Orly

The One With the Abstract Color Block Manicure

9:00:00 AM

Nothing to Disclose

Hey polished world! How are you all doing today?  I apologize for my lack of posting, although I feel I'm doing better in 2019 versus 2018.  Last week was crazy, it started with a snow storm, blossomed into an illness at work, causing me to wash my hands a zillion times, still getting sick, leading to the driest of dry skin and dry brittle nails breaking every other second.  Everything that could go wrong, did, and it's kind of dragging into this week.  Hopefully it gets better....it has to, right?

Well, we will ignore the fact that tomorrow starts a cold streak for the next few days.  Wind chills are going to be in the -30s, the high temperatures of 3 degrees.  Not looking forward to it.  Therefore I'm trying to figure out ways to brighten my mood, which means bright nail art.  Now, I'm not ready for super neon nails, so today's nail art is a splash of color which I feel we really haven't seen in awhile here on The Little Canvas.

I'm in a blue, black, white, and silver mode.  Normal winter colors, right?  Today's manicure of course has some blue, but I mixed it with some pink and gold to make it a little different and a little bright.  I saw a similar manicure on Pinterest and I thought it was fun.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:

  • ORLY - Cake Pop
  • ORLY - Frolic
  • ORLY - Under the Stars
  • Some random gold I cannot remember the name of......
Liking the manicure, hating the photos.  They really don't do it justice.  As you can see, my middle finger is a big broke and stubby compared to the rest.  Currently all my nails are chopped down to the nail line thanks to some major breaks, so I'm really feeling insecure about all my nail art on these little shorties.



Regardless of being so self conscience of my nail shape and size, I'm still liking the abstract design and feel of this manicure.  The colors went so well together.  Really loving Cake Pop by ORLY.  I forgot I owned this pale pink polish.  Covered completely in two coats, which I was surprised by because it was rather sheer on the first coat.  It built up quite nicely.  When it was dried, I went through and added all the random color block/dry brush swipes.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure? Something you'd try?  Are your nails snapping and breaking too?

Until next time, <3.

ILNP

The One With the Snowman and Snowflake Nail Art

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  We are slowly thawing out after Winter Storm Harper dumped about 20 inches of snow on us.  Since the weekend, it's been super weird weather.  On Monday it was 1 degree outside with below freezing wind chill, then yesterday it was 47 degrees and raining.  Today though, we are back in the 20s with snow.  We are having some crazy weird weather.

Since the snow is back, that means I can continue on with snow themed manicures!  Today I am recreating my little snowmen who are looking up at the snow.  I did this one a few years ago after being inspired by Ruth from Ruth's Nail Art.  This is one of my most re-created manicures and actually was recently tagged in a few the other day.  It's a super cute design that is relatively easy but looks complicated.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ILNP - Honor Roll
  • Acrylics
Cute, right??  Last time I did this manicure, I created it using Zoya Dream.  I was about to grab the bottle of Dream when I saw Honor Roll peeking out from the corner of my Melmer.  Two coats of this gorgeous navy blue holographic polish and you have the perfect wintery base for this design.



Once my base was dried, I went through and started painting the details with my acrylics.  To get the snowmen, you start with a white circle on the nail.  When the white is dried, I took an orange and added the nose.  The rest of the details were added last.  The part that took the most time was the snowflakes.  I actually am thrilled with the snowflake portion of this manicure. My lines were so straight and precise....for me at least.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure?  Think they're cute little guys?

Until next time, <3.

China Glaze

The One With the Galaxy Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning my lovely Polished Peeps!  How are you all doing on this cold, chilly Monday?  We were hit head on by Winter Storm Harper so I've spent the last 48 hours at home.  Went outside, shoveled, baked some cookies, made some dinners, slept a whole heck of a lot.  It was a much needed 48 hours of decompressing and quiet time.

My plan was to share yet another snowflake manicure with you all today, but since I spent the last 48 hours being a bum, that meant I spent those 48 hours with naked nails.  So, I have to break my snowflake streak and share with you a galaxy manicure.  It's actually a fitting manicure for today seeing as there was that blood moon and a total lunar eclipse last night.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Sally Hansen - Onyx-pected
  • China Glaze - various polishes from the OMGFlashback Collection
  • INM - Northern Lights
Guyssssss, this galaxy manicure is by far one of my favorite.  I wish you could see how it sparkled thanks to the amazing holographic polishes from the China Glaze OMGFlashback collection.  Then when I topped it with Northern Lights, it was a holographic, sparkly wonder.  Truly looked like a galaxy!



To get the look I started off with my new favorite black polish, Sally Hansen Onyx-pected from the Miracle Gel line.  Two coats and full coverage.  I then went with a white polish and sponged the base of the nebula.  I then took multiple holos and filled in the white.  I then added a top coat of INM Northern Lights to blend it all together.  When that was dry, I added the little stars, and another top coat, and bam Galaxies.

