It's time for part four (Take 16 - 20) in my journey into the fascinating world of stamping...
And I decided to rename these posts into "My stamping journey", I still will point out errors and what I learned tho ;)
And this post also brings you a mani that I felt was simply perfect!
Take 16:
Take 17:
Take 18:
Take 19:
- and my right hand..
Take 20:
What do you think?
My favorite is take 19, but I also like 20 and 17 a lot...
AND 5 questions about future stamping mani posts!
Would you, my dear readers, like me to post:
01. Twice a week with multiple stamping manicures, maybe Monday and Thirsday as I have done so far?
02. Not twice a week - but (tell me what you prefer)?
03. How many manicures would you like per post (like in how many is just right for you/how many are too many)?
04. Would you like me to continue with the "Note to myself" in each mani, where I more or less talk to myself, and point out what is OK/good/not so good?
05. Should I go on naming the manis "Take XX" so that 100 manis from now you still can keep track of the number of manicures?
And one more question: Or maybe only show the best of the manis...
1.400+ indie polishes and 100+ indie brands: Indies & Co.
And I decided to rename these posts into "My stamping journey", I still will point out errors and what I learned tho ;)
And this post also brings you a mani that I felt was simply perfect!
Take 16:
Take 16: Base is Esmaltes da Kelly Orion stamped with
Colour Alike B. a Scary Pumpkin, plate Bundle Monster BM-S226, stamper MoYou London
XL Marshmallow Sticky White.
Note to myself: NOT HAPPY!! This pumpkin orange looked nice in the test, but not on the nails, this uber-gorgeous green holo deserves
better. I picked the CA because it has given me pick up problems, so I was
challenging myself, but nope, not good, Maria… :(
Prior to take 17: Total YAY feeling!!!! Yesterday I watched
this video and something clicked inside me, I began thinking of my scraping. I
have tried different scrapers and tried light and hard scraping – but what I
didn’t think of was that the dense patterns require more polish than a light or
small pattern.
So before removing my mani, I played with different stampers and the stamping polish pastel cremes from Colour Alike (stamping on paper), that I previously didn’t feel I could not make any stamper work well with, and – or at least not very good, especially not with my clear jumbo stamper.
So before removing my mani, I played with different stampers and the stamping polish pastel cremes from Colour Alike (stamping on paper), that I previously didn’t feel I could not make any stamper work well with, and – or at least not very good, especially not with my clear jumbo stamper.
First I
tried the mint and the clear jumbo stamper - wow, I got an almost perfect pick
up. Then I tried the pink - same story. Then I took the pastel blue that has
been the worst, again a good result, not as good as the others. Then I tried
the Creative Shop space stamper - almost perfect, and finally my MYL sticky
stamper - wow that looked really goooood :D
Take 17: Base is Paws by Eddie stamped with Colour
Alike B. a Lilac Sweater, plate Born Pretty Store BPL-029, stamper MoYou London
XL Marshmallow Sticky White.
Note to myself: I’m happy, yes the middle finger could be
better, but the ring finger is really good, so that counts double, doesn't it :D
Take 18:
Take 18: Base is Glam Polish Taurus (Hypnotic Polish
store excl.) stamped with Barry M Foil Effects 319 and 320, plate Born Pretty
Store BPL-026, stamper MoYou London XL Marshmallow Sticky White.
Note to myself: This looked soooo much better in my head. The
pinkie and index stamped with silver were the best, but all in all the result
probably would have been better with a more “dominant” color and/or a pattern
with thicker lines for stamping…Take 19:
Take 19: Base is Ms. Sparkle Show Stopper (Nail The
Mail excl.) stamped with Colour Alike B. a Fairy Forest, plate Born Pretty
Store BPL-029, stamper MoYou London XL Marshmallow Sticky White.
Note to myself: I’m happy, really, really happy, I cannot
take my eyes of this mani – and I SO deserve the *rather many* plates and other
cool stamping gear I ordered today :D (best excuse ever) hahahaha.
My
husband said: Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful – but not nearly as wonderful
as your freehand nail art.
Of
course he is right, but I also really enjoy a good stamping!
Prior to take 20/thoughts: I felt like a champion after Take
19, and the feeling was sooo good while it lasted!
But the
next morning I decided to test the Colour Alike Kind of Black S, another of the
untested CA cremes, so now I was totally back on earth again :D
All my
new found “wisdom” prior to Take 17 was either forgotten, or I scraped too hard
(I know that now)…
I tested
on paper, different stampers and plates, and I eventually got it right with my
MoYou London XL Marshmallow Sticky White, closely followed by a Creative
Stamping Space stamper.
