31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 23 - Inspired by a Movie

 About time, right?  I was going to do a mani based on Pretty In Pink, as per my Mom's suggestion (sorry, Mom), but when I got my Vivid Lacquer plate I knew what I had to do.

Jurassic Park!

Rawr.

I had a hard time getting a good photo of this one.  It is quite a bit clearer in person.

Of course, the whole time I was working on it I had this running through my head:

  

Vivid Lacquer Stamping Plate 002

I've got another indie review for y'all today.  This time, a stamping plate.  That's right, an indie plate maker!  This is the second plate VL002 from Anni at VividLacquer on Etsy.  It includes four full size images plus six (well, eight if you're splitting up the balloons) smaller images.  It came perfectly clean with no scratches; the streaks you see here are from the acetone I used to clean it after stamping.  Didn't think to photograph it until afterward : /

And when I say full size, I mean FULL SIZE.  Each large image is 2cm x 2cm, which is more than large enough to cover my thumb and is awesome for longer nails.  Because they're so large, you might need to practice a bit with the placement of some of them, particularly the butterfly wings.  I found it didn't matter too much with the honeycomb or stars because my only goal was to cover the nail, not focus on a particular part of the design.

I am quite impressed with how these turned out.  The plate is engraved deeply enough that it's very easy to get a good image, even as an inexperienced stamper.  I was curious about how the half-moon would work because it's such a large area, but it turned out fine.  It helps to scrape it in two different directions and use a light touch, but I didn't have an issue getting a good image from it.

At $8 each, these are a bit more pricey than other plates, but well worth the money for the quality, the larger images and designs other than flowers and butterflies.  I bought this plate solely for the snail, but I totally love all the other images and I'm sure I'll get tons of use out of it.

Vivid Lacquer also has some lovely handmade 3-free polishes and another stamping plate, VL001, with plans to add more in the future.  Anni's customer service is awesome and shipping on this plate was very fast.  

I used Essie Marshmallow as a base and stamped with China Glaze Passion.

Applejack

Hello!  Still alive!

I got a little blocked on the "Inspired by a Movie" challenge.  I was just not feeling inspired by anything.  I also had plans to travel and visit with family for a couple weeks, so I decided to take a short break.  That short break apparently turned into several weeks during which I either didn't have the time or the motivation to do my nails.  So, sorry for disappearing!

I still haven't done my Inspired by a Movie mani, but I do have something new.

This is my entry in the Nailed By Mods Challenge in the There's Fiber in My Polish group on Ravelry.  Ravelry, for those who don't know, is a site for fiber arts (mostly knitting and crochet) enthusiasts.  Don't judge.

The theme of this contest is My Little Pony.  I chose Applejack as my inspiration.

I love how this turned out.  It's adorable and not overtly pony-y.  I used OPI Y'all Come Back, Ya Hear?, Sally Hansen Red Carpet and NYC High Line Green.  On my thumb is a temporary tattoo.  All topped with Essie Matte About You.  By the way, why did no one tell my how gorgeous Red Carpet is? So deep and sparkly!  I've got it on my toes right now, too. 

I do plan on getting back to the 30 Day Challenge soon, but I may do a review before that.