What do you think? Fan of this galaxy manicure?  Did anyone see the super blood moon?

Until next time, <3.

Color Club

The One With the Smoosh Snowflake Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!!!  How are you all doing today??  It is bitterly cold here and we are preparing for Winter Storm Harper!  We are in a weird path right now where we aren't sure if we are going to get inches of snow, or feet.  You all are going to think I'm weird, but I'm low key hoping for a few feet of snow.  I love just one big snow fall and then I'm ready for Spring.  There's something about that large snowfall covering the world in sparkly white that is just so pretty.

Since we are heading into a snow storm filled weekend, of course I am sharing with you another snowflake manicure!  This for sure is one of my favorites.  I was on Instagram and saw a smoosh manicure done by NailsUponATime.  She was inspired by a tutorial by GrapeFizzNails.  Ladies and Gents, you need to go to her instagram and take a look at that tutorial!  I have been complicating the smoosh manicure!!!  Her way is so much easier and I received a perfect smoosh every.single.time.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Color Club - Meet Me At the Rink
  • Zoya - Dream
  • INM - Northern Lightse
  • Acrylics

Obsessing over the color combination.  I searched "blue smoosh mani" on Pinterest and came across one by my friend Sarah over at 25 Sweet Peas which I had to re-create.  She used two Zoyas, whereas I don't have two Zoyas which would have worked, but I did have Dream which made life perfect.  After painting my nails with two coats of Meet Me at the Rink, I followed GrapeFizzNails tutorial using Meet Me at the Rink and Dream.


Once the nails were smooshed, I went over it with a light coat of INM Northern Lights which really made the base pop and added to the sparkle of Dream.  I then went through with acrylic and drew on the snowflakes, which took me forever.  My OCD was in overdrive with these because I wanted them to look perfect on top of this perfect, gorgeous smoosh base.

What do you think? Fan of this manicure?  Loving the smoosh?

See you soon with another snowflake manicure!!!  To all those going to be affected by Winter Storm Harper, stay safe!

Until next time, <3.

China Glaze

The One With the Glittery Tipped Snowflake Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Hey polished world and Happy Sunday to you all!  I meant to have a post up yesterday but my Friday was crazy as crazy can be.  I worked an eleven hour day, which didn't stop when I got home.  So really, you could say I worked 12 hours.  Which let's face it, no one wants to do that on a Friday.  Although, I will say I didn't mind being indoors for all those hours because it was only about 19 degrees outside on Friday.

So, remember last post how I said I'm feeling all things snowflake since it finally feels like winter?  Well, today I'm bringing you another snowflake manicure!  This one is inspired by one NailStorming did and I fell in love with.  A gorgeous silver sponged glittery tip with snowflakes drawn over the top.  While I like the manicure, I still think her's is better.

We will let you be the judge though. Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • INM - Northern Lights
  • OPI - This Crown Needs a Gown
  • China Glaze - Disco Ball Drop
Alright, it's kind of grown on me since I did it the other night.  I did love the gradient I did using This Crown Needs a Gown and Disco Ball Drop.  This Crown Needs a Gown is one of my all time favorite silver polishes and I really wish OPI would re-release it.  It's such a shimmery metallic silver polish that has the most gorgeous satin finish.  If anyone has any idea where I can grab more bottles, let me know!

Once I had the sponged silver on the nail, I then went through and added Disco Ball Drop.  The pictures didn't capture this gorgeous glitter, but in real life my nails are sparkling thanks to this holographic silver glitter!  I'm not going to lie, I completely forgot I owned this polish.  I'm going to have to put it on top of everything so I never forget about it again.



After the gradient was just how I liked it, I went through with acrylics and added the snowflakes.  I love the white flakes, but I feel like the blue is a little out of place.  NailStorming did pink snowflakes on hers, and I'm not a huge pink fan, so that's why I opted for blue.  Also, I felt that blue was more winter-like.  I think if I were to re-create this design, I would only do white snowflakes or an even lighter blue.

What do you think?  Should I have not gone with blue?

Until next time, you know....when I probably have another snowflake manicure to share with you. <3.


Orly

The One With the First Snowflake Manicure of the Year

9:00:00 AM


Hey everyone!!!  How are you all doing today?  It's Thursday and boy is this week dragging!!  It was about 11am yesterday and I thought that it was 5pm.  Alas, it was 11am and I had a day full still of work, meetings, and more work.  I feel life gets like that right before the weather changes, and that's exactly what it's doing here!  The other day it was in the high 40s, now it's in the 20s and we have snow. 