Anyhow
training pick up and stamping on paper is great, I will train with my CA cremes
(the only creme polishes I am having problems with) like that every day, if I
have the time…
It is so
easy for me to stamp with the Colour Alike duo/multicromes, shimmers and
metallic – but not cremes. Fortunately, I can stamp really well with Konad
cremes.
I ended
up not changing my mani, so two days
after take 19 I trained again. Each time I was close to a hissy fit with CA
I took a Konad creme with a perfect result.
And total HAPPY DANCE: To finish my training on paper session I tried one of my Colors by Llarowe stamping holos, that I initially could not get to work – wooow now I can with my MoYou London sticky stamper – sooooo happy!
And total HAPPY DANCE: To finish my training on paper session I tried one of my Colors by Llarowe stamping holos, that I initially could not get to work – wooow now I can with my MoYou London sticky stamper – sooooo happy!
Take 20: Base is Ms. Sparkle Water stamped with Rica
Hello Gorgeous, plate Born Pretty Store BPL-029, stamper MoYou London XL
Marshmallow Sticky White.
Note to myself: I have now tried stamping with Rica Hello Gorgeous
(an opaque metallic/shimmer polish) many times, but haven’t been able to do decent
pick up – and look at this now – *doing happy dance* - I am getting there :D
My favorite is take 19, but I also like 20 and 17 a lot...
AND 5 questions about future stamping mani posts!
Would you, my dear readers, like me to post:
01. Twice a week with multiple stamping manicures, maybe Monday and Thirsday as I have done so far?
02. Not twice a week - but (tell me what you prefer)?
03. How many manicures would you like per post (like in how many is just right for you/how many are too many)?
04. Would you like me to continue with the "Note to myself" in each mani, where I more or less talk to myself, and point out what is OK/good/not so good?
05. Should I go on naming the manis "Take XX" so that 100 manis from now you still can keep track of the number of manicures?
And one more question: Or maybe only show the best of the manis...
1.400+ indie polishes and 100+ indie brands: Indies & Co.
I honestly don't mind which days you post what, I just think you should post when you feel like it.
SvarSletI don't mind how many either, but I think I'd rather like 5 manis in one post than 5 posts with one mani each (on the same day), if you know what I mean :)
I like the "note to self"-part!
Number or no numbers is not important to me :)
Yes, I understand, and I also wouldn't feel comfortable posting more than twice daily-
SletThanks for your thoughts!
Hooray, hooray for your experienced successes!! (I'm sorry, but I did get a good chuckle from the highs and lows - back down to earth now -LOL! It is sooo true.)
SvarSletLove take 19 & 20 - your color/design combinations are beautiful!! I liked the orange & green too - but understand that it looked different on the nail. I've never practiced on paper - I've always used something less absorbent such as clear plastic plates, silicone mats (I bought baby place mats before all these branded ones have come on the scene). I also have all of my stamping polishes swatched on clear sticks so that I can hold them over the stick of the base I want to put them on, I've heard some folks use a plastic baggy to stamp on and then hold it over the polished nail.
Love the re-name to stamping journey - I feel that all of my efforts in nail art of any kind has been a journey for me because I had never even painted my nails until just a couple months before blogging.
OK - your questions:
I enjoy these posts, definitely including your "notes to yourelf". Whether you post multiple designs or just one in a post I think is really up to you and what you want to highlight.
Probably at some point the number won't really matter...but for your notekeeping and referencing in comments when there are multiple - it is helpful.
Maybe as time goes on, you'll post some of your more favorite (successes) as a post to themselves, but then maybe a few times a month post the "Behind the scenes" look at your trials/errors of your stamping journey. I'd hate to see you lose that niche' you have going.
Oh - and lastly - I just love the husband comment. It's always so fun to get their opinions as they are usually coming from the opposite of our intended audience. I completely understand his opinion that your freehand painted art was (is) just fantastic...but I also know that you're going to soar with stamping techniques and methods (I'm guessing stamping decals/reverse stamping/lead lighting appeals to you as something to do at some point in your stamping journey). And you can always go back and forth with freehand and stamping - no rules. :)
So, those are all my thoughts for now. Don't get discouraged by lack of comments. I have found, and I think others will agree, it's hard to figure out the rhyme/reason why some posts get more than others. For myself, I try to blame something out of my control - such as timing to when people are "plugged in" which no matter what the tracking statistics programs want you to believe, there is no "perfect" time/day. So - keep doing what you're doing. We're here. :)
Oh woow - thank you for your long and thorough reply and thoughts, I really appreciate your time <3
SletI'm so happy you like Take 19 and 20, so do I - especially Take 19 - it's my pride and joy LOL
I think the idea of posting some in one post and others as individual pots sounds like a really good plan!
