40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Aqua or Turquoise

**Nothing to Disclose**

For this week of 40 Great Nail Art Ideas, the prompt was aqua or turquoise, and I had zigzags. This ended up being an interesting mishmash of different techniques, but I think (hope) I made it work.

I started out by painting some of my aqua - KBShimmer Shore Thing - onto 3 of my nails. Then I used a French tip brush to do French tips (hmm, that sounded a bit redundant). After that, I put chevron vinyls - I think they are Nail Vinyls brand - on my ring finger and thumb. I added my aqua on top and quickly removed the vinyls, then added top coat and did some clean up because I am awesome at making a mess.

The result is French tips with an accent of negative space zigzags, with an accidental Easter egg look.

An InLinkz Link-up

~Kelly

40 Great Nail Art Ideas - Pale Blue Base

**Nothing to Disclose**

I'm back! This week's prompt was to do a mani over a pale blue base, and my design was watercolor. Which I have never done before. So this was definitely an experiment for me.

I started with a base of Zoya Blu, then put random blobs of Philly Loves Lacquer That Elsa Doll is Mine!,  Zoya Rayne, Rocky, and Yummy. I worked one nail at a time, putting down one color and swishing it around my nail with a bunch of acetone. Overall, it was a simple mani for me, but I did find that if you aren't careful with the acetone you will end up eating through the base color.

~Kelly

An InLinkz Link-up

HPB Presents Monochromatic Nails

Nothing to disclose

Hi everyone! Every month, the Hobby Polish Bloggers group chooses a different theme. This month, it is monochromatic nails, which I absolutely love to do. I decided that instead of making a new manicure, I would show some old ones that never made it onto the blog.

The first mani I have for you is my first attempt at an abstract look. I used the purple China Glaze set and a small paint brush for this. This was also my first attempt at an artistic photo.

This was my next attempt at this style. I used a bunch of random polishes, including the China Glaze green set. I also decided that my sweater dress matched better than a scarf.

And now, pink! This was the pink China Glaze set (noticing a theme yet?), and by this time I had improved my artistic pose with a scarf. I also think I had lost my thin brush because the brushstrokes look a lot thicker. Or maybe I was just in a hurry?

My final picture is my black and white version. I think I ended up using 5 shades for this one. The lack of scarf is only because I haven't unpacked my scarf box yet. In case you are wondering, yes, I have a scarf that matches this perfectly, and yes, I have a bit of a scarf obsession.

An InLinkz Link-up

Reading Challenges

2016 Craving for Cozies Challenge

Challenge Dates: Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2016

Challenge Rules: http://www.escapewithdollycas.com/challenges-2/craving-cozies-challenge-2016/

Level: Satisfied - 21-40 cozies

Date Finished:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/24616783-kelly?shelf=craving-for-cozies-2016

Books Read:
1: A Cast-off Coven - Juliet Blackwell (finished 1/5)
2: A Brew to a Kill - Cleo Coyle (finished 1/11)
3: Death by Coffee - Alex Erickson (finished 1/13)
4: Tagged For Death -Sherry Harris (finished 1/21)
5: Cat Bearing Gifts - Shirley Rousseau Murphy (finished 1/30)
6: Chorus Lines, Caviar, and Corpses - Mary McHugh (finished 2/4)
7: Here Today, Gone Tamale - Rebecca Adler (finished 2/8)
8: A Room With a Pew - Peg Cochran (finished 2/23)*
9: Hail to the Chef - Julie Hyzy (finished 2/25)
10: Button Holed - Kylie Logan (finished 2/27)
11: Murder, Plain and Simple - Isabella Alan (finished 3/2)
12: Wedding Cake Murder - Joanne Fluke (finished 3/6)
13: Pane and Suffering - Cheryl Hollon (finished 3/9)
14: The Vicious Vet - M.C. Beaton (finished 3/15)
15: To Helvetica and Back - Paige Shelton (finished 3/19)
16: Novena For Murder - Sister Carol Anne O'Marie (finished 3/30)
17: Flipped For Murder - Maddie Day (finished 4/2)
18: By Cook or by Crook - Maya Corrigan (finished 4/5)
19: Veiled Threats - Deborah Donnelly (finished 4/7)
20: Presumed Puzzled - Parnell Hall (finished 4/13)
21: Death of a Bacon Heiress - Lee Hollis (finished 4/14)*
22: Murder on the House - Juliet Blackwell (finished 4/20)
23: Mug Shot - Caroline Fardig (finished 4/22)*






What an Animal IX Reading Challenge 2016

Challenge Dates: Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2016

Challenge Rules: http://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2015/11/what-animal-reading-challenge-ix-2016.html

Level: 2 - 7-12 animal themed books

Date finished:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/24616783-kelly?shelf=what-an-animal-2016

Books Read:
1: Kneading to Die - Liz Mugavero (finished 1/9)
2: Lending a Paw - Laurie Cass (finished 1/18)
3: The Cat, the Quilt and the Corpse - Leann Sweeney (finished 1/23)
4: Cat Telling Tales - Shirley Rousseau Murphy (finished 1/28)
5: When Bunnies Go Bad - Clea Simon (finished 3/6)*
6: Bite the Biscuit - Linda O. Johnston (finished 4/9)






2016 Alphabet Soup Challenge

Challenge Dates: Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2016

Challenge Rules: http://www.escapewithdollycas.com/2015/11/27/2016-alphabet-soup-reading-challenge-sign-up-post/

Date Finished:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/24616783-kelly?shelf=alphabet-soup-2016

