Gradient Nails

Lately, I've been trying out a lot of different designs on my nails. It started a couple years ago when I'd given up on getting (and keeping up with) acrylics for the sake of my pocketbook. I love having my nails painted, but I just couldn't justify forking over $30 every two weeks anymore. Add to that the fact that while I was pregnant I barely had the energy to wash my hair, and you end up with poor, bare-nailed me. So I started painting my nails at home, and as the trend started to explode on blogs across the web, I was more than ready to jump on the home manicure train. My hubby found some crackle polish at Target, and I played around with that for several months, changing the base color weekly. But the crackle could only hold my attention for so long, and I soon started diving into the multitudes of tutorials out there.

I plan to start adding in an occasional home manicure post, to show off my burgeoning skill. And by that, I mean I'll put up a picture of my one successful manicure out of ten failed attempts.

I bought some various blue nail polishes for the galaxy nail look a few weeks ago, and it really turned out awesome! Sadly, I can't find the memory card that has the pictures I took on it right now. I'm sure it'll turn up! In the meantime, I decided to do a gradient look, and added some glitter on top. I like it!

The hubby has our camera with him in Texas, so this was taken on my phone. I apologize for the crappy quality. To make this look, I started with the light blue, and painted the whole nail. Once that dried a bit, I blotted on the medium blue with a cut-up make-up round (the kind you get in a bag for like a dollar). The dark blue went on last, and I ended up having to blot over it with the medium blue to get it to blend a little better. I topped it all with the blue glitter, and a final clear coat. I really like how it turned out, and it looks really sparkly in the sun - a rare sight here during the winter.

I hope you like it! I'm still working up the courage to attempt a marble nail. We'll see how many times that fails before I get it right.