Yes, I look forward to trying out all the techniques in stamping as I progress - and maybe even come up with new ideas...
I think it's because this is a long weekend for many people (Christian holiday Thursday, many take one day of Friday) and go away for a long weekend, because normally I get a lot of comments. But there is a risk that some posts do not show up in feeds, unfortunately I have experienced that a couple of times within the last 2 months.
Thanks for the encouraging words - at this time and moment I really need them, I need to know that at least someone out there finds what I do worth seeing/reading :)
Oh I forgot the stamp on paper - that is never for testing combos, it's merely practicing pick up with different stampers and scraping/stamping technique/pressure to get a good solid feel of it.
SletFor polish combos I also use one of my stamping mats - and find that works for me...
Well - what do you know - you just gave me an "A-hah!" moment. As I think more about it, I did know, but forgot, the advantages of practicing on paper with stamping...I have just never done it. But I think I will definitely try it out as I recently increased my stamper stable and plate farm. LOL. Thanks!!
SletLOL - happy to hear it!
Slet17,19,20...Your stamping like a pro hun! <3
SvarSletAwww, you are way too kind - thank you so much!
SletMy favourites are 19 and 20 :-)
SvarSletI simply love 20 not only because the stamping is perfect, but also because of that gorgeous base colour and beautiful final effect it makes with stamping polish colour :-)
As you know that I got addicted to stamping, for me it's great pleasure seeing good stamping manicures (and your stamping manicures are surely very, very good!!!) also 3-4-5 days a week or as often as you're inspired to make them! :-)
I think that "Note to myself" is useful thing, because all of us can learn something and get new informations about stamping problems and how to resolve them :-)
Also one manicure per post is OK, but I think that there will be more manicures per post, knowing how hard you work and how addicted you'll become! :-) But, it's a beautiful addiction! :-)
About naming your stamping manicures... I simply don't have any clever solution, unfortunately I have problems with naming my manicures and names of all my manicures are boring... :-( So, I hope that other girls will have some interesting suggestions! :-)
I wish you a lot of new happy dances, I'm sure there will be a plenty of them! :-)
Thank you so much Tanja - for your kind words and thoughts <3
SletVery nice manicures so far!
SvarSletPost whenever you like, i enjoy your blog like it is!
Thank you so much - I am so happy to hear that <3
SletI like take 18. It is a bit busy, but works well.
SvarSletAh, I'm happy to hear it, I would have liked it if it actually was possible to see the pattern...
SletCatching up again... (really, if I don't look at your blog at least four times a day, I have so many posts waiting for me I can hardly catch up at all ;)
SvarSletBut I wanted to answer your questions as I LOVE seeing you improve, although I have to admit I'm kind of envious at the speed you are learning. It took me ages to get as far as you did in mere days :)
So... my answers:
1, 2 and 3) I like seeing your posts but I like the passion and fun you have doing your nails even more so please do what feels right to you. If that means a stamping manicure each day, fine. If it means once a week a post of 10 manicures, fine as well :)
4) I like reading your notes. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I think you're too hard on yourself. Again, if you want to add your notes, please do. If you don't, that's fine (sheesh, I'm repeating myself a lot ;)
5) For me naming a manicure is usually the hardest part of an entire post so numbering them is really smart but it makes it harder to search for a specific manicure... so I'm going to say it again: please do what you feel is best for you.
And the extra question: please post what you feel like posting. I post all my manicures, even the failures, but I don't do even 10% of the amount of manicures you do so I can imagine you end up showing just the best ones. Again, that's up to you :)
Last but not least my favourite: take 19 is so you and just reading how happy you were with it, makes me smile so that's the one I like best :)
LOL, twice a day, sorry about that :D
SvarSletThank you so much for your reply and all your thoughts.
Well I am hard on myself, I know, but my mum was too, so I guess I never really feel I'm good enough hahahaha
I love naming manicures, so I probably eventually will do that when it no longer makes sense to number them...
Aww, I'm so pleased 19 is your favorite too - I had a lucky day LOL
Great job, my dear Maria!
SvarSletI like this kind of posts, with your "notes to myself" and so on. You post so many things that IMHO you should post once a week this post so everyone (me, at least) can keep track of your work :D much love <3
Thank you so much Ky <3
SletLOL I know I post too often for you - but I have so much to show :D