and start with something you can expect with fall nail arts: Leaves
For the leaves I used a striper brush and some different metallic polishes (brown, green, plum).

Day 221) Nail art elegant green leafy stems

On Monday real life starts again.
Early wakening, oversleeping, hurrying, getting the kids to school (on time) and ...so on.
Of course the last days of the vacation aren't at all about resting but about doing al the things I've been postponing the rest of the days :(

I guess this will show in my nail arts as well.
So, please bear with me.

Today another quick one

As base I used a light green, then I sponged some darker shade on top of it and topcoated it.
I finished by painting some elegant green leafy stems with a striper brush and polish.
The picture is before sealing it with a topcoat because I like the depth.

Day 202) Stamping nail art using real leaves

Every now and then, when I was sitting in the back yard, my thoughts drifted away to making a stamping nail art using real leaves.
Wouldn't it be pretty to copy the leaf nervures onto your nail without the work of painting them?!
Today I finally tried.

I used the two best leaves I could find in my garden:
1) Small fern
2) Grape leaf

Start with painting your nails in any desired color:

Essence Floral Grunge nail polish - 03 Grunge me tender!

Take any other desired color and polish the leaves:

Use the polished side to stamp it on your nail; place the leaf carefully on your nail and give it a gentle push. Change colors and stamp again.
Not sure about the outcome? Start by stamping on a paper.

Day 155) Floral nail art

Definitely an off-day!

After putting on 3 different nail art designs which I didn't like I ended up with this one, which I also don't like.

However the conclusion is that I have an off-day and on this kind of days I should just quit because nothing will satisfy myself.

Posting nothing would mean ending my challenge, so that's not an option.

So lets get it over with and tomorrow is a new day!

Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer - 02 Pimp My Shrimp