Twin Post with Stephanie of Sincerely Stephanie Nails using MASH plate #41

The moment Stephanie told me she picked plate #41 I immediately gravitated towards a specific image that I knew I wanted to use. In my head, it looked like a good way to do the half moon mani but with a stamping twist to it. See, my attempts at the half moon manicure often end up being stuff of epic failery. I can never seem to get the edges as clean and crisp as I want them. I was about to do my stamping when Mr. J peered over my shoulder and suggested I use the image right side up instead. I'm always open to suggestion so I tried to do as he said. Was I right to listen to him? Here's how it turned out:

Reminds me of those henna designs!

What I Used:
Vampy base: OPI Tease-y Does It
Gold stamping polish: Color Club Gingerbread Man
Iridescent clear nail art gems from Born Pretty Store

How I Did It:

Step 1: After applying your favorite base coat and letting it dry, apply an opaque layer of your base color. For our purposes, we'll be using a vampy burgundy for high contrast.

Step 2: Once the base color is dry, take your gold stamping polish and stamp on the tribal looking design on the lower right hand corner of the plate. Here's where stamping fast and accurately is important: make sure that only part of the image is stamped on as shown below. Then, add a rhinestone at the apex of the triangle for more interest. Do the same for all the other nails. Finish with a generous layer of top coat and enjoy your handiwork!

I will be honest. This was, by far, one of the most pain in the butt designs I've ever attempted. My stamping skills aren't the best at this point and I really need to work on my image placement. Getting all these lined up properly on my curved nails was just horrible. It didn't help that I had to work fast or else the polish would dry and become unusable. It's not as aligned as I hoped but after repeated tries, this was the best I could do. And frankly, it's not as bad as I first thought.

 I actually positioned the image on the thumb a bit too high, but it was centered perfectly so I wasn't about to redo it. :P

The pattern brings to mind images of India.

 I'm so glad I listened to Mr. J. I think it looks even better right side up!

 There's something distinctly elegant about this image. Or maybe it's the colors, too.

 I also need to work on my gem placement. Heh.

In case you're wondering, yes, this is it for Nail Art Wednesday. I was planning on doing another one but never quite got around to it. Now, don't pout. You're still in for a few more designs coming up later in the week! Putting that aside for now, inquiring minds would like to know: Would you have used the stamp right side up (like I did) or upside down? Once you've set your mind on a specific design, do you see it through or do you do changes as you go? What colors would you have used in this specific nail art design? Now, aren't you curious to see which design Stephanie chose? Even I am excited to see what she's come up with! Won't you head over to Sincerely Stephanie Nails with me? *grins*