I'm not going to lie, we haven't had a lot of snow yet this winter season and it's been kind of sad to me.  I love at least one good snow storm.  A foot or two of white, sparkly snow covering the ground, all the branches outlined in white.....it's just so gorgeous.

The other thing I love about snow is snowflake nail art!!  I feel weird painting snowflakes on my nails when it's gloomy with no snow.  So be prepared, I have a feeling that I'm going to be doing a few snowflake designs until this accumulation melts.  Now knowing where I live and how the weather goes, that will be by the weekend.  Sigh.

Until then, let's take a look at today's snowflake design!


Colors Used:
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • ORLY - Liquid Vinyl
  • ORLY - Mirrorball
Not going to lie, I'm kind of obsessing over black, white, and holographic silver nails lately.  Right before the New Year I posted a black, white, and silver holo heart design, then I ended up painting this one right after it, and then after this one I painted yet another silver, black, and white design which is probably my favorite manicure EVER.   But, you'll have to wait to see that one.....



I really loved this manicure, especially the dots on the index and pinkie finger.  I feel that it really felt like falling snow, and it tied in the white ring finger so well.  I also loved how the silver accent was just that, a silver accent.  It wasn't at all on the other nails, but tied the manicure together so well.

What do you think?  Fan of this look?  Anyone else like the black, white, and silver nails?

Until next time, <3.

China Glaze

The One With China Glaze 2Nite and Roses

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  We are yet again to another Monday and a full work week.  I'm actually happy that we are back to the normal schedule again.  The past two weeks have been a complete cluster and I feel like I'm so behind.  I did stay late on Friday and get some work done and made myself some lovely to-do lists for the week.  Now hopefully I can get the work done with little to no interruptions.  Who am I kidding, it's a Monday, everything crazy happens on a Monday.

So new year, same nail art.  Maybe?  Actually, new year, new nail polish.  It's not new polish for other bloggers, but for me it is.  A few months ago I purchased the China Glaze OMGFlashback Holo collection and never got around to using it.  I used one polish then the others went on my untried shelf and never were touched.  I'm kicking myself that it has taken so long, because now I've used two, and they both are equally amazing!!!!

Let's take a look at today's manicure!


Colors Used:
  • China Glaze - 2Nite
  • Assorted Polishes
Look.how.gorgeous.this.polish.is.  Guys, if you don't have this collection, I strongly urge you to go online and find it ASAP.  2Nite is a gorgeous two coater linear holographic polish.  The effect of the holo is so strong in all types of settings.  I'm just still in shock by it.



Do you see that holo???  Ahhhh!  I almost didn't want to cover it up but I was feeling some roses so I decided to throw a few on there, while not completely covering up the holo.

What do you think? Fan of this manicure?? Love this holo??

Until next time, <3.

Year in Review

The One With the Favorites of 2018!

9:00:00 AM

Hey polished world!!!  As promised, here is the 2018 year in review!!  As I said in my last post, I'm shocked that we are in 2019.  I feel that it was just yesterday that I was posting the 2017 favorites!  So here I am, starting 2019 off right, one manicure post, and now my two review posts.  Maybe this means this year I'll post on time and have a more consistent schedule.

I went through all my Monthly Mani Fav posts to figure out which were my favorite for the year, and I'm not going to lie, it was rather tough decision to make.  It came down to two each month, and I ended up sending those posts to my friend who made the final selection.  Each time she picked the one I was leaning towards to be my favorite.

Without further ado, let's take a look at my favorite manicures of 2018!!  Starting with the top left and going around clockwise.


  • The One With ORLY Bling - I love ORLY Bling, but I hate the removal process, so we will never see a re-creation of this design using this base.  This look is amazing because of the 90s/Saved By The Bell vibe it has.
  • The One With the Valentine's Day Nail Art - I remember when I did this manicure on my nails and I wasn't too fond of it because it took forever to do.  It's weird that I feel like it was just yesterday.  Regardless, after photographing the design, I loved the cartoon look it had to it.
  • The One With the Interlocking Dot Manicure - I think I had an interlocking design on my 2017 favorites.  How can you go wrong with mint and black?  I guess it's that time of the year for me to re-create an interlocking design!
  • The One With the Pastel Paint Drip Manicure - A fun pastel sponge design with the black paint drip design!  I love paint drip manicures and I don't do them nearly enough.
  • The One With the Abstract Dry Brush Manicure - This color combination is one of my favorites from the year.  Of course I was inspired by another blogger because I'm not that creative to come up with fun color combinations.
  • The One With the Daisies and ORLY Blue Suede - This is one of my favorite ORLY polishes, and that says a lot seeing as I love all my ORLY's.  Of course, daisies made the list....I only did about 10 daisy designs this year.
  • The One With the Dainty Dot Flower - If I had to pick my favorite from the year, it would be this manicure.  I love the vintage floral design.  It reminds me of an old tea cup my great grandmother would have.
  • The One With the China Glaze Palm Trees - ahhhh Summer.  I have a love hate relationship with summer.  I love the sunshine and warmth, but hate the humidity and long days.  Yes, I'm weird, get over it.  But I do love this palm tree design.
  • The One With the Last Summer-y Palm Tree Manicure - Yes, two palm tree designs in a row, but I loved this one so much.  It's the design I wore to the Brett Eldredge concert which was my end of summer show.  Can I just go back to that day, please?
  • The One With the Spooky Spider Web Manicure - My favorite Halloween design.  The sponged white over the top of the holographic grey....ahhhh loved it.
  • The One With the Pure Ice Floral Manicure - Love this Pure Ice polish and the dainty floral nail art.  Weird how I can remember the manicure I did in February, but not the one in November.  I totally forgot about this beauty.
  • The One With the Christmas-y Looking Roses - My favorite rose manicure that I've ever created.  This manicure to me shows me how much I've grown as a nail artist just by looking at the detail in my itty bitty roses.
What do you think?  Any of these your favorite???