Books Read:
A: And Then There Were Nuns - Kylie Logan (finished 3/26)*
B:
C: A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J Maas (finished 1/7)
D: The Dirt on Ninth Grave - Darynda Jones (finished 1/31)
E: Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett (finished 3/25)
F:
G: Get Fluffy - Sparkle Abbey (finished 1/9)
H: Hexes and Hemlines - Juliet Blackwell (finished 3/13)
I: It Takes a Witch - Heather Blake (finished 3/10)
J:
K: Killer Reunion - G.A. McKevett (finished 3/28)*
L: Love, Lattes and Angel - Sandra Cox (finished 4/16)*
M: Murder Casts Its Spell - Margaret C Morse (finished 2/12)
N:
O:
P: The Perfectionists - Sara Shepard (finished 2/5)
Q: The Quiche of Death - M.C. Beaton (finished 3/14)
R: Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard (finished 2/28)
S: See How They Run - Ally Carter (finished 2/4)
T: To Brew or Not to Brew - Joyce Tremel (finished 2/15)
U:
V:
W: When - Victoria Laurie (finished 2/16)
X: X Marks the Scot - Victoria Roberts (finished 2/18)
Y: Yellow Brick War - Danielle Paige (finished 4/18)
Z:


Books marked with a * were provided by NetGalley for review

40 Great Nail Art Ideas: Teal

Nothing To Disclose

Hmmm, apparently I don't know how to start a post very well. I've typed 5 different things, and none of them seemed to work for me. I'm part of the 40 Great Nail Art Ideas challenge, and I'm doing the color + pattern prompts. This week is teal, and my pattern is swirls.

I started out with 2 coats of KBShimmer PT Young Thing topped with KBShimmer Clearly on Top. After that was fully dry, I stuck on some of the KBShimmer swirl vinyls (my first vinyl mani!). I then put a nice thick coat of KBShimmer Up and Cunning on one nail at a time so that I could peel up the swirls before the polish dried.

I think this turned out nicely for a first attempt, and I definitely learned a few things. The first thing is that it is hard to place vinyls nicely one handed. It took 3-4 attempts per nail to get decent placement. The second is that curved nails mess with the vinyls laying flat. I had a little bit of polish get under some of the vinyls because they weren't fully pressed down. The last thing I learned is that this makes a mess. I was trying to do the teal nice and thick so I would only need one coat, which meant I didn't have as much control of the color as I'm used to.

~Kelly
(I'm also horrible at how to end a blog post)

An InLinkz Link-up

31 Day Challenge Progress - Week 1

Nothing to Disclose

4 days done, 27 to go. My nail art skills are a bit rusty, so I'm starting this challenge out with simple designs.

For Day 1 - Red, I used Glitter Gal Redback, and did a simple accent nail of Dorothy's Revenge over Redback.

Day 2 - Orange is Zoya Arizona with stripes of Tanzy.

Day 3 - Yellow. Um, yeah, I don't own much yellow, and I've never found one that I like on me. This is Zoya Pippa with accents of Sinful Colors Pumpkin Spice.

And finally, Day 4 - Green. I used Sinful Colors Black on Black and topped it with Green Ocean. I probably should've done a different background for this one, black on black doesn't show up very well.

If you would like to follow my progress, I am posting my manis on my instagram.

~Kelly

2015 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge

Nothing to Disclose

Yup, another reading challenge. This one I found at Escape With Dollycas Into a Good Book. Basically, you read a book that starts with each letter of the alphabet. I have decided I hate the letters Q, V, X, Z, and N. Yes, N. I don't own ANY books that start with N. And I already read a book that starts with Q earlier this year, so I had to find another one. The challenge runs through the end of the year, crossovers with other challenges and rereads are allowed. I made it more difficult for myself by not allowing rereads, crossovers, or reading multiple books by the same author (no author repeats in either challenge).

Here is my list:

A: All Fall Down - Ally Carter (finished 6/7)

B: A Breath of Frost - Alyxandra Harvey (finished 8/6)

C: Criminal Confections - Colette London (finished 7/4)

D - Dissonance - Erica O'Rourke (finished 7/10)

E- Everneath - Brodi Ashton (finished 7/23)

F - Faces of the Dead - Suzanne Weyn (finished 7/30)

G - Gossip Girl - Cecily von Ziegasar (finished 6/23)

H - Hearse and Buggy - Laura Bradford (finished 7/15)

I - I was Jane Austen's Best Friend - Cora Harrison (finished 8/3)

J - Just Ella - Margaret Peterson Haddix (finished 8/4)

K - A Killer Plot - Ellery Adams (fnished 7/19)

L - Lost in Thought - Cara Burtrand (finished 8/11)

M - Murder Strikes a Pose - Tracy Weber (finished 6/21)

N - No Ghouls Allowed - Victoria Laurie (finished 4/30)

O - Origin Scroll - Richard S. Tuttle (finished 6/25)

P - Pawn - Aimee Carter (finished 7/25)

Q - The Quick and the Thread - Amanda Lee (finished 7/27)

R - Ruby Red - Kirstin Gier (finished 9/10)

S - Snow White Red-Handed - Maia Chance (finished 6/20)

T - Transparent - Natalie Whipple (finished 6/26)

U - Undercover in High Heels - Gemma Halliday (finished 7/12)

V - Virals - Kathy Reichs (finished 6/29)

W - The Wicked Will Rise - Danielle Paige (finished 7/29)

X - The Xibalba Murders - Lyn Hamilton (finished 7/8)

Y - You Slay Me - Katie MacAllister (finished 6/17)

Z - Zombies Don't Cry - Rusty Fischer (finished 6/16)

These challenges may seem a bit weird, but they are a great way to find new authors and to work through a TBR list.

***Challenge finished 9/10***

~Kelly