Manicure of the Week - Vol. 1

Hey everyone! I had an idea for something new I wanted to do with the blog tonight. I know many other blogs probably do this in some form or another but I hadn't really tried it myself. The internet is an indispensable tool for those who love nail art. I think I could safely say there isn't one person who is really into nail art who doesn't owe tons of their inspiration to the internet nail art community and all the lovely people that make it up.

Ideas and inspiration are very fluid - sometimes you directly and purposely take inspiration from a manicure you see and recreate it, sometimes it gives you an idea that branches off into another one, and sometimes you don't even realize how heavily influenced you were by another manicure you saw until you see the original one again later. I've definitely had times (often!) where I thought of an idea for a mani, and then later noticed that it looked a lot like a mani I'd seen online before, but when I was creating it I was totally unaware of that. That's just how inspiration works, and I don't know about you but I love that!

So in the spirit of giving credit where credit is due, I want to start a weekly tradition on my blog of recognizing manicures I have seen and LOVED! The number of nail blogs and Tumblrs I follow is approaching embarrassing proportions, so I have lots of source material.

So without any further ado, let's dive right into this weeks manicure!

The Happy Little Clouds manicure by Nailed It really caught my attention this week. It's a perfect example of how a simple manicure can really have a ton of impact. I love the colours she chose, and how each nail has different coloured clouds and sky. It just really stood out to me and I think if I wore this on my own nails, it would be one of the manicures I wouldn't be able to stop staring at. I adore it!

NOTD Jan 15/12 and a Born Pretty Store coupon!

I had to try out more of the awesome rhinestones I got from Born Pretty store - I admit before I got these I wasn't too into the whole rhinestone thing so I didn't think I'd get a lot of use out of them, but now that I have them I love them! I want more! Different shapes! MOAR!

Hehehe aaanyways! Here are the nails... a peach background, little red and white flowers with gold leaves and red rhinestone accents! I love how these turned out... I tried them out on a nail wheel first a few days ago and knew it had to be on my nails next!

I also have some other cool news! Check out the sidebar to the right to see a coupon code you can use to get 5% off at checkout on Born Pretty Store.com! Their prices are already a heck of a bargain as is, but every bit counts so who can say no to another 5% off? Enjoy! :)

Nail Art Blog Link Love!

Lately (if you hadn't noticed) I've been really getting into nail art. There are times - wonderful, glorious times - when ideas for nail art are running through my head like a flipbook. Usually when I'm laying in bed about to fall asleep, and by the next morning I forget half of them but still... it's a good feeling! Exhilirating!

Another thing that inspires me nail art-wise are the many, many ridiculously talented people out on the web with nail art blogs. Seriously, some of this stuff just blows me away. Check em out and give them some love too! These are not all the nail blogs I read, not by a long shot - these are just a few that jumped out at me lately!

The Nailasaurus - Lots of nails that are detailed drawings - even her links for social media (Twitter, Facebook etc.) are nail art! Also some really nice stamping manis - I find a lot of them out there suffer from having either boring or bad colour combos but not these ones, she has an eye for colour!

Beauty by Kayla Shevonne - Cute, simple, bold designs - my favourite! Lots to look at here! :) Some great Nicki Minaj themed nails over there!

Nail Nerd - Tons of cool designs, including some awesome gradient and silhouette manis.

Nail Polish Art Addiction - SO MANY cartoon character nails! Seriously, I'm talking HUNDREDS. Among other things!

JeeA Lee's Nail Art - The queen of mixed manis, these are eye candy for SURE!

Nailside - She has mastered the tape mani (alas - I have not yet...) so her designs are always incredibly crisp, and she has such a great eye for colour! Also, she's got me jonesing for a matte top coat!

Nevertoomuchglitter - Check out the original nail art category and prepare to drool. Jus' saying...

very emily - Beautiful mixed and 3D manis along with awesome photography skills!

rebecca likes nails - Great at hand drawing AND stamping - this is where I learned how to do leopard print!