I cannot wait to see what 2019 has in store for me and this blog!!!!

Until next time, <3.


Monthly Mani Favs

The One With December's #MonthlyManiFavs

9:00:00 AM

Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  I apologize for my Monthly Mani Favs and Year and Review post being late.  As expected 2019 is much like 2018 where I'm busy as can be.  So therefore, I am going to have my Year and Review post up later today.  Maybe tomorrow....

Anyways, hi, how are you?  Is 2019 treating you well so far?  Can you believe December has come and gone and now we are already four days into 2019??  It's weird how some days the time seems to go so slowly, then others it goes so fast.  No idea how that happens, but it does.

So before more time ticks away, let's take a look at my favorite manicures for December 2018!



  1. The One With the Christmas-y Looking Roses - This has to be one of my all time favorite rose manicures to date.  I was inspired by mvargas_nails on Instagram and I am so happy I came across her manicure. I never would have thought of the color combo.  I'm also impressed with my roses.
  2. The One With the Holly and Snowflakes - One of my favorite Christmas designs this season.  This design was inspired by badgirlnails on Instagram.  The color combo just screamed classic Christmas.
  3. The One With the Christmas Light Manicure - The annual Christmas light design!  I believe this is my favorite since I started the blog.  The frosted tips turned out so well, and my art just looked like stencils.  I'm just very impressed lately with my art.
  4. The One With the black, White, and Silver Manicure - Another all time favorite manicure to date.  If you know me, you know I love black, white, and silver, and this manicure just was perfect for my everyday wardrobe.  I was so sad when it chipped.
What do you think?  Fan of any of these manicures?

See you soon for my Year in Review Post!

Dot Mani

The One With the New Year's Manicure!

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world and Happy New Years!!!!  Welcome to 2019 and the next few weeks where you'll be writing 2018 on all of your important papers!  The struggle is real when it comes to that.  2019 roared in like a lion, literally, as we had a high wind warning last night and gusts of wind over 65 miles per hour.  I hate the wind, but it's better than some other natural disasters, so I'm going to count my blessings.  Maybe that should be my resolution, to be more grateful.

Anyways, instead of sharing with you my Monthly Mani Favs and 2018 round up, I'm going to share with you my manicure that I wore on New Years Eve and still have on my nails today.  I meant to post it yesterday, but I painted them late on the 30th and was too lazy to edit photos and write up a post for the 31st.  So, here we are.  I'll be posting the other mentioned posts this week sometime though, so have no fear!!

Let's take a look at my manicure!


Colors Used:
  • ORLY - Liquid Vinyl
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • ORLY - Champagne Slushie
  • ORLY - Lucid Dream
  • ORLY - some sort of silver which the label peeled off therefore I will never know the name
Isn't this manicure fabulous?  I'm kind of impressed with my dots.  I have to say this is one of my favorite dot manicures.  And you all know that I am loving that I was able to use all of my ORLY beauties.  Nothing shines better than Liquid Vinyl with a top coat of INM Out the Door.  Seriously this black is the best and makes your nails look like patent black leather.



First time that I've used Champagne Slushie and Lucid Dream and boy are these beautiful polishes.  Especially Lucid Dream.  I can't wait to use that beauty as a base coat for some nail art.  Could be a good one for the dreaded Valentine's Day.  Might make me hate Valentines Day less. 

What do you think?  Like this design?  Something you'd do???

I hope everyone had a Happy and Safe New Years!!!  I cannot wait to see what 2019 has in store for my life and The Little Canvas!!!

Until next time